Operation: Kids In America Chapter 3: Writing the Reports

Helga screamed and held herself for comfort as the ground shook underneath the four teenagers' feet. The day of the bombings had arrived and they were stuck in the middle of the whole thing. Arnold looked up and pointed to a huge group of American planes as they zoomed by, creating a deafening sound. The four screamed again as another bomb exploded, shaking the trees. Captain Warren ran towards them and ushered them into a bomb shelter. "You stay in there!" He ordered strictly and shut the shelter door. Arnold grunted as he tripped, accidentally landing on top of Helga, knocking the two into the side of the shelter. She blushed as she felt his warm breath touching her cheek. "Sorry, Helga." She heard him whisper. Suddenly another bomb exploded, shaking the shelter. Helga screamed and suddenly found her breath being sucked out of her as she felt Arnold's arms wrap protectively around her waist, hugging her. She whimpered softly and buried her face into his shoulder, tears of sadness flowing from her eyes. "Arnold, I." The world seemed to stop as another bomb exploded, this one nearer than ever to their shelter. The four teenagers all lost their balance and fell to the ground. Helga grunted as Arnold fell on top of her. She blushed and hugged him tightly. He smiled and covered her body, protecting her. "Arnold, I have to tell you something." Helga said, her voice barely a whisper. "Can't it wait?" Arnold asked. Suddenly the bombs stopped and the world stopped shaking. Arnold blushed and pushed himself off of Helga. They looked at each other and blushed. Slowly, the four teenagers rose to their feet and Arnold slowly opened the door to the shelter. Outside American planes were chasing the Japanese planes away from a destroyed Pearl Harbor. "Whoa." Arnold gasped, taking everything in. Helga nodded and looked around. "It's like we just stepped into a huge pile of ashes." She whispered, walking outside after Arnold. Lila followed and nodded. Brainy gasped and nodded. The four gasped as they felt a huge brush of cold wind fill their lungs and temporally cause them to close their eyes. Arnold's arms quickly found their way to Helga's shoulders and waist again and he held her closely. Helga clutched Arnold's shirt and tears started to form in her eyes. Suddenly, just as it had come, the wind stopped blowing and the kids found themselves in a small classroom with yellow wallpaper, four desks, four yellow apple Pentium 3 processors, a huge encyclopedia section in the back of the classroom, four matching printers to the Pentium 3 processors, and a huge map in front of the chalkboard. Arnold walked over to the chalkboard and flipped the map up to reveal a message. "You have to write your report on the causes, effects, and feelings of the bombings of Pearl Harbor. Each member of your team must do an equal amount of work. Begin." Lila read. The four looked at each other and scrambled towards a computer, researching as much as they could and writing on their feelings.

Phoebe covered her mouth as she watched the twin towers fall to the ground. She could almost hear Taps being played. "So many people are loosing their lives." She whispered. Gerald nodded and turned away from the group, wiping tears from his eyes. Lorenzo, however, didn't care who saw him and began to sob uncontrollably. Iggy's eyes were covered by his sunglasses, but Phoebe could tell he was crying. Thousands of sirens filled their ears. The four teenagers watched as about thirty ambulances came barreling down the street, their sirens wailing. Behind them about fifty more police cars appeared, followed by at least another fifty ambulances. Gerald rubbed his eyes and saw three Red Cross bloodmobiles appear, shaking the ground as they hit the cracks in the road. Suddenly a huge gust of wind blew by and forced the four teenagers to close their eyes. When they opened them they found themselves in a classroom with a huge set of encyclopedias in the back of the classroom, four blue desks, four blue Pentium 3 processors, four matching printers, and finally a map in front of a chalkboard. Gerald moved the map over so the other three could see the message. Iggy cleared his throat and read the message. "Begin writing your report as soon as you finish reading this. You must all do equal amount of work. Write about the causes, effects, and your feelings on the Twin Tower's collapse."

"This is amazing!" Sheena whispered as Thomas Jefferson picked up a feather pen and signed his name. John Hancock smiled and took the pen next, signing his name. Finally Benjamin Franklin took the pen from John and signed his name to the document. "Well," Thomas Jefferson said, his voice clear and loud so everyone in the entire room could hear, "our Declaration of Independence is born!" Everyone in the room cheered. Slowly, everyone in the room began to leave. Sheena smiled and walked out of the courtroom. "That was incredible." She said, her voice trembling. Rhonda rolled her eyes. "It was okay." She admitted. "Okay?" Nadine asked, getting hysterical. "This is a part of history! This changes our entire lifestyle. We were lucky we witnessed it!" "I still think history is a major bore. It's all dates and facts and other boring crap like that." "Rhonda!" The remaining three cried. "What?" Eugene sighed and turned away. He screamed as he tripped over a feeding stall and watering bucket for horses. "Oh," he moaned, "I'm okay. No harm done." "Oh, Eugene!" Sheena cried and ran over to him. The remaining two girls sighed and ran towards their friends. Suddenly a huge gust of wind blew past them, causing the four to close their eyes. "Damn wind!" Rhonda cursed loudly and tried to protect her hair. "Why do all the elements always work against me?" "Rhonda, shut up and open your eyes!" Nadine shrieked. Rhonda uncovered her head and slowly opened her eyes to find she was standing safely on the floor of a classroom. She cleared her throat and stood up, brushing herself off. "I knew that." She muttered. The four teens looked around. On the far corner of the room stood a bookshelf with a huge set of encyclopedias. On the closer corner of the room were four green Pentium 3 processors and four matching printers. In the center of the classroom were four green desks, facing one another. On the closest wall was a map of the United States. Sheena pushed the map aside and read from the board. "Begin after reading this message: What was the significance of the signings of the Declaration of Independence and why do we celebrate July 4th every year? Also explain how you felt about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. All students must give an equal amount of information."

Stinky's heart filled with pride as he watched Martin Luther King give his speech. Harold yawned, not too particularly fond of the whole speech thing. Sid leaned against the steps to the Lincoln memorial while Curly had to control himself to keep from dashing around the stage, yelling at everyone who was racist. Finally the speech was over, and everyone in front of the Lincoln Memorial cheered. Stinky smiled as his hand closed around Emmy Mae's hand. Suddenly a gust of wind picked up, temporally blinding Stinky, Sid, Harold, and Curly. Stinky felt his heart break as he opened his eyes and found himself in a classroom with four red processors, printers, desks, a set of encyclopedias and a map in front of a chalkboard. He looked around and noticed he was back in his original time, or as close to original he could get. He sighed, heartbroken and looked at the board. "What happened to the blacks before Martin Luther King gave his speech? What would life be like today if he never gave his speech? All team members must contribute an equal amount of information. Begin now." He read, reluctantly. Slowly he and the other three boys walked to the computers and began to type their reports.

Two hours later, the kids all found themselves standing in the Time Dimension in their groups. Each team captain had their team's reports in their hands. Professor Emit approached a huge machine and called the captains over to him. Slowly, Arnold, Phoebe, Sid and Sheena approached and handed their reports to the professor. He smiled and put their papers in different colored slots. Within seconds a soft beep rang through his ears and the reports appeared in a neat stack on top of the machine, with their grades on the first sheet. Professor Emit smiled and turned to the group. "Congratulations, all of you. Not only have you learned something, but also now you have your reports for Mr. Simmons already to go. Now, I figure I should tell you a little about myself. As you all know, I am Father Time, and I'll be watching you sixteen for some time to come, so I suggest you never again leave in the middle of a history lesson."