"All right, see you at the next meeting," Mrs. Irene said as she closed her book and walked out of the classroom, ending the lesson.
Mrs. Irene's class ended earlier than scheduled. She said she had another matter to attend to, so she asked permission to shorten the class.
"This is so boring," Kala turned to Hasta, who was sitting at the back near the window. He tossed a crumpled piece of paper at his friend.
Luckily, the paper hit its target, making Hasta reflexively turn around.
"What do you want?"
"I'm bored. Aren't you, As?" Kala said while pouting.
Hasta shuddered at the sight. "You look awful, man. That pout doesn't suit you at all."
"No matter what, I'm still cute—like a doll," Kala replied confidently.
"A cursed doll," Hasta shot back without hesitation.
"Haha, yesterday Ganta called me voodoo. He really has no self-awareness—his face is scarier, like a street thug."
Kala glanced at the wall clock above the whiteboard. It was almost break time.
"Asta, let's go to the canteen," Kala said, still watching the clock.
"Later, when the teacher tells us to," Hasta replied.
Kala clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You're way too much of a model student. Try being a delinquent once in a while—don't be so obedient."
"You mean like Agan? Sorry, I'm too lazy for that," Hasta said without lifting his eyes from his book.
Kala pulled out his phone to kill some time and opened his friend Jihan's social media account.
"So today her school's off, huh? No wonder she can hold an event in the middle of the day."
He saw a photo of Jihan smiling happily while holding a cake with lit candles. Beside her were her close friends, a group they called Weekly.
Tenggggg.
The break bell finally rang, and Kala immediately dragged Hasta to the canteen.
Once there, they gathered with the rest of Kaze at one table.
"Today feels unusually peaceful," Dion said.
"So what? You want our school life to be full of terror?" Yoan teased.
"No way. I just feel like solving a case," Dion replied.
"Maybe we should hold back for now, even if one shows up," Melvin said.
"Yeah, the teachers are super strict after the rooftop incident," Hasta added.
"Let's just look for entertainment—like going on a trip or something," Yoga suggested.
"We can go out together this Saturday. Where should we go?" Dion asked.
"How about staying at a villa—movie night or swimming if there's a pool," Melvin proposed.
"That's too ordinary. Let's go to an abandoned building and play hide-and-seek," Yoga said.
"What are you, obsessed with horror stories? That's asking for trouble," Yoan scoffed.
"But it actually sounds fun—like a courage test," Dion said.
"Bro, we're a detective gang, not ghost hunters," Melvin replied.
"Who knows, maybe we'll get bored of being detectives and switch to horror YouTubers," Yoga joked.
"Haha, hard pass," Yoan replied dryly.
Gantha and Kala had been quietly listening, not really joining in. Thankfully, their food arrived soon after.
~~~~~~~
It was already 2:30 PM when Kala arrived at the restaurant where he was meeting Kyungmin. The plan was to go to Jihan's house after buying food.
"Did I keep you waiting?" Kala asked Kyungmin, who was focused on his phone.
"Nope, I just got here too. I already ordered the food—it's being prepared now," Kyungmin replied.
"Okay," Kala said as he was about to sit down across from Kyungmin, but suddenly felt like he stepped on something. He bent down to pick it up.
"Whose book is this?" Kala asked, opening it. Inside the cover was a name: Rahesa Adinarta.
Kyungmin glanced at it. "When I arrived, there were still dirty plates here. It probably belongs to whoever sat here before us."
Kala nodded and stood up, intending to hand the book to a staff member, but his attention shifted to some new customers who had just arrived.
"Wait a sec, Khan. I'll look for the owner first."
Two boys about their age had just come in, one of them looking down as if searching for something.
Kala approached them, thinking the book might belong to one of them.
"Is this yours?" Kala asked.
The boy looked up at the book. "Y-yeah, that's mine."
"Thanks," the boy added.
"No problem," Kala replied.
~~~~~~~
The yellowing dusk accompanied Kala and Kyungmin on their way to Jihan's house.
When they arrived, they were warmly welcomed by the host.
"Sorry we're late, Han. Your friends must've gone home already," Kyungmin said.
"Nope. All my friends are girls anyway—you wouldn't really fit in with us," Jihan replied.
"So I'm not cute?" Kala said while doing aegyo.
"I wish I could say that nicely," Kyungmin muttered, rubbing his chest in resignation.
Jihan laughed softly at their interaction. "Alright, alright. My birthday cake isn't finished yet. You want some too, right?"
"Oh, speaking of food—we brought some too," Kyungmin said, handing over the food they bought earlier.
"Thanks for coming and bringing food," Jihan said.
"No worries. We didn't forget the gifts either."
Kala and Kyungmin handed their presents to Jihan.
"Try the shoes first," Kyungmin said.
Jihan opened the box and tried them on. "They fit perfectly, and the design's cute too."
"Good thing you like them," Kyungmin smiled as Jihan walked around a bit wearing them.
"Now try my gift too," Kala said, opening a small box on the table and handing her a necklace.
"The necklace is pretty—just like me," Jihan joked. But as she tried it on, the pearl necklace suddenly snapped, and the pearls scattered across the floor.
The three of them fell silent for a few seconds before Jihan quickly reassured Kala.
"It's okay. I can just replace the string. I can fix it," Jihan said.
"No, Jihan. I'll buy you a new one," Kala insisted.
An awkward moment followed, until Jihan invited them to eat together to ease the atmosphere.
~~~~~~~~~
Kala walked home alone after leaving Jihan's house. The night felt unusually cold, so he slipped his hands into the pockets of his school blazer. In the quiet, eerie atmosphere, he suddenly heard the sound of crying.
"Lyo… why is that ghost crying?"
Kala quickened his pace, searching for the source of the sound. Sure enough, he found Lyo crying alone on a park bench.
"What's wrong?" Kala asked.
"Please help me, Kala."
Through his sobs, Lyo led Kala to another part of the park. Behind some bushes lay a cat's carcass, its body brutally dismembered.
Kala froze at the horrifying sight. "What kind of sick person would do something this cruel to a cat?"
"I want to bury Miko, but I can't," Lyo cried.
Kala looked at him flatly. "Of course you can't. Ghosts can't touch things."
Nearby, Kala spotted a hoe that looked like it belonged to a gardener.
"I'll bury the cat. You just wait on that bench," Kala said.
"I want to watch," Lyo replied.
"You keep crying—it's distracting," Kala said as an excuse, though in truth he felt sorry for Lyo, who had to experience loss all over again.
"Sorry for troubling you," Lyo said before walking away.
Kala went to work burying the cat. After finishing, he returned to Lyo, who was still sitting silently on the bench.
"Hang in there, Lyo," Kala said gently.
"Thanks, Kal," Lyo replied, then remembered something. "Oh yeah… I've seen one of your friends playing with Miko before. You should tell him—he might look for Miko later."
"Which friend?" Kala asked, confused.
"I forgot his name, but I once saw his name tag. His name's similar to yours," Lyo said.
"My name?" Kala frowned, puzzled.
Lyo thought for a moment before remembering. "Asta? Do you have a friend named that?"
"Oh—yeah, Hasta," Kala replied casually, though unease crept into his heart.
Was what I saw really Miko's necklace?