Chapter 52: Locked In
That was a different day for Thomas, as he would not spend it on his school, but rather on another one… "I'm glad you have taken the role of being a volunteer or as our school likes to call it the buddy system" Mrs Baker said, as they started heading towards her classroom. "It's no problem, my school said I needed this for Community service points in order to graduate, I got lucky I got this job before it was taken," Thomas said with a smile. "And your help comes in handy, as we're going through a little flu outbreak, some staff and students got sick and we're a little shorthanded, you will be working in my classroom that I'm substituting for, and I think you already know who's in this classroom," Mrs. Baker said with a smile as she opened the door to the classroom. "Ah yes, my sister Bluey," Thomas said, not knowing if it was a good thing or a bad thing he would have to help taking care of his sister's class, knowing her and some of her friends so well.
As Thomas and Mrs Baker got inside the classroom, Bluey was talking cheerfully with some of her friends in the corner of the classroom, not noticing her brother getting in. "Class! We have a visitor today!" Mrs. Baker said getting the classroom's attention. "Thomas!" Bluey shouted, wagging her tail. "Well we see someone already knows our guest… as she lives with him," Mrs. Baker said. "He's Bluey's older brother!" Mackenzie said, wagging his tail. "Yeah!" The rest of the class said. "I can see you are very popular in this class," Mrs. Baker commented. "Well, they have seen me around… and I bet Bluey has told them a lot about me," Thomas answered. "Oh good then this should be easy, now I will tell you some of the things I may need you to do, while I teach the class," Mrs Baker said with a smile.
As they day went on, Thomas started doing his job as Mrs. Baker's assistant, which was basically running things for her. Some of those things went from keeping the classroom cleaned, get from or to her office and helping the students around the classroom. During the recess, he would also watch over the kids and make sure no troubles were created, despite Bluey's constant attempts to lure him to play with her and her friends. When the day was almost over and Thomas thought he would be able to do his voluntary job without any big problems, Mrs. Baker got to run something herself over to the other side of the school. Tasking Thomas to get something from the back closet of the classroom, she also told him to keep an eye for the kids. After she left, Thomas went to the back closet to find what he was supposed to be looking for. Bluey and her friends: Coco, Mackenzie, Honey, Rusty, Jack, Indy, Snickers, and Lucky, all got together and wanted to scare Thomas.
Thomas was looking in a box for whatever Mrs Baker wanted to teach the kids with until Bluey and her friends jumped into the closet and howled. "Gh!" Thomas shouted as he slammed his head on the box. "Bluey!" Thomas shouted, causing the kids to get silenced. Trying to remain calm, Thomas took a deep breath, "Why…?" he asked. "Sorry, big brother, I just thought it would be funny…" Bluey said, a little embarrassed, with her friends also feeling the same way. "But, Bluey, I didn't come to your school to play, but to work, this is important for my school work," Thomas replied. "Guys, I wanted to join the scare too!" Gruber said, running into the closet. "Wait! Don't shut that!-" Thomas started to say but it was too late. "Door…" Thomas said as the door closed behind Gruber.
Bluey then tries to open the door. "It's locked!" Bluey said, still trying the door. "Yeah… that door locks when shut," Thømas said with a sigh. "Wait, so… we're stuck here?" Bluey asked. "I'm afraid so…" Thomas sighed. "What?!" the kids shouted. "We're all going to die!" Gruber shouted, scared. "We're not going to die, we just need to either wait for Mrs. Baker to get back or find our own way out," Thomas explained. "It sure is dark in here," Jack said, a little uncomfortable, looking around in the dark. "Thomas! Can you use your phone to call for help?" Bluey asked. "Good idea blue! If only I had it…" Thomas said, looking for a flashlight. "Aww you don't have your phone?" Bluey asked. "Nope, I gave it to your teacher so that way there were no distractions, all right I found it" Thomas said, finding a flashlight. "Alright who's all in here?" Thomas asked, while turning on the flashlight and then using it to see if all the kids were there.
