Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Paramount global.
Growing Pains
Chapter 1: Prologue
It was a typical day in the town known as Amity Park.
The students of Casper High were going through another day of tests, books and teacher's dirty looks. It was also currently the LEAST favorite class for most of the kids of Casper High.
Gym class!
Ms. Tetslaff blew her whistle and had an impatient look on her face.
"Alright, maggots! I wanna see some sweat and I wanna see it now! 2 more laps! On the double!..."The gym teacher shouted, as more students ran laps.
Among these students were Danny Fenton, and his best friends, Tucker Foley and Sam Manson. Naturally, Sam was fairing better than her male friends, who were behind her and panting as they ran.
"I hate running!..."Tucker complained.
"At least she's not making us climb the rope today..."Danny whispered, only to hear a sharp whistle.
"NO TALKING! KEEP RUNNING!..."Ms. Tetslaff shouted, before she noticed Mikey and Nathan near the end and panting.
"HEY! Who said you two could stop?! This is gym class, not a park walk! Now move it!..."She shouted, before she blew her whistle more.
As Team Phantom kept running, Danny couldn't help but notice something.
"Is it just me or is she even harsher than usual?..."Danny whispered.
He was being quiet to not incur her wrath as she was currently yelling at Paulina, who was complaining about sweating until now.
"According to my sources, she apparently tried going on a blind date during the weekend and it totally tanked..."Tucker whispered.
"Again?! That means that we're gonna be dealing with her bad mood for over a week!..."Danny complained, recalling how bad it was the last time their gym teacher struck out on a date.
"Just suck it up and don't make eye contact with her. You know, like we normally do..."Sam said, as she kept running.
Once done, practically everyone was panting heavily and were exhausted. Even Dash and his fellow jocks were pretty winded right now, while Miss Tetslaff looked displeased with everyone here.
"A bunch of marshmallows, the lot of ya! You're all weak, just like all the men in my life! Pathetic!..."Miss Tetslaff said, before she angrily marched away.
Mikey and the nerds all grimaced.
"Tetslaff is gonna run us into the ground!..."Nathan whined, looking ready to break down right now.
"I hate it when she blows her dates! We always pay the price for it!..."Mikey said, not happy at all.
"Shut up, you babies! It's just running..."Dash said insensitively, more used to Tetslaff's intense work out regimes.
Team Phantom saw this and Sam rolled her eyes.
"What a bunch of drama queens..."She muttered, but noticed that her friends were sweaty and out of breath.
"I don't blame them..."Tucker said, as he took some water and wiped some sweat from his brow.
"Me either..."Danny said, as he did the same.
However, they saw some nearby students who were exempt from gym class. It was Michelle Lynne Clarke and her fellow seniors, who were all laughing and looking relaxed right now.
Danny saw this and frowned.
"Why do the seniors get free period during gym class? And why can't we join in?..."He asked, feeling envious right now.
"Because life ain't fair..."Tucker complained.
"Come on you guys, a little exercise is good for you guys. Besides, we'll get to be free of this period when we're seniors too..."Sam reminded.
"But that won't be for another 3 years..."Tucker said, sighing.
"Lucky them..."Danny said, only to hear a sharp whistling nearby.
"BREAK'S OVER! BACK TO RUNNING!..."Miss Tetslaff ordered, making it clear that she is STILL in a really bad mood.
Danny sighed.
"3 more years of this?! Terrific..."He muttered, as he and his friends started running again.
Later
Gym class was over and the final bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. Danny went to his locker to get his things, but stretched a bit due to how stiff he was feeling.
"Man, that was a real bad gym class today..."He complained.
"I'll say. Why can't Tetslaff just ease up? Or get a cat?..."Tucker muttered, while Sam rolled her eyes.
"Suck it up. As long as we're high school students and she's the teacher, we don't have much of a choice here..."She said.
"Yeah, but at least we can leave now..."Danny said, eager for a relaxing afternoon.
It was a rare day where he didn't have any homework assigned and he wanted to make the most of it.
The trio soon left the school grounds and tried to figure out what to do next.
"So, what do you guys wanna do today?..."Danny asked.
"Not sure yet..."Tucker said as he looked at his PDA and saw that his schedule was clear. "Any suggestion?..."He asked.
"Well, my folks are gonna be gone until tomorrow night. Something about a haunted house by Lake Eerie, so I don't have to worry about my curfew tonight for a change..."The ghost boy said, as he tried to think of how they could spend their afternoon.
"Wanna see a movie?..."Danny asked.
"Nah, we've already saw Dead Teacher 5 last week and there's nothing good showing today. Not to mention the only thing showing today is that sugary barf nightmare Sayonara Pussycat. Ugh!..."Sam said with a shudder.
"Okay, then...Nasty Burger?..."Danny suggested.
Sam sighed.
"I like that place but we practically LIVE there as it is..."She said, complaining.
"What's the problem?..."Danny asked.
"Nothing, it's just...maybe we should try a little variety sometimes..."Sam said.
"We're not going to the Veggie Hut again!..."Tucker said, before shuddering. "Ugh! So much spinach and garbanzos!..."He said, grossed out.
"Oh, grow up..."Sam complained.
Danny would have said something, but soon noticed a flyer on a nearby pole that caught his attention.
"Hey, check this out..."He said as he picked it up.
It was a flyer announcing a new restaurant opening up near Polter Heights, one of Amity Park's most affluent neighborhoods.
"Go to Casa di Alta Classe. The newest, hottest, hippest and most exciting Italian restaurant/dance club in Amity Park. Live music, amazing food and singles night every Saturday..."Danny said, reading the advertisement out loud.
Sam raised a brow, before adding her own two cents.
"It looks like a total snob convention..."She said, arms crossed.
"You're the one who said that we should try some variety..."Danny said, while the goth girl merely shrugged.
"Plus, that's a quick judgement of a place you haven't even been to yet..."Tucker pointed out.
Sam frowned, but sighed. She saw their point and conceded.
"Okay, I guess we can check it out. But if they don't have any veggie options, I'm out of there, with or without you two..."She said, being her usual stubborn self.
"Fair enough..."Danny said, happy that they at least had something to do now.
The trio of friends soon left to go check the restaurant out, unaware of what may befall this afternoon.
Meanwhile
At Fenton Works
The house was empty, as Jack and Maddie had already left, and Danny and Jazz were not home yet.
No one was there to notice that something...or rather someone had emerged from the portal.
The figure looked around, seeing that no one was here and smiled.
"Ah, it's been so long since I've been on this plane of existence. Time to hit the town and find me some hunk of man..."The figure said before vanishing, phasing out of the house and finding someone to suit her needs.
Oh boy.
-To be continued-
Next time on Growing Pains
Adults Only
A/N: Special thanks to NeoMark for both inspiring and helping with this fic. You rock :)
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)