We went in through a staff entrance and were led to a room that I’d guess was something like the haunted house’s staff room. On the way, we passed a dressing room filled with lines of costume racks, and a makeup room with conspicuous mirrors and chairs. They looked just like the backstage rooms you’d expect idols and celebrities to get ready in, if not for the blood-covered zombie masks that peered back at you through the partly open tops of the cardboard boxes we passed. Once you saw those, there was no denying you were in a haunted house.
The room we were led to was kinda big, and alongside the foreign staff holding recording equipment and the director, there were a few Japanese people here and there who also seemed to be involved in the production. We were basically outsiders, so nobody approached us to exchange business cards or anything, but from the conversations I was overhearing, it sounded like we had all sorts of people here: from monster actors and journalists to advertising representatives.
Just when I forget what a big deal this is, it creeps up on me again!
Even though I’d been tagging along with Mizuki-san all day, my knees only now started shaking. But if I was ever gonna make it big as an actress, I needed to get used to places like this.
I’ll be fine! I can do it! At least, I hope I can!
I thought back to when Senpai told me he’d gotten Makigai Namako-sensei to write the scenarios for Koyagi. At first, I had freaked out because we were involved with such a big name, but I eventually got used to it after spending more time working alongside Makigai for the Alliance.
I slapped my cheeks to focus myself. And then...
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
I jumped when a woman’s scream came outta nowhere! “Eek!”
Right—we were inside Tenchido’s Ghost Mansion. This room looked just like a regular office space, devoid of scary stuff, so I’d clean forgotten. It was properly separated from the public area of the attraction, but I guess that meant barely anything when it came to such loud screams.
Mizuki-san giggled at my reaction. “A girl’s funny faces are cute. I like especially when she jumps with surprise. It’s endearing.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little too mean?” I groaned.
Mizuki-san giggled again. “If being here is scary, you can leave for a little while. I forgive you.”
“I-I’m not scared. This is a wonderful opportunity you’ve given me, and I’m not gonna run away just because of some monsters.”
“This admirable attitude is wonderful. But, for a while it is just the meeting, and there is no conversation useful for a learning actress. Or anything I want to ask for your help. Hm...” Mizuki-san ran a thoughtful fingertip over her throat. “My throat is dried. Can you buy me something to drink?”
“Didn’t you have a cream soda at that stand just now?”
“A sweet drink dries your throat quicker. You can dry up and die, like in the desert. I am desiring the mineral water.”
“Oh, I see. I guess I can buy you some water...”
I didn’t want to miss something important while I was away buying her water. I looked around the room at the other adults, but they were just laughing and chatting loudly. It looked like they were just chewing the fat instead of talking about anything serious or professional.
This might actually be the best time to leave the room.
B-But it wasn’t like I wanted to leave, okay? The screams of visitors, and creepy atmosphere had nothing to do with it! I’m not that pathetic, okay? And I’m not like Senpai, who’s always on about his precious logic but is actually scared of ghosts.
“Kohinata, grab a drink for me too, yeah?”
“Sure... Wait a sec, Otoi-san, how come you’re acting like you own the place?!”
Otoi-san was slumped in a chair in the area where only the most important-looking people were sitting. “Arrogant” or “narcissistic” might have been impressive ways of describing what she was doing, but to me she just looked like a chonky cat lording it over the place. Obviously I wasn’t gonna tell her what I thought—I didn’t want her to get mad!
“If y’could get me another one of those cream sodas, that’d be great.”
“You’re gonna have more sugar?!”
“I think y’meant to say ‘okey-de-cokey.’”
“Literally no one says that.”
More accurately, a ton of girls in my class said it, but when I looked online, I couldn’t find a single example of it being used. How did Otoi-san know about it anyway? Could it be that it actually was popular slang, and I was just looking in the wrong places?
I had a ton of questions, but just thinking about them over and over wasn’t going to get me any answers. My teacher and my senpai needed something, and it was up to me as their kouhai to make it happen!
I gave them both a courteous, hearty salute. “But I got it! I’ll be back with your orders lickety-split!”
I pulled my purse from my bag and raced out of the room.
And then I got lost.
“H-Huh? Where am I? ...Seriously?”
I’d been walking around, trying to find my way out of the building, when I found myself on a path I didn’t recognize. On our way in, I’d followed the film crew without giving any thought to my surroundings, and when I left the staff room, I figured I just needed to go down the stairs to get to the first floor. So I did, and that was fine, but suddenly the floors and walls of the hallway around me were a totally different color.
I was pretty sure the staff room was on the fourth floor. I’d only gone down one flight of stairs, so this had to be the third floor.
Most stairs let you go down several flights at once, but for some reason, this one had stopped after a single floor. Wasn’t that kinda dumb?
“Oh, right. ’Cause it’s a haunted house.”
It was supposed to be like a dungeon, where certain stairs were blocked off so that you were forced to go down the hallways to get to the next level.
Makes sense.
Like hell it does!
Didn’t that mean I’d wandered into the actual attraction?! That meant I was doing something really bad—going into the haunted house without even buying a ticket!
I wasn’t supposed to do evil things—apart from bullying Senpai. And that wasn’t even evil, because Senpai enjoyed it.
I was in major trouble. I needed to turn around and get back to the place I started. So I turned around.
“Argh! I have no clue which way I came from!”
The hallway was dimly lit, and the floors, walls, and ornaments were purposely filthy for effect. It was a confused, complicated jumble, and I couldn’t work out how I’d gotten to my current location.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
“Eek!”
The screams were even louder out here, and so was the yelp I made in response.
How the heck had this happened? How had I, Kohinata Iroha, found myself trapped in a horror movie?
Urgh... Why me?!