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Chapter Text

Funny how a single jellybean completely changed the course of Shane Madej’s entire life.

His family had moved to Mayview a couple months into the school year. Shane had never even heard of the town before his dad announced he had received a job transfer there, and he was none too thrilled about restarting his life in the middle of nowhere on such short notice.

His dad was excited, though. Overly excited, in Shane’s opinion. The new job came with very few added benefits, and Shane could find absolutely nothing that would make Mayview itself a selling point. He suspected his dad was just putting on an act so that the rest of the family would feel better about the move.

On Shane’s first day of school, his father had clapped him on the shoulder and told him to “make lots of friends,” and Shane had almost laughed out loud. That was just about the last thing he was looking for. He had friends back at his old school. If his dad really cared about his social life, he would’ve realized that and they would’ve never moved in the first place.

His scheme to get through the day without unnecessary social interaction was thwarted by the almost-full school bus. In some places, people were even sitting three to a seat, squished together into a pile of limbs and backpacks. Shane viewed the situation with barely concealed horror. Scanning the bus quickly, however, he spotted a single open seat.

“Mind if I sit here?” he asked the occupant, a short kid with black spiky hair and a galaxy-print backpack. He looked up at Shane with wide eyes.

“Um, yeah, are you sure? I mean, sure! Go ahead.” Although he was already on the far side of the seat, he moved over more, pressing himself against the window.

Shane folded his limbs into the seat with a sigh. He would’ve been content to spend the bus ride in silence, but he could see the other kid working up the courage to say something, and decided to take the initiative himself.

“I’m Shane,” he said, at the same time as the other kid blurted out, “Are you new here?”

“Yeah, I moved here this weekend,” Shane answered. He leaned into the backrest, trying to cross one leg over the other but eventually giving up. One of the people sitting in front of him turned around to glare at him as his knee accidentally jabbed into their back through the seat. He hated buses.

“Cool. I’m Ryan,” his seatmate announced. He gave Shane an uncertain smile, and Shane lifted the corner of his mouth in response.

They lapsed back into silence.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Ryan said suddenly.

“What?” Shane asked, completely bewildered as to where that question had come from.

“Never mind,” Ryan muttered, then turned to look out the window. The rest of the trip passed without a word between them.

When the bus pulled into the school parking lot, Shane tapped Ryan on the shoulder. Ryan visibly startled.

“Hey, do you mind helping me find the office? They told me I could get my schedule there,” Shane brought up. He was starting to realize that a “loner attitude” might not be the best approach to entering an unfamiliar place.

“Oh- yeah, no problem. I can- I can give you a whole tour if you’d like,” Ryan offered.

Shane shrugged nonchalantly. “Sure.” Inwardly, he was relieved.

Ryan beamed like Shane had just made his day. As the pair jostled their way off the crowded school bus, Ryan stuck close by Shane’s side. Now that they were both standing, Shane could truly appreciate their height difference. He felt like he was acting as some kind of human shield for the shorter boy, parting the crowd while Ryan took advantage of his wake. Then he realized that people were only moving out of the way once Ryan was visible behind him.

Strange.

Once they made it off the bus, Ryan grabbed Shane by the arm and started dragging him towards the entrance. “We have to hurry if you want me to show you around before the bell,” Ryan explained.

Shane just went along with it for the moment, since he didn’t know where he was going anyways. Ryan was basically running, but Shane only had to take a couple loping steps to keep up. From what Shane could see, the school was just a greyish, rectangular brick building. The outside was nearly featureless besides the arched entrance and the painted window sills.

Ryan let go of Shane once they were inside, and Shane crossed his arms over his chest so that Ryan couldn’t pull him along again.

“That’s the office right there,” Ryan announced, pointing.
As Shane entered the indicated doorframe, he realized that Ryan was still trailing directly behind him. He shrugged to himself before approaching the vacated front desk, tapping his fingers on the counter while he searched for something to notify whoever was supposed to be sitting there.

“DING DING DING!” Ryan yelled loudly from right behind him, and Shane tried not to jump.

“Here comes the Bell!” exclaimed a friendly voice. A short young woman with wavy blond hair bustled into view, hopping up onto the desk chair and folding her hands on the table. She looked up at Shane. “How can I help you?” she asked cheerfully.

Shane watched as Ryan helped himself to a handful of wrapped candies from a bowl sitting on the desk. “I’m new, and I was told I could get my schedule here?” Shane explained. “Shane. Shane Madej,” he added, peering over at the computer screen while leaning on the counter for when he inevitably needed to correct her spelling. However, she got it on her first try.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Madej. I’m Ms. Bell.” She held out a hand and smiled brightly. Shane shook it. Her hand was surprisingly cold, or maybe his hands were just warm from nerves. The longer he was without his schedule the more he was beginning to feel rushed.

“How come you never have any jellybeans?” Ryan complained. He had already eaten several of the candies.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to find some soon.” Ms. Bell laughed. The printer whirred for a second, and then she handed Shane his schedule. “I trust that Mr. Bergara can show you where you need to go.”

Ryan beamed. “Thanks for the candy Ms. Bell,” he called over his shoulder with a wave, ushering Shane out of the office. As soon as they rounded the corner, Ryan grabbed the piece of paper.

“Hey-” Shane started to say.

“Let’s see… first hour science, second hour math, I don’t have any of those, and… oh. Third hour history.” Ryan suddenly stopped, staring at the schedule for a moment.

“Is there a problem?” Shane asked.

“It’s just… I have third hour history,” Ryan mumbled.

“Oh. Nice. We have a class together.” Shane clapped his hands in front of him.

“Yeah, it’s great,” Ryan answered, but he didn’t sound very enthusiastic. “Oh look! We have English together too!” The smile was back.

Shane gave him a confused look, but said nothing. “Well, where to, tour guide?”

