A Ghost’s Prank

This time of the year, the University teams with Normalites coming from different campuses. The fun is worth to remember especially now that we can only relive them through Facebook memories. During Intramurals Week, all you would hear are the cheers from different teams. But what you won’t hear are the cheers of the ghosts who played pranks on the living. Yep, ghosts also get bored of being a ghost so instead of spending the day inside a locked stockroom, they go out and scare humans. This is how they make their own Intramurals Week.

Our story starts with the two ghosts who felt the dullness of the Acquaintance Party and decided to prank a poor girl who looked like a walking banana tree. The first ghost was Billy, a Normalite who died in the early '50s because he mistook a grenade for a metal tennis ball. The other ghost was James, a young man who one day woke up as a ghost (until now he haven’t figured out how he became one).

“Bai, laaya oy. Wa may nitagad nato,” said James.

“Unsaon man nila pagtagad nato nga deads na man ta, bai?” replied Billy.

“Sayanga’s atong denim ani, bai oy. Gi-order pa ra ba ko ni's Lazada. Mas mahal pa ra bang shipping fee kaysa gi-order unya igo ra ta gabarog diri?”

“Manghadlok na lang kaha ta, bai?” Billy suggested. As if it was a bright idea that hadn’t struck them for a long time, James agreed.

A group of students passed their invisible bodies. One girl shifted away from her peers and went to the comfort room in the Admin Building. The ghosts followed.

“Mura'g naglaing tiyan ana ay, klaro kaayo.”

“Lagi, bai. Mura'g wa ni hilisi sa ilang boodle fight” James replied.

“Ato kahang i-off ang suga?”

“Di na mahadlok, bai. Kay anad na sila'g brownout. Maypa ang gripo lang atong pagngon.”

“Nah, samot bai nga di na mahadlok kay anad ning mga taga CNU nga walay agas-agas.”

“Maypa, atong bangilan ug bato ang toilet bowl para di mo-flush. Mas mahadlok siya ani kay mao ni ang weakness sa mga estudyante.”

The two ghosts finally agreed to clog the bowl with a stone. Their plan worked. There was no sound of a toilet flushing. The girl also didn’t leave the cubicle. James and Billy exchanged an evil grin.

“Bai, mura'g usa na man ka oras wa man gihapon nigawas ang atong gi-prank”, James said while letting his other foot depart from his body and walk toward the cubicle.

“Looya. Basin nakuyapan na to. Ato na lang kuhaon ang bangil”, he added.

But before they could move, they were startled when the young woman shot in the air.

“Imo ni?” she asked James while referring to the lost foot she held in her hand.

The two ghost wanted to shrink and disappear instantly because a human had seen them and this means that she could be a ghostbuster, too. But then they don’t want their pride gets stepped on. It’s not noble for a ghost to fear humans. They've got the cleanest record in history for scaring humans. They were both hailed as the top prankster of the decade and they even won as “Best Ghosts of the Year” when they had successfully let the mannequins in the Nursing laboratory turn their heads 360 degrees, making the school guard lose consciousness and almost lost his job because in the morning the chief guard caught him asleep on the floor. That is how powerful their ghost skills are. Their reputation won’t end tonight.

“Makakita ka namo, Miss?”

“Kaayo, James. Ako to imong, gi-ghost sa una. Pinakilig ngunit di inibig”,the woman said.

James couldn’t find words to say.

“Chaka lang dayon. Kalimtan lang lagi ta. Dungan pa man gani ta'g tulog sa library sa una. Magatik-atik lang ka'g basa ug libro, remember?” She reminded him.

“So ungo sad ka?” Billy asked.

“Kaayo, Billy. Kanang SM Hall akoa na dihang pwesto sa una. Ako'y tig hadlok sa mga estudyante basta naay event sa Mr. and Ms. CNU. Pero nagpa-assign na ko karon sa CTE Building kay katong nanghadlok ko diha last time, ako man nuo'y nalisang kay naay usa ka candidate nga puti pa nako'g nawng. Sa ako gyung kahadlok nasudlan nako siya.”

“Hala, prankster sad diay ka?”

“O, maong wa ko nadutlan sa inyong binuang ganeha. Pero kahibaw mo? Mao ni ang pinakanindot nga prank nako karong gabhiona kay wa may Intramurals karon. Gi-prank ra ta mo aning Acquaintance Party. Green screen ra na oy, amaw. Natug mo? 2020 na. Naay virus!”

Billy and James had the table turned on them. They were tricked by a walking banana tree. They didn’t see it coming. Their reputation had finally ended that night.

Graphics by Amabel Mae Buro