Chapter Five-Questions, Part 1
Danny groaned and rolled out of bed, slamming his hand down on the screaming alarm clock on his bedside table. He couldn't stand Wednesdays, especially when he had been up all night either fighting ghosts or studying for another one of Mr. Lancer's impossible tests.
"Good morning sweetie!" Maddie called as Danny trudged down the steps. He groaned and shoved his hands into the pockets of the gray hoodie he was wearing. Maddie shook her head as he chugged down a glass of orange juice and demolished a bowl of cereal. Danny bit back an irritated comment as his mother watched his every move. He tried to control his wincing as he moved around the kitchen, putting on his shoes and slinging his backpack over his shoulder.
"Danny…" Maddie said quietly, right before he was about to walk out the door.
"Yeah?" Danny asked, cringing with his back to his mother.
"Have a nice day… and please be careful." Maddie sighed. Danny nodded before slipping out of the house. The cool autumn air whipped his hair around and when he got to Sam's house he couldn't help but feel a bit disheveled.
"You look wonderful." Sam said sarcastically as she waltzed out of the door.
"Thanks Sam." Danny said bitterly.
"So who got out last night?" Sam asked, walking next to Danny.
"Ember and Johnny 13…oh, and the Box Ghost but he doesn't count does he?" Danny asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Not really. So are you ready for Lancer's test?" Sam asked, sticking her tongue out in distaste.
"As ready as I'm going to get. What kind of teacher gives a test the second week of school?" Danny cried.
"The evil kind." Sam laughed. Danny shrugged before stopping in his tracks.
"Sam, where's Tucker?" Danny asked, finally noticing the absence of the third member of their group.
"I'm not sure. He said that he had to run and do something before school and that he'd meet us there." Sam said, shrugging.
"He didn't tell you what he was doing?" Danny asked incredulously.
"No. All he said was that he had to do something." Sam said.
"That's…strange." Danny muttered.
Danny slouched over in his homeroom seat, aching and exhausted already. Tucker slipped into his seat quietly.
"Hey Tuck, where were you this morning?" Danny asked. Tucker bit his lip.
"I'll tell you later." Tucker hissed, obviously hiding something. Danny raised an eyebrow.
Tucker met Danny at his locker after school, and Danny immediately looked around to make sure Dash and his crowd wasn't lurking around.
"Alright Tuck, spill it." Danny demanded as soon as he knew the coast was clear.
"So I got some news about this ghost who's been randomly showing up in different cities all over the country. Philadelphia, Chicago, even Los Angeles. Well when I dug a little deeper I found out it was Dani. Dude, she's back in Amity Park." Tucker said, looking excited.
"Really? How come I haven't seen her?" Danny asked.
"I don't know man, but she's definitely here." Tucker said.
"Who's here?" Sam asked, walking over. Tucker jumped and Danny rolled his eyes.
"Tuck thinks Dani is back in town." Danny explained. Sam raised her eyebrows.
"Really? That's great!" Sam beamed.
"No…it's not. Somewhere along the line somebody realized that Dani Fenton has been traveling all by herself. She's being followed Danny, and pretty soon she's going to be taken in for questioning. She's gotta find some place to stay, somewhere believable…and fast." Tucker explained, pulling out his PDA.
"I was able to find some police questionnaires online asking about her." Tucker sighed, showing Danny and Sam the screen. Sure enough there was a picture of Dani, looking a bit older now, asking "Do you know this girl?" Danny and Sam looked at each other nervously.
"Danny, I think it's time you told your parents about your powers." Sam said quietly.
"I think it's time you told them everything." Tucker muttered.
"But…" Danny croaked.
"Danny!" A girl cried before two thin arms clad in a red sweatshirt grabbed him by the waist.
"Dani!" Tucker cried.
"Dani?" Danny said in surprise.
"Here we go…" Sam sighed, pulling open her locker.