Chapter 2: The Flirty Gentleman

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by korrayuh

by korrayuh

You entered ACOT in full uniform today. It was early and the café wasn't open for customers yet, so it was the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with your colleagues.

As you looked around, you saw everyone bustling around, preparing ingredients, drinks, cleaning, sweeping, getting ready for the day. You found Zhongli and headed over to him.

"Hey, nice to see you again.... I was wondering if you could introduce me to the team?"

He nodded. Whistling to get everyone's attention. More than a few pairs of eyes were on you now.

He gestured to you. "This is y/n l/n. Our new coworker. She'll/He'll/They'll be working with us from now on. Y/n, please introduce yourself."

"Oh um.. yeah. So you guys already know my name, I'm (20-25) and I'm from Southern Asia. I moved here about a month ago and I hope I can be friends with everyone!"

There was a murmuring of welcome as everyone introduced themselves. A dark-skinned man with blue hair was Kaeya, the barista. There was a young intern, Diona, specializing in mixology, who was only 14. Noelle was the cleaner and had light lavender hair. Xiangling, who had an eccentric personality, was the head-chef. Zhongli was the receptionist. Bennett, a good-natured but unlucky boy, was the errand-runner. And lastly, the acquaintance you'd never forget.

"I'm Thoma. I do just about anything they need me for. Mostly a fixer. If you need any help, just ask." He winked. Thoma was a tall person with startling green eyes and orange hair, short but for a slick pony tail down his back.

At first, you thought of him as the flirty, playboy type, but nonetheless you were happy that at least someone had taken an interesting to you.

The cafe opened for the day and you set to work, doing everything you could to satisfy the customer as well as not get into anyone's way. Thoma was really a fixer. The coffee machine got stuck when you tried to use it, so you called on "THOMAAAAAA" He fixed it.

Finally, you were on your last customer for the day. You got her order ready, a vanilla creamcake with two mochas and set them down on their table.

"Enjoy your meal, Ma'am."

You turn to leave but the woman orders you to stay as she tastes the cake.

"Disgusting!" She spits. "I'm allergic to nuts, who told you to add nuts to this?"

You try to stay calm as you explain that the cake doesn't have any nuts in it, but the lady doesn't listen. As you panic, trying to figure out what to do, a hand touches your shoulder and you hear Thoma's voice.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, is something the issue?"

"This rodent put nuts in my food!"

"Ma'am, I assure you that we do not put nuts in our vanilla creamcakes."

"THEN EXPLAIN THE NUTTY TASTE!" By now she was screaming so loud, your heart was racing.

Thoma calmly tasted the cake. "That is vanilla, Ma'am. Vanilla is a flower and thus not a nut. Now, I need you to apologize to my coworker here for your rudeness over a misunderstanding. Thank you."

The lady scoffed. "I'm leaving this filthy place. There is no way I'm apologizing for being right!"

She stormed off. You sighed in relief. You gave Thoma a grateful smile.

"Thanks for that, I owe you one."

He smiled back. "No problem. Seen many of these rodents. Anyways, seems like we're the only ones left."

You looked around, everyone had left in the commotion.

"I'll clean up, you can go."

"I'd rather help. I'm staying, have to make a good first impression y'know."

"Suit yourself." He threw you a cloth.

As you both scrubbed the tables, you couldn't help but smiling, knowing you'd made a friend on your first day.

~~~~~~~