A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks to all my reviewers! And also... Here's the part where it starts to get good! Since this whole part is going to be somewhat long, I'm dividing it up. The first part is below, and it takes placein the morning. The second part will be around noon. If I have to, I'll make a third partabout after school. Enjoy the chappie!

Darn, I can't believe I keep forgetting this thing! For the first time, here's my disclaimer:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I am broke. If you come after me even after reading this, I will use my amazing numchuck skills to injure you.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Be –

SMASH! – With a flash of green, the short existence of Danny Fenton's fifteenth alarm clock came to an abrupt end.

"Danny, wake up!" Jazz exclaimed in exasperation, banging on her brother's door.

"Can't… Too… tired…" Danny groaned from beneath his covers.

Jazz sighed. How was she going to get him up this time? She could pretend a ghost was attacking. Or she could threaten him with the Fenton Thermos. Or…

Jazz smiled evilly as an idea formulated in her head. She raced downstairs and grabbed a large cup. Then, she filled it with cold water and ice cubes, and climbed up the stairs again.

"This is going to be good…" Jazz said quietly, still grinning. She went to Danny's room and cracked open the door to make sure it was okay that she went in. After all, she didn't want to invade his privacy more than she had to.

She crept slowly over to his bed, careful not to step on anything on the way. When she got there, she suppressed a giggle, pulled the covers off Danny's head and neck, and poured the water and ice all over him.

The effect was immediate. Danny yelled and sat up as fast as a bullet, then lost balance, tipped over, and landed hard on the floor, dragging his blankets along with him.

"Jazz!" he exclaimed in annoyance. "What the heck was that for?"

"To get you up," his sister replied, withholding laughter. "It's time to get ready for school."

As Jazz walked out of the room with a smug smile on her face, Danny untangled himself from his bed sheets. Grumbling, he threw them back on the bed and looked toward the place where his alarm clock had once been.

"Aw, not again!" Danny said irritably, seeing the damage he had inadvertently done to it. He sighed. He would need to get a new clock. Then again, he would probably have to ask Jazz to get one for him; with all the ghost fighting he usually did, there might not be enough time for him.

Danny was about to walk out of his room when the window caught his eye. Or rather, what he could see through the window.

There was a terrible storm brewing outside. The sky was an extremely dark gray, and he could occasionally see a small flash of lightning. But luckily, it wasn't too bad. The lightning wasn't significant enough to create any audible noise. It wasn't even raining… yet.

Only slightly put down by the bad weather, Danny sleepily dragged himself to the bathroom. He took a quick shower, got dressed, and headed downstairs. Still not knowing what time it was, he glanced at the digital clock built into the stove.

It was 7:10. Before last September, he would've been alarmed that he had only twenty minutes to get to school, and he'd beg Jazz for a ride. One painful accident later, he was no longer worried. He could get there in under a minute if he had to, thanks to his ghost powers. So he took his time eating a bowl of cereal and milk, brushing his teeth, and packing his books into his backpack.

Fifteen minutes later, Jazz had just pulled out of the driveway, and Danny Phantom was soaring leisurely through the skies. Although, he had to fly at a lower altitude thsn usualbecause of the storm, and he had to go invisible so people wouldn't notice him and trigger mass panic.

He reached Casper High just as the warning bell rang, and most people began to funnel into the school. He flew under a table and changed back to Danny Fenton just as he noticed Sam and Tucker walking towards the doors.

"Tucker! Sam! Wait up!" he called out, running to meet up with them. They turned to face him.

"Hey Danny! Where've you been?" Tucker greeted his friend. "There wasn't a ghost, was there?"

"Nah, I just felt like taking my time today," the halfa replied.

"Come on you guys, we're gonna be late," Sam said in a dull, apathetic tone that slightly concerned Danny. Sure, her voice was normally low and a bit monotonous, but she sounded a little bit depressed. As Sam turned around to head into the school, Danny glanced at Tucker. He seemed worried about the Goth as well.

"…And that's why Edgar Allan Poe decided to write poetry. Any questions?"

Mr. Lancer looked around at the class, not really expecting anyone to raise their hand. All the students were either slouching in their chairs or laying their heads on the desk.

