Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The six and a half year old brown haired girl sat with her face scrunched in concentration as she stared deeply at the group of cheerios sitting on the kitchen table. MOVE! She yelled at it within her mind.

“What the hell are you doing you little brat? Clean this mess off the table!” Harry Wormwood barked at his daughter.

“Yes, daddy.” Matilda quickly answered swiping her hand across the table and scooping up the scattered pieces of cereal into her palm before making her way over to the trash can.

“I work too damn hard for you to be wasting food like that!” The large man with the receding hairline said.

“Sorry, daddy.” Matilda said returning to the table to properly pour herself a bowl of cereal this time. Matilda scooped a spoonful of cheerios in her mouth as she sat deep in thought. Maybe this was all just her imagination, Matilda thought to herself ignoring her older brother, Mikey, who had began throwing his own cereal at her. She had thought for sure she had somehow blown that TV in the living room to bits the other night. All she had done was glare at it while wishing it would break and the next thing everyone knew, it exploded! Maybe it was all just a coincidence. Maybe she had stayed up one too many nights reading past her bedtime.

Matilda simply sighed again as she got up and put her empty bowl in the kitchen sink before finishing getting ready for kindergarten. Matilda slipped on her favorite blue dress before carefully brushing her hair and tying it up with her red silk ribbon. After carefully going over her “special homework” from Miss Honey (8th grade algebra) she packed up her backpack and waited by the car. Soon Matilda was on her way to her most favorite place of all-school. Matilda smiled widely as she took her seat behind her best friend after saying good morning to Miss Honey.

“Want to hear something crazy?” Matilda whispered to her friend. “The other night I think I broke my families TV set; with my mind!”

“I think you’ve been reading too much.” Lavender said giggling.

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Matilda agreed smiling, but suddenly frowned when she was alerted by a sudden pressure coming from her bladder. Matilda looked at the clock checking to see how much time she had before class started. If the Trunchbull found her out in the hallway even a second after the bell rang! She didn’t even want to think about that!

“You okay?” Lavender asked seeing the sudden serious expression on her friends face.

“I have to go to the bathroom.” Matilda admitted blushing slightly. Normally she could hold it no problem, but today was show and tell and she didn’t want to be distracted at all. Suddenly the bell rang as everyone ran to their seats before the Trunchbull made her morning rounds. Everyone jumped slightly as a large stern looking woman with her hair pulled into a tight bun holding a leather riding crop stormed in un-announced.

“Surprise inspection!” The Trunchbull yelled snapping the riding crop in her hand. “Everyone on your feet!”

All the children, including Miss Honey, nervously sprang up at attention. “Textbooks have been going missing from my office!” The Trunchbull said walking up and down the row of children glaring at each and everyone of them as they all nervously averted their eyes. “I think I know just who the thief is!” The Trunchbull said glaring down onto the small brown haired girl. “Wormwood! Open your backpack!” Matilda gulped as she picked up her bag and unzipped it before having it suddenly snatched out of her hand and overturned onto the floor. Textbooks of various grade levels spilled onto the ground with loud thumps as the Trunchbull bent down to pick up the Intermediate Algebra book that under normal circumstances a kindergartener should have no business carrying around.

“I-t’s not what it looks like!” Matilda stuttered as she felt the back of her dress grabbed.

“Oh, I think It’s exactly what it looks like!” The Trunchbull said smiling maliciously while showing off her yellowing teeth. “You’ve been stealing books out of my office!” She spat.

“Ms. Trunchbull, please-” Miss Honey started to say.

“Shut up, Jen.” The fat woman said grabbing a fistful of Matilda’s hair from the back of her head causing the young girl to wince in pain as her eyes watered. “I’ve caught the thief red handed! Don’t try and cover for her!” She snarled pointing the riding crop at the blond woman who looked on with a look of horror on her face. “I’m taking the brat where she belongs and if you take one step out of this classroom you're fired!” She threatened while dragging Matilda through the hall and into her office.

“No, please! Not the Chokee!” Matilda begged as she was drug along.

“That’s exactly where you’re going you good for nothing thief!” She yelled opening a separate door that had several large nails and pieces of glass protruding from the inside. Matilda grimaced as the door was opened to reveal the tiny space only a child could fit in without being impaled by the sharp pointy objects. “Now stay there!” The Trunchbull said pushing the young girl into the corner and slamming the door closed and bolting it with several dead locks. Matilda whimpered as she stood in place while the door was shut leaving her in total blackness.

Tears rushed into the young girls eyes as she stood trembling in the dark from fear. How long would she have to stay in here? An hour went by and then another as the cause of the girls trembling went from fear to her steadily filling bladder. She tried to take her mind off of it by thinking about the latest book she had read by Charles Dickens. Matilda moaned quietly shifting from foot to foot thankful that her small size allowed her that much room to move about. Her teacher, Miss Honey, had been giving her textbooks from more advanced grades to help her prepare for college. The Trunchbull must have noticed they had begun to go missing from the supply cabinet in her office.

“I have to pee.” Matilda whispered in agony as she grabbed the front of her dress and bunched the material inside her legs to get a better hold. What was it that she had read about the human urinary system? Girls her age could only hold so many mls before their bladders gave up. Matilda moaned again as she used both her hands to press down in order to apply extra pressure. She didn’t dare call out for help for fear of her sentence inside the Chokee being doubled, or even tripled, but she was running out of time. If she had an accident who knows how the Trunchbull would punish her. Not just the Trunchbull, but her parents as well! Last time she wet the bed they took away all her books for a week! She was only three at the time to boot; she didn't want to know what would happen if her mom was called to the school to pick her up because she had wet.

Matilda grimaced as she felt moisture beginning to enter her panties. She pressed down even harder and slightly bent her knees as much as the small space would allow. Another ten minutes in she had begun to leak for a second. Matilda wondered how long she had been in here. How many hours had it been? She moaned in desperation as a second longer leak escaped and then a third.

“SOMEONE HELP!” She finally yelled out as the door began clanging as if someone was trying to open and close it without undoing the deadbolts. Finally after several hours Matilda lost control as she felt warm liquid beginning to trickle down her legs; slowly at first but picking up momentum as Matilda finally gave up and removed her hands as she sobbed. The steady stream of urine trickled and pattered onto the ground soaking her panties, socks, shoes and dress. Matilda continued to cry; she was hungry, tired, wet and miserable. Her eyes grew wide with fear as she heard someone approaching and undoing the dead bolt. There wasn’t enough time for her accident to have dried; there was no way to hide this. She clenched her eyes shut waiting for the worst as the door was quickly opened.

“Oh, Matilda.” She heard as she opened her eyes to find a very worried looking Miss. Honey. “It’s okay, sweetie.” Miss Honey said pulling the girl out and wrapping her into a tight embrace while Matilda couldn’t help but cry and beg for forgiveness. “Honey, it’s okay. It’s not your fault.” Her teacher said kneeling down to her height and lightly tracing the girl’s tear streaked face with her palm.

“I’m sorry!” Matilda continued to sob, but stopped when she felt herself suddenly get lifted into the air causing her to wrap her arms around Miss Honey’s neck as she buried her head in her shoulder as she was carried down the hall. “Please don’t call my parents.” She begged as she was set down in the bathroom.
“Why not? I’m sure they’ll understand. Accidents happen-”

“No! They won’t!” Matilda insisted locking her fear filled eyes with Ms. Honey’s. “I wet the bed when I was three and and.” She said starting to sob again. Ms. Honey bit her lip anxiously thinking of what to do. Clearly something had happened in the past to worry her this much. This was so unlike the normally mature girl. Ms. Honey finally nodded in understanding as she remembered the last run in she had had with Matilda’s parents.

“Alright, honey, I won’t call your parents.” The teacher assured her. “How about you wait here and I’ll see if the nurse has anything.”

“Okay.” Matilda agreed calming down some and went and hid in a cubicle until her teacher had returned.

“Matilda, I’m back.” Ms. Honey said entering the girls bathroom carrying a dress as Matilda peaked her head out from the stall. “How about you go in the big stall.” She suggested as she began to dampen a washcloth in the sink before following the girl into the teachers only cubicle. “Go ahead and take off anything that’s wet.” Miss Honey instructed as Matilda was forced to remove, well, everything while Matilda blushed as Miss Honey began cleaning her wet skin. “I’m sorry, dear, but this is all the nurse had in the way of underwear.” Miss Honey said apologetically as she held up the babyish teddy bear print diaper. Matilda blushed furiously while Miss Honey helped her put it on still standing and tape it up.

“I’m sorry.” Matilda apologized again looking away once they were back in the empty classroom.

“This wasn’t your fault.” Miss Honey said kneeling down and wrapping her arms around the girl in a big hug. “You don’t have to keep apologizing. You were in there for four hours; I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner. Would you like to come over to my house after school? I can wash your clothes for you.” She offered referring to the bag Matilda kept hidden under her chair containing her soiled dress.

“I’d like that.” Matilda nodded with a smile.

Chapter Text

Jennifer Honey sat at her desk with a worried expression plastered all over her face. She shifted anxiously about in her chair as her eyes fell upon the empty desk that should have been seating her star pupil. While she loved each and every student in her kindergarten class; there was something special about Matilda. Her intelligence far surpassed any student in this school yet she was only six. How could she have been so stupid, Miss Honey chastised herself. She thought the Trunchbull wouldn’t notice a few books missing here and there, but she was wrong and now Matilda was paying the price. She needed to find a way to get her out of there, but with the Trunchbull sitting in a chair in the corner watching her there was nothing she could do.

Miss Honey bit her lip anxiously as she worried about Matilda. She had seen children come out from the chokee completely traumatized and she couldn’t blame them. This had to be illegal she thought while she walked around passing out worksheets for her students. Suddenly the lights in the classroom began to flicker on and off as the Trunchbull jumped to her feet. Ms. Honey hid her smile knowing how superstitious the Trunchbull was. Maybe if something else happened she hoped while stealing the occasional glance over her shoulder at the giant olympian that was gawking up at the florescent lights while beating the case with her riding crop.

Ms. Honey began instructing the children on how to work through the addition problems but froze mid sentence as suddenly the door to the classroom sprung open and then loudly slammed shut by itself. Ms. Trunchbull cowered away from the door as it continued to open and close by itself. Ms. Honey peeked into the hall as her eyes widened in surprise to see all the doors to all classrooms were opening and banging shut by themselves. The lights continued to flicker on and off as if someone was playing with the lightswitch. Ms. Trunchbull at that moments found what little courage she had left and sprinted out the door as it slammed shut behind her before opening once again. Teachers began peeking into the hallway to see what was going on as the Trunchbull sprinted down the hall, out the building and to her car.

Ms. Honey immediately made a beeline for the principal's office after she timed her escape from the self operating doors. After jumping into the hallway she began sprinting until she got to the chokee to see the door rattling and shaking. Quickly Miss Honey unfastened the dead bolt and threw the door open to find the sobbing child standing in a puddle of urine.

“It’s okay, sweetie, Ms. Trunchbulls gone now. You can come out.” Miss Honey said gently coaching the shaking child into her arms. “It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry!” Matilda cried as she felt Miss Honey wrap her arms around her and pick her up.

“Shh. It’s okay, Matilda.” Miss Honey whispered rocking the girl in place noticing that the lights had stopped flickering and all was finally still. How strange she thought as she carried the girl into the nearest bathroom and set her down.

“Please don’t call my parents.” Matilda begged with wide pleading eyes filled with fear. Normally it would have been school policy for any and all accidents to be reported, but something in the girls eyes told her she should let this slide. What could she tell her parents anyway? Your daughter wet herself while we locked her in a cage for half the day?

“Alright.” Miss Honey agreed. “I’ll try and find you something to wear.” She walked back down the hall towards the nurse's office while ignoring the streams of kids and teachers pooled into the hall for lunch break.

“Ah, Jenny! What can I do for you?” The school nurse said looking up from her paperwork.

“Hi, Carol. You wouldn’t happen to have any clothes that would fit a six year old girl, would you?”

“You can check the lost and found box.” Carol said pointing to a drawer.

“Thank you.” Miss Honey said digging through the box and pulling out a white one piece dress that looked like it would fit the girl. “What about underwear?” She asked after going through the box of mostly sweaters.

“No, I don’t have any. What happened?” Carol asked looking up.

“One of my students was put in the chokee for too long.” Ms. Honey explained with a sigh. “Poor things really shaken up about it.”

“You want me to call her parents to come get her?” Carol asked quickly putting the pieces together. It wasn’t the first time a child had wet themselves from being left in there and unless something changed it wouldn’t be the last.

“No, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’ve met her parents before; I don’t think she get’s the love and support she needs at home.” Miss Honey said. “I think it would be better if I just helped her get cleaned up and we move on.”

“You wouldn’t be talking about the Wormwoods, would you?” Carol asked going through some drawers.

“Yep.” Miss Honey said nodding. “How’d you know?”

“I called her mom once when Matilda came in with a fever. She told me to tell Matilda to suck it up, told me not to bother her and hung up.” Carol explained opening up a package and pulling out a plastic garment. “She can’t go without underwear so she’ll have to wear this.” She said holding up the diaper.

“You don’t have anything else? I think this would just upset her more.” Miss Honey said frowning while examining the folded up garment with cute printed teddy bears. “It’s not even a pull up.”

“Sorry.” Carol apologized with a shrug. “Kids don’t leave underwear lying around, thankfully. Here’s a washcloth too.”

“It’ll have to do, thank you.” Miss Honey said before rushing back to the bathroom to find Matilda hiding in a cubicle. “It’s okay, no one else is in here. How about you come out and I’ll help you get cleaned up.”

“What if someone walks in?” Matilda squeaked while Miss Honey dampened the green washcloth in the sink.

“Then let’s go in the big stall. I found some clothes that will fit you.” Miss Honey said smiling comfortingly once Matilda finally stepped out of the cubicle and followed her teacher into the larger stall. “Alright, let’s see.” Miss Honey said inspecting the damage. The poor thing was literally soaked. “Go ahead and take off everything wet.” Matilda silently nodded turning her head away as she pulled down her soaked blue striped panties and dress leaving her completely naked. She jumped slightly as Miss Honey knelt down and began wiping her legs down with the damp wash cloth. Matilda blushed and closed her eyes. She wasn’t used to having anyone care for her and she definitely wasn’t used to having accidents.

Matilda let out a quiet moan in embarrassment and covered her face with her hands as the washcloth moved higher up her legs until she felt it cleaning her privates and butt. “I’m really sorry about this next part, but It’s the only option.” Miss Honey explained as she unfolded the plastic garment as Matilda’s eyes grew wide in shock as her teacher began taping a diaper on her waist.

“I-it was just a one time thing!” Matilda whimpered while her teacher adjusted and played with the waist band. “I’m- I’m not a -a baby!”

“Of course you’re not a baby; you are a very wonderful and mature young girl who just had a run of bad luck is all. We just can’t have you going without underwear and this is all I could come up with.” Miss Honey explained motioning for Matilda to lift her arms so the dress could be slipped on. “There! All better.” She said smiling as she unlatched the door while Matilda picked up her wet clothes and followed Miss Honey out.

“Thank you.” Matilda said still refusing to make eye contact after they returned to the now empty classroom once they found a bag to put the wet clothes in.

Miss Honey glanced at the embarrassed young girl who took her seat and stared out the window. Miss Honey wondered what she could to do make Matilda feel better until an idea struck her.

“Would you like to come to my house after school?” Miss Honey asked. “I have a large collection of all sorts of books you’d be interested in. I could even wash your clothes for you.” She smiled seeing the shine in Matilda’s eyes return as the girl nodded gleefully.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The rest of the day went along smoothly without any paranormal activity. Miss Honey quietly chuckled to herself as she saw Matilda making weird faces as she tried to adjust to the extra padding underneath her. Miss Honey sighed in frustration while she quietly graded papers during nap time. While other students were learning how to read and write basic words and letters, Miss Honey had Matilda writing full essays and book reports. Another grammatically flawless research paper on the human heart she thought as she read over Matilda’s work.

Matilda didn’t belong in kindergarten, or even elementary school for that matter, but the Wormwoods had nearly slammed the door in her face when she suggested she begin preparations for college. The Trunchbull was of course no help either, accusing Miss Honey of being weak minded and that she was attempting to “pass the little brat off on someone else”. Seeing no other solution, Miss Honey took it upon herself to provide Matilda with the proper level of education she deserved and began trying to assess just how high of a grade level she should be at. So far she had aced every test this school had to offer which put her above the 6th grade. What she really needed was a full time private tutor, but there was no way she could ever convince the Wormwoods to pay for something like that.

Once the final bell had rung dismissing the children, Matilda hung back eagerly awaiting getting to spend alone time with her favorite person.

“Ready?” Miss Honey asked smiling as Matilda enthusiastically nodded her head. “You need to call home first and make sure it’s okay with your family.”

“Oh.” Matilda said as she bit her lip. “Okay.” She said finally dialing the number into the phone sitting atop the desk. Miss Honey frowned as she overheard the conversation on the other side that sounded a lot like “Don’t bother me with that.” “They said it’s fine.” Matilda lied. Close enough Miss Honey thought as she grabbed her stuff and walked out the door.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Just how had she let this happen Miss Honey thought as the two of them huddled together in the small closet in the mansion. She should have never told Matilda the story of her childhood. She thought that by explaining to Matilda that she hadn’t grown up in a loving home either Matilda wouldn’t feel so alone. The young girl had looked shocked to learn of Miss Honey’s father’s death and of being forced to live with the Trunchbull as her aunt growing up. What she hadn’t expected was Matilda to run into the house when she told her of her lost doll that was left behind.
While walking past the mansion that rightfully belonged to Miss Honey, the two had hid behind some bushes as they watched the Trunchbull pull out of the driveway and next thing she knew Matilda had made a mad dash inside to retrieve Miss Honey’s doll. Overcome with sudden nostalgia Miss Honey had looked around instead of getting Matilda and making a run for it. Not five minutes later the Trunchbull had returned and the two of them were forced to hide in the nearest closet. That was nearly two hours ago Miss Honey thought as she sat on the closet floor with Matilda in her lap.

Miss Honey grimaced as Matilda leaned back putting pressure on Miss Honey’s full bladder while she cursed herself for not using the bathroom at school before she left. How was she supposed to know she’d be hiding in a closet from her deranged aunt all night? She wondered if this was how Matilda felt being stuck inside the chokee all day. She grimaced again as Matilda began shifting in her lap increasing her discomfort dramatically. The girls restlessness only seemed to be increasing as the minutes slowly dragged on.

“What’s wrong?” Miss Honey whispered in Matilda’s ear when she heard a small quiet whimper escape the young girls mouth.

“I have to go pee.” Matilda mumbled as she shifted again.

“Yeah me too.” Miss Honey whispered back. “As soon as she goes upstairs we’ll make a break for it. Just try not to move so much.” She said as she felt a sudden spasm from her bladder from the pressure of Matilda’s constantly shifting weight against her lower stomach. Miss Honey began to worry that if they didn’t make it out soon she really would feel like how Matilda felt earlier. At least Matilda was wearing protection she thought giving the girls front a pat to see if she still had it on. Miss Honey shook from the effort of clenching as Matilda squirmed causing a little to leak out. She’d have to get Matilda to sit still or else she was going to have an accident too. There was only one way that was going to happen.

“Sweetie, it’s okay if you can’t hold it.” Miss Honey whispered through clenched teeth. “Just go ahead and pee in your diaper.”

“No, I can hold it!” Matilda said pressing her hands into her lower half. “I’m not a baby.”

“This doesn’t make you a baby.” Miss Honey whispered wrapping her arms around Matilda to hold her in place. “It’s called being resourceful and making due with what you have available.”

“But…” Matilda mumbled trying to think of a counter argument.

“Sweetie, just go. You’ll feel better.” Miss Honey encouraged holding the girl against her while petting Matilda’s hair. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Promise?” Matilda asked as her face burned with embarrassment at the thought of wetting a diaper while sitting in her teachers lap.

“Promise.”

“O-okay.” Matilda mumbled turning her body and burying her head into Miss Honey’s shoulder as the woman tried to comfort her by rubbing her back. Miss Honey bit her knuckle and clenched her thighs together while she heard the loud hissing of Matilda relieving herself into the garment secured to her waist. Miss Honey could feel the diaper slowly expanding atop her legs and growing warm. Matilda lightly trembled as she kept her head buried in her teacher’s arms.

“It’s okay.” Miss Honey whispered when she realized the girl had begun to cry. “Shh we still need to be quiet.” She said as she lightly patted the girls back. “I’m going to be in the same boat soon if we can’t get out of here.” She admitted as she sharply inhaled wishing the space she was in was big enough to move around.

“What time do you think it is?” Matilda asked as she felt her teacher beginning to tremble and fidget.

“Six maybe.” Miss Honey said through her now labored breathing. “Matilda, no!” She gasped as Matilda stood and slowly opened the closet door to peek her head out.

“She’s watching a movie.” Matilda whispered sitting back down in Miss Honey’s lap who let out an audible groan. “Miss Honey,” Matilda said studying the pained expression on her teachers face in the dimly lit closet from the cracks in the doorway. She smiled sympathetically knowing her teacher wasn’t going to last much longer. Miss Honey let out a weak smile as she clenched her fists at her side.

“I guess now I understand what you went through today.” She groaned feeling a leak escape and then another as she desperately tried to keep holding it in despite her dress already becoming visibly wet.

“It’s okay, Miss Honey.” Matilda said wrapping her teacher in a hug once her little hand had felt the dampness on her teachers dress. “I won’t tell either.” With misty eyes Miss Honey nodded knowing it was going to happen anyway. She patted Matilda’s head as she forced her clenched and trembling body to relax. Almost immediately pee gushed and hissed into Miss Honey’s panties as it pooled beneath her soaking her dress and legs.

“I can’t believe I just did that.” Miss Honey said with a depressed sigh. “ I haven’t had an accident since I was a little girl.” After another 20 minutes Matilda stood and peaked her head out the door again to find the Trunchbull snoring loudly in the recliner.

“She’s asleep.” Matilda whispered as Miss Honey stood from her puddle on the ground and peeked her head out. Quickly and silently the two made their way through the house and out the front door. It was nearly 7pm by the time they made it to Miss Honey’s and both were in desperate need of cleaning up. After throwing all the clothes in the wash Miss Honey took a quick shower before calling Matilda’s parents to ask if she could stay the night. After getting a less than courteous, “You can keep her for all I care” Miss Honey hung up the phone and was about to ask Matilda what she wanted for dinner when she heard a sudden “Woah!” Come from the living room.

Matilda stood looking up at the overflowing bookshelf that took up nearly half the wall. Her brown eyes sparkled as she read over all the different titles. Miss Honey smiled as she quietly watched before taking a seat in her favorite recliner and instructed the girl to pick one. Matilda stood indecisive for a moment before finally choosing one about a dragon. Miss Honey then motioned for Matilda to climb up in her lap as the young brown haired girl eagerly obliged as she pushed up the sleeves to one of the woman’s old T-shirts that nearly went down to Matilda’s knees. After snuggling up close to her teacher Matilda began to read out loud with ease, never stumbling over any difficult words until she could barely keep her eyes open. Miss Honey finished reading the chapter for her as Matilda closed her eyes and rested her head on Miss Honey’s chest as she listened to the woman’s voice lulling her to sleep.

