Dizgirl: So, I'm up and ready to roll. I would just like you to know that I've been writing this the WHOLE four weeks. It just took me a while to get what I wanted out. Plus, I couldn't update this when I wanted because I couldn't upload it for some reason at first. But now it's good. Also: THANK YOU REVIEWERS! You make my day. All four of you! So, now onto the next chap! Enjoy and Love!
Where Are All the Ghosts?
Danny was tired. Scratch that, he was exhausted. Not only had he been up for the past few nights fighting a variety of ghosts (his dad's friend had visited and, as usual, Jack just had to show off the portal), but his teachers were giving out projects and tests like crazy. And now, here was Lancer talking about the essay that was due next week. Danny rested his head in his hands, staring blankly at his desk as he tried to stay awake and not panic.
His thoughts were interrupted as his ghost sense went off, the cold mist escaping from his mouth. Oh no…he thought unhappily. He tensed and glanced around, waiting for the crashes and screams that usually accompanied a ghost attack. Sam shot him a questioning look and he mouthed 'ghost sense' back at her and Tucker. The two stiffened.
But, a few moments passed and Mr. Lancer continued to drone on at the quiet classroom. Tucker and Sam exchanged confused expressions, looking back at Danny.
"Are you sure you sensed something?" Sam whispered as quietly as she could.
"Yeah," Danny answered in an undertone, nodding vigorously. "I sensed—"
"Mr. Fenton, Ms. Manson, is there a problem?" Mr. Lancer stood over the two of them, textbook in hand.
"Uh, no Mr. Lancer," Danny responded quickly. Lancer raised an eyebrow and Danny smiled nervously.
"As I was saying, Shakespeare was known for…"
Danny watched Lancer move back towards his desk, then glanced worriedly at his two friends. Why did I sense a ghost when there wasn't one around?
Chaos floated down a random hallway, trying to get her bearings. She glanced around at the rows of lockers and doors on either side of her.
"So…we came this way from first hour, which leads to the front office, right?" she wondered out loud, peeking down another hallway as she passed. She saw the double doors at the end and grinned, glad to be right.
"Kay, so now I should find the other…" her voice trailed away, as she caught sight of a locker further down the hall. It was trashy looking, but that wasn't why she noticed it. What caught her attention was the stale—but powerful—residue of ectoplasm surrounding it. Chaos flew over and looked into the inside of the locker, but found nothing but cobwebs. She pulled her head out and looked at the faded black numbers suspiciously. "Locker 724…? Hmmm, best stay away from it."
Chaos floated down more hallways, peeking her invisible head into various classrooms filled with students along the way. At one point she discovered the cafeteria, which also seemed to be covered in ectoplasmic residue that hadn't been washed away properly—especially within the kitchen. Most of the hallways were in the same state as well, but, the library and girl's bathrooms were clean. Chaos couldn't figure that one out.
Somewhere along the way she also found an empty office that reeked of old ghost energy, though Chaos was pretty sure that whatever ghost had resided in it was long gone. She floated to the ground within the dark office, shaking her head. It seemed the whole school held traces of ghost activity…including that one kid.
What the heck goes on at this school? she thought in awe. With this much ectoplasm and ghost energy floating around, shouldn't there be crowds of ghosts to back it up? Where are they?
Chaos was torn from her thoughts as the bell went off, signaling the end of second hour. She turned invisible and flew quickly through the hallways back towards Raimee. When she reached the classroom, she stopped in the air, watching the students pour out of the doorway. Chaos caught sight of Raimee walking behind the ghost-trace-kid and a girl and boy who were obviously his two friends. She grinned as she saw Raimee glance questioningly up at the ceiling, sensing her even though she was invisible. Chaos dived into her friend's body.
'Hey Ray! Have fun in Mr. Boring's class?' Chaos asked cheerfully.
'He's not that bad really. In fact I think I'll like his class a lot, so be nice. But, enough about that, what did you find out?' Raimee answered following the crowd as she looked for her next class.
'Well, there's a ton of ghost energy around here—most of it old. And, I know where the cafeteria, library, and bathrooms are now. I would've looked for your classes but I didn't know your schedule.'
'Ghost energy?' Raimee asked in surprise, ignoring the rest of the information. 'Where?'
'All over the place. It's like a bunch of ghosts went and battled it out in every other hallway I floated down.' Chaos thought. 'I'm just amazed people still go to school here. With this much ectoplasm lying around, wouldn't you think the place would be considered haunted or something?'
'You would think…' Raimee answered, turning her attention to finding her next class. 'Chaos, did you see where classroom…'she looked down at the already worn paper in her hand, '…number 156 is? I can't seem to find it.'
