Chapter 30: I kissed my childhood friend in an empty classroom

I kissed my childhood friend in an empty classroom

Cultural Festival, final day.

Early in the morning, I headed to school.

Aya’s performance is in the afternoon, so I won’t wake her up today.

Entering through the main gate, I found many students already bustling with preparations.

I entered the school building and climbed the stairs.

When I entered the classrooms that were turned into haunted houses, many students were already there.

“Good morning, Boyan!”

I was greeted by an acquaintance right away.

Next to him was Tokita.

Tokita walked up to me directly and whispered to me.

“Boyan, seriously, don’t go around the festival with Aya today. I’m super busy all day.”

Judging by Tokita’s demeanor, he still doesn’t know about the rooftop kiss between Aya and me. It must be the work of the divine intervention after all.

My intuition whispers that it’s best to present something even more shocking to Tokita.

I distanced my face a bit from Tokita’s and responded.

“Yeah, today I’m with the lighting crew all day. Aya’s performance is in the afternoon and she said she’s going around with her friends in the morning.”

“Damn, right…! Why the hell are our shifts not matching, Aya and I?”

This work is hosted on mananovel.com

It seems like Tokita is pulling double shifts, both in the morning and afternoon.

Could this also be the work of the divine intervention?

My job as part of the lighting crew is quite simple.

I stand on a desk and use a red flashlight to illuminate the audience’s feet from above the blackout curtain.

To guide the audience so they don’t get lost, that’s my role.

After receiving instructions for the lighting crew and getting ready, the tension among the students gradually rises.

Suddenly, the lights in the classroom go out.

“Alright, let the audience in!”

Timidly, the first batch of audience members enters through the entrance.

Morning work, I get through it smoothly. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

During a short break, I munch on the onigiri I bought from the convenience store this morning.

Then, the atmosphere in the classroom brightens up.

Aya enters with her female friends.

The distance between Aya and her friends doesn’t feel strange. I was worried that she might be left out, but for now, I’m relieved.

“Ah, Aya’s here! Ufufu, it’s makeover time!”

Several girls gather around Aya.

Apparently, Aya is going to get zombie makeup done.

Aya responds with excitement.

“Hehe, I’m going to look really scary.”

After a while.

Aya emerges from the group of girls.

The whole classroom stirs at her appearance.

Aya is wearing a white cloth like a cape from the neck down.

Underneath, she’s wearing a black original T-shirt and a navy uniform skirt.

And from the neck up, she looks like a zombie… or rather, like an undead creature or a vampire.

Her face is white and the area around her eyes is discolored black like a panda.

Red blood drips from the corners of her eyes.

Her mouth is split open, like the slit-mouthed woman. Red blood flows even from the corners of that split mouth.

However, probably due to the original materials, it’s not excessively grotesque.

The girl responsible for the makeup laughed with a proud expression.

“It’s awesome, Aya, super creepy.”

“Uhuhyo.”

Aya lets out a cute bizarre sound.

“Turn off the lights for a sec!”

The girl in charge of the makeup shouts loudly.

The lights go out.

In the darkness, a flashlight turns on.

Aya is illuminating her own face from below.

And…

“Ahhhh…!”

Aya’s eyes rolled back as she lunged at a nearby girl.

“Scream!”

“Scary!”

“This is so real!”

The girls and boys alike were in a frenzy.

Yeah, it’s frightening.

If something like that suddenly appeared in pitch darkness, it would be extremely scary.

“How about that? Not bad, huh?”

Aya smiled, looking satisfied.

Even Aya’s creepy “Nihhihi” laugh was indeed unsettling.

“Alright, let’s give it a shot!”

With someone’s cheerful shout, the afternoon session began.

Everyone took their positions.

The atmosphere was as usual.

Attitudes towards Aya and towards me.

Despite having kissed so openly on the rooftop, it’s hard to believe the rumor hasn’t spread yet.

Well, there were a few students who kept stealing glances at both Aya and me.

But with all the commotion of the cultural festival, maybe it hasn’t completely spread yet. Or maybe it’s just not a priority during the festival.

Either way, it created a convenient atmosphere for Aya and me.

Could this spreading rumor also be the work of divine intervention?

“Scream!”

A piercing scream rang out in the haunted house, shrouded in darkness except for the red lighting and the light we were casting.

Aya was pushing the visiting guests to the depths of terror.

Well, of course. If that thing suddenly appeared from the shadows of a corridor, even I would lose my composure.

When young children entered, Aya would reassure them, “It’s okay, I’m a gentle zombie~”, and lead them to the exit.

Heading towards the exit, Aya waved her hand, saying “See you later.”

The children turned around, waving back, charmed by Aya. Even as a zombie, her appeal was evident.

At least, that’s what I thought…

“It’s still scary…”

In the end, she frightened them to tears.

The classroom lights suddenly brightened up.

“Great job, everyone!”

Suddenly, Tokita appeared and greeted everyone.

“Wow!” cheers erupted from the boys and the classroom was enveloped in applause.

The haunted house had come to a successful close.

In the blink of an eye, the final day of the cultural festival was over.

Everyone started cleaning up in a hurry.

The after-party would start in an hour.

Everyone was filled with a sense of accomplishment, relief and excitement for the after-party, except for me and Aya.

Amid the quiet retreat efforts, Tokita’s voice rang out once again.

“Hey, it’s almost time for the after-party! Let’s all go and we can finish cleaning up on the next school day!”

“Thank goodness!” “Yahoo!” voices erupted from the classroom.

Amidst the excited students, Tokita approached me.

