Following instructions is a vitally important step in the intricate process of baking. At least, that was what you had been trying to impart to Arthur during the past few days. No matter how relentlessly you supervised him, each time he touched the kitchen equipment resulted in a complete disaster. You felt a bit sorry for him.

Culinary Arts class was looking more hopeful than usual that day. Arthur, however, was not.

The two of you had spent the beginning of the hour stirring up cake batter. You hadn't done much coaching, deciding that it might only make him feel worse. But you needn't have worried about that, seeing as he was already in the depths of his despair.

You could tell because of the chief topic of conversation. Which was, of course, his hopelessness at cooking. No matter how many times you assured him that he wasn't the worst cook in the world, and that his creations weren't an entire catastrophe, and that he probably would get better with time, nothing seemed to improve his mood.

"I have the worst luck of anyone in this entire academy," he ranted as you watched the cake rise in the oven. "I'm a disgrace! No matter what I try, everything always goes wrong."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," you said honestly.

He sighed. "I just don't see why this is so difficult. Everyone else can make a decent meal! It's humiliating, really!"

"Is that why you signed up for this class then?"

He gave you a questioning look.

"You're tired of people making fun of your cooking?"

He crossed his arms dejectedly. "I thought perhaps that this would change things… That I would finally be able to prove to everyone else that I am capable of making good food!"

You turned towards him. "Maybe you're treating this like a bigger deal than it actually is. I mean, not everyone is cut out to be a master chef! I'm sure there are tons of other things that you're fantastic at, so you shouldn't be so worried about your baking skills. It's a part of life! We all have different talents." You paused a moment, realizing you were beginning to sound like a therapist. Maybe you should have taken a psychology class. You never know, perhaps one of your talents was talking the problems out of depressed people.

"Anyway, why should you give up on your cooking just yet?" you continued. "It's only the beginning of the year. Improvement comes with time."

Despite your improvised pep talk, Arthur didn't seem overly encouraged. Before either of you could say anything else, the oven light caught your eye.

"Hey! It looks like our culinary masterwork is baked and ready to go!" You tried to sound hopeful as you slid on the oven mitts and pulled open the heavy door.

The cake looked perfectly fine from inside the oven. Then again, (at the risk of sounding clichéd) appearances can be deceptive. You hoisted it out and set it down on the cooling rack, stepping back to assess its condition.

"Wow…" You gazed doubtfully at the thing before you. "It doesn't look bad at all!"

The two of you allowed it to cool and then removed it from the pan. You were supposed to slice off the top, dome-shaped area for a more professional looking cake, resulting in a wedge of unusable cake that would not be needed in the final project. Both of you knew what this meant.

"Er… You go ahead and try it," Arthur offered nervously.

"Oh, no you don't. You made this cake too. You're going to see how it tastes at the same time as I do." You cut off two small pieces and handed him one. "On the count of three…" you began.

"One… two…"

You eyed the piece apprehensively. You hoped it wasn't toxic, but there was only one way to find out.

"Three!"

Facing each other, you and Arthur bravely took a bite of the cake.

Immediately, your eyes widened. You swallowed and looked across at your partner.

"OH MY GOODNESS!" You couldn't contain your amazement you felt as the achievement sank in. "This tastes fantastic! You really did it this time, Arthur!"

You could tell he could hardly believe it himself. His expression was a mix of bewilderment and disbelief as he stood for a moment, too shocked to speak.

And then Arthur Kirkland broke into the most enormous smile you had ever seen on his face.

…

The rest of the school day progressed inch by inch, until at last dinner had ended and the academy settled into the relaxed, subdued calm that filled the halls as students began to wind down for the night. Despite the tranquil atmosphere, you hurried towards your dorm room. Supposedly, Alfred and Kiku would be paying you a visit sometime that evening to investigate the weird light shenanigans that had been troubling you nearly all day. You weren't too keen to spend another night in that room without knowing what was going on.

You reached your door number and turned the handle. But before you could go further, the door swung open violently all on its own. Inside the doorway was Sonia, eyes wide with what was unmistakably fear.

"Laurel!" She managed to say. "Thank God you're here! It happened again!"

"What? You mean the lights?"

She shook her head dumbly. "Worse than that!" She retreated from the doorway, allowing you to see into the room beyond. Everything was upside down. Almost everything. Lamps were balanced on their shades, books flipped over, everything smaller than a chest of drawers had been set upon its opposite side in the exact place it had been that morning.

"They were like that when I flicked the lights on! It almost gave me a heart attack!"

You stepped in and looked around the room, speechless for a moment. You had definitely not been expecting this.

"Whoa! What happened in here?" You heard Alfred's voice behind you, and turned to see him and Kiku standing beyond the open door.

"Well, you two are just in time…" you muttered.

Alfred spotted Sonia as he came in. "Oh, hi! You must be Laurel's roommate!"

"Alfred and Kiku, this is Sonia… Sonia this is Alfred and Kiku. There here to see if our room is haunted…"

"That's us!" Alfred cut in before Sonia had a chance to react. "Hmm… Do you guys usually decorate this way?" He poked an upside down vase standing on top of your dresser.

"That wasn't us. We don't exactly know how everything… happened."

"Really?!" His eyes gleamed with excitement. "This is like one of those horror movies with flying knives and phantoms and everything! This is great!" He pumped his fist in the air.

You sighed. "Shouldn't you let the specialist decide whether this isn't all a joke?"

All eyes turned to Kiku. He had been standing silently near the door, surveying the scene.

"So you can tell what's going on here?" Sonia asked him, uncertain.

"I'm not sure." The three of you stood back, allowing him to walk around the room, standing in certain areas for a few moments before moving on. A minute passed before he spoke.

"There is definitely something strange going on in this room."

"So you're saying there is a ghost in here?"

"Not anymore. Our presence probably disturbed it or frightened it away, but it will most likely come back. Ghosts are very sensitive. At least that is how it is in my country. You should try appeasing it." He suddenly looked you straight in the eyes. "Have either of you by any chance been cursed recently?"

"Umm, not by my knowledge!" You were a bit worried. All this paranormal stuff was going straight over your head. But what worried you was that you were beginning to believe it…

Sonia shook her head. "Do you think it's haunting one of us?"

"That's unlikely. But there must be a reason why a spirit would linger here. Unfortunately, I am not the expert Alfred has made me out to be. We'll need to find someone with more experience."

Experience with the supernatural.

You knew just the person.

Minutes later, the four of you had successfully intruded the privacy of Arthur Kirkland's dorm room.