"My parents want me to get a summer job," said Danny, by way of greeting. "I can't believe they want me to get a summer job. Trying to get through school while ghosts are attacking is bad enough, how am I supposed to slip away from a job? I'll be fired right away, and Mom and Dad will kill me… Not literally kill, but you get the point!" He threw himself over the back of the couch in that boneless way he could only manage as a ghost. "Ughhhhh. I hate this."
"I see," said Clockwork, apparently unmoved by Danny's histrionics.
"Sam says I should apply but tell everyone horror stories about my parents during interviews so they don't hire me, but I think that has a pretty good chance of backfiring, and Tucker thinks we should try the ghost tours thing again, but that wasn't really a job, and I think Vlad would probably arrest us or something. Also, it's like… what am I supposed to do? Who even hires high schoolers anymore except for fast food places? I'm not working for a fast food place. Those things explode."
"And yet, you eat at them."
"Sure, but I don't hang out there all day."
Clockwork turned away from his current screen to fix Danny with a look, one eyebrow raised.
"Okay, okay!" Danny rubbed his eyes. "It's just, I already have a job, it's not one I get paid for, and, like, I know I could get a job at the Nasty Burger, because Valerie has one and she hasn't been fired, even though she sometimes does leave to fight ghosts, but I really…" He sighed. "I don't want to work there." He covered his face with his hands. "I know you know all this already, and you can't do anything about it, you're the master of time, not summer jobs, I know, I know, I'm just complaining."
"That is not entirely true."
Danny sat up. "What do you mean? You are the master of summer jobs?"
Clockwork gave him the tiniest, most Clockwork-like laugh, which was, honestly, a real victory for Danny. "No. But I may have a summer job for you that will accommodate both your own needs and your parents' desires, while still being educational."
"Really," said Danny, somewhat dubious. Sure, Clockwork had taken it upon himself to teach Danny about ghost culture, and Danny was grateful for that… among other things… but, still… What kind of job would do all of that?
"Yes. The Summit of Supernal Spirits - that is, a meeting between the leaders of various ghostly nations and other important and powerful ghosts - is occurring this summer. The call has gone out for pages."
"Pages?"
"Assistants who carry documents and messages between meetings, prepare various meeting locations within the main building, and other, similar, minor tasks. Typically, such pages are children such as yourself. Old enough to carry out such responsibilities, and young enough to, ah, prevent certain diplomatic incidents from occurring."
"Like interns?" asked Danny.
"To some degree, but there is no upward mobility to speak of."
"Okay," said Danny. "Well. I'm not exactly opposed, but… I'm not sure how I'm supposed to explain this to my parents."
"You won't need to. You are not the only ghost who maintains an identity - and a bank account - on Earth." He reached into his robes and pulled out a manila envelope. "There are structures in place that will make it seem as if you have a very normal summer job. You will even be paid."
"Huh," said Danny, floating over and taking the envelope. "This sounds great and all, but, um, ghost attacks are still going to happen."
"Accommodations will, of course, be made for Obsessions. You will not need to be there every hour of every day. Much like how Miss Gray will not be working at the Nasty Burger for every hour of every day."
"I don't want to make her do everything, either."
Clockwork sighed in a way that made Danny feel like he was being overly contrary. "You do not have to do this," he said, "but you should consider the option and read this packet carefully before you make your decision. Now, I believe we have other business for the day. Last time we discussed the effects of Mongolian expansion on Zone politics…"
.
Two weeks later, Danny nervously floated in a hall along with several dozen ghosts his approximate 'age,' and an equal number of will-o-the-wisps, listening to instructions.
The young ghosts were there for the same reason as Danny, to be pages, and the wisps were there to make sure the mood of the ectoplasm didn't get rancid. Or something like that. Powerful ghosts arguing could make the surrounding environment unpleasant, apparently, and wisps were sort of like ectoplasmic energy filters, like remora, but for ghosts. They usually hung out in ghost lairs and haunts, filtering ectoplasm into more usable forms.
From the explanation he was getting, Danny wasn't sure if the pages were supposed to be minders for the wisps, or if the wisps were supposed to be minders for the pages, but they were definitely on the buddy system. So. That was a thing.
The wisp he'd been paired with - who he felt vaguely as if he might have seen before, around Amity Park - made a sound like a xylophone and pressed up under his chin. Which did, weirdly enough, help with Danny's nerves.
