"Uh…hello?" A groggy, sleep-choked voice answered the phone.
"Tucker! It's Danny!"
"Wha-?"
"Median is Danny, Tucker!"
"Who's Median?"
"Tucker, wake up!"
"Sam…it's like, two in the morning or something…"
"Tucker, remember when I told you about this morn- I mean, yesterday morning, when I was walking in the park?"
"Uh….yeah…with the old ladies and that kid?"
"Yeah! Tucker, that kid was Danny. I'm sure of it."
"How?"
"Can you sneak out for a little while?"
"Why?"
"We need to talk."
"We are talking, Sam."
"Face to face."
"Can't it wait until morning?"
"Tucker, he's back! We can't just wait."
There was a pause as Tucker yawned. "We don't even know if it's really him! It could just be some kid with a really weird name."
"I know it's him, Tuck. Please, you've gotta help me find him. I can't do this alone."
There was a pause over the phone.
A sigh.
"…Alright. Where do you want to meet?"
"How about behind the theater?"
"Sure. Gimme a half hour."
"Alright. I'll see you there."
Click.
For the first time in years, Sam felt lighter than air.
She also felt extremely scared.
What if she was wrong?
Tucker laughed. "He wanted to be a ghost?"
Sam grinned sheepishly. "Yeah."
"And he said he wanted to be called 'Median'?"
"Yep."
"Danny?"
"Yep."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Danny thought of that, all on his own?"
"He has his moments."
Tucker chuckled again, noting at the same time that Sam used the word 'has', not 'had'.
She was dead serious.
Hope sparked in Tucker's chest.
Maybe Danny really was back, after all.