“I wish you were my mommy.” Matilda muttered before losing consciousness. Miss Honey stopped reading in surprise and looked down to find the young girl fast asleep. She smiled and set the book down as she lightly stroked Matilda’s back.

“I wish I was your mommy too.” She replied.

Chapter Text

Jennifer Honey sat at her desk at home going over her finances on the computer after carrying Matilda to bed. There was just no way she could make this happen she thought as drew up a document of her monthly finances and bills. She could barely support herself on her income. How could she support a small child? Not to mention she’d need to get her a private tutor. Miss Honey sighed before switching off her monitor and joining the girl in her bed who appeared dead to the world. She smiled as watched the girls deep even breathing for a few moments before flicking off the light on her nightstand.

It was a nice thought, but it could never work on her current income. Who's to say her parents would even just hand her over to her just because she asked? Them supporting her while living here would probably be too much to ask for as well. How would she even start that conversation? Hi, remember me? Since you don’t seem to want Matilda, can I have her? There’s just no way she thought until she felt a pair of tiny arms wrap around her waist as a small body huddled up resting it’s head on her stomach. I’ll find a way, Miss Honey thought to herself while running her fingers through the young girls thick brown hair as the pair slept peacefully through the night.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Miss Honey was the first to awaken Wednesday morning in the darkened room. She squinted her eyes at the digital alarm clock which read 6:08 AM. Just a few more minutes, she thought taking notice of the sleeping girl cuddled up against her chest. She could be yours, the voice inside Miss Honey’s head told her as she lightly rubbed the girls shoulder. Can she really? Miss Honey thought as the girl began to slightly stir.

“Time to wake up, Matilda,” Miss Honey whispered as the girl slowly opened her brown eyes before searching the room in confusion until finally they met with the woman’s kind smile. “Did you sleep well?” She asked as Matilda nodded her head in response as Miss Honey began lightly stroking the back of the girls head. Suddenly Matilda’s eyes went wide as the color drained from her young face causing Miss Honey to retract her hand. Was she uncomfortable with this much affection? The woman tried to best to read the startled features on the young girls face, but came up with a blank. It was almost as if she looked...afraid? “Honey, what’s wrong?” She asked growing concerned once Matilda’s eyes had quickly begun to fill with tears. Suddenly the girl ducked into the covers before pulling them up over her head as she curled into a ball sobbing.

“Matilda, please come out.” Miss Honey said worried. Did she do something wrong? Did she somehow hurt her? Why are the lights flickering? The bed is...shaking. An earthquake!

“I-I can’t.” The woman heard coming from underneath the covers.

“Why not?” Miss Honey asked, but received no reply. “Would you come out if I made...french toast?” Nothing. “Pancakes?” Still nothing. “You’ll have to come out if you want to go to school.” Miss Honey said smiling at finally seeing movement underneath the covers as a small tear streaked face popped out. “What’s got you so upset this morning? Are you scared of earthquakes?” She asked as Matilda shook her head. “The only time I’ve seen you this upset was when you...oh.” Miss Honey said as she pulled back the blankets to confirm her suspicion.

“I-I’m sorry!” Matilda said as more tears fell down her face.

“Matilda, it’s ok.” Miss Honey said with a soft smile. “Look at me; it’s ok. It was just an accident.”

“I haven’t wet the bed since I was three.” Matilda mumbled looking back down.

“How about I run a bath for you, and we forget this happened? Just like yesterday,” Miss Honey said as Matilda nodded her head as her teacher lead her into the bathroom to run the bath. Matilda stood awkwardly in the corner gripping the bottom of the now wet T-shirt as she watched Miss Honey fill up the tub for her. “Go ahead and get in and I’ll bring you your clothes and a towel.” She said. “Just go ahead and throw the shirt on the ground, and I’ll wash it later with the bedding.” Matilda nodded again and undressed before tentatively sticking her foot in the water to check the temperature before slowly lowering herself in the tub.

I can’t believe I peed in Miss Honey’s bed, Matilda thought as she breathed a heavy sigh. That’s three times in one day! She’s never going to let me stay over again. Matilda let herself sink lower into the water as she imagined her teacher telling the entire class what she had done. What if she puts me in the chokey as punishment?

Once Matilda was settled in Miss Honey walked to the back of her cottage where she stored her washer and dryer. After collecting the girls now clean clothes from the previous day and a towel Miss Honey stood in front of the open bathroom door studying the girls worried expression as she sat motionless in the tub. Poor thing, she thought before making her presence known.

“You look so down.” Miss Honey commented as she sat on the closed toilet seat lid. “I enjoyed getting to read with you last night.” She said after a moment of silence.

“I enjoyed it too.” Matilda said while finally meeting the woman’s gaze. “I’m sorry about your bed. You’re probably never going to let me come over again.” She said sadly.

“Matilda, it’s normal for kids your age to occasionally have accidents; these things happen. Haven’t you ever read that?”

“I did, but it’s not normal for me.”

“Have you been stressed more lately?” Miss Honey asked as she began digging through the bottom cupboards underneath the sink and produced a large plastic cup with a nearly completely faded design.

“I guess being put in the chokey was pretty scary.” Matilda admitted.
“It would scare me too.” Miss Honey agreed as she dunked the cup into the water and poured it over the girls’ head. “I don’t like being in tight spaces. Miss Trunchbull used to lock me in the closet for hours as punishment. Ever since I can’t handle feeling trapped.”

“Were you scared yesterday in the closet?” Matilda asked as Miss Honey nodded.

“I was, but you were there with me so it wasn’t too bad.” Miss Honey said splashing the girl in the face.

“Hey!” Matilda said giggling.

“You’re always welcome here, Matilda; bed wetter or not.” Miss Honey said with a smile as the light returned in the girls eyes.

“Really?” Matilda asked.

“Really.” Miss Honey answered. “As long as it’s okay with your parents of course. I can’t just kidnap you, but whenever you feel like staying over you’re more than welcome. “Now, think you can hand me that shampoo bottle over there? It’s the white one in the corner.”

“Sure.” Matilda said as she stretched out her hand. Suddenly the white bottle began to shake before it slowly rose in the air by itself and floated gently into the girls outstretched hand. Matilda stared at the bottle in utter shock before slowly meeting the woman's equally stunned gaze as the two sat in silence trying to process what just happened.

Chapter Text

Matilda sat alone in her room amongst the pile of borrowed library books thinking about the past two days. It seemed no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts kept drifting back to her afternoon in the Chokey. The feeling of being trapped inside that tiny little space made her chest tighten in anxiety. She closed her eyes, while taking a few deep breaths as she leaned back on top of her bed. It was bad enough she had had an accident then, but to follow it up by being put in a diaper by Ms. Honey. She shivered at the thought. Then she got them both locked in a closet for several hours where she ended up wetting the diaper, and poor Ms. Honey, she thought. It must feel so much worse for an adult to have an accident. To top the whole day off, she just had to go and wet the bed!

“Ugh” Matilda moaned softly. Other than that though; it had been so... nice. Never before had she felt so cared for than she had in that 24 hour period. She smiled as she remembered the feeling of Miss Honey’s warm arms wrapped around her. When was the last time her own mother ever made her feel like that? Had she ever? No, definitely not. She had never held her or read with her, or even... said she loved her. How many perfect scores on tests had she shown her in hopes of earning some kind of praise only to be told, “that’s nice” or “I’m on the phone”.

The way Ms. Honey had held her though. It had made her feel like she was actually...wanted. She probably does that with all her students though; It’s not like she was anything special. So what if she could read at a higher level or do a few math problems. She probably does that all the time.

“I hope she lets me come over again sometime.” Matilda mumbled wrapping her arms around her pillow pretending it was her teacher’s soft stomach as she remembered the lovely feeling of having her hair played with. Would she ever let her over again, she wondered. It wasn’t just the bedwetting that was the problem now after all. Matilda had actually scared her teacher. She grimaced as she remembered the look Ms. Honey had given her after the bath tub incident. It was a look of pure fear. “She probably thinks I’m some kind of freak now; that’s definitely why she wants to meet with my parents alone tonight.”

She had had this inexplicable feeling for days now that something...strange was going on with her and just the other day wasn’t she trying to move cereal around? To think that it actually happened though. It wasn’t just her imagination; it really happened! She was elated when she had gotten over the initial shock, until she saw the look on her teachers face however.

The two had walked to school that morning in complete silence, leaving Matilda to wonder if she had done something wrong. She hadn’t meant to make the shampoo bottle move on its own, it just sort of happened. She went to reach for it, but it came to her instead. The feeling of guilt intensified when Ms. Honey forbid her to tell anyone what had happened that morning; even Lavender.

She felt kind of bad ignoring her friend all day in favor of daydreaming or looking over at Ms. Honey for some sign that she wasn’t in trouble. If only she’d smile gently at me like she usually does, she thought unaware her teacher was lost in her own thoughts. Matilda had been so distracted that day that she hadn’t even finished all of her special school work like she usually did and was forced to take it home as homework on top of her usual reading assignments. Pre-Algebra and intro to chemistry just didn’t hold her interest like usual.

When Matilda heard the doorbell ring, she sprang to her feet and dashed to the end of the hall peeking her head around the corner so as not to be seen. She could hear her parents grumbling about their show being interrupted as an unhappy Harry Wormwood opened the door to find one of his least favorite people standing in the doorway.

“What do you want?” Harry barked.

“Mr. Wormwood.” Miss Honey said trying to stand up as straight as she could under the intimidating man’s glare. “I’d like to talk to you about the possibility of adopting your daughter.”

Chapter Text

The twenty-three year old dirty blond haired woman sighed and bit at the inside of her cheek as she asked herself for what felt like the millionth time how she was going to make this work. It would help if her aunt didn’t take most of her paycheck, but the fact of the matter was, she did. Nearly all of it. She told herself, as she had told herself many many times, it was the only way she could get this job.

The Trunchbull had gotten her way, as she always had by terrorizing the girl growing up, and had prevented the woman from attending college, even though it was Miss. Honey’s dream to become a teacher. She was lucky in the sense that the Trunchbull didn’t care if the teachers she hired had proper teaching credentials or not, as the children’s well being was not her first priority- or any priority.

Cranham Hall had an extremely high turnover rate for teachers, as it was widely known the Trunchbull would simply fire anyone right before hitting tenure, if they could even last that long. Most simply gave up mid year. As far as Miss Honey was concerned, they’d never had a teacher last more than a few years before they’d crack under the terror of the Trunchbull. So whether it was desperation, or the Dictator like Principal simply wished to continue tormenting her niece by keeping tight reigns on her, she offered Miss Honey a teaching job, under a signed contract that 75% of her wages went directly in the Trunchbull’s pocket. For “Back payment of raising her,” the woman had said.

“It’s not like she could teach anywhere else without a degree,” She had told herself many times and even though she took home less than a part-time minimum wage job, she was happy….sort of. At least she was making progress. It had taken years of saving to move out on her own into her shack of a cottage, but she was finally free! - sort of. Money wasn’t everything after all, but now that she was considering expanding her one person family- it was certainly becoming a bigger and bigger problem. A problem so big in fact, she was about to face her biggest fear of all- her aunt.

Her legs trembled at the thought as she tried to take deep even breathing to calm herself down. She wouldn't ask for much, perhaps make it a 50/50 deal instead of 25/75. That was reasonable, right? And that was how she had ended up in front of the headmistresses door, her legs were shaking, she felt like she was going to be sick, but it had to be done- for Matilda.

“What do you want?” Trunchbull yelled from the other side of the closed door ten minutes later once Jennifer Honey had managed to find the courage, somehow, to knock on the door.

“M-Ms. Trunchbull...It’s..-It’s me.” The woman choked out, fear evident in her voice- just the way Ms. Trunchbull liked it. “C-can I come in?” She asked after receiving no reply.

“Whatever.” She finally heard before pausing to calm her nerves, and gently pushing open the door with a creak. “Well, what is it? I don’t have all day!” The Trunchbull barked after seeing no effort on Miss Honey’s part to begin speaking first. A trait the Trunchbull had taught her very early in life. Do not speak without being spoken too- ever. That was the number one rule.

“I-i’ve been thinking of starting a family.” Miss Honey finally said trying her hardest to keep from buckling under the Trunchbull’s menacing glare.

“What? You actually found someone that would fuck you!?” The Trunchbull laughed in a disbelieving way as Miss Honey cringed at the sudden rise in her voice and coarse language. “You expect me to believe someone- no ANYONE, wants to see your disgusting body. Don’t make me laugh!” She said taking her infamous riding crop and circling around the young trembling woman while looking her up and down. “With what breasts will you tempt him with?” She asked taking the end of her crop and circling around Miss Honey’s chest and poking at each meager lump underneath her shirt. “With what ass will you shake at him?” She suddenly cracked the whip against Miss Honey’s backside causing the woman to yelp in pain. “Or are you trying to marry for money perhaps?” The Trunchbull said forcefully taking the younger woman’s chin in her hand and forcing the terrified soul to look her in the eye. “ANSWER ME!”

“There is no man!” Miss Honey said anxiety gripping her core. This was a bad idea, this was a very bad idea.

“So then what are you planning, you conniving bitch! Trying to run away from me are you?!”

“N-No, Miss Trunchbull, I-I was thinking of..of adopting a child!” She stuttered out as the beast of a woman finally released her face. “O-one of my students actually.”

“Oh, and where do you plan to come up with that kind of money? Being a whore? It would suit you.” The Trunchbull sneered. Jennifer closed her eyes in order the hide the fear in them.

“I-I was hoping we could re-negotiate my contract...a little.”

“Why would you even want one of those disgusting little things?” The Trunchbull asked sitting down in her chair as her lip curled in disgust.

“This girl is...special, unlike anything i’ve ever seen. I just want to raise her in an environment where she would feel wanted and appreciated, most of all, loved.” Miss Honey said. “I was hoping maybe, I-I could keep a bit more of my salary so this could be possible.”

“I’ll give you 75%” The Trunchbull said so suddenly Miss Honey didn’t believe her ears. She could only stare at the woman blinking in confusion as the sudden understanding. Was she finally coming around? With 75% she could pull it off! “IF” Miss Trunchbull started to say with a wicked smile showing off her rotting teeth. “You can last the rest of the day in there.” She said as she pointed her riding crop at the Chokey.

Miss Honey’s face fell faster than a rock falling to the bottom of a pond. In there? There was no way...not anymore. It was the place that haunted many of her nightmares. The thought of stepping anywhere near that box of death made her lungs feel as though they were no longer doing their job. A cold sweat broke out over the woman’s skin as her eyes filled with tears.

“A-anything but that, please!” She begged backing away from the door as her past childhood trauma at the hands of aunt came crashing down on her.

“Since you obviously don’t want her, I take it you’ll have no problem with me expelling her, will you?” The Trunchbull grinned. “You’ll never see that brat again.”

“No! Please, No!” Miss Honey begged as tears fell from her face. “Don’t send her away!” Miss Honey cursed herself. Why did she have to be such a coward? Why couldn’t she be brave and stand up to her aunt? Matilda stood in there for hours yesterday because of her; so why couldn’t she do the same in return?

“What will it be? Get in the box or say good-bye to Wormwood.” She taunted grabbing Jennifer by her wrist. “Now doesn’t this bring back memories. Get in the closet or I’ll break your wrist...again.” She whispered pushing the struggling woman towards the chokey.

“I won’t fit!” Jennifer tried to counter attempting to become dead weight, but the menacing giant pulled her along as if she weighed nothing more than one of the children the Trunchbull bullied herself.

“Oh, I’ll make you fit, Jen. You’re still the little whiny, spineless coward you’ve always been. I think a little time in the Chokey will do you some good.” She said pulling open the door with one hand and tossing her in with ease. “A single peep out of you and you’ll never see the little brat again!” She said and with that, the door was slammed shut in Miss Honey’s face as bits of nails punctured her arms. She was indeed too big, but she managed to crouch down and pull herself in a ball in order to avoid any more superficial wounds from the doors “decorations.” The only question was how long she’d last.

She was beginning to hyperventilate and it had only been a few minutes. The Trunchbull was right; she was nothing more than a coward who couldn’t stand up for herself or others. What would Matilda think if she saw her like this? She was crying like a punished child. Pull yourself together! Matilda went through this yesterday and was fine! Shooken up sure, but fine. She would be fine too. Deep breathes and keep your thoughts on something else.

Miss Honey distracted herself with thoughts of the heroines in books she had loved as a little girl. Books had always helped her through those long miserable days as the Trunchbulls “plaything.” How many hours had she locked herself in her bedroom reading as an escape from her deranged aunt? Jennifer had always dreamed of being brave like them, but in truth, she was as weak, timid and powerless now as she was back then.

Her goal was simply to be the kind of adult she wished she had in her life growing up. What she really wanted most of all, was to be that adult in Matilda’s life. From what she could tell, she deserved so much more than what her “family” had to offer. Matilda needed someone who could recognize just how special she really was- strange telekinetic powers and all.

Miss Honey smiled faintly in the darkness remembering the previous night. Matilda had indeed said she wished Miss Honey was her mom, and it had sent the woman's heart a flutter like nothing ever had before. She had greatly enjoyed getting to cuddle up in her favorite chair while holding her and just listening to her read until Matilda had fallen asleep in her arms. It was pure bliss and the ache in her heart longed for more.

Miss Honey had a lot of time while locked up to think about her second largest challenge. How would she convince the Wormwood’s to give her custody of their daughter? While not the most intelligent beings on the planet; they were certainly proud and marching to their house and accusing them of bad parenting sounded like a terrible idea. Another problem she encountered was how they viewed her. While clear they did not care for their daughter as a person; they might think of her as their “property.”

As terrible as the thought sounded, it was the only way Miss Honey could imagine winning custody. She would have to play their game. It sounded horrible to the woman and she cringed at the thought, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized it was the only way.

“Oh, Matilda, please forgive me for what I’m going to say tonight.” She whispered. She was smart; she’d understand it was all an act.

Chapter Text

Matilda sat in her bed gripping her stuffed bear tightly. What was going on? Why was her teacher here at the house? The temptation to peek her head out of her room was quickly building up more and more. Her father had been in a bad mood when he got home from work, something about a raid on a warehouse and profit losses, but he may as well have been speaking an entirely different language. Matilda knew lots of things far above her age range’s capabilities, but her father’s business practices was an area she purposefully let herself be uneducated in. Some things she knew were best left unknown.

They had just sat down in front of the TV when there was a knock on the door. Whoever it was, Matilda had thought at the time, they in for an unpleasant surprise. There were two rules in the Wormwood house: Don’t interrupt Harry Wormwood when he was eating, and don’t interrupt Harry Wormwood when he’s watching Tv. This person had broken both those rules.

At first, he pretended he didn’t hear it and kept on eating his microwavable meal, but then the knocking began again. He snorted in annoyance with a, “I’m not getting that!” Matilda knew better than to answer the door as well. If Harry Wormwood didn’t get the door it meant no one was to either. When the knocking became more persistent, Harry Wormwood slammed his silverware down before pushing his tray away with enough force to knock it over. The air had become tense. No one uttered a single word while Harry stormed over to the door muttering curse words under his breath the entire way.

The rest of the Wormwood family craned their necks to see who was brave or stupid enough, to come knocking on the door during dinnertime. Harry had sent the last door-to-door salesman running in a panic with a message to the others never to come back. When Matilda saw that it was her teacher, her heart sank. She was the last person she wanted to see treated poorly by her father.

“You again!?” He had shouted, before turning and glaring daggers into his daughter. It was her teacher; therefore, it must be her fault Harry’s logic told him. “Room. Now!” And that was how she had ended up here in her room, worried out of her mind for the one person who had ever shown her kindness. Her curious mind couldn’t take it anymore. She slid out of her bed and hurried over to her door. She quietly as she could pulled it open and cringed at the loud groaning sound it made. She stood in place terrified as she wondered if anyone else heard that. After a minute or two of no one storming down the hall to punish her for trying to eavesdrop, she let out her held breathe and tried to focus on what was being said. Try as she might though, she couldn’t make out a thing.

She had to get closer, she thought. She slipped out her open door and as quietly as she could tiptoed down the hall. Matilda stopped at the edge of the hall right before she knew she could be spotted. She held her breath as she strained to listen.
…………………………………………

“Mr. Wormwood, did you know it cost 35,000 pounds a year to raise a child?” Miss Honey said. She was anxious and sweating. She was about to pull off the biggest bluff she could think off, in other words, she was lying through her teeth. She had no idea what it cost to raise a child, but if she had to guess, it was more around 10,000 a year. It was still 10,000 more pounds a year than she had. She was so relieved when Mr. Wormwood had told Matilda to go to her room so she wouldn’t have to say this in front of her. She’d look like an idiot.

The first thing she had done was butter him up. She complimented his house, his wife, his business sense, and it had taken all her acting skills to do so, but also his intelligence. She had wanted to gag when she said those things, but it had served its purpose. Suddenly she went from unwanted intruder to guest of honor. She hated everything about what she was doing, but she had no choice. She had to play these people’s games.

Mr. Wormwood’s smug smile faltered as he stared at her with a look of utter horror on his face. She could see the gears moving behind his eyes as he tried to do the math in his head. If she weren’t so nervous she would have surely let out a chuckle at how comical he looked. His face reddened like a frustrated child about to throw a tantrum over a simple math problem. “But I have two!” He finally blurted out before clenching his jaw.

“Did you know that girls cost almost twice as much as boys?” She lied again. “We are materialistic beings: clothing, accessories, make-up, jewelry.” If he had half a brain he would have noticed Matilda was not that type of girl, but fortunately for Miss Honey all Harry could see were the dollar signs flying out of his pocket. He looked to his wife as she simply shrugged. It was true for her, so why wouldn’t it be true for the little runt as well.

“I can’t afford two of you!” He barked. “Just last week she spent almost 125 pounds on hair products!”

“Well, sow-rry, but my hair gets all frizzy when I use that cheap stuff.” Mrs. Wormwood complained twisting her long blonde locks in between her fingers.

“I could lose my business!” He said. Miss Honey smiled on the inside. This is exactly what she had hoped would happen. Clearly their finances were more important to them than their children. Just one final jab into his pride.

“What would the neighbors think of that?” Miss Honey said trying to sound as casual as possible. “It’s too bad you decided to have more than one kid. I could see you starting the next Vauxwell Motors.” She watched his face turn bright red. She wasn’t sure if he was about to yell and scream or simply internally combust. Finally he let out a defeated sigh. “You know, it might still be possible.” She said. He looked up at her, eyes begging for a solution. “Your son, he seems like such a good boy, a spitting image of you in fact. You could put him to work and together you could make that dream possible.”

“Yes, you’re right. He is a spitting image of me, and if he’s anything like me, you know he’ll be great!” He said. Miss Honey nodded her head as she felt a little bit of her lunch coming back up.

