Not Quite Leisure Time [Open]

[Shion Amanomiya]

❊ SIGNPOST OF MEMORIES ❊

Shion stared at the sheet of paper before her, forehead furrowed. Grandma always reproached her when she did that, saying that she'll get wrinkles so early on in life, but granny wasn't here and sometimes, one had to compensate from the lack of companions with facial expressions. If not, she'd be speaking out loud to herself. Like she didn't already do too much of that inside her head.

The object of her consternation didn't seem intimidated by her concentrated frown at all, the printed words on the requisition form not changing at all despite a second once-over to make sure that she read it correctly. There it was, clear as day, no smudged bits that might hopefully be what Shion needed from this document.

"Because we need it" hardly seemed like an acceptable reason when the kendo club was asking for more funding. "We need it for more equipment" wasn't sufficient either. Shion understood that a club president's role was a stressful one, but really, it was unnecessary to direct this much neglect (or was it frustration? He used to fill these forms out quite well) towards the Student Council's treasurer.

This was making her head hurt. Deciding to take a break from working on SC things, Shion set the papers down on the table and picked up her teacup, the contents still steaming. It was the weekend, and she probably should just enjoy it while it wasn't exams season yet, but her duties would still be there to be dealt regardless of when or where she chose to tackle them. With a soft sigh, and allowing herself to sit back and relax, Shion took in the rest of the charming cafe from her corner seat while taking a sip of her tea, trying to get her mind off work.

TAGS: N/A NOTES: Open thread! Feel free to join

XOXO SHIN OF GS + THQ

[Hiromi Sakata]

Hiromi hesitated for a while outside
the Red Moon Cafe, her hand outstretched just an inch away from the door handle. She had been no stranger to the Red Moon Cafe before. In fact last year she would have visited this establishment a few times a week. But that was before the earthquake. When everything had felt just a little easier. And now...

She drew in a long breath, and pushed the door open, stepping inside. The familiar bells that were connected to the door bumped against each other, letting everyone (and more importantly the wait staff) know that there was a new patron in the cafe. Her first thought after stepping into the cafe that she hadn't visited in a long time was how thankful she was to be out of the cold. She started to unzip her jacket, looking around as she did so.

Place really hadn't changed she thought, as she glanced around. She wasn't quite sure if that was a compliment or not. On the upside, there were plenty of businesses that  were hurt by the earthquake. Some never reopened. The Red Moon Cafe apparently had been left relatively untouched by it. On the downside however, it looked like the owner of the cafe hadn't attempted to try and spruce it up to draw in more customers. The few tables were sparsely populated by paying customers. It had to be luck that this place survived against the other more popular cafes. 

Well. It's business success or failure really meant nothing to her. She only really came in here to prove to herself that she could. Examining the room, she picked a nearby table beside a teenage girl whose hair was tied up by ribbon. Hiromi thought she looked familiar but couldn't for the life of her put a name to the face. She wasn't going to worry over it, knowing the name would come to her if her suspicion was correct. 

As she took her seat she folded her hands in front of her and placed them on the table...

...and immediately regretted it. Apparently the person who had sat here earlier had trouble getting the liquid beverage he/she had been drinking into his/her mouth. Because the table had a few small splashes of brown liquid with one of them directly under her right hand. Silently cursing herself for not bothering to check first, she looked around for anything she could use as a napkin.

Yep she thought to herself cooly. Hasn't changed a bit.

[Shion Amanomiya]

❊ SIGNPOST OF MEMORIES ❊

Like the rest of the cafe's customers who have nothing to occupy themselves with (or the paranoid), Shion's gaze was drawn to the door when the bells chimed. Along with the whisper of chilly winter air came the new customer, whose face seemed somewhat familiar to Shion. Then again, the model encountered that feeling a lot of times since Kanehira wasn't that big of an area and she had fans who pretty much attended most of her events. The girl probably attended the city's middle school or high school.

As soon as she made that conclusion, her attention on the girl waned and returned to the cup of tea in front of her. For all it's faults, the Red Moon Cafe had good tea. It wasn't a place she'd bring her grandma to, since her standards were much more stringent, but it was alright, hitting that tea craving spot just right. Maybe just a bit gimmicky with the maid costumes and all.

She'd been about to go back to reviewing the kendo team's requisition form to finally make a decision on whether to make the president redo it or not, when she realized that the cafe's new guest was taking the table next to hers. Not that it bothered her to have someone sit near, since Shion was all for minding her own business, but the girl looked familiar, and maybe Shion looked familiar to her too. Hopefully the treasurer wasn't going to have to recall the other's name.

