Episode 14: Epidemic Proportions
Rusty and Sam are walking home but Sam is giving Rusty the cold shoulder. She seems to be upset with Rusty for not telling her before his childhood friend, Sarah Ann, and for not paying attention to her when they're talking. Rusty ends up proving her right when he pays more attention to a nearby billboard advertisement. An angry Sam walks home alone and shouts back to Rusty to literally drop dead. Rusty continues on alone, saddened...and then feeling tired and dizzy.
Sam's arrival home doesn't make her feel any better as her brother Jason shoots at her with a toy gun. Then we notice that Jason is also feeling strange too.
The next day, it's revealed that both Rusty and Jason have caught chicken pox. They are brought to the town clinic where they have to stay for observation. When it's revealed that Rusty may have to be hospitalized elsewhere if he doesn't improve in a few days, Sam breaks down crying. Feeling guilty, she stays at the town clinic to help Doctor Hopper and Nurse Hopper care for both her little brother and for Rusty.
Rusty slips into a deep sleep and has a dream...where he meets both Cerebus the Aardvark and Little Nemo.
Rusty makes a full recovery after awaking from his dream; a happy Sam accompanies him and Jason home.
Tropes:
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Sam acts like this over Rusty's childhood friend mentioned in the previous story.
- Dream Sequence: Rusty has one while sick with chicken pox.
- Guest Star: Not one, but two - Cerebus the Aardvark and Little Nemo.
- I Wished You Were Dead: Sam says this to Rusty around the start of the story and comes to regret it later.
- Lampshade Hanging: Rusty addresses the reader when he meets both Nemo and Cerebus, realizing he must be dreaming.
- Pajama-Clad Hero: Both Rusty and Nemo during their dream.
- Public Domain Character: Nemo
- Shout-Out:
- Some of the scenes from Rusty's dream are homages to the various Sunday pages of Little Nemo.
- The story also ends much like the original Nemo strips, complete with Nemo waking up and his parents angrily calling out to him.
- Shown Their Work: Yes, fatigue is a symptom of the early stages of chicken pox. It's also Truth in Television that it can be serious in some cases, especially with teenagers.
- Sick Episode: Rusty and Jason get chicken pox.
