Notes and Apologies: You will not believe how awful I feel for making you guys wait so long for this. For some reason, this chapter just woul not write itself. Even thought I've had this scene in my head for forever. I'm sorry it was so slow. Please do not yell or throw rotten fruit or stone me or any other act that will bause the delay of the next chapter. I will have it out as soon as possible. It's the last chapter too and I think you guys would like the end.
I'm also apologizing for how serious this chapter is. This is a funny story, but Danny and Sam's relationship can't simply be based on laughs.
There's only two Shenanigan games in this chapter. I did promise, I gave it to you. But there's another Shenanigans performance in the next chapter and I'm saving a lot of things for the finale. I hope you enjoy this.
Disclaimer: I'm starting to believe why you guys might think I own this wonderful show. My chapters come out about as infrequently as a new episode. But I assure you I don't. I'm just lazy. Sorry.
Chapter 5-A Little Comic Relief
"Our next game," Professor Bouchelle said as he climbed back on the stage "is called Cards. Our two Shenanigans, who will be Danny and Sheila, will be given slips of paper that will have different phrases on them. They'll have to use these intermittently throughout the skit. All we need is a situation."
Danny and Sheila climbed up onto the stage as Professor Bouchelle listened for an idea that he liked. Finally, he grinned and turned towards the two, pointing to Sheila. "You're his mother and you're on your deathbed."
Sheila glanced around. "I'm supposed to be on my deathbed standing up?"
"Here." Danny had already jumped down and grabbed his chair, lifting it onto the stage.
"Thanks." Sheila dragged it over to the center of the stage while Danny got back on and Professor Bouchelle left, signaling that they could start anytime.
As son as she was seated, Danny took Sheila's hands in his. "You're going to get better. I promise."
"I don't have much time left," Sheila wavered out. "Tell me, John, what are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking," Danny quickly put a hand in his pocket and pulled out one of the slips of paper. "The thought that's going through my mind is 'If I could turn back time.' Hey that works!" Danny cried, astonished, getting a laugh as he quickly composed himself.
"That's nice, dear. I want you tell the others," Sheila fished out one of her own pieces of paper. "Tell them for me that 'Yea, verily, I say unto you that ye have no hope.'"
"I tell them that. In fact, I have a message from them. It says….'Are you drunk, or are you always like this?'"
"You all never did respect me! You're the only that came to see me, and I'm sure it was out of pity. Let me tell you…let me tell you…'If you weren-" Sheila broke out into laughter. She tried to gain her composure as she said the next line. "'If you weren't my mother'…"
"What!" Danny jerked back from her, appalled. "You've been lying to me all these years?"
"Now let me explain-"
"No! I don't want to hear it!" Danny stomped away from her to the edge of the stage. "I'm leaving. And I'm leaving you with the words that my last girlfriend gave to me before she left me. She said…." Danny fished the last slip of paper out of his pocket. "Paper or plastic." I'm not sure what she meant, but I'm sure it was insulting!"
Sam burst out laughing along with everyone else. Michelle was leaning heavily against her on one side while Tucker was almost in tears on the other. She watched as the skit finished soon after that and Professor Bouchelle climbed back up to start another game. She glanced over where Danny was now sitting down. He caught her glance and gave her a smile which she returned before paying more attention to what was o happening on the stage when another Shenanigan got his attention.
They were playing Movie Genres again. Bethany and Sheila were up on stage ready to start with the situation that "They were trying to kill someone."
All right, now you got the rat poison, right?" Bethany asked conspiratorially.
"Yeah, I got it."
"Here's what we do. We slip small amounts of the poison into the food the cafeteria serves. They'll all die within a few months."
"But," Sheila questioned. "What about those that don't eat in the cafeteria?"
"Good point," Bethany mused. "We'll have to find some other means for them."
"Horror," came the call.
Sheila stepped back in fright. "You're not my friend! You're that hideous…swamp creature that they've been warning us about on the news. I told Kate! I told her that whenever you that ominous music they play in old movies that it's not a good sign, but does she listen? No!"
Bethany used her height to her advantage as she lifted her arms over her head to tower over the other girl. She gave out a roar and stomped after Sheila when the girl ran to the other side of the stage.
"Pl-please don't kill me!" Sheila stuttered out. "Kill anyone else, but not me!"
""Musical!" The two girls immediately straightened at Professor Bouchelle's call from the position they had been in with Bethany leaning over Sheila who had been cowering.
"Ohm we're taking over the world!" Bethany mock-sang, her arms flung out wide.
