I do NOT own Tokyo Mew Mew!
Last time:
An idea popped into Ichigo's head. She grabbed the nearest phone and dialed her cell-phone number.
Switched!
Chapter 2 – Questions
Ichigo heard a voice inside her head. It was saying, 'No wonder Ichigo was always trying to get a raise from Ryou, she's the only one that works!'
Rachael ran frantically from table to table at Café Mew Mew, taking orders and serving food.
"Where's my tea?"
"Right this way!"
"What about my order?"
"I didn't forget!"
"Do you have our cakes yet?"
"Coming right up!"
Rachael's hands were full with trays and pastries. She wished the other Mew Mews would help, but they were just making it worse: Zakuro was scaring away customers, Lettuce was dropping plates, Pudding was doing tricks and dropping even more plates, and Mint was just sitting there, drinking tea.
"Ichigo o tabeyou…Iro iro furuutsu…"Ichigo's ring tone caught Rachael in surprise as she jumped in shock, dropping all of her trays on a customer.
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, it was an accident!" she stammered. "Wait right here, I'll go get paper towels!" She ran to Ryou.
"Shirogane, where do we keep the cleaning supplies?" Rachael panted.
"Did you spill, AGAIN?" Ryou asked, irritably.
"…Sorry," Rachael started, but she ran off quickly, noticing the customer about to walk out the door. "Don't leave, Miss, don't you want your order?"
"Don't even bother, I've had enough of this place!" said the lady. Rachael's face fell, as she left through the double doors. She asked Lettuce for the mop, and started cleaning the pastries off the floor.
"Don't you think Ichigo's been acting a little odd today?" Lettuce said to the Mew Mews, Ryou, and Keichiro, in the kitchen.
"Lettuce onee-chan is right, na no da! Ichigo onee-chan is being very strange!" Piped Pudding, as she balanced on a giant red ball.
"This might sound hard to believe, but today, Ichigo has apologized more times than me than Lettuce!" said Mint.
"That is true, she has been apologizing a lot," Ryou said, just remembering something. "Earlier today, when Ichigo was working…"
Flashback:
Rachael was working hard, but it was still very hectic. When she was on her lunch break she sat collapsed in one of the chairs at a table and tried to keep her mind off of going straight back to work in the next thirty minutes. In a couple of minutes, she dozed off into a deep sleep. Ryou walked next to her.
"Don't you think this is a bad time to be sleeping, when you were off your break five minutes ago? Those floors don't clean themselves," Ryou teased. He was expected to hear her say something like: 'You jerk! Can't you see that I was the only one working and should get the most rest?' Then she would rant on about how she should get a raise because no one was helping her. But the next thing she said surprised him.
"Sorry…I'll try to keep better track of the time." Rachael started to walk away slowly.
"Wait, aren't you going to argue with me or something?" Ryou asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Oh! I mean, give me a raise," said Rachael.
"No!" Ryou smiled. Now, the shouting will really begin.
"Do want me to argue with you, or something?" Rachael wondered. If she didn't want to fight, she shouldn't have to, right? Nobody likes to argue, so what reason do they have to fight if they know what the outcome is? Why did Ichigo's life have to be so complicated?
"…No…"Ryou frowned.
"Then, I'll get started on these floors. Is that okay? …Sorry…"
"…Of course, and why are you apologizing?"
"Oh, sorry. It just seemed like you wanted me to say something else."
"What else would I want you to say?"
"Never mind, I'm going to get to work." Rachael grabbed a broom and started sweeping crumbs. "Like you said: 'Floors don't clean themselves.'"
"…Right," Ryou mumbled as he headed off to the kitchen.
End of Flashback
"…So, Lettuce was right, Ichigo has been acting strange," Ryou concluded. All of the Mew Mews started discussing Ichigo's unusual behavior.
"Ichigo o tabeyou…"
"There goes her phone again," Rachael said, impatiently. She picked it up, and looked at the caller ID. It was her home phone number! "Hello!" she said, eager to see if it was Ichigo calling. She had so many questions to ask, and she was prepared to answer all of the questions that Ichigo had to ask, too.