-The Next Morning-
A peaceful 7:39am. Birds were tweeting, the sun was shining brightly on Amity Park and the beautiful, calm sound of silence filled the air; up until Danny's sister Jazz knocked on Danny's door a minute later.
"Whoa!" Danny's eyes shot open, "This time already? I feel like I only just got to sleep an hour ago." Danny sighed loudly, getting up to get dressed for school. Danny read his clock, "7:42am. Perfect, 13 minutes until the bus leaves. That's just enough time to panic." Danny said to himself calmly before breaking out into a frenzy of combining brushing his teeth, putting on his shoes and packing his bag at the same time.
"There's nothing better than school," Danny breathed, "Maybe except letting Skulker skin me alive." Danny sarcastically said, dreading the next 8 hours of his life.
Before Danny left to walk to the bus, Jazz stopped him, "So what's the plan for today, Danny?" Jazz asked in her usual cheery, confident tone.
"The usual: get on the bus, get books thrown at my head, suffering, Dash, nap time during lectures, more suffering, getting stuffed in a locker, suffering, tests upon tests, Dash, dying on the inside and then more suffering. And because of this conversation, a late mark." Danny answered in a cheery, yet depressive tone.
"Oh Danny, don't be like that. School is for new experiences and getting good grades. You'll miss it when it's over." Jazz continued with her cheery attitude, holding her books high and her smile wide as she was just about to go to uni.
"I think I just puked a little in my mouth." Danny laughed, leaving to now run to catch the bus.
-Casper High-
"Oversleep again?" Tucker asked with a smirk in homeroom, "I can tell by your late mark on the register and by the fact you're wearing odd socks, man." Tucker explained, leaning down to look at Danny's left red, spotted and short sock, and his other plain-blue sock.
"I'm not surprised, school's torment. I'd sleep late to miss it, too." Sam commented, hearing Paulina's booming voice talk about how another guy has tried putting the moves on her. Sam continued, "Yep, school torment." Rolling her eyes, she turned her head back to Danny to ask if he'd given more thought to the talent show.
"You know I'm not gonna do it, Sam, just drop it." Danny answered rudely, holding his hands over his face.
Before the first class started, Mr. Lancer handed out a sheet of paper to each student. Each one looking more confused than the next. "Now, I know your little faces seem confused and wondrous, but I'm here to answer your questions. The school is looking for a new music teacher to replace Mrs. Harris as she was not competent enough for the job, and the staff of Casper High would like help in looking for someone suitable." Mr. Lancer explained, tapping the piece of paper in Danny's hands which stated an available position in the school as a music teacher.
"And the school wants us to help find a teacher?" Danny asked with a confused, unbelieving tone.
"That's right, Fenton. The school needs someone soon and we're recruiting you students to help find us someone." Mr. Lancer smiled almost sinisterly as he continued passing more of the papers around.
Danny read aloud the sheet of paper,
'Casper High, very popular public high school, in need of a music teacher to inform, teach and inspire students of many ages to pursue in music careers.
Wage is competitive and no contract is required. See Principle Ishiyama for details!'
Sam wasn't sure how to feel about this, however Tucker was ecstatic. "No music class for the next couple days!" Tucker had the biggest smile a teenager could have.
When break time came around, Danny noticed over half the school left their leaflets on the floors in the halls, outside on the ground and some were actually put in the school trash cans. No one cared for a new teacher. No one cared for the music subject in school. No one cared for school, period.
"I hope we never get a new music teacher." Tucker sighed happily, taking in the joy of no music class. Danny didn't care for music, nor for his apparent "talent." So he had no comment on the situation.
"How could you say that?" Sam asked Tucker in an aggressive, sharp tone. "Music is an expression of everyone's unique individuality." Sam commented, thinking of a way to get the music program back. She thought about asking someone from her dark poetry club to step in.
On the way to their next class, Danny felt a wisp of cold air form from his mouth. Sam saw it was time for Danny Phantom to protect Amity and go ghost.
Running into the boys bathroom quickly, Danny pulled off his bag, "I'm going ghost!" Danny yelled as two white rings appeared around his torso, travelling around his body until he became the town's ghost hero, Danny Phantom.