"But taking over the world," Sheila sang in what Sam guessed was probably the worst faked soprano she had ever heard…and that was only because she'd hopefully never hear Tucker try to sing soprano. "Is not the easiest thing to do!" The girl did a small dance maneuver around Bethany and somersaulted across the stage.
"But we plot, and we plan," Bethany cut in.
"And soon everyone will be doomed!"
There was a pause from the two girls as the next call came. "Shakespearean!"
Sheila immediately shifted from having her arms joyously up in the air into a much more dramatic pose. "For the sun no longer sheds its precious light upon he and now," Sheila stepped forward to the stages edge. "I bid the world farewell. There is no reason to stay, and I will now jump-eth off this cliff-eth!"
"Nay, nay," Bethany called. "Stay! Help me to rid the world of others! Not thyself!"
"I cannot. If you will not have me have me jump-eth then I will drink poison or end my by some other means."
"Please do not. Help me kill the world instead." Bethany tried to reason again.
"But," Sheila exclaimed. "All the world is a stage!"
There was a burst of laughter and Sheila and Bethany left the stage. The laughter died down when Professor Bouchelle climbed back on. He gave Sheila a smile. "I didn't know "cliff-eth" was a word."
"You obviously aren't as cultured as Sheila, Bouchelle." Danny called from his seat next to her.
Obviously not. All right, our next game will have Brandon, Keith, and Bethany and they will be…."
Sam sat in Michelle's car at around eleven at night in an empty parking lot in the middle of town. It was the very end of Spring Break. Classes were tomorrow, but the two were in parking lot to pick up someone. One of Michelle's friends that Sam didn't know was coming back from home by bus. The town had no real bus stop. A bench where people sat and waited was the only indication of where the bus stopped. It wasn't that far away from the school, but it was eleven at night. Michelle had offered the girl a ride back up to the school and when she had asked, Sam had agreed to accompany her.
She hadn't gone home like Michelle had. Michelle had been confused as to why Sam wouldn't want to.. Even more when Sam refused to explain the atrocities that her parents tried to force upon her. It was her quarrel with her parents. She didn't like to talk about her parents much if at all in the first place anyway.
At eleven at night, the city was shutting down. The bus was only arriving this late because the girl lived eight hours away. Sam gazed out the window in the front passenger seat, staring down the road where the bus was supposed to come from. The bus was already late and Sam was wondering how much longer it would be.
And then a car drove past. A dark feeling feel on Sam as she watched the man look over at their car at it drove on until it was out of sight. She pushed the feeling away until the same car drove past them the other way. The same lone driver looking at them as he past. It finally hit Sam what kind of trouble they might me in. Two young girls in an empty parking lot at eleven at night where no one would be the wiser that they were there. Except Michelle's friend who was expecting them to be there when she finally arrived. But the bus was till no one in sight and it was now edging to twenty minutes past now.
Sam heard the car start up and looked over at Michelle who was quickly starting to pull out of the parking spot they were in.
"You saw him, too?"
She nodded. "And I felt it." It wasn't clear what she meant, but Sam had an idea that it might be the dark feeling of warning that had enveloped her. The same feeling that was telling her to run.
They were out of the parking lot, crossing the main street and going down another darker street with houses on each side in less than a minute. Sam had noticed as they crossed the street the same car making a U-turn in the empty street. She saw the silhouette of the man looking down at them.
She could physically feel the car speed up under her as they sped down the road. She glanced back behind them to see the car turning down the street and following them. Michelle turned down another street. They were now heading towards the college. But would that help? What if he followed them there?
"What about your friend? What if she finally comes and we aren't there?"
"We need to worry about ourselves at the moment," was Michelle's stressed reply. They were already heading up the hill to the school. Glancing down, she could see the car on the road below them. But then they were turning and she couldn't see if he had turned to speed up the hill after them.
Sam had a feeling Michelle was trying to loose their pursuer. They went the long way around the school until she finally parked in spaces at the back of Main Hall. The two slots that were there were for the security that worked there. One of the security's cars was there and Michelle maneuvered into the vacant spot. The spot was parallel with the wall that was there. The wall that the kitchen's was in jutted out at an odd angle. Michelle wouldn't be able to back out straight. Sam frowned at this. If they needed to get out of there fast for some reason, they wouldn't be able to.
Michelle was breathing heavily next to them. "What do we do?" She finally asked.
"I'll go see if the security guard is there." Sam said calmly. It was a good suggestion, but, to Sam's dismay, no one was there at the front desk.
When she got back to the front desk, Michelle was looking around wildly. When she told Michelle that the desk was empty, her friend paled even more. "What if he went back!" She exclaimed still looking around them. "What id he goes back and Shannon is there waiting for us?"
