Chapter 31: I Hate Rats Because...Well, Read This Chapter to Find Out

| LANCE |

"Time flies so fast, isn't it?" Rachel started energetically after Principal Reynolds was done with his speech, while the Weyral Symphony Orchestra was playing "Overture" by Georges Bizet in the background. "This is the day that the Lord has made!"

This day was the start of Weyral's Foundation Week. It was celebrated to commentate the day of the school was founded. The whole week would be like a cultural festival in Japanese schools, and there would be no classes, but attendance was still required.

The foundation week is held to display the learning of the students and for recreational diversion. Events for academics, sports, and music are available; even all of the clubs have an activity in which everyone can enjoy. The school also has pageants, Mr. and Ms. Weyral and Weyral's Next Top Model, for the senior students. Preparations for the foundation week were already done last week.

Visitors and alumni are even welcome to enter and join the school's celebration to experience the Weyralian life, and for the latter to visit the school they'd once attended. This is also an opportunity for the students to increase their social skills and foster community ties.

Students who aren't members of any of the clubs (like me) could just chill, roam around the school, and join any of the activities the clubs had prepared.

Among the six of us, it was Kenzie who was really alive by all of this; she'd said this was the first time she'd get to attend a cultural festival.

Back to the present, Cindy asked us while we were getting out of the Indoor Sports Center, "Wanna check the Art Club first?" Excited chattering and bustling by the students were all around us.

"Yes, please!" Spencer agreed, and the rest followed suit.

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The Art Club was famous for their haunted house (well, it was actually more of a mansion). They always decided to build a haunted house every Weyral's Foundation Week at the Main Pegasus Park. But don't be fooled--they always add a twist every year.

"Don't tell me we're really going inside...?" Nis asked while staring at the mansion, and there was a notable hint of fear in her voice.

"Don't be afraid, Nis," Chel said while patting her shoulder. "We're all in this together, once we know--"

"Don't you dare sing a High School Musical, Chel!" Kenzie said jokingly.

"Do you want me to call for Xavier instead, Nis?" asked Spencer. "So that you won't get scared--"

"Argh! You guys are hopeless!" Nis cried. "Where the heck is Dee, anyway? She just suddenly vanished."

"Perhaps she's already inside," I said.

Screams of fear could be heard inside, and a couple were running out of the exit while shouting, "WE'RE NOT GONNA COME BACK! THERE'S A DEMON IN THERE!"

"Oh, that 'demon' must be Cindy," Chel guessed, laughing. "Well, what're we waiting for, slowpokes? Let's join the long line!"

Spencer cracked his knuckles, grinning. "I watch horror films to relax before I go to sleep. I'm ready for this!" His face was brimming with interest and excitement, almost like a young boy whose parents had given him his first gaming console.

If Cindy were here, I was sure she wished she could stay by Spencer's side forever, watching him with that look on his face.

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When it was finally our turn to enter the haunted mansion, Nis clung tightly to Rachel's arm like her life depended on it. Spencer looked giddy as he marveled on the walls (ghosts, demons and other horrific creatures that seemed real-like were painted on them). Kenzie had an unreadable look on her face. I looked bored while staring at a fake cobweb to my left.

"Sorry, Kenzie," Eunice started while the doors behind us were closing. I guessed an OST of Silent Hill was blasting from the speakers. "I'm borrowing Chel until we reach the light at the end of the tunnel." It was almost pitched-black if it weren't for the small light bulbs above.

"Oh, no worries, Nis," Kenzie plainly said, and it made me curious. Why was she acting nonchalant about all of this? Did this mean that she wasn't scared of haunted houses?

Hmm...

"Why are you not clinging to Kenzie's arm?" I asked while shooting Kenzie a teasing look. "Is it because she is short--"

"I'm not short!" Kenzie protested, causing me to cackle. "I'm just vertically challenged!"

"Hey, I didn't say anything about heights," defended Eunice.

