âH-Hold on!â Every root and strand of hair over the 77-A studentâs body strikes upright, body paralyzed at the sudden body appearing and jumping back. Her arms automatically raise, bracing and crossing over her chest in preparation for whatever was to come. A shakey breath struggles through chattering teeth.
Sophie couldnât help but wonder if these circumstances were fate reprimanding her. To avoid the âpopularâ routes on the school campus meant that the foot traffic and amounts of bodies that she mightâve witnessed were removed from her list of anxieties. With all the fuss, noise, and potential to touch, the junior found herself finding alternatives. Spending countless days choosing alternative routes, never walking the same one twice in a week, she thought this was all well thought ofâŠ..Until now.
Well, todayâs predicament came through curiosity and suspicion. Anyone in the right mind wouldnât venture into the old school building, then again, âMad Hatterâ Sophie seemed to an exception to that rule. Rumors werenât her cup of tea â yet, something dark and unsettling lingered and occupied the campus. Several reserve courses students, despite the Academyâs prestige, had some concerning utterances and gossip that rattled her thoughts.
And what was a better way to alleviate these nerves by investigating it herself?
âMiss, please, Iâm not a spirit!â The younger hatter waves her upwards. However, it was a momentâs pause as she absorbs the fact that she may indeed look like a spirit. Sickly form and tendency to lurk, maybe she did look like death. Maybe if her hairs fully grayed out through the hair dye, then sheâll complete the look.
âI promise that Iâm not a specter from a previous class. All that you see is flesh, blood, and alive,â she rushed to explain, hoping the rationale would implore the other to avoid a swing of her arm.
komaru paused in what would have been the first part of her spiritual assault, backing away. â...huh?â she blinked her green eyes, taking in the appearance of the girl in front of her. sheâs definitely not a spirit, as she claims... sheâs not really japanese either, though. maybe sheâs one of the foreign exchange students they get here on occasion, like that princess in class 77?
komaru immediately stiffens into an apologetic bow, bending at the waist. she thinks this girl is older than her, so itâs best to be polite. âiâm so sorry! i was looking for ghosts, and nobody else is around, so i thought...â she straightens back up, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. âi shouldnât have jumped to conclusions. this place has me so on edge...â
thereâs some sort of dark energy. she just canât quite seem to pinpoint it. âum... if you donât mind me asking... what are you doing here? itâs kinda late...â