Re: PsychicSpy's Oneshot Thread (6/8/20 Update)
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:43 pm
Nice subversion of the prompt 
Here's a new story stemming from a small writing jam using the idea of "What if the katawas worked at a startup business run by one of them." I hope y'all enjoy!
RUDE MISTRESSES
Shizune uncomfortably tugged at the hem of her skirt, trying to get it to cover more of her thighs, or at least trying to get it to go down to the top of her stockings. This hairbrained idea of Lilly’s was absolutely ridiculous and downright embarrassing.
When Lilly had asked her to come help out with her new restaurant until she could afford to hire new workers, Misha and Shizune had agreed. It was a quick way to make some money, and while Shizune may have had her differences with her blind cousin, she understood that it was hard to run a startup with her boyfriend just after high school and after her family in Scotland cut her off. Misha had agreed at the offer of free food, and thank goodness she did, because she never would have made it without her, being that deafness and blindness did make communication very easy.
Maybe that was why Shizune had no idea what she was walking into. Maybe Misha had failed to translate that Lilly was running a maid cafe. Misha had clearly failed to translate her measurements correctly, or else this skirt wouldn’t be this tight. She shot a glare at Misha, currently standing next to Lilly in front of the different employees. She waved back, seemingly oblivious to the daggers coming from Shizune’s eyes.
Looking down the line, she recognized some other Yamaku students. There was Emi, the track star of Yamaku, who really should have been prepping for the Paralympic trials but needed the money to travel and stay near a training facility; Emi’s rival, Miki, who had opted to attend college and try to make her name there; that edgy white haired girl whom was caught smoking despite being at Yamaku for a heart condition (wasn’t she still in her 3rd year?); and Naomi, that one epileptic girl whose biggest dream was starting a newspaper of her own. Shizune guessed she needed a real job for a little bit.
[Alright recruits, listen up] Misha began to sign as Lilly’s mouth moved. [We’re going to open soon, so let’s go over our procedures. What do we say when a customer enters?]
[Welcome home Master,] Shizune signed unenthusiastically. It seemed that at least one of the others felt the same way, because she saw Lilly’s lips tighten.
[More enthusiasm!] Misha signed back.
[Welcome home Master!] Shizune signed back strongly, trying to get past this part.
[Good! And what if it’s a female?] Misha questioned.
[Welcome home Mistress!] Shizune said with all the fake energy she could muster. Lilly seemed much more pleased with these answers.
[Now, when a customer is at a table and you are coming to take their order, what do you say?]
[What would you like your maid to fetch for you today Master?]
[Good, and what about when a customer has finished?] Misha questioned.
[Can I get you anything else, Master?] Shizune responded, wondering how many times Lilly would ask them before she figured out that they understood the gist: call the customer ‘Master’ or ‘Mistress’ and make them feel special. Lilly had them run through a few of the things they would need to do, like balancing trays with glasses of coffee and tea and cleaning off tables without showing too much skin. Lilly and Misha tended to pretend to be the customers, despite the fact that Misha would also be doing these things. A few times, Shizune felt like somebody’s gaze was burning into her backside as she leaned over to clean off the tables. She could never catch the person, but she got the feeling that it was either Misha being embarrassing or Naomi being a pervert.
Eventually, Lilly gathered them all together again, clapped her hands together and smiled.
[It looks like all of you are going to do alright. We open up tomorrow at 7 am, so please get some sleep tonight] Misha signed. All the girls seemed to relax a bit as they walked back to the break room to change out of their uniforms.
Once changed, Shizune felt much more comfortable walking around. She and Misha made their way out onto the streets of Sendai, and began to walk towards their small apartment.
[How are you feeling about this?] Shizune signed to Misha.
[Whatever do you mean Shicchan?] Misha asked back.
[Just that it might be a tad bit embarrassing for us to be working at a maid cafe that’s so close to Yamaku] Shizune clarified. They turned the corner, walking down the quiet main street.
[What? I’m not worried, Shicchan! What, are you nervous that somebody from school would come to seek revenge on you?] Misha clearly laughed aloud at this. Shizune rolled her eyes. Misha was probably right. There was nothing to worry about.
The next morning, after skillfully applying makeup, adjusting her glasses to look perfect, and getting ready to call people “Master” and “Mistress” all day, Shizune set off towards the cafe. The sun was starting to peek over the mountains, casting its warm light down on the small town.
