[Ghost] Kasumi's Ward

[Lucifer Force]

[On Student Council and Responsibility]


The door to her dorm room shut with a soft click, Squiggle the mini-golem springing to life to assault his owner with affection. Kasumi giggled and scooped up the tiny thing in her hands, patting him on the head. He tweeted somehow, despite lacking a mouth, and shut his one eye in happiness. Squiggle was a constant companion to Kasumi during her time in her dorm room. The golem was much like a cat in that he loved to lounge and sleep all day, and seemed to understand that the ghost didn't want him to distract other students by bringing him to class. That was alright with him, though. That meant more time on the soft hospital bed. Kasumi had done her best to make it as hospitable as possible, removing some of the obvious medical traits in favor of something more plush and stylish. At Belladonna's suggestion, Kasumi added more light blue to her dorm to make it more cozy and inviting - not that anyone really came to visit her.

Ghosts were, by and large, a relatively minor group compared to other species. The number of ghosts were few and far between, but Kasumi endeavored despite all stigmas. With Belladonna and a new friend, Miss Junko, Kasumi felt she was ready to run for a position on the newly-opened club of Student Council. Kasumi spent the week prior simply setting up her booth and creating the items she would need to give out in order to win votes. While she didn't think it was best to bribe students' votes with trinkets, she knew something had to be done to set her apart from everyone else running. She chose the position of secretary to best suit her needs. A banner made and designed, she picked out some cardboard boxes to produce her booth and get her message out to the student body.

She felt she was capable enough for the secretary position and wanted to explain that to everyone she met. She took the time to meet and speak with students who came to her booth (even Nukpana, who she had a rather unpleasant relationship with) and explain how she was best suited for the role. After campaigning for one week, all of the students in the running for Student Council had to prepare a speech. Kasumi spent several lunch periods simply outlining her speech and practicing. She didn't remember ever being on stage but…she had to try! She thought of all the support she had from friends and managed to deliver a speech she was proud of.

The next thing she knew, she was on Student Council! Kasumi was overjoyed and quickly went to work on her duties. They set up an elaborate welcome party where someone, unfortunately, spiked the punch and herds of pink elephants ensued. Just thinking back on it made the ghost's head hurt in nostalgia (for she couldn't actually feel pain, but still). Arel came in to clean up the mess after everyone sobered up and such things were not spoken of again. A very interesting way to start her shift on Student Council.

Amidst all the planning and preparation was the ever-present homework and class schedule. Kasumi signed herself up for as many classes as she felt she could handle, excluding the classes that catered to abilities she simply did not have. Kasumi was saddened that she couldn't learn magic, but other classes were just as interesting. There was an etiquette and culture class, a literature class, a class on controlling one's shadow and many others. She was very interested in several and the amount of clubs to join were endless as well. Kasumi tried out and actually made it onto the Fearleading squad! She was relieved and incredibly surprised. While she didn't have any muscles to stretch or work out, she tried her best and the Fearleading captains seemed to recognize that. Indeed, things were certainly looking up since the beginning of her time at the Academy.

Kasumi set her homework and books onto the hospital bed and ran a hand through her hair. She had an essay to write about her favorite book and how it paralleled her own life. The problem was, she didn't have much life at all. Perhaps she could find something about a character with amnesia, or someone who started their life over? Kasumi had been to the library a great many times, but she'd have to search the shelves again for the sake of her classes. Tapping her chin, she smiled at her pet who waited anxiously for more affection. She reached out and patted it on the head, pondering another book to read. Oh, and she needed to write an essay about a culture she had long forgotten. Perhaps Miss Junko could assist? That would be interesting.

(Note to self: 802 words.)  

[Lucifer Force]

[Said That You'd Remember...]

