What To Do When You Meet The Prettiest Girl Ever

“I could use a drink,” Inukai muttered to me as we walked to the bar. “Maybe I should try something heavier this time.”

“Don’t become too much of an alcoholic,” I said. “It’d set a bad example for the kids.”

“Yeah. You’re right, I’m just tired.”

I was somewhat excited, because that waitress girl, Takumu, should be working at around this time. She probably had some cool stories from America, and I would love to hear about it.

America’s always been a vague interest of mine. Nothing definitive, and I’ve heard some crazy stories. But one of my ideal dreams after I settle down would be traveling the world, possibly during a summer break? That was a nice benefit of working at a school. The holidays you get are unmatched.

We opened the door to the bar, and it wasn’t particularly crowded again. Surprising, but it’s not like I was complaining. This place definitely had good drinks, and some good food as well. But I suppose it was a small town, so margins were tight and it was a weekday.

“Table for two!” Inukai said, calling out. We were greeted by an older man, who seemed to be the owner of this place.

“Sure.”

I looked around, and didn’t see Takumu anywhere. That was odd, was she having a day off today? If so, that would be a shame. She was partially the entire reason why I came here in the first place.

Still, we took a seat. The man took our order, and I got myself some light drinks. Inukai got something way heavier than me, as well as some food to wash down the taste of the alcohol. Still, no sign of that waitress.

“You seem to be looking for someone,” Inukai teased me.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess,” I scratched the back of my head. “I suppose I was just looking forward to it, after all.”

“I’m sure she’ll come around. But first, first, first first… drinks!”

The waiter came around with a drink for the both of us, as well as some basic food. In the meantime. I might as well chat it up with Inukai, if there was nothing else for me to do. Get some thoughts off of my mind in the meantime.

“Cheers!” The two of us clinked our glasses together. The night was still young after all.

***

The night was winding down, and Inukai had been complaining for a while. She remained strikingly sober with her complaints, a complete difference from Takahara. This meant her complaints were also a lot more put-together than his were.

And that definitely included some complaints about work.

“I really can’t believe the deal with some parents to be honest. I know, we need to be like second parents, but at the very least you could try. Some of these kids haven’t grown up at all, and some of these kids are stressing themselves thin,” Inukai said.

“Really? Are all the kids like that?” I asked back.

“No. It’s really just a few outliers, but those outliers are, ugh… my god,” the girl groaned. Eventually, the waiter came around and gave us our bill. Inukai had it covered, but there was one thing on my mind.

I didn’t see Takumu all day. I wonder what happened to her. I didn’t want to bother the owner, or look weird, so I figured I got unlucky. But it was unfortunate, because I was really looking forward to talking to her again.

As we left the restaurant, I let out an audible sigh. Maybe I was letting my disappointment show too much on my face.

“You good?” Inukai asked me.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow. Keep yourself safe,” I tried to brush it off.

“You too. Don’t stay out too late,” Inukai said, before we split off and she began to walk off into the night, leaving me alone. I looked back at the restaurant. There was probably still another day, but it was a shame.

“Hngh— damn, I swear I didn’t throw out this much stuff when I worked here…”

A familiar voice struck my ears, and I immediately turned towards it. And my eyes were blessed. The prettiest woman I’ve ever seen… hauling away garbage?

She was in a blue jumpsuit, and a hard hat. There was also a mask covering her face, and her long black hair was in a tied up bun. But, I could tell from her voice and eyes that she was Takumu, and she was dragging a massive amount of trash into a garbage truck.

Immediately, she turned around and met my eyes. Then, under her mask, her face flushed red.

“M-Minako—!” She immediately dropped her garbage and immediately tried to hide her face. I approached her anyways, because I had to.

“What are you, um, doing… y’know… like this? Is this a second job?” I asked.

“Well, I…” she paused for a second and tried to think. It looked like her brain was processing a million different things to say, and not one of them was coming out properly. “It’s not a second job… it’s more like, y’know. I got… fired?”

“Fired?!” I shouted. “What happened? And wait, didn’t you say you only worked at the restaurant for a week when I last saw you?”

“Yeah…”

“And it’s been a week since then?”

“Yeah…”

“So you worked there for less than two weeks before getting fired?”

“Yeah…”

She said that three times like a dejected zombie. It was certainly something that I wasn’t expecting, but it’s not like I knew her situation. I was just curious.

“What did you even get fired for?” I asked her.

“Well, I cut myself and then broke some glass and then… yeah. I was just a little bit clumsy. But it’s okay! I had a fallback!” Takumu said, trying to brush it off. “I’m a… erm, garbage disposal worker now. Not the most glamorous but… it’s okay.”

I sighed. If she had a different job, then it seemed like it would turn out fine. Though, I had to ask. “How did you get this job so fast? It’s only been like, a week?”

“You’d be surprised,” Takumu answered vaguely.

“No, I really don’t think that’s how that works…”

“You’d be surprised,” she repeated again. She really liked to repeat things, it seemed. Regardless, I figured it wasn’t worth questioning her on this.

“Well,” I crossed my arms. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that promise you made me. You still have to tell me those stories about America. I guess it’s a bit more difficult with your new job, but I suppose I’ll still see you around the neighborhood.”

“I hope so,” Takumu said. “This work is simple, at least. And, yeah, I haven’t forgotten about that either. I’d like to talk to you more, really. Could use something to keep my mood up.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We’re all living life,” I tried to make her feel better. “Hopefully, it’ll be the same for you.”

“Yeah. Maybe when I’m not… covered in garbage, haha. I should really go now, though,” Takumu said, picking up her trash and tossing it into the truck. “I’ll hopefully see you again soon?”

“...” I paused for a second, before taking a deep breath in. “Before you go, can I have your number?”

Somehow, the fact that she was handling garbage didn’t disturb me. Maybe I was just being weird, but this felt like my chance.

“Oh, um. I suppose I never gave it to you, you’re right.” Takumu said. “Um, here.”

She took out her phone and began to recite it out, in which I added it to my own phone. Contact achieved. Mission complete.

“If that’s all, I’ll be going for real now,” Takumu said. “As said, I’ll tell you about America later. Maybe you can call me when you’re free?”

“Sure, absolutely,” I nodded. “You’ll be hearing from me again.”

Takumu headed into her garbage truck and began to take off, heading off into the distance as well. I suppose I did get my wish today, even if it wasn’t in the way that I was expecting.

Still, she had my attention. I don’t think that was going to change. I just hoped that I’ll see her again sooner rather than later.