Thanks to YumeTakato, Snickerer, egyptianqueen777, Jennie, Vathara, and wfea.
Chapter 8: Breeze
Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Butch Hartman instead.
The Day of the Triffids belongs to John Wyndham and I really don't want to own it.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare also does not belong to me. I have no clue who actually has the rights to that stuff these days, but I'm pretty sure it's not me.
And a word of advice before I get started: keep in mind what everyone's feeling throughout the climax, because that's the point, after all. Otherwise, it's just going to feel kind of blasé (I think).
Danny's ghost sense woke him up half an hour before his alarm. He groaned and rolled over. Through his half-open eyes he saw a mix of blinding pink and yellow. He screamed and propelled himself backwards, landing in a heap of blankets on his floor.
"Hey, sorry, man..." The quilt flew off the floor and dropped onto the bed.
"Aster?" asked Danny blearily. "What are you doing here? It's not even seven yet..."
"Couldn't wait any longer. I've been up since dawn, man."
Right, thought Danny, today's the big day. He's sure eager.
"You shoulda seen your face, Danny. Priceless."
"I bet. Think you could leave me alone for another half hour?"
"No can do, man." Aster grinned. "I don't want to waste a minute!"
"Then go say good morning to my parents while I get dressed," Danny groaned. "No, cancel that. Say good morning to Jazz."
Aster looked slightly put out, but phased himself through the wall into the neighbouring room anyway. As Danny was pulling his shirt over his head, his sudden inspiration was rewarded with another scream. He struggled to pull on his pants in preparation for what he knew would come.
"Daniel Fenton! What was the idea of sending him into my room at this time in the morning?" Danny's sister was standing in the doorway with a thumb jerked back at Aster, who was doubled over laughing behind her. "Just wait till I get my hands on you..." Jazz lunged at her brother. Danny went intangible and she fell through him.
"Relax, Jazz. It's Emotion Day. Just giving Aster what he came for." Danny grinned down at his sister.
"Fine! But if you ever do that again..."
"You'll have to catch me first."
"I'm as trained in ghost hunting as the rest of the family. Just be warned." And with that, Jazz left the room. Danny turned to Aster.
"So, want to see what my parents are up to?"
Aster nodded keenly, Danny went ghost, and they both dropped through the floorboards and the entire first floor of the house.
Once in the lab, Danny shouted, "Morning, Mom! Morning, Dad!" The two adult Fentons jumped at the interruption and Danny's father swung the weapon he was working on towards the noise instinctively. When he noticed who he was aiming at, he lowered it quickly and awkwardly and slid it onto the counter again.
"Aster came early," Danny explained.
"I see," said his mother, lifting her facemask. "Well, your father and I are almost finished here, so I'll be up to make breakfast soon. Go and wait, and try to stay out of trouble."
"No prob, Mrs. F. Don't sweat it." Aster flew back up through the ceiling and Danny followed a few moments later to find Aster already stretched out lackadaisically on the living room couch.
"Man, you know, you're lucky. They don't have pads like this in the Ghost Zone."
"Really?" Danny asked. "What's behind your door, then?"
"Flowers, nature, stuff like that. I like it, man, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you just really want a couch, know what I mean?" Danny didn't, but he nodded anyway.
"What about other ghosts, then?" he asked the pink ghost. "Don't you have friends?"
"In the Ghost Zone? Are you kidding? There's no one there who's into that peace and love jazz, man." Aster sighed and became serious for a moment. "Frankly, I think they find me annoying, for the most part."
Wonder why, thought Danny, while he forced himself to say, "No way!" Then he added, "So what do they think of the Box Ghost then?"
"Don't even get me started. He keeps telling me I need more square things. Man-made stuff's not my bag, man. He just doesn't get it."
"I know what you mean. I send him to the Ghost Zone every other day and he keeps coming back. You'd think 746 captures would discourage him... Not that I'm counting or anything."
At that moment there was a burst of gleeful laughter from downstairs. Aster, ever on the lookout for emotions, phased himself back into the lab. Danny, less ecstatic about whatever it was than either the hippie or his father, took the stairs.
"Um, Dad?"
"Danny! It's finished! The Fenton Ecto-Coater is finished!"
"And would that explain why there are five beakers floating near the ceiling?"
"Of course! The Ecto-Coater covers things in ectoenergy and gives them ghost powers! You can choose what and how long with this little dial thingy here, see, Danny? Think of all the things we can do with this!"
Danny examined the device and raised an eyebrow. "You know, Dad, that might actually be useful at some point," he remarked.
"What might?" asked a girl's voice from the base of the stairs.
Jack Fenton whirled around, pointing the Ecto-Coater at the source of the voice. As always, he did it slightly too fast and pulled the trigger. A blast of glowing goop flew out of the nozzle and landed on the top of Jazz Fenton's head. As this was a fairly regular occurrence in the household, the standard routine fell into place.
"Dad!" screamed Jazz.
"Sorry, Jazzypants!" yelled her father.
"Here," said Danny, throwing her a towel.
"Jack! Again?" asked Maddie.
"What is it going to do to her/me?" asked the non-Jack members of the family, in unison.
