Howdies! The second, completely edited chapter of Fiction. No notes for now, but I hope you enjoy!
Thanks to chapter two's reviewers:
Collie Wolf, The Fuzy Llama, Rebel Thief Lava Wolf Cooper, Divagurl277, UnnamedGuest, PhantomAlchemist
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom is owned by Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon Studios. Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling.
Previously in Fiction: Danny meets Reader, a nerdy looking ghost who loves to read, and finds out she's not really bad. When he nearly gets caught by his parents' latest invention, Jazz rescues him just in time without his knowing. And Reader is curious to know this family a little more...
Fiction
Chapter Two
Snap
Danny climbed out of Jazz's car, yawning. Another boring school day...he thought. But like he'd said before, at least it was Friday, and at least he had his friends.
Speaking of friends...Sam Manson and Tucker Foley walked up to him. He waved to Jazz, who was babbling to herself while she was getting her bag out, which probably weighed like fifteen tons.
"Hey Danny," Sam greeted. She had short black hair, lilac eyes, and dressed Goth, which was a black and green patterned skirt, purple tights, black boots, a black shirt with a purple oval in the middle, and of course a choker and gel bracelets.
"Since when do you ride with Jazz?" Tucker asked, casting his gaze towards the inside of the car. He wore his usual yellow shirt and green pants, topped off with his trademark red beret.
"Since she offered this morning," Danny replied, putting his arm through his backpack.
"What'd your parents say?" Sam said, laughing quietly.
"They just looked at her and she snapped on them. It was quite a show until Reader showed up," Danny said. They started walking towards the school.
"Raider?" Tucker asked, confused.
"It was this ghost. She reminded me of Poindexter. But she wasn't evil; I would have caught her, but my parents almost caught me," Danny said. He turned to Sam. "Were you at my house this morning?"
Sam cocked her head to the side. "No. Why?"
"I could have sworn I heard you. I mean, you sounded a little different, but... I guess I'm going insane. But your voice... or whoever's voice that was, warned me about my parents." He thought a moment. Was he going insane or was there more to it than that?
"I'm guessing you're insane," Tucker suggested.
"Maybe your house is haunted," Sam said, glaring at Tucker. "We could check it out."
"It's haunted enough with all the ghosts that come out of the ghost zone, so I doubt that's the issue," Danny replied. The bell rang overhead as they reached their lockers.
"English. Wow, it's really important to know words we speak everyday," Sam muttered, spinning her combination.
"Yeah, can't wait to get our test back," Tucker said sarcastically.
"And I'm the insane one?" Danny asked. He took his English book (which weighed like thirty pounds) out of his bag, and his notebook.
He felt cold chills travel through his body.
It wasn't just a sense, and his ghost sense hadn't gone off either, but he could tell someone was staring at him. He turned around, looking for the source.
There was no one there.
"Danny?" Tucker asked, staring at him oddly. "You okay?"
"Yeah, come on, we're gonna be late," he said. It was just a little bit of paranoia…
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Reader followed the children and was excited to actually be led to a school. Wait a minute...it was her school, except more recent. Casper High loomed ahead of her, almost a welcoming sight with its future appearance.
"Ooh, cool," she said to herself, grinning.
She saw the two siblings get out of the car; one was soon combined with two others, the girl trying to get something out of the car.
She looked up. There was a bald headed adult walking towards the girl. She laughed with glee; he had to be a teacher. Whatever he would teach, would be perfect.
She jumped up and jumped in.
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Jazz muttered to herself as she heaved her extremely heavy bag out of the car. She had received a lot of homework, especially lately since the junior SATs were just ahead.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Danny's friends Sam and Tucker approach and walk away, him now joining them.
At last she pulled the bag out and hung it on her shoulder. She closed the door and let out a scream of surprise.
"Mr. Lancer, you scared me," Jazz sighed, staring at the blue shirted, bald, short and fairly round teacher who had almost literally come from nowhere.
"Good morning," he said, his voice strangely choked.
"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.
"Yes, just a small cold. I've been coughing all morning. Which is what I'm here to talk to you about. I was hoping, for the sake of my voice, that you could accompany me to my classes today. I, of course, will let your teachers know," he said.
"Okay..." Jazz said, not sounding sure.
"Is there a problem?" he asked.
"No, you've just never asked me that before," Jazz admitted. "Actually, none of the teachers have ever asked me that. I didn't think it was allowed." He didn't say anything, smiling encouragingly and she shrugged. "Sure…"
"I was also wondering, my eye sight's been sort of blurry. I was wondering if you could lead me to the class," he said.
