4.5
It took us quite a while to get to the first floor from the thirteenth. We were worried that the lobby might be crowded, but fortunately, no one was around.
“We can go right now,” I said.
“Okay.”
I made my way toward the exit, Horikita trailing closely behind me.
Then, several male and female students emerged from the darkness, chatting as they walked. They didn’t appear to be Class D students, but from Horikita’s perspective, it didn’t make any difference who they were. We couldn’t get out of the dormitory in time. Horikita turned on her heel and started to head back, as if returning to her room.
“At this rate, they’re going to see us,” she said.
The students drew nearer, their presence hard to ignore. Flustered, Horikita and I opened the door to the west emergency stairs. How unlucky could we be? I heard a voice directly above us. It sounded like a male student on the third or fourth floor, heading downstairs. Students who lived on the lower levels often didn’t use the elevators.
No longer able to go upstairs, Horikita and I were forced to return to the lobby.
“We have no choice now but to use the elevator!” Horikita said.
“Is that okay? You’ll be seen on the monitors,” I said.
“I’ll have to use you as cover. Since we know the camera’s position, we should be able to do that,” replied Horikita.
That suggestion was bizarre, but not impossible. I would rather have avoided it, but since we lacked an escape route, there was no other choice. We hurried to the left elevator and got on. I positioned myself directly in front of the camera, and Horikita stood behind me, making sure to hide her arm. She was like a ghost clinging to my back.
I hoped observers wouldn’t notice anything. At any rate, we needed to get away from the first floor. I pushed a button at random.
“Well, we’re safe for now, but…this is just the beginning,” I muttered.
“Let’s give up. I can’t go outside like this. I’ll just endure this bottle until the water comes back,” said Horikita.
That had to be a tough pill for her to swallow, but if it was what she wanted, we just needed to return to the thirteenth floor. I cancelled the request for a random floor, and pushed the button for the thirteenth. Hopefully our trials were over for tonight.
Then, just as we relaxed, the elevator suddenly slowed. I was having terrible luck with elevators lately. At least it wasn’t breaking down, and I hadn’t pressed the wrong button.
We had stopped on the fifth floor. That meant that someone had pressed the call button. No matter who got on, they’d see Horikita in this bizarre state. She might’ve gone undetected in a big crowd of people, but fate continued to be cruel, and the elevator doors opened to reveal a single male student.
Unbelievable. Of all the people we could have encountered…
Kouenji Rokusuke, a Class D student, waltzed into the elevator with his usual haughty air. He went straight to the mirrored wall, not even giving us a passing glance. As he gazed at his reflection, he pulled out a comb he always carried, and started to style his hair.
“Elevator boy. Top floor,” he said.
Horikita appeared stunned by Kouenji’s incredible display of narcissism. I wanted to say a bunch of things right back at him, but it was probably best to just stay quiet. I pressed the button for the top floor, the elevator doors closed, and we started our ascent once again.
Kouenji showed no sign of paying attention to us. I would’ve thought that he’d spare us a glance, considering that we were his classmates, but at least that meant he probably wouldn’t notice the water bottle.
While Horikita hovered in the camera’s blind spot, the elevator passed the tenth floor. I wondered what business Kouenji had on the top floor, but couldn’t ask. Maybe he had no real reason for going.
When the elevator doors slowly opened, Horikita and I stepped out simultaneously. Kouenji never once moved his eyes from the mirror. Things had ended without incident.
Horikita rushed straight to her room.
“It’s impossible. Walking around outside is completely out of the question,” she muttered as she went inside.
I was about to follow her when my phone vibrated.
Sorry for the late reply. I was researching something, so I didn’t notice your text, read the message from Sakura.
“Sakura-san?” asked Horikita.
“Yeah.” I texted Sakura back.
You wanted water, right? Of course that’s okay. Would one bottle be enough? said her message.
That’s plenty, thank you. Can I come get it now?
Sure. I’ll wait for you, Sakura replied.
It was difficult to hold a conversation with Sakura in person, but when we texted, it went smoothly.
“Good news, Horikita. Apparently, Sakura has water. She just gave me the okay to borrow some, so I’ll be going now.”
“Thank you. However, please don’t tell Sakura-san about me,” Horikita replied.
“Well, since you won’t be stuck like this anymore, how about we take a commemorative photo?” I joked.
Horikita seemed to be about to start swinging the water bottle at me, so I ran into the hall.
“What a terrifying woman. Considering her physical prowess, if she hit me on the head with that bottle, I’d probably die,” I muttered.
If a high school girl with her arm stuck in a water bottle killed me, my name would live on in infamy.
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