CHAPTER THREE: MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL
Buster knew he'd come home to an empty house, but he didn't expect the doorbell to ring shortly after four o'clock. He used the peep hole and looked out to see who was there. A smile covered his face, another large one, as he opened the door.
"Dad! What are you doing here?" Buster exclaimed, giving his father a huge hug.
"Your mother called and told me it was alright. I emailed her this morning and asked if I could swing by. I just had to see my little buddy on this great day in history. Aliens do exist, son. How do you feel?"
"I thought it'd be different," Buster admitted.
He'd always seen them in movies, comic books, cartoons, and sci-fi novels, never real evidence during a special press conference. Like many of his friends, he was actually scared. If these aliens were firing at another large ship that was a little deeper in the solar system, what were they trying to do?
Buster sank onto the couch, "I'm actually a little scared. I was hoping Mom would be home to tell me...I don't know, that I was dreaming, but she's at the newspaper keeping the website running up-to-the-second information. She said they might have to do a midnight run on the paper to keep up with it all."
Bo nodded, "She told me, son, and that was another reason she didn't mind me coming. These are big times for all of us, whether you're military or a journalist. She's playing a very important role. Elwood City is the center of things now."
"I noticed," Buster nodded. He'd seen the news vans for every national news provider, from CNN to Telemundo, and he knew they were trying to take everything in. He thought he even saw European reporters around Town Hall, but he couldn't be sure.
Bo sighed, "Well, I was thinking I'd take you down to the Sugar Bowl for a good burger, then we'd stay home and watch television. Are you still into Bionic Bunny? I hear there's a special on tonight."
"Yeah, but the channel is only covering the aliens," Buster sighed. That was the other thing he didn't expect, his favorite channel to be taken over by the news stories. Even PBS, his go-to for decent afternoon cartoons when the other station wasn't on, had adults on talking about the ships. He thought of turning off the television entirely, but then the house would be too quiet.
"Well, why don't we rent some movies instead? There's this action movie out now, and it's PG-13, but I watched it myself. I think you'd really like it. Wanna give it a shot?" Bo asked. Buster shrugged and decided to give in to whatever his dad wanted to do. He rarely got to see him, and besides, he really wanted the company. He needed it during these crazy days.
Francine caught the ball, but just barely. She fell to one knee before lobbing it back to her father. The throw was a foot higher than it should be, just as his shot was a foot lower, and he had to run back to get the ball. When he got to his spot, he was panting, so Francine called a timeout. They moved over to a park bench shrouded with shade and sat down.
"So, what did you think of the news today, Frankie?" Oliver asked, taking a sip from his water bottle when he was done talking.
"It was really weird. Buster talked about the sounds at lunch the other day, and I thought he was crazy. And Brain was agreeing with him, so I thought he'd lost it too. Now I know they were both right. How messed up is that? This shouldn't be happening at all, but now it is, and...it's scary. Even the adults are scared. Mr. Ratburn spent an hour after the conference talking in the hallway to Miss Sweetwater. We were supposed to have a pop quiz-"
"After how you did on the last one, I think that was a blessing. Your mom took that low B pretty hard," Oliver grinned.
Francine nodded, "Yeah, I'm glad he didn't have it, but at the same time, if Mr. Ratburn is scared, and if other adults are scared, then how am I supposed to feel?"
"Well, like the mayor said, you need to trust that we'll all be protected by our military. If you turn it to the national news channels, you'll see they're covering a different aspect of the case. Allies are building to make sure that this doesn't go south, if you know what I mean," Oliver winked.
"So if the aliens attack us, the whole world will strike back? That's pretty cool," Francine nodded, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
"It is pretty cool, and that just shows you something. We're all in this together. We're worried about it, us adults, but we have to listen to our leaders. They'll make the right decisions for us, and if we need them, the world's armies have been raised to take on the threat. I hear the recruiting offices for all branches of the military were full today of people trying to join up. They won't be ready for a while, but when they are ready, they'll be a big help, if we need them. We don't know their intentions, and if they're willing to take on the English language and get it mostly right, they can't be half bad," Oliver grinned, standing up again, "We better start home. I hear your mom got a new recipe from your aunt-"
"Eww, is it vegetarian again? Mom can't cook those at all," Francine grimaced.
Oliver laughed, "No, there's at least chicken in it. Your aunt is vegan now, remember? Kosher, no meat of any kind, no fish, and a lot of weird mushroom and rice combos. She's cut bread so no more pita or fajita, whatever she was eating a lot of before."
"She's weird," Francine whispered, shaking her head.
"I agree, but at least it's something different, and we might like it," Oliver smiled. As they climbed in his truck, Francine couldn't help but feel skeptical about all of it. Things were different, but she knew she wouldn't like it.
Muffy's house was different than her friends', which wasn't anything new. She was well aware that her parents often had strange whims while she was at school, so she'd come home to strange remodels or sculptures. It happened at least twice a month, sometimes more often.
But when she heard the press conference, she knew what was going to happen. Months ago her father had watched a show about Preppers, people who prepared actively for the apocalypse by building bunkers and stockpiling food and other supplies. He instantly wanted into this lifestyle, but Muffy's mother refused, saying it was just barbaric, that only stupid people did things like that.
As Muffy looked in on their basement, where tons of god awful racket radiated from, she knew what was happening. Her mother had given in, and she wanted that room reenforced as if it were a nuclear bunker from the 1950's. Boxes littered the hallway leading to the basement, and Muffy knew from the label that they were from the food company that sponsored the Preppers documentary.
When she went to her room, she found Bailey waiting with an afternoon snack at the table in her room. After pouring her some pink lemonade, he stood there and waited for much longer than he usually did.
"Yes, Bailey?" Muffy asked. Bailey requested to take a seat across from her, something he never did, but Muffy allowed it. Then he asked for permission to have a frank discussion with her, so Muffy allowed it. Why not? Besides, she wanted to talk to an adult after the day she'd had.
"Miss Muffy, I notice your parents are building this bunker for your family, the four of you. Chip has been sent for and has agreed to return home, but I fear...I fear I will not be included in your preparations."
Muffy couldn't help but laugh, "That's ridiculous, Bailey! You're a part of this family, and if they won't let you in, I won't go in either. They obviously can afford one more person. I'll speak to Daddy about it if you're worried...and I won't tell him about this conversation," she added, thinking of different movie scenes, television shows, and the conversations she'd eavesdropped on in her own house.
When Bailey was satisfied, he left the room, the open door allowing in all the awful noises from the basement. Muffy wondered how long it would last, not because she wanted the peace and quiet, but because she wanted to know she had a completed safe place to go as soon as possible.
In the Read household, everyone was tense as they attempted to get through one of David's experimental dishes. No one said a word as Kate made noises and played with her serving instead of eating it. They were all too caught up in their own thoughts, their own worries, about what was to come.