Chapter 6 - Part-time Job

When the school reached 5 o'clock in the afternoon, students start to grabbed their belongings and went home, considering the day as normal and usual, while to others, awesome and great, and while to some, worse. But for Kiyoshi, it's a normal day for him, just like the previous. He was alone while walking; his friends are going home straight, but as for him, he will be going to his part-time job at a restaurant in downtown Hiroshima. So, he walked a few blocks to his workplace, which was a five-star restaurant, and enter in, logging in and went into the changing room to switch his school uniform to waiter's uniform for his job. At this time of day, the restaurant was barely busy. Shortly thereafter, Kiyoshi was called to the kitchen to deliver two big trays of food and drinks to a table of six. Prior to getting a part-time job, Kiyoshi used to live on his deceased parents' leftover savings, but as he grows up and began high school, the savings starts to dwindle gradually, coupled with his habit of buying stationery items. So, in order to survive and not to make himself a financial burden to his relatives in Tokyo, he got a part-time at a restaurant in downtown Hiroshima. In return, his employer gave him enough money to pay off both his monthly rent and daily expenses like food. Busy or mildly busy, Kiyoshi can do it all in order to survive.

Upon arriving at the kitchen counters, Kiyoshi was being given two trays full of plates and glasses of food and drinks, and one of the chefs told him to deliver to the said table. Being overwhelmed by the weight of the trays on both hands, Kiyoshi accepted it without any hesitation, and went outside to deliver it. Walking through, Kiyoshi tried to maintain his balance to avoid any accident, otherwise he would have to make apologies for it. After a full minute of caution, he arrived at the said table of six, which the customers are college students having a fun time. Placing their order neatly on the table, Kiyoshi smiled towards them with almost silence, before finishing it and told them to enjoy the meal. But then, one of the students asked him, "Hey, are you a student?"

"Yes, why?" Kiyoshi asked back.

"Well, because you're quite young so you need study," the student responded back.

"Yeah, I work so I could survive," replied Kiyoshi back, "and I could pay off my bills."

"Why? Do you had any parents?" another student raised a question.

"No actually," Kiyoshi answered.

"Ah, that's why," another student replied. "Okay." After that, Kiyoshi sighed in relief and rushed back to the kitchen. That was a bit nerve-racking, but Kiyoshi was able to maintain his attitude. Less than an hour later, he would continue working by taking orders, delivering trays of food and drinks to tables, and assisting customers in their tables and their orders.

Later, by 7:27 p.m., there are now fewer customers than a few hours ago. This allows Kiyoshi to log out and go home, as if the restaurant only needed fewer people to run the place. And in the kitchen, the manager appreciated Kiyoshi's hard work in his restaurant business, and offered him a little raise in his salary, even though Kiyoshi's job was just started a few years ago. Kiyoshi was very thankful and grateful for the offer and quickly accepted without any doubt, promising to work harder in the future.