But it seemed like that wouldn't her immediate concern. Ihe waitress had not cleared the table properly after the last customer who had sat there, and now the young lady had something that had been spilled on her hand. Hopefully it was just beverage and not mixed with saliva or something. One can't really be sure, nowadays.

"Here, use these." After setting her cup down, she picked up a few sheets from the small stack of paper napkins that sat on her table and offered them out to the young lady. She raised her other hand in a small wave directed towards the cafe staff, signaling for their assistance in cleaning the other's table properly this time, and possibly to take her order down if she wanted.

TAGS: Hiromi Sakata NOTES:

XOXO SHIN OF GS + THQ

[Hiromi Sakata]

Internally, she was disgusted with the liquid substance on her hand as well as angry at herself for not bothering to look and inspect the table before she sat down. Physically however, she showed nothing but mere annoyance as she looked down at her hand. She thought about going to the nearest employee, asking for a napkin, make an offhand comment about the cleanliness of the establishment, than leave right there without asking for a drink. But she couldn’t do that. After all she had all but psyched herself into coming here. To just leave now because of something like this…

“Hear, use this,” said a voice beside her.

Hiromi blinked, looking over to where the voice came from. It was the girl she knew/didn’t-know. The older girl was holding out her hand, carrying a few napkins in her hand. With the other, she signaled (presumably the wait staff thought Hiromi). Hiormi hesitated for a moment, examining the girl. Beside a hot beverage, she saw some kind of form in front of her. It looked rather official from the quick glance.

The responsible type she guessed. Getting up, she shuffled a few steps over to her and took one of the offered napkins.

“Thank you,” she said sounding only slightly guarded, as proceeded to dry and clean off her dirtied hand.

Her sounding guarded was simply because she wasn’t used to this kind of interaction. Hiromi was usually the one caring for someone at home (usually her mother). From doing laundry to cooking simple meals, she had transformed into the ‘care taker’ role from a young age. This, despite being such a small gesture, felt weird for her. Foreign even. She knew it was a stupid to think like that, which made it seem even worse for her.

“I appreciate it,” she said finally. Deciding to use conversation instead of simply overthink the small gesture the older girl had done for her. “This place… I guess it offers ‘services’ that doesn’t include maintaining the tables.”

There. The off comment she desperately wanted to say, referring to the maid costumes that a few of the waitresses wore. It allowed her to relax a little.

[Shion Amanomiya]

❊ SIGNPOST OF MEMORIES ❊

"You're very welcome." Shion returned, letting her eyes linger on the girl's face before letting it drift away so that she wasn't staring. Now that she had initiated interaction with the girl, it now fell on her to remember who she was, if she even had a name to match the face.

"Mm," She nodded in agreement to the girl's next statement. It kind of felt a little forced, but Shion was going to take it. Better than sitting around awkwardly wondering if she was going to hold a conversation or not. "The costumes are... a gimmick, after all." Something the cafe had to do in order to keep up with the newer ones.

She sat up a little bit as one of the maid waitresses drew near, excusing herself briefly from the other girl. "Can you clear that table, please?" She made a small gesture towards the tea-stained one. "And a menu for her~"

After the waitress went away to get something to clean the table with, Shion returned her attention to the young lady. "On second thought, you should change tables since it'll be wet for a while after they clean it." She nodded her head to the seat in front of her, moving the forms and pens away and placing them into her bag. "You can sit here, if you want."

It wasn't like she was waiting for someone or get any Student Council work done, at the rate that form was going.

TAGS: Hiromi Sakata NOTES: N/A

XOXO SHIN OF GS + THQ

[Hiromi Sakata]

"You're right about that," muttered Hiromi after the other girl had commented about the gimmick. You'd never see me in one of those things she thought, taking a moment to look away while her 'rescuer' talked to one of the servers. Hiromi caught sight of one of the other female servers (dressed in costume) who just placed a hot beverage down for one of the customers. The server than lingered, presumably because the two were busy conversing with one another. After another moment, she threw her head back as if she had just heard the funniest comment ever.

Never she repeated to herself.

When the older girl sent away the server, Hiromi was not surprised by the invitation. After all, she had taken her as the responsible polite type. And offering her a seat at her table was the polite thing to do. However company wasn't something Hiromi really wanted, but she could think of a single reason to decline the friendly invitation. Noting that wasn't seen as rude at least. So it was only with the faintest amount of visible reluctance when she said, "Thank you.", taking the seat across from her.

As soon as she sat down however, she realized she had nothing to say to the recognizable stranger. Fumbling with the napkin for another moment, she set it down and looked directly into the girl's eyes.

After a short, uncomfortable silence she asked, "Do you go to Kanehira High?"

