53. Love Thy Community

Chapter 51 - Love Thy Community

The very next day, Anne was well rested and excited. She came rushing down the stairs from her room and called upon the Plantars. "Plantars, Assemble!" Hop pop, Polly, and Sprig race to the living room and line up in front of her.

"Any news?" Sprig asked. "I got a text from Dr Jan," replied Anne. Anne shows her phone to the Plantars, which shows a few text messages from Dr Jan. "It says: Come see me when you've got a moment. I think I found something. Which means the sooner we talk to her, the sooner we get you home."

The Plantars cheer in excitement, and prepare to head back to the museum. However, when they get outside, they find Anne's parents and the Loyalitat family packing up their vehicles. "Oh good. You're here," said Mrs Boonchuy. "Help us with loading the car."

"Hey Sprig," said Tint. "Think you can help Jane and Amelia there?" He points to them who are trying to load up folded banners into the minivan. The Plantars happily accepted to help out. Anne however, was confused with what was going on.

"Okay, but we have got to get to the museum," said Anne. "We're going to have to raincheck on that," said Matthew. "Today's market day at the Thai temple and Mrs Boonchuy wants us all to be there." Anne grew impatient, because spending the whole day at the Temple would delay her plans on getting the Plantars home.

"But Mom, it's Super Important," said Anne in a begging tone. Mrs Boonchuy however, wasn't having it. "So is this," she said in a firm tone. "The Thai community hasn't seen you since you came back. And this is the perfect opportunity."

"Come on Anne," said Amelia. "It'll be fun. We're gonna experience your culture for the first time." "I can't wait to see what fun activities they have there," said Jane. Anne however wasn't having any of it. And that annoyed Mrs Boonchuy a bit.

"Look, I'll make you a deal," she said. "Just stay for one full hour, then you can do whatever." Anne was still upset with the idea, but she decided to give it a shot. "Fine."

Hop pop was curious about what was going on, and where they were going. "Market day? Temple?" Mr Boonchuy was happy to explain. "It's a monthly all-day event at the Thai Temple. Everyone gathers for food, music, sport, dance, and Thai language school."

"Hearing the subject of Thai sports and dance really got my daughters hooked on the idea to come along," said Sarah. "I've never seen them so excited to see the Thai community." "Me and Darrel were happy that we got to come with you guys," said Tint. "I'm kinda interested in this myself."

Shortly after, the group finds two school students, taking pictures and wearing shades. "Hey! I see you," said Anne. "Desi, Rico!" The two students took off after they were spotted. Leaving Anne and Darrel exhausted, "Oh great, one of the things I did not miss while I was away were those two again."

"Who are they? And what was that all about?" Mr Boonchuy asked. "Nosy gossip bloggers from the school paper," replied Anne. "Trying to get an exclusive photo of the kids who went missing." "They'll do anything for a story," said Darrel.

"Well if it's photos they want," Mr Boonchuy takes out his phone and opens up his photos. "I've got some they can use." His first photo shows Anne at age two, covered in pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles all over her hair. His next photo shows her wearing sunglasses, giving a cool pose.

The sudden photos made Anne blush in embarrassment and Darrel chuckled in response. "Say, Mr Boonchuy, do you have any more photos of Anne?" he asked. "I sure do," Mr Boonchuy replied. "DAD!" Anne complained. "Please stop!" The three give chase as Darrel tries to see more photos of Anne.

Later on, the group arrived at the Thai Temple. Darrel texted to Dr Jan, 'Something's come up that I can't miss. Me and Tint will meet you when we have time.' "And sent," said Darrel as he pressed the send button on his phone.

The Boonchuys and the Loyalitats unpack the cars and cross through the marketplace. The Plantars and Tint were amazed with wonder. Amelia and Jane couldn't stop jumping around. Darrel, his parents, and the Boonchuys were carrying all the stuff to their spot.

"The stalls sort of remind me of Wartwood," said Hop pop. " Look there's even a statue," said Sprig. Polly walks over to the event board to see photos of the community. One of them happens to be Anne sticking her tongue out while doing a traditional Thai dance. "No way, is this you?" "Yep," replied Anne. "I've been coming here since I was a kid. It seems cool at first, but believe me, it gets old quick."

