THE SHE-DEVIL AND HER ALPHAS

Lia banged her locker close but she wasn't startled to see Ben, she had sensed him moments ago. 

"Well, look who had a great night too," She said ironically. 

One look at his face and one need not be told, Ben hadn't slept a wink. There were prominent dark circles under his eyes not to mention his red blurry eyes. 

"You don't look too good either " He pointed out, adjusting the weight of his backpack over his shoulder. 

"Yeah, I was staked in the heart "

Ben whistled in astonishment. 

"Well, I was assaulted by a ghost last night "

It was Lia's turn to whistle in surprise. 

"And then my siblings found out about me "

"Awesome " Ben commented, "I can imagine the look on Trevor's face "

"My brother is a pain in the ass " Lia sighed, running her hands through her hair. 

"Well on my side, Alexa wants me to find her murderer "

"Alright - Wait, what?! " Lia was shocked, "Which of the Alexa are you talking about? "

"How many Alexa's follow Caroline like a swarm of flies? "

"No way " Lia turned around and checked her side carefully, "Is she behind me at the moment? I heard I hurt everyone within a ten-meter radius around me on that day my powers manifested- I don't need a vengeful ghost trailing me  "

"She is, " Ben told her 

Lia jumped out of her position with a scared look. 

"Just kidding" Ben smiled at her, "She's not here at the moment"

"Thank God " Lia sighed in relief as they began to find their way to class alongside the hubbub of students. 

"You've got badass powers yet you're afraid of ghosts that wouldn't even be able to do anything to you unless they possessed my body? "

"Fighting against something I can't see? That's a losing battle " Lia told him. 

"Well " He shrugged, "You don't need to worry about her, even if she appears around you she wouldn't be able to remember you anyway "

Lia stopped walking causing Ben to do the same, "What do you mean? " She asked, confused. 

"Alexa can't remember anything?"

"Is that normal for ghosts; the 'die and forget everything you ever loved and cared about' phenomenon? "

"Nope," Ben replied, " From what I've seen so far, they lose memories of their life after they've successfully crossed over. But then the lingering ghosts - "

Her brows were raised, "The lingering ghost? 

"That's what I call them, the ghosts that refused to move on "

Lia laughed, shaking her head, " You have bad naming "

"Who cares " Ben's rolled his eyes, " As I was saying before I was interrupted by you, the lingering ghosts - "

"Lingers " Lia suggested. 

"Fine, the lingers are aggrieved ghosts; normally people who died without warning, murdered or suffered an injustice that led to their painful death"

"So they are unwilling to move on unless they found justice?"

"Yep, pretty much that but Alexa in her case is an amnesiac ghost "

"She didn't move on yet and forgot her memories, what could be the cause of it? "

Ben pursed his lips while rubbing his jaw, "It's quite funny but I think the injuries she suffered before death are the reason for the memory loss or a psychological problem "

Lia gave him a dirty look. 

"If people can erase their memories because of a traumatic experience, what more ghosts? "

"I wish you could look at yourself in the mirror while saying that, " Lia told him and began her walk. 

"I look at myself every day and all I see is a handsome intelligent young man named Ben," he said to her smugly 

"I still wonder how you became my friend, I must have been under a spell then "

Ben blocked her path, "Come-on, let's think about it logically. The ghost might be dead creatures but they still carry on activities in their brain though not physically but - "

"Fine, fine " Lia gave in, "Alexa is an amnesiac ghost because she unintentionally erased her memories as a result of shock, satisfied now? "

Lia walked past around him and continued her journey, no one could thwart Ben when he's extremely passionate about a case. 

"Also, I discovered something amazing about being a medium "

Lia snorted," I thought you hated being a medium? "

He smiled at her, "Yeah, I hated it until I discovered I could banish a ghost to God knows where, so no more possessing my body - happy me " Ben rejoiced. 

