Both Mansons were seated at the kitchen table. Pamela sipped her tea from a pink teacup on a pink saucer plate with frilly edges and floral patterns. Jeremy read the sports section of a folded newspaper, dipping toast in his egg yolk.
"She's not up yet?" Jeremy's eyes flickered to the ceiling.
"I'm on the edge of my seat," Pam said, clasping her hands together in prayer. "What will she be like?"
"I can't imagine…" Jeremy's jaw worked while he tried. "Maybe she'll join the cheerleading squad? Or she'll be crowned prom queen? That would make for a nice scrapbook picture."
"What if it didn't work?" Pam fretted. "What if she's so stubborn that she can even defy ghost magic? Or what if that ghost boy cast a protective charm of some sort?"
Jeremy blinked. "Protective charm?"
"I don't know how ghost magic works!" She splayed her palms out in mock surrender.
Jeremy frowned. "Or what if we dreamed it?"
"No. We couldn't have," Pam insisted, only to hesitate. "...could we?" She slowly raised her teacup up to her lips, her mind struggling to stay positive as doubt began to seep in.
Her husband lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "My dreams haven't been that vivid since I started drinking coffee again, but…"
Before he could finish, both Mansons were startled by a high-pitched scream ricocheting from above.
Sam's eyes fluttered open. Her violet irises collided with a black ceiling, then traveled to the bed frame. Thick cobwebs adorned it, wrapped around the post with a wandering spider on it. She jolted upright in her bed and screamed. Landing on the floor, however, she realized a moment later that the cobwebs were fake, merely woven cotton.
She spun around in a circle, fully taking in her gothic-themed bedroom. Posters were plastered on the walls of her bedroom, depicting various horror icons and heavy metal artists like Dumpty Humpty.
"…Why am I using Halloween decorations in spring?"
Tea was dripping off Pam's mouth and Jeremy's papers lay strewn all over the floor, but neither Manson noticed. Now there was the sound of a door opening and footsteps heading for the stairs. Like moths to a light, both Mansons immediately rose from their seats and rushed into the hallway. Their eyes drifted up to the top of the stairway…and their mouths fell open.
Standing above them, posed like an angel with the biggest of smiles on her face, was Sam.
"Good morning, Mom, and good morning, Dad!"
Her voice was high and merry, spewing out a bouncy, whimsical tune of a song. As her parents watched in awe, she began to merrily skip down the stairs, coasting on every note in princess-like soprano.
"I woke up to darkness and it made me sad.
Mayhaps your brightness will lift me a tad?
Sunlight through windows, and birdsong abound.
That's what I feel like being around!
May I please sit? I'd like a spot of tea, not black but sweet
with parents who love me, and also some meat."
Her parents slowly backed up as their daughter touched down on the bottom floor, landing with all the grace of a ballerina. She looked up merrily as her shell-shocked parents.
"Mommy, you have tea on your chin."
Pam was silent, seemingly having forgotten her ability to speak. Her bottom lip quivered as sound finally made its way out of her mouth.
"S-Sam? You're singing?" She trembled slightly, tears springing to her eyes without falling. "You haven't sang for us in years."
Her daughter giggled. "I know, I'm a bit rusty. Maybe I should join the choir again?" The smile on her face was infectious.
"…Did you ask for meat?" Jeremy added, hardly daring to believe his ears, much less his eyes.
"Yes!" Sam nodded, suddenly rushing to embrace her parents.
Both froze again. Sam rarely touched them, let alone in a manner of affection; they couldn't even remember when she had last hugged them (at least willingly). She followed up the gesture with a kiss on their cheeks and the two were suddenly filled with a warm, cozy feeling.
"Samantha," Pamela cooed, returning the hug with full force, her heart on the verge of exploding from sheer happiness. "It's so wonderful to see you smiling!"
"Why wouldn't I be? I have a perfect life." Her stomach rumbled and she broke apart from them, placing her hands on it.
"Ooh, tummy needs food," She sniffed the air, seemingly in awe at the scent. "And would that delectable smell be what I think it is?"
Looking into the kitchen, she squeed and hopped towards the food, quickly fixing her plate with a modest portion of sausage and eggs before sitting at the table.
