On Friday, Randy woke to the loud patter of rain against his window. Looking through the curtains, he saw that it was pouring. The sky was an ominous shade of gray, and a heavy cloud mass loomed away to the west.

"I hope this clears up before PE," Randy thought as he went to shower.

When he reached the kitchen, Grace was dishing up hot porridge.

"Pretty nasty out there, isn’t it?" she remarked. "Let’s hope the storm holds off till tonight."

"Yeah," Randy agreed. "I’m not looking forward to PE in this rain. Mr. Bradley’s been making us do a lap of the grounds at the start of each class this month."

"Want a lift to school?" Shane asked. "It’ll be better than trying to walk."

"Thanks, Dad," Randy said, "but I’m supposed to meet Paddy at the corner of our street."

"We’ll watch out for him," Shane promised.

As soon as Randy finished his porridge and toast, he hurried to brush his teeth and fetch his backpack and a spare diaper. Then he pulled on his blue raincoat and rubber boots and headed for the garage where his dad waited for him.

"At least there’s no wind," Shane observed as they drove out. "But I don’t like the look of those clouds."

They’d just reached the corner when Paddy came hurrying in to view, wearing a white rain poncho over a bright yellow slicker and knee-high rubber boots. Shane tooted his horn to attract the boy’s attention. Randy opened his door and then moved over. Paddy crossed the road, shook the worst of the water from his poncho and jumped in.

"Thanks, Mr. Wolfe," he said gratefully, slamming the door.

They reached the school in good time. With a last word of thanks, the boys jumped out and ran to the building.

"Whew!" Paddy panted. "Yuck Yuck yuck!"

"Yeah," Randy agreed. "Do you think the storm’ll hold off?"

"I hope so," Paddy answered as they headed for the grade 6-7 cloak room, next to their respective classrooms.

Randy had to help Paddy out of his poncho so as not to spray too much water around. All around them, kids were shedding wet gear and changing in to school shoes. Randy was about to pull his shoes from his backpack when Paddy punched his shoulder and pointed towards the door. Looking up, he saw Mrs. Brinckman and Ralph just entering. Ralph pointed out his locker and Mrs. Brinckman steered him firmly toward it. In seconds, she’d slipped off his blue and white slicker and seated him on one of the stools to remove his boots. Randy’s jaw dropped. Ralph was dressed in striped, elastic-waisted corduroys and a white t-shirt with Porky the Pig on the front. The bulge of a diaper was plainly visible, accentuated by the tight-fitting waistband of his pants. The cloak room rang with laughter, and Ralph turned scarlet. When he’d got his shoes on and risen from the stool, the crinkle of plastic was audible even above the giggles.

The rain kept everyone inside at recess. Randy changed his diaper and went to look for his friends. He found Paddy in the library reading to Cindy.

"You should have seen Ralph in class," Randy said. "He stayed hunched over the whole time. Didn’t do much to hide the diaper, though. It was showing at the back."

Cindy had to clap her hand to her mouth to muffle her giggles.

When Randy returned to class, the first thing he saw was Ralph, hunched over his desk in a vain attempt to hide his diapers and shirt. Clearly, he hadn’t moved all recess.

By lunchtime, it was raining even harder, and a west wind was rising. Randy hoped they wouldn’t be outside for PE.

PE proved to be a dramatic class in several ways. Ralph kept very close to his locker as he changed, trying to hide his diaper. It did little good. The crinkling of the plastic cover gave him away. When he turned from his locker, Randy saw that the tapes were connected by a heavy, orange x, clearly visible against the blue background. If he’d tried to open the diaper to use the toilet, it would have been obvious.

Randy finished changing and joined the queue filing past Mr. Bradley. Ralph tried to hang back, but the man spotted him.

"Your mum told me all about your punishment, boy," he said coldly, "and after what you did, I agree with her 100%. I have a little something for you myself. Now, in with you!"

When the roll call was complete, Mr. Bradley announced that, due to the rain, they wouldn’t be doing their usual lap of the ground. Everyone looked relieved. The pounding of the rain on the roof echoed throughout the gym, and distant thunder could be heard.

Mr. Bradley now took Ralph in to his office next to the changing room. The other boys began whispering among themselves, wondering what would happen next. Several had been the butt of Ralph’s pranks last year and hoped that this time he’d get it good.

Ralph and Mr. Bradley came back a few minutes later, and the gym exploded with laughter. Ralph’s legs had been wrapped in tensor bandages so that his knees were almost rigid, reducing him to a jerky, staggering gait just like Darwin’s. His shorts were gone, leaving the diaper fully exposed with its orange x.

Mr. Bradley now set the boys running laps around the gym. Ralph had all he could do to walk, never mind run, with his bandaged legs. About half way through the first lap, he fell. He struggled to rise, but couldn’t get his stiff legs under him.

"Help! Help!" he shouted. "I can’t get up!"

"Crawl!" Randy answered as he passed.

"Say please!" shouted another boy, giving him a swat on his diapered bum. "Don’t be a cry baby!"

Things didn’t get much better for Ralph. They played floor hockey, and several times he went down. Each time, he was forced to wait for someone to help him up. By the end of the class, he was crushed. He glared at Mr. Bradley as he entered the changing room, but got no sympathy.

"Now you know how Darwin has to manage," Mr. Bradley said.

"Can I take these off now?" Ralph asked, pointing to the bandages.

"No!" the teacher answered firmly. "I’m hoping Darwing sees you like that. Here, take your shorts."

Ralph had a good deal of difficulty getting dressed. His pants barely fit over the bandages and made him stagger worse than ever. When 3-00 finally came, he headed for his locker as quickly as he could. He hoped he could get away before Darwin saw him, but not so. Darwin and two younger kids were in the hall when he emerged from the grade 6-7 cloak room, pushed by Randy and Paddy.