The group set up the Thai Go stand, and the Boonchuys have Anne and Darrel hand out samples. "So I've graduated from dishwashing to sample handouts?" Darrel asked jokingly. Mr Boonchuy laughed, "Very funny Darrel, maybe you can entertain our community at the same time." "Just stand out in the open, so everyone can see you," said Mrs Boonchuy.

Anne grew suspenseful, she knew what was about to come next. "Here they come," said Darrel. "The Ba Train," said Anne. Darrel raised an eyebrow out of curiosity, until he watched as the community crowded her in happiness and relief. Anne bows in respect and says, "Hi, Ba-Med. Good to see you Papu."

"So, where were you two? Worrying your parents like that?" asked Ba-Med. "It's a long story," replied Darrel. "But I did gain some experience in other things while I was away." "Ooh can't wait to see," said Papu. The community take their leave as Darrel and Anne bow.

Polly was curious, "Hey guys," She gets in the same position as Anne and Darrel. "What does this mean?" "It's called a Wai," replied Anne. "It's how you show respect to your elders. Super important in Thai culture."

"Makes sense to me," said Tint. "Makes me want to learn a lot around here." "Same for me," said Hop pop. "Well we've got nothing but time around here," said Darrel. "Look around, see if you can find anything that interests you. But remember, your disguises stay on."

The amphibians cheered and raced off into the marketplace to find stuff to do. Anne and Darrel stayed behind handing out samples. "Hold on Dr Jan," said Anne. "Just one hour and I'll be there."

"I told her me and Tint will come the moment we're free," said Darrel. "Even if we arrive by tomorrow." "But don't you want to know now?" Anne asked. "It's so nerve wrecking." "I know," said Darrel. "But there's something about this place I didn't know until today." "What is it?" Anne asked. "I'll tell you in an hour," replied Darrel, smiling.

Across the marketplace, the Plantars, Tint, Jane, and Amelia were exploring various places. Polly and Tint stumble into a Thai language class, where they show off their communication skills after watching Mrs Boonchuy's romcom collection.

Hop pop and Jane stumble into a room in the temple where performers act in an ancient Thai dance. The dances they perform are called Kohn dancing. Having performance art as one of his interests, and with Jane by his side, Hop pop immediately went to perform his dance to the group. They cheered in awe, and Jane stood beside him. "I love it here," he said. "My turn," said Jane.

Sprig takes a walk with Amelia, helping himself to Thai snacks. "I wish Anne had told me about these earlier," he said. "So Amelia, what should we do next?" "Let's see if we can find what sports they play here," replied Amelia.

The two didn't have to look far. They spot a few athletes playing a ball game called Sepak takraw. The ball flies over a player's head, about to hit Sprig and Amelia. However, they showed off their moves, earning them a spot on opposite teams.

Back at the Boonchuys' stand, Anne was still offering samples. Darrel was performing, spinning his sample plates, wooing the passing crowds. Performing his postures and spin moves reminded him of his arcane training back in Amphibia. Even though he had trouble with magic, he would never forget the moves he was taught.

"Gotta say, I'm mighty impressed with your moves," said Mrs Boonchuy. "But please try not to do it too much, you'll ruin the food." Darrel bowed in respect, "Yes, Mrs Boonchuy. I apologize."

Mrs Boonchuy smiled, "Good. Now both of you, I'll be back soon." She carries a few plates and containers. "I'll be returning a few dishes some of the community members lent me." She takes her leave, leaving Anne and Darrel at the stand.

Darrel smiles as he watches her return the dishes. Then, he sees the community offer his mom what looks like tea leaves and spices. Then he was surprised when Anne spoke up. She looked at her phone to check how much time had passed. "What!? It's only been ten minutes!?"

"Woah, it's okay Anne," said Darrel. "So what if it's only ten minutes, we still have plenty of time." Darrel turns away and pulls out a couple coins seeing if he can pull off a few coin tricks.

Feeling like enough is enough, Anne eats the samples and calls Dr Jan. Her phone call goes straight into voicemail. "Hi, Dr Jan. It's me, Anne. I'm at the Thai Temple, but I'll be there at the museum in half an hour."

What little did Anne know was that the cloak bot from before, intercepted her phone call and got a pinpoint on her and Darrel's location. However, the cloak bot was still badly damaged after their last fight, and couldn't go back in there. So the cloak bot came up with an alternative. "Deploying drones." He opens his neck hatch and launches a few dragonfly drones into the sky. "Search and Destroy," he commanded, and the drones fly off.

