---

A multifaceted disco ball glinting in spectacular fashion spun in perfect harmony with the sea of lights it reflected down on the students below. Music's constant and steady reverberations off of the walls and tables. Refreshments and assorted Hors d'Oeuvres carefully laid out on the perimeter. This was the Prom, a formal dance gathering for students to let off some steam and kindle connections with friends and significant others. 

"Woohoo! Oh yeah! Thanks for coming everyone!" the DJ announced over the gymnasium PA system with staccato excitement. "Let's keep the party going with some music you can really move to, yeah? Ladies and Gentlemen wishing to come close, slow dancing will begin very soon!" Young men and women jumped for collective joy in their groupings. Loi stepped through the dance hall slowly searching for Nena blankly.

His black dress jacket and matching slacks weren't his style, but the dress code to attend this event was strict. He added a personal touch with the lilac shirt, but accented it with the school tie, not wanting to appear too showy. "Nena!" he called over to her, catching her smiling face and bright pearl earrings, a dyed flower pinned into her hair. "Hey, I've been looking for you everywhere, glad that I found you."

Nena's lavish tinted mint mid V-necked dress and white gold necklace with a central pearl shone in the dancing light, but the mirth of the scene betrayed her now obvious countenance. She adopted a scowl at the arrival of her supposed 'date' which served to belie any false modesty she would be able to conjure. "Hey Nena, who's this nerd? Hahaha!" her friends yelled derisively from behind and beside her, pointing at Loi.

"O-M-G, yuck! He's so uncool!" a group of upper class students continued. A well-coordinated and additional member of their fold joined and addressed Nena directly, with a clearly matching tie to her dress. "My prom queen, shall we dance? I'm sorry I'm late." Loi was struck dumb by the sudden insults...it was a plot to humiliate him. "What's the meaning of this, Nena?" Loi said in halted tones as he stepped toward her, sensing this night had gone awry.

The other young man put his arm around Nena in response and stared at him. With an aire of superiority dripping from her words, Nena sighed and told Loi the jig was up. "You still don't get it?" She met his eyes and a sinister grin slashed across her face. "Who wants to be asked on a date by some lower class nerd like you?!" She and her cabal began to cackle. 

"Shut up, you damned idiots!" Loi screamed in a rage and stormed away as a cacophony of insults and cackling grew louder behind his back. 'Screw all of you guys...enjoy your shitty little prom...' he thought, throwing up an arm as a faceless goodbye. "Loi!" a voice rang out behind him just as he was about to depart the venue. He turned hesitantly to catch an impressively done-up Jaja in a beguiling ball gown.

"Jaja?" his mouth dropped open. "Is that really you? You look beautiful!" She blushed lightly and bowed her head in thanks, the goldenrod coloured bow on her carefully braided hair bouncing from the motion. She wore dazzling pearl earrings and a matching pearl necklace, decorating her deep blue silken gown with frills above the bodice, looking like a princess.

"Yes, yes, it's me - thank you. Where are you going off to so suddenly?" she asked awkwardly. Loi stared at her incredulously for a beat than half-spat his reply. "What's the point in being here? I don't have a partner, Nena was only playing a cruel, sick joke on me by pretending to lean into my crush on her and now I'm just...so done with everything." Kenta clacked up next to him in his finest black suit and tie, with a carefully pressed shirt. He threw Loi a confident smile.

"Kenta? What do you two mean?" Loi puffed, impressed by the attire and effort, but not fully comprehending what would transpire next. "Don't go home yet, I have arranged a backup date for you...by my good graces." A crowd of astonished faces grew behind Kenta. "Hey..." came a soft voice, as the most elegantly dressed woman materialized in front of Loi. 

"Maya?! You're so...beautiful! It's like a dream come true..." She smiled gently. Maya was lovingly clothed in custom haute couture, a floor length black dress and matching bejeweled neck brooch completed by twinkling glitter-woven long arm gloves, the dress cut generously wide in the bust and exposing her entire left leg. She looked like the wife of a magnate or some sort of upper crust titan, the dress coming to white crests at the floor resembling crashing waves. 

"Wait, what are you doing here, anyway?" Loi asked, still in awe of her splendor. "I was curious about prom and the like, so Jaja brought me to Kenta's and his maids helped me into this outfit. I know it's a bit much, but I'm glad you like it. You're pretty handsome..." she said, blinking to adjust to the lights. Her amethyst hair had been expertly crafted into a high fashion ball style with a precision fringe and painstakingly volumized ends woven upward into bouncing curls.

She offered Loi another felicitious smile. "So, uhm, anyway! Let's just have fun, okay?" Loi nodded calmly, a slight flush across his cheeks. 'She's looking like an absolute vixen...I don't know what I did right in this life to deserve a moment like this. But I'll be damned if I'm going to let it go to waste!' he thought, steeling his resolve against the adversities that lead here. "Yeah, sure...let's make this a night to remember."

"Whoa! Who's this chick, she's hot!" Nena's date marveled, completely taken in by her ravishing attire and brilliant porcelain complexion. Nena thrust a well-placed offending elbow into his arm as her face adopted a sneer. "Ouch!" he yelped. Her friends simply laughed at the gesture as they walked out to dance.

"Well, Maya...shall we?" Loi said, carefully meeting her eyes and extending a tender hand, free for the taking. "I'm quite captivated by your transformation, if you don't mind me saying so." he added sheepishly. She grasped it in return and they walked out onto the dance floor with grace. "You're certainly full of surprises, Maya..." he said as they bobbed in rhythm. 

She bowed her head slightly and fluttered her eyes at him. "Loi, you're too much, you're spoiling me." she eked out. "So hey, I heard you got dumped..." Loi curled his lip a little and then relaxed again. "Yeah, it wasn't meant to be anyway, seems I was just her little puppet to manipulate, she was just fooling me - I was just fooling myself..." he glazed. "I'm used to it."

Maya held Loi's hand tightly in hers and gazed into his eyes affectionately. "Well, she's stupid...she's got no idea how lucky she is even having the chance to stand next to someone like you." They looked over to see Kenta and Jaja sharing a laugh and dancing, caught up in the comfort of it all. That night, the unlikely pair of Loi and Maya were voted the royal couple of the entire event and despite their awkward posture standing on the platform, they smiled earnestly. Maya's crown was most fitting, the icing on the cake after Nena's insult.

The collective crowd cheered them on enthusiastically. "I love you Maya!" Jaja expiated with glee from the front row. "Congrats, buddy!" Kenta yelled over to Loi, who was wearing his dizzy grin and brushing the back of his hair nervously. "You lucky bastard!" someone yelled from inside the crowd, the atmosphere equal parts jealous and congratulatory.

---

Ghosts... Paranormal entities who interact with the natural world... Most people believe in ghosts and say that it's possible that they really exist... Others say they don't really exist and were made up of figments of one's imagination. Ancient tales passed down from generation to generation in hopes of scaring children or teaching them to avoid danger. 

Perhaps these stories are myths, and perhaps they are the truth... Let me ask you, though... Do YOU believe in ghosts? ...because I DO.

***

Loi's frustrations grew as he searched his files. They weren't there. None of them. Not one of the carefully cataloged and organized files was left. He'd taken the time to rip and encode each of the files for his computer and now, just like that, they were gone. There was mischief afoot, and Loi had a pretty big idea who had ought to receive the blame for this. 

"Maya...did you delete ALL of my PC games?!" he roared, shaking the house to its foundations.

VOLUME I: COMPLETE