24: Minccino’s Cafe (II)

Rei – Snivy

 

The table shook violently as Mr. Gurdurr slammed his hands onto it, his gaze closely skimming the contract Ichi proudly presented to him. The bang was loud, and a couple glances from surrounding tables were shot our way as a scene was being made.

After his “big win” where he convinced Lowell the Minccino to start a café with his help, Ichi dragged all of us back to Swanna House to rub it in Mr. Gurdurr’s face. And to make sure he upholds his end of the bargain. But mainly to rub it in his face.

 

“You… you fuckin’ found somebody after one day , kid?” The burly ‘mon scowled, grinding his teeth. His lackeys were curiously scrutinizing the Minccino we brought, and Lowell chuckled nervously.

The Pikachu nonchalantly shrugged. He tried to look smug, but I could totally see him hiding his rapidly-tapping foot. “Well, it was really only a couple hours~ I would’ve gone straight to you yesterday, but you never told me where you guys live.”

Mr. Gurdurr’s brow furrowed. He then glared at our “client.” “So, Minccino. Tell me. Are you really doin’ this because you want to start a… what was it, a cafe, in the middle of some dingy plot with no guarantee of lasting long? Or are you here ‘cause Pikachu slid you a couple of coins under the table?”

The coffee addict sheepishly darted his eyes between Gurdurr, the Timburr, and Ichi. “Er… y-yes, I want to start a cafe! I’ve been thinking about it for a long while now, but I never could, here in Post Town—y-you know how it is with the shopkeeps here, don’t you? But I heard from Ichi that you and him could help me make my dream come true. And the way he pitched it, it seemed very low-risk, so… I want to give it a shot!”

Gurdurr’s gaze shifted to the rest of us—Aiden, Stella, and I were merely idling behind Ichi as emotional support. Or at least, that’s how I felt. 

 

Even though I’m supposed to be Ichi’s “business partner,” the Audino and Rockruff have been doing much more than me this whole time. Aiden especially—he came in clutch with his strangely convenient knowledge. Even Stella was more useful than me just by hyping Ich’ up.

 

“I was with Ichi the whole time, I can assure you he did not bribe Mr. Minccino,” Aiden stated with confidence.

“Hey, even if you don’t trust this ‘chu here, surely you trust the Audino, no?” Stella giggled.

“Isn’t that, uh, a tad bit specist there?” the Timburr on Gurdurr’s left pointed out.

“What the fu– Bruh, I don’t mean it like that.” She huffed. “I thought y’all knew this guy, that’s what Aiden told us.”

I just stood next to Ichi silently as everybody else did all the talking. Not like I could add anything else. I shouldn’t anyway, this is Ichi’s moment. Don’t wanna ruin this for him.

 

“Hmph. I still don’t trust you, kid… but, then again, I do owe your Audino friend. And if he trusts you, then…” Gurdurr picked up his red metal beam, his grip tightening on it. “Fine. A deal’s a deal, after all. I’m a ‘mon of my word.” He tapped his girder on the ground. “Well, besides my history of being a con artist, but yes, normally I’m a ‘mon of my word.” He rolled his eyes.

 

---

 

And so Gurdurr and his crew got to work. It took them just over a week for them to build Minccino’s Cafe—yes, that was the name Lowell came up with. A little basic, but it’s got a nice ring to it, I guess. We got to work too—Ichi and I ran around town, posting flyers all around Post Town to hype the place up. 

Every morning during that week, I’d peek out the window of our room and watch the cafe slowly rise up, not too far from our house. The trio were diligently placing down bricks like they were Legos. Watching them in the morning was… kinda satisfying.

If only it wasn’t a threatening reminder of the cafe’s slowly approaching opening day. Why am I dreading it? Well…

“I’ve been thinking so much about my cafe finally becoming a reality that I forgot the most important part! Who’s going to staff it?” Lowell asked. During the first day of construction, Ichi, Aiden, Stella, and I had all gathered in the Minccino’s house—he called us over after realizing his predicament. “We only have a week, I don’t think I can find good help in that little time…”

“Sure you can! I found two outstanding ‘mon just a day after we advertised our team!” Ichi grinned.

I kept quiet, wincing at the Pikachu’s emphasis on “outstanding.” Yeah I know they’ve been doing a better job than me.

“I think it was just good timing, in our case… More of a chance encounter than anything,” Aiden frowned.