They began to walk around the school, Ryan pointing out important things like the cafeteria and the library and which bathroom to never use because it was always absolutely disgusting. Ryan looked around before whispering, “It’s rumored that it’s haunted.”

“Oh?” Shane raised an eyebrow, trying not to let it show on his face that he thought that was absolutely ridiculous. “Ghost is a lil prankster, huh? Throwing around some toilet paper?”

Ryan nodded seriously, and Shane remembered that he had asked him if he believed in ghosts back on the bus. It was obvious where Ryan fell on that issue.

After the main locations were taken care of, Ryan started showing him where each of his classes were, going in order even though it meant walking up and down more stairs.

“The history classroom is right down that hallway,” Ryan remarked, pointing. “The room numbers are labeled, you should be able to find it. I can wave you down if I see you wandering.”

“We’re not going over there?” Shane questioned.

“Nah, we’re kind of running out of time, and your next class is in the other direction anyway,” Ryan explained dismissively.

Shane looked at his schedule. “Wait, the history teacher’s last name is Professor?” He laughed out loud.

“No, that’s his title,” Ryan corrected.

“But he’s not a professor. He’s a middle school teacher,” Shane argued.

“I don’t know man, that’s what he asks everyone to call him, and I wouldn’t advise doing otherwise.” Ryan looked directly at Shane as he was speaking, and for some reason a shiver wormed its way up his spine. He dismissed the eerie feeling at once. It was just an easily offendable teacher.

“Whatever you say, buddy.” Shane patted Ryan on the shoulder and turned to walk back the way they came.

Ryan was just showing Shane the final classroom, way up on the top floor, when the warning bell rang.

“My class is way across the school,” Ryan exclaimed, panicked. He looked at Shane, and then the stairwell, uncertain. “You can find your way to science, yeah?” he asked as he began walking backwards. Shane nodded hesitantly and Ryan turned and broke into a run.

Shane found the science classroom a couple minutes after class had started. As soon as he walked in, the room grew quiet. The students were clustered around black-countered tables in groups of three or four. He approached the teacher’s desk, aware of the eyes of the class on him. “Sorry. I’m new here, and I don’t know my way around yet,” Shane explained, keeping his voice low. It didn’t do much, since the rest of the room was absolutely silent. “I’m Shane Madej.”

“Yes, I heard you were coming. It’s perfectly alright, for today. This data point should be an outlier, understand?” Her voice was clipped and curt, and her hair was tied back into a neat ponytail. She frowned disapprovingly, but without menace. “Where to put you… Let’s see… Brent! Steven! Sara!”

Chapter Text

“This is Shane. He will be joining your lab group,” the science teacher announced. The rest of the class had gone back to chatting amongst themselves.

Shane made his way over to the table. There wasn’t an open seat, but he spied a stool up against the wall and dragged it over. His lab group watched him, only scooting over to make room at the last minute. They all exchanged glances, and none of them acknowledged his hand raised in greeting. He felt like he was intruding on something.

“Hey,” he tried.

“Hey,” one of the others at the table said, nodding at Shane. His hair was dyed a light pink, and he was wearing a grey loose-fitting sweater. Shane saw the others shoot him a glance.

Finally, the girl with short, curly dark hair and round glasses turned towards Shane. “So,” she began awkwardly. “You’re new here, huh?”

“Yep,” Shane answered.

The third member of the table leaned in closer. He had dark-rimmed glasses and a solid-colored t-shirt. “I wouldn’t make a habit out of being late, by the way. Mrs. Delphi takes tardiness very seriously.”

“I couldn’t find the classroom,” Shane admitted with a shrug. “Not my fault that my guide ran off.”

The others at the table exchanged bewildered looks.

“Huh. Who was it?” the girl asked. Sara, Shane was pretty sure.

“It wasn’t his fault either! He was going to be late for class,” Shane added quickly. “But, um, his name was Ryan.”

The pink-haired boy nodded sagely. “I see you’ve met the Boogara.”

Shane was utterly bewildered, not for the first time that day. “What?”

Sara looked around before leaning in. “Look. That kid is obsessed with ghosts, and he can get a bit… overly defensive about his beliefs. Just… be careful, okay? Don’t feel like you have to humor him, either. Sometimes it’s best to just steer clear.”

“He seemed nice,” Shane objected.

“Yeah, he’s plenty nice. He just gets a little intense, that’s all,” the boy in the t-shirt mumbled. He was looking down at the desk, fiddling with his hands.

Realization lit up in the girl’s eyes. “Oh! I forgot. I’m Sara, by the way, and this is Brent-” she pointed at the boy who had just spoken, “-and this is Steven.” The boy with the pink hair waved. Sara was smiling warmly now, and the rest of the table followed suit. Shane was glad that they were done acting weird around him. It seemed that that was the default mode of everyone in Mayview.

“What’s your next class?” Steven asked. “Maybe we can help you find it.”

“Math,” Shane answered. “With Mr. Newt.”

“Oh, I have that class,” Brent brought up. “We could walk there together.”

“Cool,” Shane replied, trying to hide the desperate relief in his voice.

“We should start actually working on the assignment, guys,” Steven pointed out.

Sara giggled. “Yeah, like we’ve ever done that-” Suddenly she caught sight of Shane. “You’re right Steven, we should get to work.”

Shane rubbed his hands together. “What’re we doing today? Blowing anything up?” he joked.

Brent looked concerned. “No…? We’re just looking at leaves under a microscope.”

“Ugh.” Steven faceplanted onto the desk, burying his head in his arms.

“Are you saying you would rather be creating explosions?” Brent questioned Steven, crossing his arms.

“I’d rather be doing a lot of things,” Steven answered pointedly. “But we can’t. I just wish the thing we had to do was something more interesting.”

“Microscopes are interesting,” Brent insisted.

Shane watched the exchange in silence, regretting speaking up.

