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It's finally the weekend again where every student gets a break from the never-ending cycle of waking up and going to school. It is also the day where Molly and Darryl do not have plans and homework, so what better way can a weekend be spent than going to the mall?
Scratch as expected initially refused to come because he prefers to just sleep for all eternity but knowing the curse he himself put on Molly Mcgee, she would still drag him anyway.
The McGees all wanted to go to the mall for different reasons, Sharon wanted to go clothes shopping, Pete wanted to go to the bookstore, Molly wanted to see the puppies at the pet shop and Darryl wanted to go to the stationery store.
However, Sharon doesn't agree with the idea of Darryl going alone because, with her parental intuition, she knows he is still irresponsible compared to Molly, so seeing that Scratch is the only one that is not going to do anything in the mall, Sharon requested him to accompany Darryl there.
"What? Why me?!" Scratch asked with an annoyed tone as the McGees entered the mall parking lot with their car.
"We know you're not gonna be doing anything in the mall besides following Molly around so as an adult… or whatever your age may be, you should at least be useful and be responsible for once by watching over Darryl. Make sure he does not do anything silly in the mall."
"Ah, come on," Darryl complained on the backseat, "I'm responsible enough to be on my own! I don't need a babysitter."
"Darryl," Pete chimed in while he found an empty parking spot at the mall and shifted the gear to reverse, "the last time we let you alone in the mall was when we let you play at the ball pit while we were shopping. You somehow caused a fire in there that they had to ban us for a few months!"
"Well… I was just trying to make the ball pit more fun…"
Sharon and Pete facepalmed in unison, "our point still stands, Darryl," affirmed Sharon sternly, "Scratch, you're in charge of Darryl, and don't let him out of your sight."
Scratch sighed deeply "fine," he then turned towards Molly who was sitting beside Darryl, "Molly, I kindly request you not to summon me on my… babysitting job if you don't want me to lose Darryl."
Molly gave a salute, "aye-aye, Scratch. I can definitely be on my own without ever calling you… I hope!"
Scratch was doubtful about that but he does not have any other choice but to just trust her.
Pete finally parked the car and the McGees all marched towards the mall before they stopped at the lobby.
Sharon turned towards her children and Pete, "okay, we'll be meeting here again at 3. Molly, make sure you don't lose your phone. Darryl, you better not be buying anything explosive or dangerous that could destroy the house. I may be a gig pig but it's not easy to earn more money to fix any more damage, you two understand?"
"Understood, mom!" said Darryl and Molly at the same time.
Sharon then looks at Scratch again with a glare, "oh, and Scratch, don't lose sight of Darryl. I trust that you can watch over him and not cause trouble here in the mall. If not then I'll not hesitate in limiting your daily food doses in the house."
Hearing that feels very threatening, especially coming from Sharon, who Scratch genuinely fears even though he is the one who is supposed to scare her and her family.
Scratch gulped visibly, "okay! Okay! I won't. Just don't starve me please…"
Sharon reverted to her jolly expression as if nothing had happened, "good! I'm glad we've come to an agreement. See you all in 1 or 2 hours!"
The McGees then scattered around the mall, including Molly, who has already disappeared to find the pet shop.
Scratch then follows Darryl towards the stationery store. Truth be told, he does like Molly's little brother, even more than with Molly on their first encounter. Deep down, Darryl reminds him of his mischievous self when he's pulling a prank or scaring others. It's also fun when he tags along with him to prank his family member or help him cheat on carnival games.
As he entered the store, Darryl immediately strolled around the stationery store, finding glue, colored pencils, a ruler, origami paper, crayons, and whatever students use at school.
"What do you need all this junk for anyway? You're planning to donate these to charity?"
"Nope, though I think that would make my family proud. But these are for my arts & crafts project. I plan to make dinosaurs in a park so I can impress my teacher and classmates."
Scratch looks intrigued, "ooh, you're going to recreate that dinosaur movie?"
"Yeah! I want to make this my best project ever. Then maybe I can pass my barely-passing grade."
"I see."
Darryl then skips onto the cashier and pays for all the stuff he gathered from the store with the money Sharon gave her. The cashier puts them all in 3 different plastics before handing it to Darryl, who hands 1 of the plastic bags to Scratch.
"Hey, Scratch, can you help with this one?"
Scratch groaned, "fine," he snatched the plastic from Darryl and both of them exited the store. Meanwhile, the cashier is dumbstruck seeing the plastic float by itself. Thinking that he had lost his mind, he passed out on the spot.
"Where should we go now?" asked Scratch, who is hovering beside Darryl.
Darryl checked his phone, it's still 1.35 PM so they still have some time to do something else.
"Umm… we can go find Molly now that we finished our shopping. Maybe we'll figure out where to go next."
Scratch nodded.
"Oh, wait!" Darryl suddenly stopped walking.
Scratch looked back at Darryl, "what is it?"
"I gotta find the toilet!"
