Chapter Fourteen

Ghost and Ghoul class was not in a basement or dungeon as Airin had half expected. It was in a round classroom on the edge of the school that overlooked an open field. The room was dimly lit, as some specters didn’t like bright lights. The window must have been tinted to darken the room but still allow the view of the field. Airin had seen one earlier wearing sunglasses, but it was probably nice to be able to take them off at the end of the day.

Most of her kind were very little like ghosts or ghouls, but they were often classified together in supernatural books. Airin had never taken a class with others of her kind before. Their mom had taught Airin at home, and Airin was the only child.

A specter floated over to Airin. “I’m Charlotte. Are you a banshee?”

Airin nodded.

The specter called Charlotte smiled at Airin. “I’m glad to meet you. There’s another banshee in this class named Sigh. They aren’t here yet.”

Airin hadn’t met many of their kind since banshees didn’t often congregate with other banshees.

“This class is small,” Charlotte continued, “But it’s pretty fun. I’m an eighth grader, so I’ve been here a year. You must be a seventh grader.”

Airin nodded again.

Charlotte motioned to Airin, and the two crossed the room to join a small group of students. “This is Airin!”

A tiny ghoul dressed all in black said, “Welcome to the Unlivables, Airin! I’m Lee.”

“The Unlivables?”

“Ghosts, Ghouls, Phantoms, Specters, and Banshees is too long to say, so it’s always been called the Unlivables. We don’t have many, but we probably are one of the friendliest supernatural groups at EA.”

Airin let out a long breath. They had never been to school before, but after the rest of the day, Airin had been worried that this class might be even more frightening than their other classes since they’d had so little exposure to other supernaturals. It was a relief to find out that wasn’t the case. “What’s your major, Airin?” “Vocal music,” said Airin.

“For a banshee?” Charlotte said, her smile growing. “That’s probably going to be a difficult road, but we’re behind you. I’m a drama major.” Charlotte pointed at Lee. “He’s also a drama major, but Lee’s a senior, so we’re not in the same classes.”

Airin didn’t know much about other supernaturals, but they wondered why Lee was so tiny.

“I’m Letitia,” another ghost piped up. Letitia resembled a beautiful little girl. “I play the violin.” A transparent violin puffed into her arms, and she played a short melody. It had a haunting beauty to it. Ghosts could draw on other’s emotions to boost their abilities, so Airin guessed that music might be a good way to do that. But it was hard for ghosts to leave the place where they had passed away from the living, so Airin wondered how Letitia managed to attend school.

“Sigh!” Charlotte waved to someone behind Airin. Airin turned to see another banshee a little bit older than them. “This is Airin.

They just started in the vocal music track!”

Sigh met Airin’s gaze with a wave. They were an environmental banshee, formed from the energy of a place, unlike Airin, who was an enchanted banshee. Location banshees often formed in small towns or local areas where extreme tragedies had taken place, but they sometimes formed after very happy events as well.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Anyone could see the faint blue glow of a location banshee, so they often had to hide from normal people. Would be nice to glow, even a little bit. But then Airin’s parents couldn’t do anything in the outside world for the Darklighters.

Environmental banshees mourned those in that small area or those who died of similar causes. But they couldn’t travel, so Sigh must be…

“Hello, Airin. It’s nice to meet another banshee. There have not been many at Eclipse.” They bowed to each other, which was the traditional greeting of a banshee.

“You’re bound to EA?”

Sigh nodded. “I am. Been attending here for thirty years now. You’d think they’d finally let me graduate, but I’m still young.” Sigh had a quiet, musical voice, and they measured each word like it was a note in a melody. Was Sigh a music major, too?

Environmental banshees often measured time in centuries and not years. But it didn’t seem like time moved any faster or slower for them than for a human, so Airin had always found it a bit odd.

“What’s your major?” asked Airin quickly, eager to know if they had music in common.

“Oh, I’ve done piano, cello, and conducting, so far. Maybe I’ll try my hand at playwriting next.”

Another banshee, and they were into music, too? Airin’s parents would probably never believe it.

“You came here with Oliver Darklighter, didn’t you?” Airin was surprised that Sigh knew that.

“I met Oliver the other day.” Sigh rubbed the back of their neck.

“He has some wrong ideas about banshees.”

Airin felt sorry for Sigh. “Yeah, he does. I’m not sure the Darklighters have taught him much about supernaturals. I’m sorry if he was mean to you.”

Sigh gave a slight shake of their head. “He’s not mean, exactly, but he definitely thinks he knows more about banshees than I do. His parents should have taught him that’s not true, doing what they do.”

“I’m sorry.” Airin felt a bit helpless, but they knew exactly what Sigh meant. Banshees didn’t have many talents outside of their voices, but many witches like the Darklighters considered them a sort of proof of their witch lineage or viewed them as a source of extra power, because it required a lot of power to bring a banshee to life. Because so few banshees existed, some witches tried to force environmental banshees like Sigh to serve their family alone, but Airin had never heard of one that had managed it. Mrs. Darklighter was so superstitious that half of what she believed made no sense to Airin.

“Everyone, let’s come to the center.” The teacher had arrived and motioned for them to move to the center of the round classroom. She was a phantom. Most phantoms were vengeful ghosts with a score to settle with the living. Airin wondered how a phantom had become a teacher at Eclipse Arts.

“Welcome, Airin, our only new student this year! I am Beverly Clay. Long ago, I was a new student here, so I know how tired you must be today. We’re going to get to know each other a little bit, and then I will let you all go.”

The students gathered into a loose circle. It was so orchestrated that Airin thought that they must do it often in this class.

“I want this class to be a safe place for everyone, but that requires work from you. You must listen and be understanding, even if some things sound strange to you. Listen and learn first.” Beverly’s voice was velvety and smooth like a radio announcer’s.

“Most of you have had experiences that might be different from those of the other students at this school. That’s okay. Your experience is valid and valuable. You are valid and valuable.”

A painful lump formed in Airin’s throat. They reached up and placed a hand on their neck. Maybe I should sit down? But everyone else was still standing.

“We’ll go around and say our preferred names and pronouns. You can also share a short fact about yourself if you wish.” The teacher gestured around the room. “I am Beverly, my pronouns are she/hers, and I really love old, stinky cheese. Preferably on a sandwich with pickles!”

The whole class roared with laughter. Airin forgot their discomfort and laughed, too.

As they introduced themselves, moving around the circle, most students added a silly fact.

When it was Airin’s turn, they said, “I am Airin, and this is my first year. I like to sing.”

Airin was afraid the other students would laugh at the idea of a banshee singing for fun, but they all applauded and smiled. The introductions moved on to Charlotte, who stood next to them.

Maybe this year won’t be so hard after all. If I can just stay out of Oliver’s way, we can both get what we want here.