Chapter 16 Making a Living

Making a Living

I get some money from my parents besides tuition and textbooks, but after paying rent and utilities and saving for food, I’m tight, so I decided to get a part-time job during the holidays.

I was actually worried about my studies and living on my own at the beginning of my studies, so I thought I’d start working part-time around the summer holidays when I could get used to this new lifestyle, but it was harder financially than I expected, so I started looking for a part-time job as soon as possible.

But when I checked the free job magazines distributed at convenience stores, there were many jobs for temporary and contract workers, but there were no jobs for students, so I was in trouble. When I told Iroha-san about this, she told me, “I went to Yahagi (矢作) Bookstore yesterday and there was an advertisement for part-time work; you can try going there.” So I quickly got on my bike and went to the bookstore she told me about with my resume.

The bookstore is exactly halfway between my house and Iroha-san’s house, so it takes less than five minutes by bike.

When I entered the store and went straight to the cash register, there was actually a sign on the counter in front of the cash register that said, “Student part-time job recruitment”.

So I immediately asked the clerk, “I saw a sign that said part-time jobs wanted; are they still hiring?” and the clerk immediately confirmed it by saying, “I’ll ask the manager.” Shortly after, the manager called me and asked, “Are you a student?” And when I answered, “Yes, I’m from XX University,” he immediately said, “Well, let’s have an interview!”.

When I submitted my resume and student ID, I was asked to confirm my desired hours and whether I would be able to work long hours, and I was hired on the spot.

The working hours are 9:00 to 17:00 on consecutive holidays and weekends, and 18:00 to 24:00 on weekdays. I was scheduled to work one day on Saturday or Sunday and two to three days on weekdays.

After the interview, I was given an explanation of the work and discussed the immediate shifts, and I was scheduled to start my shift the next day.

Since I had no experience working part-time, I arrived at work the next day nervous and excited, and without even a moment to introduce myself, I was put to work on pre-opening preparations.

After all the pre-opening preparations were completed and the store was safely open, I was able to calm down a bit and was introduced to another senior part-timer whom I had never met before.

It was then that I learned that bookstores receive the magazines and books to be sold that day early in the morning, and before the store opens, we have to enter them into the computer data and arrange them on the shelves. Apparently, the busiest time for bookstores is before the store opens.

I had an image of bookstores being laid-back, and from what I had heard during the interview, I had heard that the work just involved “managing the register while answering customer inquiries and orders,” so I didn’t expect it to be so physically demanding.

However, I’m pretty confident in my physical strength, so it didn’t seem like a problem.

My main job after the store opened was packing, which involved wrapping comics in plastic.

It seems that most of the items displayed before the store opened were magazines, comics, and other items that were wrapped after the store opened before being displayed. In other words, if the wrapping wasn’t done quickly, it would result in lost sales opportunities, so a female senior part-timer instructed me, “Do it quickly!”.

I spent the rest of the morning wrapping books.

How many books did I wrap? I didn’t count, but I think I wrapped between 200 and 300 books.

I finished wrapping for the day around noon, so I went to lunch, and then I was taught how to use the cash register and practiced ringing up items and wrapping and making book covers for customer requests with my senior.

Time passed quickly because I was not used to the work, and before I knew it, it was 5 p.m. and time to leave work.

My senior told me, “Sakamoto-kun, you can go home now~” so I finished work and went to the break room, but the fatigue from my first part-time job came back, and I sat down on a metal chair and sighed, “Phew~”.

A little later, my senior also finished work and came to the break room, so I stood up and thanked her, “Thank you for your hard work! Thank you for teaching me so much!” She said in a nervous voice, “Eh?! You’re a fast learner. Teaching is part of my job, so don’t worry!”.

After talking to her, I found out that her name was Okazaki-san (岡崎) and that she was a second-year at a private university near here; like me, she came from outside the prefecture and lived alone.

It was difficult to ask her, “What’s your name?” while she was at work.

It was like I was picking on her at work, even though I was new on my first day.

So I asked her questions about work without knowing her name the whole time I was working and finally got to ask her after work.

After we talked for about 10 minutes, she said, “Well, I’m leaving now. See you tomorrow~” and left, so I decided to go home as well.

After I left the store, I suddenly remembered and called Iroha-san and told her, “Thanks to you, I got a part-time job at the bookstore,” and she said, “That’s perfect. I made too much stew, so I wanted to bring some to share,” and then said, “I’m going to the Yahagi Bookstore now, so please wait for me.”

I felt bad for her if she came all the way here, so I refused at first, but she said, “I got a lot of vegetables sent from my parents’ house, and I couldn’t eat them all by myself, so I was in trouble,” so I said, “In that case, I’ll go get them now,” and accepted.

I went straight to Iroha-san’s house, and again that day Iroha-san was wearing contact lenses instead of glasses.

So I said, “I’m really sorry; I said I’d treat you next time. But thank you,” and she replied, “No problem. Since you came all this way, why don’t we eat together? You can have as many refills as you want.”

Un, I was torn.

I had worked a day at my part-time job and was tired, so I wanted to go home early, take a shower, and relax, but in the end, I couldn’t resist the temptation of the delicious smell of the stew.

I’m not good at cooking, and I was trying to save money, so I often just had rice with sprinkles on it.

“Well, I’ll take you up on that offer….”

“Yes! I’ll prepare it right away!”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. If Taichi-Kun eats it, the vegetable problem will be solved, and it’s kind of lonely to eat alone.”

“I see. I’ve just been working, so I’m sorry if I smell sweaty.”

“I don’t care. Just sit back and relax.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I was so dependent on Iroha-san for everything that I felt so sorry for her that while we were eating, I promised her, “When I get my pay, let’s go out for yakiniku! I’ll treat you!”

The stew Iroha-san made was full of colorful vegetables and was elaborate, and the taste was nostalgic. “My mother’s stew also tasted like this,” and it reminded me of home.

After the meal, Iroha-san and I washed the dishes together.

Iroha-san never refused my offer to help anymore.