Chapter One

"Focus Danny," Danny told himself under his breath. "You know what this is." Danny scrawled on his scrap paper.

"Pencils down!" Mr. Lancer spoke out over the class.

"What!" Danny yelled panicking looking at his only partly filled test "Bu-but I'm not done!" Danny frantically waved his hands in the air as he stood up and into the aisle from his desk.

"I'm sorry Daniel, but time is up." Mr. Lancer said calmy. Danny even thought he saw some smugness in Mr. Lancer's expression as his teacher walked down the aisle towards Danny, snatching the test from Danny's desk. "Maybe if you improved your study habits you would finish."

"Bu-bu-" Danny stuttered trying to find a reason to be able to finish his test.

"Danny!" Tucker hissed "Shut up or you'll get a detention!" Danny looked at his friend with a tortured look knowing that if he failed this test he would get dangerously close to failing the class.

"Great idea Mr. Foley!" Mr. Lancer said faking some enthusiasm smirking at Danny. "Detention for the sudden outburst and the disruption." The teacher's bald head shined in the light. Tucker would most likely make a joke about it to cheer up Danny later. Danny huffed and sat in his seat his lower jaw jutting out in frustration. "Anyway, we still have about fourty-five minutes left of class, let's start another lesson kids. This one is on proper nouns!" The class groaned and slumped in their desks. Danny glared at Tucker who repeated in his head 'Don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact…'

Suddenly a girl burst into the room. She wore a black and purple plaid skirt with a black tank top to match. She styled purple tights and black combat boots. Her eyes, which seemed to match the purple but lighter, more of a lilac looked around the room filled with disapproving and curious eyes.

"Sorry, I'm late! No one told me to come early to fill out some papers, but I guess I was supposed to! I'm um- sorry! I-" She babbled on to the teacher but he cut her off holding a hand up and saying.

"Oh! You're Samantha Manson, I'm Mr. Lancer, you're English teacher. Class-" He said turning to the class. "- this is Samantha Manson, she is our new student. Please make her feel welcome. Samantha, you can go sit in that seat behind Paulina and next to Danny. Danny and Paulina raise your hands to let our new student know where to sit." With a groan from Danny having to still abide by Lancer's rules and an Ugh! From Paulina they both raised their hands.

"You can just call me Sam, it's shorter." The lilac eyed girl said pursing her lips.

"Very well then." Mr. Lancer turned back to the board to write something up, dismissing Sam. She hurried over to Paulina and Danny pursing her lips at their angry expressions, not knowing that the expressions weren't aimed at her- well, at least Danny's wasn't. She plopped in the desk in-between Danny and the window. Paulina turned, Sam noticed her tanned looking flawless skin and the pink barrette pulling her out of her fair exposing her high cheek bones. Her crystal blue eyes turned to slits as she looked Sam up and down. Sam shifted uncomfortably under the intense stare. Paulina made a sound of disgust and turned flicking her hair over her shoulder.

Great, another town full of critics. She thought to herself, sinking into her chair. She observed the classroom. A white tiled floor decorated the floor with a light shade of gray decorating the walls. Large windows were along the wall closest to her with light streaming in making the classroom seem less torturous but as she observed the teacher she knew this wasn't going to be her favorite class. He was bald with a goatee. He wore a teal shirt with a black tie and plaid dark gray pants. But that wasn't what made Sam know she wasn't going to like the class. It was the way he talked. He seemed to pull out each word in a boring tone adding excitement where there shouldn't be any.

She looked to her left and saw Danny. He had jet black hair and stunning blue eyes. But she couldn't help but notice the anger plain on his face. Is that towards me? What did I do? Sam wondered pulling her eyebrows together. Danny seemed to notice the new goth girl looking at him and he turned holding his expression of anger. But when Danny noticed her almost frightened expression, along with curiosity of his anger. His face softened. He gave a half smile letting Sam relax. Then he turned and scrawled something on a piece of paper.

He leaned over and put the paper, now folded onto her desk. She gave a weak smile and unfolded it.

Sorry, I'm not trying to be mean. It's just Lancer. I'm Danny. Sam let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and tucked her black hair behind one of her ears. She searched her binder for a pencil then found one in her left combat boot. She pulled it out and wrote back. She passed the note back to Danny, still facing the front and placed it on his desk. Danny looked at the note then her and opened it in his lap.

It's okay, I just thought for a second I'm Samantha Manson, highest rated classy citizen of the year. Kidding, just call me Sam. Danny looked up from the note to Sam and smiled at her widely.

Maybe not everyone here is a snob… Sam thought half smiling back. Lancer cleared his throat.

"Is there some inside joke you would like to share with us? Samantha? Daniel?" Lancer spoke raising an eyebrow, arms crossed. Sam and Danny turned to the front clearly caught.

"Uh-uh we just know each other, from- uh, daycare and we were just recognizing each other. Sorry," Sam spoke quickly. Danny looked at her eyebrows raised as if to say Nice save Manson. Mr. Lancer nodded slowly knowing he lost the battle but mentally putting Sam on his disruptions list.

"Very well," He turned back to the board defeated and started writing something else "And the longbows are what helped the French win against England. Or was it the other way around…" Danny smiled at Sam and mouthed lunch? Sam nodded quickly trying to be inconspicuous agreeing to have a seat with Danny at lunch. She sighed in relief as the day came to a nice start.

Sam frantically looked around the lunchroom for Danny. He had to be after the nerds but before the A-listers, right? There were a few empty tables. Maybe he hasn't gotten here yet. She surveyed trying to look at each face. She knew those crystal eyes, if she could just find him... there was more white tiled floor in the lunchroom which Sam stood on tapping her foot. The walls were a light yellow. Most of the rooms so far in the school seemed dull. Then Sam noticed a boy with jet-black hair and a white t-shirt walking through the cafeteria doors outside.

