Danny
After his first class, Danny was called to Ms. Spectra's office. Outside her office, a chair waited with a sign above it that read "Happy Chair!" Danny scowled but sat. There was nothing happy about this chair. It was the chair of doom. The chair of dread. The chair of… of… punishment.
The door opened and Paulina walked out, saying, "So you're saying my popularity is, like, completely dependent on my beauty?"
Ms. Spectra followed Paulina and said, "I'm not saying it's fair, sweetie. But if you feel like you need something, like, a lot of makeup, I say go for it! You're the only you you've got!" She turned to Danny and said, "Danny, come on in!"
She went back into her office, and Danny trailed in after her. She sat behind her desk and motioned for him to take the only other chair in the room. He shivered. The air blew on him again.
"I can't believe my stupid sister convinced Lancer to make this my punishment. And can we please turn up the heat in here? I can see my own breath."
"Wow, you do complain a lot. Hm." She shrugged. "Well, your sister did say you could be a bit of a baby."
"What?!" Danny asked, heat rising to his skin.
Ms. Spectra said, "Sweetie, it's not your fault she thinks you're a loser."
Danny's jaw ticked. "Wait, Jazz called me a loser, too?"
Ms. Spectra raised her hands. "Hey, those are her issues." She stepped out and walked behind Danny. "I'm not saying you're a loser, Danny. I think you're a great kid!"
She put her hands on his shoulders, and the anger morphed into sorrow. He slumped in the chair.
"Then why do I feel so miserable?" he asked.
"You know what I think?" Ms. Spectra sang. "You might be a mess," she crouched in front of him to reach his eyes, "but 'mess' is just the beginning of 'message'! Now go out there and be a better you."
Danny got out of the chair, his brain foggy. He missed the door and ran into the wall before leaving the room. He didn't even care. All he wanted was to find a corner and… and what? Cry? Sleep? He sighed. He couldn't do that. He had to get to his next class.
Ms. Spectra
Bertrand turned visible and closed the door after Danny.
"Marvelous," Spectra cooed. She opened a compact mirror and watched the glowing green ecto-energy revitalize her skin.
Bertrand asked, "Why are you wasting your time on a messed-up kid when we've got a big to-do planned for Wednesday?"
"Yeah, but Wednesday's still a couple of days away," Spectra replied. She hummed in delight and explained, "Teen misery is the nectar that keeps me looking fabulous." Shutting the compact, she added, "And that Fenton kid is like a walking spa treatment! Who knew depressed halfas could be so replenishing?"
Bertrand glowed and melted in midair, reforming as the ghost Danny had fought.
"Hmm," he said, "then maybe I should up the ante."
He morphed his shape again into a giant hornet.
Danny
Danny felt less depressed after class, which made room for anger to creep back in.
"Dude, you okay?" Tucker asked.
"I'm fine," Danny said. "I can't believe my sister told that shrink I'm a loser."
Sam asked, "Are you sure Jazz said that? That doesn't sound like Jazz to me."
Speak of the devil, Jazz came down the opposite end of the hallway. "Hey, you guys."
Danny and his friends stopped walking. He wasn't going to come to her. She would have to come to him.
"What doesn't sound like Jazz?" she asked.
Danny scowled in response. Tucker and Sam gave him sideways looks, but he ignored them.
"Still mad?" Jazz asked, sounding less chipper.
"Wow, you are the smart one," Danny snarked.
Jazz stepped closer. "Danny, I know you're angry, but I'm worried about you. Ever since the accident–"
"Jazz," Danny snapped, "I know you think you're helping, and I'm sure when I'm older I'll appreciate it, but right now, I don't."
His sister bristled. "You have to talk to somebody, Danny. You barely have any friends."
Sam and Tucker frowned.
"Besides these two," Jazz went on. "And you have absolutely no extracurricular activities."
Tucker muttered, "Unless you count the ghosts."
"Shut it!" Sam hissed.
Danny hoped Jazz didn't catch that. He definitely didn't want her to know about his new powers. Even more frustrated, he said, "Well, maybe this is me now, huh? Not everyone's pumped up full of spirit all the time, you know?"
His ghost sense went off then, right in front of Jazz. He shivered, feeling the cold.
"Danny?" Jazz asked. "You're shivering." She touched his shoulder, but he twisted and ran away.
"Leave me alone!" he shouted behind him.
He had to find a place to transform where no one would see him. He ducked into a janitor's closet, slammed the door behind him, and turned into his ghost form. He rushed back to where he sensed the ghost. Jazz was the only one there… except for a freakishly large hornet clinging to her and licking her head. Great. Now he had to rescue her.
"Back off, ghost bug!" Danny yelled.
The hornet looked up, let go of Jazz, and phased through a door.
"Ghost bug?" Jazz wondered. "Wait a minute, that was a ghost? You're a ghost?"
Danny ignored her and went after the hornet ghost. Well, she believed in ghosts now. He would deal with it later, if he needed to. For now, he had a fight on his hands.
The hornet flew through a classroom and outside the school, Danny hot on his trail. The hornet stopped, and Danny quipped, "Somebody called for an exterminator?"
"My, you are clever, aren't you?" the ghost teased. "Swat this, bug boy."
The hornet ghost led with his stinger at Danny, who raised his arms in defense. The stinger slashed his arm, and he fell, clutching the wound.
"I should have gone intangible. Idiot!" Danny scolded himself. "I'm not getting better at this. I'm getting worse."
The ghost dove in for another hit, but this time, Danny put up a shield. After the ghost plowed into the shield, he jumped away. Danny dropped his shield, stood, and pulled out a Fenton Thermos.
"Alright, pal! Time for you to–" He looked around, realizing the ghost was gone. He dropped his arms in defeat. "Gone. Great. Another bad guy gets away." He flew back to the school to find Sam and Tucker. Standing in the janitor's closet as a human, he muttered, "Maybe Jazz was right. Maybe I am a loser."
His friends waited for him by his locker.
"What has you so glum?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah, that's usually my job," Sam added.
"The ghost got away," Danny said. He opened his locker and pulled out his things.
"Bummer," Sam said. "Maybe a movie will cheer you up."
"Can't," Danny sighed. "I have a lot of homework. Catch you later."
After School
At home, Danny and Jazz sat at the kitchen table. Danny tried to work on his homework, but Jazz hounded him about ghosts.
"What do you mean, you didn't see a ghost?" Jazz questioned.
"It didn't look like a ghost to me," Danny said, staring at his textbook. How was he supposed to get anything done with his sister bothering him? "It just looked like a big bug. So I ran. Like a looooser." He scrunched up his eyebrows and attempted to read.
"I was right," Jazz said. "You're not going to listen to me, are you?"
"Nope."
"Well, you don't leave me any choice."
Danny sat up in alarm. She wouldn't.
"Mom! Dad!" She did. "Can I talk to you about Danny?"
Their parents appeared in the doorway as though waiting to come in. Dad held a new device that partially covered his hand.
"Is something wrong with Danny?" Mom asked.
"Is there a ghost involved?" Dad enthused.
Mom walked up to Danny. "Is there something you want to talk about?"
Darn it, Jazz! Why did she have to be so annoying? "I–I…" An idea struck him, and he grinned. "Actually, yes. Jazz thinks she saw a ghost today. Tell them, Jazz." He began gathering his things, reveling in the cornered look on Jazz's face.
"What?" Mom exclaimed. She practically jumped over Danny to get to Jazz. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"It would have been a good chance to try out the portable Fenton Ghost Peeler," Dad said. "It tears ghosts apart atom by atom!"
With his backpack in hand, Danny said, "Well, enjoy your chat!" and left the kitchen.