“Just think, Wormwood and Son, 1,000 car lot right off the highway where everyone could see your name.” His eyes shone brightly as he saw the dollar signs. Maybe he could even afford a commercial! “But Matilda…” Miss Honey said with a grimace. “As her teacher, I can honestly say, she doesn’t have what it takes.”

“That runt is a burden to us all. I hardly believe that’s my own flesh and blood. I think there was a mistake at the hospital.” He scoffed.

“What if I told you I had a plan that would save you 15,000 pounds a year and take away the burden of having someone like her in your family?” On the outside, Miss Honey remained calm and collected, but on the inside she wanted to scream. How could she say those things about her? Where was this manipulative lying side coming from? If her father could see her he would be ashamed. “You could sure make quite the investment into your business with an extra 15,000 pounds a year.”

“Yes, yes I could!”

“What if, for a measly 850 pounds a month, I raised her for you. I could turn her into a proper Wormwood for you.”

“And you can’t do that at that school I’m sending her to?” He asked suddenly becoming suspicious. “Why should I pay you?”

“She’ll be out of my class in less than a year. Then she’ll go to some other teacher that doesn’t have your best interests at heart. Not to mention, normally, it would cost closer to 3,000 pounds if she stayed here with you.” Miss Honey said. “Why should you bother to raise her if she’ll be no use to you?” She dug in her bag for the paperwork. This was it. All they had to do was sign this paper and she’d have a legal document agreeing that they would pay her child support. She wasn’t proud by any means of what she’d done, but once she had Matilda it wouldn’t matter.

“So if I sign this?” Harry asked looking over the document. She could see him stumbling over the larger words as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“Then she’s out of your hands and you’re one step closer to that empty lot by the highway.”

She said. Her hands shook as she bounced her knees in anticipation. She was bouncing her knees so much she was shaking the whole coffee table. Wait…that wasn’t from her, the whole house was shaking! The last time this happened…Oh no! Miss Honey looked up and saw Matilda standing in the hallway. Her expression was one of which Miss Honey had never seen on her before. Tears were streaking down her face, not of sadness but of rage. Suddenly Mrs. Wormwood screamed. Photo frames, dinner trays, and sharp silverware was flying around the room. Even their 75 lb television set was hovering off the ground.

“Ghosts!” Mrs. Wormwood shouted. “The ghosts are back!” She stood on the couch screaming and using her arms to cover her head. Did these people really believe in ghosts?

“Not again!” Harry shouted grabbing a broom as he swatted at the flying silverware. So they didn’t know about Matilda’s powers. She could use this to her advantage.

“Look!” Miss Honey shouted amongst the chaos. “Look at Matilda! She’s possessed!” Matilda’s eyes narrowed even more as everyone looked at her. The house shook even more violently and to confirm their fears, she lifted her hand and pointed it towards her father as a Tv dinner tray came from behind and smacked his bottom repeatedly. He swore loudly and as he begged for someone to help him.

“It really is her!” Mrs. Wormwood shouted. The house was utter chaos. The light bulbs shattered one by one along with the tv screen. Fashion magazines swarmed around Mrs. Wormwood as she screamed and batted them. Michael was cowering underneath the coffee table, large butt sticking out as a prime target. Another tray dinner tray swooped down and smacked him as he shot up howling only to hit his head on the table.

“Sign the paper and it will stop!” Miss Honey said amidst the chaos. “I will take her and banish the demons plaguing her!”

“Sign it, Harry!” Mrs. Wormwood shouted.

“Where’s a pen?” Mr. Wormwood shouted. A drawer off to the side began shaking violently and burst open as a pen shot out and stabbed into the coffee table just inches from his fingers. “She’s trying to stab me!” He shouted before tugging the pen out of the table and signing the paper. “OUT! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”

Miss Honey grabbed the paper, grabbed Matilda’s hand and ran out the door as everything in the air fell to the ground. Now the only problem was calming her down.

“Matilda, I am so sorry you heard that! I didn’t mean a word I said! It was all a trick! It was-“ Miss Honey searched the young girls face for the rage and fury it so obviously shown earlier, but to her surprise, all that was there was a mischievous smile.

“I know it was.” Matilda said calmly.

“You…you mean you’re not mad?”

“You’re not the only one who can act. My father is stupid, but he would eventually figure out it was a trick. I needed to improvise to make him afraid. You played well on his pride and love of money, but the one thing that drives him even more is fear.” Matilda explained. Miss Honey stared at her in amazement. To think a six-year-old girl could process her surrounding that well. What surprised her even more was the suitcase and backpack she carried. Miss Honey hadn’t even noticed until just now.

“You’re packed?” She asked. “How did you pack so fast?”

“I had everything ready days ago.” She said with a smile. “I just knew you’d save me!” Matilda quickly latched on to the woman’s waist as they stopped walking. Miss Honey smiled widely as she bent down and held her new daughter in her arms.

“I love you.” Miss Honey whispered in the girls’ ear and she lifted her up and carried her the rest of the way home.

“I love you too,” Matilda said with a wide smile as she rested her head on the woman’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “So how do you plan to rid me of my demons?” She asked with a giggle.

“I guess it’s something we’ll just have to figure out together.”

Chapter Text

“Matilda, please come out.” Jennifer Honey said, trying to coax the small child out from under the blankets. The lump ever so slowly began to move forward until a small face emerged sporting a look of pure guilt. “It’s not your fault.”

“I’m so-“ she tried to say, but was cut off by a gentle finger pressing against her lips.

“You don’t have to apologize every time this happens. It’s okay, I promise. Why don’t you hop in the bath and let me take care of this? Leave your wet things in the hallway.” Matilda nodded her head and unpeeled herself from the covers before she made her way to the bathroom, head hung in defeat. At least the house didn’t shake this time, Jennifer thought to herself as she stripped the bed.

Maybe she should schedule her a doctor’s appointment. In the week that Matilda had come to live with her, this was the third time she had wet the bed. With Matilda swearing up and down this never usually happens, Jennifer was worried. Perhaps Algebra two was a little too advanced for the six year old. Or maybe it was their other training that was too much for her little body to handle. What would she tell the doctor? I think my newly adopted daughter, whose parents I convinced was worth less than a car dealership, is wetting the bed because of the physical strain of having telekinetic powers? Oh yeah, that’ll go over real well. They’d think I was nuts. Great job, Jenny, lose custody over her before the paperwork is even finalized.

It wasn’t like Matilda could use her powers on demand yet; although they had been having fun trying. The first night started with her attempting to levitate a piece of popcorn. Jennifer would throw it in the air and Matilda would try to manipulate it into her mouth. After a handful of failed attempts, they spent most of the evening just throwing popcorn at each other. It was great. They giggled, lost in an all out free for all, the purpose of the exercise completely forgotten. It wasn’t until Jennifer had launched a handful at Matilda’s face did they remember why they had started this in the first place. Instead of showering the young child in bits of popped kernels, they froze midair, suspended in place by invisible hands.

It was then they discovered emotions to be the driving force behind it. The lights had flickered on and off because she was afraid. The popcorn kernels hung in the air because she was happy, and the worst of all, the night Jennifer had taken Matilda from her home. She had been hurt. The way her parents had given her up without a fight, even if that’s what she had wanted, hurt her to the point of being able to manipulate a household full of objects. It was as clear as day to Jennifer now. Matilda had lied. She wasn’t acting that night, and if she was, it was only to reassure Jennifer she was ok with it. Maybe the reason for her bedwetting now was because she was hiding that hurt deep within herself. The thought tore Jennifer up inside; to the point she was tempted to see if she could move objects as well.

She wondered what she could do to help her. What could someone like plain and simple Jennifer Honey have to offer someone extraordinary like Matilda? An education? Jennifer spent more time learning from Matilda than Matilda learned from Jennifer. Money? Even with the money from her parents they would still be scraping to get by. Love? Yes, that was the one thing she could give her. Matilda had already stolen her heart long ago on that very first day. She’d shower her in the love and affection she had so obviously been lacking in. It was all she had to give her.

“Miss Honey! I forgot a towel!” Matilda’s voice rang from the bathroom, snapping her from her thoughts. She went to the cupboard to look for the biggest, and fluffiest one she could find, but all that was there were thin, old ratty things she had picked up from a garage sale more than ten years ago. Hmm, that was something they could do today. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and the swap meet would be in full swing.

“Here you go.” Jennifer said handing over the least torn up towel she had to the dripping wet and shivering child. “You know, it’s the weekend. You don’t have to call me Miss Honey at home.”

Matilda looked at her puzzled for a moment seemingly lost in thought. “What should I call you then?”

Deep down she wanted to hear the word, mom, but stopped when it was on the tip of her tongue. Too much too soon. “Jennifer’s fine.”

“I can’t call you by your first name.” Matilda said. “You’re my teacher!”

“Not at home I’m not, silly. Hmm, how about, Jenny?” She said, taking the towel from her and throwing it over her head.

Matilda giggled as her head popped out. “I guess that’s okay, but only here. It’s impolite to call a lady by her first name.”

“Whatever you’re comfortable with, but you still have to call me Miss Honey at school. Now what would you say to going over to the swap meet after breakfast? It’s a nice day out after all.” Jennifer suggested rubbing the towel over the girl’s head.

“That sounds fun!”

After a quick bite to eat of toast and tea, Jennifer pulled a mason jar of change out of the cupboard and examined it. She had maybe about ten pounds at the most saved up. She frowned slightly as she pulled out the highest denominations and put them her pocket. They’d have to be careful and only buy what they absolutely needed.

“Miss Honey, here.” Matilda said reaching out her fist. Jennifer opened her palm as Matilda deposited a wad of bills in her hand. Where in the world had she gotten this? There had to be at least 100 pounds if not more. “I saved my allowance.” Matilda said with a shrug.

“No, sweetie, this is yours.” Jennifer said trying to give it back, but Matilda just shook her head.

“Hold it for me then.” Jennifer sighed, but agreed. She should be supporting her, not the other way around! She couldn’t spend a little girl’s allowance! She’d sell all her books if she had to!

They walked out the front door and chatted about the book they had been reading together- an old warn out copy of a Charles Dickens novel Jennifer had picked up years ago at a second hand bookshop for fifty pence. Maybe if they still had the energy- and money- she could take Matilda there. She’d probably find it a lovely place to spend an afternoon browsing.

When they got onto the main road ten minutes after 9 am, the little town was in full swing with the nearby farmers market as bustling as ever. After they finished with the swap meet, she figured she should stop by on the way back and pick up a few groceries. She’d have to ask Matilda what she liked to eat.

Once they arrived, they got lost looking at all the little odds and ends people were selling in their stalls. Different kinds of music blared from various large boom boxes. A stall to their left sold every type of flower she could think of: lilies, tulips, roses, and daisy’s lined the white plastic table in ten gallon buckets. A tent to their right had dresses and blouses swinging from hooks in the gentle breeze. Food vendors were out setting up their sugary snacks on display sending scents of cinnamon wafting into the air.

She was curious about what kind of things Matilda was interested in. All she knew of was her love of academics. Even her packed suitcase and bags-which she said she had packed days prior- was nothing but necessities. Not a single toy. Did she even have interests outside of reading? Jennifer kept a close eye on her as they walked through the stalls. The little girl browsed around, but nothing appeared to really keep her interest for long- until she came upon a beat up looking chess set. Her eyes shone as she opened it up and examined the pieces.

“Do you know how to play?” Jennifer asked.

“I’ve read about it, but I’ve never had any one to play with before.” Matilda admitted. “I had hoped there would be one in the classroom, but-“ She trailed off looking it over.

“Well, chess is a little advanced for a kindergarten class.” Jennifer said with a laugh.

“Would you play it with me?”

“Of course! I’d love to.” Matilda smiled wide and pulled a five-pound note out of her pocket. Just how much money did this girl have? If she hadn’t known her to be such a sweet and honest girl, Jennifer would have assumed she cleaned her parents out before she left. The elderly man smiled and handed her her change, as he looked her up and down.

“She yours?” He asked as Jennifer proudly nodded.

“Make sure she doesn’t eat the pieces.” He said. Jennifer frowned and looked to Matilda to gauge her reaction. She had almost expected her to be angry at being talked down to, but she just smiled and shook her head.

“I’m not very fond of the taste of wood, sir.” She replied before turning and searching through the other games he had. Jennifer stood at a distance glad to have found something she was interested in other than just books and schoolwork. Board games did seem like something she would be interested in. She wondered if he had any jigsaw puzzles they could do together in the kitchen, but a look to her left revealed Matilda was already one step ahead of her as usual.

“Margaret!” The old man shouted into his trailer. “If I sold all the games here for two pounds each, and subtracted the seven percent the lot gets, what would my profit be?”

“I don’t know! I’m not a calculator!” A woman’s voice shouted back. The man grumbled under his breath and reached for a pen from his pocket along with a dirty napkin. He sat hunched over scribbling number down.

“We’d make fifty nine pounds and 34 pence if we sold everything!” He shouted back a few minutes later.

“Your math is off.” Matilda said without looking up from the instructions on the back of the game. “You need to take your number of board games, multiply it by two, which gives you 72 pounds, and then multiply that by .07. That gives you five pounds and four pence. Now subtract that from your 72 pounds and you end up with a total of 66. 96 pounds.” The man blinked in surprise for a moment before a wide grin spread across his face.

“Cute.” He said, before yelling inside for a calculator. A few moments later, the woman named Margaret appeared with calculator in hand and passed it off to him, before she returned to the sanctuary of the trailer. Miss Honey watched him curiously for a moment as he punched in numbers from his napkin. He remained still staring at it, before erasing it and starting over. “What did she say her answer was?” He asked after a moment of silence.

“66.96 I believe.” Jennifer said, a smile spreading across her lips at his shocked expression. She knew that look. It was the exact same look she had worn the first time she had experienced Matilda’s calculations.
“Here you go, six pounds for these.” Matilda said, handing him the money as she held up the puzzles she had picked out. He stared at her blankly for a moment, before thanking her and accepting the money.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn’t eat those pieces either.” Jennifer said as they continued on.

Chapter Text

Matilda tossed and turned in her sleep. The dream had started off so pleasant. She was just about to be crowned England’s youngest chess Grandmaster. Miss Honey was there with a bouquet of flowers for her, and the audience was cheering. She heard a voice bellow from the audience, “That’s my daughter!” and “That’s my little girl!” She followed the sound until she locked eyes with her mother beaming up at her- an expression she had never received from her before. Matilda felt a rush of happiness and relief rush over her and then… everything changed.

The audience gasped. She looked down at herself to see her bare legs damp with pee. Her dress was ruined. The cheers turned to cries of disgust. The expression on her mothers face became one she was all too familiar with, repulsion and indifference.

“See, this is exactly why we sent you away!” Harry Wormwood yelled. “Disgusting, get her out of my sight! You’re a Wormwood it’s time you started acting like one!”

Matilda felt a giant hand clamp around her arm. She let out a wail of pain as the Trunchbull dragged her off stage and onto a different one. She was thrust into a chair facing the other children in the school. There, sitting on a table was a giant chocolate cake. No! This wasn’t her punishment! This hadn’t happened to her! She was in the audience! Her only punishment had been…

Then she found herself standing alone, wet and cold, staring at the nails in the walls mere inches from her face. If she dared move even a muscle she would be met with the sharp pain of rusty metal cutting into her skin. Even worse, she could get tetanus! She had read about that in a book and it sounded awful!

A small panel opened and eyes peered down at her. She had expected the Trunchbull, but instead they were Miss Honey’s.

“Please let me out!” Matilda begged.

“I’m disappointed in you, Matilda.”

“Wake up, Matilda.”

“I’m sorry!” The small child moaned in her sleep and shivered from the damp bedding. A gentle hand touched the top of her head. Her eyes sprung open and she examined her surroundings. She slowly sat up and looked around the small apartments one bedroom. Various items that had once been on the nightstand were now scattered across the floor. A mirror that had once hung on the wall now spread shards of glass on the carpet. “Was there an earthquake?”

“N-not quite.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Stress.” the doctor said after a moment as Matilda pumped her legs that dangled off the exam room table.

“That’s it?” Miss Honey asked. “Are you sure? She really hasn’t been herself lately.”

“How so?”

“Well, she’s been acting sort of...well...childish.” Miss Honey said. The doctor raised an eyebrow as he looked at the small six- year- old girl sitting on the table, and then back to Miss Honey. “I mean she’s normally very mature, but she’s started,” She dropped her voice to a whisper, but Matilda could still hear the word “accidents.” “I mean, it’s not a big deal or anything, but I just want to make sure there isn’t some kind of underlying issue.”

“I could check her blood sugar, make sure we’re not dealing with juvenile diabetes. Excessive urination can be a symptom.”

“Please, but it’s not just that it's, well, how do I put this? Things have been… flying around the room when she gets upset.”

“Flying around the room?” The dr. looked at the woman doubtfully. Miss Honey locked eyes with Matilda, whose expression was one of horror as she shook her head. “You mean she’s getting upset and throwing things?”

“Y-yes, like that.” Miss Honey said.

“So she’s been throwing tantrums and you’re concerned because it seems out of the ordinary for her?”

“Yes!” Miss Honey exclaimed as Matilda scowled. She was not throwing tantrums, Matilda thought until she remembered last night.

Miss Honey had brought up the idea of wearing diapers to bed. Logically it made sense! It shouldn’t have been such an issue, but instead of thinking things through like she usually did, she had resisted the idea and it had led to their very first fight. Not even a fight, but a disagreement...at least until the unknown pressure inside her had become so unbearable she had thrown it out and the invisible force smashed the bedroom mirror to bits. She couldn’t play dumb with her arms outstretched like some kind of cartoon superhero mid attack as glass exploded around the room.

Matilda sighed. She knew she needed to apologize, even if she didn’t quite understand how she had made the mirror blow up.

Matilda tried her best to tune out their conversation, even if it was about her. The pressure in her chest and behind her eyes was beginning to bother her and if she didn’t get it under wraps, she would unintentionally demonstrate what Miss Honey was talking about. She tried to think about Miss Honey’s promise that afterwards they’d go to the museum together. They were having a special exhibit today on ancient civilization. She had always wanted to go. It was huge! Three stories and there was a massive hedge maze in the back. She had tried on several occasions to go, but they never let her in without an adult. Even that though quickly lost its grounding ability after listening to the two of them go back and forth.

“May I be excused? I need to use the restroom.”

“Yes, of course. I need something from you though.” The doctor said.

Matilda hopped down from the table and was handed a specimen cup. She examined it. She knew what it was for from reading about medical tests, but she had never had to herself. She couldn’t even remember when the last time she was in a doctor’s office. Had her parents ever taken her at all?

“Am I current on all my vaccinations?” Matilda asked. Legally, she would have had to be for school, but she had a sinking suspicion Crunchem Hall wasn’t very particular about following the laws. Hadn’t she seen a girl in her class get thrown over a fence by her hair on the first day? Bruce Bogtrotter would agree “normal” wasn’t in their schools vocabulary.

The doctor let out a patronizing chuckle. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard a little girl ask me if she was getting a shot that way before. Why don’t you let the adults discuss that?”

“Please, I’m-” Matilda started to say, but was cut off.

“Now I know shots can be scary, but it’s not as bad as you're imagining.”

“I want-”

“Now run along and go potty, or do you need your mommy’s help with that?” He gestured to the cup in her hands.

The pressure in her eyes was too much to take. Behind the doctor, the wastepaper basket began to levitate.

Miss Honey let out a gasp. “Yes, I think I’ll go help her!”

Matilda felt a larger hand begin to pull on hers, and the trash can fell back to the ground with a loud thunk. The doctor swiveled around in his chair searching for the noise as Matilda let Miss Honey lead her to the bathroom.

Once there, Miss Honey watched with a mixed feeling of apprehension and wonder as bits of paper towel floated around the family style bathroom. Matilda on the other hand, seemed hardly to notice. She stood as still as a statue, staring transfixed at the trashcan as garbage continued to rise. After about a minute, everything fell to the floor leaving the bathroom covered in trash.
Matilda let out a relieved sigh and rubbed at her eyes.

“Matilda.” Miss Honey said, a bit of apprehension in her voice. The young girl looked up upon hearing her name. “What’s going on? How long has this been happening?”

Matilda thought about it. “Well, I guess it started when I accidentally blew up my dad’s tv, but i’m still not sure. I can’t control it or anything. I get this burning in my eyes and I feel like I’ll blow up if I don’t get it out. I’m really sorry about the mirror, Miss Honey. I wasn’t trying to break it, I had to get the pressure out before it broke me!” She blurted out without stopping. She hadn’t realized her eyes had begun to water and sting, but this time for a more mundane reason. “Please don’t send me back!”

“Matilda, I would never send you back, sweetie. You are the most extraordinary and brightest child i’ve ever met. You are wonderful, and special. I’m sorry your family never recognized you for what you truly are. Maybe the doctor’s right and you are just under a lot of stress right now. Sometimes I forget you’re only six-years-old. You may have the mind of someone far beyond your age, but your body is still growing.”

“I was embarrassed and. . . I lost control of it.” Matilda tried to explain. “I think I need practice.”

“Well,” Miss Honey said looking around the room. “I guess we can start by cleaning up in here.” Matilda took in the room for the first time and cringed. There were paper towels everywhere! One was even dangling from a vent in the ceiling! Not only that but the faucet had turned itself on. She pointed at the nearest piece of trash and concentrated and then… nothing happened. She pointed again and again trying with all her might, but the most she could get to happen was turning over a crumpled up wad on its side.

“Where are you when I need you?” Matilda said. Resigned to her fate of manual labor, Matilda used her foot to sweep everything into a pile and Miss Honey picked it up and put it back in the trash. Matilda looked up at the vent. How were they going to get that down?

“Do you want help with that?” Miss Honey asked quietly.

“I guess, but how?” Matilda said, still looking up.

“Well, you sit on the toilet and lift your gown up and i’ll hold the cup so you don’t drop it.”

“Wha-” Matilda started to ask until she saw Miss Honey holding the specimen jar. Matilda’s face grew a shade of pink. “I can do it myself. I’ll meet you outside.”

“Are you sure, it can be tricky with small hands.”

“No, thank you. I’ll be fine.”

She waited until Miss Honey left, before reading the directions on the label and sat on the toilet. Why in the world would she think I needed help with this, she thought to herself. She lifted the gown and bent over, but she couldn’t see where to position the cup. All she could see was the gown no matter where she bunched it up. Some genius she was if she couldn’t even pee in a cup by herself. Resigned to doing it by feel, she blindly stuck the cup under her and relaxed. She could hear it splash in the bowl below. This wasn’t right. She moved her arm around under her until she heard a different sound and felt the warm liquid begin to fill from the outside.

There, no problem. She had this. She. . .

. . . . .

“Matilda?” Miss Honey asked, seeing the young girl come out with her head hung low.

“I dropped it in the toilet.”

…..

