Urban legends? I used to think they were just made-up stories. But, well, they intrigued me. So I couldn’t help but listen to them and then share them with everyone. I’m aware that I have a bit of a strange personality, I enjoy seeing others scared and don’t want to be the only one scared myself. I know it’s not a great trait, but I can’t seem to stop.
But this time, when I heard the story, I regretted it quite a bit. It wasn’t just scary, it felt dangerous, and I had a gut feeling that I messed up.
I think I have good instincts.
I don’t study much for tests. But if I just study a little the day before on the parts that I feel might come up, I can consistently get above average scores. I can usually figure out who likes whom in my class fairly early by just observing. Oh, and on quiz shows, sometimes I know the answers before they’re revealed, and I can often predict the plot twists in dramas. Many time I’ve blurted out, “This person is the culprit!” based on my instincts while watching suspenseful shows, and my mom often scolds me for it.
I had a feeling that my vague instincts were usually spot-on, especially when it came to bad premonitions. It was an urban legend that my senior coworker, Yurichan senpai, told me about during her break: the “Patrol Man”. At first, I thought the name was poorly chosen, lacking creativity. But when she finished telling me the story, I felt a really unsettling sensation. This was something dangerous, I could tell.
“What’s wrong? Why the sudden serious look? Were you scared by any chance?” Yurichan senpai looked at me with a worried expression. Normally, I would just laugh it off even after hearing scary stories, but this time my face was serious. The karaoke place where we worked had loud background music even in the backstage, and it was usually bright and lively. But at that moment, I didn’t hear any of the music at all.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I got scared when I started thinking that it could actually be real…” I explained.
“You surprised me. So even Naomi has stories that scare her, huh?” Yurichan senpai smiled happily. Damn it, why is she smiling? Despite feeling such a strong sense of foreboding, her smiling face annoyed me a little.
Yurichan senpai was my senior coworker who attended a prestigious all-girls private high school near my school. She was one year older than me, and she was in the track and field club with a great figure and a cute face. She had a good personality too, and when I had just started my part-time job, she always kindly taught me how to work.
On my first day of work, she told me, “You can just call me ‘Yuri’ without honorifics,” but out of respect, I’ve always called her “Yurichan senpai”.
She was always curious and would gather various information and share it with me. She seemed to have an amazing network of information, although she never told me where she got it from.
I let out a small sigh and pursed my lips.
“Well, yeah, there are things that I find scary too. After all, I’m just a normal girl, you know?”
“I see, I see, I’m sorry. But hey, don’t worry. If you tell this story to two or more people within a week, you won’t be attacked, guaranteed.”
“Really? Is that true?”
“It’s not a lie. I haven’t been attacked either. But, to begin with, this is just an urban legend, so I don’t think you’ll be attacked.”
Yurichan senpai smiled kindly at me.
Life is unfair. Why is this person so cute, even though we’re both human? I want to be cute like this too. As I thought about this, I began to consider who I should talk to about this story in the back of my mind.
After Yurichan senpai finished her early shift and left, I told the newly arrived pair of newcomers, who had just replaced her, the urban legend story that I had heard from her earlier. I hadn’t become very close with these two yet, but I was pretty sure they were in the same grade as me, second year, in the same high school as Yurichan senpai.
Both of them seemed surprised when they heard it for the first time, but they didn’t seem particularly interested. Their responses were just a couple of bland comments like “Oh, really?” or “That’s scary.” The conversation didn’t pick up much. Maybe I was being too paranoid…
It’s not like I fully believed in the urban legend. But, just to be safe, I felt like I should tell it to one more person, just in case. But it felt embarrassing and difficult to talk to my parents about it. I didn’t want to be made fun of or ridiculed.
Besides, since I was going through the trouble of telling a scary story, I wanted someone to be scared. I wanted to scare someone. It felt frustrating to be the only one scared.
After finishing my part-time job, I went back home feeling uneasy. The feeling of uneasiness lingered on even after I got home. The next morning came without the fog in my mind clearing up. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I went to school lost in thought.
I wanted to tell someone, but who should I confide in? As I was thinking about it, Eriko, who sat next to me, came over. That’s right, I’ll talk to Eriko! I had this sudden idea.
