The Mannequin Chase

The sound of rapid footsteps quickly closed in behind them. Hearing it, Joy let out a scream, and before I knew it, I was shrieking right along with her.

And what was chasing after us was…

Piiiik.

Of all things, it was a whistle. For a ghost’s belongings, it was shockingly realistic.

“…?!”

Both Joy and I froze at the same time and stared at each other.

With equally disheveled hair.

What had been following us wasn’t a mannequin.

Come to think of it, the whole idea had been ridiculous. Of course a mannequin couldn’t possibly come to life and wander around.

And even if one did, it would probably just check on its old classmate’s face and call it a day.

Actually, it should. Leaving the building would go against ghost etiquette.

While I was busy entertaining these pointless thoughts, the person I had mistaken for a ghost—Mr. Haldane, the dorm supervisor of Dormitory 3—approached us with a chilling glint in his eyes.

In truth, I had always thought of Mr. Haldane as a frail, flat old man with no energy. But now that I had actually done something wrong, he looked like a demonic henchman shooting daggers with those sharp eyes.

A cold sweat trickled down my back. Even though the wind was already this chilly.

“Evey Underwood. Joy Carter.”

The teacher studied our faces carefully before pulling a small notebook from his pocket.

I wanted to scream. If our names went in there, it would mean demerit points.

“Um…!”

The sound burst out before I could stop myself.

Mr. Haldane paused with the pen cap half-open and looked at me. It was clearly an invitation to speak if I had something to say.

But what could I even say?

“Mr. Haldane.”

The moment I hesitated, Joy called out to him instead.

“The truth is—”

She wore the expression of someone who had made up her mind.

She’s going to confess, I realized instinctively. In that case, I just needed to stay quiet.

I couldn’t exactly claim I was innocent, but Joy’s trip off-campus would definitely be treated more seriously.

If we were lucky, we might even manage to slip by without too much trouble.

“I’ll explain everything. I know the full story.”

But I stepped forward, cutting Joy off.

“We received a tip that someone has been hiding forbidden drinks here every morning, so we came to investigate. I was planning to report back once I confirmed it. And well… we found this alcohol.”

I took the glass bottle from Joy’s hand and held it out to the teacher. The half-full liquid sloshed inside.

It was probably something Joy kept to dab on her wrists or neck when she returned from outside.

If she smelled like this, people would simply assume she’d been hanging out somewhere on campus.

“As you know, sir, I’m not foolish enough to go looking for something like this to drink.”

“Then why were you two running just now?”

“Well, sir…”

I let out a hollow laugh.

“If you hear movement in the old school building at this hour, what else are we supposed to think?!”

I could feel Mr. Haldane looking at me like I was ridiculous.

“If mannequins really do enjoy nightly strolls, the headmaster would gladly assign them patrol duty. No cost, and highly effective.”

“I know that, but when something actually moves in the dark, it’s scary! If I’d known it was you, do you think I would’ve screamed like that?”

“This is absurd. Fine. Then why was that bottle in Carter’s hand?”

Mr. Haldane’s gaze shifted to Joy, who stood half a step behind me. She couldn’t say a word.

The teacher’s eyes narrowed. He clearly suspected she was the owner of the bottle.

Considering the recent rumors about the dynamic between Joy and me in the dormitory, it was a perfectly logical deduction. And it was also true.

“Don’t tell me this bottle belongs to—”

“I called Joy here!”

I jumped in quickly. But I couldn’t think of a good excuse, so I started rambling to buy time.

“I needed her to come with me. This place is way too scary, and more importantly, the most crucial reason is…”

Then, suddenly, Ms. Bennett’s words came to mind.

That’s it!

I quickly continued in a bright, cheerful voice.

“Carter agreed to become the vice-dorm leader of Dormitory 3.”

I could feel Joy’s eyes widening as she stared at me. This time, her gaze definitely meant, Are you insane? What kind of nonsense is that?

I ignored her and kept explaining.

“As you know, sir, Joy has the trust of many students. So when I asked her to volunteer for the dormitory’s sake, she kindly agreed.”

It was such a perfect story. Even I was impressed with myself.

If only the rumor that our relationship was the absolute worst didn’t exist.

“So, in other words,”

Mr. Haldane closed his notebook and pointed the end of it at me.

“You, the dorm leader, suggested it first.”

“Yes.”

I answered immediately. The notebook then turned toward Joy.

“And you accepted?”

Joy took a deep breath, then answered in a low voice.

“Yes… well. I said I would take the vice-dorm leader position.”

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief inside.

After all, Joy must have realized there was no other way out of this.

“From what I’ve heard, you two supposedly don’t even look at each other’s faces.”

The problem was that Mr. Haldane seemed to have better information than I expected.

But heaven-sent luck helped us navigate this crisis.

Ever since we ran from the “mannequin,” Joy and I had been holding hands the entire time. And we still were.

“You’ve now become the very first person to hear the ‘real information’ instead of the rumors.”

I smiled brightly and swung our joined hands back and forth.

Fortunately, Joy and I got off with a warning. Though I did receive this particular piece of advice:

It really was a difficult situation. When I didn’t care at all, I was criticized for being indifferent. Now I was being told I was meddling too much.

After that, Joy and I returned to our room together. Though we kept a considerable distance between us—except when we had to pass the terrifying mannequin, of course.

Even after we got back to the dormitory and lay down in our respective beds, a heavy silence continued.

“…What are you going to do?”

Eventually, Joy spoke first. She seemed worried about the fact that I had lied to the teacher about her being vice-dorm leader.

She probably didn’t want to deal with such a bothersome role.

“You don’t have to worry about it.”

“You’re not seriously planning to dump that awful position on me, right?”

“Of course not.”

I chuckled softly and glanced at the bed across from mine. In the darkness, I could faintly make out Joy’s silhouette lying flat, staring at the ceiling.

“They’ll be electing a new dorm leader soon anyway, so there’s no need to worry. Once the new leader takes over, the entire system will be replaced.”

“You’re… resigning?”

“Something like that.”

Leaving the school would ultimately lead to resignation anyway.

My conversation with Cyrus had shaken me for a moment, but I had to admit it honestly.

When I considered every possible outcome, it was better for everyone if I left the school.

I didn’t want to cause any more scandals involving the royal family and burden my parents or Owen.

“…Thanks.”

Joy mumbled something quietly, but unfortunately I couldn’t catch it.

“Hm?”

“It’s nothing.”

There was a brief rustling sound, and I saw Joy turn over to face my direction. Now we were looking at each other’s silhouettes.

“And Underwood, just so you don’t misunderstand… the person who gave me a ride earlier isn’t someone I have that kind of relationship with.”

She was talking about the man who had been practically groveling in front of her. Come to think of it, I had completely forgotten about him because of the dorm supervisor.

“What should I say?”

The usual me would have just said “I see” and ended the conversation. I wasn’t the type to pry into other people’s secrets.

But maybe because tonight had been so unusual…

“Then what kind of relationship is it?”

I found myself starting to care about Joy’s situation.

Not as the dorm leader, but as someone who had gone through that chaotic mess together with her.

How would Joy react to this sudden change?

I was a little scared to find out.