It was now the following day - another basic, plain day at Huriuna High School. The building stood solemnly at the center of the neighborhood, its dull brick walls giving the rest of the institution a soulless, wearisome feel. The flag of the USA was flown proudly in the midst of the shrubbery at the front of the school, but it did nothing but show how the school was just as mundane as all other schools around the continent.
The interior was just as boresome. With its featureless halls and claustrophobic classrooms, the place practically radiated an essence of staleness.
The bell soon rang for the beginning of first class, and everyone piled into their classrooms. Kori and Leanne were seated in the same class, and were chatting with each other from across the room as they waited for their teacher to arrive. Eventually, he did arrive, sprinting into the classroom. He planted his books down on his desk with a firm thud, his face as red as a tomato as he addressed the class.
"Morning, everyone. Today, we've got some new students joining us from a school across the state, so I hope you all treat them nicely…"
The teacher gazed around the class with an exhausted huff.
"...If they arrive."
Kori turned to Leanne, keeping his voice low.
"Since when were there students joining this late into the year?"
Leanne shrugged, but before she could respond, the door to the classroom burst open, revealing three students. The one who burst open the door looked around the class, mouthing a small 'sorry'. The teacher looked at the students, a soft smile on his face as he spoke to him.
"Ah, you're the new students, aren't you? Welcome to Huriuna High."
The students nodded quietly in response.
Leanne's eyes widened at the sight of the students, looking between the three of them in startled surprise. Kori looked at the students too, but one caught his eye more than the other two.
"So, you're Miana, Dani, and Rio, right?" The teacher continued, clasping his hands together. The students nodded once more, and the girl - presumably Miana - spoke up.
"Yeah, that's us."
"Great! You can sit at the back, by the window. Rio, you can sit by my desk. Dani… you can sit in the spare seat next to Kori."
The teacher suddenly pointed at Kori, making him jump at the sudden attention. He watched as the student took his place next to him, his face beginning to burn up at the sight of him. He was, unmistakably, attractive; with his thick black hair, brown eyes, and smart-casual outfit. Kori couldn't help but stare, but only until he was caught out, his mind zoning in once more with the sound of this boy's voice.
"Hey, you alright there?"
Kori gulped, his heart aflutter. A meek "Yeah…" was all he could muster. This made Dani chuckle, his sly and seductive voice elevated by the laugh.
"I'm Dani, by the way." Dani introduced himself.
"Oh, I-I'm Kori. Are you…" Kori gulped once more, trying to cool his burning blush before continuing, "Do you always sound this seductive?"
"What a strange thing to pick up on." Dani hummed, letting out another sly chuckle, "But yes, it's just my voice. I'm guessing it's getting you worked up, hm?"
This made Kori's cheeks burn brighter. Before he could respond, Dani's attention was grabbed by Miana, who sat behind them.
"Hey, shut it. We just got here." She muttered to him, her stern tone matching her latin accent. Dani huffed playfully, waving his hand dismissively before turning back to Kori.
"Sorry about that. I have a tendency to be a bit… flirtatious with people."
Kori nodded in response, not even bothering to muster a reply to his confident comments. The lesson was only 15 minutes through, but he knew the rest of it would go by at an agonizing pace.
Meanwhile, Leanne had noticed the interaction between Kori and Dani. She had picked up on Dani's personality almost instantly, and although it seemed quite suspicious to her, she quickly brushed the thought off and continued with her work, the thought no longer nagging at her.
Once the bell rang to signal the start of next class, everyone else gathered their bags and left with haste. But, as Kori collected his things and tried to head off, Dani caught him, lightly clutching his wrist in his hand.
"Hey, Kori. Meet me after school, yeah?"
Kori's breath hitched, but he quickly nodded. His wrist was released, and he made his way out of the classroom with a rushed pace.
Leanne waited outside the classroom for Kori, her look of boredom switched to one of concern when she saw Kori's flustered expression.
"Hey, hey, what's up?" She asked, leading him into the halls and towards their next lesson.
"It's one of the new students, Dani… he wants to meet me after school," Kori shuddered in reply.
"Do you reckon it has anything to do with how much he was flirting with you?"
"He wasn't flirting… if he was flirting I would've noticed."
"If you say so…"
Leanne gave a shrug, knowing that was far from the case. They weaved in-between crowds of students, trying to find their next class, before they suddenly bump into someone. As the student turns around, Kori, and Leanne look at them in slight confusion.
This person was unlike everyone else. They had long, pure white hair; skin as pale as snow; gray-ish purple eyes that pierced into the two of them. They wore a dress of lace and velvet, and had the appearance of an angel.
'This must be another new student,' Kori thought to himself, 'Making the current total… 4 students.'
"I'm sorry, so sorry!" The student stammered, her voice as airy and soft as her appearance.
"Hey, it's okay," Leanne spoke up, "What's your name?"
"Lavender."
"Lavender… well, it's nice to meet you…"
With that, Lavender hurried away from Leanne and Kori, clutching her bag in her arms with a tight grip. The two of them watched as she rushed off, her faces etched in bewilderment.
"What was that?!" Kori muttered.
"I'm not quite sure."
Another bell rang through the halls, signaling the need for students to head straight to their classes. Leanne jumped at the sound, but quickly grabbed Kori's wrist and led him quickly towards his next lesson.
In the meantime, Charlie and Kai were in the library, studying intensely for an upcoming exam. Their heads were in the midst of their textbooks, hastefully jotting notes with vigor.
All of a sudden, their studying was interrupted by the sound of the library door opening, and the annoying tone of a student's voice. Charlie and Kai looked at the door, noticing the arrival of three completely new students.
"God, this place is so boring!" One of the students groaned, but her volume was instantly corrected by one of the other students.
"Hey, shush, you do remember how a library works, right?"
The first student huffed, lowering her tone.
"Yes, of course I do."
The three students entered the library, quickly catching sight of Charlie and Kai in the center of the room.
"Seems we're not alone." The first student groaned quietly, before giving the other two the signal to approach them.
"Hey, what're you guys doing?" Charlie asked, twisting his body around in his chair as he spoke to the students.
"Just seeing what you guys are doing." The first student responded blankly.
"Alright…? What're your names?"
The students paused, before the first student spoke up once more.
"I'm Darpana, and this is Lena and Beau. We're new here."
Kai nodded along, letting Charlie lead the conversation.
"Alright… I'm Charlie, and this is my friend, Kai."
Darpana nodded, sitting opposite the two of them.
"Why've you got so many textbooks? Is finals week coming up or something?"
"It is." Charlie spoke, his brows furrowing.
"Oh… interesting."
Darpana turned to Lena to talk to her, but noticed that she'd already fallen asleep where she sat, her head firmly planted on the table. Beau chuckled softly as this, but Darpana only scoffed.
"You'll have to excuse Lena here, she's not the most respectful out of our group."
Kai finally spoke up, his voice more elevated than usual.
"Group? I think you're more of a trio."
"No, we're a group. There's a few more in our group, but they've got lessons right now."
This made Charlie's breath hitch. There were more of these new students. He managed a slow nod and a polite smile in response, before looking down at his feet in surprise. They were, to Charlie, unmistakably suspicious now - but not for any of the right reasons.
The day went by at a slow pace for all of the Ghost Hunting Club. They left the school that day in deep thought, their minds occupied by one thing in particular: the new students. As they arrived back to their houses for the evening, they soon gathered their information over text, coming to the conclusion that there were, in fact, 7 new students.