Third Story: A Night to Remember

Chapter 1

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

18 October 2021

Morning in October. The autumn sky above Hanoi looks even more dazzling today than usual; the white clouds litter the sky, giving me peace of mind. An aeroplane is flying above the lake, leaving behind a set of contrails. The windows of the classroom squeak noisily whenever a cool breeze blows from the lake inwards. I can hear the faint sound of traffic and street vendors advertising their foodstuffs from a distance, the different noises mixing into one single harmony. And today, the nice weather seems to have nearly everyone in class spellbound.

"When sulphur is burnt in atmospheric oxygen, sulphur dioxide is formed. And this sulphur dioxide further reacts with excess oxygen to give sulphur trioxide. Both gases are toxic..."

The Chemistry teacher goes on and on, but when will she realise that I am the only person in class listening to her right now? Her lectures are always boring, and she tends to go into irrelevant topics in the middle of class like her private life and what her children are doing in the other hemisphere. Look, Nam, my friend, is currently doodling in his notebook, Vân is secretly chatting with her neighbour while Xuân is using her smartphone, probably scrolling through her feeds on social media again.

My name is Thành, and I am a student of class 11A9, the Geography specialised class, of 'A' High School. It is currently Chemistry period and I am diligently taking notes while sitting at the final row. I could also join my classmates in the journey through dreamland but decide not to so that I can take actual notes in class.

The bell heralding the end of the period finally rings, and it surely is music to everyone's ears.

Students from all classrooms of the Grade 11 floor begin pouring out and soon the canteen is crowded with students angrily waiting for their favourite dishes. Nam stares at them with disapproving eyes while I lazily shove my spoon into the curry rice. Vân is digging in her favourite phở while Xuân is still staring at her smartphone. Sometimes I wonder how it is even humanly possible for a person to look at screens for such a long time.

Suddenly Nam seems to have remembered something interesting, breaks away from his gaze and faces us.

"You guys heard of the ghost sighting at our school recently?"

"Not again," I groan and swing my arms up. He usually comes up with these kinds of ridiculous discussions.

"Hear me out, guys. Apparently, since last month, there have been about five or six people from Grades 10 and 11 who have seen the ghost, or at least, an apparition," Nam continues, ignoring my protest. "Different people gave different accounts. One person saw a woman with long hair, wearing white. Another saw bloody handprints on the windows of the biology laboratory. Blue flames floating in the air, like will-o'-the-wisp, were seen too. It was also said that creepy moans, presumably of a woman's, could be heard at night."

"Nonsense, ghosts don't exist. They're unscientific. And word of mouth tends to be unreliable."

"Maybe they are real!" Vân interrupts the conversation. "It'd be exciting if they really exist!"

"Be careful what you wished for, stupid," says Xuân who has finally put her phone away.

"Who are you calling stupid, stupid?"

"Please don't entertain his thoughts. It's better if we focus on more important things, let's say, tomorrow's Geography test?" I let out a sigh.

"Don't be boring, honour student!" Vân pouted.