24. Evacuation

Complete story — includes the ending

Hal and Dewey accidentally cause a train transporting toxic waste to derail, forcing the neighborhood to evacuate. Dewey convinces everyone that he is an orphan, and Reese starts running a black market. Overcome with guilt over causing the wreck, Hal tries to help other evacuees and collects donations for the "orphan", unaware it is Dewey. Malcolm is grounded, and Lois forces him to stay with her the entire time. Malcolm stands up to Lois, Reese's black market is discovered, and Dewey calls Hal his dad and confesses to causing the wreck, causing everyone to assume Hal scammed them. Malcolm stays inside and relaxes as the others are forced to sleep outside. Eric takes Francis out on a blind double date, but Francis' date turns out to be Eric's date's younger sister. However, Francis has a better time with the girl than Eric has with his own date.