On the first morning of the first Stagiaire, Daniel was carrying a knapsack with him as he exited the train station near where his notice had told him would be the location he would be working at for the week. When he had first received it, he couldn't believe his luck, as he was assigned to work at a relatively small, but high-quality, bakery that sold a mix of French and Italian pastries – many of which were made with a Japanese twist (based on what he was able to find in his research). He was also lucky in that he could just stay with his parents during the Stagiaire period (Totsuki had kicked all of the first years off campus during this period).
As he was walking towards the bakery, he began to get curious about who his partner for the week would be. All the instructions told him were the name and location of the bakery he was assigned to, as well as the time he was expected to show up and the fact that he would be working with a partner. As he got closer, he saw a girl wearing the familiar Totsuki uniform. As he walked faster and got even closer, he saw that the girl had a very familiar red checkered hair ribbon on. It appeared that his partner for the week was none other than the student emcee, Urara Kawashima. This was confirmed when he walked up to her, tapped her on the shoulder to say, "Hi," and compared assignments with her.
When they arrived at the bakery, they were in awe at how immaculate everything looked – like something you would find in the high-end neighborhoods of Paris or Rome. The owners were very nice – a middle-aged married couple who had decided to open the bakery after being inspired during their European honeymoon years ago. In addition, the quality of their food matched the appearance of the shop, as they were each given their choice of one pastry to taste for themselves. Daniel hadn't tasted something this good outside of Europe! And the flavors they used made it a very unique place for baked goods. They were then handed white aprons with the shop's logo on them to put on as their work uniforms, and were immediately put to task.
Over the first couple of days, things seemed to go pretty smoothly. Daniel and Urara not only learned how the bakery's pastries were made (with a few processes kept secret), but saw how they thought about and combined different flavors for their treats. In addition, the two of them worked the counter, with a relatively steady stream of customers coming in and making purchases throughout the day. While Daniel wanted to help the shop in any way he could, he was worried that there really wasn't any way to leave what Totsuki would consider a "visible accomplishment" here.
In the meantime, Daniel tried striking up a number of conversations with Urara to try to get to know his work partner. While she was outwardly pleasant towards him, he could tell that there was a lot she was holding back and hiding, with certain conversation points where she would try to change the subject or avoid answering the question altogether. As they were walking back to the train station after the second day and they didn't have prying ears overhearing, Daniel finally asked, "Why do you do this?" Urara looked at him in confusion as she asked what he meant. He then stated, "I mean, why do you put on that façade when interacting with everyone – particularly guys?" Urara then got a look of surprise on her face, as this was the first time a guy had actually seen through her, let alone called her out on it.
As she looked down, contemplating what to say, she then looked up with a serious face and asked, "Do you promise to keep this conversation between us?" After Daniel promised to do so, Urara took a deep breath and explained, "Being the class idol is both a blessing and a curse. You get sucked in by the attention you get, and then you get addicted to it. I admit, I come off as a stereotypical idol with immense popularity. The truth is that it's a lonely position with very few real friends." By the tone of her voice and her facial expression, the emotions she displayed seemed very real. At this Daniel replied, "Then how would you like a real friend? I can be someone you can talk to if the pressures of everything become too much for you at times."
Urara looked up once again in surprise, as this was the first time a guy had asked to be her friend and not for a date. Daniel then grinned and added in a slightly joking manner, "If you want, I can give you a good list of references. They will tell you that I'm very good at being a friend." Urara laughed in reaction to Daniel's statement and replied that she would actually like to have someone she could be herself around and to talk to. As they were at the station by this time, they shook hands cementing their newfound friendship and headed home for the night, waving goodbye to each other before separating to go to their respective trains.
The next morning, the wife of the ownership duo informed Daniel and Urara that her husband had an emergency and would need to take the day off. She then asked if either one of them was willing to look at the shop's finances to keep them on track – something Daniel volunteered for, as he had the math skills to do it. When he went through the books, he finally saw why this couple had requested Totsuki students to come work for them. While the shop wasn't currently in financial trouble, Daniel could see that the shop was barely making enough profit to keep the lights on and, perhaps, allow the couple to pay their regular bills. They were putting everything they had into making the place a success, but they weren't making enough money to retire anytime soon.
