Don't Look Under the Bed

Middleburg is a middle-size town in the middle of the country.

But sometimes, in my dreams, it felt like someplace else.

Somehow familiar, but also very strange.

Middleburg is where I live,

and so does something... else.

Some people thought Middleburg was dull,

that nothing ever happened here.

Well, they were very wrong.

Francis?

Francis, time to get up, honey.

Franny?

My name is Francis Bacon McCausland.

I'm fourteen years old.

That morning I was extremely tired.

It's so dark.

Must be a storm front moving in.

Not according to the barometer.

Maybe it's the end of the world.

It sure feels like it.

How would you know what the end of the world felt like?

You've never felt it before, have you?

Maybe the clocks are wrong.

Hope springs eternal.

I always set our clocks

by the naval observatory web site.

I'll check it out.

Bert, trash, and don't forget the paper.

Why do I always have to take out the garbage?

Because with age comes responsibility, Bert.

When you go to college, your sister, Francis,

will take the trash out.

I wanna get a dog, so he could eat the garbage,

and he could fetch the newspaper.

Dogs have germs.

What would you do with it when you went to college?

They don't allow dogs in the dorm room.

Maybe you could put it on the roof.

Get real, Francis.

Grow up, Bert.

Get a real grown-up.

Aw, jeez, what happened to the eggs?

There were two dozen eggs in the fridge last night.

Now there aren't any.

Cold cereal again.

I didn't do anything with 'em.

No one's blaming you, Francis.

I'm the one they always blame for everything.

That's because you have so much pent-up aggression.

I do not!

All right, you two!

We're not talking about aggression right now.

That's what family time is for.

Now we are simply trying to determine

what has happened to the eggs.

It's 4:23 a.m.

the clocks say 7:23.

The clocks are wrong.

I told you it was the end of the world.

It was hard to get back to sleep.

I kept wondering why all the clocks had been sped up.

But I knew there had to be a logical explanation.

Hee hee hee.

That's it. Come here.

Come here. Ha ha ha.

Most kids my age go to middle school,

but I skipped a grade.

Hi, Bert.

Hey.

You shouldn't waste a lot of time growing up.

Jo?

Oh! Hi.

Hi.

So, um, why don't you want to take the bus to school?

Joanne, nobody rides the bus to high school.

It's just for children.

I wish I could skip a grade so I could go to high school.

Bert does have another year after this, doesn't he?

If he's lucky.

Well, why do you care when Bert graduates?

Ahh... did I tell you our alarm clocks

went off three hours early this morning?

Really?

Yep. And Mom says the neighbor's clocks were wrong too.

Can you believe that?

Well, yeah. Our clocks did the exact same thing.

They were all three hours early.

It's so weird.

Well, it's only weird because you don't have

a logical explanation for it.

Uh, why is that dog on the roof?

Now that's weird.

Maybe it was some kind of magnetic... you know... like...

like a power surge.

Why would that make dogs get on the roof?

I was talking about the clocks being wrong.

Good morning, Francis.

Good morning, Mr. Kepler.

He's my biology teacher.

He really likes me.

Does he make you cut up frogs and stuff?

That is so gross.

I love biology.

See, yesterday we got to take this chicken embryo--

Why is that guy staring at us?

What... guy?

Well, he was just right there.

Ok, Francis.

I gotta get going, but I'll see you here after school. Ok?

Ok.

Ah, gorgeous.

The egg, or ovum,

may be surrounded by as many as three protective membranes.

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Ho ho ho ho! Hee hee hee hee!

Huh?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

What is this?

That's the wonder of the egg.

And now, the secondary membrane--

do you have a question, Francis?

Actually I do, Mr. Kepler.

Ahh, did your alarm clock go off three hours early this morning?

How could you know that?

Oh, a lot of clocks were wrong.

And, uh, see, I've been taking a statistically accurate

sampling of the whole school,

getting names, and addresses, and phone numbers--

you know, to see if it all happened in one area.

May I see that, please?

Oh, yeah.

Who did this?

Do you know anything about this, Francis?

He was in your science class?

Not really in the class,

he was just sitting on the shelf.

He was what?

Oh, look! There's another one.

How'd you get up there in the first place, Charlie?

That is so weird.

What if a helicopter flew over so low that

the dogs thought they could catch it,

and chased it right up the roof?

That's a logical explanation, isn't it?

Sure, Jo.

Hi, Bert.

Whatever.

Have you got a crush on Bert?

No!

Yes, you do!

No, I don't!

Well, he is kinda cute.

Well, you should see his room.

If you think dissecting a frog is gross--

I think it's really brave what he did for your little brother.

All he had to do was lie there.

But I hear it really hurts when they stick those needles in you.

It must be really great to save someone's life.

It was the doctors who saved Darwin's life.

Well, you better not tell Bert

anything about me thinking he's cute.

Yeah, right. Like I'm gonna say anything to Bert about anything.

Promise?

I promise.

Cross your heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in your eye.

Grow up, Joanne.

Look, I gotta get to swimming practice,

but I'll see you tomorrow.

Ok.

Oh, are you trying out for the high school team?

They're all older than I am.

Oh, it doesn't matter in swimming,

that just means you're more streamline.

Bye.

Bye.

Are you following me?

Yeah, I'm talking to you.

You can see me?

Well, yeah.

Strange things were happening that day.

All over Middleburg.

Someone put a little gelatin in the school swimming pool.

Help!

Hang on! I'll get you out.

Now, grab onto this.

A colony of bees colonized

the principal's office.

school buses developed unexplained leaks.

And then there was

the graffiti.

Nobody knew who was responsible.

Nobody knew who to blame.

Aw, yuk.

Aw, Nanook--

Aaahhhhhh!

Franny!

Why've you always got to blame me for everything?

It's called inductive logic.

Look, if you want everybody to know you skipped a grade

why don't you just wear a sign?

Bert?