April

Today was my first day of high school. The first thing I needed to do was find my number on the board and find my class so I was there pretty early so as to avoid the crowd I knew would be here any minute. When I noticed my number there was a sign beside it saying; freshmen representative: Mai Taniyama.
I mentally groaned as I realized I would be pressured to have top marks and be involved in the student council…
As I finally got myself together, I noticed many students were giving me weird looks, because of my age or the fact I was just standing there ,I don't know. I hoped no one points me to the junior high school; that would be embarrassing. When I finally got to class I realized I still had an hour before the students arrive so I decided to settle for a nap. I noticed the seating plan and went to my seat near the window. I closed my eyes and fell into a light sleep.

When I awoke once more there were other students talking quietly in different parts of the room. Not long after that there was a huge influx of students just as the bell rang. Seconds after that, a tall woman with typical Japanese features walked in. She was wearing a pencil skirt and a professional looking blouse. She smiled a soft smile and introduced herself.

"Hello everyone my name is Misaki Matsui and I am your homeroom teacher. You were placed in class 1-A because your grades were above average or highly advanced. This is not a prestigious academy, but the school offers a higher degree of education to those who require more advanced material. Please note this is not a competition. You will not be kicked out if you don't have the best grades, but if you feel uncomfortable with this class you can talk to me about transferring to the regular program." She smiled reassuringly when she said that last part.

Misaki-sensei then explained our schedule for the day "Today we are introducing ourselves and I want each of you to say something about yourself, anything really, from your favorite color to your dreams to what you ate this morning. Anything goes." She repeated. "Now don't be shy and we start with Abakiwa-san."

She started with the row closest to the door so that means I will be one of the last to introduce myself.

I heard a lot of different facts about my classmates:

"I want to be a physical trainer."
"I love the color purple."
"My mom makes the best cookies ever!"
" My favorite food is ramen."

And after a while it was my turn. "I am Taniyama Mai and I love to hear ghost stories." I really wanted to make new friends this year or I would be insanely lonely in this class.

Xoxoxoxox

The rest of the morning was relatively calm. We talked about the curriculum, different clubs and now we were assigning class representatives. Two people volunteered. There was a boy who looked serious and athletic and a girl with a calm demeanor. They both looked like they were eager for the position and they got it, since no one else raised their hand.

"Now that we've got this all figured out you guys can take a break since it's almost lunch time" When people started talking over her she cut them off sharply "But, she continued after a moment of silence, after that we are heading to the auditorium for the opening ceremony. Do not be late." She finished sternly, then walked to her desk and continued to fill out some random paperwork.

After that I took out the lunch Yukimura-san packed for me this morning: an eggroll with rice on the side, mixed in with various vegetables. A girl with blonde hair and glasses approached me. She seemed a bit shy as she tentatively tried to start a conversation with me. I enjoyed talking to her and then she asked with a stutter "Um, Taniyama-san? When you said you liked ghost stories I got curious...W-would you tell me one?"

I smiled, pleased that she remembered and answered "Sure! There was one I read online that gave me the creeps...Are you sure you want to hear it?" I asked teasingly, smiling to reassure her I was kidding.

I only noticed the boy who overheard us when he called out to the class "Hey! Mai's going to tell us a ghost story. Who wants to hear?"

It was silent for a moment but after you could hear my classmates whisper to each other with curiosity, some outright said 'yes' and our teacher was looking at us with a fond look on her face. I looked to the boy who stated this and he grinned at me, as bright as the sun looking completely innocent, as if he was oblivious to the attention everyone was giving me. I didn't sense any animosity from him so he wasn't trying to make fun of me which reassured me as I mentally forgave him. I can do this, I've told Shizuka and Akane plenty of stories, so a crowd shouldn't be a big deal. I took a deep breath and started.

"This is a story from a ghosts perspective and I thought it was very interesting despite being so short...