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Tetsuya stood hesitant outside of the small cafe. Even though he began coming here more frequently, he couldn't help but be nervous to go inside. The last time he was here. He shivered at the thought of it. He made such a fool of himself. But that was all in the past right? What are the odds that he'll do it again. 

About 25 to 1.


You know for a conscious you're pretty pessimistic.


Hey I'm just your thoughts. You create me, therefore I am you.


He sighed. He was literally having an argument with himself. He didn't know many people but he was pretty sure that talking to yourself like this is not normal. He shook his head. He was thinking to much he just had to do it. Plus the tea was really good. He clenched his fist, drew in a long breathe then walked inside the building. The usual bell rang. He wasn't caught of guard as much as the first time he came here. he looked around, there were a few more people than usual. He guessed it was because of the cafe's new maid uniforms for the waitresses. The idea didn't really interest Tetsuya. Yeah he thought that the waitresses were stunning, but that made it harder for him to come here. He could feel his face turn red at the thought. 

He quickly looked around to find a table, in hopes to not encounter and waitresses. His stopped and focused on a table of two girls. They both seemed kind of familiar. Perhaps they went to the same school. He shook his head. 

Remember what happened last time.

He quickly looked away, trying his hardest to not stare at them. He again looked around for a seat. Since there were more customers than usual, most tables were either taken or not clean. The only clean table he could find was...right next...to those girls.

Great.

He sighed and started the long treacherous journey to the table. He tried his hardest to not look at the two females by looking directly at the ground. In hindsight this was probably the worst thing he could have done. Suddenly he tripped over a chair.

Everything seemed to stop as he fell. He tried to stop his descent by grabbing onto the chair in front of him. But, he noticed that one of the girls was in the chairs. Not wanting to risk any more humiliation he fell. The fall didn't really injure him, well maybe his pride, and social standing, but he was fine. Nevertheless he laid there, cursing himself. 

Ah did I say 25 to 1? I meant 100 to 1.

[Shion Amanomiya]

❊ SIGNPOST OF MEMORIES ❊

Yes, it was rather awkward, talking to someone younger than she was, and someone she didn't quite know... But Shion had not required the girl to converse with her even if they were sharing a table. Did it not happen often that two strangers would share a table just out of necessity or convenience, and not really talk, then? Shion supposed that practice was just done in St. Bridget, since the school was heavily influenced by it's sister schools in the west.

When the inquiry was voiced, Shion was just about to pick up her teacup and continue enjoying her tea. It made her pause, then sit back without resuming her task. "Yes, although I just matriculated back last year. I suppose you go there too?"

Her attention was quickly drawn away by an approaching person... With pink hair. That was unusual. And he was doing this thing where he was looking at them but trying not to at the same time. Shion had seen that before, maybe he was a fan (which would be surprising; being the model of ladies' garments, won't her fans be girls?) or another person from school?

She really needed to start remembering names and faces of the students the Student Council watched over.

And then the young man fell. The treasurer felt like she was seeing it in slow motion, not able to move as quickly but having pretty much calculated how he was going to fall and that he was going to bring her companion's chair down... But she saw him let go of the back of the chair.

When he finally crashed onto the floor, Shion got up and took a few steps near where he was, but far enough that he wouldn't catch sight of something he shouldn't. "Are you alright? Do we need to call an... ambulance?" She asked, peering at his face before glancing back at her table-mate, trying to check if she had somehow been hurt as well.

TAGS: Hiromi Sakata NOTES: N/A

XOXO SHIN OF GS + THQ

[Hiromi Sakata]

She thought as much when the older girl confirmed that she too went to Kanehira High. Although how she said it was quite perplexing. Back again? Where was she before? She thought about asking, but it really wasn't any of her business to pry into a stranger's life. But maybe a brief introduction is in order...

"I am," she said evenly. "I'm a First Year from Class..."

Hiromi stopped when she heard the familiar sound of bells. The older girl's attention was drawn to the Red Moon Cafe's entrance way, and Hiromi couldn't help but attempt to sate her curiosity of who it was. As soon as she turned she saw the familiar figure with pink hair. Their embarrassing previous encounter instantly became fresh in her mind again. His social inaptness and awkwardness of almost legendary proportions.

As if the mysterious teenager was trying to 'beat' his previous introduction he glanced at them once and then proceeded to look everywhere but at at them. Perhaps if he wasn't doing that, he would have seen the chair that was in his pathway. The pink haired teenager went down mumbling what sounded like curses as he laid there.

