Chapter 11

Just Plain Awkward

My shift didn’t start for another hour and a half practically.  That seemed like ample time to get some studying done, except for the fact that it took almost half an hour to get ready for my shift.  So the reality was that I only had an hour, and that wasn’t enough time to finish everything.

Dash dropped me off in front of the café and went around to the back to park his car.  Sakura, Elizabeth, and Misty were surprised to see me arrive so early because they knew I had school and had to commute to get there. 

“I was offered a ride,” I said to their stunned expressions.  “Is it okay if I just sit down and study until my shift starts?”

“Of course, it’s no problem at all.” Sakura beamed at me warmly.  She waved her hand to the backroom.  “Why not have a seat in the staffroom where it’s quieter and more private?”

I would have preferred that, but Dash and I talked in the car about doing homework “together.”  I didn’t like the idea at first, but he insisted.  He reminded me of how little time I had to do my schoolwork now, and that he wanted to help me with it. 

Pfft.  Help me with my homework?  He was just hoping to score bonus points with Elizabeth.  I may not be particularly intelligent regarding the mechanisms of a boy’s mind, but even I could figure that one out.

I shook my head in response to Sakura’s suggestion, and insisted on taking a seat in the corner of the café. 

A minute later, he entered, shaking the rain out of his hair and striking a super-model pose from the looks of it.

Misty stared in mouth-watering awe, while Elizabeth and Sakura greeted him warmly.  The latter two looked surprised to see him seat himself next to me.  Misty, on the other hand, was still drooling.

My textbook was already out on the table and I was busily doing homework when he made himself comfortable next to me.  I was too absorbed to see the gaga faces Misty made at him, as well as the curious, but knowing eyes, from Sakura. 

Sakura grinned at me from behind the counter as she filled out some paperwork regarding the business’ progress and revenue.  She was probably already putting two-and-two together and keeping awfully quiet about it.

Not that it was any of her business, of course.

Elizabeth was the first to join us, while Misty checked her hair and makeup quickly on the back of a silver tray.  By the time Misty came to our table, Elizabeth had already asked Dash if she could get him anything.

Misty leaned down next to me as she took in the sights of Dash, like a fine specimen to be studied under a microscope.  “Emi-chan, you didn’t tell me that you had a boyfriend,” Misty said.  She giggled a little, her eyes still glued on Dash.

I tried not to shudder at her comment.  Instead, I shot back forcefully, “No he’s not.” 

I glanced at Elizabeth.  It was clear that she recognized him, and knew that he had come in before, but Misty didn’t seem to remember him at all, even though she had been there when he first came in on opening day.

“We go to school together,” he replied calmly.  “I offered her a ride to work because of the rain.”

They both ogled him and gushed about how thoughtful that was.  They asked what classes we had together and how long we’ve known each other.

“Two days,” I blurted out, trying to ignore their chatter.

I felt him shoot a death glare, which made me look up at the three of them blankly. 

Misty’s mouth was hanging open and Elizabeth looked confused.

“Really?” Misty asked in Japanese. 

Her expression was one of utter disbelief, and I thought she looked hilarious.  Maybe it was because I was so blunt and emotionless in my response, when I should be, what?  Gushing over him as well?

No way.  I have too much work to do.

 Misty lowered her voice and continued in Japanese, “He must be interested in you then!  A guy doesn’t just offer a girl he hardly knows a ride to work!”

Ugh.  I didn’t look up from my homework, but continued to try and write.

“You’re mistaken,” I said to Misty in Japanese.  “It’s not me that he’s trying to impress.” 

I glanced at Elizabeth then, hoping that Misty could follow my gaze to the only girl in the café that didn’t understand a word of Japanese.  I lowered my voice to a whisper.  “He’s been here before and has had his eyes on her since he first stepped foot in here.”

Her eyes grew wide and she looked at Elizabeth, who looked lost and oblivious to the words I had uttered.  She didn’t know that Elizabeth didn’t understand a word of Japanese, until now—and that she also had an admirer.

“Sorry,” I said in English then to Elizabeth and Dash.  “Misty was asking me a personal question.  Here,” I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out a tampon and handing it to Misty.

“Oh,” Elizabeth blushed, as did Misty, who looked completely bewildered and unable to mask her surprise and embarrassment.

“Hey, could you do that a little more discretely?” Dash said, wrinkling his nose like a typical boy at the sight of a feminine hygiene product.

Mission accomplished.  Divert attention and subject matter to conceal the awkward conversation Misty and I shared.

Misty hid the tampon under her apron and excused herself with a blush.

