THE MONDAY AFTER
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Danny Phantom. Butch Hartman does.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: The first conversation between Danny and Sam was written a week before "Control Freaks" aired. Seriously, I had no idea how that eppy was going to end, you know, with Sam and her parents and the dress and frilly girly stuff and all.
PART ONE: EXPLAINING THINGS
"Hey, Danny! Wait up!"
Danny Fenton closed his locker door, turned to the voice calling his name and smiled. Sam Manson made her way down the hallway towards him, weaving in and out of the clumps of students shuffling towards the cafeteria for lunch.
"Hi, Sam! How was your weekend?" He asked falling into step with her.
Sam groaned. "My mom has decided that Sundays are going to be 'Mom and Daughter Day'. I had to spend the whole day with her doing . . . stuff. Bonding stuff. She's trying to 'reconnect' with me. I think it's something she learned in therapy!"
"So, what did you and your mom do yesterday?"
"We had spa treatments," Sam glowered, and paused to wiggle her fingers in Danny's face. "You know, manicures and pedicures, stuff like that."
Danny chuckled at the pale pink polish on Sam's fingernails. "Nice colour!"
"Yeah, my mom wants to turn me into a little lady! Gah! So what did you do?"
"Oh," Danny shrugged, and continued walking down the hall, now devoid of students but for him and Sam. "Had a talk with my parents. About everything that happened last week. About my aunt, and the ghost, and stuff."
"Yeah? Are you okay?"
"I guess. I feel pretty stupid, though. I can't believe I fell for that ghost's trick! I let it lead me right into Plasmius' trap!"
"Don't feel bad, Danny. She was pretty convincing! She'd really done her homework!"
Danny and Sam entered the cafeteria and took their place at the end of the queue. They chatted about their classes, homework, and other mundane topics while surrounded by their classmates, content to wait until they were alone before picking up their original topic of conversation.
"Well, Plasmius had done his homework," Danny told Sam when he was certain they wouldn't be overheard. "I'm convinced he was behind the whole thing! It almost . . . well, okay, it kinda worked, too."
"How do you mean?" Sam asked, popping a cherry tomato into her mouth.
"I was really mad at my dad. I mean, I even hated him for a while. I'm sure that's exactly what Plasmius wanted: for me to be so angry at my dad that I might be persuaded to betray him."
"But, it didn't work, Danny! I mean, sure you were mad at your dad, but you're not anymore, right?"
"Well, yeah, but only because of what my dad told me later. Apparently Plasmius didn't do a very good job researching his subject matter!"
"What do you mean?"
Danny sighed and leaned his elbow on the cafeteria table, picking at the pale lunch meat sticking out between two slices of white bread. Before he could answer, Tucker Foley arrived.
"Hey, guys! What's up?"
Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Danny was just about to tell me."
Tucker sat down beside Sam, and began to eat his lunch, glancing expectantly at Danny.
"It's about my aunt, Danielle," Danny said.
"Danielle? The one that ghost was impersonating?" Tucker asked between bites of hamburger.
"Yeah," Danny said. "Apparently, my dad didn't tell me everything when he told me the story about her being taken into the Ghost Zone. He left out a little detail."
"Oh, yeah?" Sam inquired spearing a lettuce leaf with her fork. "Like what?"
"Like, that she got out of the Ghost Zone!"
"Got out?" Sam exclaimed, her fork clattering on the plate as she dropped it. "How?"
"And," Tucker added. "That's hardly a little detail!"
"He didn't know how," Danny explained. "He said she just showed up on their doorstep several years later. My parents were just married, and they just had Jazz. He said Danielle stayed with them a few days then disappeared . . . with some of their things."
"She stole stuff from your parents?" Sam exclaimed incredulously. "From her own brother!"
Danny nodded. "Yup. That's why my dad didn't want to talk about her anymore. Why he seemed so upset. It wasn't cause she was lost in the Ghost Zone, but because she came back and ripped them off."
"Well, can't say I blame him," Sam said crossing her arms over her chest angrily. "That's just wrong! Stealing from your own family!"
"Yeah." Danny pushed his potato salad around the plate with his fork.
The trio sat silently pondering the news for a moment before Tucker spoke. "So, she's still out there somewhere."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"So, maybe she'll come back. Maybe you'll still get to meet her!"
"Maybe," Danny grumbled. "Maybe I don't want to meet her anymore. Maybe if she's smart, she won't show her face around here ever again!"
Tucker opened his mouth to speak again when the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Danny and Sam picked up their trays and headed towards the exit. Tucker watched them go a moment, then picked up his own tray and followed them. He caught up with them in the hallway.
"Look, Danny, all I'm saying is, maybe she had a good reason to take that stuff."
"What good reason could she possibly have?" Sam demanded.
"I don't know. Maybe she needed money!"
"If she needed money, Tucker, why didn't she just ask my parents for a loan, or something?" Danny asked.
"I don't know! I don't know your aunt, Danny, but I do know that sometimes family members do things that aren't always nice, but it doesn't make them any less family!"
Sam and Danny stopped and looked at Tucker. He held their gazes a moment before growing uncomfortable and looking away. "Look, Danny, just don't judge her too harshly, okay? I'm sure she had a reason to do what she did. Whatever is between her and your parents is just between them. It doesn't have to concern you."
The second bell rang, and trio quickly parted ways. Danny squeezed into his American History class while the teacher's back was turned, narrowly avoiding a tardy mark. Though he'd actually got his reading done for the day's lecture, he was unable to concentrate in class; Tucker's advice rang in his head.
". . . just don't judge her too harshly . . ."
"Whatever is between her and your parents . . . doesn't have to concern you."
Danny sighed. Tucker had a point. In fact, he had a couple pretty good points. Not that it mattered. The possibility of his aunt Danielle coming by for a visit was about as remote as Danny getting through a school day without fighting ghosts.
A chill raced up his spine, and the familiar blue mist escaped his lips.
"Oh, man!" Danny groaned, and let his forehead smack down on top of his desk. "Why me?"
A monstrous roar combined with the terrified shrieks of his classmates served to remind Danny that a ghost-free school day wasn't going to happen any time soon.