Pamela exchanged a look with Jeremy, a self-satisfied smile blooming. "Well I never."
Her husband returned the look and they happily went over to join their daughter.
"Good morning." Ida's wheelchair whirred into the room, weaving around the kitchen island. "Sam, did you scream earlier?"
"Oh, yes, I thought I saw a spider." She sawed her knife into a sausage patty, piercing a piece with her fork and humming when she brought it to her mouth.
"You… what?" Ida asked, plainly with incomprehension.
Sam giggled. "I forgot to take my Halloween decorations down."
Ida blinked slowly. "...And I see you're eating sausage."
She shrugged. "I need more iron in my diet."
Pamela nodded eagerly. "Yes! I've been concerned that your vegetarian diet could be stunting your growth."
"Nothing high heels can't fix," Sam said, garnering a laugh from Pamela.
"That's right!" Pamela said. Her smug look landed on Ida, gaze clashing with the other matriarch's.
"By the way, Mom, before I go to school, can we dye my hair back to its natural color?" Sam petted her hair forlornly. She hadn't even tied it up in her usual ponytail, allowing it to free-fall past her chin.
A hand clasped over Pamela's mouth in shock. "Yes!"
"And…," She looked down at her dark and gloomy pajamas, her face crestfallen at the sight of the garments which were no longer familiar. "Do you have any clothes that aren't dark?"
"Yes!" Both her parents exclaimed, her mother giving a hearty clap. Her daughter smiled, squealing in a high soprano note. Locking arms, the three merrily skipped out of the kitchen, leaving a confused and concerned Ida behind to ponder the situation.
"Okay…so how about this one?" Tucker said. "Psychotica vs Chaos! Who wins?"
Danny sighed, rather uninterested. "Chaos is just Sam's Doomed avatar, she doesn't count."
Tucker glared, muttering "Killjoy," under his breath. Danny just ignored it.
Truthfully, the ghost boy was feeling rather meh at the moment. His father was still trying to work out the kinks to the Fenton Turner and Danny had once again found himself at risk of blowing his cover (and his breakfast) during their unfortunate morning encounter. Thankfully, as his sister pointed out, their father wasn't the most attentive person in the family. Still, the boy's stomach dreaded their next encounter.
"Speaking of Sam," Tucker said, checking the time on his PDA as he and Danny approached the front of Casper High, "where is she? I tried calling and messaging her, but she never responded. You?"
"Not a peep." Danny shrugged. "Maybe she's skipping school for the day."
The school bell rang and all the students stopped what they were doing and ran for their respective classrooms.
"Come on, we better move it before Lancer cans us." Danny ushered his friend inside, both of them missing the white limo that pulled up to the curve.
A side door opened and a pair of pink, high-heeled feet stepped onto the sidewalk.
"Have a great day, sweetie!"
"We'll have your room reinvented by the time you get home!"
Another squee. "I can't wait! Bye Mommy! Bye Daddy!" With a click, the heels turned to face the school.
As usual, the halls of Casper High were chock-full kids visibly stricken with the Monday blues. Some were nervously jotting down answers on their procrastinated homework; others slumped at their lockers, trying to remember their combinations. A commingling of gossip, idle chit-chat and nerdy talk filled the air.
"I don't see Sam anywhere," Tucker remarked as he and Danny rifled through their lockers.
"Neither do I, but I think we better move it." Danny nodded towards Dash and Kwan down the hall.
"Come on, Dash. Let me have Mikey for once," the Asian-American A-lister protested. "Nathan always packs warm tuna for lunch!"
"Hey, quarterbacks get first pick, bro!" Dash shot back, jabbing a finger at his friend. "Sides, doesn't Nathan always have chocolates with him for Valerie?"
"Hey, you know I'm trying to trim down," Kwan complained. "Unlike a certain someone."
Dash's eyes narrowed. "You wanna settle this?!"
"Do it!"
The two jocks held out their fists. "Once, twice, shoot!"
"Ha!"
"Dash, you can't use dynamite!"
"Who says?"
"Two out of three! Once, twice, shoot! Ha!"
"What's that?!"
