The Midnight Gang

They arrive at the deep freeze. Amber says her dream is to be the first girl at the North Pole, and that is where they are going. Tom wonders if he could ever pursue such a risky adventure. He asks if she broke her limbs on an exploration, but Robin reveals that she fell from a top bunk. They open the deep freeze door and see a “magnificent sight” (132).

The freezer food is piled off to the side, and snow, an ice cave, drifts, and an igloo, all made from condensed mist and droplets, form the North Pole. Tom explains the scene to Robin. A Union Jack flag (the flag of the United Kingdom) is awaiting placement at the North Pole to claim the territory for England.

Amber gets testy when she cannot maneuver the flag alone, but when Tom reminds her that the gang is all about teamwork, she accepts their help. Tom sees that Amber is truly proud and happy. He hears a noise, and the others quickly vote him into the role of investigating. Getting nearer, he sees a polar bear.

The bear is Porter in a makeshift bear suit, created from hospital paraphernalia. A full-page illustration labels and details the suit, like “Claws made from iron hooks” (143). It was Porter who crafted the North Pole out of un-defrosted ice and “snow.” He would have surprised them, but the ears took too long.

Porter claims helping the Midnight Gang is important to him because the children enjoy their dreams coming true “even if [they] don’t get better” (147). Amber has truly kind words for Porter and rejects his statement that he is lowly. Porter says he would have become a doctor, if possible, and that he spent years in the hospital as physicians tried to correct his visible differences. Amber says Porter has helped many children achieve their dreams in her two months at the hospital.

Porter describes several dream adventures he has made possible over the years: Henry’s dream to be a race car driver (Porter rewired Henry’s electric wheelchair to go 70 miles an hour); Valerie’s dream to be an archeologist (Porter gave the children mummy bandages and created a cardboard pyramid for Valerie to discover); Wendy’s dream of being a ballroom dancer (Porter brought plastic skeletons to a midnight dance contest, which Wendy won). Also, Gerald surfed on a trolley as a professional surfer, and Sandy had tea with the Queen of England (Porter in a shower curtain robe and bedpan crown). For a very unfunny boy named David who wanted to be a comedian, Porter pumped laughing gas into a waiting room and sent David in to tell jokes. Mohammed got to see dolphins (inflatable pillows in a tank of water), and two brothers rode a mobility scooter/jeep on a safari to see animals (children dressed up).

Robin explains that as a student of classical music, his dream was to conduct an orchestra. Porter “borrowed” some children patients from other hospitals to serve in Robin’s orchestra, and Robin conducted Beethoven’s fifth symphony, which they played on hospital instruments.

George is excited to have his dream come true next. Porter interjects that he is uncertain how to make George’s wish—flying like a superhero—come true, but that the gang will make it happen. Aside to Tom, Porter says Matron has pajamas other than a pink nightdress, but that she enjoys making kids suffer. Porter will give Tom different pajamas.

The children plan to go directly back to the ward, but the elevator stops at Floor 15. The children panic and tell Tom to do the talking as the doors open. A cleaning woman, Dilly, who smokes an ashy cigarette, asks them why they are out of bed. Tom claims that the hospital principal is having them inspect cleanliness. He says the floor is dirty (which it is—Dilly is not a good housekeeper). Amber says a “bog” (toilet) on Floor 7 stinks. Dilly says she just cleaned there, but Robin implies one stinks in a way that is “positively medieval” (174). Dilly grumpily goes off to re-clean.

Amber, Robin, and George are delighted with Tom’s quick thinking and make Tom an official gang member. He repeats the oath happily, including keeping all gang activities secret. He is thrilled to finally be included by peers.

The four gang members steal back into the ward. The only dim light comes from Matron’s office, where Tom can see Matron asleep and drooling, and from Big Ben. As the three boys attempt to lift Amber back into bed, someone asks in the dark, “Where have you been this time?” (183).

The question comes from Sally. She insists that Tom promised to tell her. Now that he is sworn to secrecy, he cannot share what he witnessed. Sally yells that he promised, and he tries to lie that he did not.

The voices wake Matron, who wobbles out and tries to inspect them as they lie still in their beds. Tom sneezes on Matron when she leans in; she rushes to her office to clean up, then eats another chocolate and falls asleep. Amber chastises Tom; Tom lies again and says he didn’t promise, which makes him feel terrible.

A cheerful server, Tootsie, brings the food trolley for breakfast. Tootsie has a wide smile and greets Matron teasingly, as Matron is waking up with smeared makeup. Tootsie offers Tom anything he wants for breakfast, and since his school food is always disgusting (like calf’s head soup and deep-fried otter), he places a delicious-sounding order. The others laugh and wait.

In actuality, Tootsie can offer only corn flakes with cold tea to Tom and Amber, and once out of tea, only corn flakes to Robin and George. Nevertheless, she is so cheerful with extraneous “thank yous” and “good mornings” that the process is pleasant.

Tootsie gives Sally a sweet bun from a bakery. Sally offers Tom half, which he kindly refuses, telling her she needs to keep up her strength. George eats the half instead. Tootsie tells Amber that the hospital principal, Sir Strillers, found wheelchair marks and footprints in the deep freezer. Amber denies knowing anything. Matron questions their suspicious talk.