“Still, what do you want us to do about it?” Stella asked.

 

“I-I could help,” I muttered, almost impulsively.

“Oh?” Lowell’s ears perked up a bit with intrigue, sipping on his coffee (again) as he looked at me.

“I could help,” I repeated. “While you find some actual workers, I could… try my best to help around the cafe, I guess? I dunno, I-I wasn’t doin’ much at home anyway,” I shrugged, heart starting to pound harder. Memorizing orders, bussing tables… I can handle meeting one or two new people, but talking to tons of strangers in a day? I’m not suited for cafe work at ALL.

But I just… wanna be helpful too, dammit. 

“Well… funny story, ehe…” Lowell chuckled sheepishly. “That’s actually why I called all of you here! I want all four of you to help me run my cafe! J-just for a day or two, until I find a long-term replacement! Only if you can, of course!”

“It’d be fun to be a barista, I’m sure! I’d love to help!” Aiden cheered.

“We still got rescuer work to do, don’t think we got time to be working at a cafe.” Stella shook her head. “Sounds a lil boring anyway, no offense…” she muttered.

“Ah, I can fill out a job form for HAPPI, so it’d count as official work and you’d get your points, if you’d like,” the Minccino offered. “And of course, I’ll pay you all for your trouble~”

Ichi’s eyes lit up once he heard the word ‘pay.’ “That sounds great! Let’s all make this cafe a success!”

“…yeah.” I was wordless, my voice quickly overshadowed by my teammates’. It didn’t even matter for me to suggest it, why did I suggest it?

 

The Minccino scurried over to his closet on the other side of the room and brought out a set of identical caps and ties. “Luckily, I came prepared! Uniforms for you all!” Both pieces were a dark pastel shade of red—they looked unused and had a little bit of dust on them.

“Ooh, they look so cute!” the Audino gasped. 

“Did you just… have these lying around?” Stella asked. 

“Yep! The idea of running a cafe has been lingering in my head for a loooong while…” Lowell smiled. “And seeing these uniforms finally being put to use, well… it almost brings a tear to my eye!” Lowell clapped his paws. “Come on now, try them on!”

 

The hat fit snugly onto my head, but the tie was a completely different story. Aiden had to slowly instruct the rest of us how to tie a tie… Ichi tried to wear both his tie and his number one bandana at the same time, but it was very uncomfortable for him (and very tacky). He took his bandana off and wrapped it around his arm instead. As for the Audino, he managed to put his original bow tie on his hat, and he pulled it off well. And Stella had to get help from him putting everything on—must be tough having no hands.

“You all look perfect!” the Minccino cheered, his fluffy tail swishing.

“I’m not too used to wearing things around my neck… do we have to?” I grumbled, tugging at my tie, shuddering as I felt it tighten.

“Of course—matching uniforms are a must-have for that cozy cafe atmosphere~”

“See, this guy gets it! It’s all about the brand image!” Ichi smirked, tipping his hat.

“I almost wish we could keep the hats… Something about this feels very fitting, for some reason~” Aiden thought aloud. “They’re very comfy! I can see why ‘mon love hats.”

“Eh, was never really a hat girl. Messes up my fur, an’ gets in the way of my ears… But hey, if I look cool enough, fine.” Stella huffed.

“You look very cute, Stella!” the Audino complimented her with a smile.

“I- er- uh- sh-shut it,” the Rockruff stammered, pulling the brim of her hat down.

 

The days it took for Lowell’s cafe to be built were spent training us as the Minccino’s temporary employees. We also took the time to brainstorm different menu items. Lowell was coming up with so many coffee ideas, the menu was starting to resemble Starbucks’.

I got weird stares from everybody when I tried to suggest iced coffee as a menu item. It’s not that hard to understand, why don’t they get it? Iced tea is perfectly fine to these Pokemon, but apparently it’s a food crime when you do it with Chesto Berries?

Anyway, the four of us were assigned different jobs. 

Aiden was going to prepare all the food and drinks with Lowell, since he had the most cooking experience. 

Ichi, since he was very fast, was going to deliver food to tables. 

Stella got stuck with “bodyguard duty” thanks to what Lowell gently called her “unique talents and physique.” 

As for me… I was made the front cashier, meaning I’d be the one greeting everybody who walked in, taking orders and relaying ‘em to the Audino and Minccino. Great.  

