The Ghost Gang (5 members)
Charlie:
'Guys, you might want to watch the news this morning.'
09:17 am
Leanne:
'Oh god, what's happened now??'
09:20 am
Kai:
'Kai linked an article. Something's happened at the church.'
09:24 am
Kori:
'You've got to be kidding me. A yellow beam? At the Cardinal Church? Probably just the new students winding us up after they left last night.'
09:26 am
Kai:
'Kai linked two articles. The church has CCTV footage of the entrance of the building last night. Nobody entered or exited.'
09:30 am
Kori:
'Fuck.'
09:31 am
The next day was a very somber, gray Monday. Yet, it was far from boring.
The Ghost Hunting group arrived at Huriuna with a heavy sense of paranoia, but everything got worse as they entered the school. The hallways were filled with gossip and whispers about rumors. The group separated nearer to the time of their first class, but Kori found that as he wandered the busy halls, the rumors only got more intense. Utterings of 'he's the one who summoned demons in that church.' and 'god, what a fucking emo', mixed in with the usual 'such a fag', where all that Kori had heard walking to his lesson. He was a regular victim of bullying, having suffered with it ever since he came out of the closet in his freshman year. Now that he was a senior, the comments only got worse, but the level of what was spoken that day was something he'd never had to deal with.
Upon the sound of the first bell, he walked into his classroom and headed straight to the back. This was one of the classes he shared with Dani, and so they sat right next to each other.
As Kori approached his seat, Dani looked up at him with a small smile, but quickly noticed that Kori was not in the mood for banter or seduction. He observed as Kori sat next to him, his gaze softening with sympathy at the sight of his sadness.
"Hey, Kori…" he muttered, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…" Kori huffed, avoiding Dani's gaze as he picked up his pen.
Suddenly, the loudspeaker came on, and the principal began to speak through it in his usual grainy, monotone voice.
"Can Kori Dewitt please come to the principal's office?"
Kori's heart sank. First the rumors, now the principal wanted to see him.
But, as he rose from his seat to leave the class, Dani reached out and took Kori's hand in his. He looked up at him, giving a reassuring smile that was unusual for Dani's normal expression.
"You'll be okay…"
"...Thank you…"
Kori squeezed Dani's hand gently before letting go, leaving the classroom with haste.
As he passed the desks and headed out of the classroom, he noticed Kai heading towards the Principal's Office. With a light sprint, Kori reached Kai, who seemed to be quite disorientated and fearful.
"Wait, Kai," Kori spoke up, stopping by Kai's side, "You're going to the Principal too?"
Kai sighed, looking ahead as they both continued to walk.
"Yeah. Don't know why, though."
They soon reached the office, but were surprised to find Leanne, Adara, and Charlie standing inside with the Principal and Vice Principal. Kori and Kai entered, and Kori was ordered to sit at the Principal's desk. He sat stiffly, his face etched with worry as he faced Principal Wright.
"Tell me, Mr Dewitt, where were you and the Ghost Hunting Club on the night of the 8th of April?"
The group stiffened even more at the question, and Kori swallowed a tense breath as he spoke.
"The abandoned church, on Blackwell St."
"And can you confirm that you all were performing 'Satanic Practices' within the church?"
Kori sighed, "Yes, I can confirm."
Principal Wright leaned back in his chair, glancing across the room at the other members of the group.
"This is a very serious topic, Mr Dewitt. As you know, we are a church-funded catholic institution, and you were very lucky to even be able to start up the Ghost Hunting Club in the first place. Fortunately for you all, we will keep this issue within the school and not inform your parents, however tempted I am-"
The group let out a simultaneous sigh of relief at this, but Principal Wright continued to speak with a firmer tone.
"But, due to the severity of the situation, we will have no choice but to disband the club."
Kori nodded, looking down at his knees as he accepted the Principal's words.
"I understand, sir." He spoke.
Principal Wright sighed, sitting straight again.
"If I hear word of you, Mr Dewitt, or any of you guys continuing to perform satanic practices both within and outside the church, I will have to hand out a two-day detention to you all, and your parents will all be informed of the entire situation."
Everybody nodded silently.
"Good, I hope you all understand why we feel the need to do this," Principal Wright hummed, "You are dismissed. All of you."
The group headed solemnly out of the office, but as Kori reached the doorway, Principal Wright spoke up to him.
"Hey, Kori? You're a bright boy. Don't waste all this on the Devil… God bless you."
Kori nodded, letting out a sigh before leaving the office and heading back towards his classroom.
The next day came around, a gray, musty Tuesday morning. The rumors had died down, but the whispers and words of dislike still followed all of the group's members. Tensions were high, with it being the start of final's week, and so the group were all on edge.
Kori walked with Leanne and Charlie towards the main hall, preparing themselves for the exam they were about to take. A few of the new students had passed them, one of them being Dani, and Kori stumbled in his step slightly as Dani gave a passing wink at him. Leanne, who Kori had accidentally stumbled into, let out an annoyed groan.
"Fucking hell, what's with you this morning? You have an ACL injury or something?" She huffed, steadying him with a firm hand.
"I'm fine, you don't need to flaunt the fact that you take Health Sciences."
"I can 'flaunt' what the damn hell I want-"
Charlie then shoved the both of us, a calmer look on his face.
"Can you two stop? I don't want to be dealing with you both before the exam."
"Fine, yeah, whatever."
Leanne murmured, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket. As they approached the hall, they all looked at each other with a look of worry, before heading inside.