On the way to school, Kōki walked between Sayoko and Takuto. Groups of students chatted along the sidewalk. Several brushed past Kōki, passing straight through Sayoko and Takuto.
A girl walking nearby shivered. She rubbed her arms and glanced around.
"Are you cold?" her friend asked.
"No. I just felt a strange chill, that's all."
The girl turned her head toward Kōki. Her eyes lingered on him for a moment before she faced forward again.
Sayoko floated beside him, humming softly.
"I can't wait to figure out how I ended up like this."
Kōki's eyebrows twitched.
"Okay, I hate to ruin your mood, Sayoko, but we seriously can't deal with that right now."
"Why not?"
Sayoko tilted her head, her translucent black hair shifting.
"Because I have an exam today!"
Kōki raised his voice.
"And thanks to you two, I completely forgot about it yesterday! I barely even got to study!"
A few students turned toward him.
"What's with that guy?"
One student leaned toward her and cupped a hand over her mouth.
"What a weirdo."
Takuto drifted ahead of them with his arms crossed.
"It's your own fault for being such a coward."
Kōki's jaw tightened.
"Seriously? Who wouldn't freak out after seeing what I saw yesterday?!"
The school bell rang as they reached the entrance.
"Ah, crap! I'm gonna be late!"
Kōki dashed through the doors and hurried down the hallway.
He shoved the classroom door open.
The conversations inside stopped. Several students turned toward him.
Kōki hurried to his desk and dropped into his chair. His breathing remained slightly quick as he straightened his schoolbag.
"...I made it in time."
"I'm surprised he even showed up for the exam after skipping class yesterday," a girl said.
A chair scraped against the floor behind her.
"Well, that's Kōki we're talking about."
"No talking during exams. That's an automatic fail."
Ms. Kurosawa stepped into the classroom, her gaze settling on the students.
The conversations stopped. Several students straightened in their seats.
"R-right… sorry, Ms. Kurosawa."
Ms. Kurosawa moved down the rows, placing an exam paper on each desk.
When she reached Kōki, he lowered his gaze. Sweat trickled down the side of his face.
Ms. Kurosawa stopped beside him.
"Kōki Takeda… I remember you leaving the classroom yesterday. You said you were going to the bathroom, but you never came back."
She placed the exam paper in front of him.
"I hope you spent the time you missed preparing for this exam. Otherwise, detention will be unavoidable."
Kōki swallowed.
"Y-yes, Ms. Kurosawa."
She straightened.
"And don't even think about skipping detention this evening."
Ms. Kurosawa continued down the row, distributing the remaining papers.
Kōki stared at the exam sheet.
Seriously…? Just my luck.
His shoulders sank as he picked up his pencil.
"You have one and a half hours to complete the exam. ...Begin."
The classroom filled with the sound of papers turning and pencils moving across the desks. A few students groaned under their breath, while others tapped their pencils against the edges of their papers.
Kōki rested his fingers against his temple.
I should be able to answer this…
His eyes shifted toward the question in front of him.
If it weren't for those ghosts, I would've had time to study!
He glanced at the multiple-choice answers.
A… B… C… D…
His pencil hovered over the paper.
What the heck is this supposed to be…?
Kōki scratched the back of his head.
Takuto chuckled.
"Wow. Guess you're not as smart as you think you are, huh, Kōki?"
He glanced at the exam paper.
"And you think you're gonna help her pass on? You can't even figure out these equations."
Kōki gritted his teeth and slammed his hand against the desk.
"Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate!"
Several students turned toward him. A pencil stopped scratching against a nearby desk.
Kōki's face reddened.
"S-sorry…"
He lowered his head and exhaled through his nose.
Great… I'm screwed. I don't understand any of this.
"The answer is B."
Kōki lifted his head and looked at Sayoko.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Sayoko hand moved over the exam paper, her fingers stopping just above the question.
"I said the answer is B. If you divide here, you'll get the value of x."
"Wait…"
Kōki's eyes widened as he looked back at the equation.
"You're right!"
"Of course I am."
Kōki picked up his pencil and shaded in B.
That's right… I almost forgot. Sayoko's actually a genius. She's the reason Ayaka even passed her exams in the first place.
Over the next few minutes, Sayoko continued helping him. She moved her finger above the paper, pointing out the equations and guiding him through each problem.
Sayoko smiled.
"And… done! See? It wasn't so difficult, right?"
She raised her hand toward Kōki's head, but her fingers passed straight through his hair. Sayoko pulled her hand back.
"S-sorry…"
Kōki's shoulders shook.
"Pfft…"
"Huh?"
Sayoko tilted her head.
Kōki covered his mouth, a laugh escaping between his fingers.
