The Midnight Gang

Knowing that Matron will not eat any more snoozy pill-chocolates, Porter directs Tom to the pharmacy, telling him to get sleep serum and a syringe. Porter says the old pharmacist will not notice Tom’s age. Raj, wandering, knocks right into the gurney. Raj is looking for George and his Indian takeout order from the night before (including three orders of poppadoms). Tom directs him down the hall without explaining the location of the ward.

Mr. Cod at the pharmacy window is shocked when Tom-the-doctor asks for 50 liters of sleep serum. Porter tries to correct Tom to “milliliters,” but Mr. Cod grows suspicious as to why the patient sounds more like a doctor than Tom. Tom thinks they have gotten past the obstacles, but when Mr. Cod returns, he sees Tom’s two left feet. Tom signs for the medication, then tries to get the pen when it rolls off the counter. He falls off the prosthetic limbs. Mr. Cod threatens to call security, but Porter and Tom flee.

Porter and Tom try to get Professor Pigeon to scare Matron, but the pigeon is unwilling. Porter enters the ward and becomes still, but Matron sees him. As she hollers at Porter, Tom gets a running start with the trolley, rides it into the ward, and stabs the syringe into Matron’s “bum.”

Once Matron is sleeping deeply on the floor, Amber, Robin, and George tell Porter and Tom that Sally has taken “a turn for the worse” (423) and that she is now in isolation. Everyone except Tom accepts that this is the end of the Midnight Gang and that Sally will not see her dream come true. Big Ben chimes midnight. At the end of the chimes, Tom announces they are incorrect in thinking that their chances are up.

Tom rationalizes that since Sally’s health is worse, it is more important than ever to make her dream come true. He insists he will not go back on a promise to Sally again. Amber voices concern about the size and scope of Sally’s dream, but Tom inspires them to succeed by reminding them that teamwork is powerful. They all vote to make Sally’s dream happen and, Tom says, to “go out with a BANG!” (429).

Tom sneaks into Sally’s isolation ward while the others go to the operating theater to prepare the necessary details. Tom hesitates when he sees the extensive machinery and tubing that surround Sally, who is resting in piles of bedding. She wakes, however, and indicates she is excited.

In the operating theater, Tom parks Sally’s bed in the center. Robin starts a CD of Puccini’s Nessun Dorma (None Shall Sleep). Robin also begins to run a slide projector. The first slide is “EXAM RESULTS”: Tom puts a makeshift graduation cap on Sally and gives her a certificate with straight A’s. Next is “FIRST CAR”: Sally uses a dinner plate steering wheel to “drive” her Aston Martin (a luxury British sports car) as Tom and Porter spin it. Neither Tom nor George wants to kiss Sally for her “FIRST KISS,” but Amber kisses her cheek. For “A HOLIDAY IN THE SUN” (438), cafeteria trays go on Sally’s feet, and Amber’s wheelchair pulls Sally to standing position briefly as she “waterskis” in bed.

“WEDDING DAY” includes a facial-tissue veil and flowers. The boys pass the top hat (a bucket) to Robin, who claims he will never marry a girl; Amber steps in to serve as the groom. Amber uses a shower curtain ring to “wed” Sally, who cries. For “BABY,” Professor Pigeon is bundled in a blanket. For “JOB,” a painted screen behind Sally suggests she lives at 10 Downing Street as Britain’s Prime Minister; she meets with the Queen (Amber) in a crown of jewel-like candy. “GRANDCHILDREN” are Professor Pigeon’s babies, hatched just in time. The music swells as the gang brings all the props near for a finale; Sally manages to stand, bow, and cry out, “This is my life!” (444).

Tom then sees that they are being watched—Sir Strillers and a group of doctors and nurses wait behind the operating room window, where observers of surgeries sit. Tom says they are all in for it now.

Sir Strillers begins to clap; the other adults join in. They enter the room. Strillers claims the performance was lovely. He explains that though many at the hospital have tried to make Sally better, no one has attempted to make her smile.

Tom hugs Porter and tells Strillers that they could not have helped make Sally’s dream come true without him. Strillers says his conscience has bothered him since firing Porter, and that Porter is now reinstated. He asks Porter’s real name, but Porter says he never received one. Strillers asks if he prefers a certain name, and Porter chooses Thomas (Senior). Strillers then sends everyone to bed, and after some haggling, agrees to allow Sally back in the children’s ward for one night.

Back in the ward, those who are able help Matron into a bed, where she snores the night away. Thomas Senior naps in the office while the children play games and chat. Eventually, all doze off but Tom and Sally. She thanks him and tells him he is a wonderful friend. She asks what his dream would have been, and he tells her, “I just want to see my mum and dad” (459), then mentions how the headmaster and Matron worked against his parents’ desire to communicate with him. Sally is confident Tom will see them soon. She wants the night to go on indefinitely, but dawn arrives.

Sir Strillers arrives, sees Matron sleeping in bed, and promptly reassigns her to toilet cleaning duty. He then approaches Tom and tells him he must be discharged. Tom confides in him that he does not want to go with the headmaster back to school; Sir Strillers says it is Tom’s parents who have come instead.

Tom’s mother hugs him, and his father pats his back. Tom’s parents, whom Sally phoned, agree to never send Tom to the boarding school again once they hear that Mr. Thews burned their letters. Tom’s mother says they will be together instead as “a proper family” (468).

Tootsie arrives and reveals that she found Mr. Thews locked in the deep freeze; he is on her cart, shivering and encased “in frost like a long-forgotten choc-ice” (470) (a bar of vanilla ice cream on a stick enrobed in a thin chocolate shell). His teeth chatter, and Tootsie wonders about getting him some medical care.

Thomas Senior enters from Matron’s office. Strillers announces Thomas’s new job as Doctor of Fun, and everyone is thrilled. Tom hugs Thomas Senior. He tells his friends goodbye, gives Sally a soft kiss on the head, and promises to come to visit her. He goes happily off with his parents.

After Tom departs, Raj enters the children’s ward. He complains that he never received his takeout food and begins to repeat his order.