Southside Espresso || Asheiji

Chapter 3

Ash just wanted a nap. He didn't even want to be at work today.

Ash worked at the café because of his student loans. Considering he was in college at the age of seventeen, the loans were pretty high up.

How was he allowed to do that, you might ask? Well, he was able to skip a few years of school because of how high his GPA was.

"Ash! Get up!"

Great. He was just dozing off, too.

The blond groaned as he opened his eyes, looking directly at his manager, Sing Soo-Ling. Sure, the boy was shorter than his own employee (they were actually seven inches apart), but Sing had a way with words that could make anyone drop to their knees in fear.

"What are you doing? Do you even know if we have any customers?" Sing asked, crouching down to be the same height as Ash as he stayed in the chair that he was originally sleeping in.

"That's why we have Kong and Bones; they'll know what's up" Ash stated, grinning a bit as he noticed Sing getting frustrated by the response.

"Bones isn't here yet! And Kong is always in the back! We need you out there!" Sing said with his teeth grinding against each other, getting up. "Go to the cash register and just wait 'till we get a customer. You just sleeping in here makes us look like we're lousy, Goddammit."

"Yeah, whatever you say boss" Ash mumbled with a groan, finally getting up. He headed out of the break room, noticing Bones and an unfamiliar face. A grin slowly formed on the blond's face, adjusting his glasses as he went behind the cash register. Dammit, if only he had worn his contacts to see the boy's face more clearly. His soft skin, his dark hair, his lips...

Why did he think this way?

"Hey! This is my roommate, Eiji," Bones told Ash, going up to him before whispering to him "Don't be rude, he's still trying to learn English."

"Right" Ash mumbled, watching as Bones patted his back, hitting it pretty hard as he headed to the break room. Probably to talk to Kong, who knows?

Ash looked back at the boy, Eiji, as he admired him in awe. If he's still learning how to speak, Ash was going to take time trying to help him understand what to order. Typically, he would bitch about this sort of stuff to Sing, which we would get yelled at and nearly fired for every time.

But not this time. Something was different.

"Hello, I'm Ash. You transferred here, right?" he asked, a small tilt of the head as he furrowed his brows.

"Yes. From Japan" Eiji replied, his thick accent showing off just as he did with Bones. This, however, surprised Ash. He didn't realize it would sound like that.

"Ah, your first time I'm assuming?" the blond asked, pushing up his glasses with his index finger.

Eiji nodded "Yes" he told the boy, a small smile forming on his lips. "Any recommendations?"

"Recommendations, huh?" Ash repeated, his eyes widening as he thought. For someone who is from Japan and is learning English, you would think they would know the basics. Not the word 'recommendations'.

"Well, I think for a first timer, you should try the Americano. I enjoy it, anyways" Ash told him, explaining the phenomenon of the drink, how it was a diluted expresso (diluted was a fun word to teach, to say the least) and how it was different than a regular brewed coffee.

Ash always had a thing for the brew. No matter if it was hot or cold, he would have a cup of coffee any day.

After Ash rambled on, he finally stopped himself. Eiji cleared his throat, looking at the boy with a smile. "Okay, I'd like one American please!" he stated, complete seriousness in his voice, but also a hint of glee.

Ash looked at Eiji, choking up a laugh. "Come again?"

"Yes. One American. Like you said."

This made Ash go hysterical, which proceeded with Eiji raising a brow in confusion. "Whoa, we're barely on first name basis!" he told the black-haired boy, small tears forming in his eyes before he wiped them away.

Eiji blinked, confusion written all over his face. "What?"

The blond finally stopped his laughing fit, adjusting his glasses as he looked at the boy that was looking at him. "Jeez, I like you" he told him, smiling softly. "Can I get your number?"

Eiji grinned, going "Oh! I am nineteen years old."

Ash looked at the boy, taking a deep breath as he kept his eyes closed, saying. "Americano, correct?"

The boy nodded.

The blond took a marker and a cup and wrote his own phone number. He then wrote '-Ash :)' below it before making the drink for the pretty customer. It took only a few minutes before he gave the now filled cup to Eiji.

The black-haired boy took the cup, looking at the number before gasping. There, he finally took out his phone, putting in the number and putting exactly what was on the cup. He even put the contact name as 'Ash :)'.

"Thank you!" Eiji said, bowing a bit, which made Ash finally give a look of confusion back.

"Why'd you do that? You would've spilt your drink."

"It is tradition in Japan."

"I see" Ash said, smiling once more. "Well, you're welcome. I'm happy to take your order whenever you come back."

"I'll come back soon!" Eiji said, giggling as he paid (Ibe gave him American money beforehand). He waved goodbye to Ash, walking away as he took a sip from the drink. To his surprise, it was really good. No wonder Americans have a caffeine addiction.

As he walked, there was only one thought going through Eiji's mind. The only question that he kept asking himself, even when talking to Ash.

Who is Aslan?