New Customers Are A Pain

1

It was an inconvenience to have to walk fifteen minutes every Sunday just for some coffee, but for Saiki, it was worth it.

Cafe Mami was always an option, seeing how it was only a five minute walk. The coffee and coffee jelly were good, and it was fairly quiet. The only big problem was the employees, or rather, employee.

Mera Chisato, a classmate of his, would serve his food, and since she was acquainted with him, she had no problem waltzing up to him and ruining his peace and quiet.

It didn't help that she didn't get much to eat, and would stare at his food. They had some sort of unspoken pact that eventually, he would give her something to eat, simply to put up with the guilt. She knew it worked, and so did he.

Even worse, sometimes other classmates would visit the cafe to see Mera, and they were a handful.

Why they even liked him, he would never understand.

Of course, if it really bothered him, he could simply teleport himself to the cafe in seconds, but he enjoyed the walk, as long as he didn't bump into anyone he knew.

"Welcome to Ando Manga Cafe, may I take your order?"

'The usual.'

It was small enough to be quiet, and not have many customers, but the coffee was still good quality. Another thing he enjoyed was their manga selection. There were only two bookshelves of manga in the entire shop, but they were always caught up on his favorite manga, Silent Cyborg.

As soon as a new issue was printed they would have it in the shop, ready for him to read. Sometimes, he would save the new chapters for the cafe instead of reading it in Shonen Jump.

Because it was a small cafe, there were only about four other people at any given time. For good measure, he still visited in the morning, when there were fewer people.

Saiki was known as a regular at this particular cafe. He went there every Sunday at 10 a.m. without fail for about six months. So much so, that he could order "the usual", which was always a large coffee and coffee jelly.

Though no-one ever said it out loud, hearing the thoughts of the employees, Saiki found out they nicknamed him "glasses ". He thought it was a bit uncreative, but who was he to judge?

There were tables, and pairs of armchairs. Since most people came out of convenience, they usually sat at the tables, leaving the more comfortable chairs empty. There were four sets of two chairs, each pair accompanied with a round table.

He favored a chair on the far right side of the cafe, right next to the bookshelf that held his favorite manga. The seat next to him was always empty, which game him a place to set down more manga volumes to read.

It was a nice break from the oddballs at his school. Thank god they all lived on the other side of town.

Every now and then, a new customer would come in, order something and leave. He had learned to recognize the faces of the employees and other customers that would visit from time to time. He liked being the only regular, since he wouldn't have to needlessly interact with anyone.

He heard the bell on the ceiling ring quietly, but a flood of thoughts entered his mind that he didn't expect. It was louder and faster than any other thoughts he had heard before. So much so, that he couldn't decipher any complete sentences from it.

How was he going to read Si-Cy now?

He didn't even bother looking up. He closed his book and took a sip of his coffee. Hopefully whoever this was would be gone soon enough.

"Oh? I see you sell strawberry cake here. That's fortunate, because that happens to be a favorite of mine. As for coffee, I'm not entirely sure what I'll order yet. Perhaps you recommend a drink? I'm looking for something sweet to enjoy as I read my book. Sweets and literature go well together, don't you think so? Maybe just a small coffee? There are plenty of sugar packets, so I could sweeten to my liking-"

"Sir? I hate to be rude, but I do need your order. I have another customer in line."

A woman stood behind him, looking at her phone.

"I apologize, I admit I tend to babble, so I'll try my best to keep it short. I talk more than people would like, and I need to work on that. I'm sure we all have something we would like to improve about ourselves, which makes us human, so I suppose-"

"Sir? Your order?"

"Ah, yes..."

Good grief.

This guy was a nuisance.

Usually, people who thought a lot were more reserved, and didn't talk as much as the average person and vice versa, at least in Saiki's experience. But this guy never stopped talking. It was amazing how he could ramble on about absolutely anything and nothing at the same time, without stopping for a breath.

And even worse, he brought a book.

Any hopes of him ordering and leaving were dashed as he sat down on the opposite side of the cafe and opened his book.

'There goes my Sunday.'

Times like this made him wish he brought his germanium ring. At least then, he could read in peace. He never needed it before, because the customers thoughts were usually brief statements, such as, "I need to leave for work in five minutes."

But now, everyone took notice of the endless chatter.

'Who is that guy?'

'What is he doing here? If he wants to talk, he should make some friends.'

'He's so annoying.'

'Geez, he talks a lot!'

'I wish he would shut up.'

People were being a bit needlessly cruel in their thoughts, but everyone was thinking the same thing. Even Saiki.

'Maybe he's almost finished with his book and would be on his way in ten minutes.'

Saiki looked up, and to his dismay, the book was opened at the very beginning.

The kid holding the book looked too young to be reading a murder mystery, but seeing how much he spoke and thought, it probably wouldn't be a problem for him.

Saiki drank the rest of his coffee as fast as he could. He didn't want to stick around and have to deal with him any longer. He couldn't even read his manga. Even if he was just rereading the chapter, he liked to immerse himself in the story, which he couldn't do with all the constant noise.

By the time he finished, the new customer was already about halfway through his book. It was a bit impressive, he'll admit, but it's better to leave now then to have to put up with him.

Hopefully next Sunday wouldn't have any more "surprises".