Hey everyone! Here's chapter two, I'm posting this way sooner than I thought I would be but I know how much I love getting updates on stories I like so I couldn't just leave you with one chapter. Oh well, best laid plans. I hope everyone likes this! I'm going to continue in this direction for awhile so let me know if you have any suggestions! Happy reading!

Chapter 2

"Okay guys, plan time. How are we gonna deal with this new class?" Tucker looks expectantly at his two friends as they sit down for lunch. Sam hops into the lowest branch of the tree they stand under to grab the blanket tied there before jumping back down. Sitting on the laid out blanket the trio began eating lunch and discussing potential class problems.

"Personally, I think this class is going to be great!" Sam is smiling as she takes a bite of her ultro-recyclo vegetarian sandwich. The two boys stare at her in puzzlement.

"How could this possibly be a good thing?" Danny is still staring like she had suddenly grown a second head, Tucker nodding in agreement.

"Think about it, Danny! This is a class about ghosts! And ghost defense! We're already great at that! I mean, I say we fake being kinda bad at first and then slowly start doing great and it'll be an easy A!" Sam is still smiling, but when she watches her friends' frown deepen, she started to rethink her logic.

"Sam, as much as I'd like to think that, we can't be good in this class. It would cause too many questions. On top of that we can't act like we know anything, we can't raise our hand, and we definitely can't correct my parents..." Danny speaks quickly as he thinks about all the ways this class could go wrong.

"Dude, calm down, it's gonna be okay. Whatever happens we'll be right here to help you out. I'm sure everything is gonna be fine anyway. Honestly, it's just a class, what could go wrong?"

"TUCK!" twin voices shout, dragging the attention of some of the closest tables to the trios hidden spot.

"Great job Tuck you just jinxed us!"

"Bad luck Tuck strikes again!" Sam yells as she reaches to punch Tucker in the arm. Danny just sighs and rubs at his eyes.

"Okay, now we really need to talk about contingencies…" Danny mutters, staring at his two friends.

"Sorry Danny, I wasn't thinking about…"

"I know Tuck, it's fine. But now we really need to crack down on all the things that could go wrong and make a plan for what we need to do."

"Okay… so what are we gonna do?" After Sam poses the question the two friends look towards Danny for an answer.

"Uhm… well… I guess to start I don't think it would be that weird if Sam ended up getting good in that class at the actual defense part. She's an ace in Gym already, so as long as you start off slow and try not to aim too good, it should be…fine? Probably." He looks down at the sandwich in his lap as he considers his other friend.

"Tucker… Tucker you could probably ace any factual information we're told without anyone getting suspicious. You're already known as a genius and being able to memorize names and power rankings would be easy. You could also probably get away with knowing everything about the technology of ghost hunting equipment, not at first obviously, but as we get further in the class. Make sure you ask questions pertaining to the equipment, so it looks like you don't already know it, and make sure you focus on the function of equipment in practice. If you start getting good at actual fighting, I think it would get suspicious, but you don't have to be terrible. Try to keep up with the rest of the class as much as you can." Danny says, still looking at his food before suddenly looking straight up into his friend's eyes, "Don't be a prodigy, but you don't have to be horrible either." Tucker nods. Taking in the new orders from his friend as he always does. Sam brushes a stray hair away from her face before turning to Danny.

"What about you? You know more about each ghost individually and about ghosts in general then either of us. And your combat skills are way better than ours. What are you going to do?" The unspoken question rings loud between the group what are you going to allow yourself to do? Danny shifts and grimaces before responding.

"I can't show anyone that I can fight, so any combat skills I have to keep at average at the best. It would be safer to keep them below average, that way no one can link me to anyone other than, well, me. As for ghost knowledge I could probably show some basic knowledge, especially since I live with the teachers, but doing anything genius level would be dangerous. My parents know I'm an idiot, they expect me to fail, if I don't meet their expectations, we'll end up having problems… for me I think it's best if I try to barely scrape by in this class. I'll do below average, but it should be enough to pass." He looks at his friends sadly as he says this, seeing their sad faces in return.

"You're not an idiot though! You're one of the smartest people I know!" Sam's voice is angry as she lets out her frustration. Tucker just nodding along with her as she yells. As smart as his friend was, he would never be able to show people without making life harder for the trio.

"This is just how it has to be; you know it is." Danny mutters quietly, interrupting Sam's loud tirade with barely a whisper. The trio look down at their empty plates. Suddenly Tucker perked up and leaned closer to his friend.

"Hey! Do you have any new ones?" Danny looks up at his friend with a small grin, glad for a change in topic.

"Yeah actually. They're not very long though. I'm not sure if I can use them. Wanna see?" Tucker was already reaching across the small space to grab Danny's backpack as he spoke.

"Obviously, dude! I love your stories." Tucker pulls a thick leather journal out of the hidden pocket of Danny's backpack, opening up to the newest entry.

"Abigail said she wanted some really short ones for a newspaper spot she had open, and she asked for some she could use for a flash fiction book filler. I'll get royalties off the book and its twenty cents per word for the newspaper." Tuck was still reading the last couple sentences of his story as Danny finished his explanation.

"Danny this is really good! How many do you have for the book?" Tuck handed the journal off to Sam as she grabbed for it. Reaching for his PDA he started doing calculations as Danny spoke.

"I've got about five stories for the book, and two stories for the newspaper. Abigail told me she wasn't sure what genre would be best for it, so I thought I'd give her some options. The stories for the newspaper are about the same number of words, they had to be about five hundred to fit as a one article piece. From the book I'd be getting about fifty percent of what they make from the percentage of my stories, which is twenty percent. So, I guess that would be ten percent of the whole take. Counter in the price of the book at fifteen dollars and-"

"Dude you know I'm using a calculator, right? You don't have to do all the math in your head like that. Anyway, I gotta add in the money you've made from your last deal with Abby as well as revenue from last month." Tucker interrupts, waving his PDA in the air.

"Sorry Tuck, I know math is your area." Danny smiles fondly at his friend as he continues giving the information about prospected sales and promotions. Not doing the math on his own this time.

"Danny… based off the sales goal you gave me… that's almost half a million dollars. Add in the newspaper is another one hundred. Plus, your last deal made two thousand. And last month's revenue was clocked at fifteen k. If this book sells as much as they think it will… you'll be able to pay off the loan completely, with extra leftover." Tucker looks up at his friend in shock, noticing the small grin he wore.

"Tuck, if this book sells like they think it will, I'll be able to pay off a lot of things, college will be one of many things we no longer have to worry about." Sam looks up at Danny as she finished reading his latest story. Wiping a stray tear from her eye she looked at her friend and handed back his journal.

"Is this about… what happened? In the portal?" Shifting, Danny can't quite meet the violet eyes of his friend as he answers.

"It is. But it's not just about that. It's also about the-" A loud bell signaling the end of lunch startles the teens, making them jump up from their lunch spot.

"Guess it's time for class then." Tucker interrupts the suddenly dark mood. Laughing Sam grabs the blanket and jumps back in the tree to tie it up. Danny goes to throw away the trios' trash before they all meet up outside the doors to walk back to class. Next up? Gym.

Aaaand scene! Next chapter will hopefully be up in a couple of days. No promises but my hope is my frantic writing spree will continue at its current pace. Off to college in a couple weeks so I don't have long before I'll be very busy. Thanks for reading!