Of All Girls, Why a Ghost?

A Ghost?

It was early morning at school.

The cool breeze coming from the air conditions made it temperate against the usually sunny season of the country. Classes started the second grace period ended and it was another day of writing and listening to whatever new topic our teachers have for us. Of course, the same cannot be said for others who just laze around and actually sleep through the whole period. I was a bit groggy myself. At least the view outside the classroom window was nice. Our school has a lovely landscape decorating its entire yard. It actually makes me feel contented.

By the time lunch rolled by, I entered the cafeteria and it was already packed full of 7th and 10th graders. While I was in line to buy myself a snack, I heard a group of boys call out for my name.

“Hey Ken, over here!” one of them cried out and I recognized him as one of my closest friends.

They were waving their hands to show which table they were at and I followed after I got my food.

The boy waved at me first was named Cullin, the Singer. He loves to sing pop and classical songs. But, he’s way too talkative than a saleslady on a public market. Like a machine gun that never have to reload. A boy who sat beside Cullin was Cody, the Joker. He is an energetic/ hyper-active person. He loves to play basketball and reading novels. His personality of being a jolly kid brings a good aura. But sometimes, his laugh is being sarcastic. Making everyone irritated of his voice. Al, who sat in front of Cody, was dubbed as the Living Encyclopedia. Every topic that we bring up, he add with his knowledge and even started a debate. The only thing that he can be distracted was using his phone. Whenever he used his phone, he’ll never be bothered. The big one who sat beside Al was Kai, who was also a cellphone addict, but known as the Full Fledge Weeb. He always recommended us with good anime shows to watch whenever we are bored and he even updated us to every new released anime. But when he is tired, he would only stare in a blank space. He was looking in the nothingness of reality.  He just literally stared for 10 straight minutes without blinking. Even though these guys were acting like children, I love them for they accepted me for who I am.

Cheerful and jolly as always, those guys.

I sat down on an empty seat they saved for me and it was another round of random talk. Mostly about whatever interesting happened in their classes, what are trending, and a discussion about the latest episode of an anime or two.

“You guys realize that we’re going to graduate soon, right?” Cody spoke up out of the blue. Thus, garnering looks of both concern and uninterest.

“Yeah, why did you ask?”  Al asked.

“Have you guys chosen a course yet?” Cody wondered aloud.

“Not yet.”

“Nah.”

“Uh-uh.”

I only replied with a shrug of my shoulders while I continued to munch on my sandwich. I wasn’t sure what course to take either.

“Me neither,” he sighed in defeat.

It was still the first quarter of the school year but most students are already trying to decide what they’ll do once they graduate. Since most have their sights set on going to college, the biggest challenge was to decide which course to take.

I’m not completely useless though. I actually have one in mind but the best university to provide it is just too expensive to enroll to. Hopefully, as long as I study hard and keep up a good record, I would be able to find a suitable scholarship that will cover that target of mine.

The talks dissolved back to normal until we noticed a girl walk past us. Her hair flowed down her back like silk, her movements so graceful. I’ve known that girl my whole life. Her name is Ria. The vice-president of the student council. She’s excellent in academics, participated and won on competitions outside the school, and she’s also great in writing. So it’s no surprise people had dubbed her the “Perfect Girl”, and it’s no surprise hat I have a crush on her too but even I know that she’s way out of my league.