A woman stands in a hallway, holding a large bag filled with various cultural items, including sticks and reeds. She is wearing a patterned black and red sweater and has her hair in loose curls. Posters are visible on the walls behind her.

The doorknob turned. Amelia clutched Mei’s arm, both girls pressing deeper into the narrow space between the bed and wall. Daylight through frosted windows cast the room in milky shadows.

The door creaked open.

“Up you get, you two,” she said in a low, honeyed voice blending Australian vowels with practiced Japanese cadence. “No time for hide-and-seek when there’s a mamu on the prowl.”

Amelia peered over the bed to see a woman in her thirties with rich umber skin and hair coiled in intricate braids. Her cardigan bore circular patterns reminiscent of Mei’s cave drawings. The woman was carrying a weathered leather satchel marked with both Japanese shide paper charms and Australian river reeds.

Mei stood first, voice trembling. “You’re…Ms. Kelly, the new ALT from Australia?”

“The same. And you,” she pointed at Amelia’s scarred arm, “aren’t Hana Yamato. Spirit’s adrift, tangled in a songline not yours.“

Amelia stepped forward, hope cutting through fear. “You know about the body swap?”

“More than know.” Ms. Kelly glanced at the ceiling as heavy footsteps echoed above. “We’ll chat proper once we’re clear of this building. That Fujiwara woman is a clever hunter, but no match for old magic.”

Mei froze, staring past the woman’s shoulder. Down the hallway, Ms. Fujiwara rounded the corner. Her shadow stretched grotesquely across the linoleum—elongated claws, a serpentine neck, and jagged horns twisting upward. The real Ms. Fujiwara walked with measured steps, her human silhouette at odds with the nurikabe yōkai shadow rippling ahead.

“Behind you—!” Amelia choked out.

Ms. Kelly didn’t turn. Instead, she reached into her satchel and pulled out two desert oak sticks—one carved with caterpillar tracks and dotted patterns, the other plain. The first had a lacquered black fragment embedded near its tip, bound by red thread and a fluttering shide paper shape.

She clicked the sticks together. The sound was crisp, like a bone snapping into place.

The medical skeleton in the corner shuddered. Its ribs rattled as the shide paper on Ms. Kelly’s stick glowed faintly. With a jerk, the skeleton lurched off its stand, jaw clacking as it scrambled toward the doorway—purified into temporary service.

Ms. Fujiwara’s shadow-horns twitched. She raised one manicured hand and yanked the fire alarm. Klaxons blared. Classrooms erupted with shuffling feet and confused shouts. The skeleton crumpled mid-stride, bones scattering as students flooded the hallway.

“Tch. Coward’s trick,” Ms. Kelly muttered, steering the girls toward an exit. “C’mon. We’ll talk under the kusunoki—its roots know older stories than hers.”

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

REMEMBERING

  1. What did Amelia and Mei do when they heard the doorknob turn?
  2. Who is Ms. Kelly?
  3. What did Ms. Kelly carry?
  4. What did Ms. Kelly use to make the skeleton move?
  5. What did Ms. Fujiwara do to cause chaos?

UNDERSTANDING

  1. Why were Amelia and Mei hiding?
  2. What does Ms. Kelly mean by “mamu”?
  3. How did Ms. Kelly know Amelia was not Hana Yamato?
  4. Explain how Ms. Kelly used the sticks and skeleton to help them.
  5. Why did Ms. Fujiwara pull the fire alarm?

APPLYING

  1. If you were Amelia, would you trust Ms. Kelly right away? Why or why not?
  2. What would you do if you saw a shadow like Ms. Fujiwara’s?
  3. How could Mei and Amelia use the kusunoki tree to help them?
  4. Imagine you have desert oak sticks. How would you use them to protect yourself?
  5. If you were in the classroom when the fire alarm rang, what would you do?

ANALYZING

  1. What are the differences between Ms. Kelly and Ms. Fujiwara?
  2. How does the description of Ms. Fujiwara’s shadow make her seem dangerous?
  3. What is the connection between the Japanese and Australian objects Ms. Kelly carries?
  4. How does the setting of the school hallway add to the story’s tension?
  5. What clues in the text suggest that there is magic in this story?

EVALUATING

  1. Do you think Ms. Kelly is a good person? Why or why not?
  2. Was it a good idea for Ms. Kelly to use the skeleton? Explain your opinion.
  3. Do you think Ms. Fujiwara is more powerful than Ms. Kelly? Why?
  4. Was pulling the fire alarm a smart move by Ms. Fujiwara? Explain.
  5. Do you think Mei and Amelia will be safe with Ms. Kelly? Why or why not?

CREATING

  1. Imagine what Ms. Kelly and the girls will talk about under the kusunoki tree. What could they say?
  2. How could Amelia and Mei work together to defeat Ms. Fujiwara?
  3. What kind of “old magic” do you think the kusunoki tree knows?
  4. Write a short dialogue between Amelia and Ms. Kelly when they first meet.
  5. Design a charm that could protect someone from a nurikabe yōkai like Ms. Fujiwara.