21 March 2013 Edit: Originally, when I had posted this, I didn't have this great idea. However, after browsing through the NaNoWriMo forums, I came across the challenge for something. I wanted to add it in somewhere but I wasn't sure where to put it because it would be a great subplot for what I intend to happen. I couldn't really work it in anywhere else, so I rewrote this chapter. I would like to see if anyone can figure it out.
So, yeah.
I deleted to "Attention" note that I posted earlier this week and opted to remind people that I won't be posting again until April first for Camp NaNo. If anyone is interested, there's a group of us on the forums who are forming a cabin tomorrow (22 March 2013). If you want to join, we have some room left. There are a few people you may recognize. Take a peek, is all I can say. ;)
So I started to read the first book of the Katerina trilogy, The Gathering Storm. I found it hilarious that the main character is a necromancer and that she has a book on necromancy, Necromancer's Companion. I had a good chuckle. It's a good book, for those who are curious. Another good trilogy is the Darkest Powers trilogy. Again, the main character is a necromancer. Lastly, the Mediator series is worth a read. It's by the same author who wrote the Princess Diaries series.
All three of those are wonderful and better written than some of those out there. I haven't figured where I'll post it yet, but we'll see soon enough.
Time is passing quickly in this chapter because I felt that we were stuck in one week for far too long. And by time passing quickly, I mean a month and then a weekend. I felt like this story was dragging a bit, so I had to do it. I'm a little mad at myself for it, too. Hopefully it flows right…
This chapter is also short because I've been so pressed for time this week. Midterms and whatnot. Originally, I was supposed to take two of my midterms on Thursday, but my Shakespeare teacher decided to give us a take home test (which I used the internet for) and my Editing teacher decided to give it to us tomorrow. (sigh) I really need for them to stick to the schedule so I can write at normal hours and not the day before the next chapter's supposed to be up!
21 March 2013 Edit: It's a lot longer now and it hits my 3000 word mark.
Ah well. But there's some good news! For those of you who go to Anime Central (ACen), I will be attending again! I think this is my fifth year. I'll be dressed as the Painted Doll from The Devil's Carnival, great film by the way. Emilie Autumn plays her, a woman who I have adored since her days as a fairy. There's a thing in Chicago this week for Repo! The Genetic Opera and The Devil's Carnival, along with the "Fight like a Girl" premier. Sadly, I will not be amongst those attending. I won't have a vehicle to drive into the city. Hopefully, she posts a link to the video later that night. (crosses fingers)
Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.
Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to Danny Phantom or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's Mediator series and Kelly Armstrong's Darkest Powers trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.
Do Not Cross
Chapter 10
Misfortunate
I rolled my eyes. "He's talking to himself. My vote is he's crazy."He thought about this. "Maybe he's normal and we're the crazy ones. Maybe everyone should talk to themselves. Maybe we're all just afraid of what we'd say."Katie Kacvinsky, Awaken
Sam stretched backwards, feeling the kinks in her back tighten and then relax. It had been a long week. She, Danny, and Tucker had spent the past month training with Mr. Lancer. They started working on things other than Danny's control over his powers not too long ago. Tucker had proven his usefulness by breaking them into the gym last night – Coach Telstaff had the football team outside and had them airing out the locker rooms by the field, which was just as horrible as it sounded.
Her grandmother's condition hadn't changed in the past month. She was perturbed by this. Was there something seriously wrong? What if the woman just died in her sleep and no one knew until she started decomposing? Sam shuddered at that thought. It was best to remain positive and keep the outward appearance of being a normal teenage girl at the moment.
It was hard, however, because for the last few nights there had been a ceaseless tapping somewhere in the house. She head it for around an hour, searched the mansion, and could not find the cause. Sam tried to focus on the negative energy of a possible ghost, but she found none — not even a trace of the lunch lady ghost Danny had seen the month prior. (They had yet to sense her.) She decided it was probably something in the walls.
