Mindless Behavior

Chapter One:

Danny's POV:

"That's it, Danielle! Go to your room!" I yelled.

"Oh, great punishment, Danny!" Danielle snapped sarcastically, emphasizing my name, as though it didn't hurt enough that she no longer called me Dad. "My room. How old am I? Five?" She stomped up the stairs to her room, her stiletto heeled boots clicking loudly.

I'd had just about enough of her attitude lately. When Danielle had first moved in, when I was only fifteen, she'd been so sweet. I'd immediately become aware that I thought of her as my daughter, and then I adopted her. It had been nearly four years, but lately, Danielle's behavior had become atrocious. She'd stopped calling me Dad months ago, she started wearing short skirts and high heels, wearing way too much makeup, and stopped listening to anyone. Sam had tried to talk to her about it, but Danielle had pushed her away, too. Danielle told her that she wasn't her mother and shouldn't try to tell her what to do. Sam had eventually given up, as had Jazz, Star, and Mom. No one could get through to her.

It had started out small, Danielle would backtalk me or refuse to clean her room. Then things got worse. She was sneaking out at night and going to high school, sometimes even college parties, with kids she didn't even know. She'd just arrive on the scene and have a wild night. Half the time, I had no idea where she was.

I didn't know what to do anymore. Johnny and Kitty had offered to take her until I graduated and try to straighten her out. To be honest, I was kind of scared to send her to live with them. They both had a soft-spot for Danielle, but I knew Johnny was tough disciplinarian.

However, I had to make a decision and I had to do what was best for Danielle, so I would give her one more chance to prove that she could straighten up.

I walked upstairs and knocked on her bedroom door. "What?" she asked. I sighed and pushed open the door. Her once pink walls were now plastered in posters of popular rock bands and shirtless guys. She was sitting on her bed, that had an orange and black swirled comforter on it, with her legs crossed. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Danielle, I'm giving you one more chance to prove that you can improve your behavior. If you can't, I'm sending you to live with Johnny and Kitty."

"In the Ghost Zone?" she asked, making it sound like I'd suggested she go live in a sewer.

"Yes, so it would benefit you to straighten up. Do you understand?"

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes.

"Danielle, I'm serious."

"So am I."

"You know you're grounded, right?"

"Dually noted."

I sighed and walked out of her room, closing the door.

For a few days, it seemed as though my threat was working, until Ember's concert, that was. It was on a school night and I knew it would last way past midnight, which was Danielle's curfew. There were a few reasons I wouldn't let Danielle go to the concert, though. The first being the fact that Ember was one of my close friends and Danielle could see her sing anytime she wanted to. The second was that I had a paper due and couldn't take her, and there was no way I was letting her go into the Ghost Zone on her own. And the third was the fact that the concerts were no place for a fifteen year old girl, especially one who was technically only four years old.

"Danny," she whined, "everyone is going!"

"Who is everyone, Dani?" I asked, not looking up from my laptop.

"Just...everyone. And my name isn't Dani, that's your name!"

"Danielle, you're not going to that concert and that's final," I said calmly.

She huffed and stormed out of my bedroom. It was only a moment later that I heard her door slam shut. I let it slide, she'd been behaving the past few days. She'd cleaned her room and stopped screaming at me every chance she got.

My parents were out of town, so it was just me and Danielle that night. I ordered pizza around nine and, when it arrived, I took a break from my paper. "Danielle! Time to eat!" I called.

When she didn't respond, I went up to her room and knocked on the door. After still getting no response, I pushed open her door. She wasn't there and I had a bad feeling that she was in the Ghost Zone at the concert.

I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and called Walker. "Hello?" he answered.

"Walker, I need you to do me a favor," I said.

"Alright," he replied.

"Danielle sneaked out Ember's concert. Can you see if you can find her and bring her home?"

"Absolutely."

"Thanks," I sighed in relief. "I'll leave the portal open."

"Okay."

He hung up and I went down to the lab to open the portal. It was nearly three hours later, nearly midnight, when Walker brought Danielle home. She was drunk. My fifteen year old daughter was completely shitfaced, wearing a tight, mid-drift exposing shirt and a leather miniskirt, not to mention the high heeled boots that went up past her knee. Where the hell did she even get these clothes?

