Now that Fantom was joining them, they decided to change the study location from Sam's place to the Nasty Burger—a neutral and public space.
Danny took off his backpack and shook out his textbooks, notebooks, and pencils onto the table before sitting down.
He looked up, and stiffened at seeing Fantom straight across from him.
It was going to take a while to get used to that.
"Hey, let's get something to eat, first," Tucker suggested as he stood up.
While Tucker got in line to order, Sam decided to break the silence by opening up a textbook.
"So... let's begin with Math."
Danny groaned, and realized it was in stereo. Fantom apparently also disliked the subject.
"Come on, the whole point is to work on something you guys find difficult," she said. She pointed at the page she'd opened to. "Now, here's tonight's homework. All the even questions."
Danny and Fantom opened their copies of the textbook to the right page.
Fantom groaned again and slid down in the booth. "I don't remember any of this."
"Remember? I thought you said you'd missed a few months of school," Danny said.
"I did," Fantom said with a glare toward Danny. "It also doesn't look familiar." Fantom crossed his arms, still sitting slid down in the booth. "I was going to rerea- uh, read all the textbooks from the first page until I caught up with the classes."
"...That sounds like a lot of work," Sam said slowly.
Suddenly, Fantom's eyes seemed to focus in a narrowed-eyed expression of determination that was almost scary. "I'm not going to quit."
"I didn't say that," Sam said. "I'm just saying all that might not be necessary. Look, the book explains how to do each set of problems right here."
Sam started to explain the first group of questions and go over how to solve them.
Danny started to say he didn't understand the last step she'd just said, when Fantom brought it up first—with a contrasting explanation of the step.
One that... actually seemed to click with Danny. Like it just... fit.
Sam and Fantom proceeded to argue over what the textbook's ambiguous instructions meant, both pointing at different words.
"Hey, did I miss something?" Tucker asked, coming over with two trays of food. He pushed some books out of the way to put the trays in the middle of the table.
"They're arguing over how to solve tonight's math problems," Danny explained. He paused for a second. "...I'm actually with Fantom on it."
Tucker scrunched his face. "You know it's weird when you call him that?"
Danny shrugged. "It's Fantom with an 'F'—it's different."
"Only within your head. Why not just call him 'Dan'? He introduced himself that way anyhow."
Danny muttered to himself about 'Dan' also having the same first name. "Fine, whatever. Hand me one of those hamburgers."
Tucker passed him a hamburger from the far tray. Of course Tucker had positioned the trays so that all the meat was on his side, leaving Danny with all the French fries.
"Hey, why don't you two give it a break and eat?" Tucker suggested.
Sam and Dan stopped talking, only now seeming to notice the food.
Danny and his friends spent the next several seconds passing food and drinks to each other.
"Hey... do you want anything?" Tucker asked.
Now Danny realized that Dan had only watched them, and still didn't have anything in front of him.
"There's still several burgers left," Tucker offered, holding one up.
Dan hesitantly reached for it, then fiddled with the wrapper.
"So..." Danny said, deciding this was a good time to find out more about him. "You, uh, know anything about the ghosts here?" he asked suspiciously.
"Some," Dan answered, sounding equally suspicious.
"Familiar with any white-haired ghost heroes?"
Tucker bumped him with an elbow to let him know that was a dumb question.
"What was your life like before moving here?"
"I'm sure it was nothing you hadn't heard before."
"Are you really a natural blond, or—"
People started yelling, and Danny turned to see a suited Valerie leap into the air from behind the front counter, people scattering.
She pointed a device their direction. "Ghost Target eight feet, three inches directly ahead."
Danny stared at Valerie with dawning horror. A group of people ran by the booth, eclipsing her for a brief second. But as they left, she was still there, pointing the ghost finder at him.
He turned his eyes towardhis friends, opening his mouth.
But then noticed the empty seat.
"Where did he go?" he asked.
Tucker and Sam turned her eyes from Valerie.
"What?" Tucker said in surprise. "He was just here."
Dan's books were still scattered on the table. An unwrapped Nasty burger sat in the middle of its paper, with a single bite out of it.
Where did Dan go?
He fled.
To take Valerie by surprise.
I donno, to the bathroom?
Voting ended onJan 10
