And then—nothing. They didn’t bring it up again. Not out loud, anyway. A week later, same basement, same couch, same faces. They tried very hard to pretend that the radio didn’t exist. They still watched it out the corner of their eyes though, like it might bite.

Kenji broke the silence first, phone in hand, thumb scrolling. “So, did it turn itself on again?” he asked, not looking up.

“The radio?” Haruto said. “Quiet all week. Not that I’d know. I haven’t stepped down here since… y’know. Ain't no way I’d hear it from upstairs.”

Kenji pushed up from the couch. “Pass me a screwdriver. I wanna check something.”

Haruto frowned but dug through his kit. “Seriously?”

“You made this thing yourself?” Kenji asked, crouching by the corner.

“Yeah. Well… tweaked it. Idea was a radio-slash-phone. Like, if I’m tuned into a station, I could actually talk back.” Haruto handed him the screwdriver, face tight. “Found it in the garage. Old Hallicrafters S-38. Grandpa’s.”

Risa snorted. “Why the hell would you wanna chat with radio hosts?”

“None of your business,” Haruto muttered, ears pink.

Kenji was already unscrewing the side panel. The metal squealed and Haruto winced like it was surgery.

“Dude,” Haruto hissed. “Careful. That’s not finished—”

“What are you even looking for?” Santo asked from the beanbag. He’d been zoning out but sat up when he noticed Kenji leaning in way too close, eyes sharp.

“I googled it,” Kenji said, hunched over the radio. “Looked up Haru’s model. This one's old—like 1940s old. And I think there’s a crystal in here.”

“A crystal? Like, magic rock crystal?” Reiji squinted.

“Can we sell it?” Riku grinned.

“No, idiot,” Haruto cut in. “He means a crystal oscillator.” Everyone just stared at him like he spoke another language.

Haruto groaned. “Okay, listen. These things are like tuning forks. They lock the radio onto a station. Same tech inside clocks—quartz ones. It keeps time accurate. But—” he pointed at the radio—“if they get hit with the right kind of signal or some electromagnetic weirdness, they start vibrating. That sends a pulse through the circuit.”

“So… the radio can talk when it’s not even plugged in?” Karu asked.

“Not really talk. More like… echo. Something strong out there hijacked it. Forced it to react,” Haruto said, puffing his chest a little.

Kenji glanced up. “And how the hell do you know all this?”

“Maybe if you studied instead of punching guys in the hallway, you’d learn too,” Haruto shot back.

Silence. Everyone watched as Kenji kept digging inside. Finally, he pulled out a tiny metal piece and smirked. “Found it. Crystal oscillator. No more ghost radio.” He set it on the table and brushed the dust off his shirt.

Haruto just stared at the radio. “That was my work.”

Kenji sighed and started reassembling it, this time minus the crystal. The rest of the group drifted back to snacks and video games.

“It’s useless now. Won’t turn on again,” Kenji said, proud of himself. “I’ll get you a new radio tomorrow and a phone. A normal one that doesn’t talk back.”

“It’s not the same,” Haruto muttered.

“Quit whining. If you want real inventions, you need better gear. Not antiques from before your parents were even alive.”

“We can keep it in my family’s toolshed,” Risa suggested. “If it’s haunted or whatever, at least it’ll be locked up.”

“Yeah, I don’t need to look at my failed project anymore,” Haruto admitted.

“Let’s drop it off now,” Karu said. “Then hit the river.”

Everyone nodded.

Kenji and Haruto searched for a box. Reiji and Karu loaded their bags into Kenji’s car. Riku and Santo went upstairs for blankets. Risa waited in the car. She was the last to leave the basement.

She slipped the crystal oscillator into her pocket before leaving.

》》》》》》》》》》》》》

They worked on their physics homework in Kenji’s basement. It was Friday night, and Risa said yes to a sleepover since her parents weren’t around to stop her. Every Friday after her dad’s shift, her parents drove to the next town to visit her grandparents. They always came back Sunday evening. They left Risa a hundred bucks and food she could reheat in the microwave. She rarely spent the money. Most weekends she was with her friends, and they always made sure to send Risa off with any food they have.

“How is this homework tougher than Mr. Seita’s finals? Does Ms. Amano think we’re some genius college kids?” Riku groaned, running his hands through his hair.

“It’s easy if you actually listened in class instead of hiding manga behind your book,” Haruto said.

“Easy for you,” Riku muttered.

Kenji tossed his notebook on the table.

“I’m done. Copy it if you want, just don’t bomb the exam later,” he said before heading upstairs to cook dinner and grab snacks. The others followed, except Risa and Haruto.

“You’re quiet,” Haruto said.

“Just tired. This week sucked,” Risa answered.

“Tired? Or hiding something?”

Her stomach sank. Did he notice the missing crystal oscillator?

“Is something going on between you and Santo?” Haruto asked. Risa felt her chest loosen up.

“What do you mean?”

“I asked first.”

“Well… kind of. We’ve been hanging out more. Sharing playlists, late-night calls. But you know me—I don’t want to date anyone. Especially not a friend.”

“Risa…” Haruto’s eyes widened. He dropped his pen. “I was just gonna ask if you and Santo were fighting since you two barely talk when we’re all together. You just exposed yourself!”

“Don’t tell anyone!” Risa said quickly. They both burst out laughing.

She told Haruto how it started. One night Santo found her outside a convenience store in the rain. She had no umbrella and needed to get home fast, or her father would explode on her for being late. Santo handed her his umbrella and told her to text him when she got back. He even joked that if her dad hit her, he’d storm their house, hit him back, and then the two of them would run away somewhere far.

Haruto listened while working through his homework. Then Risa’s voice warped, fading until he couldn’t hear her at all. He figured it was just brain fog. He reached the last question when dizziness hit. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his stomach dropped.

He was still in Kenji’s basement. But Risa was gone. The room looked the same, yet the light had shifted—everything glowed a cold, dark blue. Vines crept across the floor and walls. It was Kenji’s basement, but stripped of warmth, stripped of his friends. He broke into a sweat and called Risa’s name. No answer. His body froze. Then, through the static of silence, he heard her muffled voice shouting for him.

Panic clawed at him. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping it was just a dream. When he opened them, Risa’s hand was on his head. Her voice came through clear now.

The old TV flickered to life. No signal, just grey static hissing.

“I was checking if the TV still works. I asked you about the antenna, but you didn’t respond. I thought I lost you,” Risa said, half-crying.

A loud knock rattled the basement door.

“Why’s this locked? You two doing something dumb in there?!” Kenji shouted.

Risa hurried to unlock it. When Kenji noticed her watery eyes, she quickly said Haruto had been talking about his grandma and got emotional. Haruto caught the lie but didn’t correct her. He looked pale, like he’d seen something crawl out of a nightmare.

He thought to himself that maybe, it was time to see a psychiatrist.