Back in the present, Shin, sitting next to Amanda, looked bored. He glanced right and left, observing the classroom.
"Manda, I'm bored. I'm going to walk around outside, okay?" Shin said.
"Go ahead, don't go too far, and don't cause trouble," Amanda replied.
"Yeah, yeah, got it. See ya, I'll be back for lunch," Shin replied.
"Okay, be careful going out," Amanda replied.
"Creek," Amanda's desk shifted, then suddenly, "Bang!" The classroom door behind them burst open. Amanda stood up and walked to close the door, but when she turned around, all her classmates were staring intently at her.
"Oh... it was the wind, hehe," Amanda said.
"Oh, wind," everyone replied in unison.
"Sit down, sit down! We're in the middle of a lesson. Let's continue," Mr. Bas shouted.
Amanda sat back down, her face a little red with embarrassment for having drawn attention on her first day.
"Stupid Shin, I told you to be careful," Amanda complained in her head.
"Ding teng tung nong," an automatic notification announced it was lunchtime. All the classmates immediately left the classroom. Amanda remained in the classroom alone, unsure where to go. Finally, she opened the lunch she had brought, prepared by her mother that morning.
"Hey!" Shin said, already behind her.
"What? You didn't scare me," Amanda said.
"Not that, look here..." Shin replied.
Amanda turned around, and her legs automatically made her stand up in surprise. Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open because Shin wasn't alone. He had brought a transparent man with a super nerdy face, thick glasses, a bloody head, a crippled hand, and a crooked leg. His uniform was torn beyond recognition and appeared drenched in fresh blood from his broken head.
"What the heck, Shin?! Why did you bring this here?! I'm trying to eat, you're going too far!" Amanda exclaimed, unconsciously shouting loudly.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you shouting? Look over there!" Shin said, pointing behind Amanda.
Amanda turned and saw two classmates staring blankly at her, wondering why she had suddenly screamed when there was nothing there. Amanda immediately turned back around and sat down calmly, pretending as if nothing had happened.
"So, here's the thing: when I was wandering around earlier, he was standing on the field. At first, I thought he was being punished, but it turns out he's already dead. When I asked him, he said he was murdered, but when I asked when and by whom, he couldn't remember. Want to help him?" Shin asked.
"Oh, fine, let's go," Amanda replied, standing up.
She walked out of the classroom, then Shin told Amanda where he found the student's spirit. It turned out to be right near the flagpole. Amanda looked up, seeing the quite high school roof, then she examined the unfortunate spirit's hands and feet. Amanda turned, she saw the uniform of a male student passing in the corridor,
"Hmm, looks like he's been dead for a while, his uniform is different. And it looks like he fell from up there," Amanda thought in her head.
"See? What did I tell you? Just relax, she's sharp," Shin said, patting the unfortunate spirit's back, almost knocking his thick glasses off.
"Ask him, Shin, if he wants revenge," Amanda thought in her head.
Shin appeared to be talking to the spirit, then Shin nodded his head and placed his hand on his bony chin as if he were listening to the spirit's story.
"He doesn't want anything. He just wants to see his younger sister. He says she's in this school," Shin said.
"Oh, what's her name? What's his own name?" Amanda asked.
"Hold on, I'll ask again," Shin replied.
Again, Shin seemed to be chatting with the spirit. Suddenly, the spirit pointed towards the corridor. Amanda immediately turned and saw a young-looking female teacher walking with some files. Amanda immediately chased after the teacher.
"Good afternoon, Ma'am," Amanda greeted.
"Good afternoon. You're the new third-grade student, right? Mr. Baskoro's class?" the teacher asked.
"That's right, Ma'am. What's your name, Ma'am?" Amanda asked.
"I'm Esti, I teach biology. Just call me Ms. Esti. What's your name?" Esti asked.
"Amanda, Ma'am. Excuse me, Ma'am, may I ask you something?" Amanda asked.
"Sure, what is it?" Esti replied.
"Come with Manda for a moment, Ma'am, over here," Amanda pulled Esti's arm, leading her to the middle of the field.
Esti's face looked very confused, but she followed along, pulled by Amanda. Once they reached Shin and the spirit.
"Here, Ma'am," Amanda said.
"Uh, what's here?" Esti asked, confused.
"Did your brother die here, Ma'am?" Amanda asked directly, without further ado.
Esti was immediately startled. She quickly caught her folder, which almost fell due to the shock. She immediately turned to look at Amanda, who seemed to have a faint smile as she looked at her.
"How do you know? It happened so long ago?" Esti asked, confused.
"I know, Ma'am. And if he wants to meet, can he, Ma'am?" Amanda's follow-up question made Esti's folder truly fall to the ground this time.
"You're not joking, are you? I'll be angry," Esti replied, picking up her folder.
"Hey, Manda, why are you asking so many questions? Look, he's already handsome and ready to meet," Shin admonished Amanda.
Amanda turned and saw that Shin had indeed tidied the spirit's hair. Then Amanda held Esti's shoulder, who had just stood up, and closed her eyes. Instantly, Esti's body trembled, looking as if she was possessed because her eyes immediately rolled upwards, and her mouth gaped wide. Shin also held Esti's other shoulder. Esti returned to normal, but she immediately covered her mouth with both hands, and her folder fell again.
Esti saw her brother, still in his high school uniform, standing in front of her, smiling. Tears welled up in her eyes. As his wish had been granted and his ties to the world had been released, the spirit floated and emitted light. Esti could see her brother ascending, waving goodbye to her.
"Is... is that really brother Anto?" Esti asked, turning to Amanda.
"Yes, Ma'am, it's him. Why did he die, Ma'am?" Amanda asked in return.
"Come with me, it's hot here," Esti went back to pick up her folder on the field.
Esti took Amanda to the teachers' room, then she told Amanda what had happened. The incident happened about 17 years ago. At that time, Esti's brother, Anto, was asked by a teacher to retrieve a flag that was stuck in a tree. Anto climbed onto the roof, but when he got there, he saw several naughty students secretly smoking. When they saw Anto, they immediately ran and accidentally pushed Anto.
Anto lost his balance and fell, hitting a tree branch. When he reached the ground, he fell headfirst. Anto died instantly. The naughty students who accidentally pushed him were caught by the teachers and taken to the police station with their parents. After that, they were expelled from school, and the tree was cut down to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
"But you can see him, that's amazing," Esti said.
"Hehe, thanks, Ma'am," Amanda replied.
"Alright then, you haven't eaten yet, have you? You might not have time," Esti said.
"Okay, Ma'am, excuse me," Amanda replied.
After Amanda left, Esti began rubbing her arms. She started to get goosebumps from what had just happened. A male teacher entered the teachers' room and saw Esti looking cold.
"Oh, Ms. Esti, what's wrong? Are you cold? Come outside for a bit, it's hot out there. Is the air conditioning too cold?" the male teacher asked, gesturing towards the air conditioner.
"It's nothing, Mr. Mardi, I just had a spiritual experience, haha," Esti replied.