Chapter 1: The Doorway
Danny slapped the lid onto the thermos, projecting a little frustration into his strength. There he was, a whole five minutes early for class, until a certain container-loving ghost showed up in the middle of the street. Danny, with an exasperated sigh, carefully placed it inside his backpack's smallest pocket. Today, they were actually doing something fun for once, in an English class of all places, and he'd probably miss the entire thing. Contemplating for a moment, Danny turned intangible and invisible, then flew quickly to school. He didn't bother taking off his backpack; he was already late enough. Danny changed back as quietly as he could, careful not to be seen through a school window, and briskly walked through the doorway and to the back of the class where Sam and Tucker had saved him a seat.
"Mr. Fenton, I see you've finally decided to join us." Droned Mr. Lancer in a slightly mocking tone, much to the delight of a few popular students. Before Danny had a chance to reply, which he probably wouldn't have ever taken, he noticed everybody was wearing a helmet so bizarre-looking he wouldn't be surprised if they had been ripped straight out of a fashion magazine from 3005. He also saw that there was a slightly bulkier, clear helmet on his own desk. "I take it these helmets aren't a new fashion trend?" Danny muttered darkly under his breath. Not hearing him, Lancer continued with the rest of his speech Danny had ever-so-tragically missed out on. "As I was saying, with the wearer's, or in this case, wearer's parents' consent, the helmets will allow us to travel inside the 'host's mind." Lancer finished, circling a crude diagram on the board. Danny did not like the sound of that. Host? Sounded like an alien invasion more than a cute little science experiment.
Danny noticed the class staring at him and his helmet, waiting for something. Lancer noticed the concerned disarray on the late boy's face (no pun intended- you know, late, as in deceased? Ok, enough fourth-walling.) and noted he hadn't told the boy about the situation. "Mr. Fenton, as you know, we've been travelling through the class' minds and looking at basic emotions. We could raise your final grade to a B or B+ if you gave consent." The teacher filled the boy in. Every part of Danny's brain was screaming "No!", but Danny's vocal chords on the other hand...
"Sure, why not?" He blurted. "But, uh, if Sam and Tuck tell you not to go somewhere, don't go there." He advised-warned-threatened the class. Replies came in the form of nods and rolling eyes, and a certain bully's usual snarky remarks. "Alright. Did you hear that, class?" Lancer questioned as he surveyed the students' faces. While checking for response, he noted that Danny was looking quite conflicted. 'Nothing too bad could be in there.' He thought. It was probably just a crush or embarrassing memory Danny was worried about. Lancer snapped back to reality (whoop, there goes gravity) when the class grew silent. "Once Mr. Fenton here puts on the helmet, we'll look briefly at various basic emotions." Lancer placed the helmet carefully onto his head and buckled the strap on. "I've cancelled all your classes until about 4:00" Lancer added, before falling asleep as he saw the boy tentatively place the contraption over his head, wary of what might ensue.