A New Day

The ringing of the alarm was so loud that it quickly woke me up. I slammed my hand to stop the annoying sound and slowly opened my eyes. The sunshine peaked through the curtains and shined on my eyes. I check the time on my phone: 7:30.

"Crap! I'm late!"

When I realized it, my body quickly jolted up, and I rushed downstairs into the kitchen to cook. But when I got there, Akane was already in the kitchen, doing the work I'm supposed to be doing while wearing an apron.

"What's wrong with you?"

Running left me feeling exasperated.

"S-sorry, I woke up late!"

"What are you talking about? It's my schedule today."

"Your... schedule."

She sighs in disbelief.

"It's Saturday today."

Eh? Saturday? I check the date on my phone. The time was 7:31, yet the date was Saturday, February 22nd.

"I-I see..."

"Whatever. Just go set up the table."

"S-sure."

I did as she said and started setting up the table. While I was doing so, Akane reached for the TV remote placed on the coffee table. With a push of a button, the TV screen turned on. The program on display was news related. It showed a reporter with a picture of Ai Kyouka on the side. The reporter stated the abrupt end of her streaming career and the vague reasons for her decision. Ai's retirement spread like wildfire. I guess she was famous.

"Hey, isn't that the girl you always watch?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Did you know about it?"

"Yeah... She announced it yesterday on Twitter."

"Heehh...."

My little sister responded monotonously. Akane never found V-Tubers or streaming interesting. When she first walked in on me watching one of Ai's streams, she thought I was just wasting my time. Despite that, I continued watching V-Tubers. Maybe that's when her disgust for me started developing.

"...Anyway, let's eat."

She left the TV running in the background as we began eating the miso soup she made. Every once in a while, my eyes would glance at Ai's face projected on the screen. Seems like I still can't let it go.

"Thank you for the food."

After a while, we finished eating and clasped our hands. The TV program changed to a regular morning talk show. Akane started feeding Bunta, who had just woken up, while I was washing the dishes. By the time I finished cleaning, it was 15 minutes past 8, Bunta had finished eating, while my little sister was watching TV.

"I'm taking a bath."

No response. I'm used to it. When I got out of the bathroom, she was no longer sitting down on the couch and the TV was off. I walked upstairs and headed to my room. I changed into my outdoor clothes. Before I went downstairs, I took a peek at Akane's room.

She was sitting down in front of the desk with a bunch of books stacked on top of each other. She was flipping the pages and seemed to be writing something. It was her everyday routine. Whether it was weekdays or weekends, she was always studying. When I ask her to take breaks, she would outright refuse. I guess it's not my place to tell her what to do even though I am the older sibling. Even when I called out to her that I'll be leaving, she was still silent.

I went outside the house and walked toward the direction of the location of my part-time job. A few months ago, I decided to work at my uncle's café. At first, he asked me to help out but I decided to work there during the weekends. Plus, I get to earn experience and money- which I use to buy merchandise.

After walking for fifteen minutes, I reached the café. It was relatively large yet a bit inconspicuous, or rather plain. Some wouldn't know the place was a café, if not for the menu stand at the front, which listed the most popular orders. A bell rang as I pushed the door open.

"Oh, good morning, Aki-kun."

Risa Saionji, a brown-haired lady wearing a vest on top of a white long sleeve, greeted me. She's the manager of this place.

"Good morning, Saionji-san."

"You came just in time. We're about to open."

"I'll get changed."

"Alright."

The front area displayed different kinds of sweets, from cakes to cheesecakes. It looked very much appealing. As I made my way towards the back, I was greeted again by another worker coming from the reception.

"Good morning, Senpai!"

Lucy Nariko, a second-year high school student, greeted me as I opened the door.

"You're always so loud in the morning, Nariko."

"Hehehe, sorry, Senpai."

She's an energetic and playful person. Her personality matched her looks, with blonde hair and brown eyes. But still, can't she be a bit quieter? I sigh in defeat.

"Nariko, Nagai-san's right you know."

Satsuki Fukizawa, another worker and a friend of Nariko, intervened. She looked like the complete opposite of her friend. With her white hair and red eyes, she was generally a kind person.

"Good morning, Fukizawa."

"Good morning, Nagai-san."

While they chatted, I went to the changing room. After changing into my working clothes, I went to the kitchen, where more employees were getting ready, just in time for Saionji-san to announce the opening of the shop.

"We're opening!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Everyone responded loudly as Saionji-san flipped the sign. The time is 9:00 am and the café was now open.

As the kitchen was preparing dishes and drinks, people would enter the store to order. Customers would find a seat, Fukizawa takes their orders, and when it was ready, I would go and serve them. When they're finished, they ask for a bill and Nariko would give it to them. It was a regular working day for all of us.

As the day went on, the number of people who were entering gradually decreased and the sweets displayed were almost empty. Some customers were regulars, while some were first-timers. One of them though, seemed a bit different.

I've never seen her before and she seemed to be in a sad mood. The girl was looking down the whole time they were ordering and even as she sat down.

"Nee, Senpai, is she okay?"

"Hmm... I'll take care of her. You and Fukizawa can go home now. "

"A-are you sure?"

Fukizawa popped up from the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's getting late anyway."

"Thank you, Senpai!"

Nariko lightly punched my shoulder and Fukizawa bowed in thanks. The sun was going down and we're about to close anyway so I just sent them off. I can deal with one customer by myself. Judging from the way she spoke, I could tell something was wrong and I wanted to help her, so I took care of the customer's order.

Their order was whatever tastes the best. I have just the perfect thing. I grabbed the only blueberry cheesecake slice on display and made an espresso. I chose these things as they were, in my opinion, the best foods we sell. As I was doing all of this, Saionji-san just looked at me, smiling. Maybe she realized what I was doing. I placed it in a tray with silverware and delivered it to the customer.

When I got to their table, the person was slumped down at the table, with their blonde orange hair drooping from it. I gently placed the food down and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, here's your order."