Stealing Spree

“You girls can also continue your gossiping. Don’t mind me, I’ll be waiting here for my turn.” Orimura-sensei continued.

Even if I couldn’t see her, that teacher was most likely smirking to herself.

“Eh?… Sensei. We’re not gossiping…”

“Nakamura, do you think I will believe you? When even during our activity your mouth never stopped flapping?”

Another girl, who even I found the most talkative among them within the 10 minutes I was here, denied it and was immediately slammed by Orimura-sensei.

I could actually list down the topics that the girl raised throughout their time here.

Although some were about volleyball, the rest was about boys...

Well, it’s about their crushes or someone they’re interested in. I even heard about some of them having boyfriends already and that girl was trying to pry about the progress of their relationship.

Then there’s also their topic about the rumors and some of the well-known personalities in the school.

Naturally, my nickname was also uttered in passing by the first years… Kinoshita Shiori-sensei’s pet…

However, since I was busy trying to think of how to get out, I put little importance on their gossip and only perked my ears to those that might be connected to me or my girls.

But to say that they’re not gossiping was a big lie…

Well, that girl wasn’t someone I should focus on at the moment…

With Orimura-sensei as the newcomer and she even stationed herself at the door to wait for an empty spot, my plan to use the steam as camouflage was now impossible to accomplish.

That third scenario I thought of earlier would be in play if I braved it and left now.

I had no choice but to wait again until someone finished showering and that teacher got her shower stall.

“Ugh. Don’t expose me like that sensei…”

“Then stop reacting. Do you think I have an interest in the topics of brats like you? If you don’t want to continue then hurry up and give me your stall.”

Along with the click of Orimura-sensei’s tongue, I heard that girl she called Nakamura choking on her words from her answer.

No interest in their topics, huh? Then why did she want them to continue? That teacher was contradicting herself.

Well, in a way, she might be telling the truth. She’s an adult who probably wasn’t interested in young ones. Moreover, from what I heard from them, Eguchi-sensei and Orimura-sensei were from an all-girls school. They probably haven't even experienced a romance yet.

Ah. Wait. This wasn’t the time to deduce what’s on that teacher’s head.

After a few seconds of silence, another girl spoke up… It was that Volleyball Girl from Class 4.

“Actually, sensei. You should check that last stall and see if there’s really someone inside. The shower was running nonstop since we entered. It’s somewhat… strange.”

…

Am I screwed?

How could she call that strange? All of them were also showering nonstop.

Why point at this stall?

“Huh? Now that you mention it… It was really strange. Can it be that no one’s in there?”

“Is it that rumor? The figure walking along this side of the Gymnasium… It’s now inside this room!”

“Hey! Stop overreacting. That’s a rumor that wasn’t proven.”

Because of that Volleyball Girl’s comment, their attention was now in this stall.

What the hell…

But I was somewhat thankful for that girl pointing at the rumor…

However, that’s not enough to diminish their interest. Moreover, I hadn’t heard Orimura-sensei’s voice yet.

Is there really no escape for me?

Should I act as that ghost they’re talking about in the rumors?

That would certainly scare some of them but… there might be some brave ones who would stay… and then there’s Orimura-sensei.

Haa… Just finish showering, will you?

“What not proven? Then you go and check it out.”

“No. Why will I? What if… the ghost is really there.”

“Stop that guys, you’re being rude. Try calling out to her.”

“Right… Hey, someone at that last stall, if you can hear us, can you talk? Answer us please!”

Naturally, I had no way to answer that, I couldn’t mimic a girl's voice. Even if I could calmly act in front of anyone, mimicking a girl’s voice wasn’t included in my skill set.

“Hey… No one’s answering.”

“Is it really a ghost?”

“Like I said, there’s no such thing as a ghost!”

“Then…”

Because of my silence and the continued running of the shower, they all began having those doubts.

Should I really act as a ghost? Seems like that’s my only shot at leaving this Shower Room alive… if it went well...

Let’s see.

While they were still bantering if a ghost was real or not, I moved from the door and went near the shower knob…

I made sure to pick the right time when one of them was insisting on the existence of a ‘ghost’ before turning the shower off.

As soon as the sound of the running shower stopped, that girl immediately screamed followed by the opening of a shower stall and running footsteps.

Pleased with that kind of reaction, before one of them could think of checking onto this stall, I turned the shower open again…

Along with the sound of running showers, the three stalls nearest to my location opened and the girls inside it also ran towards the location of the door.

“Sensei!”

“Please check it!”

“Sachi, you check it too! You’re the one who first noticed it.”

Two of them shouted towards the still silent Orimura-sensei while the other one shouted at the Volleyball Girl.

“Haa… You’re all high school girls. Why are you so scared? There’s no such thing as a ghost, you know?” Sachi, the Volleyball Girl of Class 4, sighed.

Following it, I heard the door of her shower stall open.

So even playing as a ghost would still lead me to be caught.

I knew it. As soon as she pointed out the strangeness of this stall, it’s only a matter of time before I was caught.

Playing as a ghost was a desperate attempt. The best-case scenario was all of them being scared witless to leave this Shower Room all at once.

However, not everyone could be easily frightened.

Either way, even if I didn’t choose to act as a ghost, someone would still be checking this stall.

The end result would be the same.

Now… What I needed to think was to craft an ultimate excuse to let me off.

“Sachi. Stop and finish showering, I’ll go and check who’s inside that stall. You girls, go cover yourselves. You can’t just run out while naked even if you’re scared. If I’m not wrong, whoever is in there is just playing a prank on you. There’s no such thing as ghosts. You can hear me, right? Which club are you in?”

Before the Volleyball Girl could begin her stride towards this stall, Orimura-sensei, who was silent ever since that girl pointed out the strangeness, opened her mouth.

And following that question, without waiting for any answer from me, Orimura-sensei began walking towards my position.

At the moment, the other girls were all silent and waiting in bated breaths as to what would be the result.

As for me… There’s no running away or acting like a ghost now. I would just be in a deeper pit if I continued acting and I was found out… Well, the result would just be the same anyway.

Is there no escape from this crisis?