Several groups of kids were talking about meeting up in Shibuya the following day and having a party.
Hoping to distract Maru, I asked, “Do you have any plans?”
“You mean, like, for Halloween?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not going to any parties,” he said. But when I asked him if that meant he was free, he said he’d been invited to karaoke. “Are you coming, Asamura?”
“Unfortunately, I have work that day.”
Maru nodded and didn’t try to pressure me.
I’d never had many friends, but I had a feeling the reason I’d gotten along with Maru so well for so long was because he never overstepped. Shinjou had jumped right in, of course, and that had worked out fine. I wondered if that was a sign I’d matured.
That aside, seeing my classmates so excited made me realize many of them would be gathering in Shibuya on Halloween, right when Ayase and I would be working at a bookstore near the station.
I’d just revealed my feelings for Ayase to Shinjou, but I didn’t think he was likely to blab. That said, it would be a pain to have different rumors floating around about us. I really hoped no one would see us at work on Halloween.
Considering the crowds from years past, I doubted anyone would be in a position to see other people’s faces clearly. But since we’d be finishing up late, I would probably want to walk Ayase home, and that meant we’d be traveling side by side through the streets of Shibuya.
How would that look to others? It was probably wise to be careful.
Once school was out, I went home and then walked from there to work. I figured there’d be a lot of traffic around the station and didn’t feel like riding my bike. As I approached Shibuya Station, I noticed more and more people walking down the street dressed in strange outfits.
There was a witch with a broomstick in a black lacy dress and a zombie with an ax stuck in his head. I saw two girls who appeared normal at first, but on closer inspection, I noticed they had scar stickers on their cheeks and blood dripping from the corners of their mouths.
…Wasn’t Halloween still a day away?
The holiday was supposed to be the eve before All Saints’ Day. Did it really make sense to celebrate the eve of an eve?
When customs spread beyond their place of origin, they often get distorted somewhat. Though it’s quite common, it’s always surprising to see it firsthand. Right now, it was as if all of Shibuya had become one giant haunted house.
A parade of demons passed through as the waning moon began to rise.
As soon as I arrived at work, I braced myself for the shift ahead.
I could see customers wandering around in strange outfits like those I’d seen on the street.
You’re kidding me. Halloween isn’t until tomorrow.
And that wasn’t all. Once I’d changed into my uniform, the store manager handed me a funny-shaped hat.
“Here, Asamura. This is for you.”
“What…is it?”
“It’s a hat.”
It had colorful bunches curving down in all directions like the peel of a banana. In other words, a jester’s hat.
“You want me to wear this…?” I asked.
“Yeah. It’s Halloween. Wear it for today and tomorrow. We have to appeal to customers.”
Appealing to customers? Was that what this was?
I looked around and saw that the manager and all the regular employees—including part-timers—were wearing the same hat. It felt surreal. I wondered if I’d made a mistake agreeing to work these two days. In the end, I resigned myself to my fate, put on my hat, and headed for the office in the back.
New books don’t arrive on Saturday and Sunday, but that meant a large number came in on Friday. No matter how much space we had on the shelves, it was impossible to fit them all. Big, thick magazines were especially troublesome since we couldn’t stack them very high. The only thing to do was bring them out a little at a time. Once a few issues sold, we would keep filling the space with more.
I called out a greeting as I walked into the stockroom.
“You’re late, kiddo,” said Yomiuri.
“Hi, Asamura,” greeted Ayase.
“Oh, hi. You both beat me here.”
The two girls were stuffing magazines into cardboard boxes set up on a cart.
When I looked at Ayase’s face, my heart skipped a beat. My cheeks felt hot as I recalled my conversation with Shinjou during lunch break. In my mind, I’d clearly defined my feelings for her as romantic. Belatedly, I began to feel remorse for doing something so drastic.
“You’re late, kiddo. Late!”
“Huh?!”
How could I be late?
“It’s okay, Asamura,” said Ayase. “You still have five minutes before our shift begins.”
“Oh, okay. Yomiuri, you scared me there.”
I checked the clock on the stockroom wall, just in case. Ayase was right. Yomiuri was up to her usual tricks again.
The girl in question, who had been bending over to stuff more magazines in the boxes, thrust her hands upward with a grunt and straightened up, stretching at the waist.
She made it look like she’d been doing some real heavy lifting, but judging by the time, she’d probably just begun.
“Already tired?” I asked.
“Ugh. Saki, your brother is treating me like an old woman.”
“But you said earlier that you were tired,” Ayase countered.
“I can’t believe you betrayed me! …Oh, how cruel, Saki. Whose side are you on?!”
“Pretending to cry like that isn’t very convincing when you’re wearing a funny hat.”
Ayase was right. The sight of Yomiuri pretending to sob, fingers under her eyes, looked like a jester’s routine when combined with the silly hat, jiggling back and forth.
“I’m glad to see you’re getting used to the place, Saki! Okay, guess I’ll have to come up with another method of attack.”
“Couldn’t you just stop attacking?”
“No. That would be boooring!” she exclaimed, putting a strange emphasis on the o.
She swung around so her back was to Ayase, then strode over to me. She had her arms out like a zombie and was wiggling her fingers.
“Hee-hee! Trick or treat, kiddo! Give me candy, or I’ll play a trick on you!”
“Halloween isn’t till tomorrow.”
“So what?! Holidays like to creep up on you before you realize it. Now give me candy.”
“Now you’re just making demands. And I don’t need holidays that creep up on me like a zombie.”
“Baaah, you dare defy me?!” Yomiuri changed direction again. This time, she circled around Ayase and hugged her from behind. “There! I have a hostage now! Give me candy, or I’ll play a trick on your sister.”
“Huh?!” exclaimed Ayase. “Hey. Uh, that t-tickles…”
“Hee-hee-hee. Now where’s the bad boy who won’t give me any candy?”
Her act felt more like some demon from rural folklore that went around scaring kids than it did a Halloween monster.
“Stop it, Yomiuri,” I said. “You’re our senior, so this could be construed as harassment. And I’ll give you candy, so stop, okay?”
She let up immediately. How calculating.
“Okay, kiddo. And remember, as a big brother, you should always have a candy or two in your pocket for when you see your darling little sister. Got it?”