Chapter 2
Danny and Jazz tried to slip into the house quietly. It was their intention that they sneak in after 8 on Sunday evening and go straight to bed, but Sam's parents returned at five o'clock on the dot, so they had to vacate Sam's house and go home. Tucker had offered to house the refugees but they decided it was now or never. They needed to face the music.
"Where do you think they are?" Jazz asked as they walked into an eerily quiet house.
"They're where they always are on a Sunday evening," Danny answered. "Downstairs working on their ghost hunting inventions." He looked longingly at the stairs. Maybe he could just hide out in his room. Jazz could tell them they were home and that would be that.
"There's no point in hiding," Jazz said as she pulled Danny through the house calling for her parents. "It's either now or later. You've been stewing about this all weekend. Enough is enough."
"Danny!" Jack said his face lighting up as his children poked their heads down into the basement. "Jazz! Come quick. Your mother and I have been working on another tremendous ghost detecting device!
"Uhhh no thanks Dad," Danny said. "I'm feeling a little tired…"
"Tired?" Maddie said as she appeared from the floor where she was looking for the electronic board she dropped. "Did you all stay up all weekend Sweetie? I told you to get some sleep!"
"I did sleep," Danny said. "I'm still tired." He began looking for ways to escape, but Jazz was behind him, blocking the exit. Maddie put down the green component in her hand and walked over and put her hand on Danny's forehead.
"Hmmm," she said as she looked into Danny's eyes. "No fever. Cool to the touch." Danny had to force himself to stay put and not run.
"Just look at this!" Jack said as he approached Jazz and Danny. "It's the new Fenton Ghost Detector Deluxe!" He began to approach Danny with a thermometer like probe. "You just put it in your mouth see…and it will tell you if someone is being inhabited by a ghost!"
"Oooh Cool!" Jazz said as she grabbed the probe and put it in her mouth.
"Zero ghosts detected. Subject is 90 human. 10 annoying sister." Jazz blinked in surprise then took the probe out of her mouth.
Danny was holding his sides as he laughed, "I always knew you weren't entirely human Jazz."
"Oh yeah?" Jazz growled and without thinking, poked Danny with the probe.
An alarm on the device went off immediately singing, "Ghost detected! Ghost detected! Subject 50 human. 50 ghost." Both Jazz and Danny froze in panic.
"Awwww man!" Jack said as he threw the device on the table. "It doesn't work!" Jazz and Danny shot each other a quick look then turned to their mother. She had her back to them.
"So," Maddie said as she turned around and surveyed her children in a very business like manner. "What kind of trouble have you two been getting into?" Danny opened his mouth but Jazz stopped him.
"What do you mean Mom?" She asked then smiled sweetly. "I've just been taking an opportunity to hang with my little bro!" She pulled Danny into a head lock and rubbed the top of his head with her knuckles.
"Stop that!" Danny said as he wrested himself out of his sister's death grip and straightened out his clothes and hair.
"I trust you got all your homework done," Jack said as he tweaked at his newest device.
Danny decided this was the perfect opportunity to escape. "Oh man!" he said as he hit the palm of his hand against his forehead. "I totally forgot about that book report." He then turned and ran upstairs. Jazz followed.
"You're a chicken," Jazz accused.
"Do you have any idea what they're going to do to me if they find out?" Danny asked incredulously. "Forget the chicken! I'll be a dead duck."
"Your goose is already cooked Danny," Jazz said as she smirked at her own wittiness. "I'm telling you that Mom knows!"
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Danny was grudgingly putting the finishing touches on a book report he hoped he'd at least get a C on when he heard his mother down the hall, talking to Jazz. He jumped up, switched off the light, threw himself on his bed and pulled the covers over his head.
Maddie entered Danny's room and walked in quietly. He could hear her picking up a few things, humming to herself. She walked over to the bed and stood. Danny's nose began to itch. He wondered how long she was going to stand there. Did she do this often? Enter his room after he was sleeping and watch him? He determined that mothers were weird, especially his mother, but weird in a good way. Would she stop loving him if she knew? Would she stop coming in to check on him at night? Or, would she turn on him and have him sucked into a Fenton Thermos forever? His stomach began to ache at the thought. Then Maddie reached down and tucked him in. He about jumped when she smoothed the hair on his head.
"Good night Sweetie," She whispered then tip toed out of the room. Danny sat up and took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his brow. He wondered how long he would be able to avoid her. Hopefully she'd get caught up in one of her projects with Dad and she'd forget about his secret, that's if she knew it of course.
Danny waited a few minutes then picked up the phone and called Sam.
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Sam could feel people looking at her as she walked down the hall to her locker. She couldn't wait to get there for two reasons. The first being she'd get to see Danny. The second was that she wouldn't have to endure the scrutiny of the school alone.
"Where is the pink Sam?" a few people asked then laughed. She ignored them until she turned the corner and saw Dash. He was holding Danny's locker shut and saying something. Sam tried to get closer so she could hear. Danny looked over Dash's shoulder and made eye contact with Sam.
