Hauntings

CHAPTER 3

"Stop following me!" I say irritably.

"Do I look like I want to be around you?" Hiroshi asks, equally irritated.

It's been a day since I met Hiroshi - or rather, I got stuck with him. Since then, he's been lurking around my house, sitting in the branches of the tree outside the gate. Currently, I'm on the way back home from basketball practice, feeling completely done with life, even though it's only been a few days since I started school.

"Listen," Hiroshi begins, "this curse that we're stuck with isn't letting me go more than a kilometer away from you. There are consequences."

"Then please stay a kilometer away from me...forever."

"Then tell me what I did to annoy you!"

"How am I supposed to know? You're the one who did it!"

We've reached my house, the sun glowing behind the roof. "I'm going back inside," I say. "Don't you dare disturb me."

"Or else what?" Hiroshi asks, making me feel like snapping at him.

"Or else I'll show you exactly what I learnt while I was in London."

The heat of my glare makes him back off, but only for a moment. Immediately after, his eyes widen as the full meaning of my statement hits him.

"You've been to London?"

I'm taken aback. "Uh...y-yeah. I studied there for two years, before I studied in Bangalore."

"Where's that? I know about London a lot, but this is a new name!"

"In India..." Something doesn't seem quite right.

"That's so cool!" His eyes are shining now.

Wait, how did this go from me threatening to beat him up to us talking about where I've lived?

"I've always wanted to travel abroad," Hiroshi continues, annoyance all but forgotten. "When I was alive, I'd made plans to study abroad after I finished high school."

"Oh."

I don't know what to say. It's a bit awkward to talk with a dead guy, especially since this is our first real conversation in twenty-four hours.

Luckily, Hiroshi seems to notice, and changes the subject. "So you've studied abroad, huh? How many languages can you speak?"

"I'm fluent in English, along with Japanese, and I know a decent amount of Hindi. I've also dabbled in a few other languages over the years in school." It feels easy to talk to him about my experiences abroad. He listens, and actually asks some questions of my own.

As in the case of Kaori and Nagisa, he doesn't make me feel awkward with what he asks. He gives me my space to think and answer in my own time, and doesn't bombard me with questions as often.

"Ayame? Who are you talking to?"

I turn around to see my brother staring at me, looking very confused.

My heart practically leaps out of my body, and I feel my stomach turn. This isn't going to end well.

"Uh, I was j-just reciting my to-do list to myself!" I say, hoping my face isn't red. I curse myself mentally.

"Oh, okay." He seems to believe me. "Are you going to watch the NBA matches this week?"

"Of course!" I'm horrified my brother thinks otherwise. "The playoffs are going to start soon, I need to keep a track of who has the best chances."

"I might join you, though I'd rather watch the Premier League."

"Likewise."

When we were in Bangalore, some boys in my brother's class got him (and in turn, me) interested in the English Premier League. It's quite ironic that neither of us were interested in it while we were in London. But Satoshi was still a child, and I was obsessed with basketball at that point, so I suppose it makes sense.