It was the sound of laughter and children's voices that caught my attention. Curious, I materialized in my old bedroom and went out into the hallway to peer over the railing by the grand staircase. The voices had come from the Great Hall, where the house tours gathered. Yes, there were two children scampering about, to the distraction of their parents. An older boy and a tousled haired little toddler who reminded me of my own daughter at that age.
"No, no Alicia. Don't touch," her mother agonized at the little girl flung herself onto a rocker by the fireplace.
Alicia. No wonder I had felt compelled to return. There was an Alicia in this house again. How appropriate. There had been an Alicia in every generation of our family from the 1600s to the present. We'd called my little Alicia "Timmie", I reminisced.
The tour began, and I followed them eagerly, floating down the stairs and hovering in the grandmother's hallway. Little Alicia was swung up into her father's arms as the group moved into the library next door. Looking over his shoulder, the tousle-haired youngster saw me. She lifted her hand to me. "Hi!" she piped.
"Hi back," I returned solemnly. Her father glanced vaguely around, but did not see who his child was addressing. I grinned conspiratorally at the little toddler and winked. She tried to wink back, blinking her blue eyes several times in rapid succession, her face crinkling with the effort. I chuckled softly and followed the group into the dining room.
I swished passed Alicia's mother and went through the butler's pantry into the kitchen. Behind me, Alicia's mother shivered and asked: "Is there a draft in here?" I looked at the picture of my little Timmie on the back of the stove. Yes, this little Alicia resembled her. I perched myself on a table in the corner of the room and listened as the tour guide discussed Father's obsession with southern biscuits and showed everyone the huge bin of coffee. Alicia waved a hand at me from her father's shoulder. "Lady," she said very clearly to her mother, pointing at me. Her mother looked straight at me, seeing nothing but the table. Alicia's brother turned my way and squinted very hard, as if he might be able to make out my outline if he stared hard enough. I smiled at him.
I floated up and up through the ceiling then and settled myself in the little toy room on the upper landing, waiting for Alicia to come upstairs. I heard her little voice insisting that her father put her "down". Then the sound of little feet chugging mightily as she climbed the steps. With a smile, the woman looking into the toy room moved aside so Alicia and her brother could take a look. I couldn't resist. "Peek-a-boo!" I called, appearing suddenly around the doorway. Alicia laughed in delight. "Peek-boo!" she giggled, hiding her eyes behind her hands. Obediently, her big brother did the same. He obviously loved this tiny moppet.
"Come on Peek-a-Boo," Alicia's father said indulgently, picking her up again and taking her with him up to the second floor hallway. I went to stand by the grand staircase again, watching the tourists move in and out of the guest rooms. Alicia waved to me as they entered my room, then around to my parents' bedroom and out past the bath to the game room. Father had loved playing billiards with his guests, I mused with a smile, touching one of the balls with the tip of my finger. Beside me, the tour guide was telling the visitors about our buffalo herd. Father had been very worried about the bison. So many of them were being killed. So he bought a herd and they roamed the roads and byways around Kalispell freely all their lives. After the head male died of old age, Father had his head stuffed by my uncle, and his head still hung in the game room.
I floated up to the third floor and sat in one of the wicker chairs as the guide took the guests around to the sewing room, father's private hideaway, the laundry room, our game room. Alicia ran all around, laughing and stomping her little feet in her cunning sneakers. She flung herself into my lap and we stared happily at one another, giggling together, until her mother came running. "No, no Alicia. Mustn't touch."
The tour was nearly over. The group gathered in the back hallway – the Grandmothers hallway – for one last bit of history. The guide showed them the 'secret' hiding places in the wall and showed them a note I'd written to my grandmother many years ago. Then they were saying goodbye, and Alicia waved her little hand to me as her parents exited through the door of the gift shop.
"Goodbye Alicia," I called as her brother walked right through me. That felt strange to me, but worse for him I think. He turned pale and shivered. Then made a bolt for the door.
"Bye-bye," Alicia called back to me as her brother pushed his father aside and fled out the screen door and down the steps to the drive.
"That place is creepy," he told his mother as they walked together into the garden. 'I think it's haunted!"
Haunted, I thought, amused. By happy memories, certainly. And perhaps occasionally by something else! I leaned out the window and waved once more to little Alicia, though the toddler didn't see me. Then I vanished. "

I trailed off at the end with a wistful voice as I looked at my classmates.

Hana, the shy girl who asked me to tell the ghost story then complimented it when she said "I like how you told the story as if you were the ghost. It... was not like I expected. I thought you would say how everyone died and stuff like that. I'm glad that I was wrong."

The general consensus from the class was that the story was nice, perfect for lunchtime.

I suddenly had an idea. "Hey! How about every week we have someone prepare a ghost story! We can take turns. It'll be fun, just consider it a class activity! You can write your own story or find one online and we can share them with each other!" I finished with an expectant smile ad to my surprise they all agreed. The class reps got up and the girl, who I now know as Kyoko, added some rules .

"No one will be allowed to share the same story. If it's a long story you can do it as a pair. We will get a list with the number of weeks we have during the school year. If your name is written and you're not ready you can switch with someone. Everyone will be required to do 2 stories and stories done with a partner also count. We are 25 students that means 50 stories in 42 weeks, excluding those done in teams. Try not to tell the same story twice. Now that I have explained the rules, does everyone agree?"

Everyone was quick to agree (and that's how Maitogami high school got its first ghost club.)
xox

The bell rang and we were all headed to the welcoming ceremony. It was as boring as I thought it would be. I almost fell asleep a couple of times but Hana was quick to distract me. After school was done I packed my stuff, said goodbye and headed off to work. When I got there I was immediately rushed to make some tea for the customers and serve their food. I was so busy I barely noticed the hours pass by and soon it was late and I had to go home. The manager offered to walk with me since our homes were in the same direction. She told me it wasn't safe at night to walk home alone and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer even though she 'offered'.

Soon I was back home. I greeted Yukimura-san (MI-YA-KO! She keeps insisting) and went to bed. I fell asleep when my head hit my pillow and wondered what tomorrow will hold for me.

Sorry this came so late! I lost my USB key with the chapter on it so I was delayed. I found it yesterday so...here you go! :)