"Well, let's see. I didn't switch the dial from hovering and it's still set at ten minutes, so..."
"So I'm going to be stuck up here with Aster for the next ten minutes." Jazz didn't sound impressed as she wiped ectogoo off her face while floating near the beakers. Her dad nodded, looking embarrassed, and her mom and brother were looking sympathetic.
"Hey, Jazz, chill out. It's not every day you get to fly."
"Thanks, Aster. Mind pushing me upstairs?"
---
By the time Jazz fell onto the middle of the kitchen table ten minutes later, Maddie Fenton had managed to cook a few rashers of non-glowing bacon and boil some eggs for her family. Since it was the last day of school, she felt that she had to at least try to make it special for the family. Besides, the more she could do today that would generate emotions for Aster, the better. The hippie had already flown up to the Op Center to discharge, so the day had had a promising start.
After Jazz had cleaned herself up again and both children had eaten, Jack Fenton drove them and Aster to school for the day. Maddie joined them, since there would be an awards ceremony that morning to honour the students who'd done well during the year. Jazz, as always, was up for most of the awards, and the parents were coming to be supportive. Plus it meant that Aster would get to enjoy all the terror that resulted from Jack Fenton's driving.
Once at the school, Jack, Maddie, and Jazz went to the gym to help Lancer with the preparations and Danny headed to his locker, Aster following invisibly, and met up with Tucker and Sam. He gave them a thumbs-up to let them know that Aster was with him, and they waved to where they thought he was.
"Ugh, look, Star, Goth Geek and Tech Nerd are waving at the air. Freaks." Paulina, dressed in another of her trademark tight outfits, walked by, Star beside her. They both laughed at the trio apparently making fools of themselves in the middle of the hallway. If it had been quieter or less crowded, the two cheerleaders might have heard a disembodied voice near the "freaks."
"Ooh, nice. Pride, with a tinge of envy..."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Aster, do we need a running commentary on the emotion readout? 'Cause that gets old, fast."
"Envy, Aster?" Danny asked incredulously. "Paulina envies us?" I thought she hated us, me especially.
"Sweet! Think that could improve my chances?" asked Tucker perkily.
"No," three different bored voices intoned.
"You guys have real friendships," Aster continued, answering Danny's question, "and you don't care what people think of you. She's the opposite."
"You can tell that from her emotions?" asked Danny.
"No. I can tell that by looking at you and her. It's pretty obvious." Aster sounded smug.
"C'mon, guys, we don't want to be late for the last day." Tucker grabbed Danny's arm and pulled slightly. The two humans, the halfa, and the ghost moved off to their first class, Health. Outside the door, Danny stopped.
"Guys, I'm going to be late. Go in without me. You too, Aster."
"Danny!" Sam hissed. "Testlaff's going to flip if you're ... oh. Right. See ya!"
Danny waited invisibly in the hall for a full five minutes outside the classroom. Figuring he'd stayed long enough, he turned visible again and stepped into the room looking furtive.
"Hi, sorry I'm late, don't really have an excuse, please don't give me detention, it's the last day of school," he muttered as he made a beeline for his desk.
"DETENTION?" the large teacher yelled. "Fenton, you've been late for this class every week this year! And you've skipped it more times than I can remember. So you'll get detention and then some. Maybe if you give up your weekends this summer, it'll teach you to give school the respect it deserves!"
Ms. Testlaff had turned bright red. Danny cringed, actually somewhat afraid. He knew that Lancer would probably excuse him when he showed up in detention that afternoon, but Testlaff's temper was volcanic. When her tirade was finished, Danny sat down, relieved, and Sam and Tucker gave him the thumbs up.
"We almost thought you were going to skip completely," whispered Tucker. "She's been lecturing us about sum-..."
"I know. I was standing outside the door, remember?" There was a hiss and brief static crackle as the school's PA system turned on. Then Lancer's tenor blared out into every hallway and classroom.
"All teachers, please bring your students to the auditorium for the awards ceremony. I repeat, all teachers and students to the auditorium."
There was a massive scraping of chairs as everyone fought to leave the classroom at once. In the chaos, Sam muttered, "See you there, Aster." The cold that had been surrounding them lifted.
Testlaff got her students seated in the middle of the auditorium and stood on the sidelines, arms folded and glaring. Half the seats in the room had been reserved for parents, and they were already filled. Their children sat in various positions of preparatory boredom in the rest of the seats. They knew what was coming wouldn't be fun.
Principal Ishiyama stepped up to the podium and began her opening address.
"As we come to the end of another school year at Casper High, I would like to take the time to reflect on the highlights of the year. The Casper Ravens made it to the finals of the State Championships, thanks to Dash Baxter who scored the winning touchdown in the semi-finals. A student at our school, Jazz Fenton, placed in the top five percent of all-time SAT scores, though this will come as a surprise to few. Mikey Davis and his team of science students took home the State Science Trophy for their design of a locker that is both more spacious and bullyproof. We will be installing a bank of these over the summer in further recognition of their work." She flipped to the next note card.
