"Welcome back, My Lord and My Lady!"
Wearing a black kimono with light gray flower patterns, a purple obi that could only be noticed from the back, a frilly scarlet apron, an additional frilly white headdress with tiny beads on each side, and scarlet boots, greeted Kaori with her head bowed to the young couple at the entrance. Her bob-cut, cordovan-colored hair stayed firmly in place, the headdress maintaining the back of it. She raised her head, this time meeting her customers face to face, her emerald eyes gazing at the other two pairs.
"Allow me to show you to your seats!" With joy, she expertly guided the couple to the corner booth, sliding open the seat for the lady while the lord slid into the booth. From out of nowhere, she handed them the menus and went to the work counter. There, she placed a small plate of cookies and two glasses of water on the bar tray, holding it and taking it to her customers.
"Here you go, My Lord and My Lady." She placed the cookie plate in the middle, and the glasses to their respective right sides. Leaving the tray to the side, she took out her notepad and pen and addressed the clients. "What can I get for you?"
"I would like the Rainbow Fruity Smoothie." Answered the lady with assertiveness.
However, the lord didn't seem to have yet decided. He looked at her (she noticed something about his eyes), and he replied "Um, I am not sure yet. Everything sounds really good, but… What would you recommend?" He asked Kaori.
She pretended to be taken aback, slightly shifting her eyesight to the right to avoid his gaze and presented one of the newest additions on the menu for the upcoming season.
"I see, well, you convinced me! I shall take that." The Lord declared, still looking at her with those eyes (not good). She merely smiled, bowing her head and letting them know she would be back with their chosen selections. Not even three steps away, she heard the lady gush over her boyfriend, to which he then replied, "I love you!" back to her.
As soon as those words left his mouth, Kaori thought, 'That's a lie. A big one.'
She made her way to the kitchen, letting the person in charge, Nono Jun (who was a high school graduate, who took up the job of cooking and prepping the more complicated stuff in the kitchen. He needed to earn money to cover his college expenses and leave some behind for his ailing father and younger brother. His mother had recently died due to the major pandemic that had spread throughout the world, and his father never truly managed to recover from that, leaving him in charge of nearly everything.) the order for her clients, and then proceeded to make the Rainbow Fruity Smoothie, adding the whipped cream at the top, and drizzling it with both strawberry and chocolate syrup. By the time she was done, the lord's selection was ready, so she brought both of them out.
"Please enjoy, my Lord and my Lady."
"We will!" They both replied at the same time, the girl admiring her drink, while the boy drifted his eyes toward Kaori, smiled, and winked.
'That bastard!' She screamed in her mind, yet kept her smile on the outside, turning around and walking away. 'She dearly loves you, yet you are trying to do something while she is present with me!? You are a scumbag! I hope Asahi, Itsuki, Katsumi, or Hifumi don't end up like you, because if they do, I swear…!'
"Little Kaori, you may head on to your break."
She turned around quickly, noticing that it was her manager who had called out to her.
"Ah yes." She mumbled. "Well, I'll be back in forty-five minutes."
In the backroom, Kaori threw herself on the black couch, letting out a tired sigh. She looked at the clock on the wall, the small hand on eleven and the long one on the three: 11:15 am. I still have three more hours left after my break. Her stomach growled, wanting food after it had deliberately been denied any in the morning, like always. She tried to ignore it, closing her eyes as she made herself comfortable. Just three more… Sleep seemed to have nearly overtaken her if it weren't for the loud sound of the door opening.
"Kaori, look what I made for ya!"
Kaori stared at Hana, her co-worker, and her friend (more like an acquaintance). Her hair was long and shiny (from using products she herself knew she would most likely never be able to purchase) in a bun, due to her shift starting off in the kitchen, and blue-colored eyes (they were actually colored contacts, Hana's real colors were brown). She wore the same uniform as all the other girls (though, if one looked close enough, one could see Hana's initials embroidered on the frills of the apron), so it wasn't the same per se. In her hands, she had a wrapped sandwich, presenting it with a smile.
"I made ya a Flowery Sheep sandwich."
The short-haired girl looked at the sandwich. The sandwich was full and well-made, smelling the mouthwatering meat, and eyeing the healthy veggies that accompanied it. If it weren't for her strong will, she would have grabbed it and begun eating it, but she held back and denied it. "Thank you, but I can't eat it."
Hana pouted, shoving it forward, and when the other didn't grab it, she forcefully placed it on the defiant's hands. She couldn't move her own hands, as the scent of the meat and warmth sank in.
"You are eating it. No returns. You already touched it, and I know you don't like wasting food." Hana declared, a proud smile forming on her lips. "From the kitchen window, I could see you sneaking some grapes and macarons into your mouth."
The other blushed, knowing that someone had beaten her and taken notice of her sneaking some small bites of the available sweets, which were permitted as long as no customer noticed, and washed their hands after.
"Alright… You win."
"That's more like it!"
Kaori only looked to the side and began nibbling on the sandwich.