"Cannon."
"That's bogus!"
"You're bogus!"
"I think we better take our chance while we have it," Danny said. He and Tuck quietly tip-toed past the two play-fighting jocks. They'd just about made it when Paulina and Star passed by.
"Hey Danny," Paulina greeted loudly, obviously trying to attract the quarterback's attention.
Dash turned his head. "Fenton?"
"Dang it." Danny sighed as the two jocks rounded on him.
"Didn't see you at the pier on Friday," Dash teased. "What's the matter? Your mommy not want you on the scary roller coasters?"
"I'll bet she made them go on the baby rides," Kwan joined in.
As the popular kids laughed indulgently, Danny's brow lowered in a scowl, apathy replaced with anger.
"Actually, we did go on the Abominatrix," he retorted. "And it wasn't nearly as scary as your smelly gym socks."
"How about a sock in the face?" Dash shoved him against the lockers, one hand hooked on his collar and the other rearing back in a fist. "I'll show you scary!"
"And I think this would be my time to leave." Tucker tried to slip past, but was tripped by Kwan. He tumbled to the floor on hands and knees.
Danny's eyes flashed green. "You don't know what scary is."
Before a fight could ensue, the double doors at the end of the hallway parted, drawing everyone's attention.
"Whoa…" said an awestruck Kwan.
An unknown redhead stepped into the building, heels clacking on the floor like an announcement. Her carroty orange hair had been styled into beach waves that almost but not quite touched her shoulders. She wore a floral printed dress with sheer lace for sleeves, its flowy pink skirt extending past her knees. Her fingers were bejeweled with diamond rings that only the A-listers could afford. A pearl choker encircled her neck. Her sea-foam green eyes were dusted with shimmery pink eyeshadow, her face perfectly contoured and cheeks alight with rouge. Her lips were glossed with tickle pink, loud and bright.
Plastered on her face was a smile of sheer joy and happiness, as if the school was the very best place in the world to currently be in. Her pearly white teeth complemented her perfect complexion in an almost unnatural way.
"Hi everybody!" she said, addressing the entire student body. "Isn't it a beautiful, sunny day?"
She began to walk, high heels perfectly synchronized in a clicking beat against the off-white, beaten tiled floor of the school. She moved with such poise and grace that she could probably balance a whole shelf of books on her head in true princess fashion.
Danny gawked at her for a second; Tucker rose to his feet and dusted off his pants. Both their mouths were open, mirroring that of everyone around them.
"Okay," Dash said, breaking the silence. "I call dibs on the new girl."
"No fair!" Kwan complained. "I want to ask her out."
"Dang it," Tucker moaned.
"You wanna settle this?" Dash rolled up his sleeves again.
As the jocks began their game again, Danny regained enough sense to grab Tucker. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Oooh, those rocks look expensive," the two heard Star eagerly say to Paulina. "Do you think she's rich?"
"I don't know, but she's definitely gonna be my new friend," Paulina declared.
"Hey!"
"Come on, Star. I'll always have a place for you."
The popular kids weren't alone in their admiration. Pretty much most, if not all, of the students in the hall had completely ceased their activities to instead gaze at the new girl as she walked down the hall. The girl herself seemed to either be innocently unaware of or quaintly aware of the attention, gently waving back and saying various greetings to her admirers, all the while never breaking her stride. It was like a celebrity greeting her fans.
Danny himself felt a bit strange and conflicted. He didn't recognize the girl, yet something in his gut told him that there was something eerily familiar about her, as if he'd somehow known her in a past life. His ghost sense wasn't going off, so she clearly wasn't some spector in disguise. As far as he knew, this was just another normal (albeit new) student…and yet something inside him was saying otherwise. At the risk of making his stomach even more upset, the boy tore his eyes away from her and directed it towards Lancer's classroom. Never before had the boy wanted to be there so badly.
"Come on, Danny," Tucker had apparently been talking to him the whole way there, though his friend was only now just realizing it. "There's gotta be a shot, right?"
"Uh…yeah, sure," his friend replied.
"Sweet!" Tucker said, oblivious to his friend's inattention as he dragged him to a pair of seats at the front of the class. "And if things don't work out for me, I promise to serve as wingman for you."
