As Daniel made his way through the central corridor of the school, where the auditorium, cafeteria, and administrative offices are all located, he came across yet another familiar face. This time, it was the the talented student Alice. Her appearance was reminiscent of the library girl Daniel met earlier, as they both had a physique slightly rounder than average, mild freckles on the face, and glasses sitting on their noses. Perhaps the major difference was that Alice was slightly taller, barely though. D Of course, her current appearance was paler than usual given her ethereal state.
Alice's face lit up as she came across Daniel. "Daniel! I guess you're also caught up in this, huh?"
"Yea..." Daniel responded in kind. At this point, any additional questioning about this situation was like a stab in his heart, one that was ripe with guilt.
Alice might have sensed Daniel's uneasiness, as she followed with, "Are you okay, Daniel? You're giving that look when you know something most of us don't."
Daniel was caught off-guard by her comment, before facing a tough decision in his mind. On one hand, he wanted to disclose the issue of the emitter with Alice, as she already knew of its inherent problems. Plus, it might give him a person to consult in terms of fixing this disaster. On the other hand, Daniel knew Alice would give him an earful should she caught wind of the truth behind this 'paranormal' phenomenon. He decide that it would be best to try to figure things out by himself first before asking for help.
Daniel brushed his concerned look away. "No, nothing like that... I just want to say that we should find physical bodies soon, although it can't be our original one, apparently."
"Oh, so that's what you wanted to say? Thanks, but we kinda figured that out as well. My own body is actually in the chemistry lab upstairs, but I would always receive this shock that prevented me from reentering. But somehow, one can enter another person's body. Perhaps this has something to do with brain wave overload, as the bodies might not be able to handle such strong electrical signals when we try to return and further amplifying those signals. But another person's brain waves would not be in perfect sync, so entering a different body would prevent further amplification due to dissonance, allowing safe reentry. But what would cause a significant overload to force our consciousness out of our bodies like this?"
Alice paused, as she found herself rambling from her conjectures. She would have a tendency to speak her mind whenever she was deep in thought. Either because Daniel knew her long enough or that he shared the similar passion for science, he had gotten used to such ramblings. Of course, time was of the essence when stuck in a ghostly form.
Seeing Daniel starting to rub his arms as an instinct habit of 'warming' himself, Alice replied, "Sorry, sorry. We can continue this later, but we really should find bodies first." She zoomed off into a room right by the corner.
Daniel swiftly followed. realizing quickly that Alice went into the counselor offices. "Smart move," thought Daniel. "It would be easy to find an adult body here, and they are probably the best at figuring out what's what." However, there were no counselors around the office. Just as he was about to question the faculty's absence once more, Daniel managed to brush past the last counselor around, Ms. Liberman, a middle-aged blonde woman with a pronounced rotund figure, as he floated into one of the office rooms. Just from her hopping and skipping though, Ms. Liberman's body was most likely controlled by an energetic young kid, a bizarre scene that would only exist in far-fetched dreams until today.
Before he lose sight of Alice, Daniel swiftly moved on just in time to witness Alice looking at the body of a huge, muscular 8th grade boy, who was sitting across the counselor desk, collapsed in his chair. Daniel seemed to recognize him as one of the more famous bullies in this school.
"Sorry, Daniel. I saw two bodies here, so I came here, but you probably saw Ms. Liberman running out of here just now, so we are now left with this body here."
Daniel could only give a suppressed chuckle at this point. Never once would he ever thought that he would be so desperate at finding a body. His body was absolutely clamoring for a meat shield, and even the bully's body seemed desirable enough, despite his profound degree of obesity seemingly outweighed only by his filthy look.
"What are you waiting for, get in!" Alice pushed.
"No no. You can take it. I'm sure I can find another one."
"Come on. Don't be so picky now. A body is a body. It's our first guarantee of surviving right now."
"It's not that. I just think that girls should help themselves first. As a guy, I can take of myself afterwards."
Alice was about to go on a harangue on gender equality and how she should not be treated as a damsel-in-distress, but she knew her time was limited. Knowing that Daniel won't budge, Alice just shook her head as he dived into the chest of the boy. Just like with Phillip, the body seemingly woke up from a long slumber, as Alice must be slowly getting accustomed to her new form. As soon as she found her bearings, she was looking at Daniel's direction with a much softer expression than Daniel had previously seen on the boy, making gestures to hurry up and get out of here. Of course, Daniel could no longer communicate with Alice directly, but her hand motions were enough to get him moving.
As more and more people got word to find a vacant body for subsistence, Daniel was struggling to find a suitable host to inhabit. The ethereal world just gotten much quieter now, as the denizens of the school were returning to the physical realm. Most were conversing with one another in the hallways, presumably discussing how the phenomenon. Honestly, the scene was like any ordinary day, as there would prevalent chatter around the school right after lunch. Of course, some students were inspecting their newfound bodies like some sort of foreign entity, so Daniel knew that his predicament wasn't just a fever dream.
Daniel suddenly slowed down, as he could no longer maintain his speed. Looking at his arm, they were beginning to fade in and out, a sign that he would not be able to sustain this much longer. Thinking back, he felt a small regret in not taking a body sooner. Earlier, he acted tough in front of Alice as a sign of persevering, another virtue his dad would constantly emphasize. However, he was now suffering some of worse headaches he has experienced. It was like a severe migraine, except there was no way to relieve the symptoms. (Can ghosts even rest?)
Scanning around, Daniel found himself at the end of a school wing, opposite of the one where he originated. Being a relatively part of the school, save for an abandoned laboratory, a small greenhouse, and a set of restrooms. There was a stairwell leading to a small basement, although Daniel believe it would only contain the copy room and storage space. Where should he search first?