Having standing behind a glass counter filled with a wide array of ice cream flavors as the only job available to her has its perks.

Newly working at an ice cream parlor which offers a minimum wage that's very much inadequate to even let her pay bills, Xiaoting has had her fair share of demanding work hours and absurd customer inquiries; ranging from old, grumpy ladies claiming to want to have a word with the manager, to boys in their late teenage years attempting to shoot their shots on her.

But there are hours that are relatively more tranquil— when lines shorten smoothly and sounds of distant clinking of spoons and light conversations come prevalent. To Xiaoting's delight, it appears the gods have heard her pleas and ceased sending her gross men for today, and instead blessed her this specific kind of afternoon. To compensate, Xiaoting supposes— hopes. Currently, she's just there smiling to herself whilst re-reading the magazine just randomly laying around her workplace for the 3rd time now, while simultaneously subjecting herself aware of the door bell chiming.

A high chime rings her ears, followed by heels lightly clicking against tiles.

"Oh lord. Saw that customer again."

Xiaoting's brows furrow.

"Not Yurina… Not Yurina..."

"God, Ms. Xiaoting, I'm already so sorry."

Xiaoting blinks in surprise, hearing her name spring out of nowhere through the people's muffled conversations. She looks up.

Her sight zeroes in on the girl striding to the counter. Her button-up is teal, her shorts are white, and her hair is neatly collected up in a cute ponytail. She's pretty, Xiaoting thinks, but she wonders what has the girl done to warrant whispers about her to fly through this ice cream parlor.

Xiaoting flashes her a small smile as the customer (Yurina?) leans onto the counter in a… rather strange way. Her forearm rests horizontally on the glass counter, with her other elbow placed atop it and her chin is sitting on the same arm's palm. The girl leans closer to Xiaoting.

She says, coyly, "I had no idea this ice cream parlor has now been blessed by the walking incarnation of Aphrodite."

Xiaoting wants to cry.

Great, so the gods have stopped sending flirty men her way, at the cost of replacing them with flirty women?

Drastically, the smile in her face dissolves and every last bit of her cheery demeanor sheds away, annoyance instantly trailing behind. It's not always that a pretty woman hits on her— she acknowledges that fully well, it's not like she has the lesbian flag draped behind her like a die-hard patriot, but flirting with an evidently stressed Xiaoting is just a no-go. She's already had enough of the men flirting with her during her shift.

Xiaoting collects herself and attempts to address the customer politely. "Your order, ma'am?"

Yurina (?) steps back and scans the vast selections of ice cream flavors in the glass before her, refusing to lift one of her hands from the counter. Xiaoting notices this and frowns.

The girl takes an unusually long time in deciding her ice cream combo. Xiaoting tries to wait patiently, only for the girl to just wordlessly slide her bill to Xiaoting's direction. Xiaoting's eyes climb to her face again, and she leans a little closer to catch her order.

"Surprise me?"

Xiaoting glares, immeasurably bewildered, but the customer is unmoved.

"Sorry, what?"

"Surprise me." She repeats, her previously inquiring tone morphing to something a little more assertive.

How creative, Xiaoting sarcastically muses, this woman must be a complete loser, letting a clueless new staff like me decide her ice cream order for her.

"I'm Yurina." The girl, Yurina, continues although not being asked yet. "Kawaguchi Yurina, if you may." Yurina smiles and her eyes just completely vanish, her own full name pours out her lips in a way that's informing, and a little inviting.

Xiaoting has never been so confused before. Her work handbook never covered anything about humiliatingly indecisive customers who cannot make simple orders by themselves. She will never learn what happens if their allergies go off, or if they potentially poison the customers; and she wishes she did not have to have these questions in her head, or that she'd go back in time approximately 7 minutes ago where she could brace herself to what someone like Kawaguchi Yurina was yet to bring.

Xiaoting steps back, sourly eyeing at the bill laid atop the glass with a facial expression similar to someone in physical pain. What is that Yurina girl's end goal with this, aside from probably pissing off everyone who's worked here?

