Chapter : 28 : The Haunted Room!
It was 5:00 p.m. School had ended an hour ago, but I was still standing in front of my homeroom teacher, discussing something very, very important.
A clubroom.
"Sensei, do you think it will be possible?" I asked, my tone heavy with exaggerated seriousness.
My homeroom teacher, a middle-aged man with glasses that somehow always reflected light in a dramatic way, leaned forward, mirroring my seriousness. "Hmm… Let's see," he muttered, rubbing his chin.
We locked eyes like two detectives in a crime drama.
"You said… Odd Jobs, right?" he asked, squinting.
"Yes," I nodded, my voice low and intense. "We'll help anyone. Anytime. Anywhere."
Sensei leaned back, crossing his arms. "Hmm…" He then slammed a paper onto his desk with the force of a thousand suns. "I am assigning you… Room No. 7!"
I blinked. "Room No. 7? That sounds… suspiciously specific."
"Yes," he nodded gravely. "It's the only room left."
I frowned. "Then why hasn't anyone used it?"
He adjusted his glasses, making them gleam. "Do you really want to know?"
I gulped. "I must know, Sensei."
"They say," he whispered dramatically, leaning closer, "that a girl once… died there."
I blinked. "Huh?"
"She committed suicide in that very room," Sensei continued, voice heavy with theatrical horror. "Since then, people have claimed to hear strange noises… whispering… and sometimes… even crying."
I gulped. Hard.
"You still want to use that room?" Sensei asked, dead serious.
I hesitated. It was true that I couldn't risk my lovely girlfriends' safety. But then I imagined their excited, happy faces when they saw our new clubroom. I imagined them hugging me in joy, their cute smiles filling my heart.
And then, somehow, I… drooled in real life.
"Kage Ito-san!" Sensei called, stepping back nervously.
"Yes, Sensei!" I snapped back to reality, wiping my mouth.
"You sure about this?"
"Yes, Sensei!"
With that, he slammed a big, red stamp onto the form.
The paper now read:
---
Club Name: Odd Jobs!
Leader: Kage Ito
Members:
Ahane Mei
Ahane Hana
Ayase Aoi
Description: We'll do any sort of jobs to help anyone.
---
I walked out of the staff room, the document in hand.
Outside, my four girlfriends stood in a line, looking up at me with hopeful, shining eyes.
"How did it go?" they all asked at the same time.
There was a dramatic pause.
I narrowed my eyes. They leaned forward.
Then, with the smoothest smirk, I held up a thumbs-up.
"YAAAAY!" Aisha and Hana jumped excitedly.
Mei folded her arms, looking away. "Tch. Whatever. Not like I care or anything."
Aoi murmured something softly, blushing.
I smiled. "Now, we just have one job left… cleaning the room."
I paused. Then added, "Oh, and by the way… Sensei says the room is haunted."
Mei screamed.
Aoi turned pale.
Hana and Aisha just blinked.
"Ha-ha-ha-haunted?!" Mei stammered, taking a huge step back.
"W-we don't have to use that room, right, Ito-Senpai?" Aoi asked, voice trembling, eyes huge with fear.
I grinned. "Well… it's the only room left. If we don't use it, we won't have a club."
Aoi whimpered. Mei clenched her fists. "W-whatever! I'm not scared! Tch. G-ghosts don't exist."
Aisha smirked. "You're literally shaking."
"I AM NOT!" Mei yelled.
"Yep. Definitely scared," Hana muttered, giggling.
At The Haunted Clubroom
The hallway leading to Room No. 7 was eerily silent.
Aoi was clinging onto my sleeve. Mei was walking one step behind me, pretending she wasn't scared. Hana and Aisha seemed mostly unaffected.
I stopped in front of the door and pulled out the key.
I inserted it into the lock.
Turned it.
It… didn't budge.
"Huh?" I muttered.
I tried harder. It still wouldn't open.
"What's wrong?" Aisha asked.
"Looks like it's jammed," I replied, still struggling.
Mei pushed up her sleeves. "Tch. Move aside, weakling."
I sighed and handed her the key.
She grabbed it. Twisted the knob.
Nothing.
She frowned. She twisted harder.
Nothing.
"HAH!" With a sudden burst of gorilla-like strength, she YANKED the door open.
The old wooden door creaked… loudly.
The sound was straight out of a horror movie.
Mei jumped back. "KYAAH!"
Aoi yelped cutely and immediately latched onto my arm.
Aisha patted Mei's back, giggling. "Wow, I didn't know you were part gorilla, Mei-chan."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Mei yelled.
Aisha smirked. "Gorilla-Chan~."
"YOU WANNA FIGHT?!" Mei's face turned red with rage.
"Hey, hey, calm down—"
Then, out of nowhere…
A chill ran down my spine.
A cold whoosh of air brushed past my neck.
I froze.
Aoi shook in terror.
Mei gulped.
Aisha narrowed her eyes. "Did you feel that?"
Hana nodded slowly. "It felt… really cold."
Strangely, my Soul Stats didn't react.
Normally, it would tell me if I was in danger.
But right now…
Nothing.
"…I think we should leave," Aoi whispered, her voice trembling.
"N-nah, let's just—"
Then.
Then.
Then…
A loud creak echoed inside the dark room.
Mei screamed. "THAT'S IT! I'M OUT!"
Aoi buried her face into my chest, trembling violently. "I-Ito-Senpai! Let's go home! P-please!"
I wrapped my arms around her gently. "It's okay, Aoi. I'm here."
Mei grabbed my sleeve. "I-If anything happens, you go first! As bait!"
"Wow. Thanks, Mei."
"T-Tch. Not like I care about you or anything," she muttered, looking away.
Aisha peeked inside. "Well, it's definitely… spooky. But I don't think anything's here."
Hana nodded. "Let's just clean it fast."
I took a deep breath.
This was supposed to be our clubroom.
But right now…
It looked like something straight out of a horror movie.
Broken furniture. Dust everywhere. Cracked windows.
And…
A single, old chair in the middle of the room.
Aoi tightened her grip on me. "T-that chair… it's just… sitting there… alone… w-waiting…"
Mei gulped. "I-it totally looks haunted."
Hana sighed. "Come on, guys. Let's clean up before it gets dark."
Aisha smirked. "Unless you're all too scared~?"
Mei immediately puffed out her chest. "Tch. I'm not scared."
Aoi whimpered. "I-I am!"
I smiled. "It's okay. We'll clean together."
Aoi nodded nervously.
Then, with a deep breath, we stepped into our new clubroom—
—completely unaware that something else was already inside.
END OF CHAPTER : 28 : THE HAUNTED ROOM