The Dark Cloud Rises: The Dolbin School Book 2- Chapter 5--Parent's Weekend

 I am serializing my middle grade novel The Dolbin School Book 2: The Dark Cloud Rises here on Steemit.

I serialized the first book in the series Dolbin School for the Extraordinary back in the summer.  

You can get The Dark Cloud Rises on Kindle and in paperback.  

The book is leveled for 4th grade readers and up.  

It's the story of a group of boys who discover they have Extra human abilities and are sent to a school for students with their skills.  

And with any school there is bullying.But what happens when the bully is a super-hero?  Click here for Chapter 1, and Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

Chapter 5 Parent’s Weekend

Jake popped right up when the alarm went off.  Mark stirred in his bed.  Jake jumped out of bed and went into the suite bathroom they shared with Cal and Henry.  Their room was silent.  They were not preparing for their parents that day.  Jake showered quickly.  When he finished Mark was walking into the bathroom on his crutches.  

Mark smiled, “It’s a good thing they make casts I can shower in, or whoo!”  He waved his hand in front of his nose.  “I would stink something awful.”

“Even more so than now,” replied Jake.

“Yes.  Even more so than now, so thank goodness!”  Mark didn’t take Jake’s teasing seriously, a product of being best friends since the first grade.

“Do you need help?”

“I don’t need you seeing me naked.  If you hear a crash come and help, but come in with your eyes covered.”

Jake laughed and went back into the room.

He got dressed and waited by reading a comic book on his bed.  As soon as Mark finished dressing Mrs. Brisby knocked on the door.  “Boys, your parents will be arriving soon.  Meet me in the common room and I will take you upstairs to where they will be arriving.”

“How does she do that?  Always knocking at the right time?” Mark whispered.

“Yes, ma’am.  We are ready,” and Jake opened the door.  Mrs. Brisby stood waiting, her gray hair tied in a bun, a black jacket and skirt neatly pressed and wrapped tightly around her.  For an older woman, she was very fit.

“Gentlemen, you will follow me upstairs to the top of Dolbin Hall to the landing pad.  Your parents will be arriving soon.”  She walked quickly, the boys followed.

She led them past the common room and into back of Dolbin Hall they reached an elevator and got in.  “Main Landing Pad,”  Mrs. Brisby spoke aloud.

“Main Landing Pad,” spoke the pleasant female electronic voice.  A whirr went out from the elevator and the boys felt a little push to the floor.  Numbers clicked upward on the display as they went higher.  

“The Main Landing Pad.  Have a nice day,” said the voice.

“Oh, good we’re early.  They haven’t arrived yet.  I would hate to have them waiting for us.”  Mrs. Brisby matched forward and the boys followed.  They reached a wide yellow line with the words, Stay Behind This Line, stenciled on top. They stood quietly.

A helicopter rose almost silently above the ridge of the roof.

Mark leaned over to Jake, “Oh, that’s why we didn’t hear them.  They really are quiet.”  The helicopter was black with short blades on top with two jet engines one on each side.  The helicopter hovered above a white target, lowered its landing gear and touched down on the pad.  The blades stopped spinning and the vehicle shut down.

The side of the copter opened and out jumped a suitman.  His neatly pressed black suit and polished black sunglasses seemed unaffected by the trip.  He turned and put out his hands.  Mark’s mother, Charlotte Daniels, came out first.  She smiled and waved.  Mark’s father, Robert Daniels, jumped out next. They had huge smiles on their faces. 

The suitman walked them away from the helicopter.  As they cleared the circle, a second helicopter rose over the platform.

“Mr. Cooper, this would be your family,” explained Mrs. Brisby.

The second helicopter landed as quietly as the first one.  The side door opened and a suitman exited.  He turned around to help Grace Cooper, Jake’s mother, out of the helicopter.  His dad, Dalton Copper, climbed out next.  They both vigorously waved their hands at Jake.  The suitman escorted them away from helicopter and towards the children.

The four parents walked quickly at first and then they outran the suitmen in their excitement. Mrs. Daniels was weeping by the time she reached Mark and buried herself his in neck.

“I am so sorry you are hurt,” she cried.

“I’m okay mom!”  He patted her on the back.  “Okay, now you’re squeezing too tight.”

She stood up laughing and wiped the tears from her cheek.

Jake’s mom kissed him on the cheek and hugged him tight.  She didn’t squeeze as much as Mark’s mom did.  “How was your week?”