'Yeah. You'll have to take the stairs though; it's on the floor below this one,' Chaos replied. 'Anyways, there is definitely something going on here with ghosts. I mean I was half-joking when I said that since it's Casper High there should be ghost stuff and all, but apparently I was right.'
'Well, as you also said, we should probably just wait until something happens.'
'Hmmm…I guess.'
Danny froze as the chilled mist escaped from his mouth again. He craned his neck to see over the crowd for the ghost he had sensed, forehead wrinkled in frustration.
"Okay, that's the second time my ghost sense went off today and there's still no ghost!" he exclaimed to his two best friends. "I mean, maybe I could mistake it once, but twice?"
"Well, you are pretty tired," Sam responded calmly.
"Not that tired," Danny countered.
"How many times did I wake you up in class today?" Sam asked as she glanced questioningly at Tucker.
"Three times in Tetslaff's and two times in Lancer's. That's a lot—even for you dude," Tucker answered, tapping away at his newest PDA. Danny scowled.
"Being tired has never affected my ghost sense before," he argued. "I could be asleep and my ghost sense would still go off. And, there would be a ghost there too," he added as he saw Sam open her mouth. She rolled her eyes.
"Well, if there is a ghost—"
"—There is!"
"Then what's the big deal? It's not hurting anyone or doing anything. It could be friendly," Sam continued, ignoring Danny's huff of annoyance.
"Yeah, and how many times has that happened?" He asked sarcastically, stopping outside their next class. Sam stopped as well, crossing her arms.
"Hmmm…let's see," she began innocently. Well for one there's Dora, oh and Clockwork, and don't forget the Dairy King ghost from Vlad's house, and—"
"—Okay okay! I get it, there are friendly ghosts," Danny said scowling again. Sam smirked and walked into the classroom. He turned to Tucker, frowning.
"I still think there's something wrong," he grumbled. His best friend shrugged.
"So there's a ghost hanging around. If it's evil you'll find it, kick its butt, suck it into the thermos, and throw it into the Ghost Zone," he assured Danny. "If not, then Sam is right and you'll have to deal with her gloating for the rest of your life." Danny grimaced.
"Thanks for the encouragement Tuck."
'I hate this, I hate this, I hate this, I hate—'
'—Raimee, stop it! You're driving me crazy!'
'I'm sorry! But I really hate this part of being the new kid!' Raimee complained to her ghost friend as she looked out over the crowded cafeteria. 'I never know where to sit, and I don't know anyone I could sit with, and I always feel so nervous!'
'What are you nervous about? What could they possibly do to you?' Chaos asked doubtfully.
"Hey new kid, move it!" came an arrogant voice from behind Raimee. She found herself being shoved aside into one of the metal tables as two jocks wearing lettermen jackets pushed past her. The one who spoke, a tall boy with slicked-back blonde hair, looked back and laughed as he continued to the lunch line on the other side of the cafeteria.
'That. That is what they can do to me,' Raimee thought, rubbing her side where she had hit the table's edge.
'I am so going to get that jerk!' Chaos growled. 'Who does he think he is, huh?! I'll show him what the true meaning of being a bully is! Chaos: that's what he needs!'
'Chaos, calm down.'
'Calm down? I'll calm down when I can give him what he deserves!' Chaos continued to rage in the back of Raimee's mind, but she tuned it out.
"Hey," another voice called out behind her. Raimee winced, but turned around anyways. It was a girl dressed up in black and purple, holding a tray of food. Next to her were none other than the ghost-trace-boy and his bespectacled friend from English class (and apparently a lot of her other classes as well).
"Ignore Dash, he's an idiot with about as much brains as a fly—and that's on a good day," the goth girl continued. Raimee smiled appreciatively.
"Thanks," she replied. "Don't worry, I'm used to it. I wasn't very popular at any of my other schools either." 'Mainly because of all the ghost stuff,' she added for Chaos.
'Tch, their loss,' replied Chaos. 'If they can't handle that, then they don't deserve to even talk to ya. Oh, but they do deserve a sound beating like Mr. Jerk-Jock over there.' Raimee bit her lip to hide a smile.
"So, um…well thanks…. I'll be going now," Raimee stammered, nodding at the trio as she turned away.
"Wait!" She looked back in surprise as the black-haired boy took a step forward. He glanced back at the other two, as if asking for approval, and then continued, "Come sit with us. We got plenty of room at our table."
"Yeah," said the girl with a shrug. "Those of us at the bottom of the social chain should stick together."
