Chapter 6 *Déjà Vu*
Sam lazily stirred the yellow mush of her disintegrated corn flakes and tried to ignore the usual chatter around the table. It only made her lose her focus.
'I'll just tell them. No stalling, no gimmicks, no nothing. Just tell them.' Sam glanced up at her parents' bright faces and light attitudes. It was hard to believe that they had been the stern, deranged people Sam had encountered only days ago when she had come home "late".
Sam chose not to think about how they had acted previously, because it broke her courage down, and forced herself to say the dreaded words. "Mom, dad, I'm going on the camping trip with the Fentons."
A hush dampened Mr. and Mrs. Manson's delightful conversation. Sam braved a glance at her mother's face, and she could see the oncoming storm raging within her eyes. Sam shifted her gaze quickly to her father's, and was relieved to see he didn't look nearly as angry. Sometimes Sam didn't know why her mother was so begrudging and maddening.
"Excuse me?" Pamela Manson said a little too tightly. She tried to sound like she didn't know what trip Sam was talking about, but it was plain to see she knew very well where the talk was heading.
"The camping trip today. You know what I'm talking about," Sam said lowly. She avoided saying "the trip you forbade me to go on", but she almost nearly screwed up.
Pamela pretended to experience recognition. "Ah! That trip." How many trips was she going on? "We've talked about this. You're not going." Pamela looked down at the table and carelessly picked at her food with her fork.
"It wasn't a question. It was a statement," Sam said firmly, refusing to let her mother hold her back.
Pamela's head shot up, a look of disbelief on her face. Her eyes were hurricanes. "Pardon? I said no, and I'll say it again. You're not going."
"Pamela, let's just rethink this. We haven't even made moving plans yet. Or, are we done with that?" Jeremy Manson asked, and Sam could feel the futile hope when he said this.
"I just haven't gotten around to it! But mark my words, we will be moving by the end of the weekend! And you, Samantha, need to be here when we do."
"...Okay. I'll be upstairs," Sam said.
Pamela looked taken aback. "Wh-What? I-I..."
Sam stood up and calmly left the kitchen, went up the steps, opened her bedroom door, pulled out her black duffel bag, and began packing random necessities. When she'd finished, she snatched up her jacket and stalked over to the window. Quietly and with immense care, she looped one leg over the sill. Then she wrapped the other leg around and sat still, the sudden reality hitting her like a speeding car.
But she refused to give up. Finding the right footing she prepared to make her descent down two stories.
"Can you hand that here, Violet? I can't reach," Maddie asked, pushing her back against the overflowing luggage.
"Of course, Mrs. Fenton," she replied with childish innocence. Sam used sheer willpower to keep from gagging.
"Thanks." Maddie jammed the last box in with the other twenty.
"Geez, do you really need all this?" Danny asked, sitting on the cement steps with his arms under his chin.
"Well, yeah, duh. This may be a wilderness experience, but one can never be too prepared for ghosts!" Maddie chirruped giddily. Her old self was slowly returning, but not fast enough for Sam's liking.
"I still can't believe my parents are GHOST HUNTERS," Danny muttered to himself, still struggling with disbelief and unease.
"I'll gather the other stuff. Violet, can you help me?" Jazz asked, already heading in. As she stepped past Danny she gave him a sympathetic look, then moved on.
Sam didn't miss a thing. She was sitting beside Danny the moment Jazz's foot passed the threshold.
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"That look she gave you. I'm not blind."
He turned his head away so he wouldn't have to look her in the eye.
"Nothing."
"Ugh!" She smacked him upside the head, but not too hard. Although she would have liked to.
"Ow! I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" When he was sure she wasn't going to smack him again, he said, "I'm not allowed to go on the trip. I'm grounded." He sounded like he actually cared, although how would he know the importance of the trip?
"What? But-"
Tucker cut her sentence short as he came huffing and puffing up the sidewalk, utterly out of breath, and tripped in front of them.
Sprawled on the ground at their feet, he said breathlessly, "Danny...he...he can't...c-can't..."
