Book Cafe

_08_ (Crystal Chelsea Lim's Point of View)

I sat up and turned my alarm off, it was now 4:30 AM.

I roamed my eyes in our room, Lavalee was gone, and it's not surprising.

I stood up and went out of the room.

There is a kitchen, 3 bedrooms with bathrooms in it, a living room, a bathroom near the kitchen and a dining table fully equipped.

I took out the instant food we brought.

Lavalee told us to bring canned and instant foods, looks like she had known this would happen.

Lavalee is Lavalee, she will never go to war unaware of what she'll face. Always two steps ahead of us.

"Morning, Chels." Jess greeted and pulled the pitcher out of the refrigerator.

"Morning, Jess. Cold water in the morning immediately. " I said and he came out while wearing earphones

"Morning, Chels." Irene sincerely came out as well.

The next ones to wake up were Ethan, Elijah, and Caspian.

"I'm already there." Said, Ethan

"No longer. It's over. " I said and turned the stove off.

"Where are Jess and Irene?" Elijah asked

"Jogging," I answered while eating.

Ethan just helped me cook and then Lavalee came.

"Where are you from, Lav?" I asked them

"Outside. Catch. " He threw something at me before entering the room

I looked at it and shook my head.

"What is that?" Ethan asked and just as Irene and Jess arrived they also went straight to the room.

Jess exited and entered the bathroom near the kitchen.

We ate together when we were full.

"It's too late to eat. Your lunch is ready there, with a name. " I said

We ate in silence, I was the first one to finish eating so I went to our room and took a bath.

I wore a white shirt, black jeans, and a pair of converse shoes. I took my lunch bag and went out.

Ethan and I went ahead, we left around 5:35 AM, and headed to the book cafe where we're working.

I've always wanted to build my own cafe.

I went around the cafe since it was still early. I rearranged the books based on their categories. History, Science, Mathematics, Fiction, and such.

"Good Morning, ma'am, what's your order?" I greeted the female customer with a smile

"Medium cup of Frapuccino and a slice of blueberry cheesecake." She said so I typed it.

Yesterday, I was trained to do various jobs here in the cafe.

"For dine-in or take-out?" I asked

"Dine in." She answered so I gave her a table number

"That would be 135 pesos, ma'am." I said

"I received 135 pesos. Have a good day, ma'am. " I said and then handed her the receipt

"Good morning, sir. What's your order? " I said to the next customer

"Medium black coffee and croissant." He replied

"Dine in or take out?" I will ask

"Take out." He replied so I typed it and then turned to the vending machine and brewed the black coffee and took the tongs and took a croissant then placed it inside a paper bag.

I gave him the paper cup and paper bag.

"That would be 65 pesos, sir," I said and he handed me a 50 peso bill and a 20 peso bill so I returned him a 5 peso coin.

"Have a good day and come again sir," I said when he handed me the receipt.

"Order for table number 2." Our bartender said and handed the tray to what looked like a small window.

"Order for table number two!" I said and Ethan took it and gave it to table number two

"Good Morning, ma'am. What's your order? " I asked the customer

"Large iced tea and a slice of chocolate cake." She answered

"For dine-in or take-out?" I asked

"Dine-in," She replied

"That would be 120 pesos, ma'am." I replied.

That's how my whole morning went. My shift at the cafe is from 7 AM to 5 PM so a total of ten hours a day. Equivalent to 60 hours because we have 6 more days to work before the camp ends.

"Good noon, sir. What's your order? " I told the customer

"Chelsea?" he asked in surprise so I looked up

"Hi, brother Ares, what's your order? " I said and he looked at the menu above

"Strawberry milk tea, Okinawa milk tea, and three slices of Strawberry cheesecake." He says

"For dine-in or take-out?" I asked him

"Take out," he replied

"That would be 210 pesos, sir," I said and he handed over his payment.

"I didn't know you were working." He said and I smiled

"Temporarily. Part of our activity. I received 220 pesos. " I said as I typed his order

"Here's your change and receipt sir. Please wait for your order to be completed. " I said

"Have a good day, sir. Please come again. " I said and handed the paper bag to him

"Tal, have lunch first. I'm already there. " Said Ethan and approached me

"You're done?" I asked him and he nodded

I went to one side of the cafe and had a quick lunch then drank some water.

"I'm already there," I said when I got back to the counter

"Eat fast." He said then took the tray given by the Bartender. I think he's Kuya June ata.

"We're working," I said and sat down again at the counter.

"Good noon, ma'am. What's your order? " I asked

"One medium caramel macchiato and one slice of blackberry cake." She replied

"For dine-in or take-out?" I asked while pressing it on the screen

"Take out. And please add extra honey to my caramel macchiato. " She said

"That would be 145 pesos ma'am." I said

He paid one 100 peso bill and one fifty peso bill.

"I received 150 pesos. This is your change, please wait for a moment. " I said and handed her receipt and change

"Here's your order ma'am. Have a good day and please come again. " I said and gave her the paper bag

"You sound so natural, Talia." Said our manager who is our student council treasurer, Jaxith.

"Thank you, Jax," I said

"Why 'TALIA'?" he asked me

"Crystal Chelsea then LI from Lim," I said and he nodded

"How about Blaire, Valerie, and Jira?" he asked

I took a notepad and wrote down why.

| Bianca - B, A Irene - I, R, E Lee - L

B + L + A + R + E = Blare

Lavalee - L, A, V, E, Flamelinne - I, E, L

V + A + L + E + L + I + E = Valelie or Valerie

Andrea - R, A Jess - J Collins - I

J + I + R + A = Jira |

"The distance of Val. He doesn't have an R in his name. " He says

"He doesn't have one but their older brother and youngest have one," I said

"Sabagay. How are those people? " Jax asked

"I do not know. Only Lavalee and Kuya Frost are here in Seryphil. " I said

"That's your boyfriend?" he asked suddenly

"Who?" I asked him

"There. Surrounded by female customers. " I looked for Ethan and I saw that he is indeed flocked by women.

"No, we're just friends," I said

"Talia, order on table number 8." The bartender said so I took it

"Order for table number eight!" I said but no one came because all the waiters were busy.

"Your voice is still soft. Still too classy. " Said Jaxith

"More like months. I will deliver the net. " I said and carried the order to table number 8

"Miss, can I have another order of medium Chocolate sundae?" The man said

"Right away, sir," I replied and walked back to the counter