Graduation
Today was May 14th, 2009. It was hot and sticky in the hallway behind the outdated high-school auditorium. The doors to the building had been opened and shut repeatedly all day, and the heat snuck into the geriatric campus like a fog. The not-quite-new-enough air-conditioning unit could not compensate.
“Big old buildings are just hard to keep cool, folks,” said Coach Crews. “Drink water and quit complaining. You genuinely will never have to be here again.”
Every student was wearing a red gown with a red cap and golden tassel, packed together with sweat dripping from their brows.
“I feel like the industrial hot-dog roller in Danny’s kitchen!” Tucker exclaimed, pulling at his collar. Despite protests that his PDA had a fan accessory and that “this heat is child abuse,” Crews wouldn’t allow it.
“You mean the one that made haunted weenies?” Sam chirped in. “Crews is right. As soon as this is over we can go anywhere but here.“
“First of all” he raised his finger and took a breath, “the haunted weenies were delicious.”
“Ugh, meat eaters are so gross!“ Sam rolled her head back.
The bickering had gone on continuously since Danny had left them for the back of the line. A hungry and whiny Tucker Foley did not mix well with a politically motivated Sam Manson—especially without a mediator. The mediator who had been chosen to receive his diploma last, accompanied by some honorary wish-wash.
Following the events of the Disasteroid, Danny’s last semester had not been an easy one. Life began moving fast. He couldn’t keep up with everything. Everything was….too much in his face.
He hoped summer would calm the novelty of his identity, and it had, but not to the degree he had hoped.
Danny denied giving a speech at graduation; he hadn’t earned it grade-wise.
Everyone was making plans and asking about his.
Ignoring the obvious.
So he began to “make plans for NASA.”
Ignoring the obvious.
Tucker, obviously, was pursuing computer science. Sam was to start training as a veterinary technician. She was starting local but planning to save her own money and move far away—no reliance on her parents’ wealth.
First he would need a degree in some type of engineering, probably aerospace. Get good grades and a good internship. Then he could have a shot at working for NASA.
Away from FentonWorks. Away from Amity Park.
From the ghost portal.
Away from the pit in his stomach telling him this wasn’t even an option.
The events of the Disasteroid hadn’t stopped the ghost portal or the Fentons’ work. The GIW had calculatedly backed off—while not entirely, a significant portion of their surveillance. And while the Fentons’ opinion of some ghosts had changed, that didn’t stop the academic endeavors and excitement that came from exploring an alternate dimension.
In fact, it wasn’t just FentonWorks anymore. Ghost science had gained significant recognition, and researchers flocked to the larger metropolis as small, weak portals began to open and close for research projects. Illinois had become the ghost-science capital overnight.
Obsession-fueled entities still caused problems. And as the Disasteroid felt further and further away, the larger and more developed activity of intelligent ghosts resumed. One day, life continued on. Patrols with the gang went back to normal. He was busy as ever.
So here he stood—Danny Fenton—not Phantom, at the back of the line, red cap sucking in his hair at the sides, not a single ribbon or medal to wear.
He felt very close to the pit in his stomach.
Danny looked at the line, noticing he had quite a bit of time. He glanced behind him to confirm no teachers were standing watch. With a swift motion he took off his cap and made his way to the bathroom.
His shoes clipped against the tile floor. Jack and Maddie had demanded Danny wear his dress shoes, pants, and suit—just like homecoming.
But this wasn’t homecoming. It was the ending of being a kid. Emotionally that had ended quite a while ago. Physically, it had finally arrived.
Someone had even suggested he save on rent by getting a den in the Ghost Zone. As a joke of course. (Though his parents had made it clear he was welcome to stay as long as he needed—after saving the world and all.)
Again, Danny would remind himself, It was a joke, but it still brought him closer to that pit.
While those close to him inquired about where he was going, everyone else seemed to publicly assume he would be the resident ghost.
And who could blame them? There were ghosts about, and he was a ghost. He was always so busy taking care of the ghosts that he was often the face of local news updates. He was always so busy taking care of ghosts that the college visits and exams quickly became time he couldn’t promise. Reschedule after reschedule became eventually than never.
“This is stupid. Why am I even in here?” Danny said to himself softly. He groaned and drug his free hand through his hair. There wasn’t much in that head. Just a chore before the rest of his life.