"He can't go on the camping trip. I know."
Tucker closed his eyes. "Wha...what?"
"He just told me. And when were you planning on telling me?" she accused angrily.
"W-Well...now."
"Idiot," Sam muttered. She turned her attention back to Danny and said, "Why're you grounded? You didn't do anything!" Even as she said this she knew Violet had done it. It was always Violet now. Somehow, she managed to make it all about herself nowadays.
"My parents somehow got a call from the principal about me skipping. And Violet didn't get caught."
Sam pouted. "Oh, of course it wasn't Violet. She's perfect," Sam said in an imitating voice of a sophisticated adult.
Finally catching his breath, Tucker snorted. "I think I figured out a plan to get your memories back. But you need to be with us on the trip. And believe me, I've thought about it all night...I got nothing."
"Tucker, you truly are a man of many words," Danny said sarcastically. Tucker laughed again.
"Let me take care of this," Sam said after they could come up with nothing more to say. She stood up and walked to Maddie, out of earshot distance.
"What do you think they're saying?" Tucker asked.
Danny shrugged. "I have no idea. But it's going to take a lot to persuade my parents into letting me come-"
"Go and pack, Danny! We're leaving shortly!" Maddie called from across the driveway.
Danny stood up abruptly. "What? Are you serious?"
Tucker jumped up also. "Awesome!
Sam walked over with arrogance, but it was only pretend. She absolutely hated it when people were snobby and uptight. That's probably why she and her parents didn't get along too well.
"What did you say to them?" Danny asked, astounded.
"You know, made them feel guilty because my parents gave you the money for the vehicle, made them feel bad you weren't going to enjoy quality time with family and friends. The whole "amnesia" thing came in handy." She made quote fingers when she said amnesia.
"Well, don't just stand there gawking! Get packed!" Sam snapped when she finished.
"Oh! Yeah! Right, right...Yeah." And he dashed inside. Jazz dodged out of the way as he came barreling past, and then she gave them questioning looks.
"What's he so happy about?" she asked, disappointed to miss out on the news. She hated not knowing things.
"He's coming camping! Or, as close as you can get to camping with fully loaded artillery ghost hunting weapons packed in the back of the vehicle. But whatever!" Tucker said with such enthusiasm that it sounded like he was talking about buying a puppy and not going on a dangerous trip with an even more dangerous enemy. No biggie.
"He's going? Great! I really felt bad when they said he was grounded. Although I'm not any happier with his skipping out on school." Jazz crossed her arms as she came down the steps. Violet trailed out behind her and didn't look the teensiest bit perturbed by the news of Danny's accompaniment. Sam found this suspicious, due to Violet's attempts at trying to get him left behind.
"Danny is coming? Oh, that's fantastic!" Sam wasn't sure whether Violet was being sarcastic or unfeigned.
Jazz clambered into the Assault Vehicle, then Violet, then Tucker, and then Sam. Danny came out soon after with his stuff and climbed in beside Sam.
"Okay, kiddos, ready?" Jack said cheerily, one of his familiarly bright smiles reflecting back at them in the rear-view mirror. Sam definitely noticed a change in them, and that caused a spike of hope to surge through her weary body.
Jack started down the road, and while everyone was in good spirits, no one spoke. But as the regular Maddie and Jack Fenton returned, so did their jovial personalities. And, fortunately, their bubbly moods and laughter was contagious and everyone was smiling and laughing. Sam didn't think she'd ever seen Jazz look so at ease while being around her parents.
The only person unaffected by the drifting jokes and uncontainable hysteria was Violet, with her face straight and her placid eyes she was anything but entertained.
And Sam undoubtedly knew that that would have been herself if not for the fact she was so distressed that she was starting to lose track of what was sad and happy. If somebody had asked her to identify her feelings and to sort them according to sad, happy, mad, and all those in-between emotions, she wouldn't have been able to tell them what she was feeling presently. It wasn't the numbness that she wanted, but an all-together different feeling. A mixture of anything and everything, of nothing and nihility. Sam didn't want to be cheery and upbeat, because first: that's not how she rolls. Second: there was nothing to be satisfied with.