Danny went intangible through the ceiling and through to the roof of the school and floated just above the school to find the ghost that activated his ghost sense.
"Alright ghost, come out whenever you are!" Danny commanded boldly, floating over the nearby woods. "I'm not playing hide and seek, so-" Danny started to say, but was rudely interrupted by a beam of blue ecto-energy shot directly at his chest.
"We meet again, whelp." A booming dark voice said from through the trees.
"I recognize your voice from anywhere. What do you want, Skulker?" Danny asked, eyes glowing a luminous fierce green.
"I had a small fight with my girlfriend and giving her your pelt will show her I'm the greatest hunter in the Ghost Zone." Skulker smirked, aiming his ecto-net launcher at Danny.
"You think giving Ember dead skin will get her back?" Danny asked, roaring with laughter he could hardly contain it. "That's hilarious! The only thing you'd get in return is a flying music fist to the face!" Danny continued laughing, holding his gut because of the stitch he was getting from laughing too much.
Skulker fumed, fueled with rage. "I will have your pelt!"
Danny recalled what Ember had told him a few days ago; about how Skulker reminded her of her deceased father and did not enjoy anything besides hunting. "What do you two even have in common?" Danny asked Skulker, wide-eyed, beaming with curiosity.
"Well, we both enjoy many things." Skulker answered vaguely. "We both enjoy hunting you!" Skulker roared, shooting numerous nets towards Danny.
"And so do the rest of the Ghost Zone!" Danny added in a huff, shrugging his shoulders as he dodged each net. "But that doesn't mean Ember should date every ghost in the Ghost Zone." Danny added, flying 112 mph at Skulker, blasting his chest with ecto-blasts point-blank.
"What do you know about dating, ghost child? You haven't got a girlfriend." Skulker mentioned, his fiery hair blazing larger.
"I'm working on it!" Danny raged, also realizing he wasn't the best love expert advisor.
"Ember was lucky to have a hunter like me by her side. She should be thankful I'm trying to get her back!" Skulker roared, flying down to pick up a car and throw it at Danny. Danny was completely caught off guard by how self-centered Skulker was, so the car hit him straight-on. A loud crash was heard as Danny was crushed against a nearby wall by the car that was thrown at him. Danny felt his ghost powers draining slowly as he was using too much power; he needed to end this now.
Danny took a deep breath, he was ready to unleash his ghostly wail. "No you don't, whelp!" At the same time as Danny was in position to unleash his most powerful attack, Skulker unleashed his newest power up. And without a second to realize what was happening, Danny's chest was grabbed by a bright-green grapple that tore into his ghost energy and zapped his body, draining his ghost powers quickly and painfully.
"Skulker! What is this!?" Danny screamed in pain as every last bit of his ghost energy was being pulled out of his body.
"My newest creation: the ecto-drainer." Skulker grinned, watching Danny as his ghost form powered down, the rings forming around his body.
Danny collapsed to the floor as Skulker let him go. Danny groaned in pain, placing his hand on his aching chest.
"You know ghost child, I have always wondered why no one has gone after your human self." Skulker wondered out loud, "I'm surprised Ember hasn't taken care of you yet. She knows what your human half looks like." Skulker questioned, pointing his ecto weapon at Danny.
"I asked a favor to have the ghosts memories who know who my human half is removed, which includes Ember. But since then ghosts like you have found out what my human half looks like, again." Danny answered, remembering he needs to ask the same favor to remove every ghost's memory of his human half.
"No mere whelp will remove my memory!" Skulker roared, grabbing Danny by his shirt, furious by the fact Danny had removed his memory at one point. Before Skulker could pummel Danny's face, they both heard a very distinct, "Danny!" come from behind them. As Skulker turned around, he was quickly sucked into the Fenton thermos by none other than Tucker and Sam. Danny dropped to the floor as Skulker let go of him.
"We thought you were out of class a little long so we went to go look for you." Tucker explained, being thankful that they came in time.
"Thanks, guys. I owe you big time." Danny expressed his thanks, smiling slightly.
"Though I was hoping we'd spend a little longer looking for you because apparently we still have music class next." Tucker looked as if he was about to cry.
