Busy with Bananas and Strawberries
Part II
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"All right..." Maika took a deep breath as she held a plate of omelet in hand. 'I've got to up my customer service game and be just as good as Miu!' She thought before slipping from a banana pill.
Hearing her scream, Kaho and the customers she was serving heard her as the blond look over at her who's on the ground. "Maika? Are you okay?"
The girl fell head first but she manage to save the food. "The food is safe! I defended it with my life!" What she didn't know, she got the ketchup all over her face before standing back up. "I have to deliver this food before it gets cold!"
Kaho tried to stop her, but it was too late to even warn her how she looked. Maika had arrive and ready to serve the customer. "Sorry for the wait."
The customer look up from his phone and flinch. "Deep fried chicken and fluffy egg rice omelet."
The customer heard her wrong. 'F-Freshly-killed chicken?!'
It all enda well anyways.
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A few hours have past the day as the café continues to run their business. Akizuki went out from the kitchen to take a toilet break. After awhile, he walked out of the men's bathroom but found himself in the middle of the forest.
"For crying out loud!" He was getting frustrated from all of these leaves after walking in the same tree prop twice. "There's too much foliage in here! Where'd he get all this from? Jeez..." He walk in front of him, only to led on the same spot he was without realizing. He look around him and walk to where he walk before, only to led him there again.
He couldn't stand it as he screams, grabbing onto something to grab it out of frustration, until he felt something squishy. He look in front of him as he saw Karin. Both of them got red as he quickly put away his hand when he saw what he had grab. "I-I-I'm sorry!"
They both faced away from each other, both face were redder as a tomato.
"I-It's alright... It was an accident, y-yeah."
"I-I'll be going now."
"Yeah."
Akizuki got a gloomy aura around him as he walk inside the kitchen, finally got himself there. Dino look at him. "That took a long time. What's wrong, Akizuki?" The boy didn't answer as he continue to walk past him. "Are you alright?"
Akizuki stop in front of him and eyed his chest. He suddenly touch him, making Dino yelled out of embarrassment. "Hey! What was that?! Don't do that! I only have eyes for Maika! You already got Hoyoshi! Don't!"
Outside of the kitchen, one of the otaku writer serving as a waitress was smirking while watching the boys as Karin was still red by the scene just now. "Akizuki has such low tolerance for girls that I can use him as a character." The writer murmured as she snickered.
Karin felt a shiver running down from her neck.
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The next day had come as the café was back to normal. Akizuki was behind the kitchen counter while holding a leaf out of boredom, waiting for the time to turn to their business time. "Even though it just went back to the usual café, it seems so empty."
A scream was heard making the boy jumped as he turn towards his manager behind him. "What? What is it?"
"I forgot to order strawberries!"
"Really? We're totally out?"
"Not a single one left."
"We're out of strawberries?!" Karin yelled, suddenly came in to hear something disaster to her.
Akizuki nodded in replied. Karin was about to cry before facing the manager. "Manager, go get some strawberries at the supermarket!"
"On it!" He begin to sprint to the door.
Karin remembered something as Akizuki stood beside her. "Wait, I think I shouldn't leave him alone, right?"
Maika came in and greeted as soon as Dino was in front. "Good morning! Wahh!"
"Oh, Maika! Good morning!" He greeted back before beginning to run to the supermarket.
Mafuyu look outside to call out of him, but he was already far away. She look at Maika. "Maika, go with him. Left to his own devices, the manager will waste money on unnecessary things."
The girl came into a realization and begin to catch up on him. "M-manager!"
Karin walked beside Mafuyu to watch her run and look at her. "Should we really leave her to keep an eye on manager?"
"...probably not."
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The café was about to open but there were no sign of Maika and Dino. The rest of the workers were inside of the break room.
Kaho soon walked in. "It's about time to open. What do we do?" She asked as Miu walked beside her.
Mafuyu was seating on the chair while crossing her legs with Karin seating in front of her. Akizuki was standing behind her while his phone was in front of her.
"Have they called?" Miu asked.
Both Karin and Mafuyu shook their head. "No, we haven't heard anything."
"Where the hell did they go to buy strawberries--" Akizuki said as his phone suddenly rang in front of Karin. "Oh, I got a text."
He lean in as his chest touches Karin's back head and grab his phone. Akizuki lay his hand on Karin's shoulder while holding up his phone on the other and let her see the message.
"There are no strawberries to be had! We'll go to the next town over! This is fun, though, because it's like a date, so it's all good! Please don't worry!"
Akizuki yelled out of anger as Karin's eyes twitch. "When he gets back, punishment is in order, huh?"
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It was now time for them to open. Even if they are low on strawberries, they tried hard to make the customers not to order strawberry meals and desserts.
Take Mafuyu for an example.
"Big brother! Today I recommend our rice omelet and banana crepe!" She said in a high and cute tone following her role.
The customer think about it while reading the menu. "Okay, rice omelet and banana. Oh, but the strawberry and raspberry almond jelly sounds good, too. Which should I go with?"
Mafuyu notice the sudden change of order so she let out her secret weapon.
Her little sister technique. "Big brother... I recommend the banana crepe!" Her eyes begin to water as she pled him to change back.cc
The customer sweat dropped and immediately change his order. "Banana crepe! Yeah, I would like to have a taste for the banana crepe!"
"Yay! Thank you!"
"That's Hoshikawa for you." Akizuki said behind the counter. He look around to see Kaho serving the customers who also wanted some strawberry dessert.
"What should I go today?"
"This looks really good!"
"Yeah, but so does this!"
"But this strawberry parfait looks pretty tempting, too!"
"Oh, good one!"
Kaho immediately cut in their conversation before they ordered. "Personally, I would go with the orange tart."
"Eh! Kaho, you're making a recommendation?" The customer asked as they both look at her in surprised.
Kaho begin her stundere. "Hey! I didn't say you could eavesdrop on me! I was just talking to myself! I would never make a recommendation. Right?" Her act got the customers blushed as they yelled out their order.
"I'll go with orange tart!"
Akizuki nodded at her act. "She's good at this, too." He heard Miu trying to recommend something as well so he look over to her.
"If you order a banana crepe, big sister will..." She begin to show her charm. "Feed it to you."
"B-Banana crepe, please!"
Akizuki's eyes twitch as he looked away. "I'll let you go this time." He then saw Karin serving the customers near the window.
"Hey, let's try this strawberry jelly! It looks delicious!"
"Sure!"
Karin just look at them with her emotionless face. "Why strawberry jelly when there's orange tarts in line? There are way better than strawberry."
The customers look at her the same as the customers Kaho serve. "You recommending for us, Karin?!"
She blink and tilted her head a little. "Recommend? I just simply saying something that could fill a stomach."
Both the customers blushed towards her cuteness as they both yell. "T-then, orange tart, please!"
"M-me too!"
The kitchen staff smiled. "That's my girl."
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It was already evening. The café took a short break. Kaho slammed her face on the kitchen counter as Karin lean on the wall beside her.
"The customers have finally stopped mobbing us!"
"Good work." Mafuyu said, putting a hand on her hip.
Miu walked with a plate in hand. "The manager and Maika are late, huh?"
Mafuyu look down. "They just went to get strawberries, so where did they go?"
"We haven't gotten a word since earlier." Kaho said as the brown haired female beside her sighed.
The door to the break room open to reveal Akizuki. "I just got a text from the manager."
Karin stood properly and walked to him. "What does he say?"
"He's at the police station, so he won't be back for a while."
"...Eh?"