A Beautiful Model In My Class Comes To The Coffee Shop Where I Work Part-time Only When I'm On Shift - Chapter 15

Episode 15: Coffee at School

After taking a little time, I prepared something and returned to the table.

“Sorry for the wait.”

“No, not at all—Wait, what’s this!?”

As it was something sweet, what I had prepared was piping hot waffles. On the plate, along with the waffles, there was vanilla ice cream, and the whole thing was drizzled with maple syrup.

“The truth is, a customer gave me a waffle maker. It’s not on the menu yet, as it’s still in the trial phase, but I want you to try it as a celebration for the successful first episode. Of course, no need to pay.”

“Is it okay to be so considerate?”

“I’m asking you to. Please, have some.”

“…Alright, then I won’t hold back!”

Before Shizuku could eat, I made sure to taste it myself. It was well-received when I had Utahara-san try it, and I hoped she’d like it too.

“Mmm… Delicious!”

“Glad to hear that.”

I couldn’t help but clench my fist. Utahara-san had mentioned that if Shizuku liked it, it could be officially added to the menu. With this reaction, it might pass the test.

“The sweetness makes my brain melt… This is almost dangerous. It might lead to a lot of addicts.”

“Well, that’s… your responsibility.”

“Oh, you’re a bit of a rogue too.”

While saying that, Shizuku grinned. I also thought while eating that the combination of maple syrup and vanilla ice cream was too shocking. I had experienced the sensation of my brain melting. To mitigate this impact a bit, I had made the waffles less sweet.

“And this… probably has a lot of calories, right?”

“I thought about that and reduced the quantity…”

“Oh, well. As a reward, this is just perfect. But if you get addicted, it’ll show up on your figure quickly, I think.”

“It’s quite potent…”

“I’ll have to be careful not to indulge too often, then.”

Shizuku quickly finished the waffles. With coffee, the sweetness seemed to be moderate and just right. However, she warned that it could lead to overeating, so caution was needed.

“Phew… Thanks for the treat. It was a happy time.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Shizuku’s face seemed to have a certain radiance. If this helped lift her spirits even a little, it was more than enough for me.

◇◆◇

The next day, it seemed Shizuku was able to come to school. She was surrounded by classmates from the morning.

“Shizuku! I watched the drama! It was seriously interesting!”

“Oh, thank you…”

Girls who had been critical yesterday were now praising Shizuku collectively. Honestly, I didn’t find this situation favorable.

“Did you miss school for a recording?”

“Yeah… I think there will be more days when I can’t come for a while.”

“In that case, I’ll show you all the notes for the days you can’t come! It’s necessary, right?”

“Uh, yeah… That would help.”

“Don’t worry about it! We’re friends, right?”

There was a significant temperature difference between the surroundings and Shizuku in the center.

—Are they really friends?

They treated Shizuku kindly when she was around but spoke ill of her when she wasn’t. I couldn’t comprehend the nerve to change attitudes so easily. If this was the reason I couldn’t make close friends, then maybe I was fine the way I was.

◇◆◇

“Hey, Juntaro.”

During lunch break, as I was about to eat, Shizuku suddenly called out to me.

“What are you doing? If everyone sees, they’ll bombard me with questions about the drama… Can you come over here for a moment?”

“Oh, uh…”

Hiding in the shadows, Shizuku led me to the staircase landing. It was the secluded place we used before to talk.

“Why did you suddenly call me over?”

“Well, it’s a bit hard to say, but…”

“…?”

“I want to drink coffee at school. Do you have any good ideas?”

I was taken aback by that question.

“Well, I mean… the suggestion to just buy coffee from a vending machine is reasonable, but it’s not quite satisfying. I want to drink properly brewed coffee…”

“Ah…”

Coffee supposedly had fatigue recovery effects. Not that it exactly recovered fatigue, but it made it less noticeable. Leaving aside the scientific aspects…

Shizuku still looked tired, as expected. Being surrounded by classmates since morning, bombarded with questions during breaks, seemed to have depleted her energy quite a bit.

In such times, coffee was the best solution.

(I want to brew it for her, but…)

Naturally, there were no tools here to brew coffee. If there were any, it would be in the staff room or the home economics room.

“…For now, let’s ask if we can borrow the staff room. There might be something there.”

“Will you help me?”

“Of course. I’ll take responsibility for turning you into a coffee lover.”

Saying that, I walked towards the staff room.