Eriko is my best friend since middle school, and we have a close relationship. I told her about the story of the Patrolman, while she looked at me with her eyes widened due to sleepiness.
I was worried if she would listen attentively, but as the story progressed, she gradually awakened, and by the end of the story, she was glaring at me with teary eyes.
“I told you before that I’m not good with scary stories.”
I knew. I knew that Eriko was not good with scary stories, and I hadn’t forgotten. But I thought Eriko would listen to the whole story and react the way I wanted to… I couldn’t say that out loud. As an apology, I promised to treat her to some snacks on the way home from school.
It was a painful expense, but there was no other choice. Because Eriko looks so cute when she’s scared. Seeing Eriko’s frightened face, I felt satisfied and my mind cleared up.
After all the tiresome classes were over, Eriko and I headed straight to the convenience store. We bought pudding, cream puffs, and éclairs, and ate them in the eat-in corner. Two girls in uniforms I recognized came to the table next to us. It was probably the same uniform as Yurichan-senpai’s.
I casually listened to their conversation, and a familiar name came up. I stopped my hand that was about to take a bite of pudding. Did they just mention Yuri? Wait, Yurichan-senpai got injured? Regained consciousness? What’s that about?
Given the context of their conversation, it could only mean that Yurichan-senpai was attacked by the Patrolman. I felt the blood drain from my face.
“Naomi…?”
“Huh? What?… Ah, sorry.”
I suddenly realized that I had stopped eating my pudding with a start. Oh no, I must have shown more reaction than I thought. Without realizing it, the urban legend had started to feel more real to me.
After that, I don’t remember much of what I talked about with Eriko. Even while we were talking, my mind was preoccupied with something else. I wanted to contact Yurichan-senpai. But I was scared to confirm it. What if I was pushed from behind and told it was a mistake?
After agonizing over it, I decided not to contact her. I could ask her at work the day after tomorrow. Maybe it was just a coincidence that someone else had the same name. “Yuri” is not an uncommon name after all. I’m sure Yurichan-senpai will be smiling as usual when I go to work. That must be it. I decided to believe that.
When I got home, I just couldn’t find the motivation to do anything. I spent my time idly looking at my smartphone, and when my mom called me for dinner, I ate quickly and returned to my room to look at my phone again. I took a bath and then resumed looking at my phone. Before I knew it, it was already past 22:00.
I thought about going to bed early, but then I remembered that I had math homework due tomorrow. Ugh, so annoying. Should I skip it? But last time I forgot and got scolded… I guess I’ll try my best. With these thoughts in mind, I got up from my bed and sat in front of my study desk.
I opened my notebook, but realized I had forgotten to jot down the scope of the homework. I felt like slacking off again, but I resisted the temptation and messaged Eriko to ask. She’s probably on her way home from cram school by now. I waited for a bit and received a reply. She said she was at the convenience store.
Why would she be at the convenience store at this time? Even though she always acts scared, she doesn’t seem scared at all right now. I feel like I’m the scared one. As I was thinking about this, I received another message from Eriko.
“Listen, listen! If walking while using your phone is bad, you can just stop walking, right? Aren’t I so smart for realizing that?” Eriko said as much in her message.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Well, everyone does that if it helps, I thought. Eriko sometimes says really naive things, but that’s also what makes her cute. Life isn’t fair; I wish I had that kind of cuteness too, I thought to myself.
Seeing Eriko’s message made me realize how silly I had been for being scared earlier. I was overthinking things. I need to learn from Eriko. Maybe I’ll ask her to buy me some snacks tomorrow. I wonder what excuse I should use…
As I pondered over these thoughts, I waited for the notification about the scope of the homework. I couldn’t come up with a good reply to Eriko’s avoidance tactic. I struggled to send a response as I couldn’t think of a suitable reply.
After thinking for a while, I sent a message saying, “What a great idea! Are you a genius, Eriko?” I felt confident that she would be pleased with it. I could easily imagine her happy reaction. I was looking forward to seeing her reply. On a side note, I wished she would also inform about the scope of the homework.
However, I didn’t receive any further messages from Eriko that day.
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