Being sleep-deprived did not help ones constitution or mind. Sam swore she saw a ghost numerous times but she didn't get that same feeling she always got. Besides, Danny's "ghost sense" hadn't gone off at any of those times. She decided that she was seeing things.
Sighing, she looked around the room. Most of the girls were already done dressing and locking their things up. Valerie was amongst them, although she seemed a bit out of it. Pale, too. Sam wondered what was wrong. She had noticed it earlier that morning but they hadn't really gotten the chance to talk.
Grabbing her things, she moved down the aisle. Valerie didn't even look up when Sam stopped right next to her.
"Hey." Sam said, catching her attention.
"Hey." Valerie returned. She sounded tired.
"You okay?"
Valerie shrugged, picking up her books. She started towards the doors leading out into the gym, where everyone waited for the bell to ring. Sam followed her, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling in her stomach. It was the same feeling she got whenever a ghost was near or whenever a big storm was coming. Something bad was going to happen.
Sam looked about, trying to spot Danny or Tucker, but both were still in the changing room. Valerie was leaning against the wall. Something was most definitely wrong with her.
In a blink, Sam examined her with her Mind's Eye. Something was off with her glow. True, she had never really looked at Val's before, but it definitely didn't look human. Was she changing into something? Mr. Lancer had said that everyone at Casper High had the ability to become more than they were, so did that mean Valerie was amongst those numbers?
"Duh, Sam." she muttered to herself. "Of course she is. Now to figure out what…"
Slowly, she made her way to Valerie, taking a spot next to her by the wall.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Sam asked, brows crinkling.
"Honestly?" Valerie asked. "No, I'm not okay. I feel sick, you know? But not like the flu or a cold or anything. I don't know what's wrong with me."
"Do you want to go to the nurse?"
"I probably should go. But I don't want to miss class. Being in school is the only thing that's helping me and my dad. He'll be so upset if something goes wrong."
"I think he'll be more worried if you're sick and forcing yourself to be here instead of in bed. You can make up the lessons later, you're smart and capable. C'mon, I'll help you there."
If one would have said to Sam that she would have a female friend (albeit keeping a dark secret from her) last year, she would have laughed in your face. Now, Sam could think of nothing else than helping a fellow human being amble down the school hallways to the nurse's station. It wasn't a far walk and they were almost stopped by several teachers, but upon seeing Valerie's complexion they made no move to hinder the girls.
The bell rang and students poured out of the classrooms. Valerie stopped, holding her head.
"My head's spinning." she said. "I need to sit down."
"We're almost there." Sam told her, looking back and forth between Valerie and the open door. She could call out to the medical personal inside and get some help quite easily, but Sam thought nothing along those lines. She was more determined to keep her friend upright.
Valerie's feet dragged. Her toe caught on a section of uneven flooring and she was down. Sam knelt and tried to shake her awake.
"Val?" she called. "Val? Valerie?"
She received no response. She looked around for help. A student heading towards the councilor's office saw them.
"Get the nurse." Sam said to the girl, who nodded and rushed to the open door.
The nurse poked her head out and saw Valerie on the ground. She trotted over and felt the unconscious girl's pulse.
"What happened?" the nurse asked.
"She wasn't feeling good," Sam said, "so I told her to go to you, to see if she could lie down or something. She said her head started spinning, we walked maybe two, three steps and she collapsed. Is she going to be okay?"
"Go to class." was all Sam was told. "I'll take care of her from here on out. You can stop by my office later to check on her."
Sam was about to protest, when the nurse held up a hand. She didn't want to hear anything the student had to say.
"Where should I put her books?" Sam asked.
"Just put them on my desk and then leave. She'll be fine. I promise."
Sighing, Sam did as she was told. And she hated every second of it.
Danny and Tucker looked up at Sam when she sat down by them for lunch. She set her stuff down and collapsed on the table, praying for sleep.
"What's up?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah, we heard Val fainted in the hallway." Danny said. "What happened?"
"She wasn't feeling good." Sam said, looking past them and at the wall.
"She didn't look too good during P.E. Do you think the flu's coming around early this year?"
