Chapter 3: Jell-O and the Summerton’s

Date: September 17th, 2023 (Friday)

Location: Ellington Memorial Hospital, City of Ellington

Time: 4:27 PM Local

Allen sits in his hospital bed while eating the strange food on his plate. He doesn’t recognize the dishes and it serves to remind him that he is no longer in his own universe. In Allen’s timeline, meat is vat-grown with a soup of proteins and other ingredients and vegetables are harvested from massive hydroponic farms. The current fare in front of him is barely recognizable. He takes a small spoonful of the green, gelatinous mass on his plate and swallows it.

“Eve, please analyze for me.”

“Hmm…. Standby. Oh, interesting! It is composed of water, gelatin, artificial sweeteners, some fruit juice, and coloring!”

“Define “gelatin” please, Eve.”

“Gelatin is made from animal collagen; a protein that makes up connective tissues, such as skin, tendons, ligaments, and bones. The hides and bones of certain animals; often cows and pigs are boiled, dried, treated with a strong acid or base, and finally filtered until the collagen is extracted. The collagen is then dried, ground into a powder, and sifted to make gelatin. How fascinating!”

With this, Allen quickly drops the spoon of Jell-O he was about to place in his mouth and has to physically stop himself from becoming violently ill. While he’s retching over the side of the bed with a finger down his throat, Amy and Nurse Thomas enter the room.

“THESE PEOPLE TRIED TO POISON ME!” he yells at the two adults.

Amy stops and looks at Nurse Thomas with a raised eyebrow. He returns her look with a surprised expression before running to Allen’s bedside.

“What do you mean, we tried to poison you?” Nurse Thomas answers with alarm.

“THIS!” Allen says as he points at the Jell-O while trying not to vomit.

Amy looks at the Jell-O on Allen’s plate and then back at Allen before her brain lights up in realization.

“BWAHAHA-HA-HA!” Amy can’t stop the laughter that bubbles up from her stomach, nor the tears.

It takes a few moments for Amy to collect herself and dry her tears. Allen scowls at her and Nurse Thomas with his arms crossed on his chest.

“I assure you, dear! Jell-O is widely served in hospitals! It’s the perfect food for recovering patients!

Nurse Thomas is unsuccessfully trying to assure Allen that Jell-O is not in fact, poison. Giggles form in Amy’s mouth and she can’t stop them from escaping. “This boy is too DAMNED cute!” she thinks to herself. Amy takes another moment to compose herself and interrupts Allen and Nurse Thomas’s bickering with a throat clearing.

“Alright Allen. I’ve got the temporary custody order through. The judge approved the emergency motion. Once you get released from the hospital, I’ll take you to them. We’ll see if the hospital can loan you some toiletries until your foster family can buy you some.” She says while looking at Nurse Thomas.

“Yes, yes. That should be fine. I’ll grab a personal property bag and put in some essentials for him.” Nurse Thomas says as he scurries out of the room.

“Allen, this family you will be staying with will have temporary guardianship of you. Please listen to them as they will be responsible for your wellbeing. The judge went ahead and gave them custodial rights so you can attend school. We don’t know how long your situation will last so we need to return you to some normalcy. I’ll go grab the doctor and see when they can release you.”

Amy leaves Allen’s room without waiting for him to answer.

“Well, Eve. Jell-O will definitely be placed on the “Not for Consumption” list. Warn me in the future if I am about to eat something like that again.”

“Noted, Allen.”

Doctor Benson eventually returns with Nurse Thomas and Amy behind her. Nurse Thomas has a plastic bag in his hands that’s secured with drawstrings. Nurse Thomas hands the bag off to Amy while Doctor Benson sits down on the stool.

“Nurse Thomas was kind enough to give you some essentials. You’ll find a toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb, soap, and deodorant. Also, we went ahead and placed some over the counter pain killers and anti-inflammatories in there too. Take one anti-inflammatory once a day with food and the aspirin as needed. I also want you to return in 10 days for a follow up, okay?”

Allen looks at Amy with a questioning look and she returns it with a nod.

“Sound’s good, doc!” He then looks at Nurse Thomas.

“Sorry I accused you of trying to poison me, I appreciate everything you’ve done.” Allen says with a bright smile.

“Oh, Honey! All’s forgiven. I can’t stay angry at that cute smile!”

The smile disappears at that comment….

Allen is currently sitting in the passenger seat of Amy’s car. He had no choice but to wear his original clothes as the hospital didn’t have anything they could loan him. Allen’s trying to take everything in but it’s proving difficult splitting his attention between the outside view, watching Amy operate archaic technology, and trying to figure out the radio. He has a million questions, but it would further expose Allen as not being from this universe. Allen is shaken from his thoughts when Amy speaks to him.

“You’re awfully quiet over there.”

“Sorry, just taking in everything. Trying to find my footing.” He replies while distracted by the radio.

“You know, sometimes you really don’t sound 16. You have this mature air about you. I mean, boys are naturally more mature than girls but you…. you seem like an adult.” She says while side-eyeing him.

“Probably because my parents died when I was younger and had to grow up fast…. I think?” he adds the questioning tone at the end to dispel any suspicion on Amy’s part and it seems to work.

“I suppose so. Remember, you’re only 16 and you still have a full life ahead of you. Enjoy your youth.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m 24.” Amy responds back without taking her eyes off the road.

He mulls over her earlier statement.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Allen states as he moves his attention back to the radio. Amy watches him fiddle with the radio buttons out of the corner of her eyes as her car makes its way through city traffic.

