Author's Note: Okay, so this is my main fan project now. I know it's going to seem a lot like The Bet, but that was actually almost like a spoof off this. In this story Sam is totally rocking, and she kicks Paulina's preppy butt. I'm thinking it might get on the long side but I'm excited about it, so expect rapid updates. That is, if I get sufficient reviews. I mentioned this in my other story, and I'll mention it here. 364 hits and only 11 reviews is sad. Just sad. So here we go. Oh, this will be fun.

Props to Butch Hartman for owning everything, while I remain in poor servitude to his genius.

Chapter 1

Sam felt someone bump into her shoulder as she walked down the hallway, causing her to drop her books. She turned angrily, ready to send a death glare to who it was. When she caught sight of long black hair and voluptuous hips receding down the hallway, her ire rose.

Paulina. She thought she ruled the school. As a freshman it hadn't been so bad, but now that they were seniors… Sam shivered. She just couldn't take it. She was sick of Paulina, Dash, and that whole group of big-headed jerks. And they called her the freak. Ha!

Needless to say, Sam went to lunch in a mood to kill.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Danny as she slammed her tray down on the table.

"At least this is my last year of this crap," she growled, gesturing to the bland, card-board-like salad. Tucker swallowed a piece of his hamburger.

"Don't forget what happened last time the menu changed. A meaty ghost of terror attacked the city."

"You know what, Tuck? My memory, unlike some people's, isn't failing. Yes, I remember the incident. Thanks for reminding me how supportive you are of my lifestyle."

"Whoa, hold on now. Don't bite my head off! It's meat, remember?"

Sam's fork hit the table with a clatter, and she was about to lunge at Tucker before Danny grabbed her shirt and pulled her back.

"Sam!" he yelled, trying to tear her attention away from tearing Tuck apart. "What's with you?"

"Nothing," she said, and shoved a piece of lettuce into her mouth, making a face at Tuck at the same time. He just scowled and returned to his lunch.

The next ten minutes passed in absolute silence. Sam's temper was still boiling, and the friend she'd almost attacked was sulking. Danny was trying to figure out what was wrong, though thankfully he didn't mention it again. She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't even dare say the name of that witch, the one who had made her high-school life miserable. Sam knew she was overreacting, but she also knew that after years of torture, she deserved to overreact every once in a while.

They had been worst enemies even before high school. The moment "Goth girl" became friends with "nerd-o-rama" and "geek-wad," she was a target of feminine teasing. When all the other girls started getting their periods, Sam could distinctly remember overhearing Paulina say, "Oh, her? She probably won't ever get it. She's too much of a freak." It was something small, but they were young then, and things hurt worse. And, Sam had been overhearing things like that for ages already. Or how about when her breasts developed? "So she is a girl. Funny, I was kind of wondering." When she went to junior prom, "She's here? Wow, that took some nerve; especially looking like that!" And to the side, as if as an afterthought, "But then again, she always looks dreadful."

The feud had been going on for quite a while.

But Sam had ignored most of it, trying to take the higher road. She pretended not to hear the jibes, faked not feeling the pushes, and hid under the guise of not seeing those scathing looks. Her perseverance, along with her friends' support, was what got her through her school career.

It was unfortunate, then, when Sam realized she had to pass their table to get to the drink machine, where she needed to get a bottle of water. Great. Just great.

For a second she considered not going, just forgetting about the water. But no, no, she would go where she pleased in that cafeteria. She went to school there too; she had every right to use the vending machine. And so she got up, and walked over.

At first, everything was fine. There was excess whispering from Paulina's table, but they didn't say anything obnoxious. Sam got her water and turned around, happy to go back to her best friends. She saw Paulina's foot a second before she tripped.

The fall to the shiny cafeteria floor was like an eternity. Her stomach flipped, she tried to brace herself, and anger flared so strongly she thought that flames might shoot from her eyes. Forget the ghost powers Danny had; she was ready to kill.

And then she hit.

She had dropped her water bottle, opting instead to try and break her fall with her hands. However, her plans were foiled. The bottle leaked when it hit the floor, making her hands slide. She landed on top of the bottle and after it knocked the breath out of her, it exploded, soaking her front with water. For a second she just lay there; wet, humiliated, and in pain. Surrounded by laughter.

Tucker and Danny were by her side in an instant. They picked her up and pulled her quickly away, bringing her to the outside courtyard. Sam slid down the wall and curled up, dropping her forehead on her knees. She could feel both of her friends kneeling next to her, each with a hand on her arms. She wouldn't let the tears fall.

"I can't… believe… she did that," Sam grumbled, her voice strained. Danny looked concernedly to Tucker.

"She had no right," he soothed, squeezing her shoulder. "Paulina's always been like that, though."

Sam looked up. "Finally realizing it, are you?"

Danny chuckled. "Let's just say I don't like seeing my best friend embarrassed in front of the whole school."

"Thanks for grabbing me in there, guys." She sighed. "I was considering not getting up."

"What are friends for?" asked Tucker quietly. Sam smiled weakly.

"You're both great. I think I'm okay, now. I'll just be a minute."

They nodded and left her alone.

What Paulina had done this time was lower than low. When it was private, Sam could deal. But that shallow "queen" brought the public into this. Sam would get her back. She smiled, thinking to herself.

Oh, it's on.