"I'm a hundred percent sure that wherever you banished her is probably not the afterlife? " She gave him an intense look. 

He looked away with guilt, "Don't look at me that way. Banishing and the afterlife, what's the difference between the both anyway? After all, they are just ghost "

Ben tried to escape her but Lia was quick to drag him back by the collar,

"You weren't chosen to be a medium for no reason. Banishing? Afterlife?  What's the difference? For all we know, you might have sent that soul to a hundredth level of hell"

Lia loosened her grip on him when her words sank into his heart, "Those ghosts were once human and are expecting to find peace after living in this unfair world. It's common to make mistakes but be conscious of the responsibility on your shoulder in case of a next time " She patted him on the shoulder and left for class. 

Ben was troubled, that ghost from last night, had he sent her to a terrible place? He hadn't thought about it or rather he was afraid of thinking about it.

Guilt began to eat at him slowly, ever since he banished her yesterday; he hasn't had peace of mind. Ben felt like he had done something wrong though he saved his body from being possessed.  

With that heavy heart, he went to class, and thankfully it was the same with his goddess. 

"Won't you come sit over here? " Lia whispered at Ben who was sitting in the next row beside hers leaving the seat  next to her vacant since she was seated beside the window. 

The seating arrangements were styled in such a way that all chairs were aligned in consecutive straight rows with aisles each between two seating areas and all chairs facing towards the front of the class. 

Ben shook his head stubbornly, fixing his gaze on the whiteboard where the teacher had already stopped speaking and went to answer an errand.

Lia clicked her tongue, deciding to mind her business. If her sidekick doesn't want to stay beside her, so be it - but It was annoying. 

Her attention was grabbed when the teacher walked into the classroom with an unfamiliar guy. 

"Hi everyone, we have a new student joining us today"

Lia regarded him slowly: sandy brown hair styled in a quiff and stunning hazel eyes. 

That was all she noticed before dragging her eyes away, her mates spellbinding beauty made everyone else fall in comparison. 

Though she distracted herself by staring out the window, she captured his name, Eric knight. 

"You can choose a seat anywhere " The teacher directed him. 

Lia had expected him to choose the empty seats at the front rows but when their eyes collided and he smiled up at her, she knew he was heading her way. 

She scrunched up her face and looked away, hoping to God it wasn't another helpless guy captured by her charm again. 

This week Lia had lost count of the love letters smuggled into her locker or the chocolates sent to her desk - she was not complaining about the chocolate though, she and Ben had munched on every single one of them; it was a crime to throw away food. 

Lia was not looking but her senses were sharp, she could sense him moving closer and closer and closer - wait, what? 

"My bad " Ben smiled sheepishly at the boy, gesturing to him to take the seat he just left. 

Eric smiled back and without complaining, sat down on the next row that freakish boy had hurriedly stood up from. 

He knew Ben had occupied that seat on purpose; he had studied about him - the girl's unwavering friend who was glued to her side, twenty-four hours, seven days. 

Well, he would have to find a way to separate them if he wanted this plan of his to succeed. For now, he would not stand out else he rouses their suspicion. 

Lia laughed at Ben, "I thought you weren't seating? "

Ben ignored her, focusing his attention on the teacher while she was amused to her heart content. 

The lesson went smoothly until it ended, Lia was just about to leave when she bumped into someone - the new boy. 

"I'm sorry" He apologized, helping her arrange her books that had fallen to the ground in the process.

"It's alright," She told him and took her textbooks which he handed over to her. 

"I'm Eric " He thrust out his hand for a handshake which Lia eyed before taking. 

"Lia's my name " She enveloped his hand. 

"So I heard, you're pretty famous around here and I would love to know you " His eyes twinkled as he said that. 

Lia sighed, just as she thought. 

"Look, I get that you're new here but I like to stay on my own alright? " She told him, walked past him, and left the classroom. 

Eric smirked, acted like the guy who fell in love with the popular girl at school, no one would notice a thing.