Inappropriate Laughter

Una seemed somewhat lethargic when it came to her work today, which was somewhat surprising to me. Usually she finished everything quickly, and ordered me around so that I wasn't impeding her machine-like precision with my slow and inexperienced preparation skills. But today, I was leaving out trays for her that she didn't pick up before the drinks had gone lukewarm, and she wasn't having her usual go at me for cleaning the cutlery too slowly. At first, I was somewhat relieved that she was chilling out a bit. But it felt profoundly wrong that the clockwork wasn't ticking like it normally would.

After catching a few glimpses of her face walking around the front of the cafe, it became clear to me that although she wasn't usually one to show much expression on her face, it was still impossible for her to hide her general tired demeanour. I looked out at the front of the cafe, and glanced at table six. There were different people there now. Inhaling, I walked out to her, walking past the chattering customers, and gently tapping her on the back.

She didn't seem to notice, so I looked around at the customers one more time, and then at her. "Erm, Una."

She stopped in her tracks, and turned around. "Hm? You're in the front of the cafe again?"

"You should come to the back with me," I said. I sized her up, and feeling slightly bolder, I continued. "You're letting stuff go cold, and you're not really paying attention to things, so just follow me."

"...if you please," I added, not wanting to come across as too impolite.

Una didn't seem very amused with my attempt at telling her what to do, but realising that I was probably right, she acquiesced, and followed me to the corner of the kitchen, where she sat herself down on the counter as usual.

"It's not like you to tell me what to do," Una said, looking at the fridge. "Do you think you can do my job?"

"I never said that," I replied. "I'm just a little concerned. You weren't here yesterday and then you come in today all exhausted. I didn't even know you had more emotions other than 'mildly annoyed', so I'm just surprised you look so gloomy"

"I wasn't saying that to be rude," Una corrected, looking at a button on my shirt. "I meant it. Do you think you'd be okay here if I just left?"

I took a few seconds to make sure that was really what I heard. "You're thinking of quitting? But I only just got here, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable at the front of the cafe for any extended period of time. I thought you really liked being here?"

Her eyes turned to the clock, and then to the fridge. "Yeah. I love the cafe and the Shimizu family, but I think I should go back home with my parents. I came here because I thought it'd be easier to prepare for an art college in a city with better teachers, but I don't think I can keep it up anymore. I went into the whole thing thinking I'd get to be successful doing what I do best but... when people force you to break your routine and make things you don't want... well. It's not like I don't try my best, you know? That's the frustrating bit."

I stared at her a bit too intensely, not giving any sort of answer. Really, I wasn't too sure what to say. "Don’t go! Ignoring your criticism is a mildly amusing part of my day" probably isn't what she wanted to hear, and while I think most people would say something like "chase your dreams," her comment about how she couldn't even if she tried did make me pause for thought a bit. A bit too long, actually. I realised I'd probably stared silently for what society would deem "a creepy amount of time," so I said whatever came to my mind.

"You never told me that's why you were here."

She looked down at my shoes. "Of course. You didn't ask before"

I felt a pang of guilt, even if her tone of voice suggested she didn't mean for that to come across passive-aggressively. Eager to fill in the awkward silence, I decided to speak some more.

"Have you spoken to your art teachers about the situation? I mean, it'd be a bit rash for you to just pack up your bags at the first major roadblock."

She looked at the button on my shirt. "Oh? And I'm guessing you're used to major roadblocks?"

I was hit with the perfect reply, and without taking a second to think about the implications, I tried my best to stifle hysterical laughter. "Well, if you looked at my face, you'd know I was actually a pretty effective roadblock as a kid."

The more I laughed at my own joke, the more horrified Una's expression became. Seeing that she wasn't joining in, I covered my face with my arm, and tried to hold in snorts of amusement. For the first time, she was making full, extended eye contact with me. Very horrified eye contact.

"You weren't born like that? Oh my god, that's awful! You shouldn't joke about a tragedy like that!" Una's stare intensified, and I slowly stopped my giggling. Composing myself a little, I nodded a little. "Yeah, sorry, sorry. My dad thinks I'm hilarious. But I forget that you're not really used to those sorts of jokes."

She shook her head, trying to fight the urge to smirk. "You're insane, you know that?"

Pushing herself off the counter, Una wiped her face with her hand, and looked at the coffees on the tray. "How long did we spend talking? Oh, they're probably all cold. You should make new drinks, and I'll try to fix the mess I've made with my sloppy service. Oh,"

She looked at the button of my shirt again. I was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with it, or if she just had a habit of staring at random parts of my outfit.

"Thanks for listening to me talk. Even if you really don't know how to help people through their problems."

As she turned around and made her way to the front of the cafe, I felt a wave of relief. After all, if she was giving backhanded compliments, then at least she was back to her normal self. I prepared some more coffee, hoping that maybe after she had a little break to refresh herself, the shift today could at least go back to being somewhat functional.