[Not Just Any Other] Ghost Story

Chapter 7

"You're willingly asking to attend advanced Physics, correct?" asked the guidance counselor from the other side of the desk. If her tone didn't give it away, then the surprised look on the chick's face--she couldn't have been more than a few years out of college herself--definitely proved it was a pretty out there request.

Sarah nodded. "That's right," she said before pursing her lips in defiance. There were a few classes that she was determined to take advantage of, and after last night, this had recently shot to the top of her list.

"And you know that you're not constrained by the usual requirements since you'll be auditing all of the courses--"

"Yes, yes, I know. But I figure why not get exposure to a variety of subjects, am I right?" she pressed on, getting annoyed at the pushback. She'd have thought educators would be thrilled to have a student express interest in anything other than cheap beer and prom.

Ms. Yang-Mills (according to the etched placard in front of her) sighed and turned her attention to her computer. After tapping away at the keyboard for a while, she triumphantly hit one last key and the nearby printer roared to life.

"There you have it," she said when she handed the hot-off-the-presses document over to Sarah. "Our classes are scheduled to meet at the same time every day so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Classroom numbers that are in the one-hundreds range are located on the ground floor, and everything in the two hundreds is upstairs." She paused to look at her watch. "There's about twenty minutes left of third period right now, so you may just want to start with fourth after getting oriented."

Sarah looked down at the schedule of classes. Third period was Physics, room 205.

Bolting out of her chair, she grabbed her backpack off the floor and hoisted it over her shoulder. "No, I'm good. Thanks!" she exclaimed, already running to the door.

The closest stairwell was almost directly across from the administrative offices. Taking the risers two at a time, Sarah was up and already looking at the numbers above the doors probably before Ms. Yang-Mills had even realized that she'd gone.

"So that finishes our section on sound waves," said the teacher--David Arkani according to the printout in her hand--as Sarah opened the door. "We'll do a few practical demonstrations next week as soon as Principal Orr either finds the spare key to the science storage closet or hires a locksmith to pick the lock. Oh, hello. Are you a new student?" he asked as Sarah stepped further into the classroom.

She waved the paper in front of her. "Kind of, I guess?" she said, feeling every eye on her in spite of being too nervous to take a look around. "Uhm, I'm Sarah Corwin. Not sure if you got a heads up that I might come in to some classes--"

"Oh, yes!" he exclaimed, interrupting her stilted explanation. Pointing to an empty spot at a two-person desk on the front row, Mr. Arkani continued. "Forgive my surprise, but I didn't think anyone who had a choice would sit through my class for fun. Not that I'm not thrilled. Anyway, do sit down."

As she rounded the table and dropped her backpack at her feet, Sarah smiled. At least she wouldn't be the most awkward person in the class.

"Hey."

She looked to her left at the boy who'd just greeted her. With floppy, dark hair, studious glasses, and a welcoming smile, his casual reassurance was exactly what she needed. "Hi," she whispered back.

"I like your tattoo," he replied, and immediately Sarah's hand shot up to the spot on her shoulder directly above her collarbone.

Sure enough, her shirt had slipped, exposing the skin and the reminder she'd gotten during the summer of the main reason she needed to keep going: the word "love" written in scrolling cursive.