Lack of memory used to bother Kasumi. She would sit sometimes, alone in the ghost dorm main area, pondering things such as the meaning of unlife, the reason for non-existence and where on earth she had come from. She was very relieved when she found friends at the Academy and felt she would be utterly lost without them. It was often said that ghosts had the propensity to dwell on things in the past, or be incredibly focused on something. If they focused for too long, they would become sad or angry, which was why there were so many things to do at the Academy. The dorms were held at a constant warm temperature to keep things comfortable. Kasumi was quite thankful to the faculty for that. Smiling, she sighed and reclined into the sofa on which she sat. She had a small diary in her lap and was contemplating writing about her current status. She much preferred to write on paper rather than her computer. She reserved that specifically for homework assignments and nothing else. Nowadays though, students were using the spiderweb to communicate with one another more often than actual speech. Sometimes it worried Kasumi, but she resigned herself to not worry about it.

Right then, she and Miss President Rain were planning a dance. Yes, a dance! A dance to end all dances. She wanted something amazing and was planning and plotting everything with her undead companion. Miss Rain was a delight to work with since she was so open to many ideas. If it sounded interesting, Rain was all for it. They were planning a love-themed dance, bloody and red and pink and wonderful. Kasumi had made lists upon lists of preparatory things to be done, including decorations, posters and the like. They had to spread the word first, but Kasumi knew the best way to do that would probably use this Groanspring everyone keeps talking about. Tapping the serpent pen against her chin, Kasumi jotted down a few things to do – postcards, perhaps that board she’d heard so much about… a singles board, was it? Miss Belladonna would love something like that. Oh, and they would need a dress code! Or perhaps a theme would be a better idea, yes. Black, red, white and pink. They would also need a band…

Oh, perhaps The Barbed Doctor and the Organic Nation could make another guest appearance? Kasumi would have to work on her singing, though, and would have to run that by Miss Rain. It would save them from having to pay for a disc jockey, if anything. Maybe Arel could be a DJ!

Hmm. Perhaps not.

Kasumi frowned. No, there would have to be many more preparations to be done. The dance was scheduled several weeks in advance and they would have to set up sound and speakers, and reserve the gym from Miss Professor Red. Yes indeed. Kasumi jotted down more things to the list. It was simple things like her position on the Student Council that she was really thankful for. It gave her so many things to think about that dragged her mind away from dwelling on things from her past she couldn’t remember. Smiling, she silently thanked the Academy as a whole for providing her with a nurturing environment. Sure, most students would vehemently disagree with her, but Kasumi didn’t care. She was happy here. It had taken her a very long time to reach this point of contentment, but with good friends by her side and things to occupy her mind, she felt incredibly happy.

The ghost pursed her lips, watching as several ghosts started to congregate around the fire. It was a frequent occurrence, as the fire was warm and inviting. Ghosts didn’t fear it like most undead did. More often than not, ghosts could be relied on to go anywhere that didn’t involve something that would somehow tamper with their ectoplasm. Kasumi was thankful for that too. When she first arrived in Amityville, her outlook on life was incredibly negative. She thought she was at a severe disadvantage to not possess muscles or skin or an appetite. But really, now that she should about it, she was at a great advantage over more corporeal students. She could go anywhere and do practically anything, all while maintaining structural integrity. Kasumi giggled at that thought and the other ghosts turned around to regard her.

She nodded to them and lifted her pad of paper. “Would you mind assisting me? I’ve got a plan with Miss Rain but I admit to ignorance when it comes to music… If we have a dance, what sorts of songs would you like to hear played? It would be a love-themed dance, but we’d want to recognize those without dates as well, you see.”

One ghost tilted his head with an awkward smile. “You always talk like that, Kasumi. It’s kinda weird.”

A second nodded. “Yeah, it’s like you’re our professor or something.”

Kasumi felt herself blush (or rather, she would have blushed had she possessed the capacity to do so). “Oh no! I just… I guess it’s force of habit?” she offered, smiling nervously. Did she really talk too professionally? Still, she had the Student Council to represent, so she felt it was her duty! She had a reputation to uphold, after all. She tapped the pad of paper again to direct attention to it.

A poltergeist clapped her hands. “Oh, I’ve got a great request!”

“Me too!”

“Oh oh me three!”

Kasumi started to make notes. This dance was going to be spooktacular!

