Finn, Lucy, Hawk, and Sophie regrouped in the classroom, which now felt less like a safe haven and more like a base camp in a haunted amusement park. The walls seemed to pulse faintly in the flickering fluorescent light, and the faint giggles of Ridgewood High echoed like it was alive and… judging them.
Lucy held her phone out like a weapon. "Okay, this is serious. We're going to document everything. If we survive, this will be TikTok legendary. If we don't… at least the ghosts get their 15 minutes of fame."
Hawk shook violently. "I am not being filmed. I refuse! That's it! I'm suing after I survive—if I survive!"
Sophie leaned against the wall, twirling a pen. "Honestly, Hawk, I don't know whether you're more afraid of ghosts or public humiliation. It's hard to tell."
Finn muttered, "Probably both. And the Jell-O. Don't forget the Jell-O."
Lucy started filming the room. The camera feed looked normal at first—just the four of them standing amid scattered papers and a few floating pencils. Then the screen distorted. Faces appeared in the shadows, grinning widely and blinking at random intervals. The floating textbooks now seemed to rotate slowly, almost as if following her camera lens.
Finn squinted at the feed. "Are those… mannequins from the janitor's closet?"
Lucy shook her head. "Not sure. Definitely… not human. But they're waving at me? Or maybe mocking me. It's hard to tell with ghosts."
Hawk screamed as a rolling cafeteria tray zoomed past his head. "I'm done! I'm absolutely done!" He dove behind a table. "I did not sign up for sentient lunch!"
Sophie raised an eyebrow. "Sentient lunch… well, it's more polite than Hawk, honestly."
Finn rolled his eyes. "Let's focus. Clearly, the school is trying to communicate. We just need to figure out how."
Lucy pointed at the hallway. "The shadows—they keep moving toward the gym. Maybe whatever is… haunting this place wants us to follow?"
Hawk whimpered. "Follow? Are you kidding? I'm not following anything unless it's carrying me like a fragile artifact!"
Sophie sighed. "Fragile? You? I don't think anyone is worried about your health. Except maybe the ghosts."
Finn grabbed Hawk's arm and dragged him forward. "Come on, team. Adventure awaits. And by adventure, I mean almost certain doom with a side of laughter."
The hallway stretched unnaturally as they walked. Every time they passed a locker, it creaked open and slammed shut again, like it was guiding them. A soft whispering echoed from the walls, unintelligible but oddly rhythmic, almost like a chant.
Lucy whispered, "See? It's definitely… leading us somewhere. Maybe it's friendly?"
Hawk groaned. "Friendly ghosts don't fling books at you! I think we should ask for a refund on life!"
Sophie flicked a notebook in Hawk's general direction, which floated gently toward him before landing at his feet. "Lesson one: ghosts have manners, but only in their own twisted way."
As they approached the gym, the floating objects became bolder. Textbooks hovered at eye level, pencils rolled like tiny torpedoes, and a cafeteria tray executed a perfect circle around Hawk's head like it was preparing for a game show stunt.
Finn ducked just in time. "Okay… school, if you're trying to kill us, try not to be so theatrical! Some of us like subtlety!"
Lucy laughed despite herself. "Subtle? This is like… a haunted circus. I'm loving it."
Sophie muttered, "I hate to admit it, but I kind of do too."
At the gym entrance, a shadow shifted, darker than the others, with a vaguely humanoid shape. It seemed to beckon them inside. The hallway lengthened unnaturally, stretching like taffy. Finn swallowed.
"Alright… step one: follow the mysterious shadow. Step two: survive the journey. Step three: figure out if this thing has a sense of humor. Step four…" He trailed off, realizing step four probably involved screaming.
Hawk whimpered. "Step four: call a therapist. Step five: call a priest. Step six: run faster than I ever ran in my life!"
Lucy pointed her phone at the shadow. "Step six: get TikTok content for eternity. Don't forget that."
The shadow moved again, slipping through the gym doors as if sliding on an invisible ice rink. The teens followed reluctantly, stepping over floating pencils and dodging playful cafeteria trays.
Sophie muttered, "Honestly, this is better than any field trip. More… interactive."
Finn grinned nervously. "Yeah… interactive death-by-school edition. What could go wrong?"
And somewhere in the shadows, Ridgewood High chuckled again, delighted by its new, utterly bewildered guests.