Chapter 608 Suspicious
"The brown-haired boy," Boo said. "From Class C. The one with the messy hair and the confused face."
Kelpie looked around. "Which one?" he asked.
"The one who fell during the sack race," Boo said.
"Everyone fell during the sack race," Kelpie pointed out.
"He fell the most," Boo insisted.
Kelpie thought about this. "Oh. That one," he said.
"Yes. That one," Boo confirmed.
Rocky tilted his head. "What about him?" he asked. "He seems nice. He helped me pick up my stones when I dropped them."
Boo gasped. "HE TOUCHED YOUR STONES?!" he shrieked.
"Yes," Rocky said. "He was very gentle."
"THAT’S HOW THEY GET YOU," Boo declared.
"Who?" Rocky asked.
Boo lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper. "Exorcists."
The word landed like a bomb in the middle of the blanket.
Everyone stared at Boo.
"Exorcists?" Drake repeated.
"Yes," Boo said.
"Like... ghost exorcists?" Drake asked.
"YES," Boo confirmed.
Kelpie’s water droplets stopped mid-air. "He exorcises ghosts?!" he asked, horrified.
"His whole family exorcises ghosts," Boo said. "His dad. His mom. His grandpa. They have robes. Special robes."
Rocky’s stone face went pale. "That’s terrifying," he said.
"I KNOW," Boo agreed.
Sable grabbed Lucien’s arm. "Lucien, did you hear that?" he asked. "He exorcises ghosts!"
Lucien nodded slowly. "I heard," he said.
"Is Boo in danger?!" Sable asked.
Boo nodded dramatically. "Yes. I am in great danger. The greatest danger. Historic danger," he said.
Drake put down his sandwich. "Did he try to exorcise you?" he asked.
"Not yet," Boo admitted.
"Then how do you know he’s an exorcist?" Drake asked.
"He told me," Boo said.
"He told you he exorcises ghosts?" Drake pressed.
"Yes," Boo said.
"Then why didn’t he exorcise you?" Drake asked.
Boo paused. He thought about this.
"...He said he failed the training," Boo admitted.
Everyone blinked.
"He failed?" Kelpie asked.
"Yes," Boo said.
"What does that mean?" Kelpie asked.
"It means he forgot the chants," Boo explained. "And his symbols look like squiggles. And his dad makes fun of him."
Rocky relaxed slightly. "So he can’t exorcise?" he asked.
"THEORETICALLY," Boo said.
Felix rubbed his temples. "So you’re scared of a failed exorcist who can’t actually exorcise?" he asked.
"I am not scared," Boo protested. "I am strategically concerned."
"His symbols look like squiggles," Felix pointed out.
"SQUIGGLES COULD BE DANGEROUS," Boo insisted.
"Wiggly lines are not dangerous," Felix said flatly.
"THEY COULD BE," Boo argued.
Kelpie tilted his head. "What kind of squiggles?" he asked.
"Cat-on-paper squiggles," Boo said.
"That doesn’t sound scary," Kelpie said.
"IT SOUNDS TERRIFYING TO A GHOST," Boo declared.
Luna, who had been sitting on a bench nearby with her bandaged knee propped up, leaned forward. "Boo, you’re afraid of a boy who can’t even draw straight lines?" she asked.
"HE COULD BE LYING ABOUT THE SQUIGGLES," Boo said.
"Why would anyone lie about squiggles?" Luna asked.
"TO LULL ME INTO FALSE SECURITY," Boo explained.
Sable looked at Lucien. "Is Boo going to be okay?" he asked.
Lucien watched Boo for a moment. "He is eating fries now," he said. "That is a good sign."
Boo had indeed accepted a fry from Kelpie. He ate it very carefully. He still looked serious, but less frozen.
"More fries?" Kelpie offered.
"Yes," Boo said.
He ate three more fries. His expression did not change.
"Sandwich?" Drake offered.
Boo took a sandwich. He ate it. He still glanced toward the brown-haired boy across the field every few seconds.
"What is he doing now?" Boo asked.
Everyone looked.
The brown-haired boy was sitting with his class, eating a sandwich, laughing at something his friend said. He looked completely normal. Completely harmless. Completely unaware that he was being watched.
"He’s eating," Kelpie said.
"Suspiciously?" Boo asked.
"No. Normally," Kelpie replied.
Boo narrowed his eyes. "Too normally," he muttered.
Felix sighed. "Boo, he’s just a boy who failed exorcism training," he said. "He’s not a threat."
"He could be pretending to fail," Boo argued.
"Why would anyone pretend to fail?" Felix asked.
"TO GAIN MY TRUST," Boo said.
"That makes no sense," Felix said.
"GHOST SENSE IS DIFFERENT FROM HUMAN SENSE," Boo insisted.
Rocky offered Boo a small stone. "This stone is very calming," he said. "Maybe it will help?"
Boo looked at the stone. He took it. He held it. He still looked serious.
"The stone is not working," Boo said.
"Maybe you need a bigger stone," Rocky suggested.
"Maybe I need to move to a different country," Boo replied.
Vlad Jr. sighed. "Boo, perhaps you are overthinking this," he said. "The boy has done nothing wrong. He has not attacked you. He has not threatened you. He has simply existed and failed exorcism training."
"THAT’S WHAT MAKES HIM DANGEROUS," Boo insisted.
"How?" Vlad Jr. asked.
"He is waiting. Watching. Learning my weaknesses," Boo said.
"What weaknesses?" Vlad Jr. asked.
Boo paused. He thought about this.
"...My sandwich preferences," he said finally.
Felix closed his eyes. "He doesn’t care about your sandwich preferences," he said.
"Every exorcist cares about sandwich preferences," Boo declared. "It’s in the training manual."
"THERE IS NO TRAINING MANUAL," Felix said.
"THAT’S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO THINK," Boo replied.
Luna laughed so hard she almost fell off her bench. She caught herself, wincing slightly at her knee, but kept laughing.
"Boo," she said, "you are afraid of a boy who failed exorcism and whose dad makes fun of his squiggly lines."
"HE COULD BE LYING ABOUT THE FAILURE," Boo insisted.
"Why would anyone lie about failing?" Luna asked.
"TO MAKE ME LOWER MY GUARD," Boo said.
Sable tugged Lucien’s sleeve again. "Is Boo always like this?" he asked.
"No," Lucien said. "This is new."
"Is it permanent?" Sable asked.
"I hope not," Lucien replied.
After lunch, the games resumed, but Boo was not paying attention.
He was hiding behind a tree.
Specifically, the large oak tree at the edge of the playground. The one with the low branches and the thick trunk that perfectly concealed a floating, paranoid ghost.
His cap was pulled low. His ribbon hung still. His eyes were fixed on Kael.
The failed exorcist.
The boy with the squiggly symbols.
The one who had blessed a cat.
Kael was sitting with his class, eating a piece of fruit, laughing at something his friend said. He looked harmless. He looked normal. He looked like a boy who had never successfully exorcised anything in his life.
Boo did not trust him.
"Any moment now," Boo whispered to himself. "He could start chanting. He could start drawing squiggles. He could—"
Kael yawned.
Boo gasped and ducked behind the tree.
"A YAWN," he whispered. "That’s how they start. A yawn. Then a chant. Then BAM. Ghost gone."
He peeked out.
Kael was now picking at a blade of grass.
"Suspicious," Boo muttered.