Sara slapped her hands on the table to get their attention. “Guys. I know that the situation right now is not… ideal, but we’ll worry about it later, okay? For now, we’ll just do our science work. It’s most likely not going to kill us.”

Shane decided to just be amused by how dramatic his lab group was acting. He was sick of not having any clue what was going on, so he was just going to roll with the punches. He kept that attitude all through the rest of science class, all the way en route to math while chatting with Brent, all throughout math class, even when Mr. Newt was jumpscared by an imaginary number, in fact, all the way up to when Brent turned back at the start of the hallway leading to history class and told him Shane ‘couldn’t miss’ the Professor’s classroom.

This was the second time someone had refused to actually show him which room was the Professor’s, and Shane was starting to get annoyed as he checked the numbers on every doorway. When he reached the spot where, numerically, his classroom should be, there was only a door with a sign taped on it reading “Activity Club.”

“Activity Club?” Shane said aloud. He chuckled to himself. “Very specific.” Suddenly he saw Ryan waving him down, walking the opposite way down the hallway. Shane stayed where he was at, and Ryan jogged over to meet him.

“Hey! How were your first few classes?” Ryan asked cheerily.

“Well, I was late to the first one because I got lost,” Shane mentioned casually.

Ryan winced. “I’m so sorry! I couldn’t be late for gym class or the teacher wouldn’t let me be a team captain,” he explained hurriedly.

“It’s totally fine,” Shane assured him, waving him off. “Brent helped me find my second hour class.”

“Oh. You talked to Brent, huh?” There was something in Ryan’s tone that Shane couldn’t read, but clearly he didn’t approve.

“He seemed nice to me,” Shane replied defensively.

“Oh sure. Yeah, he’s nice. If you like complete and utter traitors, that is,” Ryan snapped.

Shane held up his hands. “Well, geez, I didn’t know you too had history.”

Ryan narrowed his eyes. “Oh, we have history. But right now, you and I have history class.” Ryan started walking down the hallway in the direction Shane had come from.

“Hey, isn’t that the wrong way?” Shane asked.

“Darn. I thought you wouldn’t notice,” Ryan muttered. He rejoined Shane and they began walking towards the next doorway.

“I’m starting to think you have something against history,” Shane commented. “You’ve been acting a little strange.”

“It’s not me who’s strange, and it’s not history I have a problem with.” Ryan turned away from Shane, running his hand along the lockers as they passed.

“Oh, let me guess: it’s that ‘Professor’ dude.” Shane smirked. “Professor what, exactly?”

“That’s for me to know,” came a cheerful voice from behind Shane. He turned to see a short, rotund man with a bright blue mustache and beard. Ryan had hid himself behind Shane at the first sound of his voice. The man’s expression suddenly turned dark, his wide-brimmed hat shadowing his face. His tone became deadly serious. “-And for you to never question again.”

Chapter Text

“Yes sir,” Shane replied, momentarily stunned into respectfulness. As the Professor disappeared into the nearest doorway, Ryan walked in front of Shane, forcing him to stop. He reached up, on tiptoe, to put both of his hands on Shane’s shoulders.

“Listen. You got off to a rough start with the Professor, but there’s still hope for you. As long as you don’t sit anywhere near me.” Ryan’s face was completely earnest.

“Hey, man, it’s okay. I’m fine with sitting next to you. If the teacher doesn’t like me, so what?” Shane countered flippantly, shrugging off Ryan’s grip. He smiled down at Ryan, but the shorter boy didn’t return it.

“You don’t understand. This is for your own good.” Ryan faced away from Shane as he spoke, and his voice wavered.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little dra-” Shane started, reaching towards Ryan.

Ryan spun around angrily. “I’m not dramatic, I’m not overthinking things, and I’m not crazy!” He stormed into the classroom, leaving Shane alone in the hallway and unsure of what to do after that outburst. Eventually, he just shrugged and entered the classroom.

It turned out that Ryan’s insistence that they not sit near each other was a waste of breath, since the only open seats were the ones directly behind, in front of, and to the left and right of Ryan. Shane elected to take the right seat.

As soon as he sat down, the bell rang. Not a single moment of silence passed before the Professor began speaking, jumping up to sit on his desk with his feet dangling over the edge, revealing his bright turquoise crocs. “Gooooood morning class! Today we’ll take an ever-winding look at another chapter in that heavy, heavy book we call history. Of course, I am your beloved teacher, the Professor.”

Shane saw Ryan roll his eyes in his peripheral vision.

The Professor continued, either ignoring Ryan or not seeing him. “Welcome to our new student, Shane Madej-”

The class politely clapped, and Shane ducked his head, not expecting the sudden attention.

“You’re in for a special treat, because today we’re going to be covering the history of our very own little town, Mayview!” the Professor announced enthusiastically. He was met with a chorus of groans.

“We have to relearn this stuff every year,” a voice complained from the back. The voice sounded familiar, and Shane turned around to see that Steven apparently had this class too. He was lounging with his feet up on the desk and his arms behind his head.

The Professor crossed his arms. “Oh? Well if you’re so astute at this subject, I guess we can switch up the lesson plan. From now on, you all are going to teach ME about the founding of our town, in the form of a History Challenge!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the room sprang into action. Soon the entire class had organized itself into pairs, faster than Shane thought humanly possible, leaving only him and Ryan. Shane felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned.

“Hey, you can form a group of three with us if you want,” the stranger to his right whispered.

“I’m good,” Shane replied, giving an awkward double thumbs up. He gestured at Ryan. “Ryan still needs a partner, so…”

“He’s used to being alone. Don’t feel obligated to,” the other person replied dismissively.

