Another summer rolled in on the nineteenth of May; final exams for some of the high school districts passed like rain clouds.

Silver stretched his back and arms as he and his older brother Venice walked home through Sonic City. "Summer, huh?"

"Swimming season!" his hydrokinetic brother exclaimed. "Woo!"

Silver shook his head. "All you ever think about swimming and girls, Venice?" A vrrrvrrrooooo announced a motorcycle peeling down the street. The younger silver hedgehog stuck his tongue out as if looking at an ice cream sundae.

"Ooohh... little brother wants a big boy bike," Venice snickered. "You got cash, Silv?"

Five months ago, yes he would have, but now- he whined like a puppy.

"You need a summer job, lil bro."

"Waah."

"No ice cream weekends and pizza parties for you."

"Waaah."

"It ain't that bad, Silv!"

"It is when your face was plastered over Sonic City for a week! Who wants to hire a juvenile delinquent?"

"You'll figure something out, won't you?" Venice stopped and looked across the street, nodding. Silver asked what it was before he saw the coffee shop across the way. "Steam Shop" done in an industrial style, with realistic rust stains.

"Oh, not there."

"Oh come on, they love you! You're family to them."

Silver gave Venice a look that expressed circular reasoning. The people that ran that shop in particular was what made him uneasy. One of them was his biological father. They were the reason he wouldn't be able to find work anywhere else. And if that wasn't awkward enough, he hadn't seen them since that twisted entity piggybacked on his quest and tried to destroy them all.

"You want that bike don't you?" Venice coaxed. "Besides, I bet they'll chip in for you, too."

Gulping, Silver ran across the street careful not to get hit by cars or buses. He jogged across the parking lot to the Steam Shop's entrance. Several signs were taped on the inside of the glass: an ad for an upcoming performance by a theater troupe, a health rating, and the last, red-on-white message, "Help Wanted - Apply Within."

Taking a deep breath, Silver walked into the coffee shop. Steel-legged tables and rusted metal finish put the "Steam" in this shop. There were a few customers, quietly sipping their drinks. No one was in the front-

"Hey, Haku!" Neo Metal Sonic called out as soon as his head poked out of the back. "Guess who's here." He walked over to Silver, who gave an awkward wave after calling out. "Hi there, Silver. How are you?"

"I'm okay," he offered, scooting onto a barstool. "How's the coffee business?"

"Well, we only have three employees working at max, each of which live at the same place, so most of the funds go back to the coffee house. And this has worked for... sixteen years, now? So, yeah, I'd say we're doing all right."

"Silver!" Haku Fukui called out as she swung her legs over the counter and squeezed Silver tight. "Oh, it's so good to see yooou!"

Silver could only squeak a reply. She finally let go and flashed a big smile at him before lifting her shoulders a bit. "Shadow's not in today."

Silver adverted his eyes, then, "That's not... not why I'm here."

"You want a summer job?" Metal asked. Silver snapped to attention as he hadn't- "Lucky guess. We are only a three-man coffee house, so we'd be happy to take you on."

"Metaru," Haku whispered, leaning in to his ear. "He's only fifteen."

"It wouldn't be a problem," Metal said. "One: it's summer, school's out, so classes won't interfere with his work. Two: if he likes working for us and he stays during the fall and if someone were to find out, all we'd have to say was that he lied on his application."

"That's illegal, isn't it?" Silver whispered.

"Frowned upon," Metal corrected. "Not illegal." He walked towards the back, and Haku leaned over Silver.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Metal knows his loopholes. It'll be fine."

"That's not... what I'm worried about," he mumbled.

She "ooohhhhh"-ed and scooted off the counter onto the adjacent bar stool to rub his shoulder. "Worried about Shadow?"

"Yeah... I think I..." he bit his lip, "I think I hurt him a little the last time we-"

"I'm sure Metal can twist the schedules in your favor," she said. "It'll be fun working here, and we could use some extra hands: Metal's considering offering delivery."

"Delivery?" Silver said, tilting his head. "You mean, like delivering coffee to an office building?"

"Yeah, sound crazy," she said, English slipping, "but when you think about it, if people want coffee at work, why not call to have coffee come to you? And Metal's looking up special motorbikes so everything stays safe."

Metal Sonic reappeared with a piece of paper. He slid it across the counter. "Fill everything out to your best ability. You don't have to lie- this'll only be seen by me."

Silver nodded, taking the application and putting it in his backpack. "Do I have a due date or...?"
"No rush. If you change your mind, just let us know, okay?"

Silver stood up, shifting the backpack onto him. "Yeah, I'll do that."

"Hey, Silver," Haku said, holding a chocolate-covered... ball?- "Have a bossche bol, on the house."

Taking the ball, SIlver raised an eyebrow at her android boyfriend, who said, "You know Haku, always the cosmopolitan." They waved him off and he went on his way home.

"Hello, Silver!" Mom greeted him as he walked in. "How was your last day at school?"

"Tests," he grumbled, then went into his room. He began to undertake the tedious process of filling out the application... and a bunch of questions bounced around his head. Is this a good idea maybe I should check someone else I mean he's my dad no he's not awkward if we run into each other at the family business I guess I mean they are like family...

Oi. Silver let his face fall on the desk. So much for clear skies and easy breezes... here comes a storm of drama.

The bosshe bol was sitting on his desk like a gold idol. You picked me up. Prepare for a trap to spring.

Silver picked it up and took a chomp out of it, to be met with a pastry outside and a whipped cream center. His tongue disintegrated into sugar after finishing it off, but it went down like a birthday cake.

"Hey, Metal," Haku asked, "are you going to tell Stripes?" Her android boyfriend turned to give her a blank expression that she read as "Are you stupid or something of course not."

"What if he shows up and sees Silver here? What are you going to say to that?"

"We'll see," Metal buzzed. Haku pssh-ed. "You can tell him, if you so desire."

"Nah," she sighed. "I think we'll just see what happens. Cross your fingers that nothing bad happens when it goes down."

"I will say that we'll be having a new employee so he has some time to catch on," he offered.

Haku snorted and shook her head. "He's not going to catch on."

"Well, it's summer. He'll be less sad. More focused."

"Focused on his job as a photographer at the mall."

"He might even go on another backpacking adventure."

"Ha ha. Then we'll truly be a three-man coffee shop."

"Two-and-a-half," Metal corrected. "He's only fifteen."

"But he's smart."

"He's naive. And stubborn."

"This is going to be a great summer, eh, Metaru?"