Boba in Luv [M/M LOVE STORY]

Friday: Open 11AM- 11 PM

I mostly work at Boba In Luv on weekdays, which allow me to fully relax on the weekends. Monday through Thursday are usually very calm and easy. I'm able to do my homework while making the teas and there aren't too many customers past the after-school rush. If every day were like those, I could quit school and just work here for the rest of my life. The only issue with my schedule are the Fridays. While we're usually close at 9PM, the owner decided to extend our hours on Friday. Instead of being asleep by 11 PM, I have to be pouring drinks for a bunch of high school students. Since the boba shop is across the street from my school, they come straight here after the football games. 

Since I'm a shift lead, I'm mainly in the back of the store for my entire shift. I have to brew our original teas, which are a lot more popular (and cheaper) than our specialty drinks. Luckily, I prepared a good amount of tea jugs to get us through the night. Despite my preparation, I still had to prepare the boba as quickly as I can. Right after putting a fresh pot of boba in the front, I had to immediately start the next one. If I could make it fast, I would. The boba has to cook, so I have to have a timer set for the perfect time. 

Today was the first football game of the year, which meant there would be a lot of people attending the game. I've heard horror stories from past employees, detailing their experiences having to deal with these monsters. People's true colors come out when you're dealing with their $6 drink. My manager has had someone swing at her because she didn't get enough ice. I had complete trust in one of my baristas, Cathy. She is always on point and she never gets a drink wrong. The other barista, Cody, seems to be the complete opposite. He definitely tries his best, but that doesn't really equate to much. He's gotten better over time, especially after he accidentally sealed a fly into a customer's drink. Cathy was there to catch it before it was actually given to the customer, so I'm glad she was there to help. They are the main baristas I work with, so we feel comfortable asking for help when we need it. 

There were three main types of milk tea, which were the most popular among all of the drinks. These were the jasmine, thai and house milk teas. These drinks were already brewed so we can just pour them when a customer ordered them. I had multiple jugs of each tea in the back, so we could put it into the pourer once it's empty. Alongside these drinks, we also had our 'specialteas', which were different versions of other pre-brewed teas. Many of them would just have water as their base, so I wouldn't even consider them real teas. They were more like $6 cups of juice. There were around 15 different specialteas, which could be difficult to keep track of.  Since they were a little more expensive than the plain milk teas, they took a while to make. We could easily just pour the milk teas, but the specialteas took around a full minute to make. It may not seem like a lot, but it's tough when there are fifty drinks to make. 

All of the pre-brewed teas were placed on a shelf above above the counter top, so it would be easier to pour them into the cup. We had a sealer next to the tea pourers, so we could immediately give them to the customer. The sealer would heat our plastic lids onto our cups, which would seal them. Behind the register was a fridge, where we would keep our milk. Of course, we also had our toppings bar. There were many different toppings to choose from, such as popping bobas, jellies, and puddings.The most popular of the toppings was the honey boba, which had to be kept warm in a pot. Once it gets cold, it begins to stick together. We prevent this by adding a little bit of warm water into the pot whenever it starts to become sticky. The boba was right next to the sealer, since it was the most commonly chosen topping.

As if on cue, hoards of students began to rush into the doors. We all stood behind the counter, mouth agape at how many people were coming in. We were warned about how this day would be, but this was not how we expected it. The first few groups ordered at our kiosk, and a line began to form behind them. They swiped onto the screen, trying to find the perfect post-football game drink. They all wore our school spirit attire, with "Saint Santiago: Home of the Vipers" printed onto their green shirt. I'm glad they were repping our school, but I really wished they went somewhere else after the game.