He continued to listen as the ghost - what was their name again? - gave them a quick tour of the building, then divided up assignments and gave individual instructions.
"So," said a ghost who looked about Danny's age, "it looks like we're together for this next bit?"
"Um, yes!" said Danny. "I think so. I'm Danny."
"Yan," said the ghost. "Is this your first time as a page?"
"Yeah. Yours?"
"No," said Yan, starting to float down the hallway, his wisp, a vividly pink creature the size of a fist, orbiting him frantically, "I've done this a few times. Don't worry, it's not that hard. Most of the time, we're just standing by in case the attendees need anything, and the rest of the time we're running to get it."
Danny nodded. That had been his understanding as well. "And… we're assigned the same location?" They weren't the only ones moving in this direction.
"More or less," said Yan. "The first couple of days have larger groups, so there's more than one page per room, but later on they split up, and some of the attendees request specific pages, sometimes, if they like you. You know how those things go. Considering that we're all here because we were recommended, so…" He shrugged. "But! We're going to be wall buddies!"
"Yeah!" said Danny. "Wall buddies."
.
"Was it that easy?" asked Sam, curiously.
"Um," said Danny as he dropped a full bag of cherries down to her. "More or less. I got the impression the first couple of days are just a chance for the important ghosts to get used to the idea of talking without fighting, even if they don't really like each other. It's still kind of split up, though, because some people really don't get along." He unfolded his next bag and phased through a few branches to find another good spot to pick from. "I only had to go get a few books from the library, when a group of them started to argue about whether or not something happened historically."
"Historically? But wasn't Clockwork there?" asked Sam.
"Yeah, but you know what he's like. He wasn't really being helpful." He dropped the next bag of cherries, too, with Sam catching it expertly. "They didn't ask him in the first place, and when someone else did, after I got the book, he said something about them being able to read, too." Danny shrugged. "There was actually a lot of stuff like that going on. People can be petty."
"You know," said Tucker, up the ladder in the next tree over, "it's not too late to join us for this job for real."
"Yeah," said Danny, "but I've already had to run off once since I got back, and I'd be doing it human. Plus, it's only, what, a week? Mom and Dad wanted me to have something longer."
"Hey, when the cherries are done, other fruit will start coming into season," said Sam. "I think I might be able to get them to change their policies on pesticides if I just have a little bit longer…"
Personally, Danny thought she'd get fired before the farm (small and local as it was) changed its pesticide regimen. But that was just him.
"Uh huh," said Tucker. "But they're not making you do anything… weird?"
"Nope. Honestly–" He stretched his arm out inhumanly long to get a group of cherries that was just out of reach, "-it feels more normal than this."
Tucker shrugged. "Alright. If you're happy, we're happy."
.
"At today's halfway mark, the attendees will separate into their conferences," said the page supervisor. They held up a piece of paper, similar to the ones they'd just passed out to all the pages. "You have all been assigned rooms, by number, on the top of your sheet. The rest of the sheet lists who should be in each room, but people do move around. Make sure you don't lose this, or throw it away until the end of the day, so you know where you are supposed to be, and so you can make deliveries to the correct locations."
Okay. A bit more involved than what they had been doing, sure, but Danny was sure he'd be fine. Probably. It wasn't too different from what they'd been doing. Danny just had to not get lost. He made note of his room number and started scanning through the list to see who he had.
Danny paused, seeing Clockwork, Pandora, and Frostbite as the only occupants of the room. So this was what nepotism felt like. Good to know.
Well, he probably didn't have to worry about offending anyone, much, at least for today, so that was good.
"What room do you have?" asked Yan, leaning over. Their two wisps bumbled up at the same time, and promptly started making a nest in Danny's hair. Which felt cold, but weirdly soothing.
"Ah," said Danny, pointing. "This one."
"Oh, wow," said Yan. "That's… A lot."
"Um. Is it?"
"Yeah. Pandora and Frostbite are in charge of big realms, and Clockwork is super important. They're really powerful. If he doesn't like you, he could make it so you never existed at all."
"Huh," said Danny. He hadn't thought of it that way, but Clockwork had sort of done that Dan. He was pretty sure Clockwork liked him, though. Or, at least, had put in too much time and effort to want to vanish him. "Well. I think I'll probably be fine. Disappearing a person like that sounds like it'd take a whole lot of effort, especially for someone he's only going to have to deal with for a few weeks."