"Looks like you’ve been practicing the robot dance!" Darwing called. "Want to do one with me?"

Ralph hung his head and burst in to tears. His raincoat covered the pig on his t-shirt, but did nothing to hide his stagger.

"Well?" Darwin taunted, "What’re you waiting for?"

Ralph tried to lunge at the boy, but he stumbled and fell. Howls of laughter went up as he hit the floor.

"Poor baby!" Paddy shouted over the din. "Better crawl to your mummy and ask her to help you up."

"Sto-op I-it!" Ralph howled, struggling to get up and falling again.

Paddy and Randy left him, still laughing. Darwin followed.

Grace was waiting in the staff room. When she saw Darwin, she smiled.

"I was just going to look for you," she said. "Your mum called just as I was leaving to come here. There’s been a bad accident near her office. Traffic’s backed up everywhere and she doesn’t know when she’ll be able to get away. You’re to come home with Randy and I. Are Trevor and Katie with you?"

"Yes," Darwin answered, "They’re just outside."

"And how about you, Paddy?" Grace asked. "Will you be all right?"

"I just live across from the school," Paddy said. "I come to get Randy so he doesn’t have to walk alone."

Grace smiled.

As they left the staff room, Mrs. Brinckman appeared, leading a very dejected Ralph. She spotted the little group and turned toward them.

"Tell them," she said.

Ralph moved toward Randy. His face was still very red, and streaked with tears. "I–I–I’m ss–sorry," he stammered, "f–f–for everything."

"Say it properly!" Mrs. Brinckman warned.

Ralph drew a deep breath. "I’m sorry I called you names and pushed you around."

Randy and Darwin nodded their acceptance of his apology. Ralph turned back to his mother.

"Can I stop wearing the diapers now?"

"No," Mrs. Brinckman answered. "You still have to complete that part of the punishment, and you’re still grounded till the end of the month. Let it be a reminder for you."

"And the bandages?"

"That was just for PE. But if you do anything like this again, you’ll wear them for a whole day. Understood?"

Ralph nodded miserably and the others agreed that this was fair.

"Right," Grace said. "Now let’s get going before the sky falls on us. Look at that thunder head!"

Mrs. Brinckman held the door open. While still under the overhang, Grace opened a huge golf umbrella and all huddled close together. Grace ushered Randy and the Olivers to the car, then saw Paddy to his house. He wasn’t directly across from the school, but on the corner of the street. She insisted on accompanying him right to his door. Not until he was inside did she hurry back to the car.

As soon as they got home, Grace called Mrs. Oliver’s office. The secretary answered, and informed her that Mrs. Oliver had just left. Grace felt worried, but managed to hide it. She considered calling Mrs. Oliver on her cell phone, but decided against it. Apart from the chance of bad reception, all concentration would be needed in this weather.

Shane came home around five, just as Grace was starting dinner. He was lucky enough to have avoided the worst of the traffic jams.

"How did things go at school?" he asked Randy.

Randy told everything, with a detailed description of what Ralph had had to face. By the time he’d finished, everyone was in tears of laughter.

"Who’s idea was it to bandage Ralph’s legs?" Shane asked as soon as he could speak. "And how did you know what to say, Darwin?"

"I think the bandaging was Mr. Bradley’s idea," Randy said, "but I’ll bet Mrs. Brinckman put him up to it. She’d told him about the punishment."

"I knew what to say when I saw the piggy on his shirt," Darwin said. "He looked even more like a robot than I do."

"A diapered robot!" Randy said, and set everybody laughing once more.

Grace turned away from the stove. "Dinner is served!" she announced, and everyone hurried to wash up. Returning to the kitchen, they found macaroni and cheese with meatballs waiting. This was followed by a green salad, then hot cherry pie.

"Do you think Mum’s okay?" Katie asked as they finished.

"I hope so," Darwin answered.

At that instant, lightning streaked past the kitchen window. Seconds later, a clap of thunder shook the house. Then the rain fell harder than ever, rendering the window almost opaque. Katie squealed.

"Gosh!" Shane exclaimed, "that cloud must be right over us! Look at the rain!"

Grace sent the kids in to the living room. Shane followed.

"I hope lightning doesn’t hit the house," Darwin said nervously.

"We have lightning rods," Shane reassured him.

Even as he spoke, lightning cracked again, followed by another huge thunder clap. As it faded, the phone rang. Grace answered it in the kitchen.

"Hello? ... Dianne! Are you all right? ...Yes, I have them here. I’ve just fed them dinner. ...All right, I’ll watch for you. But be careful! The lightning’s very close, and the road’s a river!"

Entering the living room, Grace informed the kids that Mrs. Oliver was on her way. Shane went to the front window to look out for her. The house had a wide overhang, so the view was fairly clear.

"What kind of car does Mrs. Oliver drive?" Shane asked.

"It’s a red Buick van," Katie called from the living room.

Mrs. Oliver arrived about ten minutes later.

"You made it!" Shane exclaimed, "come and have some coffee before you go."

"Thank you," Mrs. Oliver said, "but we really should get home. Roger’ll be wondering what’s happened to me."

"Roger?" Grace asked.

"My husband."

"Well, at least wait till this rain eases a bit," Grace insisted. "I don’t know how you were able to see any distance."

"It wasn’t easy," Mrs. Oliver admitted, "even with the new windshield wipers on full power. Still, we’ll have to chance it."

"All right," Shane acquiesced. "Call when you get home."

Grace helped the Olivers in to their coats and boots and, with a wave of thanks, they disappeared in to the storm.