A light in the wasteland (pt 2)

Along with Mia, the group of friends entered the building and climbed a creaky staircase. A hallway made of uneven wooden planks led them to their classroom, where their homeroom teacher was waiting for the students to arrive.

Haru could hear his classmates murmuring in shock when they saw the blonde girl enter the room. Mia walked up to the teacher and greeted her, and then stood by the blackboard as the final student wandered in.

“Is this everyone?” she asked the teacher, who nodded. Including Mia, there were only eight students in this entire grade, all gathered in this classroom.

“Hello! My name is Mia, an exchange student from San Diego, California.” She grabbed a stick of chalk and enthusiastically started drawing a map of America, pointing out exactly where she came from.

“She’s really going for it, huh?” Renji whispered to Haru.

The teacher looked a bit perplexed as she watched the foreign girl turn some of her annotations into a palm tree. “I think the students have a very... visual idea of your home now. Now tell us a bit about why you chose to come here for your exchange program?”

Mia’s eyes started glowing even more than they did before. “This is a long story.” The classmates braced themselves for another enthusiastic introduction.

She told her classmates about a ghost hunting website PhantomFiles, an online forum where people from all over the world shared stories about haunted places. She took out her phone and showed them she was an Instabook vlogger who visited these places to make videos for her fans. Her screen flashed with pictures of her standing in front of spooky, dilapidated buildings and eerie graveyards, each shot showcasing her trademark excitement.

“That is when I learned about Hanabusa and its infamous ghost story: The Weeping Lantern.”

The classmates looked at each other with uncertain gazes. The name sounded somewhat familiar, but didn’t ring a bell to Haru immediately.

The weeping lantern? He pulled up his brows, unsure if he should admit he had no idea where she was talking about.

“I heard my grandpa talk about that one day,” Daichi whispered, leaning in slightly. The others glanced at him, intrigued but not entirely convinced.

It must be one of those stories the elderly tell to scare the kids…

Mia’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Since I am low-key obsessed with this, I made sure to choose your amazing town for my exchange. Let’s become friends and find a way to meet her!”

The teacher gave her a pointed look, clearly unimpressed. With a derisive smirk, she spoke up. “Thank you, Mia. Please choose a seat, you have plenty of options.”

Mia’s eyes scanned the room and landed on an empty seat by the window, directly in front of Haru. She walked over, sat down, and immediately pulled out her phone to take selfies. With the window as her backdrop, she posed and snapped a photo.

Haru blinked, watching the girl in mild disbelief. Is she really going to vlog in class?

“Can you please put your phone away? I’d like to start with my lesson.” The teacher said with a sigh. She wiped away the remnants of Mia’s doodles and turned to the class, adjusting her glasses as she began the day’s instructions.

Haru tried to listen, but couldn’t focus. His dreamy eyes kept wandering off to the strangely beautiful girl sitting in front of him. His head spinning, trying to remember the story she was so fascinated by.

When the teacher left the classroom briefly, Mia turned around, her eyes contacting Haru’s.

Her mouth opened, asking him a question. “Have you ever seen a ghost here?”

He blinked, being caught off guard by the sudden question. His mind had been wandering between her enthusiasm and the lingering scent of her sweet perfume.

“Can’t say I have,” he muttered, unsure of what else to say. He wasn’t the type to entertain ghost stories. Ghosts were just stories, myths to scare kids into behaving. He’d never put much stock in them.

But as he spoke, something about the way Mia looked at him made him pause. Her eyes were wide, filled with wonder and excitement. For some reason, he found himself unable to dismiss her enthusiasm... Haru couldn’t help but feel charmed by her excitement, sparking a flicker of anticipation he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Maybe it was her confidence or maybe the sense of adventure she promised. Either way, Haru had a feeling this would be the start of something… unexpected.

X

After an arduous day at school, the ringing of the final bell signaled Haru and his friends to rise from their seats and leave the classroom. Out in the courtyard, Haru scanned the crowd for Mia, hoping to catch one last glimpse of her azure-blue eyes. But Haru was out of luck - she had already left the school grounds.

Renji approached Haru with a wide grin. "Look at our Haru, all grown up. You couldn’t take your eyes off the new class Madonna for even a second."

Haru glanced past his friend and responded calmly, "Well, she sits right in front of me, so it can't be helped."

Daichi suddenly jumped in from the side. "But you like her, don’t you?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I mean, I just met her today," Haru said with a shrug.

His friend pinched his cheeks. "Do I see a little red? How adorable… the stoic Haru is blushing. Totally in love."

Daichi clutched his chest dramatically, lost in a daydream about his friend's crush.

"I’ve had enough of this Mia talk already," Ayaka sighed. "Let’s just head home."

She passed the boys, who soon followed after her. Together, the group retraced the same path they had taken that morning.

“A game of chess…” Haru whispered to himself, as he often did, reciting a poem in his head while his friends engaged in a playful conversation about some trivial topic he had no interest in. But this time, it was hard not to get pulled in. Like him, their minds were occupied with thoughts of Mia. To be honest, he couldn’t stop thinking about her either.

“She just wiped away the teacher’s notes… I couldn’t believe how rude she was,” Ayaka complained.

Renji shook his head. “I like how rebellious she is. I think the girls here could learn something from her,” he said, giving Ayaka a pointed look. She frowned back at him.

"The Weeping Lantern..." Haru murmured a little too loudly, drawing his friends’ attention.

He met their questioning gazes. "Do you think that's ever been written down in a book?"

His friends exchanged puzzled looks.

"I’d like to learn more about it," Haru added.

Ayaka cleared her throat. "Are you serious?"

Daichi shook his head. "I doubt it. Time for you to lift your head out of the books and actually talk to people!" he exclaimed, clearly excited.

"Looks like your new girlfriend has you covered already!" Renji teased, pointing ahead.

Mia stood a little further down the path, talking to a couple of elderly villagers. She gestured animatedly, showing them something on her pink phone. The villagers squinted, adjusting their glasses in a polite attempt to help her.

She better not get herself in trouble.

As the group passed by, Mia was still deep in conversation with the elderly villagers. A moment later, she waved goodbye to them and hurried to catch up. Haru stopped, curious to hear what she had to say.

She held up an old black-and-white photograph of a building, then pointed toward a boarded-up structure perched on the hill, looming over the street. There was no mistaking it - it was the same place.

"It’s the sailors' old house... I found it!" she said in a high-pitched voice brimming with excitement.

"Does anyone know a way in?"

Haru glanced at Renji, who simply shrugged.

"I guess a crowbar would do the job," Renji replied.

Daichi’s face lit up, as if an idea had just struck him.

“Actually, I might be able to get us a key.”

Mia’s eyes sparkled.

"Really? You can?" she asked, her expression filled with disbelief.

Daichi nodded confidently.

"You’re awesome! I totally have to tell my followers about this," Mia said, pulling out her phone, her attention immediately consumed by it.

Haru stared at Daichi, who looked like he had a plan. He wondered what it involved.