July 26, Saturday
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"Azami-san. . . may I ask something?"
"You just did, Mai."
"Uh, well. . . Why am I the only one who's supposed to wear these ridicu—I mean, lovely outfits?"
"Mm, that's a hard question," Azami replied, pretending to contemplate while she sucked on her lollipop. She scanned Mai from head to toe, eyes gleaming as they passed over the girl's toque, white double-breasted jacket and checkered skirt. "'Cause you're cute and dressing you up with different clothes everyday helps bring in more customers?"
"B-but wouldn't it be better if we all—"
"Welcome!"
Chimes rang out as the door opened, and so the Inquisition was interrupted yet again. Mai tried to lift the pressure off her stare; glaring at your employer was a definite no-no.
"Table for one, sir?" Azami asked the new arrival. She smiled at him pleasantly, but she was ignored. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the waitress. With a subtle twist, Azami's gentle expression was transformed into a wicked smirk. "Mai, dear, guide him to his seat, if you would."
But the girl in question had vanished into thin air. She was nowhere in sight . . . though it was obvious to Azami where she had gone.
"A moment please," Azami told the young man, who was clearly amused by Mai's antics, and strode over to the counter, peeking behind. "Psst, hey, what are you doing?" she asked, 'whispering' as quietly as she could. "If you don't get your butt out here, I'll cut your pay."
At the threat of losing money Mai came out of her hiding place, an air of hesitance clearly shrouding her. She shuffled toward her Bus Buddy—what the hell why is he here how did this happen why does he have to see her in these frilly clothes again oh my god please kill me now—and kept her eyes down, because all her mind could process was, 'If I can't see you, you can't see me.' It'd be wonderful if this could be true. The crimson streaks on her cheeks weren't ever meant to be seen.
"This way, please," she said to him in a tone as light as she could manage and forced her mouth to take the shape of what Azami deemed a 'work-appropriate' smile. She led him to a booth seat next to a window, reciting a list of popular tea selections and pastries to go along with them. It was a good thing the menu was ingrained into her skull; she would have asked him stupid questions had she not had anything else to say. Would have stuttered through it all, too.
The young man—damn, she still didn't know his name—considered his options carefully, flipping from one page of the menu to another, going back and forth several times.
"If you were to pick, which would it be between Club Sandwich and Eggs Benedict?" he asked, his curiosity seemingly genuine.
"Oh, uh. . . Me?" Bewildered, she mentally slapped herself to shake off her surprise. Then she answered, "Club Sandwich, definitely."
"Why so?"
"Fries."
He smirked. "Club Sandwich it is, then."
"One club sandwich it is," she echoed as she scrawled the order on her notepad.
"Make it two."
"Two?" she echoed again, and damn it if she did it once more.
"Yes, I'm rather famished; I haven't eaten since yesterday morning," the young man said and, unexpectedly, a scowl marred his features. But it was replaced by a blank look within a split second. Mai couldn't be sure if that shade of irritation had been there in the first place. "Earl Grey for my drink, iced."
"Yeah, me too, hungry. . ." she mumbled without thinking. "How would you like your tea? Orange-infused, lavender-flavored, sweetened by vanilla, or just plain? If you have other preferences we can—"
"If you haven't eaten yet either, then would you mind joining me?"
And in that instant, her pen met the ground, her intestines facing gravity as well. Blood rushed in her veins as her heart hammered like crazy; it wouldn't surprise her if she dropped dead any second now. Her heart skipped more than a few beats.
"W-well, I can't do that, sir—"
"No, she doesn't mind!" Azami interrupted, giving Mai a thumbs-up and a suspicious grin. She snatched Mai's notepad from the girl's clutched fist, and said, "Now then, two Club Sandwiches and an iced Earl Grey for this gentleman here—very good choice, sir. Plain?" He nodded. "What'll it be for you, Mai?"
"But Azami-san, I—"
"Excuse us for another moment, please," the tenacious woman crooned, steering Mai away from the table. Not that it helped much; they were still in Bus Buddy's hearing range. "Now, look here, girlie. It'd look bad if I, the boss, made you, my minion, continue working on an empty stomach, hm? You haven't had your lunch break yet, and this is the perfect time, right? Not too many customers come in during this hour anyway."
As much as Mai wanted to disagree, she had no choice but to obey Azami. Here in this establishment, her word was law.
"Okay then, now what would you like to eat? Don't worry, it's on me."
Defeated, the girl sighed. "Club Sandwich, too. Blueberry Ginger tea as usual."
Azami scribbled on the notepad, then gave Mai a little push back to the table, cackling quietly as she muttered under her breath, "Can't wait to see the look on Rei-chan's face when he hears about this. . ."
