Episode 9

Standing alongside Mrs. Yasmi, Dara began to introduce herself.

"Hello, my name is Dara Andini, and I recently transferred from Harapan High School. It's a pleasure to meet you all," said Dara, making her introduction.

While introducing herself, she locked eyes with a student, her face turning pale.

"Dara, please take a seat at the empty desk where Julia used to sit; it's the only one available," instructed Mrs. Yasmi.

"But, Mrs., there's someone sitting there," Dara remarked, continuing to stare at the apparently occupied chair.

"Dara! Dara! The seat is empty; there's nobody there," Mrs. Yasmi rebuked, correcting Dara's perception.

Hearing Mrs. Yasmi call out to her snapped Dara out of her reverie, and she acknowledged that the chair was indeed unoccupied.

"I'm sorry, Mrs., I must have been mistaken," Dara apologized and walked towards the desk once belonging to the late Julia.

Dara then proceeded to unpack her books, preparing for the lesson ahead.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and a chill breeze from an unknown source.

Dara occasionally rubbed the back of her neck, attempting to compose herself.

As she started to concentrate on Mrs. Yasmi's teaching at the blackboard, Dara felt the presence of a being standing beside her.

Aware of this entity, she dared not look to the side and opted to simply bow her head.

While looking down, Dara noticed a pair of school shoes beside her desk, not touching the ground, as if suspended.

Realizing that what she had seen initially was indeed a ghostly figure, Dara chose to ignore the apparition.

Noticing Dara's indifference, the spirit of Julia drew nearer to her and whispered hoarsely, "They were cruel to me."

Startled, Dara screamed out loud.

"Leave me alone!" Dara shouted, leaping to her feet and slamming her hands onto the desk.

Every student and the startled Mrs. Yasmi turned their gazes toward Dara.

"What's the matter, Dara?" asked the astonished Mrs. Yasmi, pausing her lesson.

"It's nothing, Mrs.," stammered an unnerved Dara, embarrassed by her outburst.

Resuming her seat, Dara tried to regain her calm.

Shortly thereafter, the school bell rang.

"Alright, class dismissed for today. I'll give you homework—turn to page 10 in your math book and complete exercises 1 to 10 for next week," Mrs. Yasmi directed.

"Oh, Mrs.!" groaned Via and her friends.

"If you don't submit it on time, be prepared to clean the school bathrooms as punishment!" threatened Mrs. Yasmi before exiting the classroom.

The students started leaving the room for a break, including Via and her two companions.

"Geez, Via, if we don't do our homework, we have to clean the haunted bathroom where Julia committed suicide. I'm scared, I don't want that," Erin complained.

"Yeah, Mrs. Yasmi is quite ruthless!" Siska chimed in.

"Well, let's just get it done to avoid punishment, no need to whine about it. Anyway, I'm heading to the cafeteria; anyone care to join?" Via said as she started walking toward the cafeteria.

"Wait for me, Via, I'm coming too!" Siska and Erin called out.

They made their way to the cafeteria together.

Meanwhile, Dara remained seated, taking out the lunch her mother had prepared for her.

While enjoying her meal, she was approached by Mia and Doni.

"Hey, Dara, do you mind if we sit with you?" Doni asked, also carrying his lunch.

"Please, go ahead!" Dara responded warmly.

Mia and Doni joined Dara, eating their homemade lunches together in the classroom.

"You brought homemade food too, Dara?" inquired Mia.

"Yes, I prefer my mother's cooking," Dara answered, savoring her meal.

"Your words remind me of Julia. In this class, it was just me, Mia, and Julia who brought lunch from home," remarked Toni.

"Who is Julia?" Dara asked, puzzled.

"Oh, let me introduce myself. I’m Toni, and this is Mia," Toni said, offering a brief self-introduction along with his friend.

"Nice to meet you, Toni and Mia."

"About Julia you asked before?" Toni revisited Dara's previous question.

"Yes, what about her?" Dara was curious.

Toni began to tell Dara about Julia.

"Julia was a bright student at this school with many achievements, but nobody knows what went through her mind that led her to take her own life in the school restroom. The desk you're sitting at was Julia's," Toni explained to Dara.

Dara, shocked by Toni's account, paused mid-bite, recalling the whisper she had heard earlier.

"What's wrong, Dara? Are you, by any chance, an indigo child capable of seeing spirits?" Mia offhandedly speculated.

"It's nothing. I just remembered something. Why would you think that, Mia?" asked Dara.

"Because I'm suspicious of your behavior. When you were told to sit there, you claimed someone was already occupying the chair, and then, out of the blue, you shouted not to be disturbed, startling everyone, including Mrs. Yasmi," Mia recounted to Dara.

Dara smiled at Mia, impressed with her astuteness.

"You're observant, Mia!" Dara complimented with a smile.

"What happened earlier, though, to make you scream and hit the desk? Tell us. We promise to keep it between us," Toni probed, extending his pinky finger as a sign of trust.

"Alright, since I consider you both friends now," Dara consented, linking her pinky with Toni's.

"Come on, Dara, tell us!" Toni urged.

"I saw a girl with a pale face and wavy hair, wearing glasses, sitting right there on the empty chair, telling me, 'They were cruel to me.' That’s when I screamed," Dara confided to Toni and Mia.

Toni quickly pulled out his smartphone, scrolled through his gallery, and showed a photo to Dara.

"Does the girl you saw look like this?" he queried.

"Yes, that's her," Dara confirmed.

Both Toni and Mia looked at each other, visibly shocked.

"Julia!" they both exclaimed in unison.

"So the person I saw was Julia's spirit?" Dara questioned.

"Yes, Dara, that was Julia's ghost you saw," Mia affirmed.

The thought of Julia's spirit haunting the school was almost unbelievable to them.

"But what did she mean by 'they were cruel to me'?" Dara pondered aloud.

"Julia's death is still a mystery. Rumors suggest she might have been pregnant or that she was bullied, but nothing has been confirmed. Strangely, since her passing, two other students have died within a span of approximately a week," Mia shared the timeline of events at Tunas Bangsa High School with Dara.

Dara listened silently to Mia and Toni’s storytelling.

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