Chapter 2, Is Dil OK?
As the rest of the day wore on at school, Tommy couldn't concentrate on any of his lessons. He was too busy being worried about Dil. He was also sad to find out, that as a result of what went down earlier that day, the Christmas show at the end of the week, was going to have to be canceled. He and his friends had been looking forward to this all year! And poor Dil, if he did make it out ok, he was having so much fun, practicing his part for the Twas the Night Before Christmas play, as he was getting to play one of the reindeer.
After school, Kira picked up Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi, and took them with her to the Java Lava for the afternoon, while Tommy's parents went to the hospital, to see how Dil was doing. But curious, adventurous Tommy couldn't help but realize just how close the Java Lava was from the hospital. It was only across the street and down three blocks from the coffee shop.
The kids were all sitting at a table, coloring with crayons on blank paper that Kira laid out for them. Tommy, made a get well carde for Dil, and kept looking out the window.
"What are you looking at Tommy?" Chuckie asked.
"I was thinking, the hospital is not far from here, maybe I should walk down there, and see if Dil is ok." Said Tommy.
"But Tommy, in order to get there, you have to cross the street." Said Chuckie.
"And we're not allowed to cross the street without a grown up." Added Kimi.
"I can make it." Said Tommy confidently.
"Tommy, don't! After what we all went through today, I don't know if I could stand to lose my best friend." Said Chuckie, reaching out to stop Tommy from leaving.
But it was no use, Tommy sprinted away from the table faster than a cheetah, as he ran out of the doors of the coffee shop, unnoticed by Chaz and Kira, who were busy serving customers.
Kimi was about to go after Tommy, but Chuckie stopped her, as he wasn't about to see both, his best friend and sister, get hurt by all of the cars that would be coming along, as it was a very busy street outside of the Java Lava.
Tommy didn't stop running. He ran down the sidewalk, until he got to the block where the hospital was. That's when he stopped, looked both ways, and when he saw no cars coming, he ran across the street and into the hospital. No sooner had Tommy gotten through the doors, when he saw his parents and Dil approaching them.
"Tommy!" Didi exclaimed, as she ran up and approached her son.
"What are you doing here?" Didi asked.
"I just dcame to see if Dil was ok." Replied Tommy.
"Did you come from the Java Lava son?" Stu asked.
Tommy nodded.
"You know you're not suppose to cross the street on your own champ." Said Stu.
"I know but, I was worried about Dil." Said Tommy.
"So you risked your life to see if your brother was ok? Tommy, you know we would have let you know when we came to pick you up from the Java Lava later on today" Said Didi.
"Is Dil ok?" Tommy asked.
"No need to worry Tommy, I'm ok." Said Dil, running up to his brother, and giving him a hug.
"Dil was very lucky, but sadly, most of his class was not." Said Stu.
"Over half of the children in Dil's class died today Tommy." Said Didi.
"Including Dil's best friend, Alford." Said Stu.
Alford was a boy that Dil had met at the beginning of the year. They both had a lot in common, Goober and aliens being amongst their interests, but sadly, Dil would never see Alford again.
Just then, the Finsters rushed into the hospital, as the Pickles were walking towards the doors to leave, as Dil had just been released, after being checked over, to insure he was all right.
"Thank goodness you're safe!" Said Chaz.
"Chuckie told us where you were headed, running across the street was a very dangerous thing to do!" Said Kira.
"You could have been hurt!" Added Chaz.
"No worries Charles, we've already had a talk with him about this, and as soon as we get home, Tommy will be taking a time out, to think about what he has done." Said Didi.
Tommy didn't think this was fair, as he only did it out of concern for his brother, but after reluctantly sitting in the time out chair upon getting home, he thought about had he not made it. It was bad enough that Dil had to see the bulk of his classmates die in front of him that day, if his brother went on the same day, who knows what kind of shape emotionally Dil would be in at that moment.
Later that night, Peter came over to have dinner with the Pickles.
"Well hello Peter, what brings you here this evening?" Didi asked, as she answered the front door to see him standing there.
"I just came to see if Dil was ok. I heard about the shootings that occurred at his school today. It's all over the news!" Said Peter.
"I'm right here, and, I'm ok P." Said Dil, leaping into Peter's arms and giving him a huge hug.
But Dil's smile quickly faded.
"What's wrong Dil?" Peter asked.
"My best friend Alford didn't make it, and because of what happened, looks like my days of being a reindeer in the school play are over." Replied Dil with a sigh.
Tommy overheard their conversation, so that night at the dinner table, he proposed his idea.
"What our school needs, is some kind of alarm system, kind of like what's on cars, so not just anybody can come into the school." Said Tommy.
"Ah, a security system. Good idea!" Said Peter.
"But even if that's true, security systems and alarms like that, cost a lot of money." Said Didi.
"I could always invent something that might work." Said Stu.
"Now Stu, I don't like to be the barer of bad news, but your inventions, well, sometimes, they tend to get, all, how shall I put this, glitch." Said Didi.
"What if we raised some money for the special alarm system and some security cameras?" Suggested Peter.
"I could get the kindergarteners who are still alive together, and Twas the Night Before Christmas, could be my next movie!" Said Tommy, with a wide eyed smiling expression on his face.
"And since the school has canceled the show, we could run the movie on Friday night at the Java Lava's Film Friday." Said Dil.
"And when people purchased their popcorn and drinks, we could give the money to the school, to go towards the security system, making Doodle Dale Elementary School, a safe school for all children." Said Peter.
"But do you have enough time to put a movie together champ? You've made movies, but nothing that explicit, and you're dealing with kindergarteners." Said Stu.
"Don't worry daddy, it will be easy." Replied Tommy, as he took a bite of his mash potatoes.
"And everybody who was planning to perform songs, they could perform at the Java Lava post the conclusion of the film." Said Dil.
"Then it's settled then. Tomorrow, we'll talk to Principal Brown, Chaz, Kira, and all of the students and teachers, and see if everybody is in agreement to do this." Said Didi.
"I'm glad everybody likes my idea, and, I'm sorry I went across the street on my own, I should have never done that." Said Tommy.
"Apology accepted." Said Didi, as she took another bite of her roast beef.
And this, ends chapter 2. So, will the alternate plan for a Christmas show take place at the Java Lava? And will they raise enough money to install this security system at the school? We'll find out, in chapter 3, and the final chapter of this story, which, I might wait and release closer to Christmas, if not the day after Christmas, since I won't be able to access a computer to upload the chapter on Christmas day itself.