"It could be a late summer bug that she caught." Tucker told them.
"Or it could be something else entirely." Sam said, sitting up. "Did you look at her glow?"
"No, what's up with it?"
"It's not right. Something's… off."
"Do you think she could be, you know," Tucker looked around nervously, before whispering, "changing."
"What? Like a werewolf? Are there any werewolf genes in Amity?"
"Not that kind of changing. And, no. There are no werewolves in Amity Park. As far as I know, at least."
"I knew what you meant." Sam said, allowing her head to lull to one side. She was awfully tired all of a sudden. It was probably all the worrying the past couple of classes.
"Still, something could be wrong with her." Tucker said. "Is she still in school?"
"She was picked up by an ambulance over an hour ago." Danny said, chewing his sandwich nervously. "Someone sitting next to me was talking about it last period. Do you think she'll be okay?"
"She should be. Let's not worry about it at the moment. We have training tonight again, don't forget and you'll both need clear minds for that."
"How come you don't have to do any physical activities?"
"Alchemists are fighters." Sam said. "They never really needed to know. Hey, Tuck, you might be the first Alchemist to hold their own against a ghost."
"Har har har."
"You sound like a pirate." Danny chuckled. He looked at Sam and noticed her lack of food. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"I've been too nervous to worry about eating. Besides, I'm not that hungry."
"Have my salad. I was going to try it with the raspberry vinaigrette that you like. You take it. This sandwich will probably be enough to fill me up until I can get dinner tonight. Do you think Lancer will keep us long?"
"Probably, it's not a Friday." Sam said, taking the offered salad. "Tomorrow we are covering another game. Dash really liked that picture last month. Do you think you can keep it up?"
"Maybe." Danny said with a shrug. "If Dash liked the picture, why's he still beating me up?"
"He probably doesn't know that you took it. You could accidentally let it slip when he's walking past."
"Nope, Dash'll never change the way he does things." Tucker said. "He has an actual schedule of when and where he does things to geeks and nerds and Danny."
"Glad to see I'm in my own category." Danny mumbled.
"It could be worse." Sam said. "You could be a band geek."
"What's wrong with band geeks?"
"Please, have you seen Casper High's band uniforms? They look like candy canes prancing around the field. It's kind of nauseating to watch. Like a children's' production of The Nutcracker, a total disaster."
"You have a lot of childhood angst, don't you?"
"You try waking up and seeing a dead person floating in front of you this morning."
"Wait, what?" Danny said.
"Yeah, some little old lady died last night and she came to me for help. I have to go do something for her family tonight. You guys are more than welcome to join me. I could use a pair of hands to dig up something buried in a forest somewhere nearby."
"There are nice ghosts? How come I haven't met any nice ghosts yet?"
"You're a Soothsayer. And one who fights ghosts, on top of that. Why would they go to you for help when there is a nice, little Necromancer with a glow that's like a freaking lighthouse beacon nearby?"
"Good point."
"So…" Tucker said. "Training tonight. It should be fun, right?"
Training was not fun. Sore and exhausted, Sam collapsed on her bed. For several minutes she just lied there, wondering whether or not she would be able to take a shower. She bit her lip and breathed in the scent of her clean sheets. She didn't want to soil them any more than she already had.
Groaning, she sat up and gathered the things she needed for her shower. She washed herself quickly and relaxed her tense muscles under the scorching volley of droplets. The heat eased the stiffness she felt.
When the water started to turn cool, she turned the dial and dried herself off. She looked around for her pajamas and remembered she left them on her bed. Cursing her luck, she exited her bathroom.
The air in her room felt unnaturally cool. Her flesh puckered. Ghost, was her first thought.
"Sam?" a familiar voice said.
Danny faded into existence by her window. Both of them yelped, and he turned away, covering his eyes. He mumbled an incoherent apology.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed.
"I… I'm doing rounds." he said to the corner he was facing.
"Rounds?"
"You know, going around town and checking for ghosts and other mischief?"
"You're really getting into the superhero thing, aren't you?"