"Whatever," Danny said as they sat down. "Something about that girl seems…odd."
The rest of the students filed into the class and took their seats. Paulina and Star hurried over to a trio of seats behind the boys and shoved the occupants out. To the halfa's distress, following behind them was the new girl. Tucker shot her a wolfish smile and a finger gun, but she passed by without a single glance to the boys.
"Here, best seats in the room." Paulina guided her new friend to a seat before taking the one next to her, flanked by Star at her side and Dash and Kwan behind them. "Hey, you want to join us at the cool table for lunch?"
The new girl giggled, her voice high and flattered. "I'd love to, Paulina."
"Yeah, about that, how'd you already know my name?" the popular girl asked. "I mean, I know I'm, like, a big deal around these parts, but-"
The new girl laughed, cutting her off. "Paulina, don't you recognize me?" she asked earnestly. "It's me, S-"
"Alright class, settle down, settle down." Mr Lancer walked in, sounding just as downtrodden and tired as the students. Taking a sip of his coffee, their teacher sat at his desk, sighed, and began flipping through his papers, taking a moment to glance up at the class. "Oh, it seems we have a new student," Danny heard him mutter. He pulled out the roll call sheet.
"Bradley Struthers?"
"Here," the blonde nerd muttered from the back row as Lancer glanced up to confirm his presence.
"Danny Fenton?"
"Here," the ghost boy halfheartedly replied.
"Dash Baxter?"
"In the house," the jock boasted, trying to impress the new girl.
As their teacher went through the list, Danny took a moment to look around again. All the seats were full, but still no Sam. He felt his eyes shift back to the new girl, that odd feeling bubbling up again.
'Who is this girl?' he thought to himself.
"Mr Fenton, eyes on me," his teacher snapped. "Paulina Sanchez?"
"Here!" the popular girl beamed.
"Samantha Manson?"
"Here!"
The room was filled by an orchestra of gasps.
"What?!" Dash cried.
"What?!" Paulina screamed.
"What?!" Tucker wailed.
"WHAT?!" Danny dwarfed their cries.
"Wuthering Heights!" Lancer bellowed.
Their cries bounced and vanished, leaving the room dead. Students sat rigid and still, their jaws on the ground and eyes popping out of their heads, all fixated on the anomaly that had presented itself. The A-listers were reeling back in their seats, Tucker's glasses had fallen from his nose, and Lancer had dropped his roll call list.
After a few moments of stunned silence, the teacher rubbed his eyes and looked back out towards the girl.
"Ms…Manson?"
"Of course!" she merrily replied. "Who else would I be?"
She sat there, smile plastered on her face, seemingly oblivious to the reactions of everyone else in the room.
"Well…" Lancer said, uneasily, "I see you've changed your look."
"I know, isn't it great?" Sam gushed. "Who knew I had so many great outfits hauled away in the attic?"
She gave a hearty chuckle, sounding eerily like her mother.
At this point, Paulina started to settle back into her seat, her posture relaxing.
"Your-" she motioned to her head, "your hair?"
"My natural color," Sam replied.
The Latino girl caught a glimpse of her newly-colored irises. "Your…eyes?"
"Natural color."
Eyes sparkling with delight, Paulina pointed to her rings. "And those?"
"Daddy bought them for me. They're rare diamonds from Africa. We have them on our limo tires too."
"Limo?" Star asked, equally intrigued.
"Wait!" Kwan cried. Your last name's Manson." His eyes widened like saucers. "Are your parents that rich couple on Greenwood Lane?"
"The deli toothpick cellophane-twirling royal family of the Midwest? You bet."
Paulina looked like she was about to cry. "Where have you been all my life?" She suddenly leaned in and hugged Sam. Around them, the other students began whispering over the sight.
Tucker finished rubbing off his glasses and put them back on, taking the duo back in. "Nope, still don't believe it." He turned to his friend. "Danny?"
Danny was still frozen, his face fixed with a look that ranged between shock and disbelief.
"Danny?"