Shane responded by scooting his desk closer to Ryan’s. Shane wasn’t here to disturb the status quo, by any means, but at this point he was quite frankly sick of people telling him the opinion he should have of things. You’ll love Mayview. You won’t get lost. Don’t talk to Ryan. Don’t talk to Brent. Don’t sit here. Don’t say that. Whatever weird vendetta people had against this poor kid, Shane was determined to make his own decisions. Surely it wasn’t just that he believed in ghosts? Shane might think that the idea of the dead walking the earth was utter baloney, but statistically speaking, Ryan couldn’t be the only one in the school with that notion.

“You really don’t want to-” Ryan started, but was interrupted by the Professor.

“Everyone has a partner? Excellent, excellent. Let’s get cracking!”

Now, Shane knew history. It had always been one of his best subjects, and usually he would rock any kind of pop quiz a teacher could throw at him. The history of a small town he was pretty sure literally no one had ever heard of that he had just moved to that weekend, however? He just hoped that Ryan knew more than he did.

“Now, I know there is a lot of mythology surrounding the founding of our town, so here’s just a reminder that I want to hear about the actual events that transpired, as accurate as possible for something that happened before your lifetimes. Alright. We’ll start off with a question-” The Professor hit a button on a remote that had been lying on his desk, and all of the lights in the classroom suddenly turned red. “Who knows the names of the founders of our town?”

Several hands in the class shot up, neither Ryan nor Shane’s among them.

Shane leaned over. “You don’t know this one?” he whispered.

“Oh, I know it,” Ryan replied. “He’s not going to call on me for this one, though.” Ryan was glaring at the Professor, arms crossed belligerently. He didn’t bother to keep his voice down.

“Oh, I don’t know, Ryan, I might, you’ll never know if you don’t put your hand up,” the Professor responded.

Ryan slowly and deliberately raised his hand.

“Alright. Keith, what have you got?” the Professor pointed towards a member of a pairing farther back.

“May and Gebra Ceres,” Keith answered confidently.

The lights turned back to normal. “Correct!” the Professor exclaimed. “You get a History Point!” Reaching into a desk drawer behind him, the Professor pulled out a bag of jellybeans. He tossed one across the room with terrific aim, and Keith somehow managed to catch it in the air. “Remember, don’t eat it now if you want to count it towards your final score.”

Shane remembered that Ryan had asked the receptionist about jellybeans. “Hey, there’s some jellybeans for ya, Ryan! All we have to do is get a question right!” He elbowed Ryan.

Ryan started flat-out laughing. “I’m sorry,” he gasped in between laughs.

Shane didn’t know what he had said that was so funny.

“Right! So our lovely couple, May and Gebra, set out across the “new land” in search of a little spot of their own so they could start a nice farm. As you do, in the age of so-called “Manifest Destiny.” After traveling for who-knows-how-long, they come across a beautiful valley between two hills, and a huge lake fed by a river that would provide more than sufficient irrigation. Better yet, they wouldn’t have to cross the mountains if they didn’t continue on. However, they still felt uneasy about staying. For they weren’t the first to have set foot in this valley.” The lights turned red again. “Who else occupied this not-so-Promised, instead-arbitrarily-claimed-through-colonialism Land? Was it-”

Ooh. Multiple choice. Now Shane might have a chance.

“-A: Native Americans. B: An old blind woman. Or… C: There were signs of habitation, but the valley was strangely empty.”

Judging from everything else Shane knew about American history, this answer was obvious. He raised his hand.

“Oh, the newbie’s decided to try his hand. That’s awfully brave of you. You just moved here, right?”

Shane lowered his hand. “Yeah. But I’m just going to guess, uh, A, Native Americans.”

“Always a valid choice, but I am afraid that is incorrect. Moving over to your partner, what do you think, Ryan?” The Professor’s tone was neutral, but his eyebrows were raised in an expression of mirth.

“I am going with C: Aliens,” Ryan stated confidently.

Chapter Text

“Ryan- that’s not- that’s not one of the answer choices,” the Professor said, exasperated. “It’s multiple choice, buddy.”

“C: There were signs of habitation, but the valley seemed empty because the former occupants had been suddenly abducted by aliens. That’s the only possible explanation,” Ryan argued, not breaking eye contact with the Professor.

“Well, C is the correct answer, but since you veered so sharply out of the realm of reality, I’m afraid I cannot give your team a History Point. Nice try, Ryan and Shane.”

“That’s the only possible explanation?” Shane questioned Ryan in a low voice.

“Yeah. Trust me, I’ve looked into this. The Professor isn’t giving us all the details,” Ryan affirmed.

Shane bit back a chuckle and shrugged. “Alright. Whatever you say.”

The Professor launched right into his own explanation. “Despite what Ryan says, there are many reasons that people might move out of an area. Many Native American tribes rotated where they were living based off of the seasons, or to let an area of the land rest so it didn’t become too stripped of resources. Yes, there were many belongings left behind, but perhaps they had to leave suddenly because of an approaching storm, or were chased off the land by rivals or jerk settlers who then decided against claiming it for themselves. They couldn’t always carry everything with them. We may not know exactly why the valley was left empty, but I can assure you it has nothing to do with extraterrestrials.”

Some people in the class snickered, but Ryan didn’t turn around. At this point, Shane was beginning to realize why Ryan usually went without a partner. It wasn’t like Shane was contributing anything to the partnership, either. In that regard, maybe they were the perfect team.

“After determining that there definitely wasn’t anyone else around, May and Gebra Ceres set up shop. They found the ground to be just as fertile as they hoped, and despite losing a good chunk of it to pesky wildlife that somehow found their way through any barrier, they ended the year with a bumper crop. That was more than enough incentive to stay, and for years they were the sole inhabitants on the lake. While off in the distance they sometimes saw other settlers making their way west, none stopped anywhere near their settlement. Until early one morning, a stranger knocked on their door.” Red lights again. “Who was this mysterious stranger? A: Johnny Appleseed. B: a blind old woman. Or... C: Someone from the census bureau.”