They had made her drink eight cups of water. She felt so full by the time she downed the last one. She looked down at both her arms now covered in bandages and felt relieved. Sure the shots had stung, but the momentary discomfort was nothing in comparison to catching a preventable disease. She had been right to be concerned. She hadn’t been vaccinated since she was a baby. So it had been one shot. One cup of water. Another shot. Another cup of water.

“I know Diphtheria isn’t very common here as its mostly found in Asia and developing middle eastern countries, but a virus that creates a toxin that can destroy the nose and throat, before leading to paralysis and death doesn’t sound pleasant. It’s still nothing compared to Polio though. Miss Honey, did you know that 1 in 200 people that had Polio ended up paralyzed?” Matilda rattled on.

The doctor chuckled politely, as she spouted out different dates, until she had come to the M.M.R. vaccine. That date he did know off the top of his head. It was 1971 and as she confidently repeated it, he stopped in his tracks and stared at her as if he was noticing her for the first time. He had assumed she was pretending to know as children sometimes did in order to appear more knowledgeable than they really were.

“That’s right.” he said as he knit his eyebrows together. He wanted to assume it was a lucky guess, but that didn’t seem right. “Do you know what M.M.R stands for?”

“Mealels, mumps, and rubella, they each had their own separate vaccinations in the late sixties, but they didn’t put them together until early 70’s.” Matilda said.

“Where did you learn that?”

“A library book about contagious diseases. It was really interesting, but I skipped over the pictures, especially when it came to the bubonic plague.”

“I don’t blame you. That medical book, you read it or did someone read it to you?”

“I read it.”

“And you understood it?”

“Yeah, I wash my hands a lot more now.”

“You said you were six, correct? How long have you been able to read adult books?”

Matilda shrugged and thought about it. “Well, my parents left me home alone since I was three, and it was really boring so I’d walk down the library everyday since it was just a couple blocks. The children’s books stopped being all that interesting pretty fast, so I guess since I was four?”

“Wait, what?” The doctor asked alarmed. He looked up at Miss Honey. “She’s been left unsupervised since she was three?” He gave her an accusing look.

“Yes, that’s why she’s in my care now. She is a student in the class I teach and I started noticing signs of severe neglect. When I asked her parents about it, they signed over custody to me. I’m just waiting on the courts to make me her legal guardian.” Miss Honey explained.

The doctor relaxed a little. “You must be a very kind person to take her in. Most would just report them and move on with their lives.”

“Matilda is a very special girl. She’s not like other children her age. I asked my kindergarten class as a joke to multiply a large sum, and she knew the answer right away. I thought she was kidding until I worked it out with a pencil and paper.”

“I’m starting to understand your concerns a little better, but I stand by my earlier assessment. I think it’s just stress. It can affect the body in strange ways, especially small children. I must admit I am quite impressed with her knowledge and mental capabilities, but she is still just a child. If the urine test and blood work come out fine, my advice is give it time. This is a big change in her life, and she might just be having trouble adjusting emotionally. If the bed wetting becomes persistent, get a mattress protector and maybe some of those absorbent night underwear for kids.”

“No!” Matilda said, before cringing in embarrassment for interrupting. “I’m sorry, but please, no diapers. “I’m, I’m…” she started to say before pausing to get her thoughts in order. “I’ve really never had this problem before.”

“Well, I wouldn’t call them diapers.” The doctor said, but she shook her head. “Well, then I would suggest no liquids before bed, and if need be, set an alarm in the middle of the night to wake you up to use the bathroom.”

Matilda frowned. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

“That’s a thought.” Miss Honey agreed. “Let’s do that then.”

“You ready to try this again?” The doctor asked, handing Matilda another specimen cup. “Please take this nice woman to help you this time.”

“You, you really don’t need to help me.” Matilda mumbled. “It’s kind of embarrassing. You’re my teacher.”

Miss Honey frowned, feeling a little hurt. She thought they were more than teacher and student at this point. Is that all Matilda saw her as?

“Well, we can’t have you drop it again, what if one of my female nurses went with you?” the doctor asked.

Matilda shrugged. She’d rather do it herself, but she had blown that chance. Anything was better than accidentally peeing on Miss Honey’s hand or something. She might blow up the sink with her mind. She had read that viruses were spread via bodily fluids, and what if this sudden telekinetic thing was a symptom of some unknown illness? She couldn’t risk passing it on to her.

Not Miss Honey.

Anyone but Miss Honey.

The nurse would wear gloves at least. If she couldn’t do this by herself, this was the next best option. She gave her agreement, before giving one of her small hands a glare. “This is your fault.” she whispered at it as she followed a young black haired woman with glasses back into the bathroom.

“Go on and lift up your gown with both hands and spread your legs.” Matilda didn’t fight it when she felt herself get cleaned, it was weird but necessary with her hands occupied. “Now what you’re going to do is pee for a second to flush out anything, and then stop.”

Matilda stared over at the sink and relaxed. One second went by, and then two. No, no, no, no!!

“I can’t stop it!”

“No worries, it happens. It takes practice, as long as I can get enough in the cup. Good, just a little more, and... this should be enough. D-did the sink just turn on?”

Oops, Matilda thought as the nurse stood back up with the half-full cup.

“Go ahead and finish up here and meet us back in the room. Don’t forget to wash your hands in the haunted sink.”

Matilda breathed a sigh of relief when she was alone. Embarrassment seemed to be the trigger for whatever this was. She didn’t realize doctor appointments could be so...awkward. At least all the embarrassment for the day was over, she thought as she washed her hands, blissfully unaware that the day had only given a taste of what it had to offer.

Chapter Text

As smart as Matilda was, there was one thing she didn’t fully grasp, and that was just how remarkable she really was. She didn’t know why adults sometimes gaped at her with glassy eyes, or why Miss Honey kept telling her she was special. She had never thought herself as special before. She had certainly never been told so by her family. She enjoyed reading and learning new things, but in her mind that didn’t really set her apart from anyone else her age.

She didn’t feel any different than her friends, Lavender and Hortencia. They all loved pulling pranks on Miss Trunchbull, but if anything though, if anyone was a “genius” it was Hortencia. Matilda and Lavender were in awe of her when it came to her bravery and how far she was willing to go to pull one over on the Trunchbull. They looked up to her, as any pair of six year olds would look up to an 11 year old, with awe and reverence. When Hortencia had told the tale of how she had single handedly snuck into the Trunchbull's office and sprinkled every single one of her pair of gym shorts in itching powder, it had elevated her to god status in their young eyes.

Once the doctor had left the room, Matilda changed back into her overalls, glad to be rid of the gown. She got her legs in fine by herself, but when it came time to hoist the straps up, she winced. Both her arms gave off a dull painful throb which she fought through as she tried to fasten the buckles.

There was something that Miss Honey had said that had bothered her. She didn’t quite understand what she had meant by “she was usually so much more mature than other kids her age?” What did she mean she was being more childish than usual? Did Miss Honey expect her to act like an adult all the time? Matilda had a sinking feeling Miss Honey was putting her on a pedestal far higher than she deserved to be on. Matilda wondered if she meant childish because she needed help sometimes.

“How are you feeling? Still up for the trip?” Miss Honey asked, before taking the loose strap of Matilda’s overalls and buckling them for her.

“Yes!” Matilda said and frowned as Miss Honey fastened her clothes for her. Was this childish? She had been enjoying having Miss Honey there, brushing her hair and tucking her into bed at night. It was a new experience for her, but was she not supposed to? Was that a childish thing to want help? Mom’s always did that sort of thing for their kids in books, but Matilda wondered if that’s why Miss Honey liked her, because she was “more mature”. Was she the exception to the rule because she was different?

They walked in silence down a few blocks in the small village. Matilda stared questioningly at Miss Honey’s offered outstretched hand before they crossed the busy intersection. Was it some kind of test, she wondered to herself. Before she could make up her mind on what to do, Miss Honey had taken her hand and led her across. Matilda let out a small whimper as she let her arm be raised. She had only expected pain during the actual injection process, but not after.

Once they stood in front of the large white multi-story building all thoughts of pain and childish actions were far behind her. Now she was the one who eagerly marched forward pulling Miss Honey by the hand. She was so excited to be here! The place was full of adults and children alike on a bustling Saturday afternoon. A banner hung on the entrance that read, “Come Meet our Award Winning Olympic Athletes! Today Only!”

Matilda was fascinated by the displays. Each room had a different civilization. There was Rome, and Egypt, Incan, Persian, Ancient Greek, Chinese, Mayan and Mesopotamian. That was just a traveling display that came and set up one month a year before packing up and moving to another city. There was still the Museum's usual year around displays she had never gotten to see. There were paintings, and sculptures, and the Garden Maze in the back that drew flocks of families. She heard along the way there were hundreds of different types of plants to see. She had seen pictures in a book and it looked so beautiful. In the center of the maze was a huge gorgeous fountain.

“So what do you want to look at first?” Miss Honey asked.

“You pick, I can’t decide!” Matilda admitted.

“How about we start with Rome and work our way around?”

Matilda peered into various glass cases and read all about various inventions, and tools. There was a display about the founding of the Julian calendar she found fascinating. She hadn’t even realized nearly 30 minutes had gone by in the first room alone. She had been reading about the history of aqueducts when Miss Honey reminded her if they wanted to see everything she couldn’t stop and read every little plaque that had writing on it.

They passed through Inca and Mayan territory, but Miss Honey had to practically drag her out of the Egyptian room. She would have stayed in there all day if given the chance. The mummies history, and the pyramids were so interesting that she hadn’t even flinched reading about the embalming process despite Miss Honey’s concerns about it giving her nightmares. After two-and-a-half hours they had finished all the civilization rooms.

Matilda was ready to jump straight into the paintings, but Miss Honey pulled her in a different direction.

“How about we take a break for a bit?” Miss Honey said. Matilda noticed she looked moderately uncomfortable. She seemed to be looking around for something, spotted it and Matilda obediently followed until they came to a line for the Restroom. It was fairly crowded and by the time it was her turn, Matilda began to feel the effects of all the water she had drunk. There was just one problem though, she realized as she stepped into a stall and closed the door. She couldn’t raise her dominant arm past her chest.

Matilda winced in pain as she tried and tried again to reach the straps of her overalls.

“Matilda, are you okay?” Miss Honey asked from the other side of the stall door after a few minutes. “Do you need help?”

“N-no!” Matilda lied, sighing in defeat. Needing help getting undressed to use the restroom fell squarely in the childish category. She didn’t need to go bad anyway. She’d ask for help if it was an emergency, but for now she was fine. She kicked the plunger with her foot for show to flush the toilet and came out to wash her hands.

“Ready for more?” Miss Honey asked and Matilda eagerly followed. She quickly forgot about her predicament for the next twenty minutes until she found herself shuffling from foot to foot. She stared at the paintings with less rapt attention and focus to detail. After another ten minutes she was no longer enjoying the paintings at all. She was about to admit defeat and ask Miss Honey for help when a familiar voice behind her called her name.

“Matilda! Miss Honey!” Matilda spun around to find her older, blonde friend Hortencia and her mom.

“Oh, hello!” Miss Honey said as Hortencia made the introductions.

“Be careful out back at the Olympics display.” Hortencia warned ominously. “The Trunchbulls here and in a foul mood.”

“Why?” Matilda asked, her joy now turned to horror.

“Have you ever seen her in a good mood?” Hortencia shot back.

“No, I mean why is she here?” Matilda asked, but the answer to her question came to her the moment she closed her mouth. “The Olympics display.”

“Yeah.” Hortencia nodded before leaning in close and whispering in Matilda’s ear. “And because I put something in her drink.” She grabbed Matilda’s hand and slipped something inside of it. When she pulled back away, Matilda examined the laxative wrapper crushed in her fist. She nearly lost control of her bladder from laughing, only recovering once she crossed her legs and leaned forward. “You okay?”

Matilda gave a side glance at Miss Honey, but she was busy talking to Hortencia’s mom to notice. “I need your help.” Matilda whispered. “Not here though.” She waited for a break in the adults' conversation to ask as politely as she could if she could go show her friend something in the other room.

“I’ll be right back!” Matilda reassured them both once she had gotten their consent and dragged Hortensia by the hand towards the restrooms. She froze in dismay as she read, “Closed for Cleaning.”

“What, what did you want to show me?” Hortencia asked.

“Nothing, I needed your help with my overalls. I can’t get them off and I need to pee.”

“Why didn’t you just ask Miss Honey? Why do you need my help for?”

“Because. Besides it doesn’t matter, it’s closed.” Hortencia rolled her eyes.

“That’s such a little kid problem. You little kids can't hold it for five minutes without peeing your pants. Fine there’s another one downstairs. I’ll take you.” Hortencia groaned acting like it was the biggest chore.

“Thanks.” Matilda mumbled, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “I can’t lift my arms for some reason. ”

“Why?” Hortencia asked as the two of them rode the escalator down.

“Got a bunch of shots this morning and-”

“Tetanus, wasn’t it?” Hortencia nodded her head in understanding. “Had to get one after spending all day in the chokey. I came out with all these cuts and scrapes before Trunchbull let me out. I had to tell my parents I got cut from the metal in the jungle gym, but yeah, couldn’t lift my arm for a week.”

“So it’s normal?” Matilda asked.

“I guess.”

“Where are you two going?” A voice rang out. They turned to see Miss Honey and Hortencia’s mom at the top of the escalator about to ride it down.

“The bathroom!” Hortencia yelled back up. “Matilda needs help getting her pants off!”

Matilda cringed. “Thanks.” she mumbled. She could feel the heat radiating off her face. “Tell the whole place why don’t you.”

“I think I will.” Hortencia said with a grin. “She’s about to pee herself!” She yelled back up before letting out a laugh. “Lighten up, no one cares, you’re just a little kid after all!”

Matilda was horrified and the worried expression on Miss Honey’s face didn’t help. Even worse, she could feel the pressure building behind her eyes. She rubbed at them as tried to get the sensation to go away.

“Jeez, don’t cry I was only teasing you.” Hortencia said.
“I’m not crying, there’s something up with my eyes.” Matilda said. She stopped at the bottom of the escalator and blinked trying to get the sensation to go away.

“Matilda! Are you okay?” Miss Honey said. Matilda could hear the worry in her voice without looking at her. She must have taken two steps at a time to get to her this fast.

“I’m fine, my friend is just picking on me.” Matilda said, plastering on a fake smile. Try as she might, she couldn’t stand still long enough for that sentence to ring true.

“Are you going to lose control?” Miss Honey whispered in Matilda’s ear. Her face burned crimson.

“No! I don’t have to go that bad!” Matilda said.

“I meant the other thing.” Miss Honey said.

“Oh, umm, I- I don’t think so.” Matilda said, sounding unsure. The burning pressure was now worse thanks to the question and the realization that they were surrounded by precious and priceless artifacts was not lost on either of them.

“Let’s go outside just in case.” Miss Honey said.

“Can I use the restroom first?” Matilda asked, but she knew the answer to that question as soon as a poster fell off the wall behind them.

“Quickly! Let’s get you out of here!” Miss Honey scooped Matilda up and raced outside, leaving behind a confused Hortensia.

“Uh, see you at school!” She yelled after them.

Miss Honey briskly walked outside only to find the courtyard packed from the Olympics display. There was nowhere for her to release the pent up energy without being spotted, and the last thing either of them wanted was to be caught by…

“Jen! Jen! What brings you by?” The Trunchbull asked. “Come to see me perform my famous hammer throw perhaps? Wait, what are you doing with the Wormwood brat?” The Large muscular woman sneered at Matilda, who hid her face in Miss Honey’s shoulder. No matter how brave she was with her friends, her natural instinct was to shrink in terror when caught face to face with the horrible beast.

“Absolutely! I wouldn’t miss it! When’s the next demonstration?” Miss Honey asked, trying to appease the horrid women.

“You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing out of school with the Wormwood brat?”
“We came to see the exhibits, and-” Miss Honey’s words were cut off by a faint gurgling sound. Miss Trunchbull's face paled.

“What do I care what you do with the little vermin on the weekends?” The Trunchbull said before storming away inside while holding her stomach.

Miss Honey breathed a sigh of relief before spotting the maze. “Here!” She said, rushing inside around a few corners and into a dead end. She set Matilda down in front of a pile of leaves when they were sure they were alone. “Would that help, whatever it is to calm down?” Matilda nodded and stared fixated at the pile until it was as if a strong wind had entrapped itself in the corner of the hedge. Miss Honey watched the leaves swirl around for a few moments, until the small pocket of wind died down.

Matilda now kneeled on the ground with her ankles crossed and hands holding herself. Using her powers had made her urge to pee so much worse. She suddenly felt very weak. She gasped as she felt a small trickle escape into her pants. No. No. No. Not while she was awake! Not in public.

“Oh, Matilda, I didn’t know you needed to go this badly. ” Miss Honey said. She rested her hand on the small child's back.

“ I’m-I’m fine.” Matilda said, before standing up. She still shifted from foot to foot, but felt she could move on. She looked down at her pants alarmed at the tiny dime sized wet stain. She covered it quickly with her hands, but Miss Honey had already seen it.

“Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t undue the clasps? I would have helped you.” Miss Honey said gently as they slowly made their way towards the center of the maze. There had been a sign for porta-potties along with an ominous sign.

“Due to the recent cost of the dying plant life and flowers, please use the portable facilities located in several points along this maze.”
A large red circle with a parent and small male stick figure peeing into the bush was crossed out with a big red line through it along with more text underneath. “Punishable by permanent ban and 250 pound fine.”

“Because it was a childish thing to need help with.” Matilda mumbled, as she shuffled along as fast as she could. “I can’t lift my arms from the shots.”

“Matilda, look at me.” Miss Honey said. Matilda kept moving but looked up. “I want you to rely on me, okay? I know you’re so used to having to take care of yourself you don’t know what it means to rely on others. But If you ever need anything, big or small, I want you to tell me, okay? I don’t want you to feel you have to do everything by yourself.”

Matilda nodded, too preoccupied on the situation to let the words she was hearing sink in. Her eyes were watering and her pants felt suspiciously damp. She was afraid to look at the damage. After three more wrong turns, her heart soared when she saw the exit.

“It’s the center!” She cheered rushing forward until she stopped dead in her tracks looking horrified.

“What? What is it?” Miss Honey said, until she saw the problem. “Oh no.” She mumbled, before meeting the near crazed look in Matilda’s eyes. “Well, I guess we better get in line.”

They stood in the back and waited with Matilda occasionally letting out a cry. She couldn’t hide her situation now. A tiny wet streak ran down a pant leg. Passerby’s offered Miss Honey a sympathetic nod as if to say, “Been there with my little one.”

The door to the only porta potty finally opened. A mother and her toddler were about to go in when the crowd jumped as something large barreled towards them all. People left and right were shoved out of the way with grunts of, “MOVE!” and “Out of the way!” were hurled at them.
The Trunchbull, holding her stomach, pushed and shoved her way to the front of the line, knocking over the mom and toddler in the process before going inside and slamming the door in the process with an angry THUNK.

Miss Honey looked down at the horrified look on Matilda’s face as she held herself, tears now streaming down her face. She rubbed her back sympathetically, before guiding her away. “I have an idea.” She said. Matilda whimpered as she saw her last remaining hope vanish in front of her. She couldn’t make it through the maze to the other bathrooms. “Over here.” Miss Honey whispered, leading her into a corner of the last dead end they had come across. “Take off your shoes and socks.”

Matilda thought she knew what Miss Honey wanted her to do. Her face turned red, but it was better than having a full blown accident. Miss Honey was going to stand guard so she could pee in the grass like a dog. She kicked off her shoes before pausing to bend and hold herself again, before managing to slip off her socks.

“Please help me with the straps.” Matilda begged.

“Why?” Miss Honey asked, before realization dawned on her. She gave Matilda a sympathetic smile. “No, sweetie. You need to keep them on.” She gave her head a gentle pat.

“Wha-” Matilda choked out as she sobbed. “No, please no!” She tried to undue the strap herself, but her arm was now even worse than before. “I can’t!”

“Sweetie, it’s okay, I promise. Just get it over with.”

Matilda sobbed. “No, I’ll go back in line. I can make it!”
“Shh. Honey, you already didn’t make it.” The woman said, but her voice was gentle and non chastising. She knelt down until she was eye level with her. “There’s no point in fighting the inevitable any longer.”

“I- I-’m so sorry.” Matilda cried. Another, larger streak had begun to form but then stopped.

“Matilda, really it’s okay. You’ll feel better if you just get it over with. I promise. I love you, and a pair of wet pants, or sheets isn’t going to change that.”

Matilda stood there stunned. It had taken her so off guard that she let go of herself and stood still, staring at Miss Honey as if seeing her for the first time. Had she just heard what she thought she did?

The distraction had been enough. Matilda whimpered and turned towards the hedge as she felt her bladder decide enough was enough. She leaned her head against the hedge and began to bawl as warm liquid began to freely flow down her legs, soaking the faux denim and coming out at the ankles, leaving a patch of damp grass at her feet.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Miss Honey whispered gently, rubbing Matilda’s back. “That’s it. It’s all over now.” She gently spun the girl around to face her. She ran the back of her hand along the girls damp cheeks. There was still a look of uncertainty and shock in her eyes. “Talk to me, Matilda.”

“Were you just saying that?” Matilda asked, almost a whisper.

“Saying what?” Miss Honey asked, but the young girl didn’t respond. She was at a complete loss, until a sad thought crossed her mind. “Matilda,” Miss Honey whispered. She felt something large and thick catch in her throat. “Has anyone ever told you they loved you before?” Matilda stood still for a moment before slowly shaking her head no.

Miss Honey sighed sadly before kneeling down and wrapping her arms around the trembling girl and rocked her back and forth. “I love you, Matilda.”

“No, Miss Honey, you’ll get all wet.” Matilda said, but made no move to push her away.

“I don’t care.”

“Miss Honey.”

“Yes?”

“...I love you too.”

………………………………………………………………………………..
When the two stood up and made their way back to the center of the maze, they noticed the line for the Porta Potty had not changed at all. Was Miss Trunchbull still in there? Matilda wondered. She had an idea, a terrible, but wonderful idea. She doubted she could pull it off, but the fluttering anticipation in her chest told her Maybe. Despite her current ordeal, she hadn’t felt this happy and at peace… ever.

If she could smash a wall, and knock over shelving… what if?

“Is that lady still in there? The big one?” Matilda asked. A woman and daughter pair turned around and took in the state Matilda’s clothes. The woman gave her a look of sympathy before nodding her head. It was all she needed to know.

“There’s a fountain by the exit.” The woman called out after her.

“Miss Honey, could I use my powers for evil, just this once?” She motioned something with her finger and Miss Honey knitted her eye-brows together. It took her a minute to respond, as being a good role model and poetic karma fought for dominance.

“You could try, I mean it’s not like you could...right?” Miss Honey smiled for a second.

“I feel like I could do anything right now.” Matilda whispered. She stared at the porta-potty. It had worked with the glass. She threw her whole mind into it. She summoned every emotion she had felt today. Embarrassment, shame, and lastly, a new one she had never felt before. Love.

Ever so slowly she could see the blue box begin to rock. Back and forth. Back and forth.

