Flower Shop

Pigtails. That was my first impression of her. Who in the world, at age 22, wears pigtails to work? I found it incredibly irksome to see a woman my age don such a childish hairstyle. Furthermore, the fact that it looked good on her was even worse. She was tall and slender, with long black hair and a pretty face. And although the red apron of the shop covered most of her body, her sense of style was decent as well. If I was completely honest, she looked a little y. Not that I’d ever admit it to anyone.

That’s why, when the manager introduced her as a new coworker, I expected a deeper, huskier voice and a mature woman. I couldn’t be more wrong. She had a sweet, girly voice and a childish personality, as I would later learn.

“Jonishi-san, this is Yoshida-san; she will be joining us today. Show her the ropes, please.” The manager of the flower shop I worked at was the laziest person I had ever met, and had a tendency to drink on the job. He wasn’t a bad guy though, and was generous with workers’ pays. Gesturing at the woman next to him, he left the front and retreated to the backroom.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Yoshida Akari, but you can call me Akari.” Woah. This girl was seriously cute. Right up my alley, too. I’d have to be careful when working with her.

“Same here. I’m Jonishi Kei, but you can call me Kei.” I flashed her a smile and winked. “I’ll be showing you around today, so please follow me.” I led her to the cashier counter and wrote her a name tag. We chatted as we worked, and I learned that she was majoring in electrical engineering at Tokyo University. When I asked her why she would choose to work at a flower shop, she only let out a shy smile and looked away. Strange. I ignored it and continued explaining the arrangements of flowers. Akari was a a fast worker, and we finished by noon. As we ate, she began to question me about myself.

“So you’re a botany major at Tokyo U? Is that why you’re working here?”

“Yeah, I figured it was a good chance to gain experience,” I nodded. We talked for a while, and glancing at my watch, I was surprised to find that it was already time to get back to work.

Out in front, I caught sight of a fashionably dressed college student gazing at the rows of carnations. Her head snapped up at the sound of my footsteps, and her face broke into a grin.

“Hey, Keicchi! I see you’ve got a new employee,” she greeted. Elbowing me slyly, she whispered, “I hope you’re not trying to seduce her. You’ve already got other girls!”

“I’m not!” I retorted. “Try not to let her get any wrong ideas about me.” I turned to Akari, who had been standing silently behind me the entire time. “Akari, this is Watanabe Miyuki, also known as Milky. Milky, this is Yoshida Akari, the new employee.”

“Nice to meet you, Watanabe-san. I take it you’re Kei-chan’s friend?” Milky nodded happily. She held out a bag to me.

“My mom wanted me to give this to you. She says you should come and visit next time.” I took the package and dropped immediately. It was heavier than she made it out to be. Picking the lumpy bag up, I thanked Milky for the gift.

“Well, I have to go now–Sayaka missed me so we’re going on a date,” she explained. “Bye, Yoshida-san. Try not to fall for Keicchi’s charms!” She dashed out of the store, her laughing echoing in the distance. Akari and I stared after her, not knowing what to say.

“What’s in the bag?” Motioning at the package Milky had left me, she grabbed a pair of scissors to help me open it. I tore open the package and was surprised to see the contents.

“Rice?” Seeing the brightly colored bag of Osaka rice, Akari burst into laughter. “What an interesting girl,” she mused. I shrugged, heaving the rice onto a nearby chair. I would deal with it later.

By the end of the day, Akari and I had acquainted ourselves with each other fairly well, so I offered to walk her home. We lived in the same direction anyways. Thanks to Milky’s ridiculous gift, by the time the two of us reached her apartment, I was exhausted and panting. Seeing my tired state, Akari offered for me to come in and rest. Gratefully obliging, I lugged the rice through the doorway.

“I feel sorry for you, having to carry that bag. Perhaps if you stayed for dinner, I could use up some of the rice to lighten the load?”

“Is that really okay?” I was surprised. It wasn’t everyday that someone you just met invited you home to dinner.

“Yeah, I hope you’re fine with fried rice.” Damn, what luck! A pretty girl cooking dinner for me was practically a dream come true. As she set about preparing the rice, I set the dishes, and within ten minutes we were both eating.

“Woah, this is really good. You cook often?” I shoveled down my share of the rice eagerly; I hadn’t realized I was so hungry. Akari nodded at me, propping an elbow up and smiling softly. The girl seemed to enjoy watching me eat, though she didn’t eat much herself. I had noticed it at lunch, but chose to ignore it. We ended up chatting the night away, and I left her house with a better impression of her than
I had earlier that morning. I left the rice at her apartment as thanks for the meal, as I was too lazy to bring it home anyways. The last thing I needed was strangers staring at me on the train home.