Note to self - 930 words  

[Lucifer Force]

[Missa La Stella]


Horobi had grown accustomed to her rantings and ravings to his pink, wispy form. In fact, he tried his best to encourage his mistress and roommate to divulge her thoughts in any given fashion. She was much too depressed when she first arrived in the ghost dorms and the pink wisp had wandered through the walls to find her. She’d often stare blankly at the Skelevision, as if it was the key to all the memories and happiness she’d lost. Now, though, she had brightened visibly after spending countless months at the Academy. If the minipet could feel pride, he certainly would have. Now the onryo would spend time deciphering the inner workings of the Skelevision (at least, in a superficial fashion) and would practice phasing in and out of it. For some reason, this seemed like the right thing to do. She’d also pop out of toilets in the bathroom on occasion, but that was only to fix clogs that so often made themselves at home. The bathroom’s smell never bothered her. It was a blessing to not have a nose!

Currently, Horobi was fixated on Kasumi’s pacing through her dorm room. She would phase through whatever object she happened to be near when she finished one lap and started another. She’d turn, then turn again, pivot and change direction as she added and subtracted from the list she was making. Countless lists, always in a constant state of editing. Her current list was that of song titles as given by many members of the ghost dorms. Kasumi put comments next to each one as she paced.

“Look Horobi! Everyone is very excited about the prospect of a dance. They’ve even provided me with a playlist of requested songs. Do you think they’d mind if the student bands got together and played there too? I’m sure it would save us on the budget. Speaking of which…” The ghost wandered over to her desk, covered with parchment of varying lengths and picked up another sheet. “The budget Miss Rain was asking for is still under construction, but if we make the vast majority of everything, we’ll save quite a bit… Oh, do you know anything about music equipment?”

Horobi would have shrugged, had he shoulders. What would a minipet know about dances? The pink wisp simply blinked at her and Kasumi laughed.

“You’re right, what am I thinking?” Shaking her head, Kasumi returned to the list and made a few more adjustments. “Either way, perhaps Miss Rain still has some of the equipment from the Battle of the Bands. If Mr. Malodore wouldn’t mind, we could bring Barbed Doctor and the Organic Nation back together for the duration of the dance. Amjee shouldn’t mind too much because there won’t be violence involved. At least, I hope.” Kasumi looked up, standing halfway into her bed. Horobi floated around her head like a halo. “Speaking of which, do you think chaperones would be necessary? Since this is a dance about love, Nukpana may need someone to watch him at all times…”

Indeed, just he thought of the skinwalker being unsupervised made the ghost frown and shiver. Definitely not a good idea. Returning to her list, she started to check off items. Decorations would be needed, but most of the budget would go into the music. She’d have to speak to Miss President Rain about that before assigning a monetary value to it. “Either way, I think the idea of a dance is a very good idea. The position of Student Council is a limited time thing, you know. I want to make a good impression on the student body as a whole. Students haven’t really come to me with suggestions, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have good ideas. I’d like our last time together as Student Council to be a good one, you know?”

Horobi nodded with his whole body.

“I wonder who Ultradeth is? Whoever they are, they certainly show up on the list of requests fairly often. I should probably listen to the radio more often. I wonder where it is?” She stopped to walk to a trunk full of odds and ends she’d collected from the Lost and Found Bin. It was one of her favorite places to shop, so to speak, and contained so many treasures that she had to start a collection of them. Smiling, she opened the lid and began to rummage. Tossing some things to the side (as there was certainly no logical way to arrange all this stuff - there was too much size variation!), it took the ghost a good few minutes before she found the radio.

“Ah ha! Look Horobi, now we can tune in and see what all these students are talking about on this list. I’m sure I’d need to screen some of these songs for appropriateness.” Placing the radio on her bed, Horobi moved to the side to examine the thing as Kasumi went to plug it in. “No doubt Nukpana would suggest something utterly vile and grind on poor Miss Shehk. It would be an embarrassment.”

Walking back to the face of the radio, Kasumi began to play with the knob in an effort to find a good and popular station. As soon as something tuned it, it blasted a very cheerful, if somewhat shocking, set of lyrics.

