Cooper’s enthusiasm rubbed off on the whole gym. As balls flew, the girls cheered on the sidelines and the boys screamed whenever they got a successful hit. Even the teacher was smiling.

Amidst it all, Cooper could see the ghost girl cheering for him by throwing ghost confetti into the air whenever he successfully dodged a ball. Even though his throws were as weak as his salt attack, he was pretty good at evading incoming balls. What was strange was the sad look in her eyes. Maybe she wished she could join in on the game.

The main boss across the line seemed to catch onto this, though, and after two misses, he started targeting Cooper intentionally.

“You’re going down, ghost boy!” the guy shouted, pausing to run a hand through his hair to attract the attention of the girls. Then he rolled a dodgeball on his finger, showing off.

“Not a ghost,” Cooper muttered. “You’re—” He tried to think of a good comeback but couldn’t come up with anything.

“Tell him he’s a gorilla!” the ghost girl shouted at him.

“What?” Cooper hesitated. “That’s mean.”

“That’s the point!” she shouted back. “Do it.”

“You’re…” Cooper turned toward the guy again, gulping. It felt like everyone on the sidelines was waiting to hear his comeback. After speaking to the wall for a good thirty seconds, he had their undivided attention.

“I’m what?” his opponent taunted good-naturedly.

“You’re…” Cooper took a deep breath, then pointed at his face. “You’re a gorilla.”

There were collective gasps around him. The big guy’s face dropped and his ball fell with it.

“Too far, Cooper,” one of the boys whispered. “Cage is sensitive about his appearance.”

He didn’t know that. “But I—” Dang it! He should never have listened to the girl. Everyone was just starting to act nice to him and now he’d ruined it again.

Cooper turned to glare at the girl but stopped when he realized she hadn’t known either. Judging by her surprised and embarrassed expression, she was just getting caught up in the moment.

“No, no. It’s okay!” Cage raised his hand and picked up the ball, readying it for an actual toss this time. “It’s not his fault. The boy’s just salty that I’m gonna win, that’s all.” He wiggled his eyebrows at the reference to salt.

Cooper rolled his eyes, then immediately got smacked in the face by Cage’s ball. Holding back a shriek, he fell onto his back.

Mr. Lassiter blew a whistle. “Cage! No hitting the face! You’re out!”

“But he called me a monkey!” Cage protested.

“No, he called you a gorilla. You’re out. Cooper, do you need to go to the nurse?”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Cooper’s eyes were welling up with tears from the sting on his cheeks and nose. He could see Cage’s concerned face above him, only now feeling bad for crushing him with a dodge ball.

“Yes,” Cooper eeked out, struggling to push himself to his feet. He wasn’t hurt but his pride had taken a blow.

“I’ll carry him, Teach!” Cage called and reached out to do just that.

“No!” Cooper scrambled backwards, not wanting to be picked up by anyone, especially the person who just sent him to the ground. “I can walk on my own.”

“I’ll take him!” the ghost girl said, though she was obviously ignored.

“There will be no picking up of anybody,” Mr. Lassiter said, looking down at his clipboard and marking something on it. “Go to the nurse, Cooper. Get some bandages. Cage, go collect the loose balls while you wait for the game to end.”

Cooper heard Cage groan, then the big guy apologized as Cooper got to his feet and headed for the exit.

“Sorry for hurting you.” He was about to say ‘ghost boy’ again out of habit but held himself back.

“It’s Cooper,” Cooper told him quietly, frustrated by the constant name calling. Now he understood why the ghost girl wanted to tell him her real name. It was sad to be referred to as anything else.

His enthusiasm had dried up by this point. He cared more about escaping this embarrassing situation than learning the girl’s real name now.

“Sorry, Cooper.” Cage trailed along behind him, picking up stray balls as he went. He had five of them piled in his arms by the time Cooper reached the exit. “Let’s do a rematch after school, okay? I’ll let you try to beat me fair and square.”

Cooper paused, a hand on the door. He squinted at the giant teen. “…You just want to redeem yourself for getting eliminated, don’t you?”

“…Maybe.”

“Cage!” Mr. Lassiter shouted his name. “What did I just tell you to do?”

“After school,” Cage repeated, moving to obey the teacher. “See you then. Bring your friends.”

That last part stung more than his cheek. He had no friends to bring.

But another part of him was thrilled that he’d been invited to play with someone after class. That had never happened before. He usually left the school alone and watched the other kids attend their clubs or hang out together. Sure, this was more of a challenge than a friendly invite, but it sent his heart soaring anyway.

Smiling to himself, he opened the door…and came face-to-face with the ghost girl again.

“You did it! You beat him!” she shouted, still monotone but raising her hands. She had cheerleader pom-poms in her grip now but wasn’t shaking them. It was like she didn’t know how to use them. “Now you get to receive the reward you were so excited for.”

“I wasn’t excited,” he countered, passing through her into the hall.

He was a little curious, though.

“Are you going to exorcise me once you learn the name?” she asked.

“Yes.” He honestly wasn’t sure. What mattered was that she thought he would. It might scare her enough to leave him alone.

“Okay.” She trailed along after him, finally shaking her pink pom-poms. She was wearing a cheerleader outfit now, a welcome change from her frilly dresses. Her original outfits were often over the top, like they belonged on a doll instead of a real person. At least this outfit suited the time and place. Maybe she was a cheerleader in her past life.

“It’s Elsie,” she answered simply.

“Oh.” It was cute. “What’s your last name?”

She tilted her head, thinking for a second. “I don’t think I remember.”

Cooper sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “You just said I needed your full name to exorcise you.”

“Oh yeah. Well, I was lying about that part anyway so it doesn’t matter.”

“…What?”

He turned toward her, unable to believe she’d lied, but she was gone. She must have run away.

It was for the best. He preferred being alone…

Huffing, he stomped down the hall, unsure how to feel about the entire turn of events.

Maybe it was better that everyone knew about his ghost-seeing ways from the start. In the city, he always tried to hide it and things were so much worse when he got caught. Now, everyone had seen him talking to nothing and could get used to it. Maybe—

No. They still thought he was weird. Just because everyone was desensitized to his strangeness didn’t mean they’d like him.

He’d have to see how things went at this second dodgeball game. That would decide the trajectory of his school life here.