Chapter 2

First and second period went by without much else in the area of paranormal activity. Danny couldn't find anyone else in his math class to give him the homework assignment, and spent second period trying not to care. By the time third period rolled around, he had convinced himself that it didn't matter in the long run, and that he was never going to use geometry outside math class anyway.

In the end, no one turned in their math homework.

Ten minutes into class, after the teacher had finished taking attendance, the students were taking out their homework for collection. Hayley, beginning at a whisper but getting louder and louder until she was yelling, repeated, "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Her hands were clamped on her ears, her eyes closed. After about a minute of this, she stopped yelling and opened one eye, peeking at how many people had witnessed her little tirade. The entire class, including Danny, who sat two seats forward in the row next to hers, had turned around in their seats and were staring at her.

"Ms. Scott?" Mr. Binney, a grey-haired math teacher with thick-rimmed glasses and a surprising lack of tact, asked from the front of the classroom.

Hayley opened her other eye and removed her hands from the sides of her head, her face getting redder by the second. Her eyes, fixed on her desk, began to water.

"Ms. Scott," Mr. Binney continued, clearing his throat impatiently, "If you're quite finished, can we please get back on topic?"

This remark sent Hayley over the edge. She buried her head in her arms, which were folded on her desk. Her sobs could be heard by everyone, interrupted occasionally by laments of "Why me?!"

Mr. Binney, looking embarrassed and feeling bad, walked out from behind his desk and approached Hayley cautiously. "Now, now, Ms. Scott," he said awkwardly, trying to comfort her from a short distance. "Perhaps it would be best if you went home," He inched closer.

Suddenly, her shoulders began shaking violently and her sobs became wails punctuated by manic laughter. The air around her swirled and pulsed. Mr. Binney jumped back, sputtering, "Now, children, st-stay calm!"

Hayley threw her head back and a scream erupted from her throat. The surrounding air condensed and started turning a purplish color. Shrieking, the students and Mr. Binney clambered for the door. In a matter of minutes, Danny was alone with Hayley in the room.

Danny jumped behind Mr. Binney's desk, crouching there for a second to catch his breath. His ghost sense had been going off ever since Hayley entered the room, and it had gone berserk when this whole episode began. He peeked out at her. She was obviously exhausted. Her body was going limp as she lost the strength to even scream. Tears streamed down her face.

"Okay, that's more than enough," Danny said to himself. "Going ghost!"

Blue rings appeared at his waist and spread over his body, turning his street clothes into a black and white jumpsuit, his black hair white and his blue eyes green. Danny Fenton transformed into Danny Phantom, ghostly superhero, who floated up off the ground and hovered over the teacher's desk, eyes narrowed, poised to fight.

He saw Hayley, who looked like she was about to pass out, and he saw thin purple clouds enveloping her. And, for the first time, he heard voices, whispery and low, telling Hayley awful things. Telling her she was ugly, unwanted, worthless, that her life was pointless, meaningless, insignificant.

"Hey!" Danny yelled at the voices, "Didn't your mother ever tell you if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?" Green spheres of ghost energy materialized in his palms. He hurled them at the clouds, but had to throw wide to avoid hitting Hayley. The holes they tore through the mist were repaired almost as soon as they were made.

"That's annoying," Danny muttered. "Oh well. Nothing the FentonThermos can't handle." As he reached to pull out the metal thermos, Hayley groaned. She was about to pass out any second. To Danny's surprise, the clouds slowed down and then dissipated, leaving Hayley limp in her seat, out cold.

"Well that was anti-climactic," Danny said as he made his way over to Hayley. He checked her breathing, which was shallow, and her heart rate, which was slow, but there. "Better get you to a hospital. The aerial route is fastest," Danny told her unmoving body, "I just hope you don't come to mid-flight." He picked her up and turned them both intangible, floating through the plaster classroom wall and rocketing towards the hospital.