After a bit our turn came up and we walked slowly into the haunted house. The interior was dim and ominous; groaning sounds drifted in from somewhere.
“H-hey Ryouya, are we close to the exit…?”
“It’s been less than a minute since we walked in.”
“That would actually be too short.”
“It would not. I’ve already had plenty.”
It was a new mode of Riona, and I was — strangely — kind of into it. This is what they call gap moe.
While we were having that exchange, a strobe-light flash went off accompanied by a thunderclap. Reona and I had been startled mildly. On Riona it was a direct hit.
“KYAAAA—!!”
Riona screamed and slammed into me, hugging me. Then would not let go. We continued forward in that configuration. As we walked, a woman with a knife in her chest, covered in blood, came into view, lying beside the path.
“R-Ryouya… she’s not going to get up, is she…”
Riona asked it in a shaking voice. It would be incredibly wasteful for the prop to be there without getting up. I tried to warn her, but I was a half-second too late — the woman jolted upright.
“NOOO—!!”
Riona let out a much louder scream, grabbed my hand, and started running in the direction of forward. She was pulling me hard enough that it actually hurt.
“H-hey, wait — don’t leave me back here—!”
Left alone in the dark corridor, Reona was hurrying to catch up. Apparently even Reona did not want to be solo in a haunted house.
From there, every scare-zone had Riona either screaming-and-hugging-me, running-and-yanking-my-hand, or freezing-and-needing-me-and-Reona-to-tow-her. Repeat.
“Oh — finally, exit.”
“For real, that was a long haunted house.”
“Yeah, way more committed than I expected.”
“O-outside again…”
The exit’s daylight made Riona — still attached to my arm — visibly relax. But haunted houses love hitting you with one last scare after you can see the exit, so it wasn’t quite safe yet.
Right as I was thinking that, a bloody severed head dropped from the ceiling. Reona and I had been bracing for it. Riona had not.
“NOPE — DONE—!!”
Riona grabbed my arm and broke into a full sprint. The strength was unbelievable for a teenage girl — she must’ve been genuinely terrified. We rocketed out of the haunted house at top speed.
“I — told you — not to leave me behind—”
Reona emerged after us, shoulders heaving. She’d had to sprint to catch up.
”…You can let go of my arm now, you know.”
“In a minute.”
Riona was not letting go. After she finally calmed down, we started hunting for the next attraction.
“Ryouya-kun, Riona — want to ride that next?”
“Cute. I want to ride it.”
“That one is for kids, we’d stick out.”
The ride Reona and Riona had picked was the panda cars. Needless to say the loading area was crammed with families with kindergarteners and elementary kids.
“Riona and I are still minors. Basically children.”
“That is too aggressive a take.”
“Don’t think about it.”
“Yeah, but—”
I tried to resist, lost. Two-against-one, I am 0-for-many.
“Ryouya, get on.”
“You want me to ride this?”
“Yes, yes.”
Reona and Riona dragged me along by the arms, and I begrudgingly mounted a panda car.
”…Is this how it goes?”
“Suits you.”
“Yeah, Ryouya-kun is, like, ten percent cooler riding that.”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean. And — both of you — please stop taking my picture.”
Reona and Riona on a panda car would be a magazine cover; me on a panda car was definitely a war crime against image. If anyone showed those photos to anyone, I’d die of shame.
“Ryouya-kun, what if you commuted to school on it? You might make some friends.”
“At last, Ryouya escapes loner status.”
“I would attract so much negative attention I’d get arrested on the walk.”
If I commuted by panda car someone would definitely upload it to social media. Generations of my descendants would be shamed forever. Oh wait — no, since I’m going to be a virgin forever, there will not be descendants to be ashamed.