“Boyan, sorry to bother you, but can you move the entrance sign to the storeroom? I have to head to the organizing committee right away.”

Couldn’t it wait until the next school day?

He must be trying to prevent me from contacting Aya as much as possible.

“Sure.”

“Sorry, I appreciate it.”

I picked up a stepladder and headed out to the hallway, removing the large sign.

I walked towards the storeroom, in the opposite direction of the students heading to the after-party.

I placed the sign in the storeroom behind the school building and checked my smartphone’s clock.

There was still over thirty minutes until the after-party would begin.

“Now then, let’s head back.”

I walked back along the path I had come.

The hallway was bathed in the sunset’s glow, a continuous path.

The classrooms I passed were empty.

But I was sure that Aya was still in the haunted house.

That was a strong conviction I had.

I opened the doors to the second-year classroom.

The classroom was littered with overlapping desks and scattered equipment.

Against the backdrop of the setting sun’s backlight, Aya was there.

“Aya, you’re still here.”

“Yeah, I was waiting for you. I wanted to remove the makeup before leaving.”

Aya had been waiting for me.

Still in her white-painted zombie form.

“Aya, you did great today. You were amazing.”

“I know, right?”

“Ah, that outfit suits you so well.”

At my teasing words, Aya smiled happily.

“Hehehe… Boyan, can you crouch down over there?”

“What’s up?”

I followed Aya’s pointed finger and sat cross-legged in the middle of the classroom space.

In the midst of the red sunset, Aya approached.

Gradually, her white-painted face emerged, her eyes rolled back.

“Whoaahhh… Boyan, wuhaaaaaaa…”

Aya grabbed my shoulder while emitting an eerie, strange sound.

Maybe it’s not as frightening since it’s not pitch dark.

Or perhaps the makeup is smudged due to sweat.

Honestly, there was no other thought but that she was cute.

In front of me was the world’s cutest zombie.

I reached out and placed my hand on the zombie’s cheek.

As Aya approached, I gently moved my lips closer.

But then Aya recoiled as if she was pushed away.

“Hey, wait, no, not now! At least let me remove my makeup first.”

“Oh, sorry… It just happened. You were just too cute.”

“No, seriously, I’m a zombie.”

“Aya, should we kiss?”

“Mmm… well, it’s okay, but I need to remove my makeup first… Can you grab those wet wipes over there?”

I grabbed the wet wipes nearby and looked at Aya.

“I’ll help you remove it. Can you sit there?”

“Sure, thanks. Alright, go ahead.”

Aya squatted in front of me, closed her eyes.

I reached out to her, seeing a face that seemed to be begging for a kiss.

I placed the wet wipe against Aya’s forehead and carefully removed the white paint.

First, I wiped away the bloody tears flowing from Aya’s eyes.

As I removed the black eyeliner and powdered eyebrows around her eyes, her perfectly defined double eyelids were revealed.

I left a hint of black around the corners and edges of Aya’s eyes.

Surely, with mascara and eyeshadow, this is how she’d look.

I wiped her face gently to not remove too much of the white paint.

I wiped away the gloss on the corners of her mouth, making her look less like a slit-mouthed woman.

I made sure to clean off the fake saliva too.

I left a bit of the red color on her lips.

“Wow…”

I muttered involuntarily, a soft voice that Aya couldn’t hear.

Before me was a childhood friend who had transformed into a beautiful person.

Her well-defined features emphasized her adult allure.

The Aya I had never seen before captivated me.

Aya, with her relatively youthful looks and her usually makeup-free face, would instantly transform into a ‘beauty’ with just a touch of makeup.

That’s what I had always thought.

But now, the Aya in front of me exceeded my imagination.

She’s incredibly… beautiful.

“Boyan, is it off?”

While Aya’s eyes remained closed, she asked in her usual tone.

“Yeah, it’s off.”

I lied.

I didn’t want her to feel embarrassed about asking to remove the makeup.

“I see. Well…”

Aya hesitated, her voice trailing off.

She must have been about to ask if we should kiss but then got embarrassed.

Honestly, even after all the daring things we’ve done, she’s still like this.

I smiled at my cute childhood friend.

“Aya, I want to kiss you.”

“Yeah, okay…”

Our lips met slowly.

“Mmm…”

Perhaps because of the gloss, her lips were more moist and tender than usual.

I licked her slightly plump and elastic lips and there was a slight bitterness.

“Mmm…”

Maybe Aya realized it too.

“Sure, mmm, Boyan… the lipstick, it’s still there…”

It seemed Aya noticed as well.

“…I’m sorry, but let’s just leave it like this.”

“Mmm, mmm, Boyan… mmm… mm…”

Aya’s sweet sigh brushes against my cheeks and tickles my nose.

We eagerly devoured each other’s lips as if our very breaths depended on it.

To an outside observer, it might seem like a white-cloaked zombie is attacking me. But no, with Aya’s current beauty, if anything, I’m the one closer to being a monster.

You could say we’re the beauty and the beast, with the beast being the one kissing the beauty.

“Mmm… Boyan… mmm… ah…”

The silence in the classroom amplifies the sound of our tongues entwining. The mixing of saliva creates a sweet tingling sensation in my head.

Even though only our mouths are pressed together, my whole body is ablaze and feverishly hot.

I lift Aya’s cloak and grip her soft upper arm.

“Heh… heh…”

Aya looks at me with moist eyes, breathing heavily. Our gaze locks and that’s all that’s needed to communicate.

—Should we go on?

Aya’s eyes ask me silently.

I pull Aya close, completely engrossed in the moment.