Haunting Winds

Chapter 1

The bell rang signaling the end of the school day, but the teacher would not be dismissing the class yet, much to the students' annoyance. Mrs. Santos elected to give out reminders regarding the annual stargazing night that Kings and Saints High School held for their 6th-grade classes after class instead of during it. The activity was supposed to bear lessons about astrology for the students, but for them it's just an overnight stay in the school with friends and classmates, sharing stories and junk food until the sun came up.

The event excited everyone. A month ago, each student received a rough, brown, recycled paper which the school was proud of using. It contained notes and guidelines about the upcoming event. At the bottom, a cutaway portion provided space for the parents to sign a waiver holding the school not responsible for any accidents a student might have during the whole affair. A handy thing for the school in case any of the telescopes decide to attack an unsuspecting student that tried to use it.

Sitting at the back of the class, Robert Juan was the most excited for the stargazing event tomorrow. Robert loved the idea of staying up late with his friends inside a building that was empty but for themselves. The cold, quiet night would open up opportunities to scare his classmates with pranks that he loved to pull on unsuspecting victims whether using fake stories, jump scares, or novelty toys sold by the local street vendors just outside the campus. Scaring others was fun for Robert and it was easy for him to do. He had a knack for storytelling. Of course, it also helps when the place already has years and years of urban legends built on top of the school's history.

Even before they step in grade school, every student in Kings and Saints High School has already heard about tales of the school's history and the horrors that come with it. Robert Juan was no different. He was in Kindergarten when his cousin Angelo told him stories about ghosts and ghouls that roam the school hallways. Stories that Angelo claimed he heard from the older students in grade school who had survived such an encounter.

"They look for children who are left alone after class," Angelo said. "That's why you should pray your mom picks you up right after school or you will be left here alone and the ghosts will get ya."

The stories used to scare Robert, until he decided he was already a big boy and wasn't afraid of ghosts. He even felt bigger when he saw his classmates were scared of the stories while he wasn't, so he decided to start telling them even scarier stories. Robert felt big and strong whenever he scared the other kids. He felt he was king of the classroom. Everyone looked up to how brave he was.

"Dude, are you ready for the stargazing event tomorrow?" Robert asked David, his best friend since third grade, who was seated next to him in the last row of seats in the classroom.

"Of course I am," David Dy was short and skinny. He and David had always gotten along in their childhood antics, the same antics that had scored them a couple of visits to the principal's office over the years. "They say the stargazing portion only lasts about an hour and we can just stay up and play the rest of the night. We can even bring video games if we like."

"Pssssh. We can just play video games at home. We should just go around the school the whole night, or we should all totally hang out in the auditorium the whole night, see if any ghosts come up."

David laughed. "Yeah, right. How are we supposed to go exploring when Mrs. Santos is going to be with the class the whole night? We're supposed to stay inside the classroom after stargazing."

"No, she won't. My cousin told me two years ago after their stargazing, their teacher just slept in the faculty room. Besides, how is one teacher supposed to guard both our room and the girls'?"

"Maybe we should just try scaring the girls instead," David suggested with a cheeky smile.

"Ha! Scare Cassandra is what you mean, don't you? You just want to scare her so you can hang around her," Robert teased David repeatedly poking him in the shoulder.