What To Do When You Go Out Drinking

The sun was decidedly about to set, so it was time for me to engage in everybody’s favorite pastime, drinking your heart out. Honestly, I never was a drinker, mostly because I was busy trying to find work and didn’t have any time to drink. But, starting late is better than starting never, I suppose.

Inukai and Takahara stood beside me as we walked down the small street to a comfy bar along the side of the road. I’ve noticed this place before, though I obviously haven’t been here. We went inside without much trouble and took a seat ourselves, the three of us decided to take a seat at a table. There was a small menu there waiting for us, and we took a look.

“What drinks are you guys getting?” I asked them.

“Whiskey,” Takahara said. “The good stuff.”

“I’m… I’ll have umeshu, I think,” Inukai said.

“Mhm, I’ll just have beer then I suppose,” I said. I didn’t necessarily feel like getting too adventurous on my first night out drinking. Just a simple, basic drink should do just fine.

“Hey, waitress!” Takahara nailed down the waitress woman distracted on her phone with something. She noticed and immediately ran over.

“How can I help you three?” She said, with a paper in her hand.

“Whiskey, umeshu, and beer,” Takahara gave a thumbs up. The cute girl nodded and immediately ran off.

Wait, did I just say cute?

“You know, we’ve got a bunch of kids coming in soon. Not sure what's up with that, but we can each expect a new student transferring into our classes,” Takahara said.

“Yeah, I’ve heard. I hope they can fit in easily, being the new kid in class is always difficult,” Inukai responded.

“Well, we’re teachers. We gotta do the best we can, or else what’s even the point?” Takahara sighed. “And you’ve gotta deal with all of the new kids, don’t you, Takeuchi?”

“I suppose. A lot of kids have come looking to me for advice, and I dunno if I always know how to give it,” I responded. “But I’ll manage.”

“I think you’ll do more than manage,” Inukai said with a smile. “Six months here and you’ve already surpassed Takahara in popularity.”

“It’s a pretty girl advantage,” Takahara complained. “That’s not even me hitting on you, that’s genuinely what it is. The boys want to marry you and the girls want to be you. It’s no wonder you leaped past me so fast.”

“My fault,” I laughed nervously. “Though, I try my best for them. Even if they have to realize that they aren’t going to marry me.”

“Maybe you’d be more popular if you didn’t complain so much,” Inukai jabbed at Takahra.

“I only complain to you, relax,” Takahara said. At this moment, the cute waitress girl walked up to the table and handed each of us our drinks. I said she was cute again. Damn it.

Takahara grabbed his mug, and Inukai grabbed hers. I did too, and we all raised our drinks into the air.

“““Cheers!”””

***

“Takahara’s kind of a lightweight…” I observed as the man was collapsed on the table. I supposed he did have the strongest alcohol out of any of us, but it was still impressive how fast he conked out.

Relatively fast, at least. He spent a while complaining about parents, paperwork, and money. But, after that he just slammed face first into the table, like he had just been hit with an off switch.

“Yeah…” Inukai said. “He does that. It gives me some peace time alone though. Would you mind heading to the waitress and getting me another drink? I’d like to try a specific cocktail, actually. Magakawa’s Miracle.”

“Sure,” I said.

I got up from my chair and headed towards the standing bar area. There, I saw that waitress again. She seemed to be washing dishes in the back, but there didn’t seem to be anyone else available, so I was just waiting until she was done.

I didn’t know if it was the alcohol talking but this girl really did look quite pretty. She had long flowing black hair, and a nice white hairband on top. She was exactly my height, and had a look on her face that I could only describe as precious. The waitress outfit complimented her extraordinarily well, and I felt like I was getting a little bit mesmerized just watching her.

“Ah, shit…” The girl swore suddenly. She raised her hand out of the sink to reveal her hand slightly bloodied. Probably had cut herself while washing the dishes. She quickly ran over to the side to bandage her hand, and walked back out to the front of the house while mid-bandaging.

It was at that moment, I decided to make my move. “Hey, um. My friend here wants the Magakawa Miracle, and I want another beer. Could you get me some?”

“Huh?” The girl looked up. “Oh, yes. I’ll have that for you right away.”

She immediately ran to the shelf to pick out some alcohol, and began pouring. While she was setting up the drink, I decided to start some small talk. Well, I wanted to ask about the glaring issue that was on my mind.

“Is your hand okay?” I asked.

“Uh, yeah. It’s just a cut, that’s all,” she responded. “I can work through it, and it’ll probably be healed by tomorrow.”

“Good, good. It’d be a shame if you got into trouble because of that.”

“By the way,” the girl eyed me up. “Are you new around here? This bar at least. I guess I’ve only worked here for a week but I don’t know how many of you are regulars.”

“Ah. I am new. Well, I’ve been in this town for six months, but never in this bar. I’ve never seen you before either, really. You’re cute.”

“I’m what now?”

“A-Ah, nothing.”

Something slipped out of my mouth there for a second. Does alcohol really make me that loose lipped? I need to be careful. The girl thankfully ignored my slip of the tongue and continued making the drink. In the meantime, she handed over some beer for me.

“I’m not new to this town… I grew up here, but I haven’t been around for a bit so it’s essentially a brand new place to me,” the waitress explained. “And I’m still trying to get on my feet, haha.”

“Really? How long were you away?” I asked.

“Over eight years. I was in America for college, and I didn’t come back until recently.”

“Wait wait. Eight? Are you serious? That’s crazy long. And wait, for college? You look—”

“Yeah. I’m thirty-one years old, haha. People say I look younger than I am.” she smiled.

“W-Wow, you’re five years my senior,” I blinked in surprise. “Well, I didn’t mean to bring up your age or anything.”

“Nah. It’s fine,” the girl said as she finished making the drink. “I’m just trying to make ends meet at the moment. I’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“Well, aren’t we all,” I said before taking the finished drink. “I wouldn’t mind seeing you around though. You should tell me about America, I’ve never been there but I’ve always wanted to go.”

“It’s not as glamorous as you’d think, but, sure. If you come back here then I’ll tell you all about it.”

That wasn’t a bad reason to go for another night out later. I’m curious to hear what stories she might have, and why she’d decide to come back to this small town. But, I was probably keeping Inukai waiting for too long, so I should wrap things up by now.

“My name is Minako Takeuchi. I’m the school nurse at Magakawa Elementary School. It’s nice to meet you,” I said.

“I’m Takumu Kawamura, it’s good to meet you too,” the lady gave me a smile. I smiled back. Then, I walked back to Inukai who was patiently waiting for me.

“Took you a while, didn’t it?” she said.

“Heh, sorry. I just got a little bit wrapped up in something. Another drink.”

Inukai rolled her eyes and raised her glass into the air. We both took a drink, and each gave a sigh of relief. This was a lot more relaxing than I thought it’d be, and perhaps maybe I have a little more reason to come back to this bar after this.