"I'm not trying to be a superhero."
Sam rolled her eyes, grabbing her pajamas and heading back to her bathroom. She closed the door and quickly changed. When she returned, Danny was fingering the quilt on her bed nervously.
"You're like Peter Parker." Sam said, sitting next to him. "He was a nerd who was bitten by a spider and he gained superpowers. You are an average kid whose parents happen to be ghost hunters, and you got caught in a powerful shock and ectoplasm. Besides, you both have Chronic Hero Syndrome."
"You're making that up."
"What? Chronic Hero Syndrome?"
"No, the connection between me and Peter Parker."
Sam laughed and shoved him lightly. He returned the gesture with his own push. The two sat contently next to one another for several moments before the silence between them was interrupted by a knock on Sam's door.
"What?" Sam called.
"Can I come in?" a voice asked. It was her mother.
Sam looked at Danny, who vanished easily. The training was really working.
She padded over to the door and opened it.
Pamela Manson stood there, nervously twisting her fingers. She jumped at the sudden light and the appearance of her daughter.
"Do you need something?" Sam asked neutrally. Things between them had been less hostile since they moved to Amity. She thought it was because she was out and about with her friends more than anything.
"I…" Pamela started to say, but she stopped herself. "How are things at school? You keeping busy?"
"Yeah. I joined a martial arts group with Danny and Tucker not too long ago. It's a great workout and it keeps me out of trouble, you know?"
"I'm really proud that you haven't been making any mischief, Sammy."
Sam shrugged.
"I heard that a girl fainted in school today." Pamela said. She raised her brows when Sam's disposition changed. "Do you know her?"
"Yeah. Valerie Gray. We have a couple of classes together. Why?"
"On the news… They said she'd been injecting herself with something."
Sam frowned. She thought it over. She didn't remember Valerie having any marks on her arms, but then again she never really paid a whole lot of attention. That, and it had gotten cooler out fairly quickly, and everyone was wearing jackets and their winter uniforms for gym.
"Val's not the type to do drugs." Sam said. "She might be depressed, yeah, but after what she's been through, who wouldn't? Besides, she can't afford them. Her and her dad have some trouble just paying for rent."
"I don't know, Sam. There are other ways to get drugs."
"If you're going to tell me not to hang out with her I'm not going to listen."
Pamela sighed.
"Fine, just… be smart. I worry, you know I do."
"Promise."
Her mother nodded and started to turn away, then she stopped.
"You're still wearing the necklace." she said, noting the simple trinket she had given the girl over a month ago.
Sam looked down. She had hardly ever taken it off. She had gotten used to it being there.
"Yeah." She muttered, running her fingers through her hair.
"It looks good." Pamela smiled and whished her goodnight. Sam in turn, wished her the same, closing the door.
"You heard all of that?" Sam said to the seemingly empty room. The only reason she knew Danny was still there was the temperature.
"Yeah." Danny said, reappearing. "Do you really think Val's been doing drugs?"
"No. I think she's been injecting herself with something else."
"Or someone's injecting her with something."
"Right."
Sam moved to her computer and turned it on. She quickly typed up an email and sent it to Mr. Lancer and Tucker, hoping they thought the same. While she waited for their replies, she sent an text to Valerie, hoping for a response. She got none.
"Tuck agrees," Danny said, reading the email. "Mr. Lancer hasn't checked yet. He probably already went to bed."
"No doubt. It is after ten." Sam said, noting the time on her wall clock. "Don't you have a curfew to uphold?"
"It's just me and Jazz. Mom and dad are out of town for the weekend."
"Sounds like fun. What did you tell Jazz you were doing?"
"Hanging out with you and Tuck. I probably should go now. You were getting ready for bed, yeah?"
"I was going to watch some Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but I'm pretty exhausted. Lancer worked us hard again. Not to mention that we had to cover the game. You did get some pictures, right?"
"…Right."
"You were taking pictures of Paulina, weren't you?"
"Maybe."
Sam laughed and hit him over the head with one of her pillows.