Surprise you, huh?

Will a couple of incompatibly partnered ice cream flavors be enough to surprise you?

I assume you didn't have to worry about allergies and such since you're so bold, do you?

Looking up at Yurina, she discovers she's fixated on her phone, which guarantees Xiaoting that Yurina isn't looking. Xiaoting grabs alternating scoops of wasabi ice cream and rocky road.

That should be surprising enough for Yurina to stop doing something this dumb.

She tops it off with a few sprinkles and a cherry. Despite doing this a lot to most orders, Xiaoting feels ill. This feels a lot like mockery. Perhaps it's because of the flavor combination. It doesn't make this cup seem real at all.

"Here." Xiaoting blandly hands the cup over to Yurina, who takes it with glee.

Xiaoting watches as Yurina brings a spoonful to , and it's comical how Yurina's face scrunches up instantly and involuntarily.

"How's that for surprising, Ma'am?" Xiaoting mocks, hands innocently placed behind her back.

Please be pissed off. Please be pissed off.

"It's— It's perfect, Xiaoting!" Yurina fakes, taking Xiaoting aback. "Wasabi and rocky road? Your taste is exceptional!" She says, voice wobbly and weak and disgusted.

Xiaoting's eye twitches.

"You liked it?" Xiaoting asks with pure, unironic shock. Yurina just nods with a small 'mhm', grimacing and forcing a smile, before turning on her heel to find herself a seat and ultimately disappearing from Xiaoting's eyesight.

Xiaoting's head aches and turns lighter and lighter by the second.

The did I just see?

That woman is strange. Completely, undoubtedly, absolutely out of her mind.

***

"Hello, grumpy but pretty woman from yesterday."

Xiaoting doesn't even try to suppress a sigh.

For the record, Xiaoting does not like being described as something like 'grumpy'. Especially by a stranger who has only known her for hardly 24 hours ago. Xiaoting also still does not appreciate the flirty lines and body languages Yurina pulled, still annoyed with how her body's still leaning closer to Xiaoting had she not been stopped by the mere glass counter.

Why did Yurina come back anyway?

She totally thought she got her on that disgusting ice cream order.

How incredible.

"Can I help you?" Xiaoting asks monotonously.

"I'd like to order an ice cream."

Well, then give me your GODDAMN order this time.

Contrasting the demand Xiaoting has on her head, Yurina hands her a bill of the same amount from yesterday.

"Surprise me."

Xiaoting wants to scream and pull out her hair.

One distressed groan later, she lousily eyes the multiple trays of ice cream again.

If rocky road and wasabi isn't enough to drive her off, what will? She has to come up with one more unflattering ice cream flavor combination.

There's this strange flavor of ice cream that no one really likes. It is yellowish with large chunks of orange, and from the words of some who were brave enough to try the unfamiliar flavor, it "tastes like piss". Xiaoting discovers it's labeled Pear and Blue Cheese.

Let's see how Yurina likes it, she thinks maliciously.

She paired that ice cream with blue bubblegum, one of the shop's most unpopular ice cream flavors. That pairing has to be insufferable enough.

She hands the cold treat over to Yurina, the color scheme of the cup almost being an eyesore, and Yurina still takes it with a smile.

Xiaoting watches as Yurina shoves the ice cream to . Yurina's eye twitches and she appears to need to spit the whole thing out.

Gotcha.

Xiaoting grins. "Like it, Ma'am?"

"This is so good." Yurina lies once more and fails, so obvious to the point of visibility to Xiaoting's eyes.

Xiaoting wants to collapse on her knees.

"Are you sure? Perhaps the blue cheese is a little too overpowering, don't you think?"

"I like it. Personally, I think the balance is just right!" She comments, once again, and the lie still doesn't get past Xiaoting.

Yurina slides a $10 bill over, to Xiaoting's confusion.

"I won't forget your tip. Great service."

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