It it wasn’t that bad of a life at all, however, and m he really had no reason to complain—with the public-wide support and all, and his enemies defeated. The ability to literally fly.
This was the happy ending.
………….But he really had wanted to work for NASA.
Danny lazily put his hat back on his head. He reached his right hand under the faucet and turned the handle with the left, splashing some water on his face.
He looked in the mirror. Danny wished he had grown a little more. His shoulders had grown defined and widened into what many claimed was a longer neck. Danny claimed it was the camera angles.
The problem was more or less that he didn’t really feel he looked the part of a “grown man.”
But he was bored and ready for something new. Senioritis was real, even for flying ghost boys with a superhero life.
Danny left the restroom and turned to rejoin the end of the line going to the auditorium. Before he could, a hand grabbed his shoulder.
In another red cap and gown, adorning a gold honor-roll cord and white stole, a royal-blue student-council cord and Red Cross ribbon, and very sharp red nails that blended into Danny’s gown, was Valerie Gray.
“Hey! I’m glad I ran into you. I’m sure you’re excited to be done here—doubly so with the heat.”
Danny smiled. Her hair was long and curly past her shoulders, and a light gloss covered her lips. She fanned herself with a commencement booklet. They hadn’t talked much since the Disasteroid, but he saw her around town when ghost activity popped up every once in a while.
“Yeah, this place gets old. I definitely don’t need more lectures from Lancer on the relevance of Hamlet to my own life.”
“Well, the guy was literally caught between life and death,” Valerie laughed.
Danny chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Believe me, I’m aware.”
“So, what’s next for you, Danny?”
He sucked in his breath.
“Well…” He looked at the ground, his cap slipping of his head. He caught it with both hands and squeezed it back into place while saying, “I’d really like to work for NASA someday.”
“That’s right! You were always a space nerd. How do you even get to a job like that?”
He sighed. “Probably not when you’re stuck in Amity Park.”
There was a silence.
Valerie sighed and took his arm in between the crook of her own, slowly and lollygaggingly guiding him toward the line, which was getting shorter and shorter.
“So…why exactly are you stuck in Amity Park?” She said.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m the ghost kid. I take out the ghosts. I’m on the news for taking out the ghosts. If I didn’t take out the ghosts, the general population would be terrorized by these ghosts. Saving the world only brought more ghosts. And also I worry about my dad.”
Valerie stopped and turned to him. She took a look at the line, then cocked her head at Danny.
“You know that I’m not leaving town, right?”
“I…guess.we never talked about it?”
“Well, Danny, more ghosts bring more ghost hunters…and turns out I really like hunting them to.”
“So what are you saying. You’re going full time?”
Valerie laughed. “I guess. I think I want to train the police.”
“What?” Danny said.
“Yeah! I applied for the academy and volunteered a lot my senior year to build the resume for it. That’s why I kind of went MIA after the Disasteroid. They want me to do a year as a rookie while they work to develop a Ghost Response Training program, and they want me to teach it when I’m done. Although my schedule is flexible enough to take out any specters when I need to. Besides, I’m not the only one in our grade who wants to kick ghost ass. Kwan signed up with me.”
Danny blinked. He looked at the line—it was time to get moving.
“What, did you think you got all the fun?” Valerie said. “The world is changing. We can adapt.”
They started walking again, Valerie’s kitten heels clicking.
“I guess…I just couldn’t picture anything else,” Danny said. “Does that sound self-absorbed?”
Valerie snorted. “No. All you’ve known is the world on your shoulders. It’s done. You saved it. Move on and live your life. I can keep an eye on your dad if that helps you sleep at night.” Valarie shook her head in a way that said “you’re being dramatic, ghost boy.”
They rejoined the line. Valerie looked at him one more time before she slipped up the steps and behind a curtain, exiting the hallway.
“Just go to NASA—or whatever it takes to get there. Amity Park is fine.”
And Danny was left by himself.
“VALERIE GRAY, FOUR YEARS OF HONOR ROLE….’ The achievements rattled on.
It was still sweaty. He wiped his forehead.
“AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, CASPER HIGH’S RESIDENT SUPERHERO, SAVIOR OF THE PLANET—PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR DANIEL JAMES FENTON!”
Maybe saving the world wasn’t a bad way to get around a CAT requirement. Somewhere had to let him take a swing at all that engineering math… right?
