Somehow, after the cook-off that morning, they all ended up around a bonfire down at the beach by evening. Nobody was sure whose idea it was; it had just happened that way. And now eighteen people were spread out around a huge fire in a loose circle, some sitting directly on the sand, others on folding chairs they'd dragged down from the house. There was even one questionable beanbag. The evening air had cooled enough that the fire was actually useful, and for once nobody seemed particularly interested in doing anything more complicated than sitting around, eating snacks, roasting s'mores, and talking.
"Okay," Ethan declared, holding a flashlight under his chin. "Ghost story time!"
"We're at Spring Break," Nicole said flatly. "Not summer camp."
"Bonfires demand ghost stories. It's basically a law."
"It is not a law."
"It's an unwritten law."
"Unwritten laws aren't laws, Ethan, that's the whole point of the word 'law.'"
"You're missing the spirit of the thing."
"Statistically, ghost stories told around fires derive most of their fear factor from unreliable lighting conditions rather than actual narrative content," Aaron said from somewhere in the dark beyond the fire's light. "So even science doesn't support your law."
Ethan started telling a story anyway. It was one about a college girl coming back to her hometown for the Lunar New Year celebration, but somehow being lured and trapped inside a village full of spirits and ghouls. Her only hope was an eccentric novice ghost catcher. It sounded less like a campfire story and more like a plot of a thriller novel.
He built up to an apparent confrontation: the girl and her savior slash unlikely companion had managed to trap a horde of spirits in the replica of her house within the ghost village, and were sneaking toward a school building where the enemies' "mastermind" was hiding. They silently tailed the spirit of the town's butcher, only to realize at the last minute it had been a trap waiting for them all along, and an army of ghouls was bursting out of classrooms and closing in around them.
He went into excruciating details about the ghouls' appearance, which did successfully make several girls' skins crawl.
"But the ghost catcher just smirks. He points and calmly says: 'Hey! Is that all you've got? I can beat all of you with my eyes closed!'" Ethan said. "And the girl's like, 'oh thank god, he's got this,' but when she actually looked at where he was pointing, there were no ghouls there. He's just pointing at empty air. Which is impressive considering they're surrounded. So she asks him—genuinely, like, terrified—'can you not see the ghosts?' And he goes…" Ethan paused for effect. "…'You'd better believe I can't.'"
"Wait, what?" Camila said.
"What the hell, Ethan?" Maya burst out laughing. "Is this supposed to be a ghost story or a joke?"
"It is both!" Ethan exclaimed. "He's a ghost catcher who can't see ghosts."
"That's not a ghost story," Nicole said. "That's a sitcom with extra corpses."
"That's the genre, though," Ethan said, delighted that someone had finally engaged with his point. "Modern Asian horror-comedy does this constantly. You build real tension, real scares, and then you undercut it with something genuinely funny, and somehow it stays spooky with real stakes and becomes hilarious at the same time. It's a whole tradition. My dad got me into it—he was obsessed with Lam Ching-ying's (林正英) movies growing up. Guy basically popularized the jiangshi genre across half of Asia, hopping vampires and Taoist priests and comedic sidekicks, decades ago. That's where this whole vibe comes from."
"Where did you hear this one from then?" Aaron asked.
"I was tagging along on one of my dad's business trips ages ago, and found this novel in the waiting room. It was the only thing in English. It was back from the early 2020s, the afterword said the author was already working on a sequel, but I searched online afterward and never found anything about it."
Jade was already on her phone. "What was the name of the series, or the novel?"
Ethan told her what he remembered.
She searched silently for a few minutes, then read out a synopsis and a short excerpt. Ethan pointed. "That's it! You found it?"
She lowered her phone. "Okay, good news and bad news. Good news, I found the book, and the author's Facebook page. Bad news, there's no sequel."
"Sounds like there's a story there?" Katie perked up.
"The story is Vietnamese in origin. Two best friends. One guy wrote it, the other translated. Then they self-published. According to what's shared on their page, they had plans for a whole book series of seven-to-ten books, building a whole universe and everything. They started on a prequel series in web-novel format, only in Vietnamese, though. And as you said, book two of the original series was already in the works when they published the first one."
"Okay, so what happened?" Nicole asked.
Several people were looking over at Jade as well, waiting for her answer.
Jade kept reading, then summarized: "Legal complications. Apparently, they self-published while both of them were studying abroad in Germany, and the laws there only allow students from Schengen countries to do any work in creative and self-employed areas. So the author got an email threatening him with legal consequences if he didn't take down the book. He and his friends sorted that out shortly after, but the experience was traumatic enough that it pretty much became writer's block for him. And he couldn't write a single word that had anything to do with that universe anymore after that. So, they moved on to other projects instead."
"What?! That's tragic," Ethan said, with what sounded like genuine disappointment and outrage.
"Some mysteries don't get solved," Sofia said solemnly.
"That's not funny, Sofia. The first book ended on a teaser cliffhanger for the events of book two. And now I just found out it'll never come."
"Well, think how the author must feel," Jade said, setting her phone down. "He's got 10 books' worth of planning and can't even write it down."
"Anyway," Camila said, redirecting the conversation back to something lighter, "Katie!"
Katie looked up, startled. "Yes?"
"You've been taking notes about all of us for the entire time we've been here together. We don't mind that, but you should share things with us too, girl. Fair's fair."
"She's right," Valeria agreed. "You've written down basically everything that's happened to all of us, and we've heard almost nothing about you this entire trip."
Katie glanced down at the notebook. "I'm not taking notes about everyone."
"You absolutely are," Tori said.
"I've seen you writing things down."
"So have I," Priya added without looking up from her phone.
"Okay, maybe I am. But I don't mention any of you by name in my notes."