"That's true," said Yan, with a smile. "It's still intimidating. I'm glad I've just got a bunch of boyars from the Isinglass Heights."
"For today, anyway."
"Don't remind me," said Yan. "But we're still wall buddies for now." He leaned over and plucked his wisp out of Danny's hair.
Danny nodded. "Still wall buddies."
"Oh!" said the page supervisor. "And remember to take a platter of refreshments with you to the small group rooms when the large group time is over! We may not need to eat, but food has many uses, in diplomacy!"
.
The first half of the day went well. At least, Danny thought it went well. It was quiet. No one got into any fights. At least, not any loud, physical fights. There had been two very tall, thin, barely humanoid ghosts turning colors at each other and repeatedly sending nearby pages off to the records room, but given what ghosts were like, that could have been flirting, not fighting. Or both flirting and fighting. Or some secret third thing. What did Danny know? Yan didn't seem to have any better guesses, either.
A gong signaled the halfway mark, and the ghosts started to funnel into the hallways leading off the main room. Danny and the other pages flocked to the tables to grab one of the still-full trays of refreshments. An older ghost, one of the other coordinators, stopped Danny briefly and stacked a second tray on top of his first one, "Just in case."
"Good luck," whispered Yan, as he and his wisp separated, going down a separate hallway.
"You, too," said Danny. His wisp, still nesting in his hair, chirped.
Okay. On to the room.
It wasn't hard to find, although he did have to get creative opening the door. Eventually, he just grew another arm. It was sort of embarrassing that doing that was more reliable than his telekinesis, but it was what it was. He made sure the refreshments were arranged nicely on the table, then went to stand in his assigned spot, so he could greet and introduce himself to… people who already knew exactly who he was and what he was there for. Yep. Well. It was practice.
.
"You do not have to stand the whole time, Great One," said Frostbite, the first one in. "There is an extra chair."
"I know," said Danny, "But I'm supposed to do it this way. It's part of the rules."
.
"Are you going to stand the whole time?" asked Pandora.
"Yes, that's what I'm supposed to do."
"You don't need to. You have already been on your feet all day."
"I've been floating most of the time, but I'll be fine."
.
Clockwork smiled at him. "I'm sure my peers have already made their opinions known," he said.
"I don't need to sit down," said Danny.
"But you can. None of us will mind."
Danny regarded Clockwork with some suspicion, then sighed. He got the impression that the three of them would continue to give him a hard time if he stayed standing. "Alright," he said, picking up the spare chair and moving it to where he was supposed to be. "Have it your way."
The three of them didn't start serious discussions right away, instead lingering in niceties that Danny found interesting enough to pay attention to. He didn't know that Pandora had done that. Or that Clockwork used to have a mustache in his young adult form. Or that Frostbite could predict the weather like that.
But they did eventually move onto things that Danny had no context for, and his attention… drifted.
It had been a long day… and the night before had involved a pair of nasty ghost snakes… and the wisp was doing its job and producing a very calm, quiet atmosphere… and the rise and fall of conversation was nice and regular… and he knew Clockwork, Pandora, and Frostbite wouldn't let anything bad happen to him…
He dozed off.
.
"Daniel."
"Mmm?" said Danny. He was so nice and comfy, he didn't want to wake up. Nice and comfy and safe… So very safe…
"Daniel, you really do need to get up."
There was a bit of laughter, and that made Danny blink. Who was laughing at him in his sleep?
He found himself staring at Clockwork's stomach.
All at once, he was awake and sitting up. Had he–? Oh no, he had. He'd fallen asleep. During his job. And had somehow wound up in Clockwork's lap. He looked wildly around the room, dislodging the wisp resting behind his ear, aware of his cheeks literally glowing green with the force of his blush. No. He had the sinking suspicion that he'd been in everyone's laps, passed around like a sleeping kitten.
"I– um. I–"
"It's alright," said Pandora, patting his shoulder with her upper right hand. "We were the ones who insisted you sit down."
"We are not going to 'tell on you,' in any case," said Clockwork. "However–"
The gong rang again.
"-the day is at its end."
.
"Why didn't you wake me up? Aren't you guys supposed to help us stay on task?" Danny asked the wisp, who simply chimed at him and bumped gently into his ear. Danny shook his head and continued out into the main hall, where he met up with Yan.
"Are you okay?" asked Yan. "You're a little…"
"Yep," said Danny. "I'm fine. Completely, one hundred percent fine."
"... Sure."