But she was beyond controlling her emotions at the time being. So she settled into her seat and got comfortable, resting her head on the back of the seat and closing her eyes. She hadn't realized how tired she was, and fell asleep to the beeping of Tucker's PDA on the right side of her, and Danny's laughter on the left side.
***
Danny awoke to a bright flash. Blinking away the white spots he cracked open one eye to see what had awoken him up, expecting lightning or something of the sorts, but instead saw Tucker with his camera pointed at him.
Squinting, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What the...?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Just making memories," Tucker said. Danny could hear the laughter in his voice. "This one's going to the scrapbook."
"Memories? Of what? I didn't think my waking up from a three hour nap was that interesting."
"It is when that happens." Tucker pointed to Danny's right. He looked to see what he meant and found Sam with her head on his shoulder, still sleeping peacefully. She must have shifted in her sleep.
"Let me see the picture," Danny said. He got ready to yank it from Tucker's grasp when the moment came.
Tucker smirked and showed him, but held it far enough away so that he couldn't reach it and erase it. It showed Danny with his head resting against the window pane, sleeping, and Sam as she was now, also sleeping.
"Tuck, delete it!" Danny said immediately. He made an attempt to snatch the camera, but Tucker just pulled it back farther. Sam jerked awake when Danny had made an effort to grab the camera, and she yawned, oblivious to what was going on.
Tucker was laughing, but he stopped abruptly and his face melted into a solemn expression. His eyebrows knit together, making them look as one. "Wait. Did you just say, "Tuck"?"
"Yeah. Why?" Danny asked, temporarily forgetting about the picture.
Sam, fully awake now, also stitched her eyebrows and looked at Danny with wide eyes. "Tuck? You said Tuck?"
"Yes, but why's it a big deal?" Danny asked, raising his shoulders and glancing back and forth between Sam and Tucker.
"That's my nickname...How did you know?"
"Well, Sam had to at least have said it once or twice, right?"
"I guess...What's your cover-up name when you go ghost?" Sam asked randomly. He expected an explanation, but she didn't give any.
"Danny Phantom. But what's this trying to prove?" He really couldn't find a true point in all this. Sam's mouth spread into a grin and Tucker laughed.
Looking back at Violet, he stopped laughing, but didn't stop smiling. "You remember!" he whispered. He didn't seem to want Violet to hear.
Danny replayed his thoughts and realized...he did remember. But not much. "I do. I do remember! But...that's all I remember."
"Really? Are you sure?" Tucker asked, a little crestfallen, but not much. Danny nodded.
"Why didn't you tell us your name at the hospital if you knew?" Sam felt anger rise into her voice, but didn't care.
Danny shrugged. "I don't know. I guess then I wasn't really aware of it. It was just a fuzzy memory. But now...now it's clearer."
Tucker frowned and Danny could see the gears whirring in his mind, rotating at an extreme speed. "Well," he began. "I don't know what to say to this. If she TOOK your memories, then why do you remember something? I just don't understand!"
Danny looked away from Tucker's contorted frustration and took notice of the surroundings instead. Although there really wasn't much to take in; the rain pounded against the window with such power it sounded like it was hailing baseballs, but it was too foggy to see where they were. The fog hugged them with a milky foam that made everything look distorted and misshapen, like the mirrors in those funhouses at the fair.
The vehicle took a right and, as far as Danny could see, they were driving through a woods now, the dying green and withering yellows and reds and browns of the trees streaking past in a multicolored haze. As they rode past all the dying organisms, Danny filed through his mind, making sure he hadn't missed any details or other roaming memories. He couldn't remember anything extra.
"Okay! The rain seems to be letting up, so Jazz, Maddie, and I will set everything up. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Violet can just wait for us to finish. Well, here we are," Jack announced, taking a sharp left and bringing them into a clearing.
Sam practically pushed Danny out when he opened the door. He tripped and fell out off the seat, but caught himself on the handle of the door.