"Thank you," Raimee grinned for the first time that day. "That would be great." The four of them headed to an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria. The goth girl and the other boy sat on one side, leaving the ghost-trace-kid and Raimee to sit on the other. They set their trays down and she pulled out a paper bag from her black backpack.
"Oh, we never introduced ourselves," began the girl as she stuck her fork into the school salad on her tray. "I'm Sam Manson." Raimee nodded in reply. Then the boy next her spoke up.
"Danny Fenton," he said with a smile. 'Danny Fenton…that's his name…' Chaos grunted to show she had heard, still steaming about 'Mr. Jerk-Jock'.
"Oh, and this is—"
"—Tucker Foley at your service, as in you can call me for my services anytime," the other boy interrupted. Danny and Sam shared exasperated looks as Raimee tried to figure out if he was serious or not.
"Oh, um okay," she said, not sure how to respond to such a straight-forward comment.
'Ha ha! I was right! He is definitely into you. Are you guys going to go on a date?' Chaos teased, all anger gone with the prospect of humiliating her best friend.
'Chaos! No, I just met the guy!' Raimee quickly thought in embarrassment
'First, I'll have to make sure he is suitable material for you...' Raimee sighed inwardly.
"Anyways," Sam began after pulling Tucker's red beret over his face ("Hey!"), "where are you from? We didn't catch Lancer when he told us." Raimee looked up from her turkey sandwich, grateful for the distraction from Chaos's continuing comments on Tucker and his 'worthiness' to date her.
"Wisconsin," she replied. "I never really—" she stopped abruptly as Danny started choking on a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Sam glanced at him, and then continued as evenly as she could.
"Oh really?" she asked. "What part?"
"Madison. Why? Is there something wrong with that?" Raimee looked between the three as they exchanged knowing looks.
"No, it's just…we know someone from around there," replied Danny 'casually', stabbing his meatloaf rather forcefully.
"Oh…wonder if I know them. I was only there for three years this time around, so probably not. Unless they're our age…"
"Well everyone knows—ow!" Tucker exclaimed as he felt Sam step on his foot with her compact boots.
"Everyone knows…?" Raimee repeated in confusion.
"Danny!" A voice rang out from behind them. The four turned to see a tall, red-headed girl walking towards.
"Who's that?" Raimee asked.
"Jazz: my sister," Danny answered, sharing a look of relief with Sam.
"I wanted to talk to you about those ghooo…" Jazz paused as she caught sight of Raimee, "gooo…goals that you have for college. It's never too early to start you know! You gotta start planning now." She smiled nervously.
"Later. I don't want to talk about that right now," Danny replied smoothly. "Stop badgering me!" Jazz rolled her eyes with fake frustration and then turned to Raimee.
"So you're the new girl right? Raimee Perkings?"
"Uh, yeah," Raimee answered. "You know my name?"
"Of course! We don't get many new kids around here. I make it my duty to make sure that the new kids feel welcome at Casper High," Jazz said cheerfully. "I also hear you are in a higher math class—a year ahead right?"
"Oh, yes I am," Raimee grinned sheepishly. "Math has always kinda been my thing."
'Which is really weird,' Chaos interjected quietly. Raimee ignored her.
"Well, if you need any help you just ask me, okay?" Jazz said, briefly resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Right."
Jazz nodded at them and then looked down at her brother. "I'll talk to you later about those 'goals'." She winked and walked away.
'She's way too perky,' Chaos commented.
'I don't know about that. I think I'll like her,' Raimee thought back.
'Well sure. You two nerds will hit it off great, but I don't think I could handle her for too long alone.'
'You won't have to worry about that. It's not like you're going to meet her any time soon.'
'True.'
"Wow, a whole year ahead?" Tucker questioned. Raimee blushed.
"Uh, yeah. I was two years ahead, but the move here caused problems and I lost the other credit somehow," she explained, shrugging casually. "It doesn't really matter. Review is fine with me."
The bell rang and the chatting students around them stood up to leave for the next class. Raimee jumped up and grabbed her backpack, pulling her schedule out from her pocket.
"Actually, that's where I'm headed now," she said, examining the paper. "Where is Mr. Falluca's class?"
"Right hallway, up the stairs, third door on your left," Sam and Danny answered in unison.
"Thanks. Oh, and thank you for letting me sit with you," Raimee smiled briefly and took off towards the double doors. The two watched her go, then glanced back as Tucker rushed passed them.
"Wait! I didn't get to ask you out yet!" Tucker called, but she had already disappeared through the doors. "Aw man!"
Dizgirl:Okay, so I attempted humor. Please tell me how it went. Thanks for reading the chap!