Jazz couldn't help but feel that there was definitely something different about this. His voice, which had been explained, sounded a bit girlish almost. Maybe he was sick; he certainly acted strangely. Then again, not many people took to being sick the same way. But she nodded and smiled. What was she complaining about? She loved school. This was like a once in a lifetime opportunity.
"Your first class is English right?" she asked, walking into the school.
"Yes, it is," he asked, tapping his fingers together. He looked over and stared at someone, his eyes narrowed.
She pulled open the first door in the hallway, the English classroom. "Shall we?"
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The bell rang just as Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked into the doorway, laughing at Danny's lack of grace as he tripped over his own feet.
He looked up, slightly red, and couldn't believe his eyes, gasping. What was Jazz doing here? Mr. Lancer sat in the teacher's desk, looking slightly pale. Jazz stood at his stand, reading something.
"What is Jazz doing here?" Sam asked quietly, taking the seat behind Danny.
"Good question," Danny replied, just as confused.
Jazz walked a few paces and cleared her throat up front and for what felt like the first time, Danny paid attention to her.
"Mr. Lancer's feeling a little under the weather, so I'm filling in for him today. The lesson plan says to hand back your tests." She pulled a stack of papers from the stand and walked between the rows, passing them out.
She smiled proudly when she handed Danny his, setting it on his desk and then ruffling his hair as she continued to hand out the others their own.
He threw a fist in the air. B! He'd been doing a great deal better in his English class. He turned around and showed Sam, who smiled.
Jazz walked back up to the stand. "Turn to page-"
"Actually," Lancer started, motioning her over. Jazz walked over to him and they whispered together. She smiled in understanding and stood straight up, walking back to the rest of the class.
"Your next assignment will be a book report. Five minute presentation over a fictional book that is at least two hundred pages."
Even Danny groaned. Two hundred pages? That would take him forever.
Jazz ignored the complaints. "Let's go to the library."
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Reader smiled inside the teacher's body. Her plan was working perfectly. The girl was fulfilling all of her wishes. Now the entire class would have to read a book or else receive a failing grade. Ha! She wished Sydney could see her now.
Her half brother was never as smart as her. He thought he was a wise guy, and he'd been popular for all about a week after he had started a fight with something called a Halfa or whatever. Then the students had picked on him just like before.
She walked with the girl to the school's library. She hadn't caught her name yet. Her brother was in the first class, which she found extremely unnerving. Why did the boy look so familiar?
Sure, she'd seen them earlier. But he looked oddly familiar. Who was he?
The students filed into the book filled room and Reader felt her heart leap. Thousands more than what had once been there, now lined the shelves.
Oh, she was in heaven now.
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Danny searched along the rows. There was no book that appealed to him. Sam had chosen Faultline, Tucker had chosen Holes.
That was the thing. He didn't read for fun. He read because he had to. Ghosts took up most of his free time, and any other time that he got he would never be caught with his nose in a book. That was his sister's thing. Speaking of sisters…
Jazz sat by Lancer, reading her own book, Harry Potter.
A smile came to Danny's face. Jazz was obsessed with that book...if Danny read a little of it, she could help him. But he couldn't just go and ask her without being caught. It was the perfect chance to get an A.
"Harry Potter, and the what?" he muttered to himself. Something about a prisoner. He searched the large books.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He'd found it. He picked it up and searched through it. It was definitely larger than two hundred pages.
He smiled and snapped the book closed. Sometimes he didn't know how he planned things like that.
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Chaos: Danny, get the key, hurry!
Ghost Boy: I'm trying, I'm trying.
Fryer Tuck: Why aren't you using your ghost powers?
Ghost Boy: Because I want to see if I can make it without them.
Chaos: Besides that's cheating.
Fryer Tuck: I didn't ask your opinion Sam.
Chaos: Then what did you ask? Cause you make no sense.
slash
Ghost Boy: Tucker! She's gonna come back...
Fryer Tuck: So, I just lowered her life points.
"Danny? What are you doing down there?" Jazz called from upstairs. Danny didn't look up from his game.
"I'm doing something Jazz!"
"Danny, your book report is due next week and you haven't even started it," Jazz called, annoyed.
"And your point is?" he asked, playing with the joystick.
"Would you at least read the first chapter and make me happy?" she yelled back.
He sighed. He knew she would never shut up if he didn't.
Ghost Boy: Guys, I have to go.
Fryer Tuck: Why?
