As much as he’d wanted to help Otogi-kun--and as grateful as he was toward Mr. Clown for hiring him--Ryou was really at the end of his rope when it came to his waiter position. Summer break was in full swing so the mall was far more packed than usual, and with Otogi-kun still on an unplanned leave and Shizuka having called in for her shift, that left the frazzled teen completely alone to serve pastries, collect money, and make drinks all at once. Less than halfway through his shift, he’d actually shut down the entire operation and even briefly locked himself inside the kitchen to recompose himself, thankful that his fanclub hadn’t appeared yet.
Yet was the operative word, for as soon as he finally deemed himself okay enough to rejoin the world a familiar, if faint, shrill in his vicinity made his stomach drop.
They were on him in an instant, and he had to hold his hands in front of himself to keep up a healthy distance.
“‘M sorry, but we’re shut for the day,” he lied, trying his damnedest to maintain that cheery demeanor he was known for. “We ran out of nearly everything this morning, and it’ll take me the rest of the day just to make more stock. I apologize for the delay, but--”
The nearest girl wasn’t having it, it seemed, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Bakura-kun, what about the drinks? Tea is easy enough, right? You can’t possibly expect us to believe that you’re out of that too!”
Ryou flinched ever so slightly at the observation. She had a point there.