A Beautiful Model In My Class Comes To The Coffee Shop Where I Work Part-time Only When I'm On Shift - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: A Little Tale from the Past

“What, Kamisaka is here too. What’s up, having a secret rendezvous?”

“We wouldn’t do such a thing at school!”

I denied it, but Mamiya-sensei ignored it and stepped onto the tatami. From within her white coat, she pulled out a cigarette that was probably hidden.

“Akira-chan, wasn’t this school supposed to be non-smoking?”

“You two are being too nitpicky… I said you can use this room, so let me smoke freely.”

“Ugh…”

With that said, there was nothing we could do but back down.

“…Phew.”

Opening the window, Mamiya-sensei started smoking. The night shift room’s window was on the backside of the school building. Although there were bushes outside, and no one would see the smoke from elsewhere, it was still quite a bold act.

“Hey, sorry to impose, but can you make me a cup of coffee too?”

“Huh? Uh, sure… if you’re okay with what I brewed.”

Does Mamiya-sensei also like coffee? If it’s necessary to use this room, I’ll gladly make it.

“H-Here I go…”

“Oh, thanks.”

Following the same procedure as before, I brewed a cup of coffee for Mamiya-sensei.

Now that I think about it, I know almost nothing about Utahara-san’s past. I’ve heard about her career in casual conversations, but she never shared details about her relationships or school days.

“…Ah, it’s delicious.”

Hearing those words, I finally relaxed my shoulders.

“It tastes good, doesn’t it? Juntaro’s coffee.”

“Yeah, it’s not bad at all. Honestly, I can’t discern the fine flavors and such.”

While saying that, Mamiya-sensei chuckled.

“As expected of her… disciple. You’ve been well-trained.”

“Disciple… you mean her?”

Suddenly realizing, I looked at Mamiya-sensei, who grinned.

“You’re working part-time at Yumi’s place, right? I’ve heard a lot about you from her.”

“So you were friends with the Master…!”

Come to think of it, Utahara-san and Mamiya-sensei are the same age. I never would have guessed they knew each other.

“We’ve been friends since junior high. We caused quite a ruckus back then.”

Leaning against the window, Mamiya-sensei exhaled smoke towards the sky.

“Huh, the kind Master was a troublemaker? I can’t imagine.”

“She’s diligent now that she’s working seriously, but in the past, she was quite the delinquent. Even more of a troublemaker than me.”

Nostalgically reminiscing, Mamiya-sensei chuckled again.

By the way, I don’t know much about Utahara-san’s past either. I’ve heard about her career, but she never talked about her relationships or school days during our conversations. If her past wasn’t something she could share easily, I can understand why.

“This is my alma mater, too. We used to hang out in this night shift room.”

“Hangout…?”

“It’s often misunderstood, but Yumi suggested using this place as a hangout. She wanted to practice brewing coffee during lunch breaks, and since then, I’ve been the official taste tester. Well, she was quite the delinquent back in the day, too.”

I exchanged glances with Shizuku.

It seems that even Utahara-san and her were doing something similar to us.

What a coincidence.

Or maybe, have I just ended up resembling my mentor?

“I’ve been maintaining these tools at her request. They seem to be in good condition, thankfully.”

“Is that so…”

The reason why the unused equipment was still clean became clear.

“When she started using her part-time job earnings to buy the latest appliances, I was honestly taken aback… Thanks to that, they still seem to be working fine.”

“Isn’t that too proactive?”

“If it’s for what she wants to do, she won’t spare any effort. That’s how she is.”

Even though it seems a bit excessive. But if that effort has contributed to Utahara-san’s current abilities, then it was all necessary.

“When she said she hired a part-timer, I was wondering how it would turn out but… Mikage seems to be fine.”

Disposing of the cigarette in an ashtray, Mamiya-sensei poked my head with her finger. Although her expression didn’t change much, it seemed like she was praising me.

“I’ll be counting on you for Yumi from now on too. She’s a bit of an idiot, that one.”

The tone of her voice sounded as if she was talking about her younger sister, who was a handful.

“Well then, feel free to keep using this room. In return, make me coffee occasionally, alright?”

“…Yes, of course.”

Waving her hand lightly, Mamiya-sensei left the duty room.

“It’s surprising, isn’t it? Akira-chan and Master being friends—no, best friends.”

“Yeah…”

I looked around the room again.

This is where the person I admired polished her skills. Surely, she must have been thinking about coffee all the time. If I want to catch up, I’ll have to put in the same amount of effort.

“Shizuku… I want you to accompany me in my practice for a while. Is that okay?”

“Of course! I was the one who said I wanted to drink coffee at school, so I’m very welcome!”

Saying that with pride, Shizuku, I deeply thanked her. Before we knew it, it was almost the end of lunchtime. We quickly finished our lunch and left the night shift room.