"This year also had its share of difficulties. There was an increased number of ghost attacks on the school, especially in the second half of the year, but since this corresponded with Will Spirit's appearance in Amity Park, we have been able to continue school regularly. I need not remind anyone here of the kidnapping that took place several months ago, either. We have also had to deal with the standard disciplinary issues of high school life and the trials and tribulations of getting funding from the school board, but that is not to be unexpected." She moved the last card to the front of her stack.
"The end of the school year is a time of celebration for teachers and students. This morning we will be honouring the high achievers and exceptional students of Casper High, but we will also be bidding farewell to many, including our own vice-principal, Mr. Lancer, who is moving on to better things." She looked up at the audience, and smirked. "I can see from the expressions of the students that I've talked long enough, so I would like to call up Mr. Faluka to present the math and science awards."
The short, graying teacher took the microphone and began to speak. Half an hour later, the top students in all the relevant subjects in each grade had been rewarded. Mikey got everything for Danny's grade except for the Computer Science award, which went to Tucker. Jazz took Grade 12 biology and chemistry. There was also a special trophy for Mikey and his science geeks.
Lancer took the stage then to present the humanities awards. Sam received a gift certificate at the Skulk and Lurk for being the top English 10 student, and Danny got Most Improved. Jazz, who was graduating, received a special plaque for her self-guided psychological research, since Casper didn't have a course in psychology. The rest of the awards went to people Danny didn't know, so he drifted off. He awoke at a sudden pain in his left arm.
"Danny!" the goth beside him whispered. "They're saying goodbye to Lancer. You might want to be awake for this."
"Thanks, Sam," he replied groggily. "Wha'd I miss?"
"Athletic awards, citizenship awards, top students, honour roll, work habits .."
"So pretty much everything."
"Yup!" beamed Tucker. "You were lucky!"
Danny turned his attention up to the stage, where Ishiyama was standing with an uncomfortable looking Lancer, the rest of the staff in a line behind them.
"As I said in my opening address," the principal said, "and as many of you already know, Mr. Lancer is retiring from teaching this year. He claims it's because he has been offered another job with the city, but I think he's doing it because English literature has finally driven him crazy." That got a wave of polite laughter from the audience.
"As of next September," the principal continued, "Mr. Lancer will be heading the educational division of the Ghost Education and Information Support Team which Mayor Burns has created to deal with the continuing ghost problems of our beautiful city. I am sure that he will do wonderfully in the role. Still, we will certainly miss him here at Casper High School, where he taught for twenty-five years."
Mr. Sanders and Mrs. Kraus, the shop and home-ec teachers, stepped forward and lifted a package off the table that had held the many awards of the morning. They brought it up to Ishiyama and Lancer.
"As a sign of our enduring thanks and well wishes," the principal said, taking the gift from the two teachers, "the staff and I have chipped in to give Mr. Lancer a little something to remember us by."
Lancer accepted the package and stood there looking dazed for a moment before realizing that everyone was waiting expectantly for him to open it. He did so, and stared at the gift in disbelief.
"Day of the Triffids!" he exclaimed. "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare! Annotated, the possible plays, full historical background, original spellings, leather binding ... This must have cost a fortune! Really, I'm not worth it." He made a show of giving the book back, but the teachers on stage forced it back onto him.
"After all you've done..." "... been a driving force..." "A mentor..." "... longer than I have..." "You deserve it."
The audience applauded and Lancer had the grace to bow awkwardly for them. That was the final section of the ceremony, so Ishiyama gave a quick concluding speech and let everyone go early for lunch. Danny narrowly managed to avoid the embarrassment of his parents in the mayhem that followed as everyone was scrambling for an exit and either chatting with their parents or desperately trying to escape them. Jazz wasn't so lucky.
"Hey, Jazzypants!" yelled Jack, scooping his daughter up in a bear hug, "all those awards ... we always knew you took after your mother! Shame there wasn't one for ghost hunting, though..."
"Dad, you say this every year," wheezed Jazz. "And ghost hunting isn't a course."
"Not yet," the large man boomed, "but just wait till Lancer starts his new job!"
"We're so proud, honey. Here, we'll take these back to the RV for you." Maddie Fenton started picking up the plaques and trophies that had been squeezed out of Jazz's arms by Jack's greeting. After a moment, she straightened and looked into her daughter's eyes.
"We'd better get on patrol so you can enjoy the rest of your day," she stated. "Please keep an eye on the others. I'm worried they might get into deep trouble with a prank or something."
"Of course, Mom. Bye!" Jazz waved back at her parents as she left the auditorium.
---
Aster hung above Casper High grinning wildly. He'd just released the emotions of the awards ceremony for the third time. The morning had poured a glorious jumble of feelings into his body. Pride, hope, disappointment, confidence, sadness, melancholy, shame, embarrassment, joy, respect, apprehension, and a mix of other feelings he couldn't name. So much sentiment in so short a time was overwhelming. Holding Emotion Day today had been a truly inspired idea (Spirit's, if he remembered correctly). And the day wasn't even half over yet.
Aster turned and flew into the school cafeteria, becoming invisible as he did so. This was going to be way too much fun.