“Are you sure you want me to have all this rice? Watanabe-san did say it was from her mother.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. If you really have qualms about it, just invite me over again. I enjoyed the meal.” I shot her an easy smile, and I could have sworn a faint blush tinged her face.

“If you say so. I enjoyed having you over as well.” Akari laughed and shyly looked at her feet. “Oh, could I also have your phone number? If that’s alright with you.”

“Sure, my pleasure.” We exchanged numbers and bid each other a good night. I walked away with butterflies in my stomach, something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

The following day I had a lecture in the morning, so I went into the shop at early afternoon. Stepping in, I was greeted by a foreign but pleasant aroma. Working at a flower shop, you might think it was the flowers, but the source of the fragrance turned out to be my new colleague.

“Ah, Keicchi!” Akari greeted me with a mega-watt smile, and I was surprised to find that my heart skipped a beat. I was right–this girl
was trouble. She turned away from me to continue helping the customer next to her, a tiny, fragile-looking grandma. I smiled, seeing her joke around with the elderly lady.

After pulling on the store apron, I headed out to the front to check our flower stock. As I was recording the supply of lilies, a
ringing from the door jingle caught my attention. I looked up to see a high school girl waving energetically at me.

“Kei-chan, when do you get out today? Let’s go on a date!” Yagura Fuuko, a childhood friend of mine, clung to my arm like a staticky sock and refused to let go. From behind me, I could feel a pair of eyes boring into my back. I wrung my arm from Fuuko’s vice-like grip, attempting to remedy the awkward situation.

“Sorry, Fuuko, but I already have plans for today. Maybe another day?” The girl pouted, crushing my conscience with a powerful set of puppy eyes. I refused to cave and stared straight back at her. Eventually she sighed and resigned. I smiled triumphantly.

“Well, now that that’s out of the way,” I gloated. “Shall we continue the lesson?” Fuuko nodded her head and dug a worn, leather bound notebook out of her bag. She held it out and I accepted it, flipping through the pages until I landed at the latest entry. I scanned through the writing and and smiled approvingly at her.

“Good work. This week, I want you to identify and analyze these plants parts.” I gestured to a tray containing various floral structures. Fuuko was an aspiring botanist and took advantage of my job in the flower shop to improve her botany. At the same time, grading her work was a good review for me, so it was a win-win situation. She pulled on a pair of latex gloves and disappeared behind the counter, taking the tray with her.

Sighing, I turned and faced the pair of eyes that had been glaring at me. Akari, who had long since finished helping the old grandma, was standing behind me with her arms crossed, looking none too happy. We stared at each other for a while, neither moving nor speaking.

“Who is she?” Was it just me or did I hear hint of…jealousy? I studied her face carefully before responding. She had a defiant look
on her face, but there was no hiding the blush forming on her face.

“Childhood friend,” I responded lazily. “She’s also studying botany. Her name’s Yagura Fuuko.” She turned away and glanced at Fuuko, who was immersed in the plant parts. I smirked–could this girl be any more obvious? It was clear that she had some sort of thing for me. Regretfully, while she was cute, I just wasn’t looking to be in a relationship at moment. That wouldn’t stop me from playing with her a little, though.

Setting down the clipboard I was holding, I gingerly lifted an African orchid out from a basket near me. “I never told you why I decided to go into botany, did I?” She shook her head. “Well, my mother was very into flower arrangement, and had taught me the names and meanings behind various flowers. However, she died of cancer when I was in middle school. She had been arranging a particular work, but left it unfinished. I’m trying to complete it. I figured that if I studied botany, it would provide the time and knowledge for me to finish the arrangement.”

Akari smiled. She had a charming smile that was annoyingly infectious, but also provided a sense of warmth to whomever she bestowed it upon. “That’s sweet. You must be busy, then.”

“Pretty busy. It’s worth it, though.” I reached across the counter, wetting a small cloth and tying it around the stem of the orchid to preserve it.

“Too busy f-for a …relationship, even?” Surprised, I looked at Akari, finding a tomato-colored girl furiously twiddling her thumbs, refusing to meet my eyes.

“Not really,” I smiled. “It’s not that I can’t be in one, it’s just that I don’t want to.” Her brown orbs gazed at me curiously, trying to read my thoughts. Continuing, I said, “That doesn’t mean I haven’t come across attractive people before.” Her face fell, but changed to a expression of surprise when I handed her the orchid.

“For you,” I stated simply.

“What’s this for?”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“What does it symbolize?”

“Exotic beauty,” I explained. “Very fitting for you, although your personality is a little childish.” She frowned, but quickly resumed her happy grin.

“Thank you, I’ll treasure it.” The childish excitement on her face shone through a beaming smile. Badump. My original plan was play around with her, but that seemed like it was backfiring. Turning away, I pondered the situation. Perhaps I would fall in love this girl.

Not that I would mind.