"Welcome."
"Hello~"
"Should I call Riki out?"
The waitress seemed very familiar with Nagasaki Soyo, greeting the two with a smile. And the Riki she mentioned was obviously also acquainted with this young girl.
"Um, sorry to trouble you in a moment~"
Nagasaki Soyo replied with an equally gentle smile.
"Alright, please pick a seat you like."
...
Guided by Soyo, Anon Chihaya found a suitable table, and the two sat down facing each other.
At that moment, the waitress walked over with a tray carrying two glasses of ice water.
The transparent glasses on the table reflected the lights, their outer surfaces beaded with tiny droplets, looking wonderfully refreshing.
"Please let the two of you know when you've decided what to order."
"Okay, thank you~"
The exchange between Nagasaki Soyo and the waitress exuded a calm, cozy atmosphere that made Anon Chihaya feel completely at ease.
...She really is gentle, huh~
...Soyo-san~
Having come to this shop for the first time, Anon Chihaya had no idea what to order, but Nagasaki Soyo was clearly a regular here and could surely be trusted.
So, picking up the menu, she asked for Nagasaki Soyo's opinion:
"Soyo-san, do you have any drinks you'd recommend?"
"Probably the black tea. It has a rich, mellow flavor, and I really like it~"
Ohh...
Opening the menu, Anon Chihaya nodded.
...There are so many items~
Before Anon Chihaya could examine it closely,
Nagasaki Soyo suddenly interrupted:
"Um, you've been using polite speech with me this whole time, but aren't we in the same grade?"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Eh?!"
"You're a first-year?!" (Shocked face)
∑(OvO）!!
"Yes! I'm a first-year~" Seeing Anon's astonished expression, Soyo found it somewhat amusing.
Upon receiving confirmation, Anon Chihaya in surprise raised the menu to cover the lower half of her face, still finding it hard to believe.
"You look so poised and mature, I thought you were an upperclassman!"
"Oh my, you're using polite speech again~"
Seeing Anon's cute reaction, Nagasaki Soyo couldn't help but tease her.
Subconsciously, Anon Chihaya covered her mouth, looking a little embarrassed.
The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward...
To break the tension, Nagasaki Soyo wanted to change the subject and introduced herself properly once again:
"It wasn't really convenient outside just now, so let me reintroduce myself. My name is Nagasaki Soyo, and like you, I'm a first-year."
Given this opening, Anon Chihaya wasn't one to miss the mood, so she smoothly went along with the conversation.
"Mm-hm! Soyo-san, let me reintroduce myself too. My name is Anon Chihaya, and I'm a transfer student at Haneoka."
"Judging by your uniform... could it be that you're a student at Tsukinomori? That famous prestigious girls' school?"
"That's amazing, even your name sounds like an ojou-sama!"
...
"Is that so... not really." Faced with the girl's admiring gaze, Nagasaki Soyo twirled a lock of her hair with one hand, looking rather indifferent.
"It really is! You give off total sheltered ojou-sama vibes!" Fearing that Soyo wouldn't believe her, Anon Chihaya nodded repeatedly in affirmation.
Just as the two were talking, another girl with short white hair walked in through the RING's front door. Carrying a guitar case and dressed in trendy clothes, she gave off a strong rock-and-roll vibe.
Seeing the newcomer, the waitress at the front desk paused what she was busy doing and asked the girl with familiar ease:
"Rana, are you going to use the open mic?"
"Mm."
After entering the shop, Kaname Rana casually found a seat and sat down, her tone flat and unreadable.
"Wait for me a second."
The waitress quickly tidied up the cluttered items on the counter, then trotted over to the prominent stage corner in the shop's corner, lowering her head to sort out the microphone cables.
...
"I've decided, excuse me~" After pondering over the menu for a long time, Anon Chihaya finally raised her hand to call the waitress and place her order.
At that moment, the waitress was busy straightening out the microphone cables and couldn't spare a hand, so she turned and shouted toward the back:
"Riki-chan, sorry to bother you, but could you come out and help customers?"
"Coming..."
Hearing someone call her name,
Shiina Raki pushed open the door to the back room and emerged from the lounge.
"We'd like to order~" Seeing Riki, Nagasaki Soyo said with a bright, sweet smile.
"Got it."
Giving a casual response, Shiina Raki indifferently took out a pen and notepad, ready to record their order.
"I'll have the usual~ How about you, Anon-chan?"
"What's the usual?" Anon Chihaya asked, puzzled.
"Hot Earl Grey tea~"
"That sounds great, I'll have the same please, one for me too~"
Clasping her hands together, Anon Chihaya turned her head and said to Shiina Raki.
"Right, two hot Earl Greys." Riki replied while writing it down with her pen.
Without saying much else, and without any reminiscing between friends,
after recording the customers' orders, Shiina Raki coldly turned and left to head back to work in the kitchen.
...Eh? She looks so fierce.
Watching Riki's retreating back, Anon Chihaya made a rather rude conjecture.
"Don't stare at people like that," Nagasaki Soyo reminded her.
Hearing this, Anon Chihaya pulled back her gaze, awkwardly smoothing down a strand of hair dangling beside her face as cold sweat streamed down.
Paying no mind to the girl's superfluous little gestures, Nagasaki Soyo continued:
"I heard you mention just now that Anon is looking for band members, right?"
"Yes, but I checked the bulletin board, and none of them matched the recruitment criteria I'm looking for."
"I see..."
"Have you tried looking on social media? People recruit on there sometimes too~"
"Eh, Soyo-san is so well-informed."
Hearing Soyo's suggestion, Anon couldn't help praising her.
"It's because I was in a band before..." Whether because of Anon's words or not, Nagasaki Soyo lowered her head, looking at the water glass on the table in a momentary daze.
"Eh? A Tsukinomori student playing in a band is a bit surprising." With every sentence exchanged, Anon Chihaya understood the girl before her a little better, and felt a growing sense of admiration for Soyo.
"Is it really that rare? ...A friend invited me to join back then."
"Must be nice. The students at our high school already have their own bands."
"So that's why you..."
"Yeah..."
The two of them bantered back and forth, becoming more and more engrossed in their conversation.
...
...