The two seated woman had completely different reactions. The older girl had rushed to his aid, offering to call an ambulance. Hiromi instead closed her eyes and sighed. Idiot she thought to herself before opening her eyes again. Hiromi wondered, based on that single interaction they shared outside of school, if he was bad with people or just members of the opposite sex. Hiromi was well aware that people were 'at that age', and she wasn't at all ignorant at such topics. Well, I cant be to hard on the guy thought Hioromi as she stared at him, with the older girl hovering over him. His fall had made her touching a dirty table seem completely benign.

"You don't do first impressions well, do you?" she asked casually to the pink haired boy, getting up from her table slowly and approached the spectacle.

Upon a closer inspection it didn't seem that bad at all. An ambulance, (while kind of Miss Responsible) seemed like it would be overkill. She didn't see any blood and he appeared conscious. He was (probably) physically fine.

"Oh dear!" said one of servers, who came rushing over. She had some cleaning supplies in one hand. Obviously she was on her way back to clean the one table. "Is there anything I can get you?!"

Hiromi paused, looking at Miss Responsible, than to Mr. Socially inept (who was still on the floor), and then back to the server.

"Could I have some hot tea?" she asked nonchalantly.

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Tetsuya closed his eyes. He had done it again. For someone who tried to hide and be as unnoticeable as possible, he had a knack for drawing attention. Despite his best efforts, the girl from the other day recognized him. Well it would have been hard for her not to, since he literally tripped right in front of her. He sighed. Maybe if he stayed on the ground everyone would ignore him.  His eyes opened at the sound of someone saying ambulance. 

I'm such a screw up.


He couldn't just stay on the ground, so he accepted his fate and started to get up. He dusted off his pants and fixed his hoodie. His eyes focused on the two girls next to him. His eyes widened and his face turned red. He stood there paralyzed. He had no idea what to do or say in this situation. Knowing that just standing there would make the situation even worse, he attempted to apologize. But, nothing came out.

He tried again. "I-I'm sorry," he finally managed to whimper out. He bowed at both of the girls. "I-I'm really uh sorry. I didn't mean t-to intur-r-rupt you guys." He stayed in the bowed position, not wanting to make eye contact with either of them. The one girl in particular probably thought he was an idiot. 

Hey look at it this way, you're 2 for 2 on horrible first impressions. At least you're consistent.

[Shion Amanomiya]

❊ SIGNPOST OF MEMORIES ❊

So maybe the young man wasn't as hurt as she thought he was, and the ambulance wasn't necessary. He could get up by himself, after all... Though it looked like this kind of thing has happened before, if she inferred correctly from what the younger girl said. That and they knew each other.

He didn't have to be so shy. They were still people, after all, and goodness, he looked old enough to have gotten over discovering girls... She'd never actually seen anyone this bashful. Kind of cute, but somewhat debilitating.

Well, perhaps she should help him calm down before he causes more of a scene. "More hot chamomile tea for me, please. And also a cup for him." She told the waitress, flashing one of her charming smiles.

As for the young man... "Don't worry about it. We're not hurt." She patted the young man's shoulder before going back to her seat, trying to put him at ease. "Pull up a seat; you two seem to know each other already. I think I've also seen you around the school too."

An introduction was needed, it seemed. It was just strange to do it when there are billboards and posters of her for Trandy just outside the cafe. "I'm Shion Amanomiya, third year. You two are...?"

TAGS: Hiromi Sakata , Tetsuya Horokeu NOTES: N/A

XOXO SHIN OF GS + THQ

[Hiromi Sakata]

Guess he remembers it too noted Hiromi, noticing how the nervous boy reacted to seeing her. Remembering how he had sprinted away from her the previous day, she briefly wondered if he would use the time provided to try and do another escape. If it was his intention to do so after barely getting out an apology, he should have done it sooner because it seemed the older girl was going to have none of that. After adding on an additional order to the server she had briefly patted his shoulder and offered him to join her. Trapped she thought, as soon as the older teenager made physical contact. While she didn't know the boy that well, from her brief interactions with him in the past before she was surprised he didn't faint.

How he functioned in school was anyone's guess.

Since she was invited to the table again, she headed back to her previous seat that sat across from Amanomiya. Her hand briefly touched the seat before she paused, than instead chose the seat that sat next the older girl. With the current size table, there were only four chairs. Two sat on one end, two sat on the other. Hiromi figured he had a better chance of surviving the ordeal if he sat across from a girl, not next to.

She really hoped she was over thinking the boys shyness.

"Hiromi Sakata. From Class 1-C," she said, as she pulled out a chair and sat down. She talked rather matter-of-fact when responding to Amanomiya. "And I don't really know him. He just bumped into me the other day, asked me if I wanted to get coffee with him, and than ran into the opposite direction when I said I couldn't."

