After finishing their order, Kanie-san whispered “You look good” to Latifah-sama. He was probably talking about her uniform, but it was enough to turn Latifah-sama red as a beet. She looked like she might melt, actually! Isuzu-san was just looking out the window, as though she hadn’t heard.
Hmm... What’s all this now?! Had I stumbled into an extremely delicate situation?! I wasn’t sure! Was it okay for me to be here?! But I wanted my cheesecake, so I boldly remained! I mean, hunger is a motivator, right? Come to me, cheesecake...
Just then, I heard a voice from the kitchen in the back. Kanie-san read out our order, I guess to the person in charge of making the drinks.
No reply came.
Kanie-san read out the order again.
“Huh? Sorry, I wasn’t listening,” the person in the kitchen said.
Kanie-san read it out one more time, patiently.
“I get it already. Just try to speak more clearly next time, okay? I couldn’t hear you.”
“Sorry,” Kanie-san apologized politely.
“Also, stop flirting with the customers,” said the voice in the back. “It’s annoying.”
“Right...”
That was the end of the conversation. Stuff like that usually goes over my head, but even I could read the mood there. Latifah-sama was looking pretty upset, too. She was blind, after all—if I could hear the exchange, it was probably plain as day to her! Isuzu-san also looked sad about it, but she’d probably figured this would happen, because she didn’t look too surprised, either. If we were doing manga thought balloons, hers would probably have read, “I thought so...”
While we were waiting for our drinks to come out, we saw a couple of scenes play out that were pretty similar to that one. It was actually pretty obvious, now that I was looking for it; Kanie-san was being cold-shouldered, ignored, and snarked at by everyone.
Even the waitress, Mikasa, was doing it. She kept shooting little snide comments at him. I couldn’t quite make them out from where I was sitting, but judging from their expressions, they were probably all nasty.
Speaking of which... the mood in the cafe was totally in the pits now. Even the girls from the other school, who had been smiling minutes ago while they ordered from Kanie-san, had gone pretty quiet. They just sipped their tea silently, and then shared a look as if to say, “let’s go.”
It was obvious. Definitely plain to see. Even though it was just a part-time job, I was really working hard at AmaBri, and working there had taught me how easily customers picked up on a negative atmosphere. Any time me, Eiko-san, or Shiina-chan were having personal problems, the audience seemed to enjoy our performances less. The people at the old folks’ homes and daycare centers would still clap and cheer for us... but it felt like they were forcing it a little bit.
That happened at Elementario’s shows, too. When Muse-san and Salama-san were fighting, you could hear just a little less enthusiasm in their audiences’ cheers (I watch them from the back row a lot, actually! It’s very educational! I don’t think they realize it, though!)
The class’s cafe was pretty well put together. They’d worked hard on the menus, and they’d made pretty good decorations for the limited time they’d had. (Of course, if they’d had more time, they probably could have made them even better...). You wouldn’t notice the invisible pressure on Kanie-san if you weren’t paying close attention... but you could still tell.
I wonder what the heck happened! Obviously, I didn’t have any knowledge of the situation. Latifah-sama probably didn’t, either, but Isuzu-san seemed to have a pretty good idea.
Now I knew why Kanie-san had told us not to come. He was a smart person, so he’d probably known that this would happen from the start.
Latifah-sama and Isuzu-san were both silent. Was it because I wasn’t talking? It kind of looked like they were in pain. After a little while, Kanie-san brought the tea and snacks. I finally got my cheesecake, but I couldn’t enjoy it a bit.
“Ah, well... I guess you saw me at my lowest, eh?” Kanie-san said, with a pained smile. “I just have to put up with it for two days. Then I can get back to work, so don’t worry.”
“Kanie-sama...” Latifah-sama said. Her voice was choked with tears. “Is this because of Shibuya? Because of Shibuya, you had to cancel all your plans here? And then the people in your class...”
“Ahh, I don’t care what these losers think,” Kanie-san scoffed. “Forget ’em.”
“But...!”
“Listen, Latifah. I don’t care about this play-acting nonsense, and getting wrapped up in some school drama would be a lot more annoying,” Seiya said flatly. “So I’ve decided to allot just a few days of my precious time here—but I knew you’d worry, which is why I told you not to come. That’s all it is.” His voice was quiet, but forceful. He’d also raised his voice just enough to make sure everyone heard him say “play-acting nonsense.” Very bold! But kind of rude...
“But... really...” she said.
“Just accept it already,” he told her. “I’m serious, okay?”
Latifah was trembling. The others could see it, too. It was like she was ashamed by her own lack of similar commitment. I didn’t really get it, but in that moment, Kanie-san looked kind, and fierce, and somehow very... very strong and cool. Oh, wow. I might be falling for him, too. Forgive me, my brother in another country!
It was the face of a man about to fight! It was 500 times cooler than Tiramii-san when he pressed the trigger for the explosives on that evil spirit! (Of course, that was pretty cool too!) What the heck! I wished I could take a picture and show it to everyone in the cast! Everyone! Everyone! There’s a real hottie here! Look! Look! I’d say. But I knew that if I took out my smartphone and got a picture, he’d get mad, so I didn’t.