"Okay, everyone!" The ghost boy was broken out of his petrified state by the stern call of their teacher. "Obviously, yes, Ms Manson has reinvented herself, but we have more important matters to attend to. Let's get back to our lesson!"
Danny didn't pay any attention to Mr. Lancer's dry lecture. He couldn't.
A sensation not unlike the hypnosis of Freakshow's staff had washed over him–a cold numbness, a lack of awareness, as he took in the sight of his lifelong friend, his debatable best friend. Here she was, dressed in a style reminiscent of her own nightmares, boasting a wealth she had previously sniffed at, soaking up the attention of people she once considered the archetypes of a broken school system. All in all, it was like looking at a caricature of everything she'd, for as long as Danny had known her, stood against.
Could that be Sam? It couldn't be, could it? Throughout the lesson, he tried to catch her eye but she patently avoided it, either looking resolutely ahead at Mr. Lancer or diverting her attention briefly to offhand comments from the A-listers as they admired her various jewelry.
How long had she hesitated to even reveal her opulence to Tucker and Danny? None of these flashy displays were characteristic for her. Worry gnawed at him, coupled with a sense of loss. Despite pining after Paulina like everyone else, Danny had learned to appreciate Sam's casual disregard for popularity, the courage to be herself. Once or twice, he'd abandoned his friends for the opportunity to join the popular crowd, and Sam had patiently waited for him to return with nothing but the gentlest 'I told you so.' Okay, maybe with a light-hearted snark or two, but still.
As he watched, his mind rapidly tried to find an answer for all this.
Was she overshadowed? That was the boy's first thought. Maybe the ghost of some preppy socialite had taken her over. However, that wouldn't explain why his ghost sense hadn't gone off. And even then, how would said ghost know about things like the source of the Manson fortune? Sam kept those things secret and, from plenty of experience, Danny knew overshadowing didn't give access to a person's memory.
His mind flashed to other options. Another case of blackmail, like the merge party, maybe? However, her attitude was far too sincere and real for that (unless, of course, Sam was a far better actress than she let on). That would also rule out it being a dare, prank, or bet (and what even Sam would value enough to go this far Danny had no clue).
Still, this couldn't be natural. It just...couldn't. Sam wouldn't do this. Not to herself and certainly not to her best friends.
Even with that mindset, the ghost-boy couldn't ward off the cold numbness, it settling into his gut like a heavy chunk of ice.
The bell rang. Before Danny could make a move, Dash and Kwan scrambled ahead of everyone, like they were scoring a touchdown.
"Popular privilege!" Dash boomed. Their bulky forms took up the doorway as Paulina, Star, and Sam strolled out, Sam tightly in Paulina's grasp. A crowd of students tagged behind her like lost puppies, Tucker and Danny lagging on the tail-end.
Determined to find out what was wrong with Sam, the ghost-boy pushed and shoved his way past throngs of students, all gossiping over the sudden change in the school's residential goth.
His solution was simple, but obvious: He was going to ask Sam herself. He was going to make her tell him. It was rude, yes, but Sam had never been one to hide her thoughts when Danny had done similar stunts in the past. Shouldn't he push for answers like she had? Surely the Sam he knew would have preferred that.
Said girl he finally spotted huddled by the lockers, more specifically hers, with the other A-listers. A garbage can sat at the side and Sam, to Danny's horror, was casually chucking all her goth decorations and trickers into it, all the while chattering and gossiping with Paulina and Star.
He approached them. "Excuse me?"
"Watch it, Fenturd!" Dash and Kwan blocked his path. "No geeks allowed."
"Uh, I think I'm allowed a few words with my best friend," Danny asserted, his hands balling into fists. If the jocks were willing to get physical, then he'd take them up on it.
Laughter erupted from both them and the girls, but Sam stepped forward. "Now, now, girls. Let's cut the boy some slack. It's not his fault he's out of our league."
Danny's face fell a little. Out of her league? Since when did Sam give any credence to leagues? Before he could formulate any sort of comeback (or actually do what he'd come to do), Mr. Lancer stepped into the fray.
"Ms. Manson," he greeted, hands folded behind his back. "I was just telling Principal Ishiyama about your apparent new leaf."
