"Hey there! This is WGST, and good morning Amity Park! Happy Groundhog's Day! It's going to be a cold one out there, so dress warm! And there are predictions for a huge winter snowstorm. Now let's have a musical interlude with, Mr. Brightside, by The Killers!"
Danny rolled over and stared questioningly at his clock. "What?"
Without his responding slap, the alarm clock went into the first few notes of Mr. Brightside. Danny hastily turned off his alarm.
He stared at it for a moment and then laughed. "Sorry, guys. Wrong tape." he said.
He rolled over and tried to fall back into sleep.
Jazz knocked on his door. "Danny! Time to get up! Sam and Tucker will be here in a few minutes. You don't want to meet them half dressed."
Danny sat up in bed. What the hell? He thought.
Jazz continued on her familiar greeting. "Danny, get up! Mom made bacon, and this time it's not green!"
Danny walked over to the doorway and opened it slowly. Jazz was standing there, looking determined. She relaxed when she saw him awake. "Oh, good Danny. Get dressed and-..."
"Jazz," Danny interrupted. "Didn't you say the same thing yesterday?"
Jazz's forehead crinkled. "What are you talking about, Danny? Yesterday was Sunday. You slept 'til noon and Mom was helping Dad build the Fenton Bazooka."
Danny's eyes narrowed. "Jazz, you've got it wrong. Yesterday was Monday. Today's Tuesday. You said that exact same thing yesterday."
"Danny, are you feeling all right?" Jazz looked genuinely worried and reached out to feel her little brother's forehead.
Danny swatted the hand away. "Jazz, I'm fine." He began to feel panic rising. Am I going nuts? "I'll just get dressed."
"Okay." Jazz said. She looked worried, but left Danny alone.
Danny got changed quickly. Before leaving his room, he looked out the window tentatively.
Two kids his own age were walking hand in hand. A woman was walking in the opposite direction, walking her dog. As he watched the dog barked at a squirrel, which in turn scampered up a tree and knocked snow down on the yappy dogs head.
Danny backed away from his window, shaking his head slightly. This is Deja-vu. It will wear off soon. Still, he sprinted down the stairs.
He entered the kitchen.
"Danny, watch out!"
Unsurprisingly, Danny was covered with ectoplasm.
Jazz snorted, coughing to cover it up. His mom said, "I'm sorry, sweetie. You're father was just testing the new Fenton Bazooka."
"Yeah, well, you should test your inventions in the lab, not the kitchen. Haven't you figured out a way to avoid squirting your children yet?" Danny said irritably.
His mother gasped. "Danny, how rude! Apologize to you father and I!"
"Sorry." he muttered before sitting down.
Cue Tucker's entrance. "I smell bacon, and I want it." Mrs. Fenton laughed and handed him a plateful.
Sam's entrance: "Tucker, it is beyond me to understand what you find appetizing about slices of pig carcass." Jazz turned slightly green and pushed her plate away. Sam sat down between her friends and said, "Hi, Danny. Now, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"
Danny stared at her and then at his surroundings with a kind of horrified fascination. Ectoplasm was still dripping from his hair.
She looked worried. "Danny, are you okay?"
"He was acting weird before." Jazz said.
Danny pushed his plate away. "I'm not hungry," he said. "Let's go." He grabbed his bag and sprinted for the door.
The moment he stepped outside, he slid on ice. He fell down the steps on his butt. Instead of even protesting, he just laid there with his eyes closed.
Sam laughed as she exited right behind him. "Today really isn't your day, is it?"
Danny just flinched slight and continued to lie there.
Sam crouched next to him. "Danny, are you okay?"
He put his hand over his ears. "Go away. I'm trying to wake up."
Tucker exited the house. "Dude, you are awake."
Danny groaned. "I can't be."
Misinterpreting Danny's comment, Sam laughed. "Don't worry. The day can't get worse than this."
Danny sighed and choked slightly on his used line. "Help me up."
Sam did so. After they held hands for a second, Tucker said, "Guys, please warn me before you start your blushy moments. It's really awkward to walk in on."
Danny sprung back. "Aha! See! I knew you were going to say that!"
His friends gave him puzzled looks. Tucker said, "Danny, if you really aren't feeling well, it's not worth it to go to school."
Danny hit himself on the forehead. "Let's just go to school." He replied.
Lancer's class: The same test. Same first question. Correct this sentence: Peter hates all goalies, who's equipment he has been beaten with. Danny finished the test, but stared at it for a long time. Weirdly enough, he thought he did slightly better.
History: Paulina was using the same compact. Same shade of blush. Same boring lecture on the Stamp Act.
Math: Danny looked through his book fervently. None of the drawings he had done yesterday were in there. They were just gone. No groundhogs, no Sam, no Valerie, no Paulina. He snapped his books shut and stared at it. Panic rising.
Lunch: Tucker and Sam debate. He set his table down in the middle of their conversation. Instead of asking he just said, "Dash asked you out?"
Sam blinked, "Yeah, how did you know?"
Tucker turned to him. "Danny, tell Sam she should have told Dash no."
Danny said, "Sam, I agree with Tucker. Turn him down, he's probably using you."
Sam stood up, furious. "Oh, so a guy can't like me unless he's using me, huh? I thought we got rid of that attitude a long time ago. And who are you guys to tell me who I can and can't date?" Without waiting for their answer, she stalked off.
Danny sat down and stared at the gelatinous pile on his plate. "I don't think there was a right reaction to that."
Tucker chuckled slightly. "Hey dude, what can I say? You are an expert a pissing Sam off."
Danny's eyes shot to him. He gulped down his lunch and threw it away, heading to gym.
oOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOo
Danny walked home, on the alert for Skulker. He saw the armored ghost shoot across the sky above him. Right on schedule.
He changed behind a tree and flew up in the air. "Hey, didn't we go through this yesterday?" he said.
Skulker laughed. "No, whelp. Is your memory diminishing as well as your fighting prowess?"
Danny kicked his butt. Same as the day before.
He finished his homework easily. Same as the day before.
Mom served radioactive meatballs. Same as the day before.
Danny sat in bed with his head in his hands. He had the biggest migraine ever from his weird day. He wet to turn off the light and then thought better of it.
"Danny?" Jazz stuck her head in. "I know you weren't feeling well today, but cheer up. Tomorrow will be better."
Danny leaned back on his pillows. "But what if there isn't a tomorrow Jazz? There wasn't on today."
Jazz rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Danny." She closed the door behind her.
Danny stared at the door and then at the radio alarm clock next to his bed. There was a pencil next to it.
Taking the wooden pencil in his hands, he stared at it thoughtfully for a moment. Then he broke it and put one half on the bed to him. The other half he threw across the room.
Leaning on one elbow, he concentrated on the pencil-half next to his alarm. He stared at it for a long time.
He must have fallen asleep.
Next Morning:
"Hey there! This is WGST, and good morning Amity Park! Happy Groundhog's Day! It's going to be a cold one out there, so dress warm! And there are predictions for a huge winter snowstorm. Now let's have a musical interlude with, Mr. Brightside, by The Killers!"
Danny shot up and looked at the alarm clock, horrified. Next to it laid a whole pencil.