Chapter 65

Generator

"Now, people, settle down and take your seats!" Mr. Simmons shouted, interrupting Arnold. "I'm sure Arnold and Helga will tell you all about their 'special' adventure at recess."

The class groaned and reluctantly sat down. Arnold sat as far away as he could from Helga; in the front of the room, all the way on the left side.

"Okay. First of all, I would like to apologize for the heat," Mr. Simmons continued. "I know it must be terribly uncomfortable for you children, but there is nothing we can do about it for the time being. We needed to somehow evaporate all the water from the flood, but apparently using the heating generator wasn't the best idea. Now it's stuck."

"When will it be fixed? The heat is wrinkling my shirt!" Rhonda cried.

"Everyone is afraid that if someone messes with it, the generator might explode."

"Then why the heck are we at school?" Sid asked.

"What, and disrupt your special education?" Mr. Simmons gasped, clearly shocked.

"So, it's gonna stay like this?"

"Well…"

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Brainy stepped into the room, followed by two men in army uniforms.

"Gee whiz! It's hotter than blazes in here!" one of the men exclaimed.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. …" the other man started.

"Simmons."

"Mr. Simmons, for interrupting your class, but we thought it best to bring Brainy back."

"This young man has been a great help in tracking down the whereabouts of the Darling children. Apparently the two boys were fine, but the girl…um…how do I put this…died?"

"Oh! How 'special'!"

"Um…yes. Oh! You're the kids we helped rescue!" one of them said, as he noticed Arnold and Helga.

"Oh, yeah! I remember you guys! Hey, do you know what happened to James and Jack? They never returned to base after they flew you home."

"Oh, those guys? Um…well, the helicopter sort of-" Arnold began.

"I'm sure they're just a little behind schedule," Mr. Simmons offered. "Now, we're really quite busy, so if you could just…"

"Oh! Oh, of course! Once again, sorry for interrupting your class."

"Yes, we'll be on our way now," the other man said. Turning to Brainy, he said, "Thank you again, son."

"Oh, and good luck with that chick", the other said, winking.

"Oh, please," Helga muttered under her breath.

The two men quickly saluted and left the room.

"You wanna go play poker?"

"But…we're on duty," the other man answered.

"Yeah? Well, who says we can't take a break?"

"Hmm…you've got a point. Let's at least get out of this blamed building before I roast!"

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute! I have an even better idea!" the other man exclaimed.

"Get out of this building and then go play poker?"

"No! We should try to do something nice for that asthma kid, for helping us out."

"We should?"

"Of course!" Then he whispered, "Listen, Frank, this way, if we ever need his help again, he'll be so grateful that he won't ask to be paid!"

"Oh! I get it! But what can we do?"

"Easy! We'll just get the air conditioner fixed! That way we'll be helping him, and, if we're lucky, the school board will reward us for our efforts!"

"Hank, you're a genius!"

"I know," Hank said smugly.

The two men wandered through the school until they found a closet. They stepped inside and were looking at a large machine that nobody but a pro-mechanic could possibly figure out.

"So…how do you work it?"

"Oh, that's easy! My brother-in-law's a mechanic. I've watched him fix his air-coding-device-thingy loads of times!"

"Really?"

"Well…once," Hank admitted.

"Works for me!"

Three pulled wires, two flipped switches, and a whole lot of lost confidence later, Hank and Frank left the room.

"Do you think it's fixed, Hank?"

"I'm…of course!" Hank lied. "'Fixing' is my middle name!"

"Great! You wanna play poker now?"

"Duh! I'm think one who suggested it in the first place!"