School Kojeh

The annual night-time Science Fair at Oakridge Middle School was usually a noisy event full of bubbling volcanoes and glowing neon circuits. Eleven-year-old Leo loved science, but after drinking two large cups of fruit punch, he desperately needed to find the restroom.

Leaving the brightly lit gymnasium, Leo stepped out into the main hallway. The contrast was immediate. The long corridor was quiet, cold, and dimly lit by a few humming overhead bulbs. As he walked toward the back wing of the building, the chatter from the gym faded into a distant, muffled buzz.

Suddenly, the lights above flickered violently and died out completely, plunging the hall into near darkness.

Leo froze. A icy draft swept past his ankles, carrying a faint scent of old paper and dried lavender. *Thump. Thump. Thump.* The sound of a bouncing ball echoed from the far end of the hallway—a hall that was supposed to be completely empty.

"Hello?" Leo called out, his voice trembling slightly. "Is someone there?"

Nobody answered, but the sound of soft, shuffling footsteps began to move down the corridor. Feeling a prickle of goosebumps on his arms, Leo backed up, reaching out blindly until his hand touched a brass doorknob. He quickly pushed the door open and slipped inside to hide, closing it behind him with a soft click.

He clicked on his small pocket flashlight. The beam illuminated rows of dusty wooden desks covered in spiderwebs. Old chalk drawings of solar systems faded on the blackboard. Leo realized he had walked into the old wing's locked room: Classroom 4B.

Then, a quiet voice spoke from the back row.

"Did you come to see the stars too?"

Leo flinched, sweeping his flashlight toward the corner. Sitting quietly at a desk was a small boy who looked no older than ten. He wore a faded yellow striped shirt and sat perfectly still, holding an old leather-bound notebook. His form was strangely pale, almost see-through under the moonlight filtering through the window.

"Who... who are you?" Leo gasped, stepping back against the door.

"My name is Sammy," the boy whispered, his voice sounding like dry leaves rustling in the wind. "I'm just waiting for my parents to pick me up."

Leo remembered a local story he had read on the town's history board. Ten years ago, a very polite, obedient student named Sammy had vanished from the school during a terrible midnight storm. That same night, a tragic accident had taken his entire family away, leaving poor Sammy all alone. Nobody had ever discovered where the lost boy had gone. He had been sitting right here in his favorite classroom for an entire decade, completely unaware of how much time had passed.

"Sammy..." Leo said gently, his fear turning into deep sadness. "Your family... they aren't coming back. And you've been here for ten years."

The ghost boy looked down at his notebook, a silent tear rolling down his pale cheek. "I know," Sammy whispered faintly. "I just... I was always such a good boy. I stayed right where I was told."

Leo took a slow, respectful breath. "You don't have to stay in the dark anymore, Sammy. You can finally rest."

Sammy looked up, offering a tiny, peaceful smile. Slowly, his shimmering form began to fade into glowing motes of blue light, scattering softly into the night air like falling stars until the room was entirely still once more.

Leo stood alone in the quiet classroom for a long moment before turning the handle and stepping back into the hall. The corridor lights blinked back on, warm and bright. Leo walked back toward the noisy gymnasium, carrying a secret he knew he would never forget.