However, it didn't escape my observation skills that Rachel and Eunice shared knowing looks after that.

Hey, hey, I thought. Don't tell me they're planning to...?

I was sure, though, that Spencer was innocent; he was busy skipping happily away from us while still admiring the scary paintings on the walls, feeling like he was on his way to a pot of gold. I wasn't sure if Eunice was really scared or was just acting so that...

There was a sudden scream from somewhere, resulting in Eunice to scream back and drag Chel to who-knows-where.

And then Kenzie and I were left all alone in the hallway.

"I knew it," Kenzie mumbled.

"So you noticed it too, huh?" I said as we started walking.

"Yep." Sighing, Kenzie said, "At least I'm not scared, so no need for me to clung to your arm tightly."

"As if I would allow you to do that to me," I scoffed.

"Only Spencer would enjoy haunted houses to the core." Kenzie laughed. "How I envy--" She was cut off when a ghoul appeared in front of her that had come from above, resulting in her to yelp and clung tightly to my arm, while I just stared at it with a deadpan expression on my face.

"Look who's talking not going to cling to my arm." I smirked.

"Che! That just surprised me, is all." She let go of my arm with a humph.

I told her that perhaps the headless priest residing at the Left Pegasus Park would take a visit here to scare the students. But I guess karma is indeed real, because when Kenzie was about to snap at me for saying such scary things, I felt something scurried over my feet, causing a wave of coldness to rush over me. When I looked down, my mind blanked for a moment.

Of course Kenzie would notice this. "Yo, what's wrong?"

I was now shaking visibly, doing my best not to scream out loud.

Staring at me, Kenzie followed my gaze. Then it clicked in her slow brain. "Don't tell me you're afraid of--"

"Don't you dare say it!" I cut her off.

But she still continued in an innocent tone anyway. "--rodents...?"

That's when all hell broke loose. I screeched staccato warnings at the pests in an increasing volume, loud enough for the whole school to hear, and ran away as fast as I could. (Please take note that it wasn't a girly scream.)

The haunted house was like a maze, but I didn't care. The important matter was to get away from those pests. I only stopped running when I couldn't catch my breath any longer. I even heard a crescendo of a garbled scream that sounded like "Go away, Dee!"

"Two minutes of running. Not bad, I guess," said Kenzie, who followed me with ease.

"Easy for you to say," I panted, "since you're a runner."

"First time I heard you let out a girly scream."

"I did not let out a girly scream!" I retorted. "I exhaled suddenly, which was not the proper reaction, by the way."

"Fine. You were in panic mode, shouting in a shrill falsetto, then," Kenzie sort of rephrased. Leaning her back on the wall, she said, "Now, while we're resting, care to share what happened back there? Of all creatures, why're you afraid of rats?"

"Because there were two rats back there," I cried out, clearly annoyed.

Kenzie raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

I scowled at her. "Why, don't you also have musophobia?"

"I'm afraid of ghosts than rats."

I scoffed. "You should be scared of what's real in this world. Even so, if ghosts were indeed real, they are harmless except through fear found within the witness--" I stopped myself when I heard a squeak somewhere.

"I didn't expect I'd get to see you so scared," said Kenzie with a laugh. "So there is an animal that scared Weyral's Paganini then, huh? My whole life is complete."

"Go away! And why are there rodents in here? I shall report this to the head of the Art Club after we get out of here."

"Part of their props, maybe," joked Kenzie. "Seriously, though, why are you afraid of rats?"

"Because they carry many diseases," I explained. "They're one of the causes that started the Black Death in the 13th century."

"The heck? Is that reason of yours even serious?"

I nodded.

"Well, bats carry many diseases, too. So, are you chiroptophobic?" Kenzie was stifling her laughter, as if sharing an inside joke.

"If you research about rats and bats, the former wins by a slight margin in carrying more human-infecting viruses, but the latter hosts more zoonotic viruses per species."

