Inside the plain doors of the canteen, Jaja and Kenta were collectively grousing over the morning's events. "We were late today because of you..." Jaja grumbled. "We even missed their introduction!" Kenta dropped his  head slightly, the words hit their mark like forcefully fired arrows. "I'm sorry...I overslept." he turned toward her without a hint of ridicule or humor. "I was up all night thinking about you." 

Jaja squeezed her palm against her chest and glared at him. "So it's all MY fault now?!" she growled, frustration in her temples, spreading across her face. "No, no! Not like that...that's not what I mean." Kenta mumbled. Bridget raised an arm as an olive branch of sorts between the two bickering friends. "Well...at least we're classmates now, right? That's the important thing! Hehe..." Maya looked at them and smiled in her signature delicate, reassuring way. 

Her eyes moved to her surroundings, slowly absorbing all of the new sights. 'So this is school...there's so many people here...' Suddenly cries of "Kiyaaaa! It's Nena and Roy! They're both so hot!" echoed around the canteen. Loi turned to Maya, ignoring them. "There's so much food you can eat here at the canteen..." She grew excited. "Really?" 

Nena and Roy strolled through the room, soaking in the praise. "The stupid people are always praising us too much again..." Nena told him with a sigh. "Let them, stupid people will always do stupid things." Roy replied. His eyes caught on Maya at the table nearby and he squinted, cold sweat on his face. "Treat me, okay?" she was saying to Loi. "What? I'm broke, remember?!" he cried. Roy stood baffled. "Isn't she that hot chick prom girl?" he said under his breath.

"Huh? ...What's Maya doing here?" Nena said, equally startled. "Haven't you heard the news? There's two new students," classmates around them echoed. Roy broke into a scummy grin. 'There he goes again...' Nena sighed heavily. 'I'm gonna make her mine...hehehe...' he was conniving. Loi stared at with a blank face before he disappeared into the crowd.

"Something wrong, Loi?" Maya leaned in on his side slightly. "It's nothing, Maya." She moved a little closer. "You sure about that?" He turned to face her, not realizing that they were nearly nose-to-nose. They both forced themselves away, flush and rosy. "We'd better get going back to class so we're not late!" Maya sputtered nervously. "Yeah! You're right!" Loi mumbled, nearly mixing up his word order.

---

Resonant tintinnabulation of the school bell indicated the school day had come to a close as the student body exited the building in a rush, exchanging their customary good-byes. "Bye Maya! See you tomorrow!" Bridget, Jaja and Kenta called at her, waving. "Bye Bye!" she yelled back, cheeks feeling sore from all of the smiling she had been up to lately. 

"Take care of our Maya, Loi! You got that?" they lovely scolded. Loi frowned in his characteristic way. As their footsteps padded across the asphalt roadway, Loi turned to Maya with a humble request. "Promise me that you won't use any powers while we're in school." Maya grinned. "Okay..." Loi's volume fell slightly as he scratched his face. "And also...don't go home first, okay? Wait for me..." he said carefully.

Maya stopped walking and placed her hands behind her back. "We're going to be walking home together, right?" Loi looked at the ground. "Right..." Maya studied Loi and a small blush flooded across her cheeks. This is what she was looking forward to, these kinds of school life memories. "We're going to be late for the club meeting, let's go, Loi!" a group of schoolboys yelled nearby. "Just a minute!" he replied.

"Uh, so...yeah...I've got to get to my Manga Club meeting, so...see ya later!" He ruffled the back of his hair with a hand and was also blushing. "O...okay...I'll wait!" Maya said suddenly, sounding excited and surprised. She found a nearby bench and seated herself, whistling and humming to pass the time. "La-la-la-la..." The air shifted, and she felt it.

"Maya chan!" A school boy with a teal coloured shorn head was the source of the comment. "Who are you?" Maya asked, visibly confused. "Heh...who are we?" the boy motioned to his friends behind him. "We are your fans!" This faction of fantatics was called "The Forever Alone Boys," a group of guys who would actively impede romantic advancements on girls they chose to follow. "Eh? Where did she go?" Maya had vanished.

She peeked out from the side of the building, willing them away. Maya was just about to move when she was startled by a rough voice directly behind her. "Hey..." Maya spooked. "Kiyaaaaaa!" she screamed. Roy, who had snuck up on her, held a finger to his lips. "Forget it guys...we'll have to find them another time. Let's go." The group of schoolboys dispersed slowly and the courtyard became still again.

"Hehe...thanks for saving me..." Maya cranked her head around with whited out eyesockets. Roy had closed his at this point and was laughing quietly. "By the way can you lead me to the Manga Club? I'm new here, and I don't want to get lost...or run into those Forever Alone... those guys again...." Maya sheepishly uttered. 

He narrowed his eyes. "Sure, I know where it is..." Maya began to walk with him. "You're a pretty nice guy...I'm Maya, and you are?" He stretched a bit. "I'm Roy." After they had a walked for a bit, Maya didn't think they were any closer. "Uhm, are sure this is the way?" Roy stopped. "Hello? I guess that you don't like to talk that much... Hahaha... Awkward..." Roy looked at her. "We're here." he huffed.

