It was so nice not to be on the receiving end of a ghost's curse. Granted, it wasn't the work of a ghost, but it was definitely a curse.

Not that anyone seemed to notice.

Part of him knew he should do something, and part of him wondered why. He didn't quite trust Elegy after she let Nocturne run amok, but she had seemed truly sorry. There was just something about her, like she was hiding something. Normally, he would even have spent class time trying to figure it out, but he was otherwise occupied.

It was a ballet.

Dash and Kwan were wearing tutus.

It was all Danny could do to remain in his seat. Although, he had a suspicion that no one would notice if he fell out of it laughing. And that was a very good thing because he was about to.

The music seemed to be a variation on something from The Nutcracker Suite, mostly dominated by violins and flutes. There was no singing, but from what he gathered, it was "We Hate English No. 5 in D-Sharp Major." The boys pranced about, surprisingly light on their toes, while Lancer appeared to be scolding them. Terrifyingly enough, he was also wearing a tutu.

A faint sound drew his gaze toward his desk and the paper airplane that had landed there. He glanced around to see Valerie giving him a strange look; nothing he wasn't to, but at least it still wasn't hostile. He unfolded the note, which said simply, 'Are you seeing this?'

Biting back a grin, he wrote, 'Relax. It's not a ghost,' and threw it back to her.

A few minutes later, it hit him in the side of the head. He turned to glare and received a playful smirk in response. 'Then what is it?'

Graphite touched paper before he realized that he had no idea how to answer. Valerie knew about Elegy from reading his journal, but he couldn't remember what he'd written and had no idea what Kat might have edited out. At last, he replied, 'I'll tell you later.'

The music stopped, the boys sat down, and Danny reached out to his camcorder, positioned on the edge of his desk. Then Lancer started to sing. After the initial cringe, he decided to leave the camera running and leaned back again. He was not disappointed.

"Beowulf" was not lounge music, and the Vegas showgirls that appeared from out of nowhere were not conductive to learning. The sight of them dancing around Lancer, still clad as a ballerina, was just too much. There was a muffled snerk as Valerie clapped her hands over her mouth. Danny was simply grateful no one was able to perceive him drop his head onto his desk and laugh helplessly. He was almost sorry when school let out, although it was definitely worth seeing Sam and Tucker lead the "School's Out At Last" overture.

"I hear the last bell ring!" Tucker announced excitedly.

Sam jumped onto her desk victoriously. "That can only mean one thing!"

Suddenly, the room was a flurry of activity as the rest of the class joined in. "School's out! School's out! It's out at last!"

"It's time to go home!" Paulina squealed.

"Beat feet! Move fast!" two of the other students called as they raced out the door.

"Monday's over and done," Tucker sang poorly. "Now, the fun can begin."

"I'm getting out of the sun!" Sam informed everyone.

Jumping away from the stampede, Lancer yelled, "Huckleberry Fin!"

"Priceless…" Danny muttered, shaking his head. He spared a moment to wonder where the dancing girls had disappeared to before following the students into the hall, camera in hand.

"This is insane!" Valerie hissed, sneaking up behind him. "Are…are you filming this?" The boy nodded smugly. "…Can I have a copy?"

Danny snickered and nodded again.

Returning to business mode, Valerie demanded, "How can you say this isn't a ghost?"

"Danny!" Fiona squealed, interrupting whatever response he might have made. She dashed up to capture him in a brief hug before he could get away. "Isn't this fun? This is fun! I'm having fun! Are you having fun? Hi, Valerie! Isn't this fun?"

"Still not a ghost," Danny said as Valerie opened her mouth. "Valerie, Fiona. Fiona, why are you here?"

She danced around on the balls of her feet, twisting and bouncing. "Master said I could come play if I wasn't too annoying and you said it was okay and I stayed out of the way and this is fun!"

"She's like a sheltie on a sugar rush…" Valerie mentioned. "Wait, you're the one who tried to take over the city, aren't you?"

