DISCLAIMER: I do not own Horton Hears a Who!.
JoJo had learned something about being embarrassed and how embarrassment works. Whos are going to laugh at you, yes. But not forever.
His classmates seemed to have long moved on from the "Mayor's butt equals the Giant Meatball" jokes. And even though JoJo was still a little embarrassed about some things, like the most recent incident at Swirlys, he now knew from time and experience that he'd get over it. Besides, it wasn't the worst thing in the world.
JoJo leaped off the Who school bus and started up the front porch steps. He spent the whole ride home writing and memorizing an apology speech. He was more than ready to get things back to the way they were.
"Where's dad?" JoJo asked his sister Henrietta, the second oldest McDodd child. "He's supposed to be home early today."
Henrietta looked up from her Whostory homework. "Daddy's upstairs playing hide and seek with the others," she said as she pushed her oversized glasses up her nose.
JoJo bounded upstairs to find where Ned might be hiding when heard a few muffled sneezes coming from the attic.
"Heh...hehit-shoo!" "Het-shoo!"
JoJo walked into the attic to find the source of the sneezes. He shook off the cobwebs that cling to his fur and coughed at the dust whirling the air.
"Oh, JoJo. It's just you. Can do me a favor and bring me some cleaning supplies?" Ned asked.
JoJo was a little surprised to find his dad hanging out in the dusty attic knowing his allergies. Sally once told JoJo that Whos used to call his dad, Nasally Ned back when they were in high school.
"Heh-schoo! Heh-schoo!"
Ned was all over an old treadmill, dusting it off with a small handkerchief. The dust escaped into the air and wafted across his nose.
"Heh-schoo!"
"Um," JoJo's heart took off and his nerves rushed to catch up with it. "There's something I have to tell you."
"Can it wait, son? I'm kind of in the middle of something important right now," Ned said, sniffling. "Eh...Eh-choo!"
Eye contact was something Ned always encouraged in the McDodd house, but this time, he didn't bother to look up from the treadmill even once.
"But what I have to say is important too," JoJo said.
Ned pushed a button on the control panel and stepped from the foot rail onto the motion surface. He looked proud as his legs slowly began to sweep foward and back.
"I can't believe it still works!" Ned cried.
He hit another button and suddenly his legs quickened to the requested speed.
"I'm still here," JoJo said impatiently.
"I'm still busy!" Ned fired back.
JoJo's auburn eyes widened in disbelief. His dad actually sounded bothered and annoyed by him. JoJo suddenly realized what it must have felt like for his dad. Everytime he'd try to talk, JoJo was always the one who sounded annoyed.
"It'll only take a minute," JoJo tried again."Please! I may never get the courage to do this again."
With an over dramatic groan, Ned grudgingly craned his head around in response to JoJo plead.
"What. Is. It. JoJo!?" Ned asked. His tone was growing more and more irritated and so unlike him. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"
"Yes, but-"
"I don't have time for any more of your practical jokes, insulting nicknames, and slambook entries about me!" Ned yelled, beating a fist on the handrail to everything he was saying.
Suddenly Ned lost coordination in the movement of his feet. It threw him off balance and sent him belly flopping right down on the motion surface. Ned was thrown backwards from the treadmill and his whole body went crashing into an old bookshelf. Dictionaries, cook books, scrapbooks, all kinds of books, came raining down from the shelves and beating down on Ned.
Normally JoJo and his friends found treadmill accident stories to be the funniest thing since getting pied in the face. But this one would have to wait a few weeks before it could ever be worthy of a laugh.
"Dad!" JoJo hurried over to his dad and quickly removed the books from Ned's legs. "Oh my Seuss, Dad! Are you okay?"
At last Ned fully looked JoJo in the eyes. "You called me Dad," he said.
JoJo wondered if his dad might of had a head injury. "What else would I call you?"
Giant Meatball and Lame-O, were amoung the many choices.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you JoJo. I love you very much and you can talk to me about anything," Ned said.
It was JoJo's turn to apologize now. He took a deep breath. Just like he'd practice. "Listen, Dad, I'm sor-"
"Ned!? I heard a crash."
Sally came charging over to her husband's side. A few of the girls came in after her. "Oh honey, what happened?"
The treadmill was still going. Sally didn't have to think too hard about what might of happened. She cupped Ned's face in her hands.
Ned streached his arms out to his legs but quickly drew back. He starred up at Sally with his mouth puckered in pain,
"I think might have sprained my ankle."
JoJo felt his body temperature drop below freezing like he'd dove into an icy lake. This was all his fault. If he had never written that notebook entry about his dad looking like the Giant Meatball, Ned would have never gotten on that stupid treadmill in the first place.
"Try to move it around," Sally ordered Ned.
Ned winced as he angled his foot to the left. "Ow!"
Sally sighed and turned to JoJo. "Listen, JoJo. I'm going to need you to call the doctor. Get some instructions on what we should do. Then, round up the girls and keep them in their room. We don't need anymore accidents."
JoJo rushed down stairs to the living room and found the cordless phone hidden in between the couch cushions.
"My dad sprained his ankle," JoJo told one of the office staff members on the other line.
"Can you tell me what caused this to happen?"
"A notebook entry," JoJo said.