The Midnight Gang

The doctor guesses many names to jog the boy’s memory, but ultimately, the boy recalls his name on his own: Tom Charper. Tom attends a “posh” (i.e., expensive and elite) school, St. Willet’s Boarding School for Boys. He rarely sees his father, who is an oil executive, or his mother except for school breaks, when he travels to see them in whatever country they currently reside. Tom would like to spend more time with them; for him, school is a lonely place without friends.

The doctor and Tom determine that a man in reception, Mr. Carsey, the games teacher (gym teacher), brought Tom to the hospital. The form becomes survey-like, and the doctor pesters Tom to report the care as “very good.” Nurse Meese smacks the doctor on the ear for not moving Tom along. The doctor tells Tom he will stay a few days in the children’s ward. Tom is happy to be away from his miserable school, where the more “aristocratic” students are unkind.

The porter, whose name tag reads only “Porter,” steers Tom onto the lift (elevator). Tom reflects that while several of his teachers are unattractive enough to earn nicknames like the Hairy Gnome and Mrs. Goggle-Eyes, none are as scary-looking as Porter. Tom recalls getting the bump: He was at the edge of the field for cricket (a British game similar to baseball). While he was daydreaming, the hard rubber ball hit him on the head.

Tom observes the ward’s quiet residents. George wears sloppy, too-small pajamas and eats candy; Robin has bandages over his eyes and CDs near a CD player; Amber reminds Tom of a marionette because her arms and legs are “in plaster” (in casts) and held up by ropes and pulleys. Sally has only a few strands of hair and looks weaker than the others.

Matron, the ward manager who appears beautiful from a distance but is fearsome up close, bullies Tom for getting hit on the head. Porter voices the opinion that Tom should have an X-ray, but Matron pushes him out of the way. Then she suggests Tom have an X-ray. Tom wonders if school is better than this ward.

Matron lists her many rules, including no sweets and no toilet trips at night—they must use bedpans. Tom tries to explain that his parents live abroad; Matron scoffs and reveals that no one else’s parents come to visit, either: Amber’s have too little money, Robin’s are too sick, Sally’s live too distantly, and George’s father is in prison. Since no one can bring pajamas for Tom, Matron insists he wear a pink ruffled nightgown from her “lost-property” stash.

Wearing the nightgown, Tom recalls various embarrassments at school, such as his shorts splitting in class. Matron says they are late for bedtime at one minute past eight and turns out the ward lights. Tom hears the clock bells of Big Ben, then George ruffling candy wrappers.

Tom, starving, asks for one. George and another child shush him, but it is too late: Matron snaps the lights on and accuses George of “scoffing chocolates.” She confiscates his tin. Matron demands to know who sent it, and George explains it was his neighborhood newsagent (owner of a newsstand), Raj. Matron returns to her office and eats the chocolates; soon, she falls asleep.

In the dark, someone says to be ready at midnight. Tom wants to know what they mean, but Amber tells him to mind his own business.

At midnight, George, Amber, and Robin sneak out of the ward, shushing Tom. They pride themselves on the success of placing sleeping medicine, George’s “snoozy pills,” in some of the candy. Tom wants to go with them, but they say no. Sally stays behind too, sleeping. Tom decides to follow them, but when he leaves the bed, he steps in the bedpan, making a loud clanking noise.

Sally wants Tom to take her with him. He tries fibbing, saying he plans to just fetch the others back, but she knows he is lying. Tom realizes Sally is very smart. He asks why she has so little hair, and she says the treatment for her illness caused it. Tom still decides not to take Sally with him but claims he will take her next time. Sally makes Tom promise to tell her about any adventures he has. Tom makes a sincere promise that he will.

Tom makes his way to the elevators and sees one going the whole way to the basement. Tom follows in a different elevator. Arriving, he sees an incinerator and the laundry. A corridor leads off into pitch blackness. Despite his intense fear of the dark, Tom starts down this corridor. He is terrified when someone grabs his shoulder.

It is George, Amber, and Robin. George and Amber laugh at his pink nightgown. They tell Tom to go back, but he threatens to snitch. This stops them. Tom knows how serious snitching is: No one snitches at all at his school, even if someone mixes rabbit droppings in one’s chocolate candies. Robin says Tom cannot come because they have a secret gang. George slips the name: The Midnight Gang.

Amber explains that Tom cannot join the gang because it is a secret, but Tom points out that he now knows about the gang, including the name. Robin’s comment, “Poop! Poop! And double poop!” (112) and George’s line, “‘E’s got us!” make Tom think he’s in, but Amber is hesitant. She allows Tom to attend that night’s adventure only on a trial basis, explaining that the gang is very old and was started by a sick child. Tom is thrilled to be included. Amber takes the lead.

George convinces Tom to take a turn pushing the wheelchair. Amber explains that long ago, a bored young patient felt sick children in a hospital deserved to have fun. That child swore only trustworthy young members to the gang; as members were discharged, other new members replaced them. Robin suggests the Midnight Gang is “Nothing more than an idea” that is “passed on from child to child” (123), which George then suggests is like “nits” (head lice). Robin sarcastically agrees. Amber says they are carrying on the tradition and purpose of the Midnight Gang: To make children’s dreams come true.