"Danny's got a little crush."
"It's an infatuation. Like the one Romeo had on Juliet."
"God, I hate that play. I can't believe it's the first one we had to read."
"It could be worse." Danny said.
"How?"
"We could be reading Macbeth this semester."
Sam groaned and fell back on her bed.
"Please don't remind me. Why did I take Shakespeare again?"
"It sounded like an interesting class. If you want, I can get Jazz's help."
"No thanks." Sam said, sitting up. "Speaking of, how is Jazz? I haven't seen her in a while."
"She's… fine. I think."
"You think?"
"She's been having a lot of nightmares. I don't think she knows that I know but I hear her through the walls sometimes."
"You should check on her sometime, make sure she's okay. Soothsayer blood and all that. We don't want to ignore the Cassandra Truth."
"'Cassandra Truth'?"
"The reality that no one believes."
"Like ghosts."
"Yeah, except, I think the people in Amity are starting to believe. We've had, what, four attacks this past month?"
"All of them that Box Ghost. He's really starting to get on my nerves."
"Any sign of that lunch lady?"
"None."
"Great, so we have one vengeful ghost unaccounted for."
"Call me if she shows up?"
"Will do." Sam said.
"Goodnight, Sammy."
"Shut it, Danielle."
"Oi, no girl names!"
"Leave before I banish you to oblivion, foul ghost-thing."
"I'm leaving, I'm leaving."
Sam chuckled and watched as he disappeared. She looked at her Alfred Hitchcock DVDs and shook her head. There was no way she'd be able to sit through one when she was worrying about Danny doing rounds and Val in the hospital.
Double checking her phone, she sighed, turned off her lights, and snuggled under her covers. Sleep would help make the time pass quicker and she would feel better with some more sleep.
Sam was not able to get more sleep. The tapping was back. She woke up just before midnight, barely getting an hour in, and it started.
She groaned, flipping over, and tossing a pillow over her head. She'd never get any sleep with that damn noise.
Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Tap, tap, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
Pause
Tap, tap, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Tap, tap, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap.
Pause.
Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap.
Pause.
Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
Pause.
Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Scrape, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
Pause.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap…
Sam sat up. It sounded like Morse code. Was someone trying to tell her something?
She bit her lip and listened again, wishing she understood the message. She'd have to go to the library or something to get a book on the subject. Or she could look it up on the internet.
Grabbing her phone, she recorded the sound. She let the message repeat for several minutes.
An hour passed and silence took over the mansion again. Far off, in the distance, Sam could hear a train on the tracks. Should she try to translate it now? Yes, she should.
She quickly Googled "morse code" and found a key to help her understand what she was listening to. After another hour of being awake, all her results let her to was a jumble of numbers.
1, 2, 5, 2, 2, 1, 0, 9, 1, 9,1 5, 1, 6, 9. Then there was always a good pause there before it continued. 1, 4, 5, 8, 1, 6, 1, 2, 0, 2, 0, 2, 1, 1, 6. Another long pause. 1, 5, 2, 0. Pause. 5, 1, 3, 1, 5, 2, 3, 9.
There it would stop for a minute before picking up again.
Too tired to figure out anything else, Sam went back to bed and hoped to hear from Valerie in the morning.
Come Monday morning, Sam still had not heard anything about Valerie. No one was talking about her at school, she received no text messages or phone calls, no emails were sent to her. Not to mention the tapping continued. It was starting to get a little unnerving.
But upon entering first period, Sam saw that she could get all of her answers. She quickly changed before approaching Valerie, who was leaving the restroom.
"Hey." Sam said, giving a little wave. Since when did she wave? It must have been something she picked up from hanging around the boys too much. That was why she hung around with Valerie, to get a female's opinion on something every now and again.
"Hey." Valerie said, smiling.
"You feeling better?"
"A lot better."
"So, what happened?"
"A very slow allergic reaction to something I ate Thursday morning."
