The transformation of Class 3-A started at 7:00 AM the following morning. Rika stood at the front of the classroom with a clipboard, while Rentaro moved through the rows of desks, dragging them into a precise, geometric formation.
"Listen up," Rika announced, her voice cutting through the morning grogginess. "We have forty-eight hours until the gates open. In that time, you will learn three things: the Menu, the Flow, and the Face. If you cannot master these, you will be relegated to the dishwashing station behind the partition."
Kenji raised a hand, grinning. "Come on, Shinozaki, it’s just a café. We’ve all seen movies. You smile, you take an order, you—"
"You fail," Rentaro interrupted, stepping into Kenji’s personal space. He held up a stopwatch. "Kenji, stand up. You're a waiter. I'm a customer who just realized he’s late for a play. Order: one iced matcha, one scone, and a change for a five-thousand-yen note. Go."
Kenji stumbled through a greeting, fumbled with an imaginary notepad, and spent thirty seconds trying to calculate the change in his head.
"Seventy-four seconds," Rentaro deadpanned, clicking the stopwatch. "In that time, three other customers walked past our booth because the line didn't move. You just lost the class twelve-hundred yen. Next."
The class watched in stunned silence. This wasn't the "Ghost of 3-A" who sat in the back of the room; this was a seasoned veteran of the 2:00 AM rush.
"We are implementing the 'Station System,'" Rika continued, ignoring the shocked faces. "Station A is the 'Cold Line.' Station B is 'Prep.' Station C is 'Front of House.' Rentaro and I have drafted a manual based on the efficiency standards of a high-traffic retail environment."
"A manual?" Sato squeaked, flipping through the five-page packet Rika handed him. "Section 4.2: Optimal Napkin Folding for Single-Handed Retrieval?"
"Seconds matter, Sato-kun," Rika said firmly. "Now, everyone to your assigned stations. We are doing a 'dry run' with empty plates."
For the next four hours, the "academic elite" were put through a grueling boot camp. Rika was a whirlwind of precision, correcting the posture of the "baristas" and ensuring the prep team understood the concept of cross-contamination. She was terrifyingly efficient, her eyes catching every misplaced spoon and every hesitant movement.
Meanwhile, Rentaro was the "drill sergeant" of the floor. He taught them the "Pivot Step" to move through narrow spaces without colliding and the "Silent Signal" system they had developed at the 7-Eleven to communicate needs without shouting across the room.
"Why are they so... synchronized?" one of the girls whispered, watching Rika and Rentaro pass a tray between them without even looking at each other.
"It's like they have one brain," another added. "Did you see that? Rentaro just reached for the cloth before Shinozaki even finished spilling the water. They didn't even say a word."
By noon, the class was exhausted, but the atmosphere had changed. The chaos was gone, replaced by a rhythmic, humming order. They weren't just students anymore; they were a crew.
"Better," Rika said, surveying the room. "But the 'Face' is still lacking. You look like you’re solving equations, not serving guests. You need to project hospitality, even when your feet ache."
"How do you do it?" Kenji asked, genuinely impressed. "You guys work all night, study all day, and you still have this much energy?"
Rika looked at Rentaro. He was leaning against the chalkboard, wiping sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, but he looked more alive than he ever did during a lecture.
"We don't do it for the energy, Kenji," Rentaro said, his gaze meeting Rika's. "We do it because when the world is a mess, the only thing you can control is how well you do your job."
Rika nodded, feeling a surge of pride that had nothing to do with her GPA. "Take thirty minutes for lunch. When you come back, we do a 'Wet Run' with real ingredients. And remember: if it’s not perfect, it’s 'waste.'"
As the class scrambled for their lunch boxes, Sato approached the two of them. "I have to admit, I was skeptical. But the way you two work together... it’s amazing. It’s like you’ve been doing this your whole lives."
"Not our whole lives," Rika said, her voice softening as she looked at the manual she and Rentaro had spent all night drafting in his apartment. "Just the parts that matter."18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYm4eGOZAfn
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