I caught Sakura giggle behind the counter.  Wow, she must have super acute hearing or something.  She winked at me when I caught her eye.  Was there anything she didn’t notice? 

She hurried to a customer then, who was looking annoyed that both of the cute girls were paying attention to the white boy that came in—even if he was gorgeous.

Elizabeth had to excuse herself a few seconds later when a new customer walked in.

Dash looked disappointed at her departure, his eyes trailing after her. 

I ignored him while I focused my attention on my homework.

After a few minutes of him watching Elizabeth smile and bat her eyes at the new customer, he sighed and turned his attention to me. 

I scowled at my textbook when he called my maid name.  Did he forget my real name already?

I just wanted to focus on my homework—I was already falling behind as it was!  Why wouldn’t he just leave me alone?

“Emi-chan,” he said again, drawing out the ‘chan’ when I didn’t reply the first time.

Jeez, he’s such a child!

“My name is Yuriko,” I declared, my eyes still glued to my homework.  “I’m not on duty yet, so I’m not ‘Emi-chan’.  And don’t call me ‘Emi-chan’ either.  Call me ‘Emiko’ at work, okay?”

“Huh?”

It unnerved me to hear him call me so informally as “Emi-chan.”  I’m not his friend!  He can’t address me like that!  It’s just so…

I looked up to see how completely adorable he looked when he was confused.

Wait, adorable?  Clear your mind!  He is not adorable—he’s an idiot!

“My name is Yuriko,” I said again.  I sighed in exasperation.  “When I’m working, I take on the name ‘Emiko’, given to me by Elizabeth.  We all gave ourselves maid names to make our role and job more fun.”

He still looked confused.  He glanced at Elizabeth.  “So ‘Elizabeth’ is just her name when she’s working?” he asked.  “What’s her real name then?”

I shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I don’t know anyone’s real name here because we all go by our maid names.  Even our schedule is posted in our maid names.”

“Oh.” 

I could see he was mentally chewing on this new information.  I took the opportunity to get more work done.  It wasn’t long before he was trying to get my attention again.

“Oi,” I snapped, giving him a hard warning look.  “I have half an hour left to get as much homework done as possible.  Would you just leave me alone?”

“Fine,” he said with a huff. 

He stood up, and I watched as he walked across the room to one of the plush chairs and plopped himself down.  He waited until he caught Elizabeth’s eye before he beckoned her over.

I rolled my eyes as he put on the charm and turned my attention back to my homework in disgust.  Unbelievable.  No matter, I didn’t have time to watch his disgusting display of flirtation.  I hurried through my homework as quickly as I could, and soon it was time for me to pack my stuff up and get ready for my shift.

So much for “helping me with my homework,” eh Dash?  Jerk.

When I was in the staffroom, changed, and putting my makeup on, Sakura entered and touched my shoulder affectionately.

“So that’s the boy, ne?” she asked my reflection.

I made eye contact with her briefly in the mirror as I paused in my application of lip-gloss.  “Un,” I replied.  “He wouldn’t leave me alone again today and insisted on giving me a ride to work.”

“That was thoughtful.”

I grimaced.  “He did it to impress Elizabeth.  He’s just using me to get to her.”

“Elizabeth is a smart girl, so don’t worry about her,” Sakura said with a smile.

The humour in her eyes made me sigh deeply.  “I know.  I just wish he would give me some space.  I feel… suffocated.”

She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.  “Really?  Yuriko-chan, I have never seen you so frazzled about someone before.  I think it’s good that someone is paying attention to you.  A girl can’t live inside her books forever.”

I whirled around in my chair to look directly at her.  “I’m not!”

She continued despite my insistence.  “We Japanese get all caught up in our own little worlds, that sometimes we miss what it means to interact with others and have meaningful relationships.  All work and no play is not a healthy lifestyle.”

I tried not to groan.  “Please don’t lecture me like one of my teachers,” I begged.

She laughed.  “Oh Yuriko-chan, you’ll understand someday that this experience with this boy will be good for you.  Just don’t overthink and let him get to you.”

I watched her walk to the other side of the room and gather her things.  “Ja, I must be going now.”

“Ah!”  I suddenly remembered my mother’s social function on Saturday.  “Hey wait!” I called out to Sakura before she could head out the door.

She turned and smiled at me.  “Hai?”

“Um, my mom is hosting a social function at the convention centre near the airport in Mississauga this Saturday, and I was wondering if I could get the day off, or at least switch my evening shift with someone?  My mom really wants me to go.”

Her eyes crinkled and she brushed her bangs from her eyes.  “Of course!  I was actually invited to that, so I look forward to seeing you there and meeting your parents.”