"What do you refer to us as in your notes then?" Aaron tilted his head.
"Just… initials." Katie sighed. "It's really not as weird as it sounds."
"That's exactly what someone with a secret dossier would say," Ethan said.
"I don't have a dossier."
"What do you call the notes about us then?"
"A notebook." Katie rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
Maya leaned forward. "Okay, then. Spill. Tell us something about yourself."
"There's nothing to tell."
"At our age?" Maya said. "There's always something to tell."
"It could be anything," Sofia said. "A secret hobby. Someone you like—"
"Oh!" Several girls apparently caught the changes in Katie's expression.
"So there is someone!" Camila jumped in. "Who's it? Boy or girl? Are they cute?"
Katie was visibly blushing now.
"Calm down!" Sofia reached over and smacked Camila's shoulder. "One question at a time."
But almost all eyes were on Katie now, with the only exception being Magnus's, who was getting a barrage of texts from his mom. He pulled out his phone to check while everyone else was still focused on Katie.
"Okay." She sighed and said finally, quietly and resigned. "Fine. I've kind of had a crush on this guy for a few months."
"So it's a guy."
"Who is he?"
"Do we know him?"
Katie immediately covered her face with both hands. "This is why I don't tell people things."
"No, you don't know him," she added after a moment. "He's just a guy at my school."
"Hold up!" Priya looked up from her phone. "You've been crushing on this guy for months, and you haven't done anything?"
"Yes?"
"Why not?"
Katie shrugged, tugging at a loose thread on her sleeve. "It's easier not to."
"Easier isn't the same as better," Priya said. "Trust me, I have a whole case study on that exact subject."
"You mean your ex," Tori said.
"I mean the general principle."
"The general principle you learned from your ex."
"The principle stands regardless of its origin."
Priya actually put her phone away for a moment before continuing, turning back to Katie with genuine focus. "The thing is, waiting doesn't actually make it easier. It just changes what you're scared of. First, you're scared of saying something. Then you're scared of not having said anything. Eventually you're just scared, generally, all the time, about a thing that used to have a shape and now doesn't."
The fire crackled. Several people had gone quiet, apparently registering that Priya — who spent most of every day visibly distracted — had just said something with real weight behind it.
"Okay." Priya cleared her throat and pressed on. "Then, do you actually want to do something about it?"
"I don't know."
"Then figure out what you actually want first," Priya continued. "Do you want to tell him? Do you just want to see if he might like you back? Or are you happy just having the crush for now?"
Katie considered that. "I'd like to know if he likes me back."
"Then start there."
"How?"
"Talk to him more. See how he responds. If he seems interested, give him an opening."
Katie nodded slowly.
Priya shrugged. "You don't have to confess your feelings all at once. That's a lot of pressure for both people. Just make it easier for him to realize you're interested and see what he does with that."
"That was… actually really good advice," Valeria said slowly.
"I know." Priya flipped her hair. "I could start a relationship counseling business. I'd make a killing."
Tori snorted. "Says the girl who can't stop texting her ex."
Priya's expression shifted, caught. "That's different!"
"Is it?"
"Yes," she snapped.
"What have you even been texting him?" Tori pressed, genuinely curious now rather than just teasing. "A week, Priya. What is there to even say for a whole week?"
Several people leaned in slightly, sensing the conversation was about to pivot onto Priya herself, and Priya's expression did the particular thing people's expressions did right before they had to explain something they hadn't planned on explaining tonight.
Magnus, meanwhile, had finally pieced together what his mom's ultimate goal was between the cat memes she kept spamming and all the roundabout texts. He looked up from his phone and cleared his throat.
"Hey, guys," he said. "What are everyone's plans for the next few days?"
"Why?" Maya asked without looking away from Katie and Priya.
"I might have to leave early this weekend to visit my mom."
That derailed the conversation, saving both Katie and Priya from further grilling.
"When do you have to leave?" Ethan asked.
"This Saturday, probably. I'll have to check back with her on the exact timing and everything. But she wanted to see me before Spring Term starts, so there's really just this weekend left."
A brief silence as everyone realized how close their Spring Break was coming to a close. Then Maya clapped her hands together.
"We're definitely throwing a party before everyone has to say their goodbyes then! Say, Friday?"
"Sounds good."
"Works for me."
"Same."
"Then we should probably all say our goodbyes and go our separate ways Saturday morning," Valeria concluded. "We need to wrap up here and prepare for our next terms soon anyway. Some of us have things before Spring Term starts too."
Jade had been quiet through most of the conversation. Her building's gas leak situation still hadn't fully resolved. She glanced toward Sofia.
"I should probably figure out somewhere to stay after everyone leaves."
"Are you gonna be okay finding somewhere to stay?" Alex asked her.
"I'll figure it out. Might crash with a coworker for a few days."
"You can keep staying here," Sofia said, like it was obvious. "You work for my parents, and they like you. Stay as long as you need."
Jade blinked, mildly surprised by the easy generosity of it. "You sure?"
"Completely sure. It's not a big deal."
"I don't want to impose."
"You won't."
"…Then thanks."
"Don't mention it."
The conversation settled from there into something quieter, couples discussing among themselves personal plans for the next few days. Some people were glancing up at the sky, reflecting on their Spring Break with a sudden wave of bittersweetness. It was already Wednesday night, and Friday would be the last full night everyone had together, which meant it needed to be a proper send-off. Because when Saturday morning came, everyone would start clearing out, heading back to campus or home or wherever came next.
"Let's make this party the biggest one yet, then," Maya announced, raising a marshmallow like a toast. "Go big before we all scatter."
"We've been going big this entire time," Ethan pointed out.
"That seems statistically unlikely to end well," Aaron said at the same time.
"Exactly," Maya said, grinning. "That's the whole appeal."