Disclaimer: ... Butch Hartman. Not me. You know this already...

Session 3: Tucker Foley

Age 14

Well, you'd been complaining none of the kids were talking, Cade told himself wryly. Textbook case of "Be careful what you wish for," isn't it? Unlike his two best friends, Tucker Foley had no trouble talking. As a matter of fact, he hadn't shut up since he'd first sat down in the chair reserved for students. Not that he'd actually SAID anything... his monologue had mostly focused around himself, his inability to get a date, and the absolutely KILLER PDA he'd been eyeing at the local Best Buy. All in all, he was giving the impression of having all the depth of a parking lot puddle.

"Okay, Tucker, I'm impressed," the psychiatrist announced, taking advantage of the boy's next pause for breath. "That is officially the best line of bull I've heard since college English."

Green eyes blinked at him innocently. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you've been stringing me along since you walked in here. I'm not as dumb as I look, you know. If you were really as two-dimensional as you've been acting, Sam wouldn't be caught dead within a hundred miles of you. Not to mention that I've read your file, and the constant refrain in there is that you'd be one of the best students if you'd simply 'pay attention and put some effort into things.'"

Tucker grinned. "Ahh, but why would I want to? Being a good student doesn't get you any slack, not even from the teachers. They just pile more work onto you, and Lancer looks even harder at you to find out how you're cheating. And the other kids... man, I'm techno-geek as it is. If I were a nerd, I'd never see the OUTSIDE of my locker."

One eyebrow raised, Cade propped his chin on his hand. "You DO know high school doesn't last forever."

"Counting on it. I'll bring my grades up junior year, ace the SAT's... I know a few scholarships I can apply for, and I've already got a line on an internship closer to graduation. I might have to go to a small, state school, but I'll get into one, somewhere."

The older man nodded approvingly. "That's actually a pretty good plan. I'm not a career counselor, but it sounds workable to me. So you're planning on just surviving the next four years without making an impression?"

"Dude, I'm at the bottom of the ladder here. The only impression I'll leave on my school years is from getting slammed into walls by the football team. But hey, in twenty years, they'll be marking time 'til retirement, and I'll be on my newest IPO. Besides, I've got a life. It just doesn't have much to do with school."

"I can tell. No clubs, no sports... what DO you do after school, anyway?"

Tucker's body tensed slightly, and the psychiatrist suppressed a smile. Tucker was quite good at misdirection, but Cade still knew a tap-dance when he saw one. There was a secret being kept here, and for three teenagers to be stonewalling him, and doing it this well, it must be something big.

And it did, definitely, focus on Danny Fenton. Secrets, he was guessing, weren't something Tucker was generally comfortable with. If the problem had been his, the boy would probably have talked it out with his parents by now, not just his two best friends. And the fact that he seemed so defensive...

He's AFRAID, Cade realized, only half-listening to the litany of "geek pursuits" that the teen across from him was spinning for him. All three of them are. Whatever's going on, they're terrified of letting anyone into it. Which indicated that embarrassment wasn't the highest on their list of worries, should their secret be exposed.

What in the world could have consequences dire enough to get through the usual teenager's belief in their own indestructibility? And whatever it was... why couldn't the three of them walk away?

"Dr. Maboroshi?" Cade was jolted out of his thoughts by the note of curiosity in Tucker's voice. From the sound of it, he'd probably missed at least two cues to respond. He forced a smile.

"Sorry, Tucker. Apparently my brain decided to take a vacation all of a sudden." Looking at the clock, he frowned. "And we're now out of time. Let me get you a hall pass... and Tucker? I'll tell you want I told Danny and Sam... if you need to talk, my door is always open. No questions asked."

Taking the hall pass, the boy gave him a long, unreadable look, then shrugged and dashed out the door.