Bang bang
Chaos: Sorry, Danny. Why do you have to go?
Ghost Boy: My sister. Why else?
Chaos: Once again, that's life. And yours reeks sometimes.
Ghost Boy: Thanks…
Chaos: Just kidding. See you tomorrow then?
Ghost Boy: Yeah. Bye.
He logged off, making faces as his timing of course was impeccable and Tucker got back into the game at the same time and glared up at the stairwell.
Jazz waited for him as he walked up the stairs. She handed him the book, looking at it oddly. "Interesting reading," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"Where are mom and dad?" he asked, stepping into the kitchen and hoping that he wasn't too obvious by changing the subject.
"Some kind of science seminar." She walked into the living room and stretched out on the couch. "I didn't know your plan of spending time with Sam and Tucker was to play a video game all night." She smiled coyly.
"Well, that's our version I guess," he told her.
"You can sit down," Jazz said, opening her book.
"You don't really expe-"
"Yes."
"-ct me to-"
"Sit!"
Danny felt strangely like he had no choice. He sat down on the chair in front of her and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Open up the book…" she said slowly as if talking to a child. He glared at her and she rolled her eyes. "Just read the first chapter and I'll leave you alone for a while okay?"
"A while?" he asked. "Right…like five minutes you mean."
"Just relax and read, okay?" she asked, sighing.
He sighed too, sitting back and staring at the cover at first before going against his judgment to get her off his back lifting it up.
Well, here goes. He opened the book up. Chapter One: Owl Post.
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Reader watched the siblings through the window. They were reading peacefully, a sight she loved to see.
She liked the girl. She was smart, pretty, intellectual; perfect qualities. Something she didn't see a lot in either one of her old schools. And she knew that her name was Jazmine after spending almost the entire day with her.
But the boy...ooh he was annoying. Playing video games when there was thousands of books waiting to be read. He was only reading because he had to. She couldn't believe it took a teacher's homework (well, you know what she meant) to get him and his weird friends to actually read.
Well...at least they had chosen well. He had picked up Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, like his sister, and his friends Holes and Faultline, three awesome books and all of which she'd read.
All but the older child wouldn't get above an A (which didn't even matter because she wasn't in their class anyway) unless they really liked the book...or understood it really well...
"And what better way to do that than-" Reader said to herself with a wicked grin, coming up with the most fabulous idea "-than to actually live the story?" She smiled; her green eyes dancing. "Of course it's perfect. Stupid, stupid, Reader." She smacked her luminescent forehead.
She looked in the window once more, deciding what to do. This would be perfect. He could be him…and she could be her…and then, maybe later, they could both…Thoughts rushed around her head like mice. Finally, she smiled.
"You're going to have a lot of fun." She raised her hands, which began to glow and closed her eyes.
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"I'm so confused," Danny announced aloud after reading several pages.
"That's because you haven't read the entire series, you're in the third one. You should have read The Sorcerer's Stone first," Jazz replied, not looking up from her book. "Why did you choose that one anyway?"
"I was hoping you could help me," Danny answered innocently.
Jazz read his tone and figured it out; her blue-green eyes flashed dangerously. "You were going to scam information off of me, weren't you?"
"No-" he began fast.
"Danny!" she shouted.
"Yes, I was, I'm sorry," he said. "It's just…you like the book and I thought that you might give me a little help, being my sister and all…"
"Guilt trips don't work on me Danny, but nice try," she said. "I can't believe you."
"Okay, okay...I'll check out the first one instead tomorrow and return this one," Danny said hurriedly. "Okay?"
It happened then. Danny sensed it before it happened and looked around, feeling slightly distant.
And then he was suddenly dizzy and tired. He saw Jazz's head fall backwards against the couch. And he closed his eyes...
Now, we know from the episode The Fright Before Christmas that apparently some ghosts do have the power to zap people into books as you saw very clearly. Finally! An episode that didn't screw up my work, ha ha!
A lot of scene breaks in that chapter. I didn't realize it so much until now. I actually added a lot to it too. Well, tell me what you think!
Please R&R! Here's your sneak peek!
Chapter Three: Stuck In The Famous Life
She clapped a hand to her mouth.
"I'm either dreaming or close to insane…" Jazz said in a voice above a whisper. It seemed to be louder than she thought, however.
The girl lying beside her stirred, and sat up slowly. She saw a flash of brown hair and lavender eyes staring up at her, confused.
"Hermione? What are you doing up so early?" she asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
Jazz screamed.
Lateraina Wolf