Sam nodded. It was clearly a lie, but their classmates who were listening in would believe it. They weren't the brighten bunch around and it did sound fairly plausible. No doubt Danny and Tucker would believe it too if they were there. (Which, knowing Danny's powers, he's tried more than once already.) She let Valerie's lie pass.
"So, you ready for this week?"
"I have to take it easy for a couple of days, but I should be ready for anything by the end of the week."
"Okay."
"Hey, how about you, me, and the guys go to Nasty Burger later?"
"I'll have to see. They still have tutoring with Lancer tonight. I can see if we can put it off. We don't have any paperwork due this month, beyond the school paper, so I don't think there'll be a problem."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Lancer won't mind. C'mon, we've got class."
Sam blinked, looking Valerie over with her Mind's Eye like she had that day last week. Val's glow did change. Dramatically. It was no longer the healthy human glow she was used to. In fact, it was very similar to a certain English teacher's…
"Valerie's not human." Sam said to Mr. Lancer when she walked into his class that afternoon. He looked at her, a bit startled, checking to see if anyone overheard.
"What do you mean?" he asked in the same hushed tone that she had originally spoken in.
"I mean, look at her glow. It's different. I think that there's far too much ectoplasm in Amity Park and it's starting to mutate the students."
"Ectoplasm doesn't mutate, Miss Manson."
"Whatever the heck it did to Danny, I think it did to Val."
"There is nothing I can do to fix it."
"Well, we could… keep an eye on her." Sam said. "She wants to hang out this afternoon. I think it'll do her some good, especially if she's changing into… whatever the heck she's going to be."
"And what do you think she'll be?"
"A Witch."
Mr. Lancer pressed his lips together. He nodded after a moment, giving his consent. They would have the evening away from training and get to be normal teenagers for once. Sam felt little butterflies in her stomach. What did normal teenagers do? Go to the movies or something?
"Miss Manson, be sure to keep me updated."
21 March 2013 Edit: Valerie a drug user? Hm…
Ah, Morse Code. It was a pain to type out all the scrapes and taps, but very important. If you can figure out my code, I'll give you a little sneak peak at the next chapter. ;D
I actually spent some time thinking about it. I didn't want to make it too difficult but difficult enough that it would take Sam some time to figure it out. It's not as easy as it looks. I am a terribly clever person.
Also, I have my first fanart! Squee! Ahem. It's for CE, but it was posted by the lovely whattup'penguin. It's of four of my Ocs (Soul's family), so I'm pretty excited about it. Especially since FH is just about done. One more chapter left. Le gasp! What shall happen to Soul and Maka? Will they get together? Will I create a sequel to it for my readers to find out? Inevitably, yes. Because I'm mean. :-P
Ah, y'all should be ready for what I have planned for DNC. A lot of shockers coming up. Next chapter is a big. One. Valerie's POV. I'll do a few more chapters with her narration and I want to do some for Jazz as well (one is partially written and it deals with something very important).
A few things, I was a band geek in high school and I had a lot of fun. During marching season, I was in the color guard (flag spinners) and the rest of my senior year I played the flute. Sam's jab at band geeks is really to be funny, not to offend anyone.
Valerie's fainting was due to ectoplasm being in her system. How did it get there? Well, anyone who watched the original series will have a good guess. Whether or not this guess is something I haven't quite decided on yet. It really could go a bunch of different ways. Hm. Time to start plotting this new subplot I didn't see coming.
Today is Worship of Tools Day. Which means hammers, staple guns, saws… Pretty much the stuff in my dad's garage that I haven't touched in over ten years. Also, today is Douglas Adam's 61 birthday. Happy birthday, Mr. Adams! For those who don't know who he is, he wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Later this week is Pi Day, so celebrate by eating pies! Wow, that's a great day.
21 March 2013 Edit: Today is multiple things. Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Down Syndrome Day, Fragrance Day, and Poetry Day. All are fun and very good causes.
I have to go prepare for tonight's class now, so I'll leave you all to your wild mass guesses.
Much love to everyone out there who read this past week. There are so many of you. Lots of love from my little desk. ;-*