"Good work, Loi! Can you do the details for this character?" a club member held up a sheet to Loi, who was busy working on another, lackadaisical. He perked up all of sudden, hearing a different voice. "Hey Loi!" Maya entered the room, she was beaming. "Did you really draw that? You're amazing!" Loi got modest.

"Yes...I did, thanks. How did you know where my club room was?" Roy stepped in after her, grinning. "I helped her." he puffed. "With that, my work here is done, so I'm going home." He waved at them slightly. "Thanks so much, Roy!" Maya exclaimed, mirroring his wave. "By the way, Maya...be careful next time or I might just steal your heart some day..." She laughed.

"Hahaha! Why should I? You're a nice guy and besides, I don't think you can steal my heart at all since I don't have one..." she chuckled. "Heh! You're a funny one...see ya!" Roy said, bemused. He walked out of the room and was gone, leaving Maya pondering how she was funny. "Funny?" she asked no one in particular. "Pfft..." Loi cleared his throat. "Why are you laughing at me? Hey!" Maya threw her arms up.

---

The next day, the P.E. instructor gathered everyone in the field. "Okay, class...today we're going to play baseball, I will be choosing teams shortly." Bridget leaned close to Maya, asking her over the chatter of the teacher "Do you know how to play baseball?" Maya laughed. "Nope! I sure hope that it's something fun!" The teams were gathered and the game was on. "Play Ball! First batter up, Maya Labo! Step up to the plate, please!" the teacher hollered. 

Maya grabbed a bat and stood on the plate, uncertain of what to do next. "What do I do, guys?!" she wondered aloud. "Just hit the ball, Maya!" her team encouraged. "Woah, she's done for! It's the baseball club's ACE pitcher Nena!" they lamented. Nena wound up a mean pitch in her black baseball uniform, and matching black skirt, gripping the mitt tightly. She made fierce eye contact with the strike zone, rocketing the ball into the catcher's waiting glove.

"Strike one!" the teacher cried out. Maya was stunned, she couldn't even see the ball to BEGIN swinging at. Nena resumed her stance, receiving the ball back, sending another pitch careening in with dizzying speed. "Strike two! One more and you're out!" Nena cackled. "This is too easy." she scoffed. "Grrr...you arrogant girl..." Maya cursed under her breath, stiffening her jaw. She began to search the bleachers with her eyes.

"She's looking at me!" one of the male classmembers said. "No, she's looking at me!" shouted another, argumentative. "Hmm?" Loi met Maya's eyes. She was making odd gestures at him. 'I want to use my ghostly influence just this once! She's pissing me off!' she conveyed, hunching over in a haunting pose. Loi shot her a thumbs-up, permission granted. Nena wound up for the final pitch. 'I'm going to end this...' 

WOOOOOOOSH! The pitch zoomed toward the catcher as Maya swung hard. She stared deeply at the ball, slowing it enough to smash it back, narrowly missing Nena's face, sending it right over her shoulder. "Home run!" the teacher yelled, ecstatic. Nena was speechless, her eyelids pulled apart like canyons. 

Maya made sharp contact with Nena. "That's for hurting Loi...hmph!" she threw the words at her and whipped away to circle the bases. Nena grit her teeth, full of scorn. "Did Maya really hit the ball? It looked like she didn't!" her team speculated. "She hit a home run though..." one classmate interjected. Loi grinned.

---

"Nena's team is actually losing, I can't believe it!" Maya stood on the pitcher's mound, Nena at the plate. 'This cannot be happening...I'm the baseball club's ace! Now she's getting cocky...' Maya mirrored Nena's pitching stance, throwing a rocket at the catcher. CRACK! Nena made contact with the ball, but not before falling into a void of infinite blackness, Maya's malevolent gleaming eye dead center. 'What's this feeling?!' she shuddered, snapping back to reality. 

"Home run!" Nena wasn't moving, her body had locked on the plate, held by some unimaginable force of sheer horror. "Woo! We won! That's the ace for you!" Nena's team celebrated behind her. She dropped the bat to the ground as Maya walked slowly by. "Don't you EVER think of hurting Loi again!" she warned her ferociously, disappearing to greet the others as Nena was still frozen in place. 'There's one thing that I'm sure of...that girl...she's dangerous...'

---

Loi was sitting at his desk poring over books, deep in study when he was interrupted by poking at his back. Maya floated around him, poking persistently and evading his shifting eyes. "I'm busy...what do you want?" Maya flashed a sweet smile. "Hehe...can you help me with my homework? I'm a little lost..." she said, putting her robed hands together. 

"Yeah, I suppose so, since we're classmates and all..." he replied with a long sigh. He explained the concept of algebraic substitution and Maya crashed out on the desk. "I understand why Jaja and Kenta can't stand studying either..." she groaned. "I want to go to sleep..."

Loi twisted his face. "Oh no, we're not done yet." Maya stretched out, closing her eyes and yawning. "Good night..." She began breathing slowly and steadily. "Hey!" Loi snapped at her. "You're such a hopeless ghost..." he huffed, appreciating her sleeping pose and adorable face, a slow doting smile spreading to replace his irritated frown - life with ghosts had its perks.