"It's refreshing to see such a promising young mind in a healthier headspace." Principal Ishiyama nodded, steepling her fingers in an almost hopeful gesture. "I take it you won't be breaking into our biology storerooms anymore?"
Sam laughed. "Of course not."
Danny's spirit faded more. Apparently Sam was no longer even concerned about the otherwise indifferently-viewed treatment of their school's frogs (least to say the treatment of any of the world's endangered animals)?
"Nor sabotaging our cafeteria's meat locker?" Lancer hopefully added.
Another obnoxiously preppy laugh issued from Sam. "Why would I do such a thing? Meat is essential for growing bodies. Plus, it's yummy."
Danny felt as though he was sinking through the floor. He almost checked to see if he was.
"If you don't mind me asking, Sam…" Paulina tilted her head in inquiry. "What inspired this whole change?"
"Yeah, some of us," Danny cut in, heavily (and loudly) emphasized the word, not even trying to hide his growing frustration and concern, "would like to know!" Ignoring the looks of disapproval from those around him, Danny looked deeper into the girl's eyes, trying in desperation to see a glimpse of the vegan goth he'd known for so long. "Sam, what on Earth is going on with you?!"
"Yeah," Tucker added, walking up to join them. "Is this some kind of phase or dare or something?"
A smirk danced across Sam's lips.
She suddenly pirouetted on her heel, skirt twirling with her.
"It's not a phase,
Or so I told my mommy~"
'Since when did she sing?' Danny thought. At best she'd comically grunt for the chorus of Down WIth the Sickness or scream Dumpty Humpty lyrics.
"For a while there, I got lost in a gothic haze,
For all my passing days~"
Initially Danny assumed she would drop a few lines, but Sam broke into full song.
"Until my mother showed me the ways,
To dominate the hallways,
With my high heels on to be proper, not odd!"
Reaching a perfect soprano pitch, she tapped her heels in something that resembled an Irish jig, smiling at Danny before retreating into her bubble of A-listers.
"Look at those moves," Paulina chimed in, softened by a modicum of hesitation. "We should invite you on the cheerleading squad."
Tucker looked on in disbelief. "Sam...you can sing?"
"Yes, and oh, what a joy it brings," she fired back, turning on Paulina with her hand outstretched. "Would you, perchance, like to dance? I'll show you the steps. It only takes a few reps."
Paulina accepted it, her teal gaze darting to and fro. "You don't have to sing so singly," she joined in, mimicking Sam's careful steps in a merry waltz. "Or dance around solo, when you sing so high~"
"Did she just write that on the fly?" Tucker wondered aloud.
"This better not be Ghost Writer again," Danny muttered, spectating the scene with overwhelming concern.
"Who?" Tucker asked.
"I'll tell you later."
Tucker shrugged an eyebrow at him. Returning his attention to Sam, Danny tracked her every moment, familiar with the ballroom dancing style she'd flaunted at the party. While he admired her grace–and he'd be lying if he said he were unaffected by the gaudy makeover–a sheer hollowness gnawed at his stomach. Something's wrong.
Twirling and looping around with Paulina, Sam skipped down the hallway, her hands still conjoined with Paulina's. Her newfound bestie giggled, charming and disarming the audience. Dash and Kwan caught up, playfully nudging each other while they lurked behind. Danny tried to make it through the crowd but got shoulder-checked by Star, who peeled after her longtime bestie.
"You look cute as a button in all that lace,
And that glamorous makeup shining on your face~" Paulina sang, decibels rising with confidence. "Plus the gorgeous rings! Gosh, I didn't know you could afford those things…"
Shame flitted briefly across her eyes, until she snuffed it out, replacing it with a haughty smile. "My mistake, I assumed you were poor, based on the cheap fabric you wore…"
"Yes, you're right!" Sam nodded along. "Why don't we go to your favorite store?"
Grinning, Paulina interlocked elbows with her, along with Star on her left. "Of course! What are friends for?"
All three laughed. While Dash and Kwan fell in stride, Danny and Tucker caught up enough to witness the jocks joining the chorus.
"Old Sam was a geek and a freak, who liked to hang out with boys who are weak." He caught a fist in his palm for demonstration. "New Sam's got style, a better outfit and pretty smile. I'd like this one to stay a while."