Scratch facepalmed darn humans and their human body system. Thank heavens Scratch is dead so he doesn't have these daily urges.
Darryl and Scratch ran around each corner of the mall on every floor trying to find the toilet. Strange, there does not seem to be many toilets in the mall.
Finally, Darryl found a toilet at one of the corners. A section of the mall that is rarely visited by anyone because it isn't completely constructed.
"Uhm… you can stay here Scratch. I can go to the toilet myself."
Scratch sighed, "alright, but don't be long, please. I really wanna go home and sleep."
Darryl nodded and quickly rushed into the halls and into the male toilet. He was about to open the door before someone else opened it. Darryl ended up bumping into this person and fell on the floor, dropping his belongings.
"Hey! Watch it, punk!" shouted the person he bumped into.
"S-sorry! I was just-" Darryl looked up to see the person he bumped into.
Oh no.
"JAKE?" Darryl said in shock.
Jake was the school bully that everyone feared at school. Tall, buff, and dressed like the typical school jock. He is in a higher grade than Darryl and Molly but he still managed to get away with bullying his juniors because the school cannot find evidence of him doing so.
However, Darryl once got him in trouble after he caught Jake stealing someone else's lunch money and reporting it to the teacher after taking a picture of him. He ended up getting suspended for a few weeks from school, and he holds a grudge against Darryl ever since.
"Well, well, look who it is, it's Mr. Popular Wannabe boy. Coming here on your own?"
Darryl tried to scoot back and run away but Jake quickly grabbed him by his shirt, "what's wrong, little boy? Scared of me? It's funny because you were the ones that got me in trouble. Where did your confidence go, huh?"
"Let me go, Jake! Or else I-"
"What? Tell your parents?" Jake took Darryl's phone which he had put in his pocket and threw it away on the floor.
"HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE!" Darryl screamed out for help and tried to wriggle free from Jake's grasp but to no avail.
"Who are you asking for help, huh, punk? You think anyone would be able to hear you in these halls? You have no friends coming' here to save ya, punk. You always try to make yourself really popular at school but in the end, you're just a nobody. A troublemaker. Even your sister has friends."
Darryl felt some tears forming in his eyes.
"T-that's not true!"
Jake then noticed the plastic bags that Darryl dropped when he bumped into him earlier.
"Oh look, what are these?"
Jake inspected the plastic bags and found some markers and other art tools inside. He smirked as he figured out an idea to get back at Darryl.
"Well, seems that someone wants to show off for their arts & crafts project. Hmm… What if I start making my art project on your face, hm?"
Jake took out some markers to prepare himself to draw on Darryl's face.
"No… please no, dude! They're for my art project! I'm sorry! Just let me go!" begged Darryl as he wriggled once again.
"Cut it out with your fake apology, punk. This is a payback for what you did to me. For ruining my LIFE."
Jake pinned Darryl to the wall and started scribbling some drawings and swear words on Darryl's face using different colored markers. Darryl screamed out for help, begging for someone to come save him from Jake while Jake laughs hysterically at his expression.
Meanwhile, Scratch did not really hear anything outside of the halls because of the loud music they put in the mall. However, he was growing impatient waiting for Darryl so he decided to hover inside the halls and try to call Darryl out of the toilet.
"Darryl, you better be quick with your business, or else I'll leave you he-"
Scratch dropped his plastic bag, seeing someone possibly from Darryl's and Molly's school messing with Darryl's face while he is begging for the person to stop. Scratch was terrified at how unmerciful this guy was being, even Scratch did not even go that far when he messed with the McGees. Unable to hold his anger, Scratch immediately made himself invisible and phased onto one of the walls near them to give Jake a big surprise.
"See how beautiful your face is right now. You're definitely going to get some friends with this look," Jake laughed once more as he finished the final touch on Darryl's face.
Suddenly, a terrifying ghost figure came out of the walls beside Jake and the whole room turned into a mix of red and purple.
"RRRAH, LET HIM GO, YOU MONSTER!" Scratch growled loudly with his horrifying ghost form, which made Jake drop Darryl and screamed for his life as he ran out of the halls and disappeared into the mall.
"AAAAH, GHOST! THIS TOILET IS HAUNTED!"
As soon as Jake was out of sight, Scratch reverted to his normal form and the room went back to normal. He immediately checked on Darryl, who seems to be sobbing softly with a face full of scribbles.
"Darryl, are you alright?!" Scratch asked worriedly, putting both of his arms on Darryl's shoulder.
Darryl sniffed, "I… I'm okay. Thanks for saving me from that guy."
"No sweat, Darryl. I'm sorry I didn't hear you screaming for help, this mall's music was SO darn loud."
"It's fine, Scratch." Darryl then hugged both of his knees and hid his head on them.
"What's the deal with that guy? Why did he suddenly attack you?" asked Scratch.