Shaking her head, Kenzie said, "Sorry, but I can't keep up with you regarding viruses. But I can help you make you calm..." She held me right up against her, but gently, as if embracing something treasured and precious. She added in a whisper, "Don't worry. I promise I won't tickle you this time."

That totally made me relax and embraced her back. "Thank you, Kenzie."

Mackenzie Adams was different from anyone else I'd ever met. She made such an impression, and I couldn't help but feel like she was really special...which made her all the more amazing. There was a certain pull to her that I couldn't resist. Even now, I found it hard to believe that a person like her actually existed. Not sure if I imagined she sniffed on my uniform, though.

Kenzie fixed her gaze on me, an honest, sincere look in her green eyes. I stood there entranced by her, forgetting even to breathe, when suddenly someone chanted...

"Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. No escape for you."

That's when Kenzie lost it.

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It took us ten minutes to exit the haunted mansion. I'd counted that Kenzie screamed fifteen times, while I only screamed three times (because of rats, I should add).

"Oh, there you are!" Eunice said. She and Rachel were standing a few feet away from the exit. "Sorry we got separated from you."

"Really?" Kenzie asked skeptically. "You two don't seem sorry. At. All."

"Mwe-he-he-he," said Chel.

Looking around, I asked, "Where on earth is Spencer?"

Both of them shrugged.

Then someone yelled while running toward us, "THERE'S A SUCCUBUS IN THAT BLASTED HAUNTED MANSION!"

That "someone" was actually Spencer. His eyes were filling with tears of fear as he hugged me, and I couldn't help but pat his back.

"Oh, my gosh!" cried Eunice. "So you saw it, too!"

"Well, it's called a 'haunted' house for a reason," said Kenzie.

He shook his head. "No, it was different! That thing came from the depths of hell!"

The four of us looked at each other in understanding. Spencer, who wasn't afraid of horror stuff, was afraid of this beast, and it could only mean one thing: that succubus was Cindy.

Also, for some unknown reason, Kenzie was staring at Spencer and me while covering her mouth with her hand, looking joyful.

I raised my eyebrows at her. "What's so funny?"

"Hey, guys!" Cindy called, waving at us while she was managing the long line in front of the haunted house. "How was the experience?"

"Haunting!" replied Chel. "Eunice almost pee--"

"You heard nothing!" Nis interrupted, blushing in embarrassment. So perhaps she hadn't been acting scared, after all, but had still planned to leave me and Kenzie together in the mansion.

I frowned, realizing something. "Wait, were you not inside, Dee?"

Cindy excused herself and went in our direction. "What're you talking about? I was managing the line the whole time while you were inside." She moved her hands in a negative wiping motion.

"You're pulling my leg, right?" cried Spencer, still hugging me.

Laughing at Spencer's state, Dee said, "Whoa! The horror freak totally freaked out at our haunted house for the first time, huh? This is a sight to behold!"

Spencer sniffed, and it somehow melted Cindy's heart, because she stopped kidding and said, "What? I'm telling you guys the truth. You can even ask one of the Art Club members managing the line over there as my witness."

Another batch of students came running out of the exit while yelling, "DEMON! THERE'S A DEMON! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Some of the students perked upon hearing this and instantly joined the line to the haunted house.

The five of us scowled. "So who was that...?" Kenzie faltered.

Cindy scowled. "Last I checked, we didn't have someone to cosplay as a succubus. Not sure if there was a last-minute change before we opened the haunted house, though."

Good thing Kenzie and I hadn't encountered that succubus. Or was she the one who'd chanted behind us?

I had to thank those pesky rats, I suppose.

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Hi, friends! Such crazy times we're having right now, huh? I hope all of you are safe from the coronavirus. I know you already know about these, but please wash your hands with soap frequently, don't forget the social distance rule, cover your nose/mouth when you sneeze/cough, and don't spread fake news. We'll get through this together. Let's keep the faith! Mwahugsss~!