“KNOCK IT OFF YOU LITTLE MAGGOTS!” Bellowed an angry voice from inside.

Back and forth. Back and forth.

“I MEAN IT, IF I FIND WHOSE DOING THAT I’M GONNA MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!”

The rocking began to pick up momentum. People in line began to back up.

Back and forth. Back and forth.

Finally with one last mental push, the porta potty tipped over.

“Huh, sure is windy today.” Miss Honey said casually as they turned their backs and began the walk back home.

“Right, Miss Honey, It just seems to come out of nowhere.” Matilda said with a grin.
“You know you don’t have to keep calling me, Miss Honey.”

Matilda took her hand in her hers. “What do you want to be called?”

Jennifer thought about it for a moment. “When you’re ready, how about mom?”

Matilda smiled. “Okay, mom.”

Chapter Text

Matilda could tell something was bothering her teacher and now guardian, Miss Honey. She wasn’t as lighthearted with the class or quick to smile. She seemed on edge, with her shoulders bunched tight almost to her ears as she stood explaining to her year one class basic vocabulary. Matilda, who usually had permission to work on more advanced lessons by herself, was now eyeing her with rapt attention.

“Who can tell me another word that starts with the “ch” sound?” Ms. Honey asked. Her best friend's hand was first to shoot up, as was the norm. “Let’s give someone else a chance, Lavender. Anyone else?”

“Child.” Someone called from the back.

“Very good, but please raise your hand next time. Umm, Cory, how about you?”

A “ch” word of a different kind flashed through Matilda’s mind. She shuddered at the memory of her time spent in the Chokee. She winced as she heard the sound of a few posters begin to shake and rattle on the wall. Breathe, she thought to herself. Breathe.

“Brian, would you mind getting up and closing the windows? It’s getting a bit windy.” Miss Honey asked. She locked eyes with Matilda for a second. None of the other students seemed to notice, not a single leaf or branch moved or swayed in the still air outside.
“Matilda,” Miss Honey said after they exchanged glances. “Would you step out into the hall for a moment?”
A chorus of “ooohhhs” and “You’re in trouble.” Filled the room. Matilda wordlessly placed a bookmark in her geography book and made her way to the door, ignoring the many eyes that trailed her. She swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. Wait, was she in trouble? She bit down on the corner of her lip. Well, she had lost control of her powers for a moment. Was Miss Honey mad at her for disrupting? Or was it because she had stopped reading? Her mind seemed to be trying to come up with a reasonable explanation, but a horrific thought kept worming its way to her consciousness.
Don’t be stupid, she told herself. Miss Honey is the kindest and sweetest adult in the whole world. She’s not going to throw you in the Chokee just because you made a few posters dance around on the wall. Then a different thought crossed her mind. What if another teacher caught her out here without a hall pass? Would they take her to the Trunchbull?
She nervously glanced up and down the hallway. What was she doing out here?
Matilda nearly jumped out of her skin when a door down the hall burst open and out came a balding man, she assumed to be in his 50’s. She froze when he made eye contact with her. Oh no, was he going to ask her what she was doing out here? She breathed a sigh of relief when he merely nodded his head in her direction as he walked past to the teachers’ lounge, his shoes clacking loudly with every step down the echoing hall.
“Matilda.” A voice behind her said. She let out an, “eek” and jumped. She felt a soft hand fall onto her shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, it’s just me.” She turned to find Miss Honey; her soft brown eyes narrowed with concern.
“N-no, it’s fine, you didn’t scare me.” Matilda said, trying to hide her shaking legs. “A-am I in trouble?”
“What? No, of course not!” Miss Honey said with a frown. “I just wanted to see how you were doing? Usually when things start shaking…” she trailed off.
“Sorry,” Matilda mumbled.
“You don’t have to apologize; I understand you don’t always have a complete grasp on…whatever this may be. I’m still just trying to figure out what makes you tic.” She said with a weak smile. “You do look exhausted, though.”
Matilda shrugged and looked away. It was Miss Honey that was worried about something! She hadn’t meant to make her worried about her too!
“Would you like to lie down for a bit and rest? I could see if there’s a bed open in the nurse’s office.”
Just as Matilda was about to shake her head, a wave of exhaustion seemed to crash into her. At the mention of a bed, it was all she could do to stay on her feet. She tried to protest, but Miss Honey had already taken her by the hand and was gently leading her down the hall.
“Did you get enough sleep last night? You didn’t stay up reading under the covers with a flashlight again, did you? You know I love your eagerness to learn, but bedtime is bedtime for a reason.”
“No, I just woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep.” Matilda answered. Mostly true, she thought to herself. She hadn’t started reading until after she had woken up.
“Did you have another nightmare?”
“Yeah.” Matilda admitted. “But not about the Chokee, this one was different.” She let Miss Honey guide her into the office as she talked to the nurse.
“Hey Jennifer, what can I do for you?” A bead of sweat began to form on Matilda’s temple. Her stomach began to churn angrily as the adults stood talking to each other. In through your nose, out through your mouth, she chanted to herself. An unpleasant, heavy sensation began to form around her backside. No! Not now! You can’t be getting sick now! She clenched her hands into fists, ignoring the cold goosebumps that began to rise on her arms and legs. In through your nose, out through your mouth. You can ask to use the bathroom after Miss Honey leaves.

“Would you mind if one of my students laid down for a bit?” Miss Honey asked.
“Just need to ask her a few routine questions. Come on up, have a seat.” The older lady patted the hard blue plastic chair and motioned for Matilda to sit. She hid the grimace from her face as she slowly lowered herself down, ignoring the urge to excuse herself. “Any pain anywhere?”

“No.” Matilda said in a softer than normal voice.

“Upset tummy? Fever? Chills?”

“Just a little tired.” She said through clenched teeth. She didn’t want Miss Honey to know she was feeling sick. She looked up at her concerned teacher and smiled weakly through the pain. “I’m fine, You don’t need to stay here.” She felt as if an invisible arctic wind passed through her body that only she could feel. She hugged herself, fighting the urge to double over. If she didn’t leave soon, she wouldn’t make it to the restroom in time. The thought of soiling herself horrified her so much, a “cover your cough” poster began to shake. In through your mouth, out through your nose. Calm down. Breathe.

“Alright, you can lay down in the back.” She said to Matilda before turning her attention back to Miss Honey. ” I’ll send her back in an hour or so.”

“Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, would you let her sleep as long as she can?” Miss Honey whispered something in the older woman's ear. What Matilda wouldn’t give to have super hearing instead of telekinesis. As it turned out, she didn’t need super hearing to know what had been said.

“Don’t let her read?” The nurse said in surprise. “Jennifer! I never thought I’d never hear words like that come out of your mouth.”

“Yeah, well, trust me. She won’t sleep if there’s a book in her hand.” While normally true, Matilda didn’t feel much like reading at the moment.

“What do you think this is, a pediatrician's office?” She rolled her eyes and added in a sarcastic tone. “As if our great and powerful leader left us any money in the budget for children’s books. All I have is an old medical textbook I brought from home; nothing she’d find of any interest.” She said dismissively.

Miss Honey cringed. “Don’t you let her get anywhere near it! One hour with that and she’ll be opening her own clinic underneath the monkey bars.” The school nurse laughed, but Miss Honey shot Matilda a look that said, “Don’t you dare.”

She would not try and open a clinic underneath the monkey bars, Matilda thought to distract herself from the pain. It would be more of a first aid center, and it would be behind the slide. Miss Honey pressed what was meant to be a reassuring hand on Matilda’s shoulder.

“Don’t feel like you need to come back quickly. Try and get some rest and take it easy today. I’ll be back later to check on you.” Matilda nodded, too afraid to speak. She feared, one wrong movement, and she’d lose the battle of control against her churning stomach. She bit at her nail as she waited anxiously for Miss Honey to be out the door and around the corner before sprinting to the bathroom in the back and nearly knocking over the school nurse in the process.

“Matilda? Are you okay?” A voice asked her. A knock on the bathroom door. An involuntary moan came from Matilda’s mouth as she sat doubled over on the toilet. Another cramp and then another. Would it ever stop? Her dress clung to her now sweaty, trembling frame.

“I’ll be fine in a minute.” She managed to get out. I hope.

“Are you throwing up?”

“No!” Ugh, she better not start throwing up! This was bad enough. Another cramp. Another moan. Why did it have to burn so much? “I… I must’ve eaten something that’s not agreeing with me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were feeling sick?” Couldn’t they have this discussion later when her body was not actively feeling and sounding like an erupting volcano?

Instead, she repeated she’d be out in a minute, but a minute quickly turned to five, and then 10. By the time she figured it was safe to leave, she could hardly move. She grimaced as she shuffled out, unable to pick up her legs or bring them together.

“How about we go over those questions one more time.” The nurse said as Matilda very gingerly lowered herself down on the cot, the wax paper sticking almost immediately to her sweaty body. “Anything hurt? Your head? Stomach?”

“My stomach.” Matilda admitted, among other more sensitive areas.

“Anything else? Nausea, Diarrhea? Chills?”

“Yes.” Her heavy eyelids began to slide closed. Maybe she could just sleep it off.

“Open your mouth, I need to get your temperature. Don’t fall asleep just yet.”

’M’not.” She mumbled in response, before feeling a hard point along with the odd feeling of the disposable plastic sleeve under her tongue, causing her mouth to quickly fill with saliva. She waited awkwardly for the beep, relieved when it was removed, and she could finally swallow.

“You’re running a slight fever.”

“I’m fine. I just want to rest for a minute.”
“I really should call your mother and have her come get you.” At that, Matilda’s eyes opened, and she fought against the pull of sleep.

“No! Please don’t! I’m fine now, see? I think I’d like to go back to class.” She tried to sit up, but felt resistance. She looked to find the nurse holding her down with the palm of her hand.

“Woah there! I know Jennifer said you liked school, but you’re sick. You should be home in bed.”

Matilda shook her head. No one knew she had been living with Miss Honey, and she had been asked to keep it to herself. She had figured it was because Miss Honey was afraid the other kids would think she was giving Matilda special treatment and that’s why she wasn’t expected to follow along in class. But the nurse was talking about calling her biological mom to come get her, and Matilda had more than an inkling they didn’t miss her in the slightest. They had hardly been aware of her existence when she had lived with them, what made anyone think they cared about her now?

“What’s your last name, Matilda?”

She sighed in defeat before answering. “Wormwood.” A sudden recognition shown in the school nurse's eyes, followed by a look of pity. Now it was clear she recognized her as the pathetic, whimpering and shivering mess that was in here last month.

“I see.” Came a quiet, subdued response. “Then how about I just let you rest a bit and see how you feel in a couple of hours?” She suggested, as if it had been her idea all along. She went over to the sink and filled a cup with water under the tap. “The most important thing is making sure you don’t get dehydrated.” She handed the cup to Matilda, who downed it and handed it back before lying down on the cot. The cup was refilled and placed on the floor next to her with instructions to keep drinking every couple of minutes, but she was fast asleep before a couple of minutes had even passed.

…………

The school nurse sat forward in her chair, file open on her desk and hand hovering over the phone receiver. There was something unnerving about the Wormwood’s. While not as openly hostile and unpleasant as her boss, a feat neigh impossible, the blatant disregard they had for their daughter rubbed her the wrong way. It was as if Matilda was nothing more than an unpleasant, spoiled brat throwing a tantrum, belonging to some other unfortunate set of parents and not their own flesh and blood. Matilda, as far as she could tell, wasn’t even a brat, but the most mild-mannered 6-year-old she had ever met.

“Maybe you’ll be a little more agreeable today…” she muttered as she keyed in Matilda’s listed phone number. She held her breath as the phone rang on the other end. Just as she was sure no one was home, an angry sounding woman answered.
“What do you want?”

“Hello, is this Mrs. Wormwood?”

“Yeah, Who wants to know?”

“Hi, this is Miss Rogers, I’m calling from Crunchen Hall Elementary regarding your daughter, Matilda. She seems to be feeling a bit under the weather and-”

“So? What are you calling me for?”

Miss Rodgers sucked in a breath and rubbed at her temple. “Well, if she’s sick, then she really ought to be at home in bed.”

“Look, lady, Matilda ain’t our problem no more. Why don’t you call up that teacher she's living with? She’s the one who wanted her so bad, it’s her problem now.” Came the reply. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I’ve got more important things to do than discuss someone who don’t live here no more.”

Miss Rodgers blinked in confusion as the call was disconnected and tried to put the pieces together. So Matilda didn’t live with her parents anymore? It was probably for the best. Well, if not them, who was she supposed to call? What teacher? A teacher here? Her teacher? She didn’t mean… Jennifer?!

So that’s why Matilda asked to stay at school. Miss Rogers knew Jennifer lived alone, but when it came to her personal life, she knew little else. She frowned. The Trunchbull would never let her leave early. Matilda was stuck until school let out if Jennifer was her only chaperone. She’d have to call Jennifer and at least attempt to get her out of here, if not for her than for the other kids she’d expose.

She stuck her head in the back room that held the three dirty, and rusty cots. What was the Trunchbull doing with the schools' money that they couldn’t even afford proper beds? Instead, all they had was military style cots that looked like they came from the 50’s and walls with cracked and peeling yellowish paint.

She glanced down at the young girl who lay curled in a ball with her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach. Matilda was the fifth case of NoroVirus to come in this week. Miss Rodgers had sent them all home immediately at the first sign of tummy trouble in an attempt to curb the spread, but it was already too late. There wasn’t much she could do when every time she stepped out of her office she saw children sharing drinks, putting their mouths over the water fountain, and even licking the handrails on a dare. She gave one more pitying glance at Matilda before returning to her desk.

They needed to think of a way to get her home and soon. If this was anything like what was going around, and she was pretty sure it was, Matilda was about to feel a lot worse before she felt better. It was time to call Miss Honey.

……..

Matilda was only vaguely aware of the passing of time from the distant sounding chimes of the school's bells. Was that for lunch or recess? Or was the school day over already? What if it was the start of a new school day? Had she slept all morning and through the night? Had they forgotten she was in here?

Her head was pounding, and he body shivered involuntarily from the cold. She had asked Miss Rogers for a blanket, only to learn there wasn’t any. A mere 30 minutes later, her body’s internal temperature switched and decided it was a hot summer day in the Sahara Desert. She had asked for a fan, but they didn’t have any of those either. Matilda had to make due with room temperature water from the faucet Miss Rogers kept forcing on her.

She didn’t want to drink any more water. Her stomach felt so full and bloated. Rushing off to the restroom at a moment's notice was becoming more and more difficult as the room spun. The last episode, she hadn’t quite made it in time and had been forced to bury her underwear in the restroom trashcan. She was tempted to just pull the cot in next to the toilet and stay there, what with her stomach being as indecisive as her internal climate control. The near constant diarrhea was bad enough, but she wasn’t sure how long it would stay only that. There had been a few close calls where the unrelenting waves of nausea had nearly tipped her over the edge. Talking seemed to make it worse, so whenever Miss Rodgers had come to check on her, all she could do was grunt in reply.

How had this happened so fast? One minute, she was sitting in class thinking of words that started with “CH” and the next thing she knew, her stomach decided to give an example of its own by “churning.”

She tried opening her eyes, waiting for the world to stop tilting. She could feel the sweat rolling down her face and chest. Her dress was plastered to her body, refusing to unstick no matter how much she tugged at it. She’d give just about any earthly possession to be at home in bed right now instead of this miserable cot.

How much longer until the school day was over? There was a clock over on the far wall. If she could turn her head just a little to the left… A sudden rapid falling sensation had her gripping the sides of the cot for dear life. She shut her eyes tight. Her bladder voided itself. The cupboards began to bang open and closed around her. Papers, mops, brooms, and cleaning supplies began to fall to the surrounding floor. “Stop, please, stop!” she begged, but everything was out of her control. Miss Rogers rushed in, but as soon as she stepped through the doorway, Matilda heard a loud, “snap” and the school nurse's body fell limp to the ground.
“No!” she shouted. Panic overtaking her ailing stomach. Had she…had she just killed someone?!

“Matilda! Matilda! Wake up!”

A cold hand to her face jolted her awake. She was shaking and breathing heavy. Miss. Honey was standing over her.

“I’m sorry! I couldn’t control it!” Matilda said as she bolted up right. She took in the room, expecting to see destruction, but not a single door was ajar and nothing was out of place. She felt relief as she settled back down. She hadn’t killed Miss Rogers, after all!

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. The floor can be cleaned.”

“Blood?” Matilda whimpered.

Miss Honey searched her face, her eyes full of concern. “Blood? Why would there be blood?”

It took a second for Matilda to realize what she had meant. She didn’t need to look to know one part of the dream had been true, but she could hardly care at the moment she had wet herself.

“Bad dream.” Matilda whispered. This is what she got for reading Stephen King’s “Carrie”. Miss Honey had tried to keep her from reading it, but Matilda had been bound and determined to read the book about a teenage girl with telekinetic powers.

“Probably the fever.” Miss Honey said, “You’re burning up.”

“I want to go home.”

“I know, sweetie. Soon. I can’t leave yet, I tried. Hortensia’s coming to get you. You’re going to stay with her and her mom until I get off work. They live close by.”

Hortensia? Why was she coming to get her? Not that Matilda was complaining. Anything was better than being here, but why wasn’t she in school?

“Do you think you can sit up?” Miss Rogers asked. She offered Matilda her arm, and together they slowly got her up into a sitting position. The room began to spin in protest. Her stomach gave an angry lurch. Her mouth began to fill with saliva, but with a few even deep breaths, the wave of nausea passed. Matilda wasn’t so sure how she was getting there. Were they expecting her to walk? It took a toll just sitting up, she didn’t think she’d make it trying to walk out of the building, let alone however many blocks it was.

She was only vaguely aware of Miss Honey wiping her legs down with a wet paper towel. It wasn’t until Miss Honey said, “Let’s get you out of these wet things,” and begin to reach up under her dress did Matilda remember her current state.

“Where’s your underwear?” Miss Honey asked when her palms felt nothing but bare hips.

“Trashcan.” Matilda mumbled back.

“Why did you throw them away? We could have washed them.”

Matilda shook her head. There was no saving those.

“She’s had a rough morning, Jen. Sometimes all it takes is a cough or a sneeze at the wrong moment, and you can kiss any outfit they're wearing goodbye.” Miss Rodgers chimed in. Understanding seemed to dawn in Miss Honey’s eyes.

“Not from this?” she said, referring to the wet cot. Matilda shook her head. She traced a cool, gentle hand down Matilda’s face. “What about your dress? Did it get on it anywhere?”

“No.” She had been holding it up, about to pull her underwear down, when disaster had struck. She really couldn’t have been any closer to making it.

“Oh, I hate the thought of sending you over like this.” Miss Honey said, taking in the dark, wet spot that ran up part of her back. “I don’t have anything for you to change into.” She turned her attention to Miss Rodgers. “Is there anything in the lost and found?”

“Well, there is one shirt, maybe if she’s careful it could make due just until she gets there, but without any underwear it’s iffy.” Ms. Rodgers said. She headed out towards the reception area and began digging in a box underneath the counter and pulled out a large white shirt featuring the name of a nearby catholic summer camp on the back.

“It’ll have to do.”

Miss Rodgers handed the shirt to Matilda. Miss Honey motioned for her to lift her arms up, but Matilda shook her head.

“I’ll change in there.” She motioned to the bathroom. She could feel the slight pressure at her backside. She’d better not put it off like last time. The urge wasn’t bad, but it was deceptive. What started as an annoyance could grow to full-blown emergency as quick as a snap of the Trunchbull’s riding crop.

She gingerly stood to her feet and took a few steps. The room grew dark around her. Her vision began to tunnel. Her blood pressure was crashing. She stumbled, but Miss Honey was quick to grab her.
“Woah! Careful, are you okay?” Miss Honey’s arms were around her, holding her up. As much as Matilda would have liked to stay this way for a few more moments longer, she had more pressing matters to attend to.

“Got up too fast.” She wobbled a bit as she took another step closer, and then another. Her mouth began watering. Oh crap. She turned around and sat back down on the cot. On second thought, she could get changed out here after all.

Once she got the wave of nausea under control, she tried in vain to pull off her dress, but it wouldn’t budge. She was just too exhausted and weak to even do this by herself, and the sweat coating her body wasn’t doing her any favors.

“Arms up.” Miss Honey commanded. Matilda gave in, allowing herself to be stripped naked, except for her socks and shoes. She held up her arms again, as Miss Honey shimmied the T-shirt for St. John the Baptist’s Youth Retreat down her body, just stopping halfway down her thighs. “You’ll need to hold it down, but I’m sure Hortensia has something else you can wear. Maybe you can even soak in a nice warm bath once you get there.”

Matilda leaned against Miss Honey’s arm and closed her eyes. A bath did sound nice, but she wanted nothing more than to just go back to sleep. A loud thundering sound coming down the hall made her open her eyes.

“I told her to be discrete.” Miss Honey said with a sigh.

“Good luck with that one.” Miss Rodgers said as Hortensia rounded the corner, pulling a red, and slightly rusty looking Radio Flyer wagon behind her. “And look who it is! The Goddess of Chaos herself.”

“I made it!” Hortensia cried, clearly out of breath.

“Did you run here?” Miss Honey asked.

“Yeah, but only ‘cause I lost track of time petting a cat.”

“And did you leave said cat where you found it this time?” Miss Rodgers asked suspiciously.

“Yes,” Hortensia grumbled. “I swear! I had nothing to do with what happened the other day! I have no idea how that black cat ended up in Miss Trunchbull’s office.”

Well, that explains the screaming everyone heard over the intercom yesterday, Matilda thought. It had brought much needed laughter to the students and staff.

“Uh-huh,” Miss Rodgers said, “Just like you have no idea how those scratches ended up all over your arms and tufts of black fur were found in your backpack? Let’s not forget about the cat treats in your pocket.”

Hortensia waved her hand dismissively. “All a big coincidence! Trunchbull’s got it out for me! Every time something happens, she just assumes it’s me.”

Matilda gave a weak smile. That’s because it was always her. Except for the time Lavender put a newt in the Trunchbull’s drinking glass.

Hortensia seemed to notice her for the first time. Her eyes widened when they locked eyes. “What happened to you? You look like sh…” She caught herself at the second. “Shadows. You have shadows under your eyes.” She looked down. “And you have no pants on. Why are you not wearing any pants?”

Matilda squirmed under her gaze.

“Do you think you could lend her something to wear when you get to your house?” Miss Honey asked.

“Probably, it’ll be big, though.” Hortensia said. She pulled the wagon closer. “Hop in, we got to go before my mom gets mad. I was only allowed to be out for fifteen minutes.”

“Did you get in much trouble?” Miss Rodgers asked.

Hortensia sighed. “Grounded until the end of the summer.”

Matilda let out a yelp as Miss Honey picked her up by the back of the legs. She could feel her stomach rolling in protest at the sudden motion, and was relieved when she was quickly set down in the wagon. She was so glad she didn’t have to walk, there was no way she’d make it without puking before she even got out of the office. The pressure in her bowels had grown considerably, but it was too late to ask to use the restroom now. Hortensia had already started pulling her out the door, but not before asking Miss Honey, “You’re still going to talk to Mr. Larson about my Math grade, yeah?”

