A Cry in the Park - A Bob's Burgers fanfic - by BobsBurgersStories1

A Cry in the Park - Part 11

Most teachers kept the televisions in their rooms switched on now, and tuned to the news. They figured it was better than their students on their phones throughout the lesson.

They still expected work to be done, however; the television was so they could keep up with the updates, especially Louise's classes, where the students would talk of nothing else. Due to it being a widely publicized local story, the rescue attempts were given live updates every hour, sometimes every half hour, which was what kept the students interested. Of course, many of them simply watched to avoid doing less schoolwork.

   "The rescuers are still chipping away at the rock, using hand tools," Olsen Benner was saying, reporting live from the well site, and the children in the fourth-grade maths class looked up at the television. "Volunteers are unsure of how much longer it will take before they reach the well, but many believe it may not be until tomorrow."

Rudy stared at the television, his chest tightening with worry. He had already made up his mind to go down to Wharf Park after school had let out, again. He couldn't believe that his friend was still trapped. He felt sick as the camera panned down to the little well, with the wires and hoses inside it. His chest got even tighter; those wires and hoses were keeping his friend alive. He pulled out his inhaler and pumped it, but it didn't seem to have any effect, so he did it again.

He took a deep breath, trying to get some air into his lungs, but it wasn't working, and he raised his hand, gasping.

   "Ms LaBonz?" he gasped, as the rest of the class turned around to look at him.

   "What, Rudy?" she asked, looking up at the boy.

   "Can I go to the nurse's office, please?"

   "Fine, whatever," she waved her hand, and the boy rose from his seat and left the classroom.

Rudy walked down the hallways, still gasping. His inhaler felt pretty full, but it couldn't hurt to have it checked, and possibly have a lie down in the meantime. He needed to get his mind off of what was happening to his friend.

When he reached the nurses office, he entered, and Liz came over to him, looking bored. Unable to speak, he held out his inhaler, and she took it.

Rudy sat on the nearest bed, gasping for breath, while she went into her office. Liz reappeared a few moments' later, and handed him the inhaler. Rudy pumped it, again feeling no better. He pumped it again and lay down on his back. His breathing seemed to be easing up slightly, and he closed his eyes, trying to relax.

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Even the teachers at Huxley High had given up trying to get their students to learn, and instead let the classes talk about the rescue operation during their lessons. No-one had expected it to take as long as it was, and in the playground, the odds that Louise would die that day grew even higher; now the winner would receive fifty dollars. Of course, there were other bets, would Louise die before the workers reached her (the odds were 10 - 1 that she would), the odds that she had one or more broken bones (the odds were 5 - 1 on that) and if she somehow made it out alive, how long her hospital stay would be; most people agreed on two weeks.

   "You guys are sick," said Sarah, a ninth-grader, as she overheard two boys, John and Harrison, discussing their bets with each other. John had bet that Louise would die Tuesday night, before the drillers reached her, while Harrison bet that Louise would make it until Wednesday morning, after they had reached her, but before they could free her.