Chapter 3 – Outgoing
Danny didn't want to take the chance of getting distracted again, and causing an accident in the kitchen of Nasty Burger. He didn't need anymore trouble. He was still trying to be on his best work behavior after having to leave work without telling his boss, the last time he had go ghost to save Tucker.
His first break time came up, and he went to the parking lot and sat on the hood of his beat up old '71 Cadillac Sedan deVille. It was green, a tank, and used a lot of gas, but for $500 it was good enough for him, and besides, Sam loved it. She nicknamed it the 'Ghost Boat'. Her parents cringed when they saw it in front of their house, which is another reason Sam loved it.
"It is SO anti-establishment!" she had said with a mean smile.
No one was looking his way. He closed his eyes and thought of Tucker.
Tuck. You there?
Nothing. How had he found Sam?
Tucker. Tucker Foley. Hello?
Still nothing. What did it take? He called Tucker on his cell phone.
"Yo, Dan the man! Talk to me dawg!"
"Tuck, I need you to help me test" Danny cupped the phone and whispered "a new ghost power."
There was a sound on the other end of the phone that sounded like a hiccup, burp and cough at the same time.
"WHAT?"
"I need you to help me test a new ghost power!"
"What? What kind of power?"
Danny was now trying to speak casually as another Nasty Burger customer drove into the parking lot.
"Try thinking of me. I am going to try something, tell me if you …notice anything. But think of me."
"OK Danny. Go."
Tuck. Tucker.
Hello Tucker Foley.
Still silence.
Tuck-er. Tuckerino. Tuckerama. Tucker rhymes with Sucker.
Silence on the other end. Hmmm, maybe Sam was not thinking of me when I reached her either. How did I do that?
"How did you do what?" Tucker's voice asked on the phone.
"You heard me? It works!"
"Ah, wait a minute. You didn't actually say anything, did you?"
That was the whole idea.
"Hello Danny? Hello?"
Cell phone again: "You didn't hear me say 'that was the whole idea'?"
"Nope. I heard 'Maybe Sam was not thinking of me when I reached her either, how did I do that?"
"Wait a minute, I think I know how this works. Listen again."
Danny thought of holding Sam's hand underwater when they were whale watching.
Tuck, can you hear me.
Yes!
I got it! I have to think of Sam first. I wonder why thinking of you doesn't work?
Don't go there! But I would propose a theory that it isn't thinking of Sam or of me, but of the feeling, the mode it puts you in, when you think of Sam. The feelings alter your broadcast frequency, phase shifting your thoughts…
Tucker went on like this for ten minutes before Danny stopped him.
OK enough already. But Tucker was still talking. Apparently, he was really good at making Danny forget the feeling and drop out of whatever it was.
Danny still had the cell phone on: "Tucker." Tucker was still blathering. He must have stopped using the cell phone. Danny called him again.
"Uh, hello?"
"Will you stop already! Sheesh, your brain is like too much homework!"
"You apparently dropped out of the phase shift mode."
"Or was pushed out of it!"
"Or …yeah. Sorry"
Danny felt bad. " 'sokay man. Thanks for helping me test it."
"This is awesome Danny. Does the Sam-woman know yet?"
"Yeah, she was the first one I tried it on…well I stumbled upon it actually."
"How did you get this new power?"
"It …just …happened." Danny shrugged.
"We have to do more tests Danny. Distance. While you are ghost. I'll write a test plan and…"
"Whoa Tuck, I am not an experiment. I'll test it myself. I gotta get back to work, my breaks over. See ya man."
"Later."
Danny went back to work, but his mind was elsewhere. He got burned twice by fry grease.
