Of Purple and Green

Chapter 12

"Next please!"

Shinoa was energetic today. Her sad and negative thoughts from the other day were nowhere to be found; and that was seen in her excellent service at the coffee shop. Again, it was an early morning, on a weekday, so it was jam-packed. Shinoa dealt with the flirty and grumpy customers alike, giving them all a fair share of her brightness. Shinoa glanced at the time, and smiled; she looked back at her colleague, and told her she had to catch the bus.

After changing, Shinoa left the shop, and began running for school. She usually took the bus, but in order to stay active and ready for physical education the same day, she decided to run to school.

She passed by many junctions, giving her plenty of rest; but her muscles began to stiffen, due to the cold weather. She quickly sat by a park bench, and tried to stretch it off. She looked to the side and sighed, realizing where she was sat.

Was I really beating myself up here last night? How pathetic.

Once she looked back, she noticed how close her apartment building was; it was convenient for her, since her room was right in between the university and the coffee shop. That way, she could balance her shifts at the coffee shop, retail store, and restaurant all at once. Though her coffee shop job was the main source of income; her job as a waitress was quite exquisite. Many fancy and rich people dropped by the restaurant, giving her a lot of loose change. That change would go into funding her living.

She thought to herself then; maybe she wouldn't have to overwork herself. Just maybe. Since she had a troublesome roommate, who could easily tackle the job of a delivery boy, she wouldn't need to do three jobs.

"I'll talk some sense into him, as a matter of fact, I'll do it now!"

Shinoa pulled out her phone, and began typing away at it.

Yū, could you call me? I can't seem to reach you, thanks.

Within minutes, her phone began to buzz. She read his name clearly, and tapped to accept his call.

"Yeah, Shinoa?" A grainy and gravelly voice greeted her, followed by a loud yawn.

"Morning, hero." She giggled, covering her mouth as she did so. "I just wanted to know, are you going to take up a part time job?"

"Well, my brother's company has a branch off in Japan, and I've been working there, managing it and making sure people are doing their work. But he's not too happy about me being, well, rude to his workers."

"So, are you still working there?" Shinoa asked.

"Well, sort of. He's cut my pay into half, so I only get about a hundred dollars a month."

"That's harsh." Shinoa sighed. "Well, you can work as a deli-boy for a restaurant, get some cash?"

"Yeah, I was gonna propose that; you've been awfully stressed lately, right? Oh, crap, I'm running late, could we meet up somewhere?"

"Sure, come by the park behind our apartment building."

"Alright, see you soon." Beep.

—

Yū sat in the bath, sighing as his skin grew goosebumps.

His eyes shut instinctively, and he began to daydream.

"She's cute and all. Kinda annoying too, though." He groaned. "Akane wouldn't like her at all. She's way too... adult-like." He placed a hand on his chin. "But then again, Akane's only sixteen."