Chapter 2: The Wait
For the next four weeks, fifteen thousand people agonized over what will surely be the end of Hazelnut, where a good number of them have lived their entire lives. Two such people were Pepper Ann's grandparents, Leo and Lillian Lilly. The news struck them especially hard, and neither one of them had left their house since they heard it. Pepper Ann had tried to call them several times over the past week, but got no answer. At the end of that first week, she decided that enough was enough.
"That's it! I'm getting Grandma and Grandpa!" Before anyone could stop her, she stormed out of Nicky's house and ran like the devil to her grandparents. When she got there, she found out that the reason why they hadn't answered the phone was because they were afraid of whom it might be and what they would have to say.
Relieved that nothing had happened to them, Pepper Ann wiped her sweaty brow with the back of her hand. Then she realized that she had to find a way to get them out of there. Nicky's approach would be too forceful. Merely snapping her fingers wouldn't be enough. At that point, an idea popped into her head. It's crazy, but if it works, we'll be home free, at least for the time being, she thought. She simply said, "Come on, we've got to get out of here." That wasn't quite enough. "You want to get to that shelter, don't you?" They immediately snapped to attention. "Success! Let's go!"
Pepper Ann returned to Nicky's with grandparents in tow. Lydia had arrived while Pepper Ann was gone, and she was worried sick. When her daughter arrived, Lydia squeezed her as hard as she could, with tears streaming from her eyes. "Peppie! There you are! Mom! Dad!" Lydia took it easy on her parents. They were more fragile than Pepper Ann, after all.
Under normal circumstances, Pepper Ann would have been embarrassed beyond recovery by her mother's outburst. Of course, the circumstances surrounding this situation were anything but normal, so she didn't really care.
Since Pepper Ann, Milo, and Nicky had been hiding out for the first week, school was obviously closed, just as Pepper Ann predicted. However, no one was laughing now. They were all too busy shaking.
It wasn't the threat of the total destruction of Hazelnut that convinced Principal Hickey to close school. That alone never would have stopped him (he said Armageddon, not the mere thought of it). It was closed because teachers threatened to quit en masse if it wasn't. The fact that they had nothing to lose gave them the leverage, and Hazelnut Middle School was shut down. The only reason Hickey hadn't left his house is because the teachers beat him to the punch by causing his phone to ring incessantly and delivering their ultimatum that way.
By the end of the third week, the waiting had become downright maddening. Hair that had been pulled out of heads was lying on the floor, fingernails had been bitten down, people were on the verge of snapping, and this was just at Nicky's.
Gwen Mezzrow was cooped up at Dieter's (which would have been a lot more fun for her had disaster not decided to strike), and her braids had been standing on end the whole time. Tessa and Vanessa were cuddling each other, as usual, but this time it was out of fear rather than love. Trinket and Cissy were stuck (as they put it) with Pink-Eye Pete, which scared them almost as much as the impending cataclysm.
The rest of the students of Hazelnut Middle School were in their own houses, with the exception of Craig Bean. In a cruel twist of fate, he wound up at Pepper Ann's house. Even worse, he was there when Pepper Ann picked up Moose, but neither one of them had seen him, nor did he see them. In this way, the fear was a blessing because it prevented the thought from crossing her mind. If she had known, she probably wouldn't have made it through the fourth and final week.
Anyone who has faced disaster knows how difficult it can be to come to grips with it. However, when one is given no choice, it becomes somewhat easier. Like the mayor said, the shelter was the best they could do, and on the day before the meteor was scheduled to hit, everyone in town resigned themselves to the fact that tomorrow, Hazelnut would be no more. Tears fell, hugs were exchanged, and a few even found inner peace within themselves. This was the final judgment for their town, and everyone had known it for the past month. Now, they all accepted it.
TO BE CONTINUED
For the next four weeks, fifteen thousand people agonized over what will surely be the end of Hazelnut, where a good number of them have lived their entire lives. Two such people were Pepper Ann's grandparents, Leo and Lillian Lilly. The news struck them especially hard, and neither one of them had left their house since they heard it. Pepper Ann had tried to call them several times over the past week, but got no answer. At the end of that first week, she decided that enough was enough.
"That's it! I'm getting Grandma and Grandpa!" Before anyone could stop her, she stormed out of Nicky's house and ran like the devil to her grandparents. When she got there, she found out that the reason why they hadn't answered the phone was because they were afraid of whom it might be and what they would have to say.
Relieved that nothing had happened to them, Pepper Ann wiped her sweaty brow with the back of her hand. Then she realized that she had to find a way to get them out of there. Nicky's approach would be too forceful. Merely snapping her fingers wouldn't be enough. At that point, an idea popped into her head. It's crazy, but if it works, we'll be home free, at least for the time being, she thought. She simply said, "Come on, we've got to get out of here." That wasn't quite enough. "You want to get to that shelter, don't you?" They immediately snapped to attention. "Success! Let's go!"
Pepper Ann returned to Nicky's with grandparents in tow. Lydia had arrived while Pepper Ann was gone, and she was worried sick. When her daughter arrived, Lydia squeezed her as hard as she could, with tears streaming from her eyes. "Peppie! There you are! Mom! Dad!" Lydia took it easy on her parents. They were more fragile than Pepper Ann, after all.
Under normal circumstances, Pepper Ann would have been embarrassed beyond recovery by her mother's outburst. Of course, the circumstances surrounding this situation were anything but normal, so she didn't really care.
Since Pepper Ann, Milo, and Nicky had been hiding out for the first week, school was obviously closed, just as Pepper Ann predicted. However, no one was laughing now. They were all too busy shaking.
It wasn't the threat of the total destruction of Hazelnut that convinced Principal Hickey to close school. That alone never would have stopped him (he said Armageddon, not the mere thought of it). It was closed because teachers threatened to quit en masse if it wasn't. The fact that they had nothing to lose gave them the leverage, and Hazelnut Middle School was shut down. The only reason Hickey hadn't left his house is because the teachers beat him to the punch by causing his phone to ring incessantly and delivering their ultimatum that way.
By the end of the third week, the waiting had become downright maddening. Hair that had been pulled out of heads was lying on the floor, fingernails had been bitten down, people were on the verge of snapping, and this was just at Nicky's.
Gwen Mezzrow was cooped up at Dieter's (which would have been a lot more fun for her had disaster not decided to strike), and her braids had been standing on end the whole time. Tessa and Vanessa were cuddling each other, as usual, but this time it was out of fear rather than love. Trinket and Cissy were stuck (as they put it) with Pink-Eye Pete, which scared them almost as much as the impending cataclysm.
The rest of the students of Hazelnut Middle School were in their own houses, with the exception of Craig Bean. In a cruel twist of fate, he wound up at Pepper Ann's house. Even worse, he was there when Pepper Ann picked up Moose, but neither one of them had seen him, nor did he see them. In this way, the fear was a blessing because it prevented the thought from crossing her mind. If she had known, she probably wouldn't have made it through the fourth and final week.
Anyone who has faced disaster knows how difficult it can be to come to grips with it. However, when one is given no choice, it becomes somewhat easier. Like the mayor said, the shelter was the best they could do, and on the day before the meteor was scheduled to hit, everyone in town resigned themselves to the fact that tomorrow, Hazelnut would be no more. Tears fell, hugs were exchanged, and a few even found inner peace within themselves. This was the final judgment for their town, and everyone had known it for the past month. Now, they all accepted it.
TO BE CONTINUED