Date: September 27th, 2023 (Friday)

Location: Summerton Residence, City of Ellington

Time: 6:14 PM Local

“Here we are!” Amy exclaims with excitement, jolting Allen from his tinkering with the radio. He looks out the window and sees they are parked at the end of a cul-de-sac in a suburban neighborhood, and it seems quite pleasant. A driveway with a basketball hoop sitting at the end leads to a two-story, white house with a porch on the front. A red minivan sits in the driveway with a white utility van parked in front. The words, “Summerton Plumbing” are written on the side in bold letters with a caricature of a female plumber underneath. Then on the bottom is the phrase, “If you’re in a rush and can’t flush, call on us!” Allen stops to inspect the advertisement on the side of the van.

“That’s the mother’s plumbing business. The father stays at home and takes care of their two daughters. Oh, that reminds me! I’m going to be direct with you before I introduce you to them.” Amy takes a breath like she must gather courage.

“I’m not going to lie. You are an attractive young man. As you’ve noticed, there are a lot more girls than boys. Your situation makes you very vulnerable. Do NOT let anyone take advantage of you. I’m assigned to your case for the foreseeable future and will be doing regular check-ins on you. So, be safe and don’t be afraid to call me anytime.”

With this statement she hands Allen a business card and then walks up the driveway while Allen follows behind her.

“Eve.” Allen mutters under his breath. “They are SERIOUSLY underestimating me here.”

“That helps our cause, Allen.”

Amy walks up to the door with Allen in tow and rings the doorbell. Allen hears a muffled woman’s yell that there’s someone at the door and a man responds that he’ll get it from the other side. After a few moments, a man answers the door. He’s on the short side with perfectly combed sandy blonde hair and warm green eyes. He also appears to be middle-aged.

“Yes? Ohhh……LAURA, HE’S HERE!” the man yells back behind the door.

“WHO’S HERE?” a loud voice answers back.

“THE BOY WE WILL BE TAKING CARE OF…. QUIT YELLING AND COME HERE! IT’S RUDE!” The man answers back.

Allen finds the situation ironic that the man is doing the very same thing but decides to not point it out. Amy just stands there on the porch quietly.

“Oh, don’t let me keep you waiting out here! Come in, come in!” the man opens the door further and ushers Allen and Amy through into the foyer.

A tall, blonde woman walks out of the living room and takes in the guests. She has brown eyes and is wearing cover-all’s and socks. The sounds of a hockey game float into the foyer from the living room TV.

“Allen, meet Laura and Bradly Summerton. Laura…. Bradly…. Meet Allen.” Amy says.

“We are SO excited to have you, I’ve always wanted a boy of my own!” Bradly rushes forward and crushes Allen in a hug. Allen’s beginning to think there’s entirely too much hugging in this universe for his liking. Laura notices Allen’s discomfort and pulls a reluctant Bradley away from him.

“Now, Honey. Allen just got here, I’m sure he needs some space to adjust to his new situation.” Laura gently admonishes Bradly.

“I know. I’m just excited he’s here. We will take good care of you!”

“What am I, a new pet?” Allen thinks to himself.

“Come to the dining room, we’ll sit and have tea and Ms. Abner can explain everything.” Bradly turns towards the dining room.

As they are about to walk to the dining room, loud clomping can be heard coming down the stairs. A teenage girl who looks like a carbon copy of her mother is rushing down.

“Who’s at the door, dad? Is it Aiko? I promised her that we would….”

Their daughter, Kayla takes in the sight of Allen standing in the foyer with his tank top on and as their eyes lock, she misses the final two steps and crash lands face first on the floor.

“DAMMIT!” Kayla shouts as she pushes herself up.

“LANGUAGE!” is Bradly’s response.

The group is sitting at the table and everyone’s eyes are on Allen. Bradly is looking at Allen with stars in his eyes. Laura has a warm smile on her face and Kayla? Her nose is currently bleeding while she’s staring at Allen in a daze.

“Kayla, take care of that nose.” Laura says as she hands Kayla a handkerchief without looking.

“New brother is HAWT.” Kayla mutters to herself while taking the handkerchief.

Allen’s discomfort is growing, and he would rather blast himself out of an airlock than be in this situation. Amy sees this and decides to get on with business.

“Here’s the documentation to take care of Allen. Inside you’ll find temporary identification papers and guardianship paperwork. You are listed as the primary care givers, and I’m listed as the emergency contact. Any problems, contact me day or night. You’ll also find a check to help get Allen everything he needs. You’ll get a monthly stipend while he stays with you to offset costs. IF this turns into a full adoption, financial responsibility will be taken from the government and placed onto you. Any questions?”

Amy slides a manilla folder over to Laura and she takes a moment to peruse through it. Allen takes the moment to switch to internal comms.

“What do you think, Eve?”

“This aligns perfectly with our plans. Hopefully, we can get the Summerton’s to adopt you and then you can fully integrate with this society. Our chances of rescue are low, we need to plan long term here. They seem trustworthy. However; I don’t trust the look in the daughter’s eyes, I’ll mark her as hostile until we gather more information.”

Allen only grunts at this and turns his attention back to the conversation.

“Everything seems in order here. The check is appreciated and will be put to good use. I’ll probably open him a bank account with the extra to help him out. He’ll be in good hands” Laura responds to Amy.

“Kayla, would you mind showing Allen his new bedroom, we are giving him the guest room. Last door on the left.” Bradly asks his daughter.

“Yes dad!” Kayla grabs Allen by his hands and tugs him up the stairs.