Darryl perked his head up a little, "he's… Jake. One of my seniors who is also a bully. He always picks up on his juniors and gets away with bullying many times because he does it privately. But one time, I caught him stealing someone else's lunch money and reported him immediately. He got suspended for a few weeks afterward and now he wants to get revenge on me for making him suspended."
"Jeez Louise… that guy sounds more horrible than I am."
Darryl nodded and then he looked away from Scratch.
"Is there… Anything else?" Scratch gently asked as he sat down next to Darryl. Honestly, Scratch doesn't know why he suddenly cared about the well-being of his newfound family. He was supposed to rejoice seeing their misery but for some reason, he can't bear seeing one of his family members like this after being treated like garbage earlier.
"I don't know, Scratch. What he said just now was sort of true…"
"What did he say to you?"
"That I'm just a Mr. Popular Wannabe because I don't have friends like Molly."
Hearing that really hurts Scratch's heart, if he has one, because he knows what it feels like to not have friends too before he met the McGees.
"I really wanna have friends, Scratch. I did everything I could at school because I thought if I become popular then people would like me and wanna be friends with me. Turns out I'm wrong and he's right, I'm just desperate," Darryl shedded more tears and let out a soft sob.
Scratch couldn't bear to see Darryl like this anymore so he tried to do what Molly always does to him whenever he felt blue, giving a hug. Scratch wrapped his arms around Darryl and patted his back, hoping it would make him feel better. It feels wrong doing this as a ghost but he feels that this is the right thing to do in a situation like this.
"There, there, sport," comforted Scratch, "I know how it feels. I didn't have any friends either in the ghost world. But… it doesn't matter anymore at this point, you know? You, Molly, and your parents, you all are my friends. My... family. Who cares if I can't make friends with anyone else when I have you people? It is why I got you, sport, and as your friend too."
Darryl finally made eye contact with Scratch, "but… you're Molly's ghost. You're bound to her, not me. I shouldn't take you away from her."
"Nonsense! I may be cursed with Molly but it doesn't mean I can't be your best friend too, Darryl," Scratch winked at Darryl and patted his shoulder, "there's plenty of Scratch for everybody!"
After a long period of sobbing, Darryl finally managed to smile, which made Scratch smile in return. Maybe spreading misery isn't what he is good at. Seeing a little joy from his loved ones does make his eternity feel less tormenting.
Darryl took a deep sigh, "I guess you're right."
If Darryl can't find any friends at school, he at least still has people that are willing to be with him. Mom, Dad, Molly, and now Scratch. He doesn't have to be popular with them because they love Darryl for who he is.
"Thanks so much, Scratch, you're the best" Darryl finally hugged Scratch back.
Scratch poked Darryl's nose jokingly and ruffled his hair, "ah, don't mention it, kiddo. We are partners in crime, of course, I got your back. It wouldn't be fun without you too, sport."
The two laughed for a moment before Scratch helped Darryl stand up and gathered all the art equipment they dropped earlier, including Darryl's phone.
"I think we should really clean your face. Wouldn't want you to embarrass yourself here in the mall because of… that, "said Scratch, pointing at Darryl's face. Darryl's tears earlier had made his face look like he got a terrible makeover.
"You're right. I'll be right back, okay, Scratch."
"Okay. I'll guard this door to make sure that guy does not mess with ya again."
Darryl chuckled before he went inside the bathroom and reached for the sink. He looked at himself in the mirror.
"Wow, it's going to be a while to clean those…" Darryl said to himself before sighing. He then let out the water from the sink and washed his face vigorously to get rid of the scribbles Jake had put on him, which took 10 minutes unfortunately and it caused Darryl's clothes to be wet but it doesn't matter at this point as long as he got rid of it. He didn't manage to get rid of them all but it's better than how he looked 10 minutes ago. He figured that he'll just ask his parents to help clean it up later.
He uses a few minutes to use the bathroom as well because he didn't have a chance to do his business earlier.
After finishing his business in the toilet, he washes his hand and meets Scratch outside. Darryl was about to take the plastic bags but Scratch refused to give them to him, saying that he would carry them himself.
"Well… I suppose we should go now before that guy comes back," said Darryl as they made their way out of the halls to the bathroom.
"Hmm… maybe we can find something to eat first?" suggested Scratch, "I'm kinda starving but… I got no money on me."
Darryl smirked mischievously, "fear not, Scratch," he then took out some money from his pocket, "I took 20 dollars from mom's wallet this morning for occasions like this. I can call them to meet us at the food court for lunch.
Scratch squealed with joy and hugged Darryl tightly, "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! This is why I love you, sport, you make me so PROUD! Come on, let's go to the food court!"
Scratch pulled Darryl's arm quickly as they both rushed into the mall's food court on the upper floor.
Darryl never asked for anything else except for support and friends who will love him for who he is, but it turns out with Scratch, Molly, and his parents by his side, he no longer feels like he should try to make himself look cool and popular at school because his family members are the ones who have stuck by his side for the longest time.