When Daniel pointed this out to the wife, she nodded, saying that they knew that they weren't as profitable as they could be. They knew they made great pastries – everyone who came in loved them, and said as much! However, they could never sell enough to make it feel successful. As Daniel thought about how he could help, he came up with an idea that might work, but he would need help to execute it. He then called Urara over to explain what he had in mind. Daniel's idea was to create an app for the shop that would allow customers to order their baked goods online and have them either ready for pickup at a specific time or delivered to them. Daniel could create the program for the app as well as lay out all the technical details. Meanwhile, Urara would use her social media influence to get the word out about how great this bakery was, driving more customers to both the store location and the app. The two of them would also work together on the visual design of the app in order to lay out everything in the most visually appealing and efficient way possible.
The wife gave it some thought, and after taking in everything, agreed to allow Daniel and Urara to work together on this project. While Daniel began to program the app, using a basic app design as the template, he began writing some of the specifics and connecting everything to the computer system the bakery was using. He also integrated a map so that they could set a reasonable delivery radius. Meanwhile, Urara was all over social media promoting the bakery and its delicious pastries – even promoting the fact that she would be working there until the end of the week. Soon, the bakery was swamped with more customers than had ever been seen before, and everyone had to work double time to fill all the orders.
As Daniel and Urara walked back to the station after the long day, they began to talk casually about themselves and truly get to know each other. This time, Urara was open about herself to Daniel, feeling much more at ease around him. She even admitted that despite what it said on her 'official' profile, her favorite movie genre was actually kung fu, as opposed to the girly romances she listed. They had a good chuckle about this, considering the stark difference between the genres. "You know," Daniel said, "You might want to think about telling the truth about that little fact. I think the boys would like you even more if they knew that." Urara looked at Daniel quizzically as she asked, "You really think so?" Daniel nodded as he replied, "Well, at least the ones who would be worth your time."
The next day, with the skeleton program in place, Daniel and Urara worked to create the visual design for the app, choosing the most popular items to feature and making sure each item was categorized and priced correctly in the order function. Soon, the app was ready for testing, for which Daniel called up Soma and Megumi, as each of them was working in a restaurant within the delivery radius. He asked them to download the app and place an order, even offering to make it his treat for them and their partner. Soma took him up on it immediately, and Daniel could hear him shout to Hisako, who was his partner at Mitamura Western Cuisine, asking if she wanted anything. When he talked with Megumi, she was hesitant at first, but agreed to help Daniel. She then asked her partner – Erina, as it turns out – if she wanted anything.
A few minutes later, both orders came in through the computer system, indicating that the app's program was working as it should. Daniel offered to take the orders himself, using the Tokyo metro system to get to the different restaurants. His first stop was the French restaurant Excellent, where Megumi and Erina were working. It was a slow time of the day, so Megumi was able to come to the back door and take the delivery with gratitude. Daniel then went to Mitamura, where both Soma and Hisako met him at the front door during a quiet period, with the rest of the staff looking on in envy. As he handed Soma the order, he took the opportunity to ask Hisako how she was doing. She became a bit flustered at the question, but replied that she was fine, and thanked Daniel for thinking of her. At each place, the pastries were all intact and correct, and everyone seemed happy with their order.
On the last day of the first Stagiaire, Daniel, Urara, and the owners waited in anticipation to see how the app would change things, having launched it early that morning after the successful trial run the previous afternoon. Upon opening, there was a considerable increase in customer traffic, as more customers came in as walk-ins, in addition to order pickup and delivery from the app. It was so busy, the couple had to get their teenage son to cover the deliveries that day. At the end of the day, the increase in sales was dramatic, as the profit margins had significantly increased from the beginning of the week. The app had been a success, and before he left, Daniel provided a document containing maintenance instructions for the app program that anyone, including the owner's family members, could follow. In addition, he and Urara suggested hiring a delivery person, as well as perhaps another part-timer or two to make sure they could handle the increased traffic. It would mean more labor costs, but the sales increase would more than cover it.
The owners thanked the two of them as they left the bakery for the final time that week, and as they began to head towards the train station, they were met by a Totsuki official, who informed them that they had successfully passed their first Stagiaire, and that they would soon be receiving instructions for the next one. Daniel and Urara high-fived each other in celebration. As they reached the station, they exchanged cell numbers and wished each other good luck on their next assignments. Before they parted, Urara thanked Daniel not only for working with her, but also his genuine offer of friendship. While Urara headed home, Daniel headed towards Mitamura to meet up with Soma and Hisako, hopeful that their Stagiaire had also been a success.
Hi all! I hope that you found my inserting Urara into the story in this way to be interesting in a good way. I did need someone to be Daniel's partner for the first week's Stagiaire, after all. Besides, I didn't choose Urara merely at random – you'll see why later in the story. In the meantime, please review.