"Yeah… thanks to you."
"Time's up! Pencils down! Pass your exam papers and answer sheets to the front."
Kōki set his pencil down and gathered his papers.
Takuto drifted above his head, a grin spreading across his face.
"Nobody would ever suspect you of pulling off some next-level cheating, huh?"
Kōki picked up his schoolbag.
"Just shut it and get a life."
He slung the bag over his shoulder and headed toward the classroom door.
"Kōki."
He froze.
Slowly, he turned around.
"Y-yes, Ms. Kurosawa?"
Ms. Kurosawa adjusted the papers in her hand.
"I hope you haven't forgotten. Two o'clock sharp. Don't be late."
Kōki's shoulders stiffened.
"Right…"
He stepped into the hallway.
Can this day get any worse?
"Hey, Sleepyhead!"
A hand smacked Kōki's back, sending him stumbling forward.
"Ow! What the heck?!"
He gritted his teeth and turned around.
A girl with short brown hair and square glasses leaned halfway out of the classroom doorway. She waved her arm at him.
"There you are! I was sure you'd fail the exam again."
The girl stepped into the hallway.
Not her again…
Kōki turned and continued walking.
"I'm busy."
She hurried after him, catching up in a few steps. Her fingers closed around his hand.
"Hey, wait a minute, Takeda!"
She smiled up at him.
"You said you'd give me an answer later, remember?"
Sayoko's cheeks flushed slightly.
An answer…? What does she mean?
Kōki pulled his hand free.
"I already gave you my answer. And it's no."
"Great! Then you have time to talk about the Supernatural Club."
Kōki stopped.
"Are you seriously just gonna ignore my answer?"
Sayoko blinked.
Huh? So it wasn't a confession?
The girl adjusted her glasses.
"That's what you said last time. And the time before that."
"I'm still not interested, so just leave me alone."
Kōki turned and continued down the hallway. She followed close behind.
"You've been acting really strange since yesterday. You don't have any close friends, you keep disappearing during class…"
She folded her arms.
"People have started talking. They say weird stuff happens around you. Yesterday, someone even saw you running through the streets, yelling."
She raised both hands.
"Ah—ghosts!"
Warmth crept up Kōki's face.
"You were following me?!"
The girl looked away.
"I told you. It was just a rumor."
Kōki eyes narrowed as he stopped in front of her.
"Huh? What is it?" she asked.
He reached out and pinched both her cheeks between his fingers.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Hey, that hurts! Let go!"
She grabbed his wrists.
"Out with it! Were you following me or not?"
"Okay, okay! It wasn't me! It was my club members!"
Kōki released her.
She dropped to one knee, rubbing her cheeks.
"That hurt! You're such a jerk!"
"I knew it."
Kōki turned and walked away.
"Wait…!"
She reached out toward him.
"Fine! I'll ask you again tomorrow!"
She cupped her hands around her mouth.
"And we're meeting after school today! Just so you know!"
Kōki kept walking.
What a weirdo.
"Well… that's interesting. Looks like you're not as much of a loner as I thought."
Takuto said.
Sayoko glanced back at the hallway.
"She's very… persistent." She paused. "Do you know her?"
Kōki let out a deep breath.
"Her name's Rina Hoshino. Class 2-D. She's the president of the Supernatural Club."
His shoulders tensed as he lowered his hand.
"Ever since junior high, she's been a pain in the neck. She never misses a chance to bother me, and she's totally obsessed with the supernatural."
Takuto grinned.
"Well, wouldn't that make you two perfect for each other? I mean, you can actually see ghosts."
"Can it."
Sayoko lowered her gaze.
"I see…"
She drifted to a stop, her eyes fixed on Kōki's back. Her fingers curled slightly.
Now that I think about it… I don't really know anything about Kōki.
He's so different from how he was… before I died.
The sun had begun to set.
Kōki shut the classroom door behind him.
"Ugh… Kurosawa kept me in there for two whole hours. I thought I'd never get out."
Sayoko and Takuto drifted alongside him.
"Finally! We're at the old school building!"
Sayoko said.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
A slender girl stood behind a row of lockers.
Her pale skin contrasted with the dark circles beneath her red eyes. Silver bangs hung low over her face, partially obscuring her gaze.
She stepped forward.
Then another.
Her eyes remained fixed on Kōki as she followed him down the hallway, keeping several paces behind.
Students passing by quickly moved out of her way. Their conversations quieted as she approached.
A girl glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes widened, and her shoulders shuddered.
"She's… creepy."
Another student leaned closer to her.
"And she's heading to the old school building… I've heard that place is haunted. You don't think…"
The girl continued walking.
Her eyes remained fixed on Kōki's retreating figure.