Chapter 607 Spying
"A cat sat on the paper?" Boo asked.
"Yeah," Kael said. "And last time I tried to exorcise a ghost, nothing happened. The ghost just stared at me. It was very awkward."
Boo stared at him. "So you can’t exorcise me?" he asked.
"I don’t even know how," Kael admitted.
"You could try," Boo offered.
"I could," Kael said. "But probably nothing would happen."
Boo floated a little closer. "Nothing?" he repeated.
"Maybe the ghost would get bored and leave," Kael said. "That’s what happened last time."
Boo considered this. "That doesn’t sound like exorcism," he said. "That sounds like bad conversation."
Kael shrugged. "That’s all I can do," he said.
Boo floated even closer. He was now hovering right in front of Kael’s face, studying him intently.
"So you’re not going to send me away?" Boo asked.
"No," Kael said.
"Not even a little?" Boo pressed.
"I don’t know how," Kael repeated.
Boo stared at him for a long moment.
Then he floated backward slowly.
"I will be watching you," Boo said, his voice serious. "From a safe distance. A very safe distance. Just in case you suddenly remember the chants."
Kael nodded. "Okay," he said.
"And if you make any sudden movements, I will scream and fly away," Boo added.
"I will move slowly," Kael promised.
"Very slowly," Boo insisted.
"Very, very slowly," Kael agreed.
Boo nodded. Then he floated backward across the field, maintaining eye contact the entire time, until he reached the other side.
He hid behind a tree.
Then he peeked out.
Kael was still standing there, looking confused.
Boo ducked back behind the tree.
"He knows my name," Boo whispered to himself. "He knows my NAME. That is dangerous information."
He peeked out again.
Kael had sat down on the grass. He was picking at a dandelion.
"He looks harmless," Boo whispered. "But that’s what exorcists WANT you to think."
The dandelion came apart in Kael’s hand. He looked at the pieces. He shrugged.
Boo watched from behind the tree for the rest of the afternoon.
When Kael participated in games, Boo watched from the opposite side of the field. When Kael laughed with his friends, Boo watched from behind a bush. When Kael fell during the relay race and got back up with grass in his hair, Boo watched from behind a flagpole.
Kael never looked at Boo. Kael never approached Boo. Kael just played games and fell down and laughed and had fun.
But Boo was not fooled.
"Exorcists are patient," Boo told himself. "They wait. They study. They learn your habits. They pretend to be nice so you lower your guard."
He watched Kael help a girl from Class A pick up her fallen beanbag.
"THAT’S WHAT HE WANTS ME TO THINK," Boo whispered.
At the end of the day, when the scores were announced and Class C won overall, Boo watched from a safe distance as Kael celebrated with his classmates.
Kael looked over at Boo. He smiled. He waved.
Boo did not wave back.
He ducked behind the tree.
Then, after a moment, he peeked out again.
Kael was still smiling.
Boo floated there, watching, waiting, ready to scream at any moment.
The afternoon sun hung warm and golden over the playground. The games had paused, the chaos had settled and the sweet smell of food drifted across the field.
Lunchtime.
Children from every class gathered in their sections, sitting on blankets, on benches, on the grass, anywhere they could find space. Servants moved between groups carrying baskets and trays, and the air filled with the sounds of happy chatter and crinkling wrappers.
Class D had spread out a large red blanket near their section. Servants were distributing the food. Drake was already on his second sandwich. Kelpie had somehow gotten water on his fries. Rocky was arranging his food in neat rows before eating. Sable and Lucien shared a plate, Sable eating happily while Lucien ate with quiet precision.
Vlad Jr. had organized the food into categories: sandwiches on the left, fries in the middle, fruit on the right. He had also made a small sign that said "Class D Lunch Zone" and placed it at the edge of the blanket.
Felix was eating methodically, one bite at a time, his expression unreadable.
And Boo was not eating.
Boo was floating above the blanket, completely still, his arms crossed, his cap slightly tilted, his face arranged in an expression of deep, intense concentration.
He looked like he was solving a very difficult math problem. Or like he had seen the future and it was troubling. Or like he had swallowed a bee and was waiting for it to digest.
No one had ever seen Boo this serious. Not during exams. Not during important announcements. Not even during the time he had to write an apology letter to principal.
This was different.
Kelpie was the first to notice. He had been happily dipping his fries in ketchup when he looked up and froze.
"Boo?" Kelpie said. "Why are you making that face?"
Boo did not respond. He did not even blink.
Drake looked up from his third sandwich. His chewing slowed. "Boo? You okay?" he asked. "You’re being weird. Weirder than usual."
Nothing.
Rocky stopped arranging his food. "Is he broken?" he asked. "Should we get a teacher?"
Sable tugged Lucien’s sleeve. "Boo is being quiet," Sable said. "That’s not normal. Boo is never quiet."
Lucien observed carefully. "He is thinking. Deeply," he said.
"Boo doesn’t think deeply," Sable protested.
"Apparently he does today," Lucien replied.
Vlad Jr. put down his sandwich and studied Boo with concern. "Boo, if something is wrong, you should communicate," he said. "Silence is not productive. We cannot help if we don’t know what’s wrong."
Boo remained frozen.
Felix tried to ignore him. He took another bite of his sandwich. Chewed. Swallowed. Took a sip of water.
But he couldn’t help it. His eyes kept drifting toward Boo.
Boo was still frozen. Still serious. Still looking like he was calculating the end of the world.
Felix sighed. He set down his food, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and looked directly at Boo.
"Are you okay?" Felix asked.
The question hung in the air.
Boo’s eyes slowly moved toward Felix. Very slowly. Like an owl turning its head. Like a horror movie villain revealing their face.
"I am thinking," Boo said.
"We can see that," Felix said. "What are you thinking about?"
Boo’s face grew even more serious. His brow furrowed. His lips pressed together. His cap seemed to tilt lower, as if it too was concerned.
"The boy," Boo whispered.
Everyone looked around.
"What boy?" Drake asked, his mouth full of sandwich.