[Neo Zone] Population: 23 Kids

Training

"Aren't you supposed to be jet lagged?" Jaehyun asked Mark as they followed Johnny up the stairs, and the younger shrugged. He knew he was for sure even after the amount he had slept last night.

"I'm good! What do we get to do today, Mr. Johhny?"

"It's just Johnny, and that depends on what area needs help. If there's a lot of coffee orders, we help Dad. If there's a lot of pastry orders, we help Mom. And if there's a lot of both, we run the counter."

"Why don't we split up and help with all three?" Jaehyun asked, and Johnny carefully opened the basement door, not wanting to hit anyone if it was busy.

"Because I'm the one in charge of training you and I don't have the energy to be in three places at once." Johnny walked behind the counter and put on his apron, throwing the other two the extras they had and taking a sip from his Dad's coffee mug. The three of them had come up earlier before the cafe opened to eat breakfast, so now was the perfect coffee stealing time.

The cafe was at it's usual amount of business for a week day morning in September, and Johnny only needed a few seconds to recognize exactly where he was needed. The only problem was keeping track of his cousins.

"Alright, Jaehyun, I'm going to teach you how to work the espresso machine. You'll be doing those orders for Dad. Mark..." Johnny turned around to see the eight year old standing directly behind him, and he sighed. "Just stand over there until I can teach you how to run the counter." He pointed in the direction of the back wall where he wouldn't get in anyone's way, and he gladly stood there.

It took a bit of explaining to Jaehyun since he was tired and having a difficult time paying attention, but he eventually got it down to where he knew he could properly do it without supervision. Johnny smiled when he saw him taking orders from his Dad and being able to know what they meant, proud of his own work.

"Mom, are you sure having Mark here is a good idea? He's only eight." Johnny whispered, and she swatted him away with the parchment paper in her hand so she could get to the display case.

"You were around eight when you started helping. I'm sure he'll be fine." The twelve year old sighed and turned back towards his cousin, unable to feel slightly guilty for not trusting him when he saw the eager smile on his face.

"Alright, Lee. Rule number one: don't mess up the order. Now go try it." Johnny placed the stool he used to use in front of the counter so Mark could even be seen behind it, and he stood right next to the younger as he took the next customer's order, typing into the cash register for him instead of teaching him since the line was kind of long.

The two of them worked together like that for awhile with Johnny occasionally having to help Jaehyun or his Mom with something. It was a lot more crowded behind the counter now, but it was a whole lot easier to shorten the line and get everyone served.

"You boys can go play now. You did a great job for your first day." Johnny's Mom said once they had worked past the lunch rush, knowing that barely anyone else was going to come in today. She gave them a smile and nudged them from behind the counter with her hip, and they gladly hung up their aprons and disappeared downstairs.

Jaehyun threw himself onto Johnny's bed despite having his own, his hands close to his nose to smell the coffee. It was a scent he wasn't used to, but he was starting to really enjoy it. Mark collapsed at the bottom of the stairs near where he had left his suitcase and backpack that he hadn't done anything with yet, the little energizer bunny finally worn out.

But that was a lot less work than Johnny was normally used to, so now he was the one with energy to spare. With the thought of school starting soon in the back of his mind, he was now excited he had his cousins to spend the last few days of it playing around with.

"So what do you want to do?" Jaehyun propped himself up on his elbows, staring at the whiteboard while he thought.

"Not sure, what do you normally do for fun?"

"Depends. If Dad's not working then we head to the park and play catch, but normally I spend all day working." Jaehyun groaned at his response, allowing himself to fall back onto the bed.

"You're no fun."

"There's a park? Do you think they'll let us go by ourselves?" Mark asked, seemingly having gained back some of his energy already.

"Yeah, it's just down the street. They've let me go alone before."

"Is there a basketball court?" Johnny nodded at Jaehyun's question, and he instantly swung his feet over the side of the bed and got up.

"Let's go then."