The finicky coffee machine.

Originally written by Phantom pen at writing.com

Doing her best to stifle a yawn, Yuki decided that she just needed a little pick-me-up. Grabbing one of the styrofoam cups set aside for employee use, Yuki approached the finicky coffee machine with only a small bit of apprehension. The machine had been acting up lately, and the nozzle had developed a habit of spraying to the sides a bit, rather than all in a concentrated downward stream. Still, so long as the operator was careful, the chance of getting splashed with coffee was minimal.

At least, that should have been the case. Instead, as Yuki pushed the button to dispense her coffee, a new problem manifested. At first, the machine didn't pour out anything, shortly after that it began to hum loudly. Taking a nervous step back, Yuki wasn't sure what to make of this new development. Was the machine about to explode or something? The hum got louder and louder, and the machine began to vibrate ever so slightly. Then, just as quickly as it had happened, it stopped. Whatever the problem had been, it appeared to have passed. With a sigh of relief, Yuki approached the machine again...

Only to step right into the splash zone of a sudden blast of lukewarm coffee. The machine's nozzle popped off with a loud bang, and the bitter liquid blasted out in all directions. In the blink of an eye, Yuki was practically painted with tepid coffee. Jen and Karen, rushing to the site of the noise, stared at Yuki with a mixture of shock and sympathy.

"Oh, Yuki! Are you okay?" Jen asked, rushing to her friend's side.

"Y-yeah. I'm *cough cough* fine." Yuki choked out, clearing her throat of some coffee that had managed to slip between her lips.

"That damn machine!" Jen cursed. "We should have had it replaced weeks ago! God, Yuki, you're absolutely covered in this crap!"

It was true. The coffee was all over Yuki's face, in her hair, and soaking into her uniform. The only real consolation was the fact that the coffee wasn't hot enough to burn or scald. Still, Yuki looked absolutely awful.

"Yeah, Yuki, you need to wash up. Your uniform, too, before the stains sink in too much." Karen said. "You guys don't have a shower, I'm guessing. But you probably have a sink, right?"

Jen nodded. "Absolutely. Karen, can you go back with her? We can't leave the front of the store unattended."

With a nod, Karen carefully led Yuki to the back room. The area was decently sized, with various boxes of stock and some kitchen fixtures. Bringing Yuki over to a sink, Karen turned on the water and let it run for a bit to warm up.

"Okay, Yuki, go ahead and take off your uniform. I'll wash it up for you, you just focus on cleaning yourself up." Karen said.

Yuki wordlessly obliged. Normally she'd have objected to disrobing in front of one of her friends like this, especially at work, but the circumstances were enough to make Yuki forgo her usual objections. Within a few seconds, Yuki was standing in front of Karen in just her underwear, Karen holding her soaked uniform. As she turned to face the sink, Yuki heard Karen speak up once more.