Chapter Text
A bell chimes throughout The Toasty Tearoom, signifying that someone has just entered the coffee shop. Lisa looks up from behind the counter and sees a girl walk in. At a first glance, she looks fairly normal, with a simple black top and white skirt that falls slightly below her knees, but, almost immediately, the girl's silver hair catches her eye. It looks smooth and conditioned, it’s color catching the light from the small glass window behind her, yet, at the same time, it looks mysterious and she finds herself unable to pry her eyes away.
The girl walks up to the counter, making Lisa suddenly realize she’s been staring at the silver-haired girl this entire time, her attention now having drifted to the girl’s amber eyes and their pattern. She quickly snaps herself out of her daze and puts on her usual smile. “Welcome miss, what can I get you?”
“A small americano please.” The girl is holding a small purse in her hands, its design shaped like a cat’s head. “With extra sugar.”
“We don’t do the sugar up here, there are sachets over there.” Lisa points towards a small shelf containing pots for sugar, wooden stirrers, napkins and small pots of milk. “I’ll get your drink right away, can I take a name?”
“Minato.” She reaches up, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“Okay, coming right up.” Lisa’s smile widens and she turns around. She grabs a cup from the shelf and starts to fill it up with hot water. Once the water was nearly at the top of the mug, she shuts it off and heads over to the coffee grinder.
Once finished, she looks back to find Minato standing a little to the side of where she was previously. Her hands are now clutching six sachets of sugar as well as one of the stirrers. “Minato-san,” Lisa calls out towards the girl. “Your drink is ready.”
“Thank you.” The silver-haired girl steps closer and takes out her purse. “How much is it?”
“Three hundred yen please.”
Minato pulls the money out from the top of the cat’s head and hands it to Lisa, the tips of her fingers lightly brushing against the palm of the barista. Lisa feels a slight tingling travel from the point of the touch, spreading throughout her entire body. She almost lets the money fall from her hand as her cheeks slowly begin to buzz.
The silver-haired girl’s hand snaps back before reaching forward again and taking her drink. Lisa finds herself unable to stop watching the girl. She slowly paces over to a small table in the far corner of the room, almost ghostlike in her movements, where she sits down and starts to mix the sugar into her coffee. Something about the girl is just a little, awkward and she finds herself wanting to know more about this new customer.
“I didn’t know you liked girls, Imai-san.” A voice next to Lisa, causes her to spin around, breaking the gaze that had been locked onto the silver-haired girl. Kaito, the other barista, was standing there, his lips curled into a smile.
“H-Huh?” Lisa stands there, looking at him with furrowed eyes. “What do you mean?”
“That new customer.” He nods his head towards the girl in the corner, who is now taking a sip of her drink. “You’ve been staring at her ever since she first came in.”
“I um…” Lisa’s eyes shift to the other girl slightly before drifting back to Kaito. “Something about her… is different. It’s not that I like her.” Her cheeks start to heat up a little. At least I don’t think I do, we’ve only just met.
“Sure, whatever you say.” He gives her a smug grin before looking up and seeing a customer nearing the till. “Good morning sir, can I get you anything?”
Lisa takes the distraction as a moment to collect her thoughts. There’s no way he’s right. You can find people interesting without liking them. She shakes her head as she hears the customer’s order. “I’ll get it.” Her body turns away from Kaito and starts to fill up a mixing jug up with hot water.
Once she’s finished, Lisa hands the drink to Kaito, who’s just finished preparing another customer’s order. “Here you go, I didn’t catch their name.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” He nods his head at her and calls the two customers over.
Lisa watches him for a few seconds before her eyes glance up at the clock. “My shift is over, I’ll see you... Monday?”
“Yeah, sounds about right.” He turns around to face her. “I’ll see you soo-” He cuts his sentence off midway. “Hold on, I’m sure you can serve one more customer.” He nods his head to the side.
Lisa looks over to see the silver-haired customer from before walking over to them. “I…”
“Go on, give her your number or something.” He walks past her and disappears into the kitchen, carrying some empty glasses from a while ago.
Lisa feels her palms starting to sweat a little. Why am I feeling like this? She’s just a regular customer. “C-Can I help you?” She turns towards the girl.
“I’ve come to return my cup.” Minato holds out the now empty mug she’d been given before.
“Thank you, I hope you enjoyed it.” Lisa bows her head slightly, her eyes finding their way to a small notepad and pen next to her. “I…” She can’t get any more words out.
“Huh?” The girl furrows her eyebrows slightly.
“Oh um… it was nothing.” Despite saying this, Lisa still finds herself writing her phone number down on the small slip of paper. “Did you enjoy your drink?”
“Yes, thank you.” The silver-haired girl reaches up and brushes a strand of hair from her face.
“Well…” Lisa’s hands rip off the small slip of paper, her fingers running over it. I can’t… I don’t even know why I want to. Her fingers curl into a fist, crumpling the note. “Have a nice day!” She forces a smile onto her face.
“Thank you.” The girl bows her head and starts towards the exit to the coffee shop.
After a few seconds, a ringing fills the tearoom, announcing that someone has left the store.