It sounded easy on paper, but… keeping up a smile for that long? In front of so many people? I’m too much of an introvert for that…

 

When opening day finally came I really didn’t want to roll out of bed—er, nest. Peeking out my window, I could already see a line forming outside the cafe, and I shuddered. Our advertising was too good—damn my art skills! 

The building itself was pleasing to look at, having that cozy atmosphere Lowell kept raving about during our training. Off-white brick walls were accented by vines hanging from the pastel-red roof. Above the door was a sign with “Minccino’s Cafe ~ Open 8:00 – 2:00” written in a font that resembled cursive. Flowers still hadn’t bloomed yet, but there were some pots standing below the windows that Aiden placed down the other day to pretty up the place. 

Speaking of which, Gurdurr’s crew did a surprisingly good job tidying up the dry patch of land the cafe sat on, removing all the debris and paving out cobblestone flooring around it. It almost looked like somebody dug the building up from a small city and replanted it here. It still had the rustic, natural vibe that all the buildings in Post Town had, but this one just had a different aesthetic.

 

After putting on my cap and (purposefully, I swear) struggling for a good five minutes to fix my tie, I ran over to the cafe. Avoiding the big crowd, entering through the back door labeled “EMPLOYEES ONLY,” I headed straight to the break room, where Lowell said we’d debrief before the cafe officially opened.

“ There you are, Rei. Finally,” Stella chortled. “You’re late.”

“Hey! How’re you holding up? You ready for today?” Ichi asked. The two of them sat down in some small chairs next to a table and a bunch of boxes. The break room was actually filled with crates—it doubled as a storage room. “Sorry, I was gonna wake you up early too, but I didn’t wanna disturb ya,” the Pikachu apologized with a slightly worried expression on his face.

“It’s fine…” I rubbed my eyes. “…where’s Aiden and Lowell?”

“In the kitchen. Lowell already went an’ gave us the rundown. Just the usual ‘stay calm, don’t fuck up.’ I dunno honestly, I was zoning out,” Stella answered. 

“Stay calm, don’t fuck up… yeah, like that’s easy to do.” I cringed.

“Already forgot what he actually said, to be honest. It didn’t matter to me, I got the most boring job! Who the fuck’s gonna start a fight in a fuckin’ cafe?” she complained, before pausing. “…actually, people start fights in the Grass for less than morning coffee, so that ain’t too crazy. Ugh. Anyway, I think the two of them are baking all the pastries that we’re gonna sell today.”

“You didn’t miss too much, Rei. He was just hyping us up and reminding us to call for him if something goes really wrong. You remember what you gotta do, right? You’re the cashier,” Ichi said, giving a better explanation.

“…right. I gotta put on a smile or something, don’t I?” I laughed uncomfortably.

“Just don’t look as mopey as you usually do, man.” The Rockruff huffed.

“Stella!” Ichi pouted.

“What, was I too blunt? I’m trying to be encouraging! Come on, Rei. It’s not as hard as you think it’ll be. Like Lowell said! Stay calm, don’t fuck up!” she repeated playfully.

I kept my mouth shut. Easy for you to say.

 

The main interior of the cafe had this bright pastel aesthetic that would’ve put me at ease had it not been for the crowd outside, practically staring me dead through the window. The scent of fresh bread and dark-roasted coffee had already begun to fill the room. It was strong enough to mask the odor of fresh paint and wood, thankfully. 

Wish I was able to sneak a cup, I thought, yawning. Unfortunately, Lowell was also behind the counter, tending to all his coffee and coffee accessories. Shelves of Chestos and other berries I didn’t recognize were above a bunch of coffee pots on little stoves. 

The clock struck eight, and I gulped as Stella opened the door, a cacophony of Pokémon flooding in.

Okay. You can do this. You were doing so fine talking to people before, this is fine!

“Hiya!” A Riolu waved—he was the very first person in line, and my heart hastened. Nope this is not fine is that Cole. I blinked and realized it was just some other Riolu, thankfully. No green eyes like his. The blue mutt was holding hands with a tiny yellow and red rat with plus signs on its cheeks.

“…is this Snivy okay?” the Plusle whispered to his friend.

“Oh! Sorry, uh, thought you were somebody I knew,” I tried to play it off before reciting my lines. “Um- welcome to Minccino’s Cafe, Chesto chuggers’ p-paradise~ may I take your order?”

