Ignoring the sharp eyes of the school librarian, who had both informed and threatened him that it better be for schoolwork when Danny scribbled his name down for one of the six computers, Danny shifted to block her view and pulled up his email.
There was the usual stuff. His email carelessly clustered in among many. Tales that one had to pass on to so many people or horror befall you. Deleting those chain things easily, Danny narrowed his eyes at an unfamiliar email address marked with 'Please read and respond'.
Clicking, his eyes latched onto 'Daniel', and he stiffened.
Vlad.
The cheesehead had found his email.
Skimming quick, a few words and phrases jumped out. Enough for Danny to get the gist of it.
Reaching out. Wishing to be there for him. Personal tidbits and emotions shared about Mom and Dad. Checking on Danny. For them to have someone to lean on, to support each other, to help with the pain and getting through the pain.
It was actually...decent of Vlad.
'All you wanted was to make the hurt go away.'
Danny swallowed. Hard. Painfully.
Yeah. That was a huge blaring NO.
His finger pressed firmly down.
Delete.
Last email was from Valerie.
Settling in, Danny read hers, taking it all in. Valerie's email read like a journal. Talking over events and what people were doing back home.
Apparently Dash was a leading force in a start up effort for a statue at Nasty Burger, threatening and slamming people into lockers so they gave money for it. Danny nearly chuckled. That sounded like Dash.
Danny quickly continued on with the email. Better than get to thinking too much on why Dash was doing it.
Spike had finally been caught putting up graffiti in boys bathrooms, caught red handed in the one on the top floor.
Shame. That was the last bathroom. And Danny had liked seeing the artwork on the back of the stall doors. The moon landing twist had been his favorite one. It'd had the moon on top of Buzz and Neil, whom lay squished flat underneath and a flag on the dazed astronauts' heads.
And Tetslaff had been spotted in a flowery dress out on a date. What?! Danny's mouth gaped at the screen. He desperately wanted to see pictures of that like right now. Apparently, according to some digging by Star, it was a cousin of Lancer's who had stayed in Amity to clear out his place. And she described the cousin as quote, 'A total Fabio'.
Oh. He really wanted to see that now.
Valerie also gave a little in her personal life and what she'd been up to. Not too much. But, reading between the lines, it sounded like she was still doing a little ghost hunting.
Danny's chest clenched at that.
She finished up the email asking what he was up to, saying she missed him, that she didn't really have anyone else but Star to hang out with now. Sometimes. When Star wasn't with Paulina and the other A-listers.
Well.
Danny clicked to make a return email to Valerie.
Probably won't believe him. But she'd get it. She'd laugh. Find it outrageous. Unlike those here. They'd been all, of course, and the jokes grew more impressive about his abilities.
'Well,' he typed out. 'Believe it or not, because I still can't believe it or that I actually agreed to it, I'm joining the cross country team at my new school and starting up with them after this weekend.'