Sorry!" Sam apologized as she jumped out. She took a deep breath. "I hate being cramped in tight spaces for long periods of time. Especially with other PEOPLE." She shuddered.
Danny smirked as he stood up and was nearly trampled by Tucker as he clambered out of the vehicle.
"Brr! I don't know why I just realized this, but why are we camping so late into fall? Someone's bound to get sick," Jazz said loud enough for her parents to hear, who were still in their seats. Jazz pouted and yanked her thin coat tighter around herself, probably wishing she was back home with her stack of musty books and a mug of hot chocolate. Danny didn't need his memory to see she liked to spend her time with reading material more than living beings. And sometimes, when he got stuck in his parents' presence, he didn't blame her. Humans were so overrated.
"Now what? There isn't exactly great reception here," Tucker said, holding his gadgets up and searching for wifi.
If not for her speaking at the moment, no one would have realized Violet was standing right behind Sam.
"Why don't-"
"Ah!" Sam flinched back and jumped into Tucker, throwing over half of his handheld devices into the forming mud puddles. Danny was pretty sure he saw smoke rising from one of them.
"Oh? Did I scare you? Sorry," Violet said, no amount of sincerity left in her voice. She smiled wickedly, showing her snow white teeth. She didn't attempt to make her intentions subtle anymore either.
"No," Sam spat defiantly, trying to play her freak-out off like it hadn't happened. "I just can't stand being near the likes of you."
Violet scowled but didn't retort. She swiveled on her high-heeled boots and tramped away, wandering into the woods and into the setting dark. It was around 8:00 p.m.
"Good riddance," Sam called after her, but not loud enough for the others to hear.
"Kids! On second thought, we might need your help," Jack shouted from somewhere on the other side of the RV. A snap and a startled yell came from the same direction and they all knew it was Jack.
"Let's not worry about Violet. Hopefully, she'll be mulled by a bear," Tucker said wistfully.
Sam smiled, but it flickered. She sighed. "Sadly, bears are hibernating by now. But hey, maybe we'll get lucky and a pack of hungry vultures will peck her to death?"
"Naw, vultures flew south. Oh! Oh! I know!..."
As Sam and Tucker discussed multiple ways for Violet to die in the wilderness, Danny thought back to what Tucker had said about him remembering. Were his memories really coming back? And if not, what then? He was positive Violet wasn't going to hand him his memories with a ribbon and a smile.
"Danny?"
"What?" He hadn't realized he'd just been standing there staring at the ground.
"Let's go," Tucker said as he raised an eyebrow. Danny knew he wanted to know what he was thinking, but Danny pretended he hadn't seen it.
"Of course! Yeah, coming." He jogged past them, and when they gave each other a funny glance, Danny called out to them. They finally came and they set to work on setting up the campsite.
Danny's hands were numb within ten minutes of taking them out of his pockets to help put up the tent. And if that wasn't enough, Jack and Maddie got the easy way out. They had simply thrown the piece of deflated rubber on the ground and it had inflated itself.
"You used that the last time we went camping!" Jazz complained, struggling to jam the poles for the tent into the frozen dirt. By the looks of it, she wasn't embracing the cold like her parents. It didn't bother them like it did the rest, for some annoying reason.
"Oh, Jazzerina, don't be such a whiner. This is teaching you a valuable lesson!" Jack said with such conviction, he might have just believed it himself.
Jazz threw down the poles. "What lesson is that? How to stuff a stick in the ground? Thanks, but I've already learned that lesson."
"Jazz, honey, how about you just relax a while? The rest of us can set up the tent-"
"Don't mind if I do!" Jazz stomped away, sat at the edge of the campsite, and dropped down onto one of the two logs that encompassed the fire ring.
"What's her problem?" Danny whispered to Sam as he watched Jazz throw her hands up and exclaim, "Why don't we make a fire yet?"
"I don't know, but I wouldn't get in her way if I were you."
"Why?"
"Just don't."
Danny dropped it and resumed finishing the tent, but his mind was on anything but the tent.