This chapter, without my notes, has 953 words. Interesting.
Thanks for bearing with the boring chapter last time. In this chapter I totally skip the whole weekend. Umm, it also gets weird but ends on a high note, like I think I said last chapter
my deepest appreciation to all my readers, favoriters, and reviewers! Love you all.
"It's the Sabbath. What unholy idiot could be calling?" Sam grumbled, not really meaning it, as the insistent ringing of her phone cut through the silence. She put away her diary and picked up the phone reluctantly. "Hello?" It would be Danny or Tucker, of course. It better be.
"Hello, this is Candice Evans from –"
Sam slammed down the phone and stayed inside both Saturday and Sunday, amusing herself by unplugging all the phones, sketching and painting, and tending to her plants in the greenhouse.
Monday arrived, bringing with it an uneasy feeling that seemed to hover about her like a cloud. Sam got up as late as possible, hoping no one would be shadowing her as she walked to school this time with her friends.
She met her friends at her door – she was always the last stop – and happened to glance at Danny's backpack...the very same one the ghost boy had, of course.
"Danny. Will anyone see the similarity? Your backpack, Phantom's backpack?"
"Oh, um...dang."
Sam sighed. She needed to think ahead more – for other people. "Wait here." She ran to her room, got a can of spray-paint, and promptly spray-painted his whole backpack pitch-black.
"Sam!" Tucker cried.
"It's for the good of all," Sam said tiredly. "So no one recognizes the famous person's backpack."
Sure enough...
"Hey, dude! Your backpack looks just like the ghost boy's, only black! Way cool, dude!" Dash grinned, holding his hand up for a high-five.
Danny stared, then remembered to smile and half-heartedly returned the high-five, faking enthusiasm. "Yeah! Thanks!" That dumb jock was being nice because of this? His backpack – just because it looked like the ghost boy's – was earning him respect. He felt like something was vaguely wrong about the whole thing.
"Did you see that?" Danny said in awe to his two friends. But their eyes were elsewhere. Paulina had arrived, and she looked like a cobra ready to strike.
"The ghost boy is MINE! Back off, you goth freak!" Paulina spat at Sam. Her usually beautiful teal eyes were now hard and angry.
"For the last time, he was giving me a ride to school. Jealous much?" Sam's eyes flashed as she stepped forward to meet her opponent.
"You don't deserve it!"
"What makes you think you do?"
"I'm beautiful, popular, and perfect! Everything you aren't! The ghost boy should like me! I'm worthy of attention!"
Stupid...ignorant...shallow...Barbie! Rage threatened to consume Sam. "You..." she hissed. She narrowed her eyes and was about to lunge at her when her friends' hands, one on each shoulder, restrained her.
Sam sniffed angrily, feeling tears of fury well up. She fought it bravely and yelled back, "You're different species! If you two ever got together it would be the sickest, and most wrong thing ever!"
Danny froze, and so did Sam, realizing what she had just said. She raised a trembling hand to her mouth. A heavy silence enfolded the hallway. Then, seemingly on cue, the crowd that had gathered quietly sang a collective "Ooooohhhh."
Tucker sized up the expectant crowd, decided they couldn't win, and pulled them outside even though class was about to start.
"Guys," Tucker started, looking at them both. Danny still looked numb, while Sam was on the verge of tears now. She was breathing heavily from her sudden outburst.
Sam glanced at Tucker, then took a long look at Danny's face. She took a shuddering breath and threw herself at Danny, sobbing into his chest. Danny momentarily unfroze to reach around her awkwardly and embrace her. "I'm sorry, Danny, I'm sorry," Sam cried into his shirt. Danny glared at Tucker over her head, daring him to say something.
Tucker looked away, his expression serious for once.
Danny pulled her closer, trembling. "It's okay..."
"You know how much I hate Paulina, I just...didn't ever want to see her and you...that's what I meant by sick and wrong...not you yourself...ever...'cuz you're not..."
Danny chanced to look up and see Tucker watching them expressionlessly. Awkward girl moment, Danny mouthed at Tucker. Tucker's mouth raised in a slight smirk. He tapped his watch.
Danny got the message, but hated to break off the hug. Well, maybe it was time. He patted her back, and even ran his fingers through her hair once, and held her hands so she looked up at him. He looked into her eyes and said seriously once again, "It's okay. Really. I understand." A pause. "Okay, let's go."
"Ugh, this is so out-of-character for me," Sam said, her voice cracking, and wiping her eyes so that her mascara smeared everywhere. "Must be all the stress." She laughed weakly. "You guys go ahead, I'm going to fix my makeup."
As it turned out, Danny and Tucker weren't late, but Sam was. After fully ten minutes, she came in late, avoiding all eye contact.
A note from Tucker landed on Danny's desk. He opened it carefully, hoping to avoid Mr. Lancer's notice.
You better still not like Paulina now.
He glanced at Tucker, who gave him a meaningful look. He lowered his gaze to the paper.
Of course not...I was over her a long time ago. Seriously.
Tucker read it twice, and raised an eyebrow at him. Yeah, right, he mouthed. He threw the paper back at Danny in disbelief.
Danny shrugged, grinned, and wrote some more.
I'll prove it! And I have a plan. It's called ...Operation Disillusionment.
Tucker smirked as he composed a reply.
Ahaha, that's a big word for you, Mr. C Student. What's Disillusionment supposed to do?
Danny only smiled. Paulina would absolutely hate him after this, but Sam would be in heaven.
Next chapter...monday probably, it's half done right now.
Do you think Sam was capable of that? feel free to say so, or no. I accidentally started writing a bunch of angst for Sam's thoughts after the fight (don't worry, I cut it out of chapter five, maybe it will be some sort of oneshot, but I doubt it. More like a scrap on dA.) :D