Notice Me, Senpai! (English)

Meeting Science Lab Senpai

It has been a very hectic day for Nala in school. She had quite a hard time dealing with her Science class. The task at hand was quite nerve-wracking. Add it up with a strict sensei made it worse. She dragged herself from school to the café. She knew that she would feel better at the café. As she walked home, she thought of the calm and peaceful ambiance of the café. It was enough to somewhat feel better. 

She panicked when she saw that the glass mirror of the café was foggy. 

'What happened?' she thought.

She ran towards the café in haste.

"What happened? Are you okay Aunt Josie?" she shouted as she went inside.

"She's not here," a student wearing a lab coat. "Oh, don't freak out. My name's Reiji. I'm helping out here," he explained.

"Helping out?" Nala mimicked. She can't believe how filling the café with fog is actually helping out.

"Here! Want to try some?" Reiji said as he handed a cup of ice cream.

"Ice cream?" Nala asked.

"Yes. I'm using what I've learned in Chemistry to make ice cream. This is called Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream," he explained.

Nala was speechless so she just nodded in response.

"Eat up!" Reiji said before he took a bite on his own ice cream.

Nala was skeptical at first, but when she took a bit. It was indeed a tasty ice cream. "You made this?" she asked for confirmation.

"Yes! I did! Come here. I'll show you how," Reiji said.

Nala hesitated. She was here to work. 'Is this considered as working?' she wondered.

"Come on, Nala. It's fun. It's still part of work," Reiji persuaded her. "Don't worry. Aunt Josie knows about this."

Nala looked around. There weren't any person in the shop besides Reiji and her so she decided to do as Reiji says. Maybe she can learn a thing or two about Science in this experiment.

Reiji showed her how to mix the ingredients of the ice cream, and how liquid nitrogen works. Nala was amazed on how good Reiji was. He was even better in explaining than her Science sensei. They were both having a good time when Aunt Josie arrived.

"You seem to be enjoying yourselves. How's the ice cream Reiji?" She said.

"Great! Here, have some ice cream," Reiji said as he handed a cup of ice cream to Aunt Josie.

"Hmm. Wow. This is great. This will be a hit. Could you make this during your day off from school? I'll pay you, of course." Aunt Josie thought that many students will like the ice cream.

"Yeah. Sure. I can come by every Saturday. Don't worry about the payment though," he said. "Being with Nala is enough," he whispered.

Nala didn't hear what Reiji said, but Aunt Josie did. "Hahaha. Silly boy. I'll still give you some allowance. How will you go out with her if you don't have money?" She teased him.

"Aunt Josie! Umm. See you on Saturday," Reiji said as he rushed out of the café.

"What happened to him?" Nala asked.

"Nothing Nala. Not my story to tell," Aunt Josie replied, making Nala more curious.

Nala was oblivious. She didn't even realize that Reiji called her earlier without her introducing herself.