Sam frowned. It was a possibility. "Calm down, Michelle. We…just need to find someone to go down with us. Do you know anyone who is definitely here?"
Michelle gulped in air as she tried to calm down. Finally, she shook her head. "No one. Do you?"
The answer came quickly. "Danny. You know where he lives. I'll call him while we go there."
Danny had stayed behind also. Shenanigans had wanted to have a practice yesterday for an upcoming performance and instead of having to drive up sooner than most of the students had just stayed for the week. He'd also said that it would help him to concentrate on some work he needed to do over the break. Sam wasn't sure if he really had gotten any work done, but was happy for the company. Tucker was still not there. He was driving up tomorrow morning and would arrive right before classes started. Said he didn't want to have to be at school anymore than he had to.
Sam had her cell phone out when she was suddenly jolted around in her seat. "Michelle! What are you doing!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Sam's bit back her retort when she saw how shook up Michelle was. Michelle had backed up into the wall that jutted out behind them in her panic. She grabbed the girl. "Michelle we're going to be fine. We're safe for the moment. Shannon will be safe, I promise. For all we know he's long gone. Calm down. You can't drive like this."
"Michelle took quite a few calming breaths before she nodded that she was fine. She had stopped shaking also and Sam let her go. Michelle backed out smoothly now and both girls could see the mark where the brick red paint of the building and been scraped away to show the white stone beneath. Sam finally brought her mind back to what she was supposed to be doing and dialed Danny's number.
Samurai by The Michael Schenker Group was blasting through Danny's headphones when there was a sudden movement in his jeans' pocket. The movement right against his leg and sending tingles throughout his body surprisingly quickly.
He gave a startled cry and tried to lurch away from whatever it was. Unfortunately, this caused him to slip out of his chair and the headphones were torn of his head and he fell to the floor.
Danny gave a mumbled curse as his brain finally registered what the thing was and he dug inside his picket for his vibrating cell phone. Who would be calling him at eleven-thirty at night?
"Hello?"
"Danny? Hi. Can I ask a favor?"
"Sam?" Danny adjusted his grip on the phone as he stood up. "Um, sure you can. What do you need?"
"Could you come with us for just a minute to pick up someone at the bus stop?'
An odd request. There wasn't any harm in it and he'd do almost anything for Sam. But there was something wrong. Something she wasn't telling him. "Sure. When should I expect you?"
"Actually…we just pulled up to your house." He glanced out the window at the front lawn where a car had indeed just pulled up. The front passenger door opened and he watched Sam climb out. He squinted suspiciously as his normally calm and collected friend glanced down the street both ways fearfully. Something was wrong.
"I'll be right down."
Danny sat in the front where Sam, who was now sitting silently in the back, had originally been, listening to Michelle recount the events that had transpired between the two girls.
Danny's eyes were wide. To think that some guy had…He guessed he should have been so surprised. You heard about cases like this all the time on the news. But to think that it had happened to Sam….
"There she is," Michelle breathed out, relieved.
Shannon stood there on the corner, shivering in the chilly night air. She smiled when she saw them, but her expression turned to confusion when the car stopped and Danny was one of the first people to get out. He introduced himself and quickly picked up a suitcase to put in the truck that Michelle had opened from her position in the front seat, the car still running and waiting to go as soon as possible.
Sam was outside also, looking around for any sign of the man or his car that had pursued them to the college. There was a less than likely chance of him trying something now that Danny was here, but Sam was starting to feel a delayed reaction to the night's events. This wasn't like the times where she had risked her life fighting ghosts with Sam and Tucker. Neither had been there and with the implications of what that man could have done to them…if they hadn't seen him and he had taken them by surprise... There hadn't been anyone else to see what would have happened and they were so far from home.
Sam's body shook and she felt tears spring to her eyes. What was this? She didn't cry! But her body went against her rebellious thoughts and Danny looked up to see a tear fall down and shine in the light of a passing car as Sam's head whipped around to follow it.
"Sam? Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine, Danny. Never better. Are all the bags in?"
Danny wasn't buying it. Sam could try to act strong and tough, but what had happened tonight had scared him, too. What if he had lost her? Sam looked surprised as Danny shocked her by embracing her in a hug.
"I'm sorry, Sam. I should have been there."
"It's not your fault."
"But I'm going to be there from now on, Sam. No one is going to hurt you, Sam. I won't let them."
The shaking in her body stopped almost immediately. Danny's words had a calming effect. "Danny, I-"
"Shhh. Come on." Taking her hand they went back to the car and climbed in the back. Shannon was in the process of telling Michelle about her break and what exciting things had happened.
Danny didn't let go of Sam's hand for the whole ride up to the college.