Ryner Stone had mastered the art of sleeping in class, but today his sanctuary at the back of the room was under siege.
"—By the river's edge, she cried and cried," Rita sang softly in a hauntingly melodic voice that echoed inside his head. She floated lazily just above his desk, twirling like a leaf in the breeze.
Ryner cracked one eye open and groaned. "Rita. For the love of sleep. Shut up."
"But I'm expressing myself," she said with a proud grin, hovering upside-down now. "Besides, it's a beautiful song about tragic ghost romance."
"Exactly the reason why I don't want to hear it right now," Ryner muttered, burying his face in his arms.
"Ryner's gonna haunt the classroom before Rita does with his loud snores," Thomas quipped, floating through a nearby window and leaning against the wall like a smug phantom.
The classroom murmured with gossip as Ryner tried to tune them out.
"Did you hear? Ryner got into a fight with Tyler the other day and he apparently won. He's the first person to ever humble Tyler!"
"Yeah, the guy hasn't come back since he got bodied."
"Man, Ryner just stared at him after, too. Like he wasn't even trying!"
Ryner groaned. This was not the kind of fame he wanted.
"—She died in white, kissed by night," Rita continued, her ghostly voice drawing attention from a few students who suddenly looked confused and chilly.
"Did you hear that? Asked a student as a shiver ran down her spine."
"Hear what exactly? Asked the student that sat next to her."
"Would you shut up?! I'm trying to get some sleep here!" Ryner finally snapped, louder than intended.
The room went dead silent.
Ms. McKenzie paused mid-equation at the board. Slowly, she turned, raising an eyebrow.
"Well then, Mr. Stone, if your sleeping schedule is so vital, you can rest outside—with two lovely buckets of water in your hands."
Ryner blinked. "Yes, Ms. McKenzie…" he sighed, dragging himself up and trudging to the hallway like a condemned man.
"Haha! Serves you right, you slacker," Thomas laughed, poking his head through the classroom wall.
"I'm so sorry, Ryner!" Rita cried, flying after him. "I didn't mean to get you in trouble!"
"Sure you didn't…"
She floated next to him as he took his punishment stance outside, arms stretched out with a full bucket in each hand. "But seriously, Ryner, class isn't nap time. You should really pay attention!"
Ryner huffed. "You sound just like Amelia. Both of you are equally annoying. No wonder you were friends."
"Hey!" Rita puffed her cheeks in a ghostly pout.
"He's not wrong," Thomas chimed in with a mischievous smirk as he passed by again. "You two are a total lecture tag team."
Rita threw a spectral punch into his floating jaw. "Shut up, Thomas!"
Inside the classroom, Shimoya quietly raised her hand.
"May I go to the bathroom?" she asked in her usual monotone voice.
Ms. McKenzie waved her off with barely a glance.
Shimoya didn't head to the restroom. Instead, she exited the classroom and walked straight up to Ryner, who was still balancing buckets.
"I'm betting that girl ghost caused your outburst," she said simply, folding her arms.
Ryner gave a tired chuckle. "Yeah… you'd be right."
She looked at him with a rare, softened gaze. "I think it's sweet, though. That you still helping her getting back to normal."
They stood in silence for a moment, not awkward—just quiet. Then Ryner glanced sideways. "You know after we got rid of that ghost that haunted you, you started looking really cute, I guess you're fully recovered now, I'm glad said Ryner with a smile.
Shimoya blinked, cheeks warming. "That's… dumb."
He smirked. "Still true."
Shimoya looked away, smiling despite herself. "Idiot."
Not far off, Rita watched the two of them. A strange pang filled her chest. Her smile faded a little as she gently held her translucent chest.
"Whoa, is that jealousy I'm sensing?" Thomas teased, appearing beside her.
"Wha—No! Of course not!" Rita stammered, punching him in the face again. "I'm dead! I can't feel stuff like that!"
"Sure," he grinned. "Keep telling yourself that."
Ryner's phone buzzed.
He glanced at the screen.
Charlotte:"Meet me at the local park. Noon. I found some important information about Rita's mysterious death. Come alone."
His heart skipped.
"She,she really found information surrounding Rita" Ryner muttered.
Shimoya, standing close, looked up. "Then I'm coming too."
He blinked. "But Charlotte said to come alone."
"I don't care. I told Rita that I'd help too. And I meant it."
He sighed, then nodded. "Alright. Let's go."
Together, they left the school grounds, slipping past the side gate and heading down the familiar dirt path to the park.
Charlotte sat alone on the bench by the swings, arms crossed, expression tense.
As they approached, she glanced up.
"I told you to come alone," she said sharply.
"Her name is Shimoya," Ryner said. "She's a classmate. She knows about the situation with Rita. She's… helping."
Charlotte eyed the two of them, then sighed. "Fine. Whatever."
"I don't really have time for a bunch of kids playing detective, I'm an officer this has got to be breaching some law said Charlotte to herself with a sigh."
She opened her bag and pulled out a folder, handing it to Ryner.
Inside were photo copies of old photographs. One was of Rita—smiling, carefree, eating ice cream, likely taken without her noticing due to the strange angle. Another showed her walking home from school, blurry and zoomed in from afar. A third had her standing near the park fountain.
Ryner's stomach turned. These weren't family photos or photos she was aware of.
"More than likely these were taken by my cousin Charley Buchanan," Charlotte said coldly.
Ryner stared at the photos, his mouth dry.
"I'm not a hundred percent sure but based on the photos he kept of her and his behaviour towards her death maybe he was obsessed with her," Charlotte continued. "And then I found this as well."
She held out her phone and showed him a picture—a pendant, worn and ominous. The edges were cracked, and the symbol in the center looked like a twisted eye.
"I found this in a box buried under his pile of papers in his work desk," she said. "It's the same pendant in this photo Rita wore around her neck. It might somehow be connected somehow. "
The moment Ryner looked at it, something inside him recoiled.
Rita, floating nearby, looked horrified as a memory came back to her. "That's mine, Charley gave it to me" she whispered.
Thomas's eyes narrowed. "No wonder it feels so off."
"It gives me the creeps," Charlotte admitted. "Whatever it is… it definitely connected to her untimely death. I just know it."
Ryner's heart pounded as he looked at Shimoya, then back at the pendant.
He finally spoke. "We're getting close this was the final piece of the puzzle we need."
Charlotte nodded slowly. "Yeah. But Ryner…"
She leaned forward, eyes sharp.
"I think you know more than you're letting on about all this. About what happened five years ago to Rita."
Ryner stayed silent.
Rita hovered behind him, eyes wide with uncertainty and confusion.