Once again, several people waved their hands in the air.

“Kate!” the Professor called.

“B, a blind old woman,” Kate answered.

“Correct! A point for you, Kate.” The Professor tossed her a jellybean.

“The old woman introduced herself as Sysley Eldridge, and asked if they would let her stay for a while. May and Gebra agreed. This old woman was prone to wandering in the woods, where she would collect herbs and mushrooms according to their smell. She had a collection of small animal bones that she used for divination. She said she could “feel” the reflection of the moon on the water. All in all, a strange houseguest. However, May and Gebra soon became endeared to their strange companion, and built her a house so she could stay there permanently. After that, their little town began to grow, with other strangers setting up around the lake and on the surrounding hills.”

“Aw, he skipped over the spooky part,” Ryan whispered to Shane.

“We know all of this,” Steven complained. “I thought we were just going to be answering questions today.”

The Professor responded by activating the remote again. “Ok then, Steven, do you know why the town was named Mayview?”

“Because May Ceres became the first mayor, and was mayor for like, forty years or something.”

“Very good!” The Professor tossed him a jellybean. “And does anyone know why she stopped being mayor? Oh, uh, Shane?”

“Did she just die of old age? I don’t think life expectancy was very high back then,” Shane pointed out.

“No, actually, but again, good guess!” The Professor sighed before turning towards Shane’s partner. “Ryan-”

“Actually, many of the recorded years of her being in power take place after she was replaced with an evil clone by the shadow cult who based their religion on cryptography they found in a nearby cave-”

The Professor held up a hand. “Gonna stop you right there, Ryan. Nope, that is incorrect, but since this is an open-ended question I’ll allow another group to steal… anyone... yes, Keith?”

“She was overthrown in a violent coup,” Keith stated matter-of-factly.

“Another History Point for you! Yes!” Another jellybean was chucked Keith’s way. “Mayview has had a complex and colorful history, and not every story ends in sunshine and roses. In this case, the tale of the founding era of our town ends with a BANG! There are several theories as to why the man known to locals as Patrick “Ricky” Goldsworth decided to lead a band of citizens to overthrow the mayor. Some legends paint him as a tragic antihero, pushing back against a tyrant who had gone mad with power. Others depict him as a man whose dangerous ambition was only matched by his cunning charisma. Or maybe he was just a misogynistic jerk who couldn’t handle a woman being in power. Who knows? Did people follow him out of respect? Did they comply out of fear? I’m afraid the answers to these questions have been lost to time.” The Professor paused for dramatic effect. “I’m afraid we’re running out of time, so that concludes our history lesson for today!”

Shane exhaled. “Wow. That was… intense. I was not expecting… any of that, to be honest.”

“You liked that story?” The Professor asked, hopping off the desk to return to his actual chair.

“Yeah. I mean, it was certainly strange, but that’s history, I guess. Weird, but… cool.” Shane glanced sideways at Ryan, but Ryan was looking out the window.

“You know what? I think that statement deserves a jellybean.” The Professor tossed him one, which bounced off Shane’s desk before he caught it. “Not a History Point, though! You can just eat it.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Shane popped it in his mouth.

“What? How come he gave you one?!” Ryan whispered fiercely, after the Professor turned his back to write something on the board.

Shane shrugged. “I dunno. I complimented his story.”

Ryan scoffed. “Ugh. That narcissist.”

“Ya know, it might pay off to maybe, uh, respect the teacher? That could be a factor,” Shane commented.

“Trust me, that’s not the issue.” Ryan was glaring daggers at the back of the Professor’s head.

“Whatever you say. I mean, I guess I’ve rarely ever seen someone more disrespectful to a teacher than Steven was today, but he still received a point,” Shane mused. “He did answer a question right, though. Maybe… try knowing more?”

“Pfft. You’re one to talk.”

“Hey, I just moved here!” Shane protested.

“Okay, I added today’s History Points to the official team tallies, so you may eat your well-earned spoils. Thanks to all who participated, and thanks to all who tried to participate!” The Professor reached into the bag of jellybeans, pulling out a big handful. He then threw them into the air, each gracefully arching upwards before landing among the class. A single jellybean perfectly landed on each person’s desk.

What- How- That’s not-

Shane looked around in bewilderment. That was when he realized that Ryan’s desk was empty. He leaned over. “You still didn’t get one?”

“No. Of course I didn’t,” Ryan muttered.

“I don’t- that shouldn’t be possible. I mean, he just threw them in the air. Clearly it’s just a coincidence,” Shane sputtered.

“Believe what you want.”

“Hey, man, you can just have mine.” Shane picked up the jellybean to hand it to Ryan.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the Professor demanded from behind him. Shane startled, and the jellybean dropped to the floor and skidded away.

“Ryan didn’t end up with a jellybean so I was just giving him mine,” Shane answered. “Now you made me drop it,” he added ruefully.

“Ryan can have a jellybean when he earns a jellybean,” the Professor countered firmly.

Ryan looked down at his desk, seeming to bite back a comeback. His knuckles were white, his fists clenched in restrained anger, but he also looked like he was holding back tears. No matter how sarcastic or contentious he might act in class, clearly he wasn’t immune to the Professor’s words.

That was the moment Shane decided. No matter what was up with the rest of the school, he was going to stick with this kid.

As they walked to lunch together, Shane turned to Ryan. “So… what was the spooky part?”

Chapter Text

Ryan had packed his own lunch and left to go find a table, leaving Shane at the mercy of whatever the school had decided to pass off as food that day. After poking it with his fork, it seemed to be some kind of green bean casserole. Ryan had promised to continue the story once they were seated at the lunch table, because it wasn’t “safe” to talk about it in the hallway or whatever. Shane scanned the lunch room, trying to find where Ryan had ended up.