"Danny! Hey, Danny wait up!" She called running towards him. She caught him a little outside and the boy turned with a confused expression on his face. This boy had brown large eyes and was much tanner than Danny. The shirt wasn't the same either. On the front of the shirt was some kind of gothic design which Sam would usually be into but she wanted to find Danny. "Oh sorry, I thought you were someone else." She half laughed and shrugged her arms. She turned to go back inside, defeated thinking that maybe he ditched her when he must have realized what a goth freak she really was. Her shoulders drooped.

"Sam!" Someone called she turned to find the voice, she hadn't actually heard Danny's voice yet so she couldn't be sure what it would sound like. "Sam! Over here!" She saw Danny sitting at a picnic table waving her over. She sighed in relief and smiled as she walked over to him. She noticed another boy sitting there, he wore thick rimmed glasses, a dark yellow shirt, green cargo pants and a red hat turned backwards. His dark skin made the glasses less visible but his eyes were very concentrated on the PDA in his hands anyway. Sam placed her tray on the table and smiled sitting down.

"Kind of thought you had ditched me." She said but instantly regretted it. Ughh! Why would I say that? What am I stupid?

"I kind of thought you forgot about me." He said smiling friendly back to Sam then looking at his food. Sam looked over at the other boy at the table with a questioning glance. Danny noticed and leaned over the table to shake the boy's shoulder. "Tucker?" Danny said. Tucker looked up from his PDA startled. "Tucker this is Sam,"

"Oh yeah! You're the new girl? The goth table is over there." Tucker turned back to his PDA. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Stereotype much?" She spit angrily.

"You're not goth?" Tucker asked raising one questioning eyebrow.

"Well I am bu-" Sam started to say but Tucker just pointed a thumb over his shoulder to a table with about five goths sitting silently. "I'm not that kind of goth." Danny pursed his lips waiting for the argument to break out.

"How are you different from those goths?" Tucker said finally placing his PDA on the table and fully facing Sam.

"I don't… wallow." She said glancing at them. Tucker narrowed his eyes trying to understand. "Also the geek table is over there." She said jamming a finger in the direction of the techno geeks all also playing on PDA's and other handheld games. Not the major geeks though, they had a table inside in fear of getting sunburned.

"I-I don't even know them!" Tucker shot back. But one of the techno geeks walked by at that moment and waved.

"Hi, Tucker. Did you get those cables for the-" He started. His orange hair sticking up with thick rimmed glasses that seemed to match Tucker's. He also styled a white polo and gray shorts.

"I DON'T KNOW YOU!" Tucker shouted into the geeks face. The geek screeched and made a break for it. Sam raised an eyebrow as Danny laughed. "Fine you won this one- what is your name again?"

"Sam Manson, I'm in your English class I think. Or maybe it was history, I'm not really sure, I wasn't paying attention." Sam said thinking back to the class sitting next to Danny, being distracted by the eyes, the hair and the aimless swirls he doodled on his paper.

"Oh yeah ! You were the one Mr. Lancer yelled at because you too were flirting!" Tucker said as if remembering a funny memory. Sam felt Danny stiffen beside her.

"W-we weren't flirting!" Sam almost yelled as Danny nodded in agreement.

"We were just talking- well passing noted, but we weren't- no we weren't doing that." Danny stumbled over his words the way Sam had. Sam and Danny both shot glances at each other awkwardly, eyes wide. Tucker just laughed.

"I'm Tucker. Welcome to Casper high. Home town of all ghosts." Tuck said waving his arms to indicate the school. Sam looked at Tucker and Danny befuddled at the last line.

"Yeah," Danny said "Apparently Casper and the rest of Amity park is extremely haunted."

"Is it?" Sam said excitedly, wanting to live in a town full of ghosts.

"Not yet! Danny's parents are almost done with the-" Tucker started but there was a loud thump underneath the table as Danny kicked Tucker in the shin. "Ow!" Tucker concluded

"Your parent's are almost done with what?" Sam looked to Danny wanting to know the big secret. Danny sighed.

"My parent's are building… a.." Sam raised her eyebrows waiting

"A ghost portal!" Tucker finished for him, Sam pursed her lips and pulled her eyebrows together thinking it was a lie. "Danny's parents are like professional scientists or something and they are super obsessed with ghosts!"

"Shhh!" Danny urged "It's embarrassing enough without you advertising it."

"For real?" Sam pressed

"Yeah." Danny sighed. Sam tapped her foot giddy. "We have to go see it don't we?" Sam asked instantly "The ghost portal?" But she instantly mentally face palmed herself. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why would Danny want a goth in his house, he doesn't like ghosts , it seems like, as it is. He wouldn't want me in his house, he probably thinks I would summon a bunch to attack him.

"I don't think that would be a good idea…" Danny said slowly confirming Sam's fears. "It gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, sorry, never mind." Sam said looking down at her hands awkwardly. The three sat in silence for a few moments before Tucker started to talk.

"We are going to go see the lab." He said slowly

"What?" Danny said confused "No we aren't…" Sam start to smile at their little argument, amused.

"Yes we are Danny…" Tucker said slowly

"Tuck, hypnotism doesn't work, okay?" Danny said leaning back and crossing his arms. Tucker slumped back down on the bench and Sam burst out laughing. Pretty soon they were all laughing and people were giving them strange looks. The rest of lunch went smoothly as if the three friends had known each other for years. When lunch was over the trio got up and went to the lockers.

"This is my stop guys," Sam said walking up to her locker. Danny then opens a locker a few down from hers.

"This is my locker." Danny said stating the obvious pointing to his locker. Sam laughed at the coincidence. They both grabbed some books out and walked down the hall.