Part 1: Chapter 3

I turned to see Daniel standing there. Great. I could have handled this myself.

"Nancy, cool it," Daniel said, stepping between us. "She's new. No harm done."

He caught my wrist and tugged me away. "Let's go before you start a war on your first day."

"Whatever," I muttered. "She's the one who—"

"I'm coming to your party Friday, Daniel!" Nancy called after us, her voice instantly switching from rage to sugar-sweet flirtation.

Daniel just nodded without looking back and steered me into a nearby classroom where a teacher sat at her desk.

"This is Catherine Blake, Miss Stein," he said, nodding toward me.

Miss Stein looked up and smiled. She was tall and lean, probably mid-twenties, with a flowing floral dress and glasses perched on her nose. "Welcome to Sunnywalk's High, Catherine. Your seat is right in front of Daniel's."

"Thanks," I said, dropping into my chair before turning to Daniel. "How'd you know this was my homeroom?"

He pulled my schedule from his pocket. "You dropped this when you bolted. Looks like we've got some classes together."

"Great," I replied with zero enthusiasm.

"You know, you might want to work on your people skills," Daniel said, giving me a look. "Do you have any idea who you just picked a fight with? Is this how you start at every school?"

I shrugged. "Not my fault she looks like a prep, cheerleader, and Barbie doll all rolled into one tragic fashion disaster."

Daniel's mouth twitched with amusement. "Two out of three right. She's the most popular girl here, and you really don't want her as an enemy."

"Ha! Called it—prep and Barbie wannabe," I said, oddly satisfied. "And I couldn't care less if she hates me."

"Actually, she's captain of the cheerleading squad," Daniel corrected. "The pink ones, specifically. You should be worried."

I rolled my eyes. "And I should be worried of her because...? Most popular girl, head cheerleader—both things I couldn't care less about. What's she gonna do, exclude me from her lunch table?"

"She can make your life hell," Daniel said, looking genuinely concerned.

"That's hilarious because my life already is hell. Bastard stepdad, constantly moving—she'd just be adding sprinkles to the shit sundae." I almost smiled at the thought. "Bring it on."

"She's Bobby's girlfriend," Daniel added, like that explained everything.

"And I care because...?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Bobby's not someone to mess with," he said. "Though his girlfriend's been trying to date me for years."

"That explains exactly nothing," I said, more confused than before. "Why don't you date her? You seem ike someone who would want the most popular cheerleader girlfriend."

"First off, Bobby's my best friend," Daniel said, shaking his head. "And second, Nancy's not even my type. I can't believe you'd assume I'd go for the popular cheerleader cliché. And Bobby can do things most other humans cannot."

"What is your type?" I blurted without thinking. Daniel's smile widened, and I suddenly realized what I'd asked. Shit. "Forget I asked that. So what's the deal with Bobby? What can he do that's so special? Magic tricks or something?"

"That's Bobby's story to tell, not mine," he said. "But I don't mind answering your other question."

"Don't," I said quickly. "I don't want to know."

"Are you sure about that?" He leaned forward slightly, studying my face.

"Yes." Total lie. I was dying to know what kind of girl Daniel would be into. My curiosity got the better of me. "So... have you found your type yet?" Great job, Catherine. Real smooth.

"Not yet," he said, eyes locked on mine. "But there might be a promising candidate."

Before I could process that, an ear-splitting scream cut through the air. We jumped up and raced toward the sound, following the stampede of students heading for the auditorium. When we got there, I froze. On stage was a girl—dead—her head smashed in with blood pooling around her body. My stomach lurched. Then, just like that, she vanished. The blood, the body—gone like they'd never been there at all.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked, turning to Daniel, who'd gone pale.

"These things don't usually happen during school hours," he said, which explained absolutely nothing.

"Okay, but what just happened?" I pressed, trying to get a straight answer. Then it hit me—this had to be some elaborate first-day prank. I scanned the ceiling for projectors but couldn't spot any from this angle. If I wanted answers, I'd need to investigate after hours. Great.

As teachers herded us back to class, my mind raced, and I completely tuned out whatever Daniel was saying.

"Sorry, what? I wasn't listening," I admitted.

"I said the ghost must be getting restless to be active in daylight," he repeated. "Or something triggered it."

"Wait, you wanted me to stay after school to prove this place is haunted, but you just said they don't show up during the day," I pointed out.

"They don't usually appear in the bright hallways," he clarified. "But the basement? That's a different story."

"You know what? I changed my mind. I will stay after school with you," I decided. Time to expose this prank and play detective.

"Are you sure? After what you just saw—wasn't that proof enough?" Daniel asked, giving me a strange look.

"I want to see more. Check some things out," I replied, already feeling I'd regret this decision. "If you don't want to stay, I'll go alone."

"But I thought you had to get home," he reminded me.

"As long as I'm home before Bert, I'm good," I said with a sharp smile.

"Who's Bert?" Daniel asked, looking confused.

"My step-father. I'd rather lock myself in my room than deal with him."

"Oh," he said simply. "So, is this the start of a friendship?"

I couldn't help smiling. "Hmm, I don't know. I'll let you know by the end of the day." Daniel nodded once as we walked into homeroom.