15 The Waitress, the Photo, and a pinch of Misunderstanding

POV: Kanzaki Tomori

It is indeed a busy day again here at the restaurant. Three weeks since we officially opened, numerous great reviews have been sent on our social media page. Gosh, this is incredible!

Wait, what am I saying?! I've been with Dad and our restaurant for years and this guy, Enomoto Chiaki, handled the situation satisfactorily well. Yeah, in a mediocre manner. I owe him one for employing me here temporarily until we restore our restaurant again but I still think I can do the managerial stuff better than him! Don't get me wrong, though. I, Kanzaki Tomori, is not hoping for this place to fail.

Well, I did say everything has been busy and all however...

"Itsuki, please delay Table #4 and serve Table #5 instead," said Chiaki.

"Got it!" replied Itsuki.

T-This two....

I can't unsee everything that I saw from "that" night. I was just passing by and I already saw them being clingy with each other in the park, in the middle of the night! I quickly hid behind the bush to observe them and it seemed like they were being emotional with each other. Maybe, a lover's quarrel and they were trying to resolve it? No, I think not. That guy was smirking as his face was in contact with Itsuki-san's belly! H-He's definitely a pervert! I couldn't see Itsuki-san's face but it looked like that she's feeling tingly at that time. Was that a form of arousal?! A kind of fetish?! Are they into some kind of mild exhibitionism?!

"hey.... hey.... hey....!" yelled Chiaki.

"Y-Yes?" I asked.

Crap, I was spacing out.

"Don't 'Yes?' me, I was calling you for a while and you weren't responding," said Chiaki. "Deliver this to Table #7 and come back immediately."

"Yikes, coming!" I replied.

I have to observe those two lovebirds to prevent potential indecency in the workplace!

<As the shift went on, I finally got to take my break.>

Uhhh, I wonder if I'll be just alone here in the quarters.

"Hello, oh, it's just you, Kanata-chan?" I asked.

"Yeah, we're the last ones to take our break this time anyway," replied Kanata.

"Oh, is that so?" I said. "Sigh, finally some tranquility~"

As I am walking to my seat, I got a glimpse of a group picture from Kanata-chan's phone while she is using it.

"Kanata-chan, not that I am peeking at your phone but may I ask when was that photo taken?" I asked.

"You mean this from my Gallery?" asked Kanata. "Ah, this was taken the night after the grand opening day. Looks nice, right?"

T-They took a group photo without me?! I-I understand that I was still recovering from my hospital discharge that day but couldn't they have waited for me, at least?

D-Don't they consider me as a part of the team right from the start?

"Tomori-san, what's wrong?" asked Kanata.

"N-Nothing, I-I'll be taking a nap for now," I said. "Please wake me up when it's time to go back."

"Sure!" responded Kanata.

T-This sucks...

<The rest of my shift up until the next day, I was feeling a little bit out of blue to the point that even Enomoto Chiaki noticed it.>

Eek, why is this guy have the same break schedule like me? Now we're alone here in the employee quarters.

"Tomori-san," said Chiaki.

"Y-Yes...?" I asked.

"N-Nothing, it's just that you sound less eccentric yesterday and today, is something wrong?" asked Chiaki.

I-It must be him that insisted on taking the crew picture excluding me! He's the manager so he mostly has control over anything in this restaurant! Or maybe, he is aware of the fact that I still don't acknowledge him, at heart, as the Manager here and he's using this as a revenge tactic against me. N-Not bad, but I have already seen through you, Enomoto Chiaki!

"T-Tomori-san?" said Chiaki.

"Belly pervert," I replied.

"Eh?!" reacted Chiaki. "B-Belly pervert?! What are you talking about?"

Sigh, I'm just gonna sleep this one out.

<I didn't notice the time and completely fell asleep due to exhaustion.>

"Welcome, master!" I greeted. "Table for two? Please let me guide you to your seat."

Ah yes, everything is going well. Suddenly, Chiaki got irate on me while I am mentally slowing down.

"Hey Tomori! Come and get this order already!" yelled Chiaki.

"Idiot! That is for Table #2, you gave it to #8!" yelled Chiaki.

"Ah, jeez! Now you have spilled it! Clean it up!" yelled Chiaki.

After the experiences, I finally got to go in at the quarters again however, I can hear Kanata and Itsuki talking about me.

"Yeah, right?" asked Itsuki. "That woman should just be fired already. She's useless."

"Even I being younger than her is more dependable," added Kanata. "The Manager and the others are getting fed up with her, including me."

"Count me as well!" said Itsuki.

Ah, so they don't really want me here. Am I really just a substitute until they can get a permanent? Were those words just for the sake of impressing everyone in front you, Enomoto Chiaki?

This.... really sucks...

<The scene suddenly faded and everything went black. The moment I opened my eyes again, I was still in the employee quarters."

"W-Was that all a dream?" I asked.

Why are there tears falling from my eyes? Jeez, this is so dumb! Anyway, I wonder what time is it....

"N-Nine o'clock PM??!?!" I shouted.

Crap, have they already left?!

<I exited the quarters and went straight to the restaurant hall only to see no one was there and the lights were already off.>

Ah, they did leave me here all along... They didn't even wake me up.

"S-So much for the word teamwork..." I uttered.

I fell down to my knees in awe. This is too dumb. Why am I crying? I-It hurts.

<As I got emotional, the lights suddenly turned on, and the sound of what might be the thing that you hear when someone gets surprised went on.>

"Happy birthday!" yelled Chiaki and the others.

"E-Eh?" I reacted. "EEEEEHHHH?! W-What are these?!"

"Can't you see? It's about celebrating your birthday!" said Chiaki.

"B-But, I thought you guys have already gone home..," I said.

"We just turned off the lights as an element of surprise," said Kazuya. "Didn't expect that you'll be sobbing while on your knees, hehe."

"E-Erase that from your memory!" I replied.

"W-Why didn't anyone wake me up?" I asked.

"I was trying but you were really sound asleep and based on your body language throughout the day, I thought you might not be feeling well so I just let you sleep," said Chiaki.

"E-Even so!" I said. "I missed my shift because of it and had you guys cover for me."

"It wasn't that raucous the rest of the shift, so you can rest easy now," said Itsuki.

T-These guys.... Am I thinking it wrong all this time? T-That doesn't answer why didn't they...

"Alright everyone, let's take a group photo!" said Kanata. "I brought the tripod from last time!"

"I thought you had already taken one from before," I said.

"Are you dumb? That wasn't the official photo since you weren't there," said Chiaki. "As much as possible, we want the official photo with the core staff being complete."

W-What is this feeling of warmth? W-Why am I....

"Alright, let's take it then!" I said.

....feeling joyful now?

"Say cheese!" said Kanata.

"Cheese!" said all.

Sorry everyone, for thinking like that. Ah~ Not that I was sulking but I'm glad something inside me has finally cleared up. It's like the thunderstorm was finally over and the sunshine has taken over.

"Now, I can finally make this my phone wallpaper!" said Kanata. "We're complete!"

"Yeah, this really is a wallpaper-worthy photo," I said.

"E-Everyone!" I said. "T-Thank you for this wonderful present. I will treasure this event forever!"

"Let's eat, then!" said Chiaki. "My stomach is already rumbling..."

"Wait! Kanzaki-san will have to bring up a speech on how grateful she is for this surprise party while wearing this erotic bunny suit!" said Kurumi.

"W-What?!" I reacted. "Hell no!!!"

I hope that this warmth will never be extinguished.

"Ah, the ingredients used here was deducted from your salary for the number of hours you didn't work today," said Chiaki.

"P-Please don't remind me of that..." I replied.