PART 2A

After the incident, I could barely walk. All I could do was drag my feet like a snail to my hostel, crying. My tears could literally fill two buckets. When I finally got to my hostel, I just went straight to bed.

The next day when I woke up, all I prayed for was that it should be a good day because I was really traumatized. I still did not want to stand up from my bed. The weather was nice, but all I could think about was Ethan.

I kept asking myself, *what do I do with him? How do I tell him?"

The truth is that I really like Ethan, not just as a friend but as something more. I smirked and smiled to myself at the same time. But I don’t know if that’s how he sees me. I really do not want to overthink it. Everything is just at stake.

I burst into tears again and used my blanket to cover my head. I pulled it down again, fighting myself on the bed. I was terrified.

But what worried me the most was how the ghost knew his name. All I could do was sigh and say to myself that I would be fine.

I was even reluctant to go to school, but I had to. I literally dragged myself to brush and have my bath.

When I was done preparing, I said to myself, *I don’t want to meet Ethan today. I can just behave recklessly.*

And with that thought, I left.

When I got to school, I walked slowly, almost dragging my feet because I was really not myself. I purposely covered my face and looked down just to avoid eye contact with anyone, especially Ethan.

As I got close to the classroom hallway, I saw him.

I froze. It was like my feet were stuck to the ground. Frightened, I quickly turned around and started walking in another direction.

But it was too late.

He stepped right in front of me and startled me.

“I saw you leaving,” he said.

I just gave him a strange look.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“It’s nothing,” I replied.

He tried to joke. “The Emily I know always smiles.”

He tried to shake the sadness off me, but it didn’t work. Still concerned, he didn’t pressure me too much.

We both walked into the class.

I sat down quietly, my hands resting on my forehead.

"I tried avoiding him today, but it was useless", I muttered.

Ethan is this tall, dark, handsome guy who always wears a warm smile. He’s affectionate even with random people. His caring nature shines through every word.

I almost smiled thinking about him, but sadness returned quickly.

Suddenly I felt someone staring at me from the other side of the classroom.

I didn’t want to turn, but curiosity won.

When I looked, I was right.

It was Ethan.

Our eyes met for a moment before I quickly looked away.

A few seconds later he walked up to me.

“Hey, Emily.”

He asked again if I was okay.

“Yes,” I said quickly.

Then he asked why I gave him that strange look earlier.

“I was just having fun,” I said.

He frowned.

“Fun? What kind of fun is that? Why are you avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?”

Suddenly I stood up.

“Can you just leave me alone!”

The whole class went silent.

Ethan looked shocked.

“I don’t want to talk to you!”

Tears filled my eyes as everyone stared at us in confusion.

I ran out of the class and hid in the hallway, crying.

“Why must I do this? I like Ethan. I can’t hurt him.”

After an hour, I returned to class.

The lecturer asked why I was late, and I told her something came up. She told me to take my seat.

My head stayed bent down so no one would see my swollen eyes.

A few minutes later I felt something strange.

A heavy presence.

Then I noticed someone peeping through the window.

A girl.

She kept pointing at me to come outside.

I had never seen her before.

Slowly, and reluctantly, I stood up from my seat, asked my lecturer for permission, and went outside.

“Hello,” I said.

She didn’t answer.

She simply said,

“Follow me.”

She stopped walking and slowly turned to face me.

The smile on her face didn’t look human

To be continued in Part 2B tomorrow

What do you think the girl wants from Emily?