A hand clapped down on her shoulder as a heavily breathing Misha caught up to her.
[Shicchan! You left without me!] Misha complained once she had caught her breath.
[Don’t wake up late next time] Shizune replied, lightly flicking Misha’s arm. They continued on to the cafe, Misha greeting Lilly for the two of them. They went into the break room where they changed. The ringing of the bell above the door signaled that it was time to start work.
The morning was slow. A few locals came to order some omelette rice, coffee, and tea, but nothing too complicated. It at least felt slightly normal to call elders by honorifics. However, this all changed in the afternoon.
Yamaku Academy students were beginning to come in. Some marveled at the decor, but most just checked out the maids. Despite this, the maids continued to work, trying their best to not feel ashamed as they called people their own age by honorifics.
[Can you go take care of that table? I really have to use the restroom] Misha signed when they passed each other near the order window. It seemed that there were two girls sitting at a table that didn’t have anything in front of them. Shizune nodded, grabbing her notepad and trying gracefully to walk to the table. She internally grumbled about how Lilly had messed up her uniform size. She wrote out her initial message: ‘Hello Mistresses! How may I serve you today?’. She flipped the notepad before seeing who it was.
Keiko waved at her, looking like the cat that ate the canary. She held up her own notepad. ‘Well, if it isn’t the former Student Council President.’
‘What can I do for you?’ Shizune scribbled quickly, annoyed.
‘Isn’t there supposed to be another word on there somewhere?’ Keiko taunted. Shizune sighed and added ‘Mistress’ to the end of the sentence. ‘Great! Now, I think I’d like tea to start.’ She then seemed to ask Aoi a question. Aoi nodded. ‘And she would like one too.’
‘Yes mistresses. Right away.’ Shizune retreated to the cafe. Misha just had to bring up the idea of revenge seeking students last night, didn’t she?
She returned with a teapot and set the glasses down on the table. Carefully she poured the tea, trying her best not to spill any. Once she set that down, Keiko smiled at her again and began to write something on her notepad before dropping her pen on the ground. She smiled smugly and shrugged as if to say ‘You pick it up.’ Shizune gritted her teeth and bent down to get the pen. She tried to use one hand to keep the skirt pulled down to avoid flashing anybody. She got the feeling she had failed. Blushing, she straightened up and handed the pen back to her. Keiko finished writing.
‘Alright, well, this tea is too cold. You need to take it back to the kitchen and heat it up.’ Shizune snatched up the teapot, jarring the lid and causing some of the tea to spill over onto her hand and foot. She grimaced, trying not to show the pain from the already hot tea, and marched back to the kitchen. She put the teapot down next to the stove. Hisao looked between her and it as she tapped her foot. Shizune sighed internally and pulled out her own notepad.
‘Heat it up again,’ she wrote and showed it to him. He raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to say something before she snapped her fingers impatiently. He got onto it as Shizune watched. She really just wanted to spill that tea on Keiko, but it wouldn’t do anybody any good.
When the tea had heated for a reasonably long time, she turned and left the kitchen. She walked out and set the tea carefully down on the table. She brought clean glasses for Keiko and Aoi, and placed them in front of the two. She stepped back. ‘Is there anything else you would like, Mistress?’
‘Good. Now you can clean my ears.’
‘We don’t offer that service, Mistress.’ Shizune responded. Keiko seemed to say something, and she almost immediately felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find her blind cousin looking at her intently. Shizune grasped her hands and began to tap out her words, just like they did when they were little.
[She’s asking me to clean her ears. I think she’s doing it to embarrass me because I was tough on her last year.]
[My, my, how the tides have turned.] Lilly tapped out. She looked thoughtful, then slowly smiled as Shizune squeezed her hands. [We are a maid cafe, but I don’t believe we have the tools for it.] She paused before adding [besides, the only teenage girl that gets to harass my family is me.] Lilly let go of her and frowned. She began to speak firmly to Keiko, who seemed to argue back. They went back and forth several times. Everybody was looking at the pair. Keiko stood, said something to Aoi, then walked out of the maid cafe, bumping Shizune on the way out.
Shizune cast her eyes over the rest of the cafe as people began to settle back into their conversations. She grasped Lilly’s hands again. [Thank you.] Shizune said.
[You are welcome. Let me know if you have any more problems.] Lilly responded. Shizune watched as Lilly walked back to the bar to continue watching over the cafe. Maybe this job wouldn’t be so bad after all.