Sam beamed, apparently unaffected by the insults towards yesterday's Sam. Amongst the crowd, Mr. Lancer and Principal Ishiyama made it through, listening in with the glowing pride of educators who had yet to burn out.
"New Sam can party with us, cheer for us at the games, and cheer up our pep rallies," Kwan chimed in with more impressive vocals than Danny or Tucker expected. "She'll laugh at our jokes, when we're picking on weak folks, and help us keep tallies on who owes us lunch money."
"I'm a Valerie Gray loyalist," Nathan surprised everyone by jumping in with his nasally baritone, "but I must admit, if she didn't exist, I'd offer my chocolates to—hey!" he protested suddenly, the box of chocolates snatched from his hands by Kwan.
"Thanks, nerd," he boomed, holding the chocolates up high while Nathan grappled at thin air. "I don't know what spurred this transformation," he went on, shoving Nathan back into a locker, parting a sea of spectators in the process. "But it looks to me like you're the new sensation!"
Danny's stomach turned as he saw Kwan lean over Sam, handing her the heart-shaped box.
"I want a picture of New Sam in my locker!" another one of the 'nerds' exclaimed, skirting on the edge of the crowd. "I'll build a shrine, collect her hair and—"
"You're acting like a stalker," several students admonished him at once, oddly in sync.
"If Paulina's a Queen, then she's a long-lost princess," the crowd chorused. "Once a hot mess, until the fairy godmother arrived. She cast a bibbity bobbity boo, and now we've got you!"
Several hands flourished in Sam's direction, paired with bright grins that were mismatched against Danny and Tucker's deep frowns.
"I can't wait to have you at our slumber parties." Star pitched in, voice carrying over the crowd in a mellifluous melody. "We can paint our nails, and braid each other's hair. Far better than your dorky ponytails."
"I won't have to worry about protests on our lawn!" Principal Ishiyama launched into a celebratory aside. "Or frogs being released like a Second Plague!" Nudging Mr. Lancer, she added semi-privately, "Aren't you glad that troublemaker is gone?"
"It's certainly an improvement, from that little gothic stint," Mr. Lancer agreed, clearing the gravel from his throat to smooth out his tenor. "Still not quite sure where Old Sam went, but who can complain?"
"Yes, after all, she had been such a pain," the crowd sang its assent.
"Hey!" Danny yelled.
Sam laughed aloud before finishing it off. "No longer a geek or a freak! I'll be here all week—no, for years! And from now on, I'll hang out–" She glanced over her shoulder behind her, lulling for but a second while she made eye contact. "–with the proper peers!"
Surrounding students erupted in cheers, lifting Sam up along with her newfound friends like they were crowd-surfing at a concert. While they escorted Sam away, hooting and hollering and pumping their fists in the air, Danny rushed to catch up with her. He shouldered through the bustling crowd.
"She's beauty and grace, wrapped up in expensive lace!" The mob proclaimed. "Head to toe prim and proper, as far as the eye can see!"
A nameless jock shoved Danny into a nearby trash can, which then proceeded to fall over. Tucker ran over to his fallen friend.
"At least that wasn't me."
His optimism was cut short when a gaggle of students brushed by and knocked him into the neighboring trash can…which also proceeded to tip over.
"Of course," Tucker sighed amongst the litter.
Danny watched as the sprightly mob disappeared down the hall, tears in his heart forming as they vanished from his vision.
The bell rang. Students and faculty alike filed into their respective classes once more, Sam protected by her entourage of popular kids. To Danny's annoyance, Sam giggled at every joke the jocks cracked, much like the song lyrics predicted, despite how she considered their humor lame before. Throughout the lessons, Dash would launch spitballs at the usual targets. Instead of scowling like she normally would, Sam shook her head in a lighthearted 'Boys will be boys' fashion. Tucker had been the target at one point, to which Danny glared in the quarterback's direction. Dash responded by shooting one into his eye.
"It's rude to stare, Fentoe!" Dash jeered.
Not once did Sam butt in at his defense like she used to. She only looked ahead at the whiteboard or whispered conspiratorially with Paulina and Star.
