Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 245

The New Tales of Old Shanghai
Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School, Chan, Stephie - 12
T
hroughout Shanghai, all the myths of The Old City of Shanghai have been remembered, but one was
forgotten. The Ghosts of the School . Whoever was killed in this school and the spirits of those who
died would only appear to those with powers and wait for them to tell the world and the spirit itself
who the killer was. Few remember this myth: it’s said that whoever was killed in The School of Performing Arts, their
spirits will haunt the corridors until the killer was revealed.
It was Shane’s first day at the new school, and he was late to class. It was role call and he crept into the class through
the back door and quickly sat down at the remaining seat exactly when the teacher called out for his name. With a
relaxed heart, Shane sunk down into his chair. The teacher announced that they would need to partner up for a class
activity. Shane tensed up as he was the only one who hadn’t found a partner, with him being the new kid he didn’t have
any friends to partner with. But luckily, a tall and handsome boy came up to him and said “Want to be partners? I see
you’re the new kid and struggling to find a partner.” Shane gladly accepted his request and asked for his name and he
answered with “My full name is Tyler Jones Smith but my friends call me so TJ, so call me TJ.” And after a day of
boredom, the school day was over. But to Shane’s surprise, as he was walking to the school, He saw it was surrounded by
the local guards, a guard went up to him and said “The School is closed as a dead body was found in the principal’s
office. We are closing the school temporarily for investigation.” Shane was incredibly curious, he had a strong urge to
sneak inside and investigate the site himself. He turned around to leave and saw TJ standing behind him. “Hey TJ! You
want to go and investigate the dead body?” As soon as TJ heard that he quickly responded with “ No! Don’t go
investigate, it will only bring trouble to the both of us. ”
Shane couldn’t keep his curiosity to himself, so he waited for TJ to leave and hid behind a bush to get a sight of the
school. From what he observed, every corner was being watched in the security room. He waited for the guards to give
a blind eye to sneak inside the building. With a pounding heart, he tiptoed through the entrance and walked through
the hallway leisurely, but was startled when he heard guards walking to him. He immediately hid behind a pillar behind
him. It took a while for the all the guards to walk away but eventually he was able to creep into the school. He then
proceeded to walk towards the principal office, he passed by another few guards but managed to not get caught. He
settled into the principal’s office and found the room the body was found in, which was in a secret room behind the
principal’s desk. But to Shane’s surprise, there was nothing, he left the secret room in utter disappointment. In shock,
Shane found a newspaper clipping in the doorway of the room and what was printed on it shocked him even more.
“ Tyler Jones-Smith was found dead in a secret room located inside the principal’s office. It is confirmed that the boy
was killed 10 years old .” “You found out my secret… I told you not to come, I told you not to investigate. Now you
know." TJ said in a low and quiet voice, who appeared in the doorway with an expressionless face. Shane widened his
eyes in disbelief. “Well… to explain whoever was killed in this school and the spirits of those who died will only appear