There he was, in the far back corner. As he made his way there, he spotted the table where Brent, Sara, and Steven were sitting. He quickly looked away but they had already seen him. Sara waved. Shane dipped his head and lifted his lunch tray in acknowledgement, since his hands were full. He hoped that they wouldn’t ask him to sit with them, wanting to avoid the awkwardness that would surely come from it. He doubted he would get an invitation, because somehow the three of them seemed to have taken up all available space at the table. He looked back over at where Ryan was sitting. Ryan was staring at him intently. Shane smiled at him and Ryan smiled back, but didn’t turn around.

As he got closer, Brent addressed him. “You have a place to sit, right?”

“Yep,” Shane answered.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Steven exhaled, and Shane noticed Sara kick him under the table.

As he walked away, he heard Sara question Steven, “What was that all about?!”

“I just meant, like, oh, good, he has a table, he doesn’t have to sit alone, you know?” Steven replied.

“Argh, you guys have been acting so suspicious all day he probably thinks we’re in a cult or something,” Brent complained.

Shane didn’t know why they thought that he couldn’t hear them.

There were three others at the table besides Ryan. Shane didn’t recognize them, but that made sense. He wouldn’t recognize most people in the school. However, some part of him that had been socialized on tropey school-themed movies expected Ryan to be sitting alone for some reason. Shane slid into the seat across from Ryan. “So, um, those three-” he gestured vaguely towards the table where his science partners were sitting- “Are they in a cult?”

“Most definitely,” Ryan answered immediately. “Why, what were they saying to you? Were they trying to get you to join?” His tone was more accusatory than interrogative.

“No, they seemed relieved to get rid of me when I said I had somewhere to sit.”

Ryan scoffed. “Typical.”

“So, who is everyone else here?” Shane asked, trying to change the subject.

“That’s Becki, she’s obsessed with Astrology,” Ryan began, gesturing towards a girl with blue hair.

Becki turned at the sound of her name. “Just because I’m the only one who takes your stupid newspaper just so I can read the horoscopes doesn’t mean I’m obsessed with Astrology.” She looked intently at Shane. “What’s your sign?”

“Uh, Taurus, I think,” Shane replied hesitantly.

“Don’t play Bridge any time soon,” Becki warned in a low voice.

“Um, what?” Shane gave Becki an incredulous look.

“All I know is, all of the horoscopes for the past week have only been about bridges and card games, and Taurus always seems to be the loser,” Becki explained, giving Ryan a dirty look.

“Hey, I don’t write the Horrorscopes,” Ryan replied defensively.

“Oh, right, the stars do,” the other girl at the table teased.

Ryan put his head down on the table. “That’s not what I-”

“So… you have a newspaper?” Shane asked.

Ryan shrugged. “Yeah.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

Ryan looked up, smiling. “Really?! Everyone else thinks it’s lame,” he added quietly.

“I’m Hannah,” the other girl interjected.

“Her house is haunted,” Ryan informed Shane.

“Hmm,” Shane replied. He wanted to roll his eyes, but he knew it would be rude.

“Just because my house is haunted doesn’t mean I believe in ghosts though,” Hannah added quickly, crossing her arms self-consciously.

“Oh, sure, that makes sense,” Shane remarked.

“Down at the end is AJ. He’s a psychic,” Ryan stage-whispered.

AJ took his headphones off, turning towards the others. “Sorry, were you talking to me?”

“Wow. He’s good,” Becki commented.

Shane was beginning to notice a pattern, so he decided to take a stab at it. “Let me guess: just because you’re a psychic, doesn’t mean that you can-”

“-Read minds. Yeah, you’re right. I just sense ghosts,” AJ replied matter-of-factly. “Nice to meet you, Shane.” He put his headphones back on and continued concentrating on his food.

“Oh yeah, everyone, this is Shane. He’s new here,” Ryan announced.

“I just want to get this out of the way, I do not believe in ghosts,” Shane added.

Hannah offered him a high five, and he accepted, even though he was a bit confused.

“So, wait. Just to be clear: you don’t believe in ghosts, but you do believe your house is haunted?” Shane asked.

“I don’t believe my house is haunted, it just is. Do you think I asked for my home to be the site of the Great Millenium Ghost War? Of course not. I was just living my life, doing my civic duty to not believe in ghosts, but it’s hard to ignore it when ghost children send me the blueprints for soul-destroying weapons in my sleep,” Hannah fumed, standing up at the table.

“Okay, okay,” Shane responded, putting his hands up in surrender. “I understand completely. If I ever did see an actual ghost, I would change probably my mind.”

“I haven’t changed my mind. Ghosts aren’t real,” Hannah insisted sharply, glancing around before sitting back down.

“Oh, hey, speaking of, I promised I’d tell you that story,” Ryan brought up.

“Ooh, right.” Shane folded his hands on the table. “What’ve you got for me?”

“I have to warn you, it’s pretty spooky.”

Shane waved him off. “I’ll be fine. I don’t believe in ghosts, remember?”

Ryan closed his eyes, then took a deep breath. As soon as he opened them, he immediately launched into his story. “May and Gebra Ceres had lived in what would later become Mayview for almost a year after they found Sysley Eldridge. However, not a single living soul ever came to settle there.”

Shane chuckled. “Why’s your voice like that?”

Ryan looked offended. “That’s my narration voice.”

Shane shrugged. “Fair enough. Go ahead.” He bit back a laugh.

Ryan gave him a dirty look but continued, exaggerating the voice even more. “Sometimes they would see wagons on the horizon, but no one ever entered the valley. One day, May remarked upon it, and Sysley told her that she was wrong. They weren’t ‘alone,’ there were others all around.” He paused, for dramatic effect, Shane was pretty sure.

“This story again? Haven’t you found a new one yet?” Becki complained.

Ryan ignored her. “The old woman’s answer did not satisfy May and Gebra. They asked her how they could get people to settle in their valley. She said that in order to make room for the living, first they needed to clear out the dead.”

