Danny groaned silently. Mr. Lancer had been rambling on about historical romance novels for what, an hour now?! The clock ticked on. 3:15, great. I'm almost out of here. "Fenton!" Mr. Lancer slammed his book on the table. "Adventures of Tom Sawyer! Daniel Fenton, were you even listening to me?! I asked a question, and I expect you to answer it! For the fourth time, how did Romeo & Juliet end? Or did you not read it?" "U-umm..." Danny stuttered. "Romeo commits suicide than Juliet does it too?" The boy had bNarrowing his green eyes, the teacher gave Danny what is known to teenagers as the 'this-is-your-last-chance-and-if-you-screw-up-again-I-will-ruin-your-life stare', more commonly known as the 'death stare'. "Aside from that, I would like to announce, on behalf of Principal Ishiyama, that we are having a field trip tomorrow." There were a few scattered murmurs at this, but Mr. Lancer gave them the look, and they immediately stopped. "As I was saying, Amity Park has had a lot of ghost invasions recently," Mr. Lancer started out. Danny cringed. He didn't like where this was going. "Maddie and Jack Fenton have generously agreed to show the class the Ghost Zone, as well as basic ghost combat techniques." As Mr. Lancer finished, the bell rang. "You are expected to be on your best behavior!" Mr. Lancer called out as the class burst out of the classroom, joyous that it was all over for that day.
"Sam, you don't understand! What if-" "Danny, calm down. You'll be fine." Sam placed her hand on the halfa's shoulder. "No, it's not fine! What if the ghosts attack and I have to go ghost? What if Skulker or some other ghost comes and refers to me as Phantom or halfa or ghost child then the whole class starts asking and-" "Danny, chill out!" Tucker interrupted. Danny took a deep breath. "I'm sorry guys, I'm just really worried about tomorrow." The raven-haired boy sighed. "It'll be fine, just, you know..lay low, I guess." Tucker gave Danny a supportive pat on the back.
But the young halfa still couldn't shake off the feeling that something would go terribly wrong tomorrow. It was that feeling where you would try to tell yourself you were just overreacting, and everyone would tell you that too, but deep down inside you can't help but be nervous. "Well Danny, I've gotta go home now, my parents are expecting me." Sam said. "Yeah, mine too. Cya tomorrow, Danny." Tucker waved.
"Oh come on Danny, why aren't you excited? Just think about it! The Ghost Zone! Your father and I have only taken a peek, but it seems amazing! Everyone else can't wait!" Maddie explained. She was excited for the trip tomorrow, and Danny's entire class was too. What was it with him? The ghost huntress sighed a bit on the inside. For the past year or so, he'd been acting so...different. His grades were slipping, he almost always came home with unexplainable bruises and scratches that not even a bully would go so far as to cause. Every morning, he was exhausted, and he would shudder at the mention of ghost hunting. Pushing those thoughts aside, she placed her hand on her son's shoulder.
But his skin was so... cold. It wasn't particularly cold today, nor was it windy. And Danny was usually pretty warm. "Danny, you're freezing. Are you alright?" He was practically glaring daggers at her for a moment. "I'm fine, mom." He brushed her hand off, annoyed. I watched my son go back upstairs to his room, and I noticed a scar running across his arm. "Danny, wait!" She ran up to him. "Danny, what's this scar on your arm from?" The boy's eyes widened at the mention of this. "Oh, um, it's nothing..." "Danny, that is a scar. Not a cut, not a scrape, a scar. Where did it come from?" She asked again. He was dodging the question, just like he always did these days. "Look, if there's a bullying issue going on at school, you need to tell us. This is not acceptable. Nobody, I repeat, nobody has the right to hurt you like this." Her son rolled his eyes, muttering something she couldn't make out under his breath. "Mom, I said it's nothing." His voice had a tone of authority, one of which she'd never heard him use before. "It's not nothing. Just tell me where it came from." He sighed. "I... scraped my arm during gym class when I fell on the concrete?" It sounded more like a question. Maddie merely raised an eyebrow. She knew he was lying. "Or, you know, you could just tell me the truth." "Or, for a change, you could just leave me alone!" Danny's radioactive green eyes seemed to glow momentarily. Wait, what? Danny's eyes were a soft baby blue, not ectoplasmic green! She blinked, and it was normal. Some trick of the light... But part of her felt as if it was merely the beginning of an issue much larger. Danny noticed her staring, and turned around, retreating back into his room.
She wanted to talk to him, but he... he'd been acting so distant for the past year. When he was little, they would share everything, and they were so close. But he had been drifting away, and every time she mentioned it to him, he'd just walk away, aggravated. His icy blue eyes, once filled with innocence, joy, and happiness, now showed skepticism, distrust, and a hint of maturity in them that was quite unusual for his age.
And it wasn't just how he treated the family. He'd been acting different all around. His A- to B+ average had plummeted to the point where a B or B- was legendary. He was almost never home before curfew, and when he came in, he was exhausted, and although he tried to hide it, she could see bruises and cuts. But every time she questioned him, he ignored her, going back upstairs to his room. She was genuinely concerned about his condition, but she knew that if she tried to talk to him, she'd most likely just make it worse. It hurt her to see her only son, once full of optimism, so gloomy and spaced out. Maybe, just maybe, the field trip tomorrow would change that.