The final piece clicked in Matilda’s head. Miss Honey had bribed her! She must have been desperate!

Before they were completely out of hearing range, Matilda could have sworn she heard Miss Rodgers say, “I’m going to miss her when she graduates.”

………..

It had taken less than three minutes for Matilda to thoroughly regret her decision not to walk. She could feel every bump in the sidewalk, and every crack she rolled over was like sealing the nail in the coffin for her. She didn’t know whether to beg for Hortensia to speed up or slow down. She tensed every muscle she could manage. Her bowels demanded release of the built-up fluid and, what was worse, the nausea. If what she had experienced before were, “waves” than she was now sailing in the middle of the stormy ocean. She tried taking slow deep breaths, but nothing was helping.

“How much farther?” Matilda asked, through almost sealed lips. She was afraid if she opened her mouth, it would all be over.

“Just up the next street. You okay? You don’t look so good.”

“Bathroom.” Matilda groaned, holding her stomach. She didn’t want to admit she was about to hurl. Maybe if she didn’t admit it, it wouldn’t come true. It had been the wrong thing to say.

“Say no more!” Hortensia cried, and then she had begun to run, yanking the wagon along behind her. Matilda didn’t even have time to turn her head off the side, instead coating the front of the white shirt and lap in bile and bits of Lucky Charms. Her bowels released from the forceful retching. Against the hard metal, it sounded like a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle.

Hortensia came to a sudden halt and spun around, “Did you just-” Her face went pale and then a shade of green. Matilda answered her question by leaning over the side and vomiting again. The invisible bike with the “bap bap bap bap” sounding spokes whizzed by. Hortensia jumped back out of the line of fire.

Matilda groaned and sat back in the wagon once she was sure there was nothing left inside her to throw up. She could feel liquid covering her legs. She looked down at herself and grimaced. The wagon, and her the lower half of her body, were coated in a dark yellowish liquid. She was thankful her body had rid itself of any solid waste long before this carriage ride from hell, but her bowels had continued to try and drown themselves. She looked up to find Hortensia with a closed fist tight against her lips as she paced back and forth.

“I think I’m okay now.” Matilda said.

“That’s go-” Hortensia tried to say before gagging. “I can do this. I can do-” Gag. “It’s still better than summer schoo-” Gag. “Deep breaths.” Gag.

It took them a few minutes to resume their trip. Matilda was horrified when she looked behind them. The wagon was leaking, leaving a trail from the scene of the crime all the way to their final destination.

“Ma!” Hortensia yelled when they came to a stop in front of a single story brick house. Hortensia unlatched the black gate and pulled Matilda into the yard, before letting go of the handle and running up the porch steps. “Ma! Bit of a problem!”

Matilda heard footsteps approaching and willed herself to disappear.

“What on earth is that smell!? ‘Tens’! You better not have tracked dog shit home on your shoes again! Take them off. I swear to God, I leave you to do one thing and-” She stopped mid-sentence when she swung the screen door open. “Oh good Lord.”

Matilda hung her head in shame as she sat in a puddle of excrement.

“Is there any on my back? She shat herself like a fire hose and-” The older woman walked past her daughter, paying her no mind, and stopped in front of Matilda.

“Oh, you poor thing!” Matilda let out her held breath. “‘Tens’, go start her a bath, and bring me a mask and gloves!” Hortensia eagerly bounded up the steps, eager to get away from the offending sight and odor. “I’m sorry, hun, I know you’re feeling sick, but I’m going to have to hose you down. There’s just no other way.”

Matilda grimaced, but nodded. Once all the precautionary equipment was in place, The older, and quite larger, version of Hortensia offered her gloved hand and slowly helped her out of the wagon and out of her socks and shoes.

“Hang on to the fence if you need to steady yourself.”

Matilda held on to the black iron bars for dear life as things began phasing in and out. Her stomach was beginning to do flips again.

“Take off your shirt. You’re not bringing it into the house.” Heat radiated in Matilda’s cheeks as she slowly obeyed, grateful for the tall hedge blocking the view from the street. “Girly, where are your panties?”

Why did everyone care so much that she wasn’t wearing underwear?

Matilda stayed silent, grimacing as she stood naked in front of this stranger while covered in waste.

“I take it it’s been one helluva day for you?” Matilda nodded. She just wanted to get this over with, sit on the toilet, take a bath and go to sleep. She heard the hose turn on and braced herself. “Sorry if this is cold.” She jumped as the ice-cold water made contact with her skin. Where was this when she wanted something cold earlier?

Matilda shivered as the cold water sloshed over her back. Her stomach cramped in response and the familiar heaviness settled. Not again. She moaned and clenched her fists by her sides, but it was no use.

“I need the bathroom!” She shouted, taking a step towards the house in a panic, but she could already feel it begin to drip down her freshly cleaned legs.

“STOP! Oh no, you don’t!” Came a shout. “Not with that leaky bum of yours.”

Matilda whimpered in desperation, her eyes full of panic and tears. “But, I need to-”

Hortensia’s mom pointed back at the fence. “You can pop a squat there if you need to. I have to hose you and everything down again anyway. You won’t hurt anything. Go on.”

Matilda stood frozen in horror. She couldn’t just…that was so… Another cramp. Another wave of pressure, followed by another leak.

“Don’t just stand there, you’ll only make a bigger mess. ”

She shuffled back to the wet area where she was being hosed off and gave Hortensia’s mom another pleading, desperate look as if to say, “You sure about this?”

“Do what you need to do. I’ll be over here rinsing down the wagon.”

Matilda winced as she gripped the fence with one hand for support and lowered herself down into a squat. Her body needed no further instruction.

…………….

She was bawling in near agony by the time she was led through the house. Her butt was beyond raw. It burned! It was unbearable! No amount of cold water from the hose would soothe it. She knew she was making the pictures shake in the hall, but she didn’t care. Let them find out! They’d seen everything else!

“I know! I know! Shh, a warm bath with help with the irritation.” She lightly guided Matilda from the back towards the bathroom. “Tens! I need you to run over to Chunky’s and pick up a few things. I’ll call her with a list as soon as I get her settled.” A few seconds later, they heard the front door open and close. “There you go, how’s that?” she asked as Matilda gingerly lowered herself into the water. “Do you think you’ll be okay by yourself for a few minutes?”

Matilda nodded, still whimpering, and shut her eyes.

“Our neighbor has a toddler, his names Chuckie, but we call him Chunky, he’s the biggest toddler you’ve ever seen! I think they might have something that can help ease the burning. Here’s the toilet if you need it, don’t worry about getting water on the floor. I’ll be back to check on you in a few.”

Matilda sighed and sunk as low as she could into the water. The warm water felt nice on her irritated skin. All she wanted now was to crawl into bed. Every part of her seemed to ache. She never wanted to be this sick again.

Her stomach had managed to behave itself in the 20 minutes she had been left to soak. Matilda hoped that would be the last of it, but she doubted it. Wishful thinking, she knew.

Once she was finished with her bath, she was led into Hortensia’s room. It was exactly as Matilda had always pictured it. An absolute disaster. A path had been cleared by kicking clothes and other debris off to the side and everything pushed off the bed except for a t-shirt, gloves, a bottle of blue gel and some kind of mat.

“Lay on your side on the mat facing the wall, and we’ll see if this will help with the pain.” Matilda eyed the bottle suspiciously as she got into position. Petroleum Jelly.

“You’re not gonna… you know, take my temperature, right?” Matilda asked.

“I think your booty has been through enough abuse for one day.” Matilda couldn’t agree more. She heard rubber gloves being put on. “I am going to put some on my finger though.” Matilda clenched, “... And dab it on the irritated areas.” She relaxed. This woman was putting her on an emotional roller coaster!

She jumped a little as the cold gel was applied. The relief to the stinging was almost immediate.

“Better?”

“Yes!” She was about to let her guard down the rest of the way when she heard a peculiar, and yet somewhat familiar noise. No! She couldn’t be! She felt something pressed against her lower back.

“Roll onto your back for me.”

She could feel tears prickling her eyes as she rolled over. “Why?” She looked down at it splayed under her. It wasn’t even a pull-up like what she wore to bed!

“Hun, you are a very sick little girl right now, and this sick little girl has a very leaky bum.”

“I don’t think this is really necessary.”

“The gallon of diarrhea I rinsed off you and my patio says otherwise. Now, do you need any more gel? Is anywhere else irritated?” Matilda laid on her back, glaring up at the ceiling. “Going once, going twice, going thre-”

“Here,” Matilda mumbled, motioning in between the panty lines. “And the inside of my thighs.”

“It’s just in case, if you need to use the toilet, you can.” She said, dabbing gel. “If I left you like you are right now, one sneeze, and you’d douse the dog.”

Matilda blushed. She was probably right. “I didn’t know you had a dog.”

“The NEIGHBORS dog.” Ok, now she was just exaggerating.

“It’s not that bad.”

“Let me show you something.” She left the room, and came back, holding something in between her fingers. “This was the shirt my daughter was wearing.” She came closer. Matilda felt her face begin to burn. Little yellow dots stained the back of it. “I quite like my furniture, so please. Let’s just keep this on for now, just in case.” Matilda let her tape it up. “I’m sorry I made you do your business in the front yard, but it was obvious you wouldn’t have made it, and I couldn’t think of anything else.”

Matilda shrugged and wiped the tears out of her eyes. “Sorry, I had to.”

“It’s not your fault. I know it was completely out of your control. Here’s a clean shirt you can wear. What would you like to do? Would you like to come out to the living room? Or would you like to sleep for a bit?”

“I think I just want to sleep.” Matilda admitted after poking her head out from the shirt.

“Alright, I hope you feel better. I’ll send Tens in with some medicine for your tummy a little later.” She handed Matilda a blanket. “Here, you can watch some television.” She turned on the little set and left.

Matilda scowled. She hated the television. She looked around for the remote but couldn’t find it. She let her head fall back on the pillow, feeling irritated. She just wanted to sleep. She rolled this way and that trying to get comfortable, but with the inability to close her legs or turn down the volume, it was hopeless. Just as she was about to force herself up and turn it off, she spotted the remote lying across the room on the floor sticking out from under a pair of shorts. Without thinking, she stuck out her hand and made it come to her. There was a sudden bang. Matilda jumped as a bowl of soup crashed to the floor.

There stood Hortensia, empty-handed and mouth ajar. There was no question. She had seen far too much today.

Chapter Text

Matilda nearly gagged at the horrible, bitter syrup she had just swallowed. She pursed her lips and grimaced, before handing back the little plastic measuring cup. She wasn’t sure what was worse, the consistency or the fake cherry flavor that followed.

“That should help you feel a bit better.” Hortensia’s mom said, putting the bottle of children’s Tylenol on a nearby shelf. Matilda sucked down water from the cup sitting next to her by the couch. The Pepto Bismal she had been given an hour ago hadn’t been nearly as bad, and the effects had been near miraculous. Despite her stomach no longer tossing about, she still had the distinct feeling of having recently been trampled. Her body ached, and the fever refused to break on its own.

Matilda laid back down on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and wearing nothing but a large Spice Girls T-shirt and diaper that went up nearly to her belly button. True to her word, Hortensia’s mom had let her out of it to use the toilet, but found herself pinned right back into it with a bobby pin as soon as she was done. She tried to ask for regular panties now that things had calmed down, but Hortensia’s mom seemed to have no intention of setting her free.

Hortensia herself sat on the floor cross-legged, a bag of her favorite potato chips open on the coffee table, and unfinished homework assignments in a pile. Matilda recognized the text book she was working out of as Year 5 arithmetic, the same one she had skimmed through last week, before Miss Honey had found her something a little more complicated. Matilda watched her for a minute. Her face seemed to cycle through concentration, confusion, and finally frustration. How she could even see any of the problems underneath all the crumbs was a mystery.

“Why aren’t you in school?” Matilda asked, her curiosity finally winning out in the end.

“I got suspended for the week.” Hortensia groaned.

“Beats being put in the Chokey.” Matilda said. Hortensia shot her a panicked look and quickly put her finger to her lips. “What?”

“You’ll get me in more trouble with Ma. She thinks I made that up, if she hears you talking about it, I won’t be able to sit for the rest of the night. She’ll just think I told you that to scare you.”

Matilda scrunched up her face. “Your parents don’t believe you?”

“Would yours?” she said, disbelieving. Matilda thought back to the time her own father had called her a liar after she told them about Bruce and the chocolate cake fiasco. Then again, Harry Wormwood had often called her a liar, among other things.

“Can I ask you something, uh, weird?” Matilda asked after a moment of silence. Hortensia put down her pencil and eyed her.

“If you answer mine.” Matilda gulped, but nodded and wrapped the blanket around herself tighter. She knew what was coming and had been dreading this conversation.

“I know what I saw. You can deny it all you want, but I saw the remote just…” Matilda looked away. “What are you so worried about? That I’d tell? Who’d believe me? Watch. HEY MA!” Matilda felt the blood drain from her face. She stared at Hortensia, absolutely panic-stricken, pleading with her eyes to stop.

“What?” came the reply as her mom strode in. Matilda’s heart began to beat rapidly inside her chest.

“Matilda can move objects with her mind. I saw it.” Hortensia said. Why? Why would she do that to her? Matilda imagined herself getting carted off and studied. She couldn’t meet anyone's gaze as panic set in. Her stomach gurgled in protest from the stress, and before she could react, felt liquid fill the front and back of her diaper.

“I thought I told you to stop making up stories! What have you been doing all this time? Why am I not seeing any progress with your homework?” The woman went on, chastising her daughter. Hortensia shot Matilda a look as if to say, “See what I mean?”

It took a while for Matilda to relax, her body didn’t seem to be in the mood to handle any kind of adrenaline rushes. Part of her was livid, but the other part of her seemed to understand. It was something she had to see to believe.

“I better see that pile of work done by the time I get home tonight!” Her mom finished. “This is NOT a vacation.”

“Yes, Ma.” Hortensia mumbled, swiping away the crumbs off the textbook.

Suddenly the anger was wiped from her face nearly as fast as it had come. She stared at Matilda, who felt herself sink into the couch.

“Hun, how are you feeling?”

“Uh- the s-same.” Matilda said, looking away. She could see the woman sniffing from the corner of her eye and felt heat creep to her face.

“Did you have an accident?” She said in a somewhat lower voice, but not nearly low enough for Hortensia not to hear. She froze in place, unsure how to answer that. She had been waiting for the woman to leave the room, so she could rush off to the bathroom, throw away the evidence and say it had ripped trying to get it off.

“N-no,” Matilda lied, before grimacing, her voice rising a few octaves higher than normal “I mean, I don’t think so, I’ll j-just go and-”
“No need.” Hortensia’s mom said before pulling the blanket off her and making the smell more apparent. “C’mon, let’s get you cleaned up before I have to leave for work.”

“N-no! I’ll do it myself.” Matilda insisted. “I-I have to go again anyway, so I’ll-” but before she could finish her sentence, Hortensia’s mom cut her off.

“No, I don’t want you making a mess. I have to leave soon, It’ll be easier if I do it.”

“But,” Matilda tried to protest. “That’s gross!”

“So is sitting in a messy diaper and not saying anything. C’mon.” She pulled Matilda up by the arm to a standing position. “If you still need to go, you can finish now before I change you.”

Matilda was horrified. Her face was beginning to burn from the shame and embarrassment. Tears prickled her eyes. She looked at Hortensia for help, but she just shrugged.

“She works at the old folk's home; she’s used to worse.” Hortensia explained as if that would make her feel better.

“Y-you said I could use the bathroom!” Matilda insisted, backing away.

“Yes, but now you're covered in poop, and I don’t have time to clean up after you if I let you take it off. Now let’s go. I’m not going to ask you again.” Hortensia’s mom came up behind her and gave her a somewhat firm push on her back to get her moving towards the bedroom. Matilda was crying now as she walked towards the bedroom, still fighting with her stomach.

“I don’t want to go in the diaper!”

“I know, but we all have to do things we don’t want to.” The woman said in an annoyed voice.

Matilda could feel the anger begin to well in her. If she made a mess, she’d just clean it up herself! She’d been taking care of herself for most of her life! Why was this woman treating her like such a child? If only Matilda was older! She wouldn’t treat her like this if she was Hortensia’s age.

“Up on the bed.” She patted the changing mat from before. Matilda gritted her teeth, but reluctantly climbed up and laid on her side. “Have you finished?” Her clenched fists and wiggling gave her away. She felt a hand push her onto her back.

“What are you doi- NO!” Matilda nearly shouted in horror. The older woman had clasped Matilda’s legs in her hands and began bicycling them up and down. Matilda knew what she was trying to make her do! She had seen this exercise in a book. It was for making constipated babies poop. “Please stop!”

“This will help dislodge anything stuck and release any trapped gas.” Matilda whimpered, feeling herself lose control with every other pump of her legs. “Don’t fight it, relax and let it all come out on its own.” She pushed Matilda’s legs in towards her body before pulling them out one final time. She laid on her back, breathless and horrified, after a single loud squelching sound announced that the exercise had done its job. Her body shook with sobs as the diaper was unpinned.

This was wrong! This was all so wrong! She felt degraded as her legs were lifted in the air and a wet wipe had begun to clean.

“You’re going to make yourself sick to your stomach if you keep crying like that.” Matilda glared at her as a fresh diaper was slid underneath. It was taking all her will power not to lose control of her temper. She didn’t want to cause a different kind of accident. One that involved things shooting around the room instead of shooting out of her. She needed to control herself, or she really would pull a “Carrie.”

Ugh, she wished she had listened to Miss Honey and put the book back. The thought of accidentally hurting someone had never crossed her mind until she had read that book!

Once a fresh diaper had been taped up, Matilda tried to sit up, but Hortensia’s mom stopped her.

“I think it’s better if you stayed here. I can tell you’re getting cranky. I think a nap will do you some good.” Matilda wanted to retort, but the woman turned and left. Hortensia was leaning in the doorway watching her.

Matilda could start to taste blood in her mouth. She had been biting down on her tongue so hard she had begun to make it bleed. Did she just… did she just get put down for a nap?

Yes, she felt sick. Yes, she was tired. Yes, she wanted to throw something!

“You see what I put up with?” Hortensia mumbled, before coming in and closing the door behind her.

Matilda looked around the room and saw a stuffed animal sitting on the floor. She stretched her hand out and made the toy rise into the air before launching it across the room. She did this a few more times, knowing full well Hortensia was watching her in awe.

“How long have you been able to do that?” Hortensia asked once Matilda had calmed down.

“I don’t know, a month, I guess. I got furious at my dad for ripping up a library book and forcing me to watch tv. So I sort of just… blew it up.”

Hortensia gawked at her. “You just, sort of, blew it… up?” She repeated, making it sound more like a question. “Your parents made you watch the television, instead of read, so you blew up the tv…”

“Not on purpose!” Matilda threw in. “It just sort of happened and-”

“Your parents made you watch television instead of read.” Hortensia said, a blissful, dreamy look across her face. Matilda rolled her eyes and launched the stuffed dog at her. “Can we trade parents? Please?” Matilda was about to readily agree. She could have the Wormwords and all the television she could ever want, but a sad realization crossed through her mind at the last second. Yes, their home lives were different, but in the end, they were just two kids whose thoughts, feelings, and concerns fell on deaf ears. No wonder Hortensia acted out so much.

“What about your dad?” Matilda asked. Hortensia shrugged.

“Not around much. Long haul trucker. What did you want to ask me earlier?”

Matilda bit her lip. It wasn’t really something she felt comfortable coming out and asking, so instead she tried to nonchalantly stear the topic there. “How many times have you been in the Chokey?”

Hortensia puffed out her chest with pride. “Six.”

Now it was Matilda’s turn to gawk. “Six?” She shuddered.

“Two times, she even left me in there all day!”

“I’ve only been in there once; that was enough for me.”

“You?” Hortensia scoffed. “What in the word did a squirt like you do to piss her off?”

“She thought I was stealing books from her office.” Hortensia scrunched up her face.

“I’ve snooped through her office plenty of times, the only books she has in there are old textbooks, and who’d take those?”

“Miss Honey.” Matilda admitted. “She thought I wasn’t placed in the right year when I started school here, but when she tried to have me promoted, the Trunchbull said ‘no’”. So she gave them to me to work out of during class.”

Hortensia looked as horrified as if Matilda had suggested it was Miss Honey herself who had thrown her in the Chokey. “She gives you extra work?”

“Not extra, just different. Sort of like independent study, I suppose.”
“Independent study? You mean you don’t have to follow along with the class?”

“When the Trunchbull is there, I do, and,” Matilda slipped into a conspiratorial whisper, “sometime’s I give Lavender the answer when she’s called on and doesn’t know.”

“How in the bloody hell did you manage that sweet deal? What I wouldn’t give to not get smacked every time I got caught not paying attention.” Hortensia sighed. Then, as if realization dawned on her, she narrowed her eyes and took in Matilda. “You know, now that you mention it, you don’t talk like any of the other squirts and scum.”

“What do you mean?” Matilda didn’t think she sounded any different from any of the other kids in her class.

“I noticed it earlier, too. You said you were, ‘furious’ not ‘mad’ ‘angry’ ‘pissed’, but ‘furious’.”

“Of course, I was livid! He tore up a library book!” Matilda exclaimed, before adding, “I think you’re the only one who says things like ‘pissed’.”

“How many five-year-olds use words like ‘furious’ and’ livid’?” Hortensia said.

“Oh,” Matilda said. “I thought you were referring to an accent, not my vocabulary.”

Hortensia rolled her eyes. “Now you’re just showing off.” Matilda frowned. She wasn’t trying to sound superior. She’d like few things more than to simply blend in, as long as it meant she could keep reading instead of watching the telly of course. She knew Hortensia wasn’t being serious about her showing off, so she figured she could have a little fun.

“Preadolescent homosapien, are you proposing I would flaunt my intellectual prowess for mere jovial amusement?” On any other day she knew could have come up with something better and far wittier, but today had been especially dreadful, and her brain felt like jelly. Hortensia furrowed her eye brows.

“Did you just call me a homo? I ain’t no homo, twerp. Do I look homeless to you?” Hortensia replied with a scowl. Matilda merely blinked.

“Uh, right.” Matilda said. For the first time, her mind had drawn a blank. She had no way to respond to that. There was so much wrong with that statement, she didn’t know where to start.

“I’m surprised you know what a homo is, though! It’s a shame Trunchbull wouldn’t put you in with the 2nd years. You’re like one of those genies. ”

Right, Matilda thought to herself, second year. And wait? Genie?

“You mean genius? Because last time I checked, I can’t grant wishes.”
“Yeah, that.” Hortensia said. “Besides, you have magical powers, maybe I did mean genie. Have you ever tried to grant a wish?” Hortensia said.