“Probably the best one of my life,” Jake grinned.

His parents laughed.  “That’s good to hear son,” said his dad, giving him a hug.

“Where’s Rachel?  Why didn’t she come?” asked Jake.  Rachel was his six-year-old sister.

“She is with Pop Pop and Nanny.  Generally you don’t bring younger siblings here.  We will talk about that later.”  His mother hugged him again.

Mark’s dad, Bob, patted him on the shoulder.  “How’s the leg?”

“Healing.”

“I get the feeling you were enjoying being in a wheelchair and walking on crutches,” said his dad.

Jake and Mark laughed.  “Yeah, but I think that feeling is going away.  I want to be able to run again.”

“I bet you do son, don’t worry. You will be up and running very soon.  The doctors here have better technology than your old doctor.”

Bob Daniels turned and greeted Mr. Cooper.  “Dalton, it’s great to see you guys again.  Been a busy week.  How’s the new town?”

“Great!  We got moved down to Florida a few miles from the beach!”  He grinned ear to ear.

Bob smiled, “So who do I complain to about the unfair treatment?  We got moved to New England.  Maine I think.”

Charlotte Daniels rolled her eyes, “Yes. We got moved to Maine.”  She leaned in to Mrs. Cooper. “It’s beautiful up there!”  

“It may be beautiful, but it is still cold up there!” Mr. Daniels added.

“Oh, stop complaining!  But we do miss you guys,” Mrs. Daniels smiled and hugged her friend.

“Well, it sounds like we need to have you down to visit us in Florida,” said Mr. Cooper

“Now you’re talking!” smiled Mr. Daniels.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, Mr. and Mrs. Daniels, it is good to see you again, I hope your trip was pleasant,” Mrs. Brisby said with a smile.

Mrs. Cooper smiled, “Mrs. Brisby it is so good to see you again.”  She walked around the boys and hugged Mrs. Brisby.  “You look wonderful!”

“Thank you!  We must get you settled in.”  She smiled, turned and walked quickly back into the building with the two families trying to keep up.

Mrs. Brisby walked them into the dorm, past the boys’ rooms.  The parents’ rooms were a few doors down.

Mrs. Brisby opened the door, “Well, here you are.” 

There was a king-sized bed, with mahogany nightstands and matching chest of drawers.  Paintings adorned the wall.  “Over here is your restroom.”  She opened a door on the other side of room, and revealed a large shower, double sinks, and plush towels.

Jake’s mouth fell open.  “Man, this is room is amazing.  Why can’t our rooms look like this?”

“Because you will mess them up,” his dad replied quickly.

“Valid point,” Jake answered.

Mrs. Brisby stood straight and smiled, “I will take the Daniels to their room, and I will leave you alone to get unpacked and settled.  If you need any assistance you can ask for help on the screen here.”  She pressed her finger in the middle of the screen, several options appeared from the lunch and dinner menu, housekeeping, and a link for phone calls out.

“I guess we will see you in a few minutes,” Mrs. Daniels waved as the rest of the family followed Mrs. Brisby out of the room.

Jake walked around the bed, his mouth open.  “Wow, this is a nice room.”  

“These rooms are always nicer than the dorm rooms, sweetie,” Mrs. Cooper said while unpacking her suitcase.  “Families travel great distances to get here, so when they get here the school treats parents well.”  She stood up, stopped unpacking, and tears began to fall down her cheeks.  She grabbed Jake and hugged him tight.  Jake didn’t resist.   Mr. Cooper sat down the bed beside them and put his hands on his wife’s back.  They let her cry for a little while.  

She finished crying and wiped her face.  “I am sorry.  It’s been a tough week.  Seeing you get sent off to here, and moving from Virginia to Florida.  It’s been a whirlwind.”  She put her hands on her lap and took a deep breath.  “Okay. We are here.  So tell us about this week.  Which apparently has been the best week of your life,” she laughed.

“There’s so much to tell!”  

His dad smiled, “I remember my first week.  It was very cool.  Seeing all the amazing stuff, and other kids that could do these mind boggling things.”

“Well, there was a fight between a student and professor Guinness.  Watching a student shoot lightning from his fingertips was frightening to say the least.”

His dad deflated, “Well, that certainly didn’t happen my first week here.”

Mrs. Cooper nudged her husband, “Dalton!”

