2025-07-08: Dinner Rush
- Log: Dinner Rush
- Cast: Sojiro Sakura, Ren Amamiya
- Where: Cafe Leblanc, Yongen-Jaya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: July 8, 2025
- IC Date: Wed, Jun 06, 2012
- Summary: Sojiro reaps the fruits of advertising Leblanc at the Sumaru Hyakumanzeki Festival. Ren helps out.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sigh.
Today was one of those busy days in the shops, people were coming in and out and now that school is out it is only getting worse. It was a rare day that Sojiro had to apologize for not having enough sitting room and offering a discount to take it to go, otherwise he would be happy to allow them to wait for a seat. Still dinner rush would be starting soon as well, so once again Sojiro looks at the clock on the wall.
Sigh
"Where is that kid?" Sojiro asks himself, as he quickly refocuses back to pouring someone a now slightly full cup of coffee. Internally, the stress of the day and frustration with being in need of help is competing against the fact that Ren had gone out of his way to help him at the festival.
As Sojiro juggles grabbing some dishes and tossing them gently in the sink, before turning right around and plating some curry. In the back of his head he wonders if he could call that service for maids to come help with the dishes if Ren didn't show.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Where is Ren? Well... Coming home from school, actually, like some of the patrons present. Given Sojiro's policy of not keeping guys' phone numbers in his cell phone, he has no idea about Leblanc getting slammed--not until he walks up to the door and pauses just before pulling it open to stare wide-eyed at the crowd inside.
"Woah," a high-pitched voice whispers in his ear. "There's a rare sight!"
"No kidding," Ren murmurs back. He hasn't been here more than a couple months, so he doesn't know how common this is, but it usually isn't this crowded.
Which of course means that Sojiro will want him to help out behind the counter. What's the point of a part-timer if not to help out at busy times like this?
"You'd better make yourself scarce for a bit," Ren adds.
"Got it. You left the window open a crack, right? I'll just let myself in after I've had a walk."
A black cat slips out of Ren's school bag onto his shoulders, then hops onto the brick wall nearby and saunters out of sight. Ren watches him go, then enters the cafe.
It's even noisier and busier once he's inside. Ren glances around at the crowds, then slips further in to the kitchen where Sojiro is.
"I'll be right back down once I drop off my stuff," Ren tells him. And in just a minute, he does exactly that.
Ren can read the room. Best to get right to it. That's the deal, after all: live here for free, and in return, work here... for free.
At least there's a clean apron for him, still.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro stands at the counter as a high school girl that looks like she is trying to copy Ann's look and failing places an order. " Yeah, can I get a um...Venti Iced Caramel Macchiato with almond milk and an extra shot of espresso. Have the caramel drizzle divided equally in the bottom and on top of the foam, with light ice. Add 3 pumps of mocha syrup, 2 pumps of toffee nut syrup, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Serve it in a grande cup with a separate cup of ice on the side and a packet of Sweet'N Low." Sojiro stares at the girl long and hard, and this would be the scene that Ren just walked into. That vein on one's head isn't supposed to be visible right?
It is at this time that Sojiro sees Ren and there is a heavy sigh of relief right up till Ren mentions dropping off stuff. " Hurry!" Sojiro shouts.
Turning back to the girl who has confused Le Blanc with a Starbucks, he takes a deep breath and reminds himself internally that he will not yell at customers, " Yeah we don't do that stuff here. We have coffee, with sugar, and cream. If you want to have espresso, maybe some ice coffee if you know, all you want is cold coffee. We don't have that. Try again." Sojiro says it slow, if only to do his best to control his breathing.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Once Ren's got an apron on, he's on top of... well, he doesn't know the orders, but Leblanc only serves so many things, and there's dirty dishes and coffee cups to gather, wash, and plate anew with curry. Ren grabs a pad of paper and a pencil stub on his way and gets on that, taking over the task for Sojiro as he deals with--what's he dealing with, exactly?
He gets a glance at the girl who thinks she's at Starbucks and holds back a grimace. You do you is Ren's general life philosophy, as long as people aren't hurting anyone by doing them, but That's a troubling vein to witness on a middle-aged man's head. Sojiro isn't about to have a coronary, is he?
"The house blend is always delicious," he offers as he passes by the two, though his eyes are on the girl, however fleetingly. "Why not try that?"