"Let's see we have Coco, Mackenzie, Lucky, Honey, Rusty, Jack, Indy, Snickers and Gruber," Bluey said counting her friends. "Alright so we have everyone, on one side is good because that means I can keep you all under my sight… on the other it's bad because there's no one outside to open the door from there until Mrs Baker is back," Thomas said sitting down. Gruber was in the corner of the closet shaking like a Leaf. "Are you okay Gruber?" Thomas asked, pointing the flashlight at the small German Shepherd. "I just… i don't like this… I feel like… the walls are going…" he said, while starting to breathe hard. Seeing that, Thomas realized what was about to happen to him. "Thomas…" Bluey said, noticing the same thing. "I know, Bluey, don't worry…" Thomas said, while heading towards Gruber. "Look, Gruber, you don't need to worry, everything will be okay, just take a deep breath, do it with me, in and out…" Thomas said, while helping Gruber to take deep breaths.
Gruber did as Thomas told him to do and it didn't take long for his breathing to get normal, despite being a little uneasy. "Look, I know being in tight spaces can be… a little uneasy, but you don't have to worry, we're here for you… and we won't be here for long, but if you are still nervous, you can always grab your tail, that used to work with me when I was little," Thomas said. Listening to him, Gruber grabbed his tail and caressed it and he really started to get calmer. "Thank you, Thomas…" he said. "You're welcome, buddy," Thomas replied. At that moment, they heard a scream that came from Coco. "What is it, Coco?" Bluey asked. "I saw a spider over there!" she shouted. She and the other girls retreated. "Come on, you're scared of a little spider?" Rusty asked, as he went to see the spider. But when he saw it, he got also nervous. "That's really not a little spider…" he said. "Do you think it's poisonous, Thomas?" Jack asked.
"Why are you asking me?" Thomas asked. "Maybe because you're the big kid here," Mackenzie replied. "Yeah, but I grew up in a place where house spiders are not normally potentially poisonous," Thomas answered back. Taking a deep breath, Thomas concluded that he, as the older one there, needed to take care of the spider, whether it was dangerous or not. "Okay, just… get me an empty box," he said. It didn't take long for Coco to hand him a box and, carefully, Thomas approached the spider and, with swift moves, he was able to capture it inside the box. "Done," he said, while kids cheered for him. "Wow, Bluey, your brother is really cool, Mackenzie commented. "Yeah, I know that… I can't wait to tell Chloe that she is missing a great time in school," Bluey said, proudly. "You mean stuck in a closet with a spider?" Honey asked. "It's not that… not when we have a brave big brother to protect us," Bluey said, as she went to give a hug to her older brother.
It didn't take long for all the other kids to gather and give a big hug to Thomas. Despite being caught by surprise by that hug, Thomas couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, guys…" he said. It was then they heard sounds coming from the outside. "Okay, stay quiet, guys…" Thomas said, while approaching the door and listening carefully. "Kids… Thomas… where are you?" Mrs Baker's voice asked. "Mrs Baker, it's me, Thomas, we're in the closet," he called. "What are you doing there?" she asked. "Well… it's kind of a long story, but… we kind of got stuck in here," Thomas said. "We?" she asked. "Yeah… the kids are also here with me, the door closed and…" Thomas explained. The door then opened, with Mrs Baker appearing. "Kids, go to your seats," she said. "Please, Mrs Baker, don't be mad at my brother," Bluey said. "Yeah, we are the ones who got us all locked in the closet," Rusty said. There was a pause. "I'm listening…" Mrs. Baker said.