“I’m not a genius,” Matilda said matter-of-factly. “And no, can’t say I’ve ever tried to grant wishes.” She said with mild bemusement. She made a show of scrunching up her face in concentration, before lifting her shirt. “Nope, can’t grant wishes. I’m still in a diaper.”

“Well, genies can’t grant their own wishes, obviously.”

They went back and forth, blurting out what they’d wish for if they ever found a genie, each wish becoming more and more outlandish and silly.

“…a pool of chocolate pudding.”

“. . . A refrigerator that dispensed chocolate milk instead of water.”

“Bags of chips that weren’t half air!”

“I think,” Matilda said after a pause, growing serious. “I’d wish I was an adult, so people would listen. It’s awful being small.”

“No, don’t wish that! You can get away with so much more when you’re small! People still think you’re cute. Every year gets worse! You have Miss Honey as a teacher; You’ve still got it good, unless, of course, you cross Miss Trunchbull. She hates small children especially. Always manages to send one or two to the hospital every year. What’s worse, there was a kid in my form called Billy Reyes. Three years ago, I think, he went missing and no one’s ever seen him since.”

“What happened?” Matilda asked.

“They said he went missing walking home, but you know what I think?” Hortensia dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I think the Trunchbull, you know…” she dragged her thumb across her neck for emphasis. “He’s not the only one, either. I know there’s been kids that have gone missing since before I went there.”

Matilda shivered. She remembered what Hortensia had said before. What do you think would have happened if Amanda Thripp hadn’t cleared that fence? She shuddered again. She was horrified that she found the idea of the Trunchbull murdering children so… so….plausible.

No! No sane person would ever entertain the idea. It was impossible! Outlandish! Absolutely bonkers! Yet, if someone told her their teacher spun a girl around by the hair and hammer threw her off school property just for wearing pigtails… Honestly, she wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t witnessed it herself.
“Hortensia, don’t you think, maybe, it would be a good idea to stop provoking her? I- I’m rather fond of you, and I’d hate to see you get injured.” Hortensia looked as if Matilda had suggested she stop eating potato chips and take up grazing on kale.

“You’re just a shrimp; you wouldn’t understand. It’s not just for laughs.”

“Then why? You could get seriously hurt if you make her mad enough.”

“Look around, squirt. Kids are already getting hurt. You know what the adults do about it? Not a damn thing! They’re cowards. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. You know why all the parents call us liars? Because it’s easier than entertaining the possibility that our principal is a deranged psychopath. Even if all I can do is pour honey on her chair, and itching powder in her shorts, at least I feel like I’m doing something.”

Matilda gazed up at her with a new-found respect. She wasn’t a troublemaker. She was a brave and courageous crusader, leading the charge against a formidable adversary despite near impossible odds. In Matilda’s eyes, she was a hero.

…….

It was nearly dark by the time Miss Honey had come to collect Matilda, who had been pacing worriedly in the living room. School let out at three, and here it was nearly six. Relief flooded her when she finally heard a knock. Hortensia answered the door and let a very frazzled and exhausted looking Miss Honey inside.

“Jenny!” Matilda yelled, nearly bowling her over in a near bone crushing hug. “I was so worried!”

“I’m so sorry, Matilda!” Miss Honey said, wrapping her in an equally tight embrace.

“Careful, Miss Honey,” Hortensia warned. “If you squeeze her, she’ll, uh, blow.” Matilda ignored her.

“How are you feeling, dear?” Miss Honey asked, looking Matilda over. “You look better. Do you think it’s all out of your system?”

“And all over me and my front yard!” Hortensia threw in. Matilda shot her a dirty look.

“Did something happen?” Miss Honey asked.

Hortensia grinned as Matilda shook her head with near bug eyes. “Made a bit of a mess when she first got here, is all. Ma had to rinse her, and anything within a six-foot radius of her, down with the hose. You’re lucky you missed it.”

Matilda felt an arm pull her closer. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you.” She wanted to ask why she was so late, but it didn’t matter. She was here now. The adrenaline that filled her moments before was quickly crashing. She let out a yawn and stretched her arms over her head. The T-shirt she was wearing rode up, and Miss Honey asked, “Why are you wearing a diaper?” Matilda blushed and buried her face into Miss Honey’s dress.

“Oh, Ma made her. Matilda was like a fire breathing dragon, but instead of her mouth, it was her arse, and instead of fire, it was sh-”.

“Thank you, Hortensia, I understand.” Miss Honey said, cutting her off. “I hate to ask this after everything, but I don’t think I should take her to school tomorrow. Would you mind terribly if she stayed here with you?”

Hortensia shrugged. “Sure, she’s alright, for a shrimp.” Hortensia handed her a bag. “Ma wanted me to give you this. It’s got medicine and extra, you know, in case Mount Matilda erupts again.”

“Thank you, hopefully we won’t need them.” Miss Honey said, bending down and picking up the exhausted five-year-old and letting her rest her head on her shoulder. Matilda wrapped her arms around Miss Honey, and when the woman turned and began to walk out the door, Matilda locked eyes with Hortensia, and smiled mischievously. It was payback time. While Miss Honey was walking away, Matilda narrowed her eyes and made a slashing motion with a finger. Hortensia’s pants crumpled to a ball by her ankles.

…

“Is there anything else I can do to help you feel more comfortable?” Miss Honey asked. Matilda bit her lip. “What? What is it?”

“Would you read to me, Jenny?” Matilda asked from her side of the bed. Usually, it was Matilda who read out loud before they went to sleep. “I’ve never had a bedtime story before.”

“Of course! What would you like me to read?”

“Anything is fine; I just want to hear you read.” Matilda admitted. Miss Honey grabbed the nearest book, and joined Matilda in bed. Matilda stared at her with longing. What she really wanted was to cuddle up with her, but she didn’t want to risk getting her sick, although she supposed, it was probably too late for that. Despite remaining quiet, Miss Honey seemed to sense it. She lifted the blanket.

“Come here.” She held her arms out. Matilda waited a second, before throwing caution to the wind. She eagerly scooted over and let Jenny wrap her in a warm embrace. Matilda sighed contentedly as Miss Honey stroked her hair and face. They both quickly forgot about the book. “Matilda, could I ask you something?” Jennifer said.

“Hmm?” came the mumbled response.

“Why do you call me Jenny?” She felt Matilda slightly stiffen in her arms. “I’m sorry, silly me. You’re unwell, you must not be up for this kind of conversation.”

“Do you not want me to call you that? Would you prefer something else?” Matilda knew it wasn’t very polite to call adults by their first names, but she had thought they were more than just child and adult to each other. She frowned. Miss Honey herself had said she could as long as it wasn’t at school.

“No, it’s nothing like that, it’s just, I would very much like it if you saw me as your mother. You had even started to call me ‘mom’ but then you suddenly just stopped and went back to Jenny.” She could feel Matilda stiffen again, and she stayed silent for a long time.

“I tried but, to be honest, I just don’t see you like that.”

Jennifer felt her heart crash to her stomach. “O-oh..” she tried to sound normal, but her voice caught. “T-that’s…” Her eyes began burning with tears of hurt and disappointment. Matilda suddenly bolted up when she heard her breath begin to hitch.

“That’s not what I meant! Oh god!” Matilda said, looking at Jennifer's red and puffy eyes with horror.

“I-t’s fine! Y-you don’t have to explain.” Miss Honey said, cursing the tears that had begun to fall. Pull yourself together, you pathetic miserable woman! You are supposed to be here for her! It is not a five-year-old's job to coddle you!

“My brain just really isn’t working today!” Matilda sighed. “I don’t call you mom, because I think it would be insulting to you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“When I think of the word, ‘mom’ it doesn’t make me feel good. I still think of her. I think of the words selfish, horrible, shallow, unkind. I think of all the times she called me stupid, annoying, a wart. I think of cans of soup left on a burner, and loneliness. I even remember when I was a baby!”

Miss Honey was about to say, “no one remembers their time as a baby”, but she stopped before she opened her mouth. This was Matilda, and with her extraordinary mind, it was very well possible she could. So she stayed silent and let her continue.

“She’d put me in a bouncer or high chair and leave me there for hours! I’d be left in the same disgusting diaper all day long. I remember the rashes! The pain! And they had the nerve to yell and whine at me for making a mess or crying. I toilet trained myself at one just to make it all stop!”

Now it was Matilda’s turn to start crying. “You’re none of those things, Jenny, and I know you’d never do anything like that to me or anyone. You’re the kindest, warmest, and most caring person I’ve ever met. You make me feel safe, and loved, and everything I spent hours wishing for!” Matilda held Miss Honey’s face in her tiny hands. “You’re so much more to me than that; You’re like my fairy god mother who came and rescued me and made everything better! How could I compare something so dirty and horrible to something so pure and wonderful as you?”

“Oh Matilda!” Miss Honey choked out. She pulled Matilda into a tight embrace, and whispered in her ear. “You’re everything I’ve always wished for, too! I love you so much! You rescued me, darling, not the other way around.” They held each other long into the night, neither wanting to be the reason they broke apart.

Jenny was perfectly fine, Miss Honey thought to herself. It wasn’t the word that mattered, but the feelings behind them. Now that she understood Matilda’s train of thought, her heart felt lighter and more at ease than it ever had. Was this what love felt like? As she gazed at the young girl splayed out over her chest, she smiled and made a silent vow. Jennifer would replace that painful past of Matilda’s and fill her mind instead with loving, and fun memories they would both cherish forever. For her daughter, she would do anything. And maybe one day, that word that filled her with so much pain would one day be full of thoughts of the love they had for each other instead. Matilda would know when the time was right, Jennifer wasn’t going to bring it up again. Yes, she thought as she closed her eyes. Jenny was perfectly fine.

…

When the morning came, Matilda yawned and stretched, before slowly cracking open her eyes. She found Miss Honey propped up on an elbow watching her with a large dopey smile Matilda had never seen before.

“What?” Matilda asked with a self-conscious grin.

“You just look so adorable like that.”

Matilda sat up, letting the covers fall off her. Some time in the night, she must have taken off her shirt, leaving her only in the dry diaper from the night before. She had been too tired to change when they had gotten home, opting instead to go straight to bed.

“It’s more comfy without a shirt.” Matilda said, shrugging before laying back down. “You should try it.”

Miss Honey laughed. “I think I’ll just let you enjoy it.”

Matilda frowned. “How come? You wear such uncomfortable looking gowns to bed.”

“Uh, well, to be honest, I don’t like being undressed. It makes me uncomfortable.” Miss Honey said.

“Really? Why?” Matilda asked, moving her arms about. “I feel so free.”

Miss Honey smiled, her eyes full of sadness. She was going to end the conversation with a “I just don’t,” or, “It would be inappropriate,” but decided against it. Matilda had been so open with her about her past last night, even though it was difficult. She sat back down on the edge of the bed, took a deep breath and said, “Much like you, I did not have a happy childhood. If saying and thinking about the word, ‘mom’ is what sets you back, then small enclosed spaces and being undressed are mine.”

Matilda nodded her head solemnly. “I understand.”

“I wish you didn’t.” Jennifer said.

Matilda watched her pick out her clothes for the day before heading into the bathroom. Matilda sighed and closed her eyes, thinking about last night. She loved cuddling up with Jenny, but her night shirts were so uncomfortable. She had almost asked her to take it off, but now she was glad she didn’t. Matilda was a little disappointed, though. She had no idea why, but she’d been having this overwhelming desire to lay on Jenny’s bare chest at night, skin to skin, and just be held like last night. Was that weird? The thought of being held, feeling her body heat and listening to her heart beat sounded so appealing. She felt a little depressed now, knowing it would never happen.

Matilda heard the shower turn on and winced. She rolled over, trying to ignore the pressure building in her bladder, but the sound of running water wasn’t helping. She crossed and uncrossed her legs and wiggled underneath the covers. She’d be out in a bit, Matilda told herself. Jenny never took very long showers. A few minutes went by, and then a few more. Matilda groaned into her pillow. She couldn’t wait much longer. She pushed herself up and stood at the bathroom door before knocking.

“Umm, Jenny? Are you going to be much longer? I need to pee.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m right in the middle of shaving. Do you think you can hang on for another ten or fifteen minutes?” Matilda winced.

“Probably not.” She admitted.

“Shoot! Umm, well, you know, you could always just-”

“Please, no.” Matilda said. She knew she was about to suggest peeing in the diaper. “I think it would hurt an awful lot.”

“Oh, you're right, I’m sorry, I forgot about that. Well, I guess if you can’t hold it, then go ahead and come in.”

“Thank you! I’ll be quick!” She dashed to the toilet, paying no mind to the silhouette behind the curtain.

“Oh, just whatever you do, don’t flu-” Miss Honey began to say, but it was too late. Matilda had already pulled the lever by habit. She winced and stepped back.

“Sorry!” She yelled. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad.

Miss Honey screamed and jumped out from behind the curtain. “Oh that’s cold!” She spun around and froze. Matilda stood gaping at her, nearly open-mouthed. Miss Honey tried to cover herself, but Matilda had already seen.

“No! Stop!” Matilda said. She came closer, eyes wide with horror, but utterly transfixed. “Oh, Jenny,“ She said softly.

Jennifer flinched as Matilda lightly traced the discolored, circular marks around her abdomen, hips, chest, upper thighs and back. She let Matilda circle her and investigate, there was no point hiding it now. She fought against the urge to cover herself.

“Jenny,” Matilda said again. “Are these all burns?”

“Yes.” Miss Honey said softly

“How? Why?” Matilda began to ask, but froze. She recognized them now from the ashtray in her old living room. “These are from cigars.”

“Yes.” Miss Honey said again with a sigh. She reached out and turned the water off in the shower before wrapping a towel around herself.

“The Trunchbull?” Matilda whispered.

“Yes.”

A rage was growing inside Matilda like she had never felt before. She could hardly see straight. Words her father had said to her once echoed in her mind.

“When a person is bad, that person needs to be taught a lesson.”

Yes.

It was time they taught the Trunchbull a lesson.

Chapter Text

Not a word had passed between them on their walk to Hortensia’s that morning. Matilda had hardly noticed her surroundings changing at all until they arrived at the front of the black gate. Her attention had been so focused on what she had seen and the implications of it all. Rage boiled inside her so much she had needed somewhere to direct her anger. If Miss Honey had noticed the leaves tumbling around against the wind in front of Matilda, she hadn’t said anything.

“Please don’t mention what you saw to anyone.” Jennifer whispered, staring straight ahead at the door. Matilda gripped her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I hadn’t meant for you to see.”

Before Matilda could respond, the door began to open. Hortensia stood in the doorway wrapped in a blanket with a deep scowl on her face. “You got me sick.” She hissed at Matilda, before stepping aside to let them in. Miss Honey flashed her a deeply apologetic look.

“Go sit down, you big baby.” Hortensia’s mom said, shooing her daughter away. “Serves you right, treating this like some sort of vacation. You wouldn’t have gotten sick if you minded your own business and did your homework like I told you to.” Hortensia grumbled before slinking off to the living room couch.

“I’m glad I packed the Pepto then.” Miss Honey said. “I’m terribly sorry about all this, thank you so much for looking after her. I hope she wasn’t too much trouble yesterday.”

“A few issues in the beginning, but nothing too serious.” Hortensia’s mom looked her up and down. Matilda suddenly felt very shy, but resisted the urge to hide behind Jenny. “You sure overalls are a good idea?”

“She has a change of clothes if she needs them, just in case, but things have begun to settle down. Even if she does have any issues, don’t worry about it, she’s perfectly capable of taking care of it herself. I know she’s only five, but she’s very independent. She’s not like other kids her age.”

Matilda’s heart soared in appreciation. It had taken some coaxing from Jenny, but Matilda had confided in her about the events of the previous day and had nearly gotten to her knees and begged Jenny to talk to her on Matilda’s behalf.

“Kids act different when they're sick. It doesn’t matter how resourceful or independent you think they are, It can set them back years.”

“I’m a teacher I understand, but you see,” Miss Honey dropped her voice to a whisper, “Matilda has come from an abusive family, and there are some trust issues when it comes to adults she doesn’t know well, but we’re working on it.”

“Oh,” Hortensia’s mom said, her face falling. “I wasn’t aware of that.”
“She’s been forced to grow up very fast.”

Matilda darted inside, eager to get away from their conversation about her, and joined Hortensia on the couch.

“What happened?” Matilda asked her.

“You! You’re what happened!” Hortensia growled. “I was just minding my own business after dinner, watching a bit of Telly, when out of the blue it felt like the Trunchbull threw a shot put right into my belly! I damn near blew a hole in my trousers!”

Matilda winced in sympathy. After having gone through the same thing yesterday, she knew from experience Hortensia wasn’t exaggerating. While Matilda knew she wasn’t 100%, maybe not even 65%, but she was far better off than the girl huddled in the blanket seated next to her.

“Matilda!” Miss Honey called from the door. She got up and approached Jenny, who handed Matilda her backpack and wished her a better day. “Please try and eat something today.”

Matilda nodded, but she was still a bit hesitant. She had already refused breakfast before they had left the apartment in fear of a repeat of yesterday. Once Miss Honey had left, Matilda returned to her spot on the couch and began rummaging through her backpack. She pulled out the pink bottle, and began scanning the back for the info she needed. If she had to eat, she’d better give her stomach a fighting chance. After pouring out a dose for herself and knocking it back with a wince, she turned her attention to the back of the label once more.

“Hortensia, have you had any medicine today?”

“Ma sent it home with you.” She replied, still curled underneath a great, green comforter.

“I’ve got the bottle with me, how much do you weigh?”

“I don’t know, 45 kilograms, around there.”

“It says you should take 15ml.” She was about to pour out another dose when a shocked voice called out her name behind her.

“Matilda!” She jumped and put the cap back on the bottle. Hortensia’s mom snatched the bottle away in a panic. “Honey, please, let’s leave this for the adults. I don’t want you guessing how much to take and making yourself sick.”

“The label says for her to take 15ml since she’s over 30 kg, I’m not guessing.”

“Matilda, please, you’re too young to-” She froze as she looked at the bottle in her hand, then back at Matilda, before letting her eyes drift to the bottle once more. Without a word, she poured a small amount into the cup, clearly stopping at the 15ml line, and handed it over to Hortensia.

“Eww, no I don’t want to take any medicine.” Hortensia complained, before falling quiet at the glare she had received.

“It’s not that bad, I just had some, and it really does help. It’s better than the Tylenol.” Matilda offered.

“How much did you take, Matilda? Did you also take 15ml?” Her mom asked.

“No, ma’m, I took 7.5 ml.”

“Is that how much Miss Honey told you to take?”

“No ma’m, it said so on the back under instructions.”

“But how did you come up with 7.5 ml?”

“The bottle says to half the dose if you’re under 30kg.” Matilda explained with a shrug. “Half of 15 is 7.5.”

Hortensia’s mom let out a breath that sounded as if she had just had the wind knocked out of her. Matilda didn’t understand why adults always seemed so surprised. It was right there on the label, as clear as the nose on her face! All you had to do was read it.

“Y-yes, th-that’s right.” her mom said, more to herself than to Matilda. “Whose class are you in again?”

“Miss Honey’s, ma’m.”

“Oh, yes, that’s right, of course you’re in the first form. You’re five.” The woman shook her large blond head as if trying to wake up out of a daze. “What’s that pointy thing sticking up out of your backpack?”

Matilda looked down. “Oh, it’s my compass, I must have forgotten to put it away. Thank you, I’d be a very cross if I cut myself on it.” She pulled out the metal instrument and set it in the coffee table along with a few of her text books.

Her mom stepped forward, picking up one of the books. “Why in the world are you carrying these around for?”

“To work on my school work; I don’t want to fall behind.”
“Fall behind who?” Hortensia said, poking her head out from the blanket. “You said you get to do your own thing in class. Can you believe that, Ma? She’s allowed to not pay attention in class.”

Her mom didn’t say anything, instead she flipped through the pages, eyes as wide as saucers. She put the first book back down and picked up another one. “Matilda, does Miss Honey really expect you to work out of these? All by yourself?”

“She says I can ask her questions if I have any in between lessons, but so far I’ve managed fine by myself.”

Hortensia’s mom sat down on the opposite side of the table, gazing wordlessly at the books. Then she turned her attention to Hortensia’s stack and pulled out a completed work sheet before letting out an annoyed, “hmph,” and brushing off potato chip crumbs. Next, she copied down the questions on another piece of paper, without the answers, and handed it to Matilda.

“Would you please humor me for a moment? I know it’s silly, and you’re probably not feeling up for it but, are you able to … solve these?” Matilda looked over the paper, nodded her head, grabbed a pen and immersed herself in the equations. “I think, I think I’ll make us some toast while you work on that.”

“I’m done.” Matilda said, before the woman had even managed to get halfway across the living room.

“That-that’s not possible, it took me longer just to copy the questions down.” She looked down and let out a laugh that almost sounded relieved. “Did you just scribble random numbers?”

“No, ma’m.” Matilda said softly.

“Well, where’s the work?”

Matilda pointed to her head. “Up here.” Matilda could see the doubt written all over her face. “You can check them if you’d like.”

Hortensia’s mom shrugged and then smiled and sat down. “This is all just a silly game anyway. I do have to grade Tens’s work, actually.” Matilda could see the color drain from her face as she entered the numbers into a calculator one by one, occasionally making a mark on the page Hortensia had worked off of, before taking a glance at Matilda’s answer. Once she had finished, she put the pen down and stared quietly ahead for some time.

“How?” She finally whispered. “Did you really just do all that in your head?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I thought you had just copied off ‘Tens’ when I noticed they were right, but you even got the ones right that she couldn’t.” She slowly stood up, looking a bit shell shocked. “I think I’ll make that toast now.”

…

“You see what I mean?” her mom asked, pointing down at a pile of spread out math sheets on the table, each with a failing grade. “She excels in every other subject,” she had started to say but stopped, “I-I mean, she gets an A, but math has always been a very large hurdle. We’ve even hired tutors, but she just won’t focus enough and makes such near constant silly mistakes.”

Matilda gazed over the work, deep in thought. “But you said she gets A’s in all her other subjects? That also takes a great deal of focus. I’ve found that she’s actually quite perceptive, much more than even some adults I know.”

“I guess she has a selective attention span, then. You’re umm, well, I don’t think I could even make that make sense. I was hoping you could notice something the others can’t.” She said, stumbling over her words a bit.

“Hmm,” Matilda muttered, “Well, there is something, but it doesn’t make much sense since you said she does well in everything else.”

“What?”

Matilda pointed at several points along the tests. “I can tell she knows how to do the math, she’s doing all the right steps, but she’s still coming up with the wrong answers.”

“I know! That’s what I mean by silly mistakes.”

Matilda took a bite of her toast before answering. “But look closer, she’s copied down the wrong numbers. This question right here, 4,872 x 3,964, when she transferred it to scrap paper she wrote 4,872 x 3,694.”

“See, she’s not focusing.” the woman started, but Matilda quickly shook her head.

“No, now look at these. Even the harder ones, she consistently gets the word problems right. Do you see what’s different about them? She always gets the questions right when the numbers are written out, but when it’s time to copy the answer down, the number is jumbled.”

