Ch. 4

The week passed by without much incident. Dad didn't ask for too many details about my walk, and the subject was never brought up again. We managed to get completely unpacked and somewhat organized by the time Monday rolled around, though it was still too soon in my opinion.

Monday morning found me sitting at the small kitchen table, drinking coffee with a very grudging expression. My dad also had a mug in front of him as he sat with me, though he looked considerably more awake and was certainly happier about his oncoming day than I was. "Oh cheer up, Max! It's not gonna be as bad as you think!" he promised me cheerfully. I simply glared at him in response, too tired to even think of a suitable retort. He only shrugged and finished up his coffee. "You should hurry up and get ready. I don't want to be late to my new job and you'll surely want to get a good look around so you can find your classes," he recommended as he got up to get ready himself. I could only continue my groggy glare, not wanting to acknowledge that he was right. I only finished my coffee when he left to get dressed, then set it in the sink and dragged myself back to my room to get ready. It wasn't that I really hated school itself, per say, it's just that I really, really hate mornings. That, coupled with the fact that this was going to be the first school I went to where I didn't know anyone at all, did not motivate me to move any faster.

Somehow, I managed to get ready quick enough and Dad was able to drop me off at my new school a bit earlier than usual so I could get my bearings. "Good luck!" he said with a conspiratorial wink before driving off. Facing my school, I suddenly had the urge to high tail it out of there. Oh boy, if only it were that simple. I took a deep breath and entered the school. The front office was, thankfully, easy to find. The secretary was a nice lady who was expecting me, no doubt thanks to a call from Dad. "Here is your locker and your schedule," she said kindly, handing me papers. I thanked her and left, wandering about the halls in search of my elusive locker.

By the time I actually managed to find it and get the stupid thing open, more students were starting to arrive. I cursed under my breath as my things started to slip out of my backpack and onto the floor while I tried to get everything into my locker. Sighing with frustration, I knelt down and started collecting my stuff before people could step all over it.

"Do you need some help?" someone asked beside me. "Help would be wonderful," I muttered, perhaps a bit grumpily. The person knelt by me and gathered what I couldn't reach and handed it back to me. Once I had everything in my arms I finally straightened and got a good look at my helper. I was so startled that I actually recognized them that I nearly dropped my books again. It was the black haired kid that I had seen at the Nasty Burger! "Ah, thanks..." I began, not sure what to call him. "Call me Danny," he said with a smile. I nodded, "Well thank you, Danny." I stuffed my things into my locker a bit roughly before turning back to him quickly. "I'm Max, by the way," I said so as not to be rude. It was good to have a name to match with the face, though.

Two more familiar faces approached Danny. It was the goth girl and the beret guy. "Sam, Tucker, this is Max," Danny said, introducing us. "I've never seen you around before. Are you new?" the girl called Sam asked. I grabbed my schedule and things that I would need for class before I closed my locker and turned back to answer her. "Yeah. My dad and I just got into town last week," I explained. Sam looked like she was about to say something before Tucker cut in, nearly pushing her out of the way in an effort to stand by me. "The name's Tucker Foley, as in the only guy you'll ever need," he said in an attempt to sound charming while grinning at me. He offered his hand to me, but I edged back a bit. "Ah ha, thanks, but I don't really need a guy," I said, trying to be polite. Honestly, I had never been hit on before and it was very, very awkward for me. Tucker, however, seemed to take the refusal in stride, though his face fell a bit. Behind him, Sam and Danny snickered before he turned to glare at them.

While Tucker and his friends started some sort of argument, I grabbed the chance to look around the halls at the other students. At five foot nine, I was one of the taller kids in the hall, though I was still dwarfed by some big guys in letterman jackets. My roaming gaze spotted a group of giggling girls near the jocks, and I sincerely hoped they weren't the type to bully. I was probably wrong, but I could always hope. I had a thicker build than what was, well, usually deemed as "pretty". True, most of it was muscle from the sports I had enjoyed back home, but there was no denying the simpler facts. I was lazy and really, really enjoyed food. Back home, I had been the target of some harsh words from the thinner, prettier girls but they hadn't actually bugged me after we started high school. I will never understand why, but kids are a lot meaner in middle school.

