Happy Halloween! 4
“Huh? Sōma-san?”
A voice of surprise came through, followed by the sound of hurried movement, and the door swung open energetically.
“I knew it was Sōma-san! Ah? Did we have an appointment? You’re not planning to drag me out for a night run, are you?”
Still in her school uniform despite the evening hour, Chika looked at him somewhat warily.
“Don’t worry, I have no interest in running at night. I just spoke with your mom on the phone, and it sounded like you were having a tough time, so I thought I might help out.”
For the sake of a shallow pretense, he ended up telling a little lie.
“Is that so? Thank you so much for going out of your way. This is a huge help. Uh, it’s quite messy, but please come inside.”
“Sure, I’ll come in—what is this?”
Oblivious to Sōma’s pretense, Chika let him into the room, but he was taken aback as soon as he entered.
He has been in this room last month. It was a simple and clean room with nothing more prominent than shelves dedicated to stuffed animals.
But the room now bore no resemblance to its former state.
Multiple clotheslines stretched from wall to wall, with black dresses, black capes, and black trousers hanging on them. The hems fluttered in the breeze from the air conditioner, resembling a dense, overgrown jungle.
The floor was littered with felt cut into various shapes like stars, hearts, ghosts, and bats, as well as frills and ribbons, leaving absolutely no place to step.
“It looks like a drama club’s room that’s bad at keeping things tidy.”
“Didn’t I tell you? It’s messy.”
“Even so, there’s a limit.”
While Sōma was taken aback by the state of the room, Chika managed to clear up the scattered items and somehow made space for one person to sit.
“What’s going on here?”
“I’m in the middle of dyeing and drying them the stuff up there.”
“Dyeing?”
“Halloween is all about dressing up, right? So, I asked the kids what kind of costumes they wanted to wear.”
“Hold on. You went out of your way to ask everyone?”
“It’s only five kids, so it’s not that many.”
She said it casually, but even just asking around must have taken considerable effort. It was an impressive display of initiative.
“So, after asking everyone, the girls wanted to dress as witches and the boys as vampires.”
“I get the witches, but vampires? Are they a trend among elementary schoolers?”
“They seem to want to swish around in capes.”
Watching Chika spread her arms wide, Sōma nodded in understanding.
“Would you like to try dressing up as a vampire too, Sōma-san?”
“I’ll pass. I’m past the age to get excited about that kind of thing.”
Chika joked, so Sōma made a large ‘X’ with his arms to decline.
“So, what does dyeing clothes black have to do with witches and vampires?”
“Both of them have black as their main color, right? The budget from the children’s association wasn’t enough to buy costumes for five kids. So, I went around to the neighbors, explained the situation, and collected unwanted clothes, sheets, curtains, and such. I’ve been sewing them together, mending them, and dyeing them black to make the costumes.”
“You went around collecting clothes from the neighbors?”
“This area is full of old houses, and everyone knows each other.”
“That’s still pretty amazing.”
At least, it wasn’t something Sōma felt he could do.
“It was fine getting the clothes, but from there it was tough. I had to alter them to children’s sizes, and I’ve only ever touched a sewing machine in home economics class. My mom wouldn’t help this time, so I had to start by learning how to use a sewing machine from my home economics teacher and friends in the home economics club.”
“And after that, you dyed them?”
“I had to dye them over and over to get a nice black, and that was also quite difficult. Maybe they’ll turn pitch black after one or two more times.”
To Sōma’s eyes, they were already sufficiently black, but it seemed she was still intent on dyeing them.
“Amazing. It’s amazing, but… will we make it in time?”
Visit freёwebnovel.com for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience.
There are only a few days left until the Halloween party.
“It’s impossible according to the original plan.”
She says something quite desperate with a bright smile nonchalantly.
“Ah…? So what are we going to do?”
“That’s why I’ve changed the plan. This is it.”
She picks up scattered hearts and stars from the floor and shows them to me.
“I can’t possibly finish the cosplay costumes by myself. So, I thought I’d make lots of these decorations and let the kids stick them on freely. Don’t you think it would be fun to create their own original cosplay costumes?”
“There’s that approach, huh?”
He’s impressed. It’s a good idea to share the work that she can’t do alone with the children, making it a fun part of the party.
But even so, she still need to prepare the base clothes and decorations.
“Isn’t it too tough?”
H ask, concerned about Chika, who looks tired from the unfamiliar work.
However, her reply is bright and energetic.
“No, not at all! In fact, it makes me smile as I do it!”
“Smile…? With this incredibly troublesome work?”
Altering second-hand clothes to fit children, dyeing them over and over, and making lots of small decorations. Just imagining it seems bothersome. It doesn’t seem like something that would make anyone smile.
But Chika’s answer doesn’t change.
“If I work hard, the children will surely smile. When I imagine that, I can’t help but smile too.”
“What kind of logic is that?”
He’s a bit dumbfounded and at the same time, a bit envious.
“You’re incredibly positive. I admire that.”
She laughs shyly and a bit proudly when he honestly praises her.
“A smile, huh?”
He mutters quietly to himself.
Such an ordinary word.
Yet, when spun by Chika, it somehow resonates.