"Good. Alright then… For homework – " At this, the class groaned collectively. " – I would like you to write three paragraphs about what I've just told you," the teacher instructed them. "And since you have about ten minutes left in class, you can get an early start on it."

Of course, no one really made any effort to start the essay. A couple of people reviewed their notes, but everyone else started doodling, talking quietly to each other, or staring at nothing in particular. Mr. Lancer sighed. No wonder nearly half of this class had a C average or lower.

The out-of-shape teacher sat at his desk and inconspicuously surveyed the teenagers. He saw a couple of the popular girls flirting with the jocks. And of course, Paulina was the center of attention.

Tucker Foley was fiddling with his PDA, or maybe one of his other devices. Whatever it was, continual beeping was emanating from the general area of Tucker's desk.

Sam Manson was looking rather down in the dumps. Judging by her eyes, she was close to tears, and she refused to look at anyone, even her best friends. Her pen wandered across a piece of paper, not making anything recognizable as of the Earth.

Danny Fenton was twirling his pencil around, staring at it with a glazed look in his eye. He seemed to be very deep in thought. While this was slightly uncharacteristic for the boy, Mr. Lancer could not help but wonder what he could be thinking about.

Maybe it has something to do with this "secret identity" of his? Mr. Lancer pondered. He had hardly stopped musing about the footage he'd seen the previous day.

Suddenly, a pencil flew past Mr. Lancer's head, nearly stabbing him, and hit the wall. The teacher looked around to see who had thrown it. When he spotted Danny's empty hand and wide eyes, his question was answered.

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! Mr. Fenton! Detention, today, after school!" he exclaimed, pretending to be slightly angry. But inwardly, Mr. Lancer smiled. The perfect chance to interrogate the secretive teen had just arrived.

After leaving English, Danny groaned. "I can't believe I got a detention for accidentally letting a pencil slip out of my hand!"

Beside him, Tucker chuckled. "Come on, man. You've gotta admit, that was kinda funny!"

"Yeah, for you maybe," the halfa muttered tetchily. Suddenly, noticing a lack of input from a certain Goth girl, he asked, "Hey, where'd Sam go?"

The two teenaged boys looked around for their best friend, but couldn't find her. This raised concerns; the three friends nearly always walked together in the hallway.

"You know," Tucker began as they got to their lockers, "I saw Sam late last night."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She was walking down the street. And she looked really sad. I saw tear streaks all over her face. Do you have any idea what's wrong with her?"

Danny became slightly anxious. The previous night, when he and Sam had had a "discussion", she had walked away from him seeming pretty unhappy… Had she cried because of him?

"No… I have no clue whatsoever…" Danny answered Tucker absentmindedly while thinking about what he might've said that distressed Sam so enormously. After taking his books from his locker, Danny headed down the hall towards his next class, so deep in thought that he forgot to wait for Tucker.

"Danny!" Tucker called, running up to his friend. "You know what? I think you do know what happened to Sam, don't you?"

The halfa sighed. "Okay, yes, I do. I think. Ya see, last night, Sam called me, and asked me to meet her at the park. She said it was important, so I came. It turns out that she found out that the ring I was going to give to Valerie had her name carved into it."

At the astounded look on Tucker's face, Danny sighed again. "It's a long story, and it was all my dad's fault."

"Alright…" the techno-geek began, "So… how does this relate to Sam getting all depressed?"

Danny then explained to his friend the conversation that took place between him and Sam. When he finished, Tucker slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Dude, you are way too clueless for anybody's good," he said, shaking his head. "Do you have any idea what you just told her?"

"Uh… I told her… that I like Valerie? What's so significant about that?"

Tucker opened his mouth to tell Danny about Sam's feelings for him, then decided against it. "Look, man… You're gonna have to wait until Sam's ready to tell you herself… But be careful what you say to her about Valerie."

"Okay…" Danny said, confused. Then, the bell rang for second period, and the two boys rushed to their classes, hoping they wouldn't be too late…

A/N: Yay! It's my longest chapter yet! Over 1500 words! Woohoo! Please review, and you'll get to see what happens at lunchtime...