The slogan was so cringe-worthy, but you should be glad we didn’t go with “Minccino’s Cafe! It’s Tail-Slappin’ good!” or whatever Aiden tried to come up with.

The Plusle giggled, and I glanced to the side, awkwardly half-smiling. “Hm… I’ll take an Oddish pastry and a small mocha, please!”

“And I’ll get a large root beer float!” the Riolu loudly proclaimed.

“…for breakfast? Really?” The Plusle looked at his partner.

“Hell yeah! The sugar gets me pumped up for the day!”

I jotted down the pair’s order on a little booklet next to the cash register. “Small mocha, Oddish pastry and a large float… that should be—” I made a quick glance at the blackboard menu behind me. “—50 Poke.”

The Plusle’s ear twitched as he handed me the money. After putting it in the register, I ripped off the receipt from the booklet. It was one of those old-fashioned receipt pads that copied whatever you wrote on the page directly below, so you could have both a customer copy and a merchant copy. “…here you go. Er- sit wherever you’d like, we’ll bring you your order shortly.” I nodded shortly as I almost shoved it into his paw.

I passed the slip over to the Minccino. “First order of the day…”

He looked at the piece of paper, then at me. “…a large root beer float?”

“Hey, don’t ask me, he just wants one at eight AM for god-knows-why.”

“Rei… We talked about this during training! It’s not a large beverage~”

I groaned. “…yes sir, it’s a venti .” My first thought when I heard that was the tone-deaf bard from Genshin… and, well, Starbucks, I guess. “Tall, grande, and venti—that’s what we offer,” I recited dryly.

“Perfect~ Please remind customers of our drink sizes, Rei. After all, as your leader said, this cafe’s brand image is important!”

Yeah, and if copyright laws transcended worlds, you’d be in hot water. I rolled my eyes.

The Minccino passed the order over to Chef Aiden in the back through a window connecting the counter with the kitchen. The Audino looked like he was enjoying himself—then again, he always seemed to look like that. At least he ain’t burning anything back there… God, is there anything this guy can’t do? He makes for a better business partner to Ichi than me. Yeah, I was still on that, how’d you know?

I drifted my gaze elsewhere, and in the corner of my eye, I could see Ichi by the opposite end of the counter, tail swishing. He enthusiastically waited for any food and drink to be delivered at “a lightning-fast pace,” as he called it during training.

I half-smiled as I looked at him. I wanted to talk to him, but I didn’t wanna pester him. And besides, I sadly had a swarm of hungry customers in my way of that.

 

“Welcome to Minccino’s Cafe, C-chesto chuggers’ paradise…” I huffed as I attended to the next customer in line. I coughed, straightening my posture. “Er, may I take your order?”

This time, it was a little red-and-black kitten and a tiny blue chameleon peeking over the counter. An Eevee with a purple scarf stood behind them.

“I want choccy milk!” the Litten beamed.

“A-and Razz juice!” the Sobble added.

“Mixed together!” the two of them said simultaneously, and their Eevee friend beside them looked at me with a face that screamed, “I’m sorry.”

I stared at these two kids (at least, pretty sure they’re kids, it’s hard to tell with Pokemon) for a solid few seconds. “Uh- I don’t think we can mix it together for you, but uh, sure… Anything else?” My eyes drifted to the Eevee.

“Just a breakfast sandwich and a tall latte.”

The Eevee ended up tipping a little extra as an apology for her friends. I side-eyed those kids as they went to find a table. “Kids and their food crimes, man, what the fuck…” I mumbled under my breath.

“Oi. Did you say crime? Is there crime goin’ on? Somebody I need to beat up?” Stella yelped, suddenly appearing right next to me, and I nearly jumped.

“Jesus- I- What the hell, Stella?”

“Look I’ve been bored outta my mind.” She pouted, resting her head on the counter.

“Stella it’s only been like five minutes since we opened. Go, like, I dunno, do bodyguard shit. Guard some bodies, yeah.” I tried to shoo her away, tapping my foot anxiously. Please fuckin go already.

Conveniently enough, somebody in line started to shout. “Oi, what’s the hold-up?! I need my mornin’ cup o’ joe, dammit!” A Fletchinder squawked, flapping his wings. I felt like I’d seen him before, for some reason…

“Oh, here we go. I’ll take care of this punk, watch me~” Stella grinned, before dashing after the red bird. I sighed as I watched her tackle him, furrowing my brow. 