"Hi, Dad," she slurred, stumbling toward the sofa. She sat down, crossing her legs, and giggled.

I could feel my temper rising, but I turned to Walker. "Thank you," I told him. "I promise you this will not be happening again."

He nodded, "I trust it won't. Goodnight." With that, he turned and went back into the portal. I closed it, then I whirled back around to face my daughter. I knew from personal experience that her being a halfa meant that her tolerance for alcohol was high, which meant she must have drank a lot.
"Danielle!" I exploded. "What the fuck were you thinking?!"

"Whoa, chill out," she mumbled. "I just wanted to have some fun."

"This is not the sort of fun fifteen year old girls have! You know what? Screw it! I'm sending you to live with Johnny and Kitty!"

That sobered her up quickly. "Dad, no! You can't do that!"

"I can and I am! You need to learn to behave and I obviously can't teach you myself!"

"Danny-"

"Danielle, don't even try to convince me otherwise. Go upstairs and get ready for bed, we'll make arrangements tomorrow."

Danielle stared at me, horror on her face as the reality of her punishment sunk in. "I hate you!" she screeched, then she stomped upstairs to her bedroom, slamming the door so hard that the walls shook.

The next morning, I had Sam cover for me, as I was staying home with my daughter. I let her sleep in, knowing that having a discussion with her while she had a hangover wouldn't go well, especially not the discussion we needed to have. Besides, I needed to call Johnny and Kitty first.

Kitty answered on the first ring, "Hello?"

"I think I'm going to take you guys up on the offer to let Danielle come live with you."

"Why? What happened?" Kitty asked, concerned.

"She went to Ember's concert last night, without my knowledge or approval, dressed like a complete slut. Walker brought her home around midnight and she was belligerently drunk. She needs to get her attitude in check and I don't think I can do it myself."

"Well, I'm sure Johnny and I can get her on track," Kitty said.

"I hope so."

"Why don't you get her things packed and bring her over later?"

"Alright. Thank you."

"No problem."

I hung up and waited for Danielle to get out of bed. It was nearly noon when she finally stalked into the living room, wearing her bathrobe with her hair a mess. "Good morning," I said evenly.

She grunted in response and sat down on the sofa. "Look, Danielle, I wasn't kidding last night. I'm sending you to live with Johnny and Kitty for the remainder of the year."

"What?" she asked, her jaw dropping.

"You heard me, Danielle. I want you to go get cleaned up, then pack your bags. I'm taking you to their lair later."

"This is so unfair! You can't do this to me!"

"After your performance last night, you're lucky I'm not sending you to a boarding school or having your powers removed."

Her eyes narrowed at my last words, "You wouldn't dare."

"Don't test me. Go get ready. Now."

Two hours later, I was loading Danielle's luggage into the Specter Speeder, the one my parents had given me on my sixteenth birthday. It was jet black and sleek, with leather interior. "Danielle," I said, as she climbed into the passenger seat and put on her seat belt. "You know I'm only doing this for your own good, right?"

"No," she sniffed. "I don't know that."

I reached over to touch her shoulder, but she jerked away from me as though I'd shocked her. I pulled my hand back and pressed the button to open the speeder. We flew through the zone to Kitty and Johnny's lair.

Johnny helped me carry her suitcases to the guest room. After that, Kitty and Johnny walked me to the door. Danielle was lying on the sofa, facing away from me. "Goodbye, Danielle," I said. "I love you."

In response, Danielle flipped me off. I growled quietly and turned to Kitty and Johnny, "Good luck."

"Don't worry. We'll have her straightened out in no time. We'll call you and keep you updated."

"Thank you guys. So much."

"No problem, Danny," Johnny said. "Don't worry."

I left the Ghost Zone and I couldn't help but feel as though I was abandoning her. I knew I was only doing it for her own good, but I hated that it had come to this. I couldn't see where I had gone wrong. After I'd adopted her, I'd done my best to be the most loving and caring father I could be. I did everything with her and took care of her, yet she was still rebelling against me. I didn't understand it. She had been my little girl for so long, why did that suddenly change?

I sighed and pounded my fist against the steering wheel in frustration. I could only hope that Johnny and Kitty could straighten her out.