Once school was over, Ueda Etsuko was quick to start packing her bag. She crammed her things in there, not caring how organized they were, and slung it over her shoulder. Standing up so quickly, the chair scraped loudly across the floor, and Etsuko damned herself to hell in her mind. She had caught the attention of Chiasa aka Etsuko’s worst nightmare. 

[color=f6989d]“Etsuko-chan~!”[/color] Chiasa screeched across the room, her saccharine voice grating across Etsuko’s ears like poisonous bees. As if the laws of nature didn’t adhere to her, Chiasa was over by Etsuko in record time. 

Chiasa took one look at Etsuko’s bag and up at Etsuko’s russet eyes and exclaimed, [color=f6989d]“You are not permitted to leave!”[/color]

Etsuko might have been flabbergasted if she hadn’t been stuck with such behaviors since before school started. Etsuko just had the worst luck of her family moving right next to the Hamasaki clan. The Hamasaki family was a rambunctious bunch that repeatedly invited the Ueda trio to come over and hang out and, of course, Etsuko’s family accepted. Since then, Chiasa had the annoyingly familiar and totally unrealistic goal of getting Etsuko “out of her shell.” Etsuko had tried to persuade her neighbor from the ridiculous ambition, but Chiasa was as bullheaded as ever. As such, Etsuko didn’t reply when Chiasa claimed this and didn’t fight it when she grabbed her by the arm and forced her to walk towards Chiasa’s group of friends.

Etsuko had been introduced to every one of them at some point, but she didn’t bother to remember their names. The only one she remembered was Keigo, and that was in order to avoid [i]him[/i] just as she did with Chiasa. Once they reached the friends, a full force of panic gripped her. Her lungs swelled, speedily gulping down air from her nose, and her heart beated twice as fast as normal. She felt as if she was going to pop, but on the outside she looked collected and cool, perhaps even timid.

[color=f6989d]“I’m back! Say hi, Etsuko-chan!”[/color] Chiasa gleefully chirped and Etsuko wondered absently if she ever cried. Then, she thought that if Chiasa did ever cry, her tears must be able to cure the sick. Etsuko bit her lip to keep from smiling – because she knew that when she smiled, it was game over for her and they will savagely take over her social life, which she had kept void on purpose. 

[color=7ea7d8]“Hello.”[/color] Etsuko politely said, looking to each individual face. 

[color=f6989d]“Oh! Keigo-kun, tell Etsuko-chan what you told me!”[/color] Chiasa cried and Etsuko felt her ear burst with pressure.

[color=a2d39c]“Oh, yeah, so Ueda, get this – I found a list of numbers on my desk! And I didn’t write it!”[/color] Keigo crowed, looking at Etsuko expectedly. Whatever reaction he was expecting, he didn’t get it, as Etsuko just blinked.

[color=fdc68a]“Idiot, she doesn’t know about the legend!”[/color] Another girl said and understanding dawned in Keigo’s eyes.

[color=a2d39c]“Oh, yeah, okay: so y’know that old building here? Well, supposedly, if you enter one of the rooms and enter a special code into your phone, you’ll get a response telling how you will die.”[/color] Keigo whispered conspiratorially.

[color=fdc68a]“I heard that you talked to the dead.”[/color]

[color=f9ad81]“I heard!”[/color]

Etsuko blinked outwardly, but inwardly, she was endlessly rolling her eyes. How will she survive these complete morons?