Oh dear god…  “Ah, um, that is… I would like to introduce you to my parents, but they don’t know that I work here,” I mumbled, trailing off in embarrassment.

She peeked an eyebrow again.  “Oh?”

“I told them that I work in a café, but they don’t know that it’s a cosplay maid café,” I admitted, shifting awkwardly in my seat.

“Oh, I see,” she said.  She paused as this thought settled in.  “Well, I could still introduce myself as your employer, and we can just forget that little bit of information, ne?”

I sighed with relief.  “That would be wonderful.”

“So then, I’ll see you Saturday,” she said with a wink.  “I’ll work something out with your Saturday shift and let you know later.  Have a good night!”

I waved as she left before turning back to the mirror. 

Well, that went well.

I suddenly didn’t feel like doing anything with my hair.  Feeling discouraged, I heaved a heavy sigh and pulled a finger-thick strand of hair from both sides of my face and clipped them together behind my head.  I opted for a more relaxed hairstyle today and straight-ironed my thick black hair over my shoulders. 

Soon it was time to go out and start working, but I didn’t want to watch Dash lay it on thick with Elizabeth.  It made me want to gag.  Even if she would have him, he didn’t deserve her.

I took a deep breath, exhaled, and walked out of the staffroom.

Elizabeth and Misty were both making drinks behind the counter, and I noticed that a handful of new customers had entered while I was getting ready.  That was a good sign; business was going well.

I met Dash’s bored eyes and suppressed a laugh.  He wouldn’t be able to have Elizabeth all to himself for a while now, and he knew it.

I went up to the girls and asked how I could help.

Dash waited patiently until things got quiet again in the café.  He ate a few cakes and drank cup after cup of coffee as he waited for Elizabeth to grant him her full attention.  Then Misty and I focused on the two other customers.  I needed the distraction.  I couldn’t stand to see the idiot try and flatter her with his looks, or whatever it was he was doing.

Although, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t glance at him from the corner of my eye every minute.  They kept their voices low so thankfully I couldn’t hear a word of anything.  He flashed her his most charming smile, said things to make her laugh and blush.  It was sickening.

He stayed until eight o’clock or so.  He had Elizabeth for at least a solid hour without interruptions.

But I had to know if he got what he wanted.

Elizabeth laughed when I asked her what they talked about.

“He’s such a flirt!  I can’t believe he tried to ask me out!”

Ah, so he did ask.  Judging from the way she said it though, it looked like he got rejected.  I had to be sure though.  “Tried?”

She shrugged.  “I told you, I don’t date younger guys.”

“Right,” I replied.  She still did not want to tell me her age.

“But you,” she remarked with a sly wink, “You, on the other hand, are perfect for him—and the right age.”

I nearly choked on my own saliva for the second time today.  Coughing, I wheezed, “You can’t be serious?”

She giggled and scampered off.  “I’m going to the washroom!” she announced in a singsong voice to Misty and I.

Misty just shook her head in disbelief. “That guy is a real piece of work.”

“Who?  Dash?” I asked as I washed a delicate teacup in the sink.

“Yeah,” she replied.  “You weren’t kidding about him being interested in Elizabeth.  He was laying it on thick.”

I nodded, my thoughts beginning to drift off to Dash at school, how he tried to intimidate me, seduce me, and forced his lips upon mine.

I shook my head to clear it and reached for the dishtowel to dry the teacup.

How could he have done that so casually?  Like it meant nothing to him?  He kissed me and he wasn’t even fazed by it!

I scowled at myself as I dried the teacup and set it in the cabinet.  I shouldn’t even waste my time thinking about him.  He was just using me; I had to remind myself that.  He was an over-confident, arrogant jerk and not worth my mental energy.

“Emi-chan,” Elizabeth chirped as she returned behind the counter, pointing at my face, “You’re blushing!”

I gasped and reached up to touch my cheek.  It did, indeed, feel warmer than normal.  “Eh?  No I’m not!”

“Yes you are!” she sang, prolonging the ‘are’ in a high-pitched tone.

Oh lord!

I turned on my heel and announced that I was going to take my break.

Ugh!  Why was I getting so flustered by him?  I couldn’t even stand him!  It made no sense whatsoever!  I hated his stupid face, his smug grin, his know-it-all attitude, his manipulative tendency, and his damn piercing blue eyes and good looks.

But there was no denying that something happened that day in the hallway.  That day when he kissed me.

And now I couldn’t get it out of my head.

 .

Author's Note: Ha Dash! You struck out! Better luck next time bro! ;)