For the rest of the day, nothing happened.
Except for the disaster I left on my test paper.
The days that followed were peaceful, but in a strange, heavy way.
Nothing extraordinary happened.
No sudden scares.
No new ghosts appearing out of nowhere.
But the air felt dull.
Mr. Andrew stayed the same.
He was always a little snappy, a little irritated, but he never crossed the line. He did his job like a proper teacher.
After that one strange moment when he stopped at my desk, he didn't pay me any special attention.
I was just another student to him.
The Khumya, on the other hand, was doing an excellent job.
It never left his side.
It whispered constantly.
Not loudly.
But it was there.
The classroom felt heavier every day. Laughter was less. Conversations were shorter.
Even the usual noise during breaks felt forced, like people were pretending to enjoy themselves.
Rick noticed it too.
"Ian, doesn't it feel empty for some reason?" he asked one day, trying to smile as he said it.
I looked at him.
Rick was changing.
Not drastically. Not enough for anyone else to point it out.
But I could see it.
His smile didn't reach his eyes anymore. His laughter came slower.
The bright energy around him felt dimmer.
I tried my best to keep distance between Rick and Mr. Andrew. I took different paths. Changed seats when I could. Avoided group situations where they might interact more than necessary.
It didn't help much.
"I think it's normal," I said, shrugging it off.
Rick smiled a little when I answered, like that was enough for him.
I wanted to maintain my distance with everyone including Rick.
But his plans were different.
Rick always found a way to talk to me. Or sit near me. Or include me in some small plan, even when I clearly wasn't interested.
I knew he had heard the gossip.Everyone had.
'So why?'
That question stayed in my head longer than I wanted it to.
When the lunch bell rang in the afternoon, I stood up immediately and grabbed my bag.
"Ian, where are you going?" Rick asked, hurriedly gathering his things.
I didn't answer. I just walked out.
"Rick, let him go," someone said behind me. "The class feels more relaxed when he's gone."
I didn't turn around.
I didn't need to.
That voice belonged to Selena.
She was the loudest among them. The most confident. The one who always smiled while cutting someone down.
She also happened to be the biggest competitor for the position of Rick's future girlfriend, according to everyone else.
I never understood what her problem with me was.
I barely existed in her world. But she always found a way to humiliate me, directly or indirectly.
I ignored it all and walked toward the quieter part of the school.
I preferred eating alone.
It was easier.
There were many remote corners in our school.
Old staircases, unused corridors, broken benches near the back wall. I had tried them all at some point.
That day, I chose a shaded spot behind one of the storage buildings.
Quiet.
No people.
No noise.
Perfect.
I sat down and opened my lunch.
"Why are you not doing anything?"
A voice crept up behind me.
I jumped so hard that my lunch almost fell out of my hands.
I turned around.
A rag floated in the air.
I stared at it for a second before realizing—
Okay.
Not a rag.
A ghost wearing something that used to be clothes. Probably.
She floated awkwardly, pieces of fabric hanging off her body like they had been torn and stitched back together badly.
"Oh," I said, exhaling. "It's you."
She pouted.
It was Selena.
Not that Selena.
This one's real name was something else. I didn't know what. But after how much the Selena from my class bullied me, I decided to name this ghost Selena instead.
It helped me cope.
And honestly, it made me laugh.
The ghost Selena looked nothing like a human anymore.
Her face was twisted in an uneven way, blotched with scars that looked burned into her skin. Her hair was clumped together, falling in messy strands around her head. One side of her face sagged lower than the other. Her arms were thin and scrawny, her fingers too long. And she didn't have feet at all. Her lower body faded into nothing.
Ugly.
Scary.
And strangely harmless.
'Serves her right,' I thought of Selena looking like this little ghost and chuckled.
That was the limit of my revenge.
"Why are you not answering me?" Selena cried. "Tell me! Tell me why that scary snake is still here!"
She rushed forward and tried to hug me.
Passed right through me.
She fell face-first into the ground and started crying.
Unlike the Selena in my class, this ghost was easily scared. She cried whenever something upset her. Loud noises, angry ghosts, sudden movements.
I didn't know when she died.
Or how.
She didn't know either.
When I joined this school, Selena was already here.
She had lost most of her memories. Her appearance. Her sense of time.
She could pass through walls. Through people. Through everything.
A long time must have passed since her death.
But there was still time.
She hadn't turned into a Dumbo Ghost yet.
I always hoped the Soul Eaters would come and take her away before that happened.
She was sweet, in her own way. She had helped me before. Warned me about aggressive spirits. Helped me when other students tried to play pranks on me.
"Ian," she sobbed.
"I can't do anything," I said with a tired sigh.
She sniffed.
'Scary snake'
She must be talking about the Khumya.
The one that entered the school recently.
"But this is our territory!" she said, floating up and throwing a tantrum. "He's ruining everything!"
"And?" I said, opening my lunch box and taking a bite.
She stared at me like I had just betrayed her.
"Send him away," she demanded. "He is scaring everyone. Now there is no one to play with."
"I told you already," I said, my voice sharper than I meant it to be. "I can't. I don't have any superpowers."
I felt anger rise in my chest.
It wasn't like I wanted that Khumya around.
It wasn't like I was enjoying this.
I was just helpless.
Selena suddenly floated closer. Her face came right in front of mine, while the rest of her body lagged behind, half merged with my shoulder.
Part of her was inside me.
I stiffened.
I had told her not to do that.
"Selena-"
"But you can," she said.