Even she can find a way to be more useful than me, wow, I thought. At least she can take it easy for the most part while I’m stuck standing here, spitting out the same lines while rushing to take orders and oh wait fuck there’s still a long ass line I forgot about the Marshtomp right in front of me fuck fuck fuck.

“Erm… hello?” He waved a paw in front of me. The Marshtomp wore a pair of fingerless gloves and a long, red scarf.

“Ah- uh- welcome to uh- fuck-” I was stumbling with my words for a moment before I managed to cough them out correctly. “Welcome to Minccino’s Cafe, m-may I take your order?”

“Ah, j-just a slice of chocolate cake, please.” The big water lizard looked just as nervous as I was, so at the very least I could get away with my fumble with just an awkward laugh.

 

---

 

I did my best to get through the rest of the queue without messing up any more than I already had. It went mostly okay, apart from one scruffy, mute Vulpix with a cape that was trying very hard to pantomime his order. His friend—an Eevee with an ahoge—and I spent a good minute trying to decipher what he wanted before realizing all he wanted was one black coffee.

The cafe thankfully began to slow down just before lunchtime, and I was finally able to snag a cup of coffee while Lowell was back in the kitchen. I breathed in the strong scent of that piping-hot beverage as I began to loosen up. 

Siiiiiip. Just like last time, it was better than any coffee I’d ever had before. There’s something different about these Chesto Berries, there’s gotta be. 

“It’d be even better iced…” I murmured before taking another sip.

The Minccino peeked out the kitchen door, and I stiffened up, scrambling back to behind the register. 

Lowell raised an eyebrow as he strolled my way. “Rei~ Were you trying to drink some coffee?”

“I- um- N- nuh uh. Nope.” I unconvincingly denied it, having attempted to hide the mug under the counter.

“Hmm~?” He tilted his head, almost smirking at me.

“…I… I didn‘t have any breakfast today. Headed here as soon as I woke up. Sorry, sir,” I grumbled, wincing.

Lowell paused, continuing to stare with a little grin on his face. I grimaced, anticipating some sort of reprimand.

“…well, why didn’t you say that sooner~!” He killed the tension with a laugh. “You shouldn’t be working on an empty stomach!”

“Eh- w-what?” I blinked, and before I knew it, Lowell scurried over to the display case of pastries and nabbed a cinnamon roll for me. “Um, thanks?” Do people just… know I like cinnamon rolls? Ichi guessed right when he ordered one for me last week…

“Hey, you deserve it! You’re doing a good job so far, for your first time!”

My eyes wandered, refusing to make contact. I was disturbed by the sudden compliment. “Doesn’t really feel like it…”

“Eh? Why would you say that?”

“W-well…” I hesitated. I shouldn’t just be dumping everything on somebody I hardly know. Especially somebody who’s my boss. “…nothing,” I finally coughed out. “Never mind. Forget it.” I bit into my cinnamon roll bitterly. Well, bittersweetly. That bun was good , but I still felt like shit. “…thanks.” I nearly forgot to say.

 

Lowell smiled. “I know you rescuers would rather be dungeon diving, especially newbies like yourself…” he incorrectly surmised, but I refrained from correcting him. “But even little things like working at a cafe, you’re still doing things for people. In your own way, you’re being helpful~ You’re doing a good job. You’re helping me, after all! I’m very grateful for you and your team~”

I took my eyes off the floor, looking at the chinchilla with confusion… but also some sort of relief? That second half was something I actually wanted to hear.

He patted me on the back. “Cheer up! You can’t be greeting customers with a frown, now!”

I stayed quiet, simply nodding my head. Being helpful in my own way…

His words continued to ring in my mind as he waddled back to the coffee pot, pouring himself a mug. 

I mean, I guess I’m being a little helpful. Despite feeling like a fuck-up, it’s still a tiny bit nice to do work like this.

But does that really matter when everybody else can be more useful than me? Doubt continued to fester in my head. No no no come on just take the compliment you ungrateful shit, he’s calling you useful isn’t that what you want?

I’m useful, I repeated in my head.

 

Before I knew it, the line started to fill up again. I took a deep breath…

“Welcome to Minccino’s Cafe, Chesto chuggers’ paradise. May I take your order?” This time, I didn’t fumble.

 

I’m useful. Right?