"Well, not the whole city," Fiona protested. She sniffled and pouted, completely exaggerating. "I was just trying to get people to like me. Like Brother Danny!"

Danny shut off the camera and rolled his eyes. "Fiona, we've gone over this. I'm going to see if I can find Elegy and get her to stop. Do you want to come?"

There was a pause while Valerie realized he was talking to her. She nodded, and they moved off, leaving Fiona behind.

Valerie took a deep breath and resisted the urge to go for her weapons. After several minutes spent staring uncomfortably at each other, Danny had simply transformed. It wasn't the first time he'd done it in front of her, but it was the first time that counted. It was the first time they weren't occupied by more important matters. After a moment, she summoned her equipment. It felt like she should be trying to kill him, but they simply continued to stare.

Then a barking, yipping mass of black and white fur bounded between them and the spell was broken. Danny shouted as he was knocked to the ground, and Valerie collapsed against the wall, laughing.

"Fiona!" he gasped. "Why are you a dog?"

"Are you sure it's her?" Valerie asked, snickering.

"Black and white with glowing green eyes?" the boy sighed as he finally found his feet. "Oh, yeah. It's her." She yapped and raced in a circle.

"Oh, I get it!" the ghost hunter exclaimed. "Now, she is a sheltie on a sugar rush." Fiona puffed out her chest, tongue lolling happily. "So she's a shape shifter?"

"Something like that. Come on." He drifted into the air and waited for her to join him on her jet sled before flying off. "Elegy usually hangs out in this coffee shop a few blocks from the house."

"And she's not a ghost?"

She'd never seen a ghost turn that particular shade of red before. "More like an…alien…" he explained, almost apologetically.

Valerie bit off what she'd been about to say. If there could be ghosts, why not aliens? Was it really that much of a stretch? She followed him down to an alley to dismiss their respective alter egos and around the corner where he stopped in confusion. "Are we lost?"

"It was right here," he replied, pointing to a section of blank wall. He stared around as though the answer would suddenly jump out of hiding. In fact, he wouldn't have been at all surprised if it did.

Valerie looked around as well and shook her head at the bustling sidewalks. People sang and twirled like something from a Disney movie, as though they hadn't a care in the world. Part of her wondered if it was really that bad, and she had to work to remind herself that Elegy needed to be stopped.

Something screeched nearby, and the two teens whirled to see an organ grinder and a monkey. They exchanged glances, chuckling in bemusement. In all the strange things happening, the sight still managed to be out of place. The grinder wore a traditional theater Comedy mask. The suit, of a type one would see on a circus ringmaster, was tight enough in the chest that it didn't mask her gender. Her monkey removed its little green fez and held it upside down, begging Valerie for a coin or two.

"Oh, it's cute!" she couldn't help but exclaim, kneeling down for a better look.

"My dear," the grinder said. "If Puck standing enchants, a single quarter will see him dance. Adorable, free, but monetarily anointed, I guarantee you won't be disappointed." Puck screeched again and blew a raspberry.

For just a moment, Valerie thought about saying no, then decided it couldn't hurt anything. Laughing, she dropped a quarter into his little hat. He snatched her hand before she could withdraw and planted a sloppy kiss on the back, then dashed across to give his treasure to his mistress.

Danny grinned at the simple joy on Valerie's face as she watched the little monkey dance. Suddenly, he was very glad she had found out about him. Something nagged at the back of his mind, but he shoved it away. Maybe Elegy needed to be stopped, and maybe she didn't. Right then, he couldn't seem to care.

Finally, the music ground to a halt. Puck and his handler took an extravagant bow, then wheeled away to hunt for more customers. The source-less orchestra picked up again. Valerie stood and brushed off her knees. "He was adorable. I've never seen a real organ grinder before."

"You want to go do something?" Danny asked after a moment. He gestured around. "It's not like this is hurting anyone, and Elegy might stop on her own."

Valerie blushed slightly and nodded, and the two of them wandered off, hand in hand.