Darrel was having a blast performing coin tricks to the kids. And just as he turned around to get more samples, he found that Anne disappeared. He looks around to see someone wearing Anne's hat, but that didn't fool him.

Anne begins her return to the museum. But first, she had to sneak across the marketplace, find the Plantars, and get out before her mom could find her. She first finds Sprig and Amelia playing Sepak takraw. They looked like they were having a blast kicking the ball at each other. Anne decided to give Sprig a pass.

Then, she locates Hop pop and Jane in the temple performing another dance. Hop pop was wearing a traditional Thai mask, and Jane performed with traditional Thai dancing clothes. "Psst, Hop pop," whispered Anne. Jane gets up in her face and gestures, zipping her lips. "Anne, this is silent theater," whispered Hop pop.

Anne walks away in defeat, knowing that Sprig and Hop pop are enjoying Thai culture. She runs into Polly and Tint's Thai language class hearing them perform comedy in Thai. The kids laughed at their sketch, and left Anne in shock. "I've sat through Thai school for years and can barely string a sentence together."

Back at the Thai go stand, Darrel continued to serve out samples. "Thank you," said another customer. Darrel bows in respect, "You're welcome." Then, Sarah comes down to see how Darrel's doing.

"Hey Darrel, how's it going?" she asked. "Business is going well here," replied Darrel. "So what did the community give you?" She shows him the leaves and spices. "They told me that this blend of tea leaves and spices, helps maintain a healthy immune system. At first, I didn't want it. But Mrs Boonchuy insisted if I wanted to see you come back."

"That's so sweet of them, mom," said Darrel. She turns around hoping to find Anne as well. "Where's Anne?" Darrel sighed, "She said she had more important stuff to do. But I don't think I've told her why we're here in the first place." Sarah puts her hand on her shoulder and smiles. "Let's go find her and explain. We should start at the entrance to the temple."

At the temple's entrance, Anne was leaving for the museum. However, she bumped into the last person she'd ever want to get caught by: her mother. "Anne, you're supposed to be at the stand." Then, Darrel and Sarah arrived. "There she is," said Darrel.

"Darrel? Who's watching the stand?" Mrs Boonchuy asked. "I've got it covered," said Sarah. Matthew takes over the stand, a little confused with the Thai Go's menu. Luckily, the community aided him with what they asked for.

"You were sneaking out to visit your museum friend, weren't you?" Mrs Boonchuy asked in a comedic stern tone. "I would be surprised if she said no," said Sarah. Anne groaned, "Alright, you got me."

Mrs Boonchuy pinched her nose in disappointment. "I don't believe this, you couldn't wait one hour?" "Look, I already said hi to everyone," said Anne. "Now I have to get to the museum so I can get my interdimensional friends home. It's super important."

"Not as important as helping the community who helped us!" Darrel yelled. Anne was confused, "What do you mean?" Darrel sighed, "Before we left to help the Boonchuys, Mom and Dad told me what happened while we were gone. As mom grew more sick, the Boonchuys visited nearly every day to help take care of her. Most of her medicine tonics came from Thai culture. This temple is the main source of all their medical needs. The Thai community gave so much aid to my family, they even gave them food for support. Why do you think your mom is handing back those dishes?"

Anne was stunned, until Mrs Boonchuy finished his speech. "Everyone cooked us meals and took care of all of us while you two were gone. We took up most of our time taking care of Sarah that we couldn't provide for ourselves."

Anne grew upset. All this time she thought it was a waste to be here, only to discover that her parents were suffering without their child being in their lives. "I had no idea," she said. "That's exactly what I said when I asked mom and dad," said Darrel. "I felt so grateful for what they did, I just had to find a way to pay them back somehow."

Mrs Boonchuy places her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "They were worried about you, and us," she said. "The community ran our store here and sent us the money. Even helped out at the restaurant. And never asked for anything in return."

Anne felt blessed with what the community did for her and for Darrel's family. "That's really cool." "It is cool," said Mrs Boonchuy. Darrel and Sarah smiled knowing that Anne is seeing things in a different perspective.

