pressure Falling [1]

The following day had nice weather and the sakura trees on the road to school were forming a beautiful white tunnel.

Along with the nice weather I, for some reason, was feeling better too. In the morning, when I saw the sky clearing away and the sun rising, I suddenly felt myself full of energy, and went to school earlier than usual.

I was passing through the tunnel of roadside sakura trees on my way to school when I suddenly felt like seeing the old school building.

The old school building was standing on the opposite side of the sports ground facing the new one. A wooden, half-demolished building. A building that had many bad rumors going around about it. Everyone considered it a haunted mansion.

Are the rumors true?

I decided to go.

Maybe it is true. Being abandoned for a long time, the windows are clouded in dust. More than half of them are broken so one could see the gloomy inside of the school beyond them.

Dark hole openings in the windows. I feel something different from these holes, like they belong to another place, a different world than the one I know.

A distorted tiled roof. Half of the building is covered in a blue sheet. That originally beautiful blue color is soiled too, deeply ruined.

I approached the old school building.

The entrance way has an old-fashioned door with a glass window, which is clouded and broken too. A transparent vinyl put there is looking rather lonely.

I peeped in through that window.

Inside the entrance way the color of dusk is dominating. A rattly shoe shelf disposed to the faint light is standing there like a gravestone. A terrible amount of dust. A spider's nest. Its threads are dusty too. A completely dilapidated building.

Broken glass is scattered on the floor, something that looks like an old bowl, and other garbage is all over the place. Ruins. Dilapidated building. A haunted house. An old school building of bad rumors.

Peeping in, I suddenly notice a strange thing inside the entrance way.

What could it be?

A black machine.

Pretty big, looks like a video camera. Set on top of a tripod.

Why is such a thing here I wonder, I have to make sure what it is.

Spontaneously, I put my hand on the door knob.

A very dusty and rough sense of touch.

The door opened with a very unpleasant creak to let me inside.

I entered right after the door opened. As I thought, it's a video camera. It can't be... someone lost this?

I got closer to the camera.

Why would there be a camera?

This thing totally puzzles me. It's like seeing a car stopped in the middle of the living room of a friend's house.

Er, what is this?

Just when I stretched my hands towards the video camera...

"Who is it?"

A man's sharp voice.

In that ex-school building of bad luck. In that dark entrance way, inside that completely dilapidated building, there just when I saw a strange thing and felt curious...

At that time all of a sudden I heard a voice, it's impossible not to get surprised.

Of course I was surprised. Not just surprised. I literally jumped back. While jumping I unintentionally crashed into the almost collapsed shoe shelf.

At that moment the shoe shelf swayed turning around.

On my vision's edge I see a man's figure standing at the door.

I try to avoid the shoe shelf that was inclining towards me for the second time.

At the spur of the moment I trip and fall and the shoe shelf collapses grazing my uniform skirt, on top of that it directly hits the video camera... I take an innocent breath… that surprised me...

Huh, I thought I was going to get caught under it.

Taking a breath of relief, I turned to face the man just like a rogue would in front of two monks.

Not good.

Now it is completely broken. The previously broken shoe shelf. And the man is lying on the floor.

"Are you alright?"

I rushed over to him. And at the same time heard a voice.

"What's wrong?"

A man's voice.

The one who rushed over here from the door is the exchange student who made me feel unrestful since yesterday. Shibuya. Today he isn't wearing a uniform either. He is as black as ever.

He ran over to check the collapsed man near me.

"Lin?"

Does he know him? Saying that, he notices me, giving me an intense look.

"What happened?"

"Ah, that's..."

Just when I was about to answer the fallen man raised his body.

"Are you hurt?"

Shibuya asks him.

"Yes..."

He mutters.

Below the long forelock that is covering the upper part of his face, there is a red line flowing down.

My voice gets nervous.

"...Did you cut yourself somewhere?"

The blood falling from his chin is forming a circle of dots on the floor.

What should I do!

"I am very sorry! I was surprised and..."

I quickly try to give him a hand, but Shibuya stops me.

Using his perfectly calm hands, he is checking the state of the fallen man's injury.

"It's a small cut... Anywhere else?"

"I am alright."

The injured man gets up. He bends a little when his weight gets to his legs.

"Can you stand?　How are your legs?"

"...Everything is okay."

But still he has quite a sickly look on his face. A thick layer of sweat is running down his forehead.

Not knowing what to do, I just stand there nervously.

"I am really sorry. But suddenly hearing your voice I was totally surprised..."

"He already told you, it's okay", Shibuya says in a cold voice.

I counter with an even colder look.

"We met yesterday, didn't we?"

"That's right."

But is it alright for me to give him such a grave look? After all this man got injured because of me getting surprised.

"That's right, but what's more important now is, is there a hospital or a doctor nearby?"

"Right after the school gate..."

"Take me there."

Saying this, Shibuya supports his friend with a shoulder.

I also try to help him, but he pushes off my hand with his arm.

What's with this guy!

Glaring at me he says:

"I'm fine. Your help is unneeded."

...This guy... What's with his attitude. In the first place all this happened because you scared me like that. And I, like a kind person, lent you a hand...

"Lin, can you walk?"

"Yes, I am okay."

Shibuya takes a look at me.

"What's your name?"

"Taniyama..."

"Then, Taniyama-san, I will be alright from here on, you can return to the classroom."

"But.."

"I should let you know that the school bell just rang."

Heh?

I got up early and I'm still late?

Getting up early, being scared to death, these two guys almost freaking me out and on top of that I'm late for school?

Ah, I should have never approached the old building.

As I thought, this place is full of bad luck!