Chapter 15 - Invitation to Room

“Phew…” I sighed in relief, leaning against the wall as the three left me behind. Now, finally escaping being locked inside the classroom, I find myself sitting behind the wall outside the school again.

It’s getting dark, and it would be dangerous for me to stay in here without proper vision. Since I could only see grayscale, seeing through the dark was really a hard thing to do. But then, it’s another night with me being a skeleton, and I still have no idea what I am supposed to do now.

As I was about to stand up, I heard someone’s step coming from far away.

Not again… I thought, seeing that there was no other way to escape the sight of a person, I decided to walk a bit farther away from the road. Slowly, not making a lot of noise.

Crap. There’s no way I’m going back over there to be locked up again.

But then the sound slowly got close, and I froze as the sound neared. Still standing, I leaned my whole body against the wall, trying to blend in the dark.

“What are you doing?” a girl asked.

Huh!? I turned to my right, only to see a floating fire approaching me.

“You don’t need to hide anymore.” she continued.

“I thought you’ve gone home already.” I muttered, looking at her. “I was about to go back to the cemetery but then I heard someone’s footsteps.”

“That explains why you’re like that.” she commented, chuckling softly. “So, what are your plans now?”

“Plans…” I muttered, unsure of what to say. “I was planning on going back to the cemetery.” I spoke.

“Again?” she exclaimed.

“It’s not like I have any choice, right?”

“I…I guess so…” she whispered.

“It’s not exactly fun over there, but I don’t have any choice but to do it.” I added, not entirely into sleeping in the cemetery.

“You’re right…” the fire nodded, or that’s what it looked like to me. “But if you don’t mind… Do you want to stay in my room?”

“Huh!?” I exclaimed, mouth wide open. “What are you even suggesting Amara?”

“I mean… It’s not like you have a place to sleep on, right?” she whispered. “If you ask me, I think my room would be comfortable enough.”

“What…” I muttered, flabbergasted. “I’m not sure whether you’re messing with me right now, or you’re just not thinking about this carefully at all.”

“I’m not messing around…” she whispered.

I looked away. “Even if you said that, I don’t think it’s proper for me to do that. You should know it yourself.” I said, sighing.

“But… I can’t just sleep knowingly you were sleeping outside here, even more in the cemetery.” she reasoned.

“It’s not like I have any other choice. It’s the only place where I could safely sleep without worrying about people.” I said, turning to her. “You don’t think you’re suggesting something outrageous?”

Suddenly, she approached me. I felt warmth in both of my hands, quickly realizing that it must be her hands. “I know, but I can’t help but be worried. If something bad happened to you again, I don’t think I could take it.” she said, her voice filled with pain.

I was taken aback, not expecting her to sound like that. “I…” I whispered, unsure of what to say back to her. I looked at her, still hesitant to accept her offer. “But Amara… you know that we barely knew each other, right?”

“It doesn’t matter. I am choosing to trust you, and all I need to know is whether you’re going to trust me or not.” she said, putting me in a bind.

“I’m not sure how to answer that…” I answered, still not able to make up my mind. “I still don’t think it’s proper to just invite someone like me to your house just like that. Much more, sleeping in your room.”

“But why? Are you going to try and do something?” she asked.

“What!? Of course not!” I exclaimed.

“Then you’ve got your answer.” she continued, letting go of my hands. “It’s embarrassing for me to ask you about this…”

I wonder what kind of face she is creating now… I wondered as I looked straight at the orange fire in front of me. I scratched my head and sighed. “You’re not really backing down with this?” I asked again, trying to make her think twice.

“I know you can’t feel anything, and it’s given that you can’t feel cold so it might be worthless to let you sleep in the room. But I can’t help but get worried.” she explained. “We don’t know what might happen to you while you are sleeping outside. It’s already a miracle that you’re here alive, living as a skeleton. Didn’t I tell you I will help you have fun?” she continued.

I blinked, thinking about what she just said. It’s not a lie to think that it might’ve been one of the best things someone has said to me genuinely. It didn’t feel like she was lying in front of me. Not seeing her face and expression made it hard for me to read her and all I can guess was whether she is lying or not.

“But I’m a guy, you know that right?” I asked.

“You’re a skeleton to me, though.” she chuckled softly. “You need to answer quickly, otherwise it would be hard for us to walk. You know how dark this place could be in the night right?”

“You’re really putting me in a tough spot…” I sighed, smiling at her. “I got it. But before any of that, how would I even be able to get into the room?”

“You can sneak through the windows.” she suggested easily.

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re answering this way too quickly. Don’t tell me you’ve done the same thing in the past?”

“Other than you? No. You’re the first to do that, and it should be fine since you’re a skeleton.” she said.

“I hope nothing bad happened.” I whispered.

“Stop being negative.” she said, floating away. “Let’s go, make sure you don’t get lost in the dark.”

“Sure. As long as you walk slowly.” I said, following her behind.