I turned my gaze away and glanced down at my schedule before looking towards the trio. Were we actually friends if we had just met? "Would you guys mind helping me find my first class?" I asked, shifting a bit under the weight of my binder and things piled in my arms. Seizing it like he would a chance at redemption, Tucker snatched the paper away and immediately started walking down the hall, commenting about who knows what while he walked. I glanced at the other two, but from their expressions I could tell that this seemed to be the usual thing Tucker would do. I followed after him with no other real choice.

"Looks like you got Mr. Lancer for English class. He's not my favorite teacher, but at least you'll have the three of us to keep ya from dying out of boredom," he said with a proud smirk as he handed my schedule back to me. Hopefully that was a lucky thing. They lead me to class and I got a seat in the back. The bell rang, and I officially began my first day at Casper High.

Surprisingly enough, it was actually not that bad. I had to get some papers signed, and unfortunately I was already given homework. Couldn't stay behind forever, I suppose. Still, seeing as how it was still pretty early into the school year, I was a bit surprised that I had some much stuff to do. My hopes of slacking off until I got adjusted went out the window. By the time lunch rolled around, I had three new textbooks to stash into my locker, plus a novel to read for English.

The cafeteria was packed by the time I got to it, and there wasn't an empty table in sight. I was saved from having to choose by Sam, who was waving at me from a table towards the other side of the noisy room. Relieved, I made my way towards her, Danny, and Tucker. I was really glad that they weren't the type to pick on the new kid. There had been quite a lot of that back at my old school. Now I realized just how bad that felt and felt a whole new type of admiration for kids who did this all the time. I sat with the three of them and pulled out my packed lunch. Dad was very suspicious of cafeteria food, and I honestly couldn't blame him. That stuff was definitely not food.

"So where are you from, Max?" Sam asked me as she pulled out a small salad for her lunch. "Las Vegas," I answered simply before digging into my sandwich. "Wait...did you like, gamble and stuff?" Tucker asked with his mouth full, spraying food everywhere. "Obviously. It's not like there are laws against underage gambling or anything," I said, taking care that I at least swallowed my food before talking. He blushed slightly, realizing how stupid his question had sounded, then returned to his food. I was about to ask another question when a weird chill traveled down my spine, making me shiver. Danny seemed to have experienced the same thing, though I could've swore I saw something like mist come out of his mouth. He stood up abruptly and said, "Bathroom!" Then, he dashed out of the cafeteria. I stared after him, confused, then looked at the other two. They exchanged a quick, knowing look before Sam grinned at me. "Oh that's normal, don't worry about it!" she assured. Tucker was quick to add, "Yeah, that's our Danny! Bladder the size of a walnut!" After a bout of some very forced sounding laughter, they tried to ask me more questions.

"What do your parents do?"

"How many casinos have you been to?"

"What's Vegas like?"

"Have you been through the desert on a horse with no name?"

As polite as I wanted to be, I really didn't want to answer their questions. Instead, I got up, intent on figuring out what was actually going on. That chill hadn't been a coincidence. Sam and Tucker stood up as well, blocking my way and trying to distract me. Something occurred to me, and I fixed them with a narrowed-eyed glare. "Does this distraction nonsense have anything to do with that ghost kid?" I asked. Both of them paled, their eyes widening slightly. That was an answer enough for me, and I quickly dodged around them and made it out of the cafeteria. There was no sign of Danny, of course, but there was a noise coming from down the hall. Screams followed what sounded like smashing, and for some stupid reason I ran towards it.

Ghost-boy was there, and so was another ghost who I didn't recognize. He looked like a giant metal man, and his green hair was pretty much just fire. "Puny welp. Did you really think that I, Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter, wouldn't capture you eventually?" he snarled at the ghost boy. The kid had been slammed into the lockers, but he didn't seem too hurt. "Actually, I figured you would realize that it's no use after the millionth time I beat you," he replied before kicking Skulker away from him. Instead of slamming into the wall, he phased through it.

"Holy hell," I muttered, wide eyed. The ghost-boy didn't even notice me as he phased through the wall as well, apparently going after the hunter. A moment later, I was joined by Tucker and Sam. "Did you see something?" the goth asked me. I could only nod in reply, staring at the wall as if the ghosts would phase back into the hallway. After a moment, I finally managed to speak.

"So, there seems to be a bit of a ghost problem."