The kids then told her how they decided to prank Thomas and, because of that, they got stuck inside the closet. However, he was able to help them keep calm and even protect them from a spider, which Mrs Baker identified as being a wolf spider, which, despite having a painful bite, had a not so dangerous venom which was as dangerous as a bee sting. As the class ended and Thomas prepared to leave with his sister, Mrs Baker called him. "Thomas, could you come here, please?" Bluey made a worried look to his brother. "Don't worry, blue, I'll be with you in no time," Thomas told her. "Okay, big brother…" Bluey replied, while moving away. Thomas then approached Mrs Baker. "I'm sorry if I was a disappointing help, Mrs Baker, but I really tried my best," Thomas said. "What are you talking about, Thomas? I just wanted to congratulate you for all of your help, I'm recommending a top mark for your community service," she replied. "Really?!" Thomas asked, while smiling.
Mrs Baker nodded. "You were such a big help, especially with our staff being a little shorthanded, you got along well with the students, you helped whenever necessary and you kept them safe and from causing trouble," Mrs Baker told. "But, the closet incident…" Thomas started. "It could have happened to anyone, trust me, you don't know how many times I've been pranked by those little pups, but what's important is that you kept yourself calm and in control… and honestly I don't want to have the kids against me especially when I'm going to substitute for their class for a few more days," Mrs Baker joked, causing Thomas to chuckle. "I know what you mean, I just have two of those at home and they still cause a lot of trouble," he replied. "I hope you get to come again next time," Mrs Bake replied. "Well, as long as I don't have to get stuck in a closet again, I for certain will try to do just that," Thomas replied. Mrs Baker laughed. "Next time if I'm here again I'll be in the classroom to help," Mrs Baker said with a warm smile.
Thomas smiled with a nod and then went to go catch up with his sister. Bluey was up front with their dad waiting for him. "Hey mate! How was working at the school?" Bandit asked while holding Bluey's hand. "It was…" Thomas said looking at his sister who was nervously looking at him. "Fun," Thomas said with a smile. "That's great mate! Maybe next time you could do Bingo's school," Bandit said jokingly. "Yeah, sure," Thomas said, chuckling. "Heeler!" Zach shouted while walking up to Thomas and his family. "Son, do you need me to-" Bandit asked looking at his son. "I got this dad, just take Bluey to the car," Thomas said, getting ready for whatever Zach was about to say or do to him. Bandit nodded, trusting his son as he then took Bluey to the car. "Alright shepherd what is it now?" Thomas asked. "I! Actually wanted to thank you," Zach said calmly. Thomas was surprised to hear that. "Thank me? How did that taste in your mouth?" Thomas asked, crossing his arms.
"Like Vegemite, anyways Gruber is very Claustrophobic and small spaces aren't his thing and what you did for him despite him being my brother… thanks," Zach said looking down. "You're welcome," Thomas said with a soft smile. "But this doesn't make us friends!" Zach said with a low growl. "I wouldn't want it any other way," Thomas said, crossing his arms. "But I mean what if we could have been?" Thomas said, looking at Zach. "Right mate, not in this life," Zack said, rolling his eyes. "Maybe in another one," Thomas said with a chuckle. "Maybe, but I wouldn't want to stop our little competition," Zach said with a smile. "You're right, it wouldn't be as fun," Thomas said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I have to go and don't be late for practice!" Zach said before taking off to his little brother. "I won't!" Thomas said before making his way over to his fathers car. Thomas got into the front seat and buckled himself in. "Everything okay mate?" Bandit asked looking at his son. "Yeah, just… I'm glad I could help Zach's brother a little bit more," Thomas said with a soft smile. "Bluey told me about that mate and I'm proud of you," Bandit said while starting the car. "Thanks dad;" Thomas replied with a smile. Bandit pats his son on his shoulder and then started to drive to pick up Bingo.
Kodiwolf321 A/N: so this was a fun chapter! I know I haven't really had Thomas interact with Bluey and Bingos friends and I hope change that I just always had that "okay who really wants to hang with their younger siblings friends" but then again there's lots more things that could come out of it if they all get together! And I left a little nod to a connection to What If lol let me know it you caught it and tell me what you think but other than that I'll see you in the next one! Which will be Stripes Birthday!