Dash turned around and looked at Sam and smirked. "Well if it isn't the Pink Goth princess. Loser geeks worshiping at her feet."
"Shut up Dash," Sam warned.
"First you're with Danny. Then you're with Tucker and now back to Danny. Do you go out with anyone Sam or do you just get passed around among the geeks?"
"Bite me!" Sam spat. She looked briefly at Danny. He looked angry. Scary angry. Evil angry.
"Eww and catch some kind of geek disease. No thank you!" Dash said then turned back to Danny who didn't give Dash another opportunity to speak, he simply popped Dash in the mouth. Dash flew back against the locker with a look of surprise on his face.
"That's for insulting Sam," Danny growled.
"Big mistake Fenton," Dash said as he advanced on Danny.
"All right boys!" Lancer said as he came between them. "Break it up." He grabbed Danny by the back of his neck. "Come with me to my office Fenton. You and I need to have a little conversation about anger management." Danny looked back at Sam as Lancer dragged him away. Dash was still standing at the locker. Sam's stomach knotted as he turned to her. Luckily Tucker was there.
"Hey Sam," he said. "I computerized all our notes for our sociology experiment on Friday. Weighing out the percentage of people who actually believed we were a couple to those who caught on that we were playing a trick on them." He eyed Dash a moment then quickly opened his locker. Sam felt a little shell shocked as Tucker jabbered away at her. Dash stood there a moment trying to figure out something cutting to say. Obviously he couldn't think of anything so he walked away. Sam opened her locker and slammed the books inside angrily.
"Did you see what happened?" she asked Tucker. "Dash was being the jerk and Danny gets punished for it!" She was mad. She turned to Tucker he yawned and she wondered if the princess had bothered him during the night.
"I've been doing some damage control," Tucker said. "I've been telling people that Friday was a sociological experiment we were working on to gauge people's reactions to different events. Some people seem to be buying it, so at least there's something to be positive about. Sam snorted and was about to say something else when Paulina walked by. She stopped and looked at Sam for a moment.
"Back to being a loser geek I see," She said.
"Still a vapid bitch I see," Sam shot back. Paulina gave her a sour look then flipped her hair and walked away. Sam closed her eyes and put her head on the locker. "I hate Mondays"
"Hey," Tucker said trying to sound nonchalant. "It could be worse, you could have a ghost haunting you trying to get you to dance with her at all hours of the night."
"Ahh Tuck," Sam groaned. "I'm so sorry. Want me to try to talk to her again? Maybe Danny should try this time."
"I'm hoping she'll direct her attention else where and leave me alone," Tucker said. "She's seriously annoying." And with that Tucker and Sam separated to go to their respective classes. Sam was bitter and angry that she didn't even get to talk to Danny. She hoped Lancer wasn't giving him the third degree.
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Danny sat in the principle's office scrunched up in a chair. The principle insisted on calling his parents. He was not looking forward to having them show up. Whenever they did, it was a disaster. Today was turning out to be horrible. Worse off, he didn't get a chance to talk to Sam or even kiss her good morning. He sighed then groaned as his mother rushed into the office like a whirlwind.
"I got here as fast as I could Sweetie," She said. She levied her gaze on the principle and left her a few choice words about the defenseless needing defended and how Dash Baxter was a big fat bully. She insisted that every bruise Danny had come home with lately had been a result of Dash Baxter. Before he even knew what she was up to Maddie grabbed Danny. Stood him up, turned him around and pulled up his shirt to reveal a nasty bruise he'd earned while fighting Vlad on Friday. How did she know that was there?
"You see!" Maddie said as she leaned forward over the principle. "He was only defending himself!" The principle stuttered a little bit then said something about having a chat with Dash. "You do that!" Maddie said. "And meanwhile I'm taking Danny home so he doesn't have to be subjected to anymore bullying."
Danny panicked. As nice as it would b to get out of school, the last thing he wanted was to go home and be under the care of his mother, plus he already missed Sam badly. Who would tell her what happened. "Mom I need to stay here!" he said urgently.
"You see!" Maddie said to the principle. "He's so committed to pulling up his grades that even a bully cannot deter him!"
"Really Mom. I can't go home. I need to stay in school." Danny continued.
"I'm sure Sam and Tucker can come by later and give you your homework." Maddie said. She looked at the principle "I assure you will make sure they do?" The principle, slightly stunned nodded her head. Satisfied Maddie nodded her head and pulled Danny with her out of the office.
"Really Mom I need to stay in school!" Danny pleaded as she dragged him down the halls and out of the school and into the assault vehicle. His mother didn't listen to him.
Jazz was right. His goose really was cooked.
"You look tired Sweetie," Maddie said when they arrived home. She followed him into the house then pointed to Danny's room. "Go upstairs and take a nap. Fighting Ghosts all night has been taking it's toll on you." Danny froze in shock and watched as his mother walked into the kitchen. Did she know about the three ghosts who had woken him up last night or was she just being figurative? Did she know? She turned and looked at him. "Go!" she said. Danny didn't need any further prompting, he ran up the stairs without looking back.
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