"But there's no music teacher." Danny retorted, confused as to why music classes were continuing. "You know how schools are. They can't just cut off a class off the class schedule; they probably have a substitute." Sam shrugged, putting the Fenton thermos in her bag as the three of them made their way into class.
They all arrived to the class a few minutes late to see the entire class destroying the place. Dash was cutting the strings of some of the guitars, Kwan was unplugging all the wires from the keyboards and computers and Paulina was moving all the chairs so that all the popular girls in the class could sit in a circle and gossip about the losers in the class. Some of the other A-listers were throwing sheets of music paper all over the floor and writing all over the whiteboards. Danny, Sam and Tucker sighed loudly, wondering how mad the substitute teacher was going to be. Every time they had a substitute teacher, their class was always this destructive because they never cared for a substitute.
Danny, Sam and Tucker decided to find any available seats at the back of the class that weren't destroyed or already pushed backwards on the floor. "Can't believe how late the sub is." Sam said in disbelief, shaking her head as she glanced at how disruptive the class was.
"HOLY CRUD!" Dash exclaimed, pointing at the door of the classroom. The entire class jumped and roared in shock. "AH, OMG. OMG." Paulina screamed in a high pitched voice.
"Alright get this straight, dipsticks," There stood Ember McLain with a glare as she sneered at the class. "Let's lay down some rules; I'm not here to care about you or make you think some of you have talent. And stop your screaming!" Ember expressed angrily as the class began to pipe down.
Sam, Tucker and Danny all looked at each other with worrisome faces. Sam whispered over to Danny, "Danny, what do we do?" Sam panicked, knowing Ember would recognize her and Tucker. "She won't recognize me." Danny remembered out loud, "I already erased her memory and she hasn't seen my human half since!"
"Everyone shut up!" Ember screeched, slamming a book on the desk. "What the hell happened to the room?" Ember asked throughout the class seeing all the mess that was present.
The whole class shuddered and instantly got up to tidy up everything they destroyed. Dash went to go clean up all the graffiti on the boards. Paulina went to plug in all the cables back into the keyboards and before anything else began they heard Ember yell at the top of her voice, "WHO CUT THESE GUITAR STRINGS?!"
Dash panicked and kept his mouth shut. "It was the loser!" Dash pointed at Danny. Danny didn't say anything because he didn't want to draw Ember's attention to himself. "Dipstick, what the hell did you think you were doing?!" Ember marched up to Danny, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.
"He didn't do it, Ember!" Sam called out, instantly regretting raising her voice.
Ember turned her head and instantly dropped Danny back onto his chair. "You…" Ember murmured, "I remember you!" Ember called out, glaring daggers at Sam. She turned her head to Tucker next to Sam. Ember shivered at the memory of Tucker's singing voice at her world domination concert. "And ugh, I remember you." Ember recalled the way Tucker had ruined her plans.
"Where's the other dipstick?" Ember questioned, circling around Tucker and Sam, referring to Danny Phantom. "We don't know who you're on about, McLame." Sam spat, turning away from Ember.
"I wouldn't talk to me like that, I am your permanent music teacher after all." Ember smirked, grabbing a small yellow notebook from her pocket. "This notebook was given to me by the principle. It's called a detention booklet." Ember explained as she wrote down her first detention slip. Ember looked at the register to search for names. "Samantha Manson," Ember began writing down the detention slip. "Reason? Talking out of turn and calling the teacher names." Ember was enjoying herself as she wrote down Sam's detention slip.
"Permanent teacher?" Tucker asked. "That's right," Ember glanced at the register, finding Tucker's name, "Tucker Foley. I am your new permanent music teacher." Ember smiled widely, writing Tucker a detention slip for also talking out of turn. "If you'd like to speak, you can put your hand up and ask for permission, dipsticks." Ember stated, ripping out the detention slips to give to Tucker and Sam. Danny was about to question her teaching ways, but he would've caught her attention if he criticized her teaching.
"This is not good." Danny sighed, uncomfortably scratching the back of his head.
Any of you want Ember as a music teacher? It'd be crazy, ahah! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review, dipsticks.