Mai took in a deep breath, held it for three counts, then let it go in one muted huff. With two fists at their respective sides, she marched onward—limbs stiff, right arm swinging as her right leg stepped forward, the left doing the same. The young man at the table looked away, eyes bright with amusement as he fought the urge to chuckle.
She sat down in one fluid motion when she reached her seat—well, she thought she was graceful about it—and brought her hands together under the table to stop them from fidgeting. Whenever nervous energy and impatience clashed, her fingers had the tendency of transforming into aggravating metronomes.
"I'm surprised to meet you again, here, of all places," Bus Buddy started, pausing to thank Azami when she delivered the food. Mai expressed her gratitude as well, though it sounded more like a barb than a thank-you.
Damn it, Mai. Be cool. Don't say anything stupid. Stop being red all the time. Limit thy weirdness.
"Yeah, same here. I'm as surprised as you are," Mai said, uttering her reply slowly so she wouldn't stutter. "Do you work part-time, too? At that office upstairs?"
"Something like that," he said, covering his lips behind a thumb and a forefinger. "How have your studies been?"
She cocked her head to one side, curious why he changed the subject, but deciding not to push it. "Horrible. I try to do some advance reading for the topics we may have after summer break, but I can't seem to focus because. . . Um." Another wave of heat flushed through her as she averted her eyes away from him.
"I find it commendable that you're eager to learn," he said in a calm tone, overlooking Mai's not-so-subtle, unintentional hint. "If only my students had at least an ounce of your fervor. . ."
"Shtude-ts?" she asked, her question garbled as she munched on her sandwich.
There was a pause before he answered. "I tutor from time to time."
"You still have time for that?" she asked, swallowing a mouthful of her drink as she raised both her eyebrows in wonder. "You already have your job at SPR and you still have college, right?"
"I've already finished school, remember? That includes college," he smirked, obviously pleased with himself.
"Y-you've already. . . finished college . . ? Seriously?"
"Yes," he said, picking his meal apart before taking a bite.
"Then. . . You're. . . Just how old are you?" Mai couldn't believe it. If what he said was true, then he should already be in his early twenties, but. . .
Glob. If he's really that old, then all my hopes are shot to hell! No way a twenty-two year old would tolerate a sixteen year old kid! B-but not that I had any hopes or. . . or something. . .
"I'll be seventeen in a couple months." He sipped his tea, an amused smirk forming around his straw. He was enjoying the incredulity that was slowly taking over her features.
"You were accelerated?" He nodded. "That's amazing!"
"Thank you."
"But then, why are you still working part-time? You graduated early, and that normally means you'd get a high ranking position or something, right?"
"You misunderstand. I never said anything about my work being part-time," he explained. "And it's only logical for me to have a high ranking position in my company, don't you think?"
Mai. . . couldn't decide whether to praise him or slap him. His early accomplishments stirred the green monster within her, undeniable envy leaking through. She thought it impossible but there they went: her eyes widened even more, and her jaw followed as they slackened in awe.
It was then that someone entered the cafe, completely unnoticed by the two. He was a tall man, mysterious with his fringe covering the right half of his face. He scanned the room frantically, then with haste strode over to Mai and Bus Buddy when his gaze happened upon them.
"I found a lead," the man said, his words directed at Bus Buddy.
His blue eyes turned into steel as urgency entered them. He stood up suddenly, recklessly, almost knocking his plate to the ground.
Mai watched as he excused himself quietly, promising to continue their conversation another time, then followed the man—half-walking, half-running out the room. Confusion and dismay were all she felt at that moment, then Azami went ahead and made herself known.
"What'd you say to make him run away like that?"
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A/N: Woohoo. Progress. Didn't think it was possible for these two, hahaha.
Thank you so so so much to archangelBBQ for, of course, forever being THE FREAKING BEST! (My, comma, placement, is, terrible, isn't it,,,) AND! I must say, though... Nacchan's eyes do twinkle :P ;)
And to all you lovely readers who I don't spoil enough — I know this has only been the second time I showed Mai in the cafe, but... I'm already running out of ideas for her outfits! D: When it comes to frilly clothes, my mind turns into poop. Please tell me if you have any suggestions~
As always, thank you for reading! :)
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Ooh yeah, almost forgot. Shameless plug time! (Bc I am very very shameless.) Please read my oneshot Crooked Angles! It's a Gene-centric thingie~ Not many people have read it and I'm rather peeved 'cause I've worked my butt on that thing yet it only has 81 views?!1?! :c pretty pretty please read it please :3 :D