Suddenly, the four spot the drones flying over the temple. "What are those things?" Mrs Boonchuy asked. Darrel looks closely and glares at them. "Drones," he said. "Mom, you know what to do." Sarah nods as Darrel takes Anne.

"Where are you two going?" Mrs Boonchuy asked. "To make sure everyone's safe," said Darrel. "Safe from what?" "Uh, from those gossip kids at school," said Anne. "They must've sent drones to take new photos of us."

Sarah and Mrs Boonchuy take shelter in the temple and Darrel and Anne head out to find the others. One of the drones shoots a laser near them causing them to scream. The scream caught Tint, Jane, Amelia, and the Plantar's attention. They rushed out to see what was going on.

"Anne, we heard a blast," said Sprig. "What's going on?" Darrel points to the drones, "That robot sent in drone scouts to attack us. We have to stop them and defend this temple." The gang prepares to fight, only to see more people coming together to help them out.

"We're right behind you," said Mrs Boonchuy. "Mom, stay in the temple," said Anne. "It's dangerous!" "This is our temple, and our community," said Mrs Boonchuy. "When one of us is under threat, we all are."

"Let's show these drones we are not afraid!" Sarah cried. The entire Thai community gets together and prepares to fight. Polly calls out to the people to charge as the drones shoot more lasers. They throw food, woks, and Thai masks, damaging them in the process.

Amelia launches Sprig into the air and slams the drone into the ground. Anne and Darrel slam down the drones with their sample plates. Mr Boonchuy and Matthew attempt to help, but fail to bring down one of the drones. As the one flies after them, Tint and Polly work together to bring down the drone. Tint gives Polly a small static charge from his hands, and throws Polly who gives the drone a swift kick to the face.

All the drones were destroyed, and the group celebrated. But then, Darrel was shocked. During their scuffle with the drones, the Plantars and Tint had their disguises removed. "Anne! Their disguises!" Darrel cried. Anne was shocked as well, because the community gets a glimpse of their interdimensional travelers.

"Everyone, I can explain," said Anne. "I know it's a lot to process," said Darrel. But they were stopped by the community. "No need to know," said an old woman. "If they're your friends, then they are our friends too. No matter how ugly they are."

"Burn," said Tint. "Ouch," said Hop pop. "It's funny, but it still stings," said Sprig. "They're talking about you three," said Polly. Anne and Darrel were relieved. "Wow guys, that's amazing," said Darrel. "I don't even know what to say," said Anne. "Except: thank you so much." She spoke in Thai and bowed to her community. And so did Darrel, Tint, Jane, Amelia, and the Plantars.

Later that day, the community was cleaning up the drone debris. "Man, middle school equipment is really advanced these days," said Mrs Boonchuy. Matthew whispers in Darrel's ear, "So when are you going to tell them about your situation?" "When Anne is ready to tell them," replied Darrel. "These are her parents and it's only fair if she tells them herself."

"What are you talking about?" Mr Boonchuy asked. "Nothing," said Darrel and Matthew simultaneously. "Okay," said Mr Boonchuy in a suspicious manner.

"Well, hour's up Anne. You're probably itching to get out of here," said Mrs Boonchuy. Anne looks back to see the community working together, and smiles. "I think I like to stay a little bit longer," she said. "I thought you had more important things to do," "Mooom!" Anne exclaimed. "I'm kidding," said Mrs Boonchuy. "I'm kidding."

Suddenly, a horn was heard honking and they saw Dr Jan pull up in a pickup truck. "Sorry guys," she said. "This couldn't wait. It's just too dang exciting!" Dr Jan gets out of the truck and brings the group to a tree to see the secret message.

The gang sees the message in amphibian language. "It's written in some kind of ancient language," said Dr Jan. "If only we could read it." "Darrel," said Anne. "Your finger is glowing," Darrel looks down to his index finger and finds it glowing and sparkling with magic. Darrel comes up with the idea. He touches the pot and the words translate in the English language.

"How are you doing that?"Tint asked. "I don't know," replied Darrel. "But look. It says: Seek the Mother of Olms. She will guide you to your Destiny." Everyone gasped in amazement. Knowing that this is their next clue to wondering what's going to happen next. Then, Anne said, "That doing anything for anyone?" "Not especially," said Sprig. "Nope," said Tint. "No siree," said Hop pop. "I'm drawn a blank," said Darrel.