Chapter 82 - 30
Chapter 30: "Ghost Armor and Parental Overkill"
In which my parents decide I'm ready for war, I meet a machine gun drone named Daisy, and somehow, I don't explode anything.
By the time I got home, I was starving. Not like "ooh, I could go for a snack" starving—more like "feed me or I will gnaw through this drywall" starving. Apparently, ghost training, rooftop flips, and existential conversations with Naruto worked up more of an appetite than I'd realized.
So when I stepped into the kitchen and caught the scent of Maddie Fenton's famous six-cheese lasagna (yes, six cheeses—my arteries are screaming just thinking about it), I nearly levitated off the ground.
"Hey, kiddo!" Dad boomed, his voice loud enough to vibrate the refrigerator magnets. "We made your favorite!"
Correction: my favorite, Jack's favorite, and possibly also the neighbor's dog's favorite based on how loud it was sniffing from two houses away.
I blinked at the table. There were mountains of food. Like, multiple lasagnas. A small tower of garlic bread. A salad bowl that could fit a toddler. And then... a special plate. Set at my usual seat. It was at least twice the size of Dad's.
"You guys expecting a linebacker to show up or something?" I asked as I sat down.
"We're expecting you," Mom said with a wink. "Your metabolism has gone into hyperdrive, Danny. You're growing faster than Jack's ghost chili recipe explodes."
Dad gave a proud nod and patted his belly. "And believe me, that thing explodes fast."
I dug into the food like a polite tornado while my parents exchanged glances across the table. Uh-oh. That look. That "let's talk to Danny about something but not scare him off before dessert" look.