Danny's classes passed by in a wave of partial dissociation. Tucker visibly sulked too, but he didn't appear nearly as affected by the switch as Danny. While he dropped witticisms here and there, Danny grunted noncommittally, like he'd shifted from the playful Spider-Man to a stoic Batman.
He still couldn't believe it. No, he refused to believe it.
Without him noticing, lunch rolled around. He lagged behind Sam's popular crowd, glaring openly at their backs, catching snippets of vicious gossip that Sam suddenly felt comfortable with.
"This blows," Tucker commented, sitting at the so-called uncool table where they had a full view of Sam's new cafeteria setup.
"It makes no sense!" Danny agreed, watching as Sam's table rippled with laughter at an unheard joke from Dash. "Last night, Sam is fine. This morning, she's channeling Snow White and Mary Poppins?!" He sulked a little. "No, something stinks."
"I think that may just be us," Tucker said, as another group of students turned sharply away from their table. "Considering we got trash'd. Sure she's not overshadowed?"
"I already told you, if she were, my ghost sense would have gone off," Danny replied. "And how'd a ghost have access to all her secrets?"
"Okay, so what then?" Tucker asked, "Brainwashed, robot, brainwashed robot, clone, evil doppelgänger-?"
Danny shot him a look.
Tucker held his hands up. "Hey, you're literally half-ghost. Stuff like this happens to us."
"Okay, true." Danny slumped back in his seat. "But there's got to be something else. Something obvious that we're missing."
His mind rewound to previous mysteries with obvious solutions: Spectra being a ghost, M Bersback marking Ember's return, Youngblood being invisible to adults. This had to be one of them.
"Think, Tuck; what happened last night?"
"We went on the Abominatrix," Tucker recounted, "I threw up, we saw the Psychotica movie, I gave it a bad review, we went to the park…oh, and we saved Sam's folks from Desiree."
At the mention of her name, Danny's mind flashed back to one specific moment of her capture.
"And I have to say," Tucker was rattling on, "her folks may be snobs, but they have great tastes in cars."
"Tuck!" Danny snapped him out of it. "Listen, when Desiree had me pinned and Sam sucked her in the Thermos, she was screaming, "You will be made proper.""
He paused as the horrifying truth dawned on him, his face slackening with shock. "Tuck…what if Sam's parents really were talking to Desiree? What if…what if they wished her to be like this?!"
A high-pitched squeal carried over from Sam's table.
"HALF-OFF AT ABYSS?! MINI-TEES!"
As Star and Sam joined Paulina in screaming in delight, Tucker's took on a similar crestfallen look.
"But…," the boy stammered, "but you caught her."
"She must have escaped the Ghost Zone after I sent her back," Danny explained, "then granted their wish after we'd all gone to sleep."
"What about your ghost sense?"
Danny pondered for a second before shaking his head. "She doesn't have to be overshadowed. If Desiree can take away my powers, I don't see why she couldn't take away Sam's personality."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Tucker relaxed a little as the truth settled on him. "Man, I know her folks were crazy, but this is just…man."
Danny agreed. Even Vlad hadn't been desperate enough to try and pull this kind of stunt off. Still, knowing the source of her change (and knowing that it wasn't to her will) eased him a little, at least enough to formulate a solution. Fortunately, thankfully, he already had one for this ghost.
"How'd they even find out about Desiree anyway?" Tucker wondered.
"That doesn't matter right now," Danny said. "What matters is that we find Desiree and make her undo this wish."
"What makes you think she will?"
"I'll just wish for her to do it," Danny explained, now a bit calmer. "You know Desiree. She's a compulsive wish-granter."
"Yeah, pretty much," Tucker said with a grin, before suddenly gasping. "Oh no!"
"What?" Danny asked, growing worried again.
"If her memory is still intact," Tucker explained, "then she still knows about your powers. What if she blabs?!"
Danny's eyes went wide as yet another laugh came from the pop table. Instinctively, both boys glanced on over at Sam. Catching their glare, she shot them a snooty, smug look before returning to her convo.
"We gotta find Desiree!" Danny declared. "Fast!"