She yawned a little, as if she was rather bored telling the story out loud to her. After she spoke, she wondered if she shouldn't have been so blunt in the retelling of the story. He probably wasn't the type that like to be reminded about events such as those (but than again who was?). Nothing to do about it now she thought as she put her right elbow on the table and her chin in the palm of her hand. She gave off an expression of indifference to the older students, and instead concentrated on the server who was preparing the beverages.

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Oddly enough Tetsuya didn't jump at the pat on the shoulder. It was kind of reassuring. He had calmed down. Maybe he was just overreacting at the situation. Maybe everything was fine and--

What did she just say? Pull up a chair? Is she inviting me? Oh gods why. 


The nervousness came rushing back like a waterfall. He stood and watched where the two girls were going to sit. After they took their seats he (forcibly) decided to sit across from the two. His hand shook as he reached out for the chair. Both of them were probably making fun of him joking about how he can't talk to females or something like that. Well jokes on them, his timid nature was an equal opportunist, and never discriminated. He found himself uncomfortable and nervous in all situations. He cursed at himself. That wasn't something to be proud of.

He finally took his seat and awkwardly managed to not make eye contact. He hated that he had to sit across from both of them. Maybe one he could deal with, but not two. His eyes wandered around the room trying not to look in their immediate direction. His mind started to wander after he sat down not really wanting to engage in any conversation. He did, however, catch their names. 

Hiromi huh?


He started to space out again, until Hiromi told the story of how they met. His eyes widened as she told the tale of his idiocy. Why did she have to say it like that? Oh gods I sound like some kind of creep. He blushed at the remembrance of that day. He stood up from his seat. "I-it's not what it sounds like! I j-just uh space out a lot. And I felt bad and I didn't know how to say sorry and and..." He stopped mid sentence and sat down. There was no use in trying to defend himself. 

"I'm Tetsuya Horokeu...second year," he said dejectedly.

[Shion Amanomiya]

❊ SIGNPOST OF MEMORIES ❊

"Is that so...?" Thankfully Shion was able to keep her face from registering too much surprise. He just ran? Really? Must be really shy, then, even if his reaction to Hiromi's throwing him under the bus was to be considered. In any case, whatever the hell that had been, they were now having tea together. Mission accomiplished, Tetsuya?

Of course that kind of made Shion the third wheel here but somehow she doubted that the two would even be able to continue interacting smoothly -- or at all -- if she left. So she guessed she was staying. "I'm afraid that I'm still not that familiar with everyone at school. Last year just went by so quickly, and I had... Other things that I needed to focus on."

The waitress finally returned, carrying a tray with the drinks they had ordered. Shion was quiet while the waitress set the teacups down and retrieved Shion's used cup, letting the sound of gently clattering China fill the air. It wasn't that they were talking about something private or secret; it was more of Shion's preference not to hold a conversation while a server was around. It was something Kaede, her manager approved of, as people loved to gossip and practically anything can be taken out of context and be sensationalized by some sleazy publication.

Shion let out a sigh after the waitress had left. "They used to have more waitresses and waiters here, I think, but not since the earthquake. Some of them were students in Kanehira High... " From what she'd heard about this place and it's staff, some had quit to take care of family or their homes after the earthquake, while some were among the missing.

NOTES: I hate not having a proper keyboard.

XOXO SHIN OF GS + THQ

[Hiromi Sakata]

After the boy sat down and introduced himself (in a way Hiromi believed to just be further proof the boy Tetsuya couldn't do anything but simply embarrass himself) Shion went on to lead the conversation. Well, more polite talk than conversation correct Hiromi, since she was the only one talking. It was far from a conversation. Hiromi was sure Shion was simply trying her best to keep the mood lite and enjoyable. Hiromi believed that was unnecessary, so she continued to look away with a bored expression on her face. She only straightened up when the tea came offering a polite 'thank you' to the server. She placed both hands around the cup, enjoying the warmth that the cup gave off. Her mood even brightened a little, although it was barely visible. Just a small smile.

It faded rather quickly when Shion commented about the Red Moon Cafe before the earthquake. It wasn't a subject she particularly liked talking about. Hell just hearing about the earthquake put her in a fowl mood. She always tried her best however to hide her displeasure. Despite her best attempts however she made small gestures that visibly showed it. She gripped her cup a little tighter and hung her head just a tad lower. Her face however remained expressionless.

"A lot of people died," she said rather bluntly. She raised her cup and took a small sip. At least the tea is good she thought. She set the cup back down. "I don't see why people need to bring it up so often..."