I lived in a small apartment by myself on the third floor of the complex. I paid for my rent with a part-time job I had at a local coffee house; it was quiet, but I enjoyed the few customers we got. It was nothing special, just a shop on a street corner.
I rubbed my eyes and exhausted a yawn as I got up and out of bed. It was a Sunday, which meant no school, however, I still had to work. Getting to work wasn't difficult, I just had to avoid people with food or drinks, as not to stain my work attire. Which was a difficult task more than one might think.
After a shower I got into my work clothes, a simple white dress shirt with black tie, black slacks, and a black vest to top it all off. I dried and combed my hair then opened my balcony door. I stepped outside and closed the sliding door, looking out at the morning horizon.
Beautiful shades of orange and red danced over the skyscrapers of the city. It made the morning almost worth getting up for, well, almost. I stepped on the railing, the wind breezing past me and I leaned forward. I steadied the flow of wind into a pocket, simulating the effect of a parachute, gradually floating down. Taking in the scenery was a benefit of doing this every day. I touched the ground softly and fixed my hair so it wasn't so messy from the fall. Adjusting my tie slightly I start my way towards the coffee shop.
The crisp morning air was enough to give most chills, stacked on with the breeze, it was a just little more than cold. I liked living here, it was always nice and calm, well, except when you here explosions in the distance, which was unusually common. As it's said, never a dull moment in Academy City, though I tried to avoid the chaos as best was possible.
A security robot scooted past me, cleaning up the garbage littering the streets. "Walking trashcans, I swear," I mumbled to myself, "Even look like it too, just have legs with wheels is all."
I entered into the shop, the bell on the door signaling my arrival to all the employees. The difference in atmosphere from the outside into the shop is almost amazing, but maybe that's just because it's a lot warmer in there. I lifted the bar door and walked into the break room. I sat down on the sofa, looking at the ceiling, waiting for my shift to start. It was 6:46 AM and I didn't start working until 7:00.
I looked up and saw a figure looming over me, "Figures, you're just as lazy as ever." A loud voice pounded on my eardrums as I looked in its direction.
"Ugh… Do you need something Aikawa?" I perished the thought of retorting to her, yet did anyway. A short girl, long blonde hair with short bangs. Annoying and obnoxious as ever, she was my co-employee and also classmate. Her name was Mina Aikawa.
"Hey! Don't act so condescending to me!" She was always like this, loud, never caring about others. "It's too early in the morning to deal with you…" She looked at me with rage in her eyes, then like a balloon just deflated into nothingness with a deep sigh.
"I hate to agree with you, and believe me, I mean HATE, but you're right." She walked over to the other side of the couch and slumped into a seat.
The manager always laid out mugs of coffee for the early morning employees, which honestly was a nice sentiment really. I clasped one of the cups and drew it towards myself, taking a small sip of the caffeinated beverage.
"Ack, oh man, this is some strong need of creamer," I say choking the coffee down.
Aikawa let out a slight laugh, "Dumbass, figured you would know by now that Ishida-san doesn't add anything to them."
I glower at her then correct my coffee, "Bite me." She replied with her usual sentiment of making a childish face at me. I could tell this was going to be a long day if she was involved. Mindless bickering from herself and I was nothing out of the ordinary.
I normally worked with Aikawa and or Ishida, the manager of this shop. He owns the business and even named it himself. The name of the shop was simply "Home", which I had thought was cliché and boring. However he loved his work and everything he did was to see the smiles of his customers. Or at least that's how he put it.
My shift was about to start. I arose from the sofa and downed the rest of the coffee. Today Ishida was out doing his rounds to pick up supplies, so it was only myself and Aikawa working. Oh what fun.