“Did they take the boy away?” Mrs. Cooper asked.

“I don’t know what they did with him.  They won’t tell us.  We just haven’t seen him since.”

“Hmm…” His dad looked at the floor.

“What else happened?” said Mrs. Cooper quickly changing the subject.

“Well, there was the helicopter crash.”

“What!” shouted both parents.

“Yeah, you didn’t know about that?  Brad Cushing’s helicopter crashed on the landing pad.  I was even called to help by helping lift debris from the site.”

“Wow.  That is quite a week,” said his dad.

There was a knock on the door.  

“It’s us,” said Mark and his family.  

“Come on in,” said Mr. Cooper.

Mark walked in followed by his parents.  “So what are you talking about?”

“What happened so far this week,” answered Jake

“So you already told them about being out after curfew your first night here.”

“What!?” both parents shouted.

Jake glared at Mark.

“I take it you haven’t gotten there yet,” Mark grinned sheepishly.

“It wasn’t a big deal.  I wasn’t sent to detention.”

His father stood up, “Anything else we need to know about?”

Jake lifted his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head, “Nope.  I don’t think so.”

“Jake I don’t want to hear of any more trouble out of you,” his mother pointed her finger at him.

“Yes ma’am,” Jake faced the ground when he said the words with respect.

“Mrs. Cooper, he is always trying to be good,” replied Mark.

“Shh! Don’t tell Mrs. Cooper what to say to her son!” said Mrs. Daniels.

Mrs. Cooper put out her hand to show it was okay, “I know Jake always to tries to do well.  And thank you Mark for being with him.”

Mr. Cooper clapped his hands, “Okay.  So what do we say to getting out of this room, going to see the campus, and getting some lunch?”

“Yes!  I need to travel,” and Mark rolled out of the room and everyone followed him into the hallway.

There in the hallway was Mrs. Brisby with another family. 

“Oh!  Excuse us, Mrs. Brisby,” Mark said.

The boys’ parents walked into the hall and were startled.

“Hello, Coopers and Daniels out to see the campus?”  Mrs. Brisby smiled.

“Grant!  Ellen!” Grace Cooper took a deep breath.

“Hi, Grace,” Ellen Cushing smiled and stepped forward to hug Mrs. Cooper.

Mrs. Brisby moved out of the way for the adults who clearly knew each other.

And there behind Mrs. Brisby was Brad.  

“Oh! Are these your parents Brad?” Jake asked.

Brad swallowed, “Yes.  Mom, Dad this is Jake Cooper, and these are Mr…”

Grant Cushing interrupted, “Yes, we already know your parents.  Dalton, Grace it is nice to see you again.”  Jake noticed how stiff all the adults had become.  “Robert, Charlotte, nice to see you again.”  The Daniels smiled politely and waved.  “So, how long are you going to be in that cast?”  Mr. Cushing asked Mark, trying to make conversation.

“I think it comes off next week,” replied Mark, who was also sensing how stiff the grown-ups were.

“Ah, yes.  Only a few days for a broken bone, one of the many benefits of being here at Dolbin.”  Grant Cushing smiled, his teeth very prominent

Mrs. Brisby interrupted, “Well, it is always good when families know each other.  I need to get them to their rooms, you all have a pleasant morning out exploring the campus.”

Grace Copper smiled, “It is so nice to see you two again.

Ellen Cushing hugged Mrs. Cooper once more, quite clearly a formal, fake hug, “We must catch-up soon.  See you later.”  She waved as they walked away down the hall.

Jake waved to Brad, “I guess I will see you later, Brad.”  Jake wasn’t sure if he was even allowed to talk to Brad.

“I’ll catch you later,” replied Brad as he followed his family.

The Coopers and Daniels remained silent until they reached the elevator.

“Ground floor,” said Jake’s dad.  The elevator descended.

The adults looked straight ahead, silent.

Jake and Mark stared at the floor and then at each other.

Unable to take the silence anymore Jake spoke, “How do you know Brad Cushing’s parents?  I didn’t know that you knew them.”

The adults looked at Mr. Cooper.  He took a breath, “We all went to school together.”

“What do you mean you all went to school together?”

“I mean son, they are Extras.  They went to school with us here at Dolbin.  And excuse my directness, but they were jerks just like their son.”

And they walked out of the elevator with Jake and Mark in stunned silence.