Chapter 59 - Little Princess (2)

Aki let himself breathe which felt like ages when he last did it. But he did not move. If he was being honest, he was shocked. The cold feeling had not left his body yet. Little Princess's voice, her accusatory tone, still rang in his ear.

But if he was being really honest, he was indignant. He could not quite wrap his head around the idea that some people could get entitled and without consideration to anything and to anyone. Or how doing his job could still be considered wrong as though being a regular was a license to dictate the staff on how they should do their jobs.

Mia patted his shoulder. "Come on, cheer up. Little Princess is finally gone." Her eyes mellowed and her smile with a tinge of sympathy. "It was tough right? Facing your first difficult customer I mean. But you handled her well."

Aki gave her a strained smile. He did not feel like he handled her well. If he was being really 'really' honest, he was mostly disappointed with himself for he allowed his temper to run its own course. He failed to control his emotions. The fact that his feelings were surging at full force inside him was proof of that. He could have handled things better.

His thoughts were jostled back to the present when an order came out. Aki went to get the tray. The tray wobbled in his hand despite holding them with both hands.

"Woah." Another set of hands covered his and steadied the tray. Aki stared dumbly at those hands and then to the face of its owner.

"It's time for your break, right? Go rest. I'll take this to the customer." Liam took the tray from Aki and walked away.

Aki loved the idea of resting. When the Little Princess left, it was as if she took Aki's energy along with her. Especially now that his emotions were fizzling out. He wanted nothing more than to sink in a chair like a deflated balloon.

On his way to the pantry, Alex waved at him from behind the counter. She pushed a cup towards him. "I made you your favorite hot choco." She grinned.

Aki grinned back. Alex was the hip and chic person everyone wanted to be friends with. And that included Aki. She, together with Jay, lightened the mood around the cafe with their jokes and easy smiles. This was another reason why Aki felt at home with the Lava Java crew, they were just so easy to be with. They treated him as if they had known each other for long as if they were a family.

"Little Princess is particularly on the edge these days," Alex noted.

"Is she always that difficult to deal with?"

Alex made a face. "Bossy, yes. But not that difficult like that scene she made earlier. She was clearly being difficult for the sake of being difficult."

Then her eyes lit up as if she was about to share a private joke. Aki leaned in closer instinctively.