[center][b][u]4/7 Late Afternoon - The Silver Dragon Restaurant[/u][/b][/center]

[indent]To say Kaori had only been at work for a short amount of time, she was impressed by how quickly the time had flown by. It was almost a shock when one of the other waitress’ tapped her out for her break. The restaurant was a family owned affair with only three waitress’ who were outside of the family hires; Kaori being one such waitress. Since it was almost time for the dinner time lunch rush she was pretty glad that her break fell just before. Idling the majority of her break away day-dreaming it wasn’t until she noticed that her hair was out of place that Kaori decided to make a quick trip to the bathroom to put it right. She spent more time than she’d care to admit fussing before the door to the ladies opened and she was joined by Ame; the daughter of the owners. 

Ame was well liked by the staff and the patrons, she was very pretty and very kind. She had a nice figure, was popular and to top it all off? She was smart too. If she was being honest, Kaori was more than a little envious of her. Still, today she seemed a little off. As if something was weighing on her. Despite that when she saw Kaori she gave her a smile and walked up to Kaori. 

[b]“You don’t need to fuss with your hair so much. You always have it in a ponytail but it looks nice down.”[/b]

[color=Plum][b]“I-I wasn’t fussing. I just thought that…perhaps it might look nicer with the uniform if I wore it a different way so I was just trying out.”[/b][/color]

[b]“So, you were fussing?”[/b] Ame let out a small giggle. [b]“Trust me wear it down! And you can try this lip gloss too. Brand new, it will good on you.”[/b]

Kaori did as she was told and left her hair down and applied the lip gloss. It was a light pink and as Ame advised it suited her complexion well. When Kaori went to hand it back to Ame she just shook her head. 

[b]“Keep it. Think of it as a gift to remember me by.”[/b]

[color=Plum][b]“Remember you by? Are you going somewhere?” [/b][/color]

Suddenly the mood of the room completely changed, Ame face dropped from the pleasant features that Kaori always associated with the girl and her face became blank. Almost as if she was completely numb.

[b]“Don’t you think we’re better than this Kaori?”[/b]

[color=Plum][b]“Better than…what?”[/b][/color]

[b]“All of this! The Silver Dragon, Hinasho, everything in this crappy little town. Don’t you want to leave?”[/b]

[color=Plum][b]“To be honest, it isn’t really something I’ve thought about a lot before.”[/b][/color]

[b]“Well you should! You shouldn’t have to settle. None of us should! I’ve been talking to people from the city and they say that my cooking would be a hit over there! I’d have freedom to do what I want, no following boring recipes or Hinasho tradition. If we incorporated some city flavours on our menu business would grow, but dad won’t hear of it! He says he is happy with the way things are but he should want more!”[/b]

[color=Plum][b]“I-I’m sure your father has his reasons but Ame if you feel that way then maybe—“[/b][/color]

Kaori was cut off by the gesture of Ame clasping her hands and the sudden surprise as she looked straight into her eyes. 

[b]“No Kaori! No more maybes! I’m going to the city to start my own restaurant. It might take a little bit to save up but you have my number and you know my name. You’re a great waitress, so if you ever need a job you always have one in my kitchen!” [/b]

And with that Ame excused herself and left a somewhat dazed Kaori in the bathroom - something was definitely off with her. Although she was just as caught off by the situation that followed as everyone else. As she left the bathroom she and everyone else in The Silver Dragon bore witness to the ugly fight. With customers understandably upset and confused, the eldest son, who acted as the restaurant manager, sent them around to apologise to customers and offer them thirty percent off their meal as an apology for the disturbance. 

[color=39b54a][b]"Hey, Kaori! Got a table ready to order over here!"[/b][/color]

Kaori was beckoned by the host, Itachi, to a table that was ready to order – although Kaori was surprised that they didn’t just witness the commotion and immediately back out. She made her way over with her notepad and pen. She recognised the boy; he was a regular customer and friends with Itachi. If she remembered correctly the two went to the same school and his family ran the local dojo. He always seemed nice enough whenever he came in. The other girls often commented that he was pretty cute and upon closer inspection, Kaori came to the conclusion that she didn’t [i]disagree[/i]. Was it wrong to check out a customer? Probably. When Kaori reached the table she gave the boy a small bow and a polite smile.

[color=Plum][b]“Hello, I’m sorry about the wait, I hope it wasn’t long. My name is Kaori, I’ll be your waitress today. As an apology to all our customers for the…unfortunate and unforeseen commotion we’re offering thirty percent off your meal! What can I get you? If you’re looking to try something new we have a new item on the menu; the sweet and sour beef bowl. Oh! All the ramen bowls are half off too, if you’re looking to make a steal.”[/b][/color][/indent]