Outsider Syndrome | ✓

Chapter 9 (2) - "Far From Heartless Zombie"

"Whoops. Sorry, Kisaragi." The blond held his arms in apology. "You look clueless. Did Kamakiri not tell you?"

My heart rate spiked in my chest. "Tell me. . . ?"

I pivoted on my foot. For a moment, annoyance flashed across Kamakiri's face. Then, he faced me, princely smile in place.

"I invited my friends to join us. I didn't think it was an issue. You don't mind, do you?"

I grappled for words, open-mouthed. He did? Well, he didn't exactly say we'd be going alone. I jumped to that conclusion myself.

Still, these were Kamakiri's. . . friends? They looked liked thugs. The types that loitered in dark alleyways or asked kids for their lunch money. Then again, Kamakiri was nice and considerate. He wouldn't befriend those he knew had corrupted hearts.

I exhaled heavily, situating a hand over my chest. "That's a relief. I was convinced we were getting mugged or something."

Ignoring their evident surprise, I bowed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Shiina Kisaragi."

The blond produced an airy laugh when I resurfaced. "Kumai," he introduced. "The guy in green is Tanaka. Baldy is Goya. Brunet, Handa."

"The pleasure's ours," Handa said.

I nodded, putting their names to their faces. See, I worried for no reason. They were politer than expected.

Appearances truly were deceiving.

"Now that introductions are out of the way," Kumai said. "You said something about choosing a ride, right? Why don't we go in there?"

He dipped his thumb behind me, in direction of the haunted house.

My jaw fell slack. I stepped forward. "That's not—"

"We saw you eyeballing it when we were making our way over." Tanaka patted my shoulder. "Truth is, we're huge fans of haunted houses. The scarier the better, right?"

I bet the colour of my complexion had paled beyond compare. The chills I'd received was reflexive. "Well, that—"

"Oh, she wanted to go in the haunted house?" Goya said, then grinned. "Let's hurry up and go, then! The line's practically empty."

Handa took off first, sharing Goya's enthusiasm. Tanaka and Kumai followed closely behind.

I couldn't move my legs.

Kamakiri who'd advanced a couple of steps, stopped in place. He twisted around. "Kisaragi? Aren't you coming?"

I moved my mouth but couldn't formulate the words. The sight of the grotesque zombies and skeletons protruding from the sign above the entrance had lodged them in my throat.

I missed my chance to speak up. I couldn't stop them now. Why did Kamakiri's friends have to show up? If it was only the two of us, I could've played off my fear of ghosts with a laugh and suggested any other attraction. But I couldn't do that now. Not with his friends already wedged deep into the line.

Here I thought my biggest hurdle was going to be Kamakiri ridiculing my tomboyish outfit when in truth it was trying to avoid being ridiculed over my childish fear of haunted houses. One, for that matter, that even children were entering.