“That part’s still creepy though,” Becki added. “I like that part.”

“The old woman warned them that to do so would be a perilous undertaking, and quite unprecedented. They would need to summon a being that was void of all soul. Its very presence would cause anything haunting the valley to flee, for fear of being absorbed into nothingness. However, it was known to be nearly impossible to control. The old woman suggested that it would be easier if the couple simply found somewhere else to live, if they wanted living company so badly. May and Gebra were determined, and so Sysley reluctantly told them the summoning ritual.”

“Wait, hold up,” Shane interrupted. “How come the old woman was able to find them, then?”

Ryan smirked. “I don’t know, how was she?”

Shane scoffed. “Are you saying the old woman is a ghost?”

“You wouldn’t be alone in your theory.”

“It’s-it’s not my theory! I’m just going off of what you’re telling me! Besides, why would a ghost want to summon a ghost-eating monster?” Shane pointed out. “If ghosts were real,” he quickly added. “Also, May and Gebra were able to find it. So, my actual theory: no one’s a ghost. The old woman is making this up.”

Ryan ignored him and moved on. “In order to summon the void entity, first they needed to gather as many ghosts as possible into one place. Sysley instructed May and Gebra to construct huge pyres on the top of both of the hills. She gave them a secret substance in a small glass vial to pour on one of the fires. Then they waited for a new moon to begin the ritual. The couple journeyed to the top of the first hill, lit a fire, and emptied the vial onto the flame. Then they traveled all the way across the valley to the second hill, where they lit a second fire, and recited the words that the old woman had told them. They could see the light of the other fire flickering in the distance. Then, in a rush of air, both fires extinguished at once. Even the stars seemed to disappear into darkness. After a moment of deafening silence that felt like eons, it was over. The stars returned. The nearby fire relighted itself. May and Gebra rushed back to their settlement to ask Sysley if that meant that they were successful. However, when they arrived, she was nowhere to be found. The very next week, a new family arrived in the valley. Over time, the town of Mayview continued to grow. Sysley Eldridge was never seen again. There’s been no sign of the void creature since, but the number of hauntings in the area has steadily grown. Legends say it will soon return to consume the souls of everyone in Mayview, living and dead.”

“What legends?” Shane scoffed.

“The legends of the internet forums,” Ryan replied, still in the same spooky tone.

Shane raised his eyebrows. “I see. Also, how do we know that Sysley was ever a real person if the only people to meet her were those two?”

Ryan sputtered. “Her existence is not a matter of doubt. She’s mentioned in every telling of our town’s history. She’s a historical fact. You can visit her old house. Her disappearance is documented. She even has a tombstone, even though they never found her body.”

“Well then, that’s a crazy story to come up with just to cover up a crime,” Shane remarked.

“What? Where did that come from?!”

Shane shrugged. “Well this old lady goes missing, the only people around were May and Gebra, it sounds like they needed a way to explain where she went. The Professor said that May was overthrown in a coup later, you’re saying that she wasn’t capable of sketchy things?”

“I told you, that was after she had been replaced by a clone! And if they were just making it up, it didn’t do them much good, since no one ever believed them. The only reason we know about it is because of diary entries by May and Gebra. That shows that they thought it was important for people in the future to know about it,” Ryan argued.

Shane rapped his hands on the table. “Well, it may be made up, but it was a fun story. Thanks, Ryan.”

Ryan looked taken aback. “You… liked it? Then why did you keep making fun of it?”

“I’m not making fun of it, I’m just trying to get you to think about what you’re saying. In my opinion, there’s always a more logical alternative than ghosts.”

Ryan smirked. “Is that a bet?”

“Absolutely.”

“You’re on.”

“If a bet is similar to gambling, your star sign keeps saying you’ll lose,” Becki warned Shane.

“I’m not worried about that,” Shane replied dismissively. “That would involve believing in Astrology.”

“What are the stakes?” Hannah asked.

Shane thought for a moment. “How about… a bag of jellybeans?”

Chapter Text

Shane didn’t see Ryan again until English. He found the classroom easily enough, but he thought that he must have read the room number wrong when he saw that the entire room was completely dark. He was about to walk away when he heard a whispery voice command him to enter.

When he entered the classroom, he realized that a full class of kids already occupied the room, sitting quietly at their desks in the dark. At the front stood a tall, dark silhouette. As his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he saw that the teacher was a young woman with long, straight black hair and dark lipstick. Her clothes were a bit odd- a high-collared black lace dress and a long cape- but he wasn’t going to judge.

He scanned the classroom for Ryan and found him seated in the back corner. Shane slid into the seat next to him. “Hey,” he said in a low voice.

Ryan shushed him. “She doesn’t like noise,” he said in a barely audible whisper.

“I have heard that there is a new student in class today,” the teacher began in a grave tone. “As such, I will once again go over the expectations.” She peered down her nose at the students.

The lights were still off. Were they going to stay that way the entire class?

“I am Ms. Lazarus. Today, like always, is a silent reading day. Silent. All you must do to pass this class is bring your own reading material to class each day. Do not disturb me, and I will not disturb you. Do we have an understanding?” She locked eyes with Shane.

Shane nodded.

“Excellent. Pull out your books, class.” She clapped her hands once.

Shane didn’t have anything to read, so he just pulled out his math textbook. It was the only class so far that had given him a textbook. He squinted at the small text, then raised his hand.

“Yes, young Madej?” Ms. Lazarus addressed him.

“Are we reading in the dark?” he asked quietly. He felt the gazes of his classmates turn to look at him.

She laughed abruptly, then stopped, her tone becoming serious once more. “No, of course not. I will turn on the lamps.” She flipped a switch, and the room was bathed in a low red light from scattered lamps across the room.

