A New Friend? (Diva)

It was a drizzly spring morning, and Nina was in her shop as usual, since it was so rainy and dull, there wasn’t many customers risking getting wet, sure there was the usual devoted fanboys who visited, but apart from that it was pretty quiet, Nina had her feet up on the counter and listening to some music through some headphones while reading some adult looking manga, but she still kept aware of who was coming in and out of the shop.

I smile and twirl down the streets, face tilted up and into the rain, I open my mouth and catch a couple raindrops on my tongue. A shop nearby caught my eye and I stopped to bound over to it.

The windows displayed colorful books. I really had no interest in books, considering I couldn't read english yet, but something made me go inside nonetheless. A little bell rings as I open the door, and I jump, surprised. I then back up and try the door again. I smile as it rings once more. I then ring it over and over, fascinated by the sound.

Nina would look up from her manga and raised an eyebrow but just smiled a little "I can get you a bell of your own if you like" she said calmly as she took down her headphones, giving a calm and kind smile to the new customer 'looks like we've got another newbie to things here' she thought, although she didn't mind, seems like she had been meeting a few people new to things recently.

I smile at her. "Oh.. no thank you. I'm sorry for disturbing you. I was just looking at how it worked." I smile innocently and turn to walk down an isle, "So what sort of stuff do you sell here?" I ask, my accent thick and undistinguishable. I pick up a book that seems like it would be interesting and frown at it. I open it and flip through a couple pages, raising my eyebrows in surprise when I discover it's full of pictures.

"Well there's Japanese manga and anime, also Japanese snacks and drinks, you know, those ones with the really cool and interesting sounding flavours, there's also trading cards and there's some vending machines in the game room just off to the side" she said, indicating the open doorway that lead to a room of tables and chairs.

I nod. "Well that all sounds interesting. But I think I really want to check out the food and drinks." I give a excited grin. "What kind of 'really cool and interesting sounding flavors' do you have?" I ask, tilting my head to one side.

"Take a look" she said as she indicated the shelves and freezer beside the counter, in the freezer would be stuff like sea salt ice cream, as well as some more normal sounding ice creams and frozen treats, in the fridge beside it would be bottles and cans of things like grapefruit soda, iced coffee in a can, etc and on the shelves would be things like sakura and green tea kitkats, seaweed pringles, etc.

I smile and skip on over to the assorted food and drink section. I spend a while looking through the stuff, laughing at strange flavors, and trying to see what would actually taste good.

"So why would anyone make these?" I ask as I pick up some porcupine Cheetos. "And more importantly who would eat them?" I chuckle and make a face, holding them at arms length and putting them back on the shelf.

I gather some stuff that look like they would actually be good and set them on the counters. "Ok. I want these but I want to keep looking at some other stuff. Should I keep these here or put them in a basket or what?" I look around for a basket to hold it all.

"Well most are very popular in Asian countries, sometimes they bring out seasonal flavours like the cherry blossom kitkats, I find them pretty fun, makes a change from the typical, dull, samey flavours you find over here, and sure you can just put them on the counter and I'll save them for you, since its not too busy right now" said Nina with a smile

I smile and nod. "They do seem interesting. Thanks, I won't take too long." I skip off to look at the training cards.

"So what's the deal with these?" I say picking up a couple packs of the cards.

"Well they're for customers who play Yu-Gi-Oh, Magica, Pokémon, those types of trading card games" said Nina as she would keep track of what the girl had brought to the counter so far.

I nod and grab a couple assorted packs, just for fun. I then cross to the books I was looking at earlier, squinting at them, slightly confused. I pick one up and try to understand what was happening, But while the pictures acted out the words presumably I couldn't make sense of it.

I sigh and purse my lips before putting the book back down and walking back to the counter, placing the cards on the counter. "Ok. I think I'm ready." I give the shop owner a bright smile.

Nina scanned the items and put them into a bag "alright that'll be $17" she said as she placed the paper bag onto the counter.

I blink in surprise. "Oh ok!" I pull out my wallet and hand over the cash. "That was cheaper than expected." I smile brightly. "I really wish I could get a one of those things but I can't understand them. They look cool though" I say, pointing to some of the books.

"Really? Are you looking at the Japanese or English ones? Because we have both" said Nina curiously, wondering if she was unable to read English.