>>5701574You approach Esaka when she finishes talking to a customer.
"Hey, Esaka-san! Can ask you a question?" You move to the back of the counter, sitting next to her.
"Sure, what do you want to know?" She says, organizing the store's website from the computer.
You scratch the back of your neck, thinking about how to explain the situation. "You know my friend Hanako? She came here with me a couple of times."
Esaka looks at the ceiling, remembering. "She Is the blonde girl?"
"Yes, she is." You nod. "She got mad at me, and would like that you help me out with that."
Your coworker turns to look at you, grinning like a shark. "Oh! You have girl problems~ And I thought you would be faithful to Mrs. Ume..." She shakes her head. "That's what you get for cheating."
"Ume-san is nice to everyone, not just me." You remind her, remembering eldery lady who comes every weekend and talks to everyone with a pulse in her path.
"She gave you those honey candies, while all I get are these fruity ones." She seems particularly offended for some reason.
"Are you going to help me or not?" You ask again.
Esaka she rolls her eyes, before smiling at you. "Tell me what happened. And don't keep any details to yourself!"
You then explain to your partner what happened, replacing the reason why Himuro was stalking you with that she wanted to know more about martial arts for a book and decided to follow you when she found out that you were part of that community.
Esaka is quite amused by the story. "So she's mad that you weren't that hard on the other girl?"
"That's what she said, yes." You agree, nodding.
Your coworker starts laughing at you.
You put up with it for a while, but when you realize she's not going to stop, you decide to speak out. "Are you going to tell me anything?"
Esaka keeps laughing at you a little more before having mercy on you. "Imagine you meet this idiot. A total sick pervert."
"Uh-huh." You try not to think of Minoru. You fail.
"Imagine that you find out that he is stalking your friend." Esaka's smile grows as you nod. "Imagine you tell your friend and she doesn't believe you, until you guys catch him doing it. And then your friend not only doesn't hit him or something, but she asks him to date her."
"I didn't ask Himuro to date me." You do your best not to think about what you would have done to Minoru for trying to do something to Hanako.
"You invited her to talk. That's a date." She crosses her arms.
"Fine, fine! I screwed up." You accept. "I should have thought on that."
"That's all?" Esaka asks.
You hesitate a bit, but you decide to explain the situation with your sister, replacing events and themes again.
Your coworker doesn't play with you as much this time. "Your sister wanted to have something that was just between you and her. Sharing that with your friend was great and all, but you have to deal with the consequences."
