Fun and Games (self-insert #4)

Chapter 2

Naru flipped his notebook to an open page. "I was told you didn't come to school because you saw a ghost." He said curtly, glancing over to me to check that my fingers were poised over the keyboard. "Can you tell me more about it?"

The wan girl nodded wearily. "Sure...um..." She swallowed hard. "It happened in our classroom...actually the language lab...I was reviewing the tape I recorded during a lesson. But then...I started hearing a strange voice playing back."

I started typing away. Language Lab. Strange child's voice in playback, child shows up under the desk.

"I told my teacher about it but he wouldn't believe me...but I really saw it!" Beyond distressed, she burst into tears.

"Did anyone else see it besides you?"

Her friend nodded as she patted her on the back. "We've all seen it, and most of us have heard the voice." She explained. "The teachers wouldn't believe us even if we told them we were too scared to come to class. So we just decided not to come to school."

Naru thought for a bit, giving Bou-san some time to write on the chart labeled 'Spots to Exorcise'. "Can you tell me about any other strange incidents that have happened at this school?"

That question was a big mistake.

"A locker that would never open!"

"An anatomy model that breaks apart by itself!"

"Strange noises in the music room!"

"When you open the incinerator an old man pops his head out, and his head is on upside down!"

"A bed in the nurse's office! All of the sudden someone appears lying down on the second bed from the back!"

Bou-san's paper nearly ripped as he scribbled as fast as he could. I typed as much as I could remember: locker (got to find number), anatomy model falls apart, strange noise music room, incinerator and nurses office.

The first girl sniffed pathetically. "And someone said they've seen Sakauchi-kun." She managed. "That they've passed him in the hallway or that he was standing in classrooms."

Naru perked up. "Sakauchi? Who's that?"

"He was a freshman that committed suicide last September. Strange things started happening at our school right around last fall...no, actually ever since Sakauchi-kun committed suicide." Another girl chimed in. "I was wondering if these incidents had anything to do with that."

Naru's pen tapped against a newspaper clipping. "Then that's why it says here that you guys tried to get rid of the spirits on your own."

"That's right. But we're not totally convinced that this stuff is happening because of Sakauchi-kun's curse. We just couldn't stand not doing anything about it...but we didn't know what we could do to fix it..."

Bou-san heaved a sigh, but Naru ignored him. "Did you personally know him?"

"No, I didn't. I'd never even heard of him until after his death, but anyway...his death note became well known at one point."

Naru perked up as if that was the most interesting thing he'd heard all day. "A death note?"

"Yes. It said, 'I'm not a dog'."

Silence descended over the room. Sakauchi had left the world protesting that he wasn't a dog. Not soon after, a canine apparition starts tormenting the school. I wasn't sure Naru picked up on the connection. "Do you know what he meant by that?"

"I think so. Because I even feel that way sometimes when I'm at school." She said. A bit of an edge entered her voice. "The school decides the length of our hair, and what color our personal belongings should be...and we're constantly being disciplined for how we talk, and told how to behave...it's almost like obedience training for a dog, so I thought maybe Sakauchi-kun held a grudge against the school..."