“IF YOU WANNA BE MY UNDEAD LOVER
YOU GOTTA GET WITH MY GHOULS---“

Kasumi blinked. “Somehow, I’m not sure that should be on the list.” She snatched up the parchment and crossed off ‘Spice Ghouls’.

Note to self - 927 words  

[Lucifer Force]

[It's My Turn to Dream]


It had recently come to Kasumi's attention that she would need to, or rather wanted to, come up with some sort of career goal for the future. She'd been to the career counselor and finished the faculty assessment assignment presented to her, but at the time, she didn't think much of it. At the time, she wasn't sure at all what she wanted to do. Her concern was the fact that she had to complete the assignment, not what it actually entailed. Now that she was back in her dorm room, she was pacing again. Horobi watched her as she moved from one end of the room to the other, one hand on her chin and her other arm supporting the first. Deep in thought, the only thing Kasumi had pinpointed during this whole time was the fact that she felt not only obligated, but required to help people out of the simple desire to do so. She wanted to assist the newly dead with their transition into Halloween if at all possible. It made her happy to show Holly, a very new ghost, around the innards of the school. She wanted to be like Nurse Cricket, who tended to the wounds of students who passed into her office. Sadly, Kasumi didn't possess a FEAR that could heal anyone. She still had yet to ask Miss Professor Red about harnessing her abilities as an onryo, but she knew the gym teacher probably had her hands more than full.

So, alas, being a ghost nurse here at the Academy was certainly out of the running.

She tapped her foot against the carpet of her room. Well, if she couldn't be a nurse here at the school, what could she do with herself? Kasumi mentally kicked herself for not paying more attention to the meaning of the assignment she had been given. The school had a teacher for everything - gym, music, literature, human studies, magic, health... Kasumi felt like she was at a loss. If she chose to become a teacher, what on earth would she teach? Furthermore, if being a teacher was out of the question, what alternative did she have? What skills could she possess outside of the school? Hmm. The whole situation stumped Kasumi and she walked back to her bed to sit down next to Horobi, who hung in the air like so much smoke.

"What do you think, Horobi? Do you think I'd make a good teacher here at the school? Or what else do you think I could do instead? I mean, most students probably don't worry about this sort of thing at my stage in... things. I suppose. My place in the world? My position in the school system? Jack, what on earth am I thinking?"

The ghost stood again and shook her head. A career was another thing that needed to be planned, but unfortunately, Kasumi didn't know a single thing about careers in Halloweentown. What did someone do after they graduated from the Academy? Surely most students had a career picked out for them based simply on what they were - no doubt Mr. Malodore would turn out to be a glorious surgeon upon graduation, and Amjee would return to the swamp as something green and glorious and definitely quite scary. She, however, was a ghost with no past. Still, it would be best and less depressing to try and turn that into something useful. "What do you think, Horobi?"

If the wisp could talk, he would likely start up a conversation that resembled something like this. "You should consider using your strengths to your advantage. You could always go back to the Human World on occasion and come out of the SkreeVees and scare the pants off of people like most people here do. You've been practicing that so much! Or you can go seek the advice of another teacher and see what they think? Or it might be too early to think about this sort of thing. Maybe you should just enjoy yourself while you've got a dorm and friends here and worry about all that later!"

Or, Horobi could simply have been asking what time dinner was.

Kasumi stood there and intently listened to Horobi's series of chimes. While she couldn't understand him in the least, his twirling and swirling gave her an idea. "Perhaps I should go ask the counselor again about that. Maybe they could give me an idea for available careers? Then again, maybe I'm thinking too far ahead, but you know me. I like to have a plan in place before I do anything. Oh! Better yet, I could make a list!" Brilliance! Kasumi lit up and ran to her desk to snatch up parchment and a pen. She began to write down all her interests and strengths and her possible career goals. The more information, the better.

Teacher, assistant, guidance counselor, secretary (poor Mister Arel! She couldn't replace him!), maybe whatever faculty they needed in general...

Kasumi made up her mind. She would take this list to the counselor and see what she thought.

Note to self - 850 words