Sorry this chapter is a short one too, but not as short as the last one! Haha, Free! Eternal Suffering is getting a little too much for me. Thanks again everyone who followed/favorited/left reviews on this!

Sadly, but predictable, I ended up with the afternoon shift instead of the morning shift that Nagisa had. Despite the urge to go say hi to him this morning, I was stuck with chores from when I woke up to noon. Me being me, I was nervous for this. My old job was retail. Don't get me wrong, retail wasn't all perks. Everyday I got asked the same stupid questions and everyone seemed to think the back was more than just an empty closet. However, thanks to my great fashion sense and skills, costumers loved me. The other workers said I spent to much time in detail and did not appreciate my help with organizing the break room as well as properly teaching them how to fold shirts. But, they don't matter.

When I walked into the coffee shop I was greeted by a familiar, but not too happy face.

"Oi,Rei," Rin called out to me from behind the counter. "Come here."

Aiichiro was there as well. He was happily serving costumers their lattes and making sure he got good tips. Behind him was a man, taller than me and wider than Makoto, making various sandwiches. I couldn't get a glimpse of his name tag nor his face before Rin dragged me into the back room.

"Is this Rei?" A pale girl with a huge resemblance to Rin walked over to me.

"Yeah, can you get him an apron?"

"Sure!" She smiled and walked away with her pony tail swinging back and forth behind her.

"That's my younger sister Gou, she's the manager here."

"Oh," I said, turning to Rin. "Gou is a rather boyish name," Then I thought about it. "And Rei is a girlish name..."

"Call her Kou."

"I will, Rin-san."

Gou or Kou came back from the small closet with an apron. After I put it on, Rin showed me how to work the machines and helped me make one of each kind of the various ways to prepare coffee. There was a lot of recipes to follow, but he told me he was there to tell me everything.

Then, while making my fourth cappuccino, I saw him. The tall, muscular, and frankly scary man sighed and grabbed the cup from me. His face had a neutral expression that made him seem like a murder, but his bright blue eyes made up for it. After the explanation of what I did wrong and how to make a proper one, I read his name tag: Sousuke. He seemed nice besides his eerie vibe. Honestly, for a guy who could pass as a killer, he was pretty attractive (nothing like myself or my Nagisa-kun, but close).

Gou/Kou was out there making coffee, too. It was a slow shift, but everyone has to work at some point. She was extremely easy to understand when she gave instructions. Every word was clear and well spoken, plus her face had a cute look and not a scary one.

"So, Sousuke-san is our age and not 22?!" I asked Nagisa, completely flabbergasted, over the phone.

"Yeah," He sighed. "He's our big whale shark."

"What?"

"It's nothing," Nagisa said, obviously smiling. "Now that you're working, we'll reach our goal faster! Before, Rin-chan, Aii-chan, and Sou-chan were beating us in tips."

"Is this a race or something?"

"They share the same prize as us. Rin-chan said it would be fun to see who could get the most money before the end of July."

"The end of July?!" I yelled. "That's a week or so away!"

"I know!" Nagisa probably pumped his fist in the air. "But now that we have our beautiful butterfly Rei-chan working, we'll surely win!"

"Beautiful butterfly?" I blushed.

"Never mind," He giggled.