It was a bit easier to see the words now, but it was still difficult to read, since it was still a math textbook. He would most definitely bring something different tomorrow, if any of his books were unpacked from the moving boxes, that is.

After around fifteen minutes, he gave up and began looking around the room instead. He noticed for the first time that Sara was also in the class, and so was AJ. AJ had a book open on the table, but his headphones were on and his mind was clearly elsewhere. Sara appeared to be actually reading, but she seemed to be turning the pages a bit too fast. He also noticed a couple people he couldn’t remember the names of from history class.

Then his attention drifted to the front of the room. Ms. Lazarus was lying flat on her back on top of her desk, eyes closed. Was she… sleeping?

Shane tapped Ryan’s shoulder to get his attention. Ryan looked up from the book he was reading. Shane gestured with his head towards the teacher, then pantomimed sleeping. Ryan nodded. Shane shrugged and went back to pretending to read his math textbook, silently drumming his fingers on the table. He put his head down on his book. At least it was the last hour of the day.

When the bell rang, the noise was so loud and startling that his head jerked up wildly, and he looked around for a moment before realizing where he was. Had he fallen asleep too?

Ms. Lazarus had her hands clamped over her ears. She was back to sitting in her chair. “Good day, students. Close the door on your way out, please.”

Shane followed Ryan out of the classroom. Since he was the last one out, he closed the door behind him as softly as he could. “Well, uh, see you tomorrow, I guess.”

“Hang on a minute,” Ryan replied, moving to block Shane’s path. “We have work to do.”

Shane gave him a confused look. “We do?”

“You made a bet, remember? It’s now my job to convince you that ghosts are totally real,” Ryan reminded him. “Um, if you’re not busy,” he added quickly.

Shane didn’t have anything waiting for him besides hours of unpacking boxes and homework he was probably going to skip anyways. He rubbed his hands together. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Great! Here, I’ll bring you to my office.” Ryan started walking down the hallway at a brisk pace, and Shane had to jog a bit to catch up.

“You have an office?” Shane questioned.

“It’s just a supply closet next to Mrs. Delphi’s classroom that was repurposed into space for the ‘Journalism Club.’ Which is just me right now,” Ryan explained. “I mostly use it to store my research.”

Shane nodded. “Ah, I see.”

“It’s really cool though, I promise,” Ryan insisted.

When they reached Mrs. Delphi’s room, Ryan leaned in through the door frame. “Hi, Mrs. Delphi! I’m just showing Shane the Journalism room!”

Mrs. Delphi looked up from a stack of papers she was combing over with a red pen, adjusting her glasses. “Alright. Be quick. I agreed to chaperone on Tuesdays and Thursdays only.”

Ryan nodded and retreated back into the hallway. He rummaged through his backpack before producing a small key on a string. He unlocked the door and held it open for Shane, gesturing proudly inside.

Shane poked his head in. An old PC sat on a narrow table. File cabinets took up most of the remaining room. The walls of the small space were completely covered in newspaper clippings, magazine covers, and printed out black-and-white images. Some of them seemed to be for the aesthetic more than for their actual relevance.

The thing that immediately caught his eye was a large piece of paper with “WHAT IS THE ACTIVITY CLUB” scrawled on it and underlined several times. A web of red string extended outwards from the thumbtack securing the sign to the wall. Tracing the lines with his eyes, Shane found a missing poster with a photo of Brent’s face connected to one of the strands. Most of the other strings only led to small post-its with one or two phrases scribbled on them.

“Why is there a missing poster for Brent?” Shane remarked.

“Because I miss him,” Ryan replied testily. “And I want to know what they did to him.”

“Who’s ‘they?’” Shane asked, before his eyes were drawn once again to the large piece of paper. “Okay, what is the Activity Club? That’s literally the vaguest name I’ve ever heard.”

“I know, right?!” Ryan exclaimed. “All I know is it’s some sort of super-secret special club for only the Professor’s favorite students, and it’s sketchy as heck.”

“Let me guess: you are not one of the Professor’s favorites,” Shane teased.

Ryan sighed. “That’s an understatement. I seriously have no idea what he has against me. Back when- back when it wasn’t just me, it wasn’t so bad.” Ryan picked at a seam on his sleeve.

“So, uh, you said that there’s ghosts in here?” Shane brought up.

“No,” Ryan scoffed. “This is just my office. Where I research the ghosts.”

“Oh yeah, of course. What a silly mistake,” Shane said in a fake-serious voice.

“Anyway, Mrs. Delphi won’t let me show you anything today, but you should come here tomorrow and we can start getting prepared.”

Shane raised an eyebrow.

“For the ghost hunt,” Ryan elaborated. “Here, you can have this for now.” He handed Shane a few sheets of paper stapled together. After a quick glance, Shane identified it as Ryan’s “newspaper.” It was quite professionally organized, actually. He folded it and put it in his backpack.

“Alright. I’ll be there.” Shane waved goodbye to Ryan as he began walking towards the entrance to the school. He didn’t exactly have a ride home, and he hadn’t thought about that before. He entered the main office, and luckily Ms. Bell was still there.

“Is there a phone in here I can borrow?” Shane asked.

“Yeah, of course!” Ms. Bell answered cheerfully. She pushed the corded phone sitting on her desk closer to Shane.

Shane dialed his dad’s number, and waited for him to pick up. “Hi Dad, it’s Shane. Can you, um, can you come pick me up?”

“Where are you?” crackled the voice from the other end.

“I’m at school, still. I joined the Journalism Club,” Shane added.

“Oh. Well, I’m glad you’re making friends!”

“Yeah. Me too,” Shane answered.

“I’ll be right over.”

“See you soon.” Shane put the phone back on the stand with a click. His first day had not gone at all like he had expected, but that wasn’t a bad thing. He pulled out the folded-up newspaper from his backpack and began glancing over it. Not a bad thing at all.