...Hopefully that'll help resolve the matter.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
The girl perks up as Ren speaks and giggles a little and smiles before turning back to look at Sojiro, "Yeah that!" Sojiro can only blink between the two and then turns around to get a cup of the house blend. With a deep breath and a forced smile he turns back around and hands the girl her cup, "Thank you for your patronage." He says as he then looks at Ren with the same forced smile. "Ren, I feel your experience has earned you the privilege of taking orders."
Sojiro doesn't even give Ren a moment to talk his way out of his promotion of responsibility, as Sojiro steps into the kitchen area and begins to plate curry, already seeming less stressed. As he brings two plates of curry up to the counter he adds, "Oh, and Ren. If I ever get the idea to promote this place again at a festival, stop me."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren is abruptly promoted to taking orders. He takes this in stride; he was kind of expecting it already. That's why he grabbed the pad of paper and pencil. He thus just nods once as he returns with the dirty dishes. He washes those as Sojiro plates more curry and mentions...
Oh yeah, he did promote Leblanc at the Sumaru Hyakumanzeki Festival, didn't he...? That reminds Ren of the Arisato twins at the note that Minato in particular left for Sojiro--but this is not the time to bring it up.
"I'm guessing you won't be open for business for that festival they're advertising here in Yoncha, then," Ren replies.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro winces and stops mid-motion as he hears about another festival. "I feel that for the Yoncha festival Le Blanc will have to close...for its 1 year and 8 month anniversary. Everyone knows that such an anniversary is a time for reflection in preparation for the second year anniversary. " Sojiro tosses something out there as he doesn't want to think what making this place more popular would do.
Taking another step he plates more curry and notices they are running low. "On a positive note, it appears we will be able to close up early tonight. So if you have plans I am sure you will make them. " Sojiro moves over to the side and grabs two cups, pouring a cup of the house blend for both him and Sojiro and takes a very long sip of his hoping to find energy in the bottom of the cup.
As he continues to work and get things for customer orders, Sojiro speaks up, "Any other festival events I should know about coming up?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren smiles nervously at Sojiro's response. It's kind of impressive how aggressively okay he is with the shop not doing a lot of business... Not that it's Ren's business, either, he reminds himself. As long as he can stay for the rest of the school year, it's better not to stick his nose too deep in whatever Sojiro is doing...
He takes a few more orders from those coming in, both at the tables and at the counter, and returns with them. They're straightforward, at least. While there's plenty of coffee to be had, you can't make dinner out of it, and there's only so much to be had. When Sojiro tells him they'll be closing soon and Ren notes the nearly-empty pot, he nods once, then accepts the cup he's given.
It's an excellent cup of coffee, as always. He won't be able to linger on it... but he appreciates the perk.
"That's the only one I've heard of," he replies. He does not point out that Sojiro lives here and would be more familiar with the local festivals than he would be. "Oh, and there's something I need to give you from a customer, but that can wait 'til we've closed."
He pauses, considering whether he should ask about how the sweets from the other festival were received. He reminds himself it's none of his business. He sets the coffee aside, under the counter, and gets back to work.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro scrapes the bottom of the pot of curry, a pot that normally lasts all day and provides him with dinner to take home. To himself more than anyone else, he comments, " I guess I will have to run to get a couple of bentos for dinner tonight." Sojiro plates the last of the curry and then does something he never thought he'd have to do.
Sojiro puts a sign on the counter by the register, 'Out of Curry'. This dissuades a good number of the late coming high school kids looking for that meal that falls between lunch and dinner. If the rest of those who already had their coffee and curry to clear out the place would almost be manageable. Sojiro looks at Ren, "As soon as things settle a little more just tell me. I figure you have other things to do then to hang out and talk to an old man once we close."
"Your girlfriend will likely be wondering where you are by then, " Sojiro casually says as he pictures Ren's phone chirping like an excited bird trying to get Ren's attention because she needs him for something. She seems a bit high maintenance for his taste, but oh to be young.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Out of Curry... Truly disastrous. But it's effective. Several people who were crowded near the entrance see the sign and leave with open disappointment. Maybe they'll come back another day; maybe they won't. But for tonight, it should hopefully get better thanks to that. Coffee's easier to serve.
He nods once to Sojiro and moves to pick up some more empty plates. He pauses when Sojiro adds a comment, though.
About his "girlfriend." A girlfriend he doesn't have.
"Uh," he utters. Habit tells him to leave it at that and let Sojiro think whatever he wants to think; morbid curiosity makes him ask, "Who?" His brain catches up with him, and running more dishes to the sink, he adds, "You don't mean Ann, do you?"
He might need to spend a little extra time gathering new orders depending on the answer...
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro takes the empty plates, starting them soaking for a few moments as he grinds some more of the house blend to at least keep the coffee going for the time being. The grinder is not one of those fancy electric ones, but a hand crank that one has to learn the finesse of using. Too fast and you lose a lot of the oils, too slow and the beans don't get crushed enough. As he checks the grounds for consistency "Yeah the blonde one."
The grounds are used to replace the old ones, and Sojiro takes a moment to clean out any remnants before adding the new ones. " I mean I know it's not really this old man's place to pry but I guess I am glad to see you being a healthy normal teenager." Sojiro has secret hidden agendas on why Ren having a girlfriend is a good thing as well, but that is a different longer situation, with stronger coffee.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Huh."
Ren lets that one sit for as long as he gathers up orders. They're simpler now that they're just for coffee. The teenagers get the house blend; the adults get actual specific coffees, like Blue Mountain or Guatemalan or whatnot. Sojiro is already on the house blend, at least.
He returns, setting a piece of paper with the number of orders and who's getting what on it. Ren once again considers letting Sojiro think what he wants, but... if he said something to Ann, it would really put her on the spot.
So: "She's not my girlfriend. We're just regular friends."
When the first cups become ready, Ren takes those out to the customers who ordered them. Coffee goes out, cash comes in... At least he's got more breathing room to count the money and make change now.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro hmms at that response for a moment as he finds a moment to refill his own cup of coffee and savor it. It allows him a moment of clarity that only comes from a hot cup of coffee. "I see. Well I guess I have never really had the best sense for these things." Sojiro nods for a moment before stopping his coffee break and returning to the dishes. In his head he runs through the friend group of Ren contemplating if he misunderstood. It's highly possible, as well he has no room to talk about catching those signs.
Yet, perhaps that is why he is being nagged at this, not wanting Ren to miss the evidence in front of him. Perhaps neither of them are full on ready to admit it to themselves or each other, the potential does seem to be there. Sojiro does his best to translate all these thoughts into something meaningful, "Well, you know, sometimes regular friends become more. So don't be so quick to dismiss it in the future."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Once this round of coffee has been served, Ren finds a moment to catch his breath and fetch his own cup, set aside under the counter. He's about to drink when Sojiro tries to claim he 'never had the best sense for these things.'
Ren pauses. Considering how often Sojiro talks about women in a way that suggests he's got lots of romantic experience, this rings false to him. He takes a long, slow sip of his coffee, and soon enough, Sojiro is suggesting that maybe they'll become more than friends later.
"Sure," Ren says, because, sure, that's not impossible. "Oh--since we've got a breather..." He reaches under the counter again, and this time produces a handwritten note. "Sunday was pretty dead, but a couple new customers came by. More kids from the festival in Sumaru. One of them wrote this for you."
If Sojiro accepts the note, he'll find it reads:
'Dear Boss,
Amemiya-san took good care of us while you were gone.
Love,
New Customers.'
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro accepts the note and reads it and then looks at the remnants of the rush and back at the note. In some ways Sojiro is glad to hear Ren managed everything just fine to even get a note of approval. However, after today, new customers sound less positive then he really wants to have to deal with. Still its like those books on how to manage teenagers he has been reading say, always best to focus on the positive, "Hey good job."
The bell to the door rings as the last of the rush leaves, leaving only a few of the regulars remaining. "Well kid, I think we survived." With a sigh of exhaustion Sojiro moves around the counter and sits on a bar stool. With a yawn, he removes his glasses and rubs his eyes for a moment gently. "Ok well I think if we get the last of these dishes soaking, and then you can call it. "
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
At least they're new customers from the Sumaru festival? Those would've come by no matter way. Ren himself isn't sure how Sojiro will react after this rush, but... the praise means he smiles a little smile. "Thanks."
Another crowd of people leaves. Ren moves to pick up their plates as Sojiro sits. He glances over his shoulder at him as he speaks, then nods once. "OK."
He sure isn't going to complain about having his evening free.