“Oh, that’s strange.” Her mom said, frowning.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of focus. Of course, she won’t get the answer right if she’s seeing the question wrong.”

“So you’re thinking she needs to get her eyes checked?”

“No, I mean, you could if you wanted to, but it might be a little more complicated than that. I’m not really sure myself. At first, I thought maybe dyslexia, but it doesn’t seem to happen with letters, only numbers. If letters were getting jumbled, she’d make a lot more spelling mistakes. Possibly it’s a minor case of dyscalculia? Has she seen a doctor about it?”

“Well, no.”

“You could start there. And just as an experiment, next time she has a math assignment, read her the question out loud, and have her read you her answer. I know there’s still steps in between, but it might slightly improve her chance of getting it right.”

“That was certainly a fresh perspective.” Her mom said. They sat in silence for a moment before she added. “Thank you, no one’s ever brought this up before.”

“Hortensia’s been telling you the truth.” Matilda blurted out. “About the Trunchbull, I mean, what she does to kids.” Hortensia’s mom’s eyes looked very sad for a moment.

“I know.” She whispered.

……

Matilda sat glaring at the television, seething. She was making the channels change rapidly, despite the remote being on the other side of the room. She thought of Hortensia’s words from the night before. “The adults are cowards, every single one of them.” She shut the TV off and balled her hands into fists.
Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of the burns all over Jenny’s body, of Hortensia covered nearly head to toe in cuts and scrapes who came home to a mother who pretended they weren’t there. She cried for Amanda, who had nearly been scalped and impaled in front of her friends, for Julius Rotwinkle, who had been thrown out a window, and lastly she cried for herself, because she knew deep down, she was no better than any of them. Hadn’t she also failed to act? She had stood paralyzed to the spot along with everyone else.

Matilda wiped her face and gritted her teeth. Things had to change around here. She couldn’t keep making excuses. She thought of Hortensia’s words, “Don’t wish you were an adult, you can get away with so much more when you’re little.” Maybe she had a point. She went to Hortensia’s room and barged in without knocking.

“Wake up!” She said to the lump asleep on the bed. Hortensia groaned in response. “I want in on whatever you're planning next!”

Chapter Text

The girls sat hunched over the kitchen table, textbooks spread out, in an attempt to throw Hortensia’s mom off their backs. Matilda had a blue notebook open on top of her algebra worksheet and was flipping through the pages with mild amusement. If Hortensia deserved any kind of award, it would be for her creativity, but realistically, her notebook full of schemes and plans tended to fall into the “illegal” and “impossible” category.

“If anything actually does happen to the Trunchbull, this notebook needs to be burned.” Matilda said.

“Why?” Hortensia asked with a scowl. Matilda thought she still looked rather green, but that was probably because she still continued to stuff her face with potato chips. Just the thought of eating something so greasy sent Matilda’s stomach for a loop. She herself hadn’t been feeling so great since the toast, despite the medicine.

“Because I don’t think Jenny, or any university, would approve of 1st degree murder as an acceptable form of extracurricular activity.”

“What do you care about university for? You’re five.” Hortensia said, in between a mouthful of chips. “And I’m ten, would anyone really believe us to be capable of murder?”

Matilda sighed. “We’re not killing her.”

“But say, hypothetically, she dies of an accident.”

“No! No one’s dying!” Matilda said, before flipping to a page and sliding it over.” How exactly did you plan on getting cannonballs onto the roof? Does that really look like an accident?” She pointed to a crude illustration of a squished car with a dead stick figure in the driver's seat.

“I will admit they're not the most thought out ideas; it’s just a hobby.”

“We need to think smaller, the idea is to inconvenience her; not hurt her.” Matilda could see Hortensia’s face turn angry.

“Inconvenience? I thought you wanted revenge and-” Hortensia jumped to her feet, chair scraping behind her. “Um, I don’t-” but before she could finish her thought, Hortensia was sprinting out of the kitchen and down the hall.

“I told her to stop eating chips.” Matilda mumbled, before taking several long gulps of water. Jenny had been adamant about drinking water, so she had been playing a little game. Take a drink every time Hortensia ate a chip. She had soon abandoned that game, her tiny stomach was no match to whichever evolutionary adaption Hortensia’s stomach had come up with to store chips. She was starting to think she didn’t have a stomach at all, but rather a portal straight to one of the nine dimensions of hell that dumped undigested snacks onto some poor damned soul. Matilda shuddered at the thought. Maybe Dante’s Inferno hadn’t been the greatest reading material, either.

Matilda’s legs were jiggling by the time she heard the kitchen door open. She looked up, hoping it was Hortensia. She’d have to give the bathroom a few minutes to air out, of course, she didn’t have to pee so bad she’d rush in straight after whichever horror’s Hortensia had unleashed in there. She frowned in disappointment when she realized it was only Hortensia’s mom.

“Sicker than a dog.” she heard her mumble. Matilda bit her lip. It didn’t sound like Hortensia would be out anytime soon.

“I really appreciate you helping Hortensia with her math, I don’t know how you do it, though. I can’t get her to willingly work, even when she’s well.” Matilda felt a pang of guilt. The open text books had just been a cover.

“Maybe she’s just delusional from a fever.” Hortensia’s mom chuckled.

“Could be.”

“What should I call you?” Matilda asked after a moment of silence. She didn’t even know Hortensia’s last name.

“My name is Eve.”

“Okay, Mrs. Eve.” Matilda said. It was rude to call adults by their first name, so she had to improvise. Hortensia’s mom only laughed again and shook her head.

“Just Eve is fine.”

Matilda didn’t feel comfortable being on a first name basis. She was still angry with her for failing to act in Hortensia’s best interest. Why had she called her daughter a liar if she knew she was telling the truth? Why did all the adults in this town sit back and do nothing? Matilda’s own father had sent her to Crunchem Hall knowing the Trunchbull’s reputation. He had probably sent her there because of the Trunchbull’s reputation, not in spite of. Matilda shook her head, this wasn’t a road she wanted to go down right now. It was much easier to fight for other people instead of herself. Besides, her father’s actions had inadvertently made her life drastically better, not worse as he had most likely intended. She had met Miss Honey, and she had found, for the first time, what love felt like.

Another, more sad thought filled her head. It made her uneasy and made her stomach twist. Matilda had been angry at the adults in her life for not standing up to the Trunchbull and not protecting their children. Was Miss Honey any different? If the time came where Matilda was in danger, would- no could timid, fearful Miss Honey protect her? Matilda knew it was too much to ask of her. Jenny needed someone to look after her! She had been abused far worse than Matilda knew she could even imagine at the hands of that woman! Timid Jenny, who looked like she wanted to sink into the floor whenever the Trunchbull entered her classroom. Jenny, who had signed away any hope of ever being properly independent, who hid horrid scars underneath her clothes, and had spent years living in poverty. She was Matilda’s reason to fight. When she thought of Jenny, she wasn’t afraid.

“Matilda, do you need the bathroom?” Eve’s voice snapped her from her train of thought. Matilda looked down at herself and blushed. She hadn’t even noticed she had gotten up on her hind legs, hands grabbing at herself. What was she doing? She was better than this kind of juvenile behavior!

“Well, umm, yes.” Matilda admitted. It would be more childish to deny it at this point, and now that she had started paying attention, did she ever! “Do you have another bathroom?” Maybe there was another in the master bedroom. Her hopes were dashed when Eve shook her head. “It’s fine, I can wait until Hortensia’s out.”

Eve looked skeptical. “I don’t think she’ll be out anytime, soon. Is it your stomach?” Matilda shook her head, and Eve seemed to relax now that an impending blow out was off the table.

“A neighbor’s, maybe?” Matilda asked after failing to distract herself with the textbook.

Eve bit her lip. “The only neighbor I’d feel comfortable taking you to is Jan, Chunky’s mom, but she’s a bit of a germaphobe. I don’t think she’d let either of us in right now.” Matilda’s face fell. How had she not noticed sooner? Had she really been that deep in thought? “I can’t leave Hortensia alone right now, either.”

“I could just walk to the market, it’s only a few blocks.” Matilda suggested. Eve looked like she had proposed letting Matilda play with a loaded fire arm. “Or not.” she mumbled.

“I’m sorry, you’ll either have to wait or…” Matilda watched her eyes shift to her backpack.

“No!” Matilda said, a bit more forceful than necessary. “I still have that, umm, soreness. It would be very painful.” Why was everyone suggesting she pee on herself today? Just because she was a bed wetter did not make it suddenly okay.

“Oh, that’s right.” Eve said. “Well, if you get desperate enough, there’s the backyard, although it might be a little tricky for you being a girl and all. You’d probably have to take everything off from the waist down.”

“I’ll wait.” Matilda said through gritted teeth. She just went from being a baby to being a dog. She had had her fill of relieving herself outdoors after yesterday. The experience had been unnerving, not to mention loud. It was a memory she wished to bury and never think about again! She despised being vulnerable, and nothing said vulnerable like being naked in a stranger's front yard with zero bowel control next to a woman who kept saying things like “that’s it.” and “let it all out of your system.” If she had meant to be comforting, she had missed the mark by a mile. It had been the most humiliating moment of her life, right next to Jenny pulling her out of the Chokey soaked, and having her first accident in Jenny’s bed. Recently, it seemed, her life seemed to be full of cringy moments.

Matilda’s resolve not stoop down to the level of an animal had lasted all of twenty minutes. She groaned in embarrassment as she got up and headed for the backyard. She kept reminding herself it would look worse having an accident. Picturing Eve treating her like she had yesterday had broken the rest of her resolve.

“Do you need any help with your overalls?” Matilda could feel warmth gather in her face. She had hoped to slip out unnoticed, or at least Eve would have the courtesy not to say anything. No such luck on either accounts.

“No, thank you.” Matilda mumbled. She went out back, shutting the screen door behind her. She took in the backyard. All the grass seemed to be directly in front of the back door. Matilda groaned again. No way was she going to do this with Eve watching. She had given her enough of a show yesterday. As Matilda made her way around the small backyard, she couldn’t shake the image of a dog sniffing around, searching for the perfect spot. Just pick somewhere and get it over with! There!

All the way along the fence were flowers, but there in the corner was a bush, and not a very pretty one anyway. As she was undoing her overalls, she had the odd feeling she was being watched. She eyed the backdoor, but Eve, thankfully, was not there. No one was looking out the kitchen window, either. She was just feeling paranoid because this felt wrong, she thought, but before she stripped the rest of the way, she let her eyes scan the area one last time. Nothing. She got into position over the bush, but just as she began to pull everything down, she let out a yell and quickly hoisted it back up. She had been so concerned about Eve watching, she hadn’t thought of anyone else, so she was startled when her eyes locked with a man on the second floor of the neighbor's house.

Matilda ran back inside, overalls still dangling.

“Feel better?” a voice from the kitchen table asked. Of course, she’d ask that, Matilda thought.

“There was a man watching me from upstairs.” Matilda said. Eve scowled.

“Damn him, that perv. I’ve caught him several times watching us.”

Matilda shook her head. “I didn’t…”

“Wise of you.” Eve said, a scowl still on her face. “Stay inside the rest of the day.” Matilda didn’t ask why.

Matilda rested her head on her textbook, burying her face in her arms. “C’mon, Hortensia! Aren’t you done blowing it up yet?” Matilda quietly mumbled to herself. Her legs were now involuntarily shaking, the straps she hadn’t fastened on her overalls bouncing noisily against the chair. What was she going to do now? She looked up hopefully when she heard a scraping sound. Was Hortensia back? No, it was just Eve dragging a chair over to the top row of cupboards.

Instead of climbing on top to reach up, Eve patted the chair. ‘Come on, hop up” Matilda tried to make sense of what she was saying. She stood up and followed in a trance. She couldn’t think right now, she couldn’t even stand still. Maybe Eve was afraid of heights? She doubted Matilda could reach that high, but she stood on the chair anyway.

“Face me.” Matilda turned. She wasn’t even eye level, she was still a good foot shorter. So then why? Matilda let out a panicked gasp. Eve had yanked her overalls and underwear down, and was lifting her up by her hips. When she stopped moving, Matilda realized she was hovering over the sink. Her legs were resting over the edge, but she knew if Eve let go, she’d fall backwards into it. “Go on, I’ve got you.” Once again, not comforting, Matilda thought. Her body clenched tight in protest. “Let me know when you’re done.”

“I-I can’t.” Matilda muttered, face red with embarrassment. Not with Eve right in front of her, holding her.

“Everything’s harder as a girl, I know.” Eve said. It was true, Matilda could have gone in the bush with her back to the neighbor already. She wrapped one arm around Matilda’s waist and reached behind her with the other. She nearly jumped out of Eve’s hold as she felt cold water splash her back. Matilda hadn’t been quite out of the range of the faucet, but she was no match for the sound and feel of running water.

Matilda hid her face in her arms as she felt herself give in, feeling both shame and relief, grateful for the noise of the faucet. If she had to hear herself pee, it would have been the end of her dignity, although she was pretty sure she had lost all of that yesterday.

Once Matilda’s feet hit the floor, she quickly hoisted up her underwear, but before she could re-attach the buckles of her overalls, she felt Eve tugging on her shirt. “I’m sorry, I got you all wet.”

Matilda shrugged. If Eve hadn’t, she’d still be up there, involuntarily fighting against every trickle. Matilda shuddered, imagining Eve praising her for every sound and trying to coax her into letting it out all at once.

“See, you’re cold.” Matilda felt her shirt get pulled off. “Do you have another shirt?” Matilda shook her head. She had only brought spare pants and diapers she had been sent home with. She hadn’t thought her shirt would get in the line of fire. “I’ll put it in the dryer for you.” Matilda nodded and let out a large yawn behind her hand. She was starting to feel exhausted now that adrenaline and panic were no longer coursing through her. Her energy level was still much lower than usual and she realized she felt warm, not from embarrassment, but from fever. She was still sick.

“Feel free to take a nap on the couch if you need to.” She heard Eve yell from the back of the house. Matilda wanted to very much, but…” her eyes drifted to her backpack. Why had Jenny packed those diapers and not pull-ups? She knew she couldn’t risk sleeping without anything, not with how much water she had been drinking, and not with how desperate she had gotten so quickly. She ground her teeth. Matilda didn’t have a choice, she knew. She dug around in her backpack and pulled one out, before making her way over to the couch. She kicked off the rest of her clothes, and opened it.

She turned it side to side. Where was the front, and where was the back? She had never changed a diaper before, it all looked the same. She sat on it and tried to pull it up, nope, that wasn’t right. Matilda turned it around and tried again. Nope, that was even worse! On her fifth try, she let out a moan of frustration. She heard a chuckle. Matilda looked up to find Eve watching her from the hallway.

“Need a hand?” Matilda wanted to say no, but this blasted thing wasn’t cooperating, and she was in danger of falling asleep on top of it and not in it. “Lay back.” She did as she was instructed, too drained to fight. Eve’s words were fading in and out. Matilda was only vaguely aware sometime later of another figure’s presence.

“Move your diapered ass.” Matilda moaned and rolled onto her side, suddenly squished between the back of the couch and something nice and very warm. She wrapped her arms around it, but something was in the way. Without opening her eyes, she felt around and moved away whatever it was, before pressing her face against it and sighing contentedly, now fast asleep, before feeling something reluctantly wrap around her.

…………………………………………

Jenny was surprised to find the door beginning to open before she had even lifted her hand to knock. Eve poked her face out and beckoned her in with a finger, with a finger of her other hand pressed to her lips.

“You need to see this.” Eve whispered, and Jenny followed her inside now curious. Eve crept into the living room and pointed down at the couch. Jenny tiptoed inside and covered her mouth in surprise. Both girls were asleep, Matilda in nothing but a diaper, her face resting on Hortensia’s bare stomach, both with arms wrapped around each other.

Jenny bit down on her knuckle to suppress the giggle that wanted to come out. Matilda had her moments, but Hortensia? Now that was a girl she couldn’t imagine being a cuddler. She couldn’t even picture her staying still long enough to cuddle. She took one last glance at the girls, before following Eve into the kitchen.
“I never imagined Hortensia as the affectionate type.” Jenny admitted, taking a seat. Eve laughed.

“She’s not. I told you, they’re different when they're sick.” Eve said.

Jenny thought back to last night. Matilda had been a bit clingier than usual, and Jenny had been more than happy to oblige. She thought it was because Matilda had thought she had hurt her, but as she thought back, it was Matilda who had initiated contact. She had even asked to be read to.

“You never told me she was some kind of genius.” Eve suddenly said, her tone changing. Jenny smiled and shrugged. “If she wasn’t sick, I was about to have her do my taxes for me.”

“What gave it away?”

“I caught her trying to give medication to my daughter. When I took the bottle away from her, she recited the instructions, and the math needed to calculate the dosage for children based on their weight. Then she began doing Hortensia’s math homework in her head. I thought she was copying off Hortensia’s paper, but she even got the answers Hortensia missed.”

Jenny smiled and replied, “She likes math.”

“Let me ask you, where is she living? You said she comes from an abusive home. Is she a foster child, is that why she’s still in your class? ”

Jenny’s smile faltered. “It’s complicated. She’s living with me, but her situation isn’t exactly…”

“On the up and up.” Eve volunteered.

“Yes.” Jenny said, sounding sad. “I was able to get her family to give up custody of her, and pay a very small amount in child support, but if anyone came looking for her.” She bit her lip. “I don’t think the courts would give me custody. That’s also why she’s still in my class. I don’t have the legal right to switch schools, I’d pull her out of there so fast if I could! I try and be the best teacher I can be for her, but-” Jenny stopped as she felt a hand close around hers.

“She doesn’t need you as a teacher right now; she needs you as a mother.” Jenny froze. “That independence, you see, that came from necessity. That’s not normal, it doesn’t matter how smart she is. Do you know why she knows how to give herself medicine? It’s because no one was there to give it to her.”

“I know,” Jenny said with a sigh. “She told me last night she doesn’t see me as a mother, though.”

“Then make her see you as one.” Eve said. “Jenny, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think Matilda has very dark feelings towards the adults in her life, and if you don’t address it and soon, something very bad may happen.”

Crap, Jenny thought, she must know about her powers too!

“Like today, for instance, she gave me a look like she wanted to rip my head off!”

“Well, she is only five, and you said they don’t act themselves when they're sick. She is a very sweet girl.”

“Jenny,” Eve said. “Listen, I found a notebook in with her school things. She’s having fantasies about murdering the principal.”

Jenny’s eyebrows narrowed, and then she let out a nervous laugh. “What? No, Matilda would never want to hurt anyone. “

“I put it back with her things, you can look through it tonight, but seriously, with that brain of hers and these dark fantasies, you really need to do something to put a stop to this. Even the bed-wetting is a sign of emotional disturbance. ”

“Eve!” Jenny said, getting to her feet. “Matilda is not some evil child, she is a very sweet and special girl who doesn’t have a drop of darkness in her heart!”

“I’m not saying she’s evil! All i’m saying is I think you need to spend more one on one time with her. Fewer academics, and more nurturing maybe, I don’t know!” Eve said also getting to her feet.

“Jenny?” A quiet voice asked. Both women turned to find a very sleepy looking Matilda leaning against the doorway, a wet diaper hanging from her hips.

Jennifer plastered on a fake smile as best she could. She could only pray Matilda hadn’t heard their conversation. “Hi, sweetie, I’m sorry if we woke you. Let’s get your overalls back on, I’ll get you cleaned up once we get home.” Matilda looked at her a bit dazed, but didn’t argue. She had barely pulled up her pants when Jenny picked her and her backpack up and headed for the door.

……………………………..

To think Matilda capable of such a thing! Jenny thought, seething, as she started running a bath. Eve had spent two afternoons with her and was already telling her how to be a parent! Jenny sighed as she rubbed at her temples. She was getting a headache.

“Jenny? What’s wrong?” Matilda asked from the doorway. She had gotten out of her overalls, and was pacing back and forth in the wet diaper, a look of pain on her face.

“It’s nothing, sweetie, don’t worry about it. If you need to pee, go in the diaper.” Jenny watched Matilda’s face turn a bright shade of red.

“N-no, I don’t have to.” She said. Jenny nodded and turned back to the water, aware Matilda had gone into the other room. When she came back, she couldn’t help notice there was predominantly more sagging around her waist and an even more uncomfortable expression on Matilda’s face. Liar.

“Come here. Let’s get that off you.” Jenny reached for the tabs, but frowned when Matilda pulled away.

“I can do it myself.” She mumbled. She was about to tear it off, but Jenny grabbed her hands to stop her.

“I know you can do it yourself, and I love how independent you are, but sometimes, like right now, with me, you don’t have to be. Does that make sense?”

Matilda frowned. “It’s gross, though, I don’t want you to.”

Jenny smiled softly. “Gross? Why would I think it’s gross? Is it because it’s so…fresh?!” She lunged forward, taking Matilda off guard, and began making her squeal with laughter.

“No! Stop! I’m ticklish!” she cried, and tried to dance away, but Jenny had her pinned into the corner, running her fingers up her sides, until the small girl was red-faced and panting. She looked so far from the evil genius Eve thought her to be. Jenny bent down and tore the tabs off, before balling it up and throwing it in the trashcan.

“Was that so bad? Now into the bath with you!” She waited until Matilda was fully submerged before excusing herself. Now, what was with this notebook? She went to Matilda’s backpack, digging around, until she pulled out a blue composition book she didn’t recognize. She opened it and flipped through the childish doodles. Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. Dark fantasies, she thought, shaking her head. This wasn’t even Matilda’s neat writing, and the plans inside were so over the top, how could anyone take them seriously? Dropping a cannonball from the roof? Really?

Jenny stopped at a page that featured a crude drawing of a cat. She smiled and shook her head. She had a feeling she knew who this notebook belonged to, and Eve wasn’t going to like it.

“Matilda,” Jenny said, do you know who this belongs to? I found it in your backpack.” She held it up, so Matilda could see, and noticed her face begin to lose color. Jenny sighed and sat down on the closed toilet lid. She may be a genius, but she couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.

“Hortensia’s,” she mumbled. At least she wasn’t lying anymore. “I said I wanted to help her play pranks, so she showed it to me.”

Jenny bit her lip in worry. The Trunchbull was the last person anyone should be playing pranks on.

“I realize some of the doodles she made aren’t exactly pranks.” Matilda went on.

“Yes,” Jenny said. “They aren’t. They are the worst plans for murder I have ever seen.” Matilda giggled.

“Did you see the cannonball one?” Matilda asked. “How was she planning on getting those on the roof?”

Jenny smiled. She had also seen rough drafts for other strange occurrences she hadn’t realized had been Hortensia’s doing. She was smart and calculating when she put her mind to it, so she knew the murder sketches had been nothing to worry about. It was clear no planning had gone into them. How had she planned on getting them onto the roof? It was almost as if she’d need-Jenny swallowed nervously as realization dawned on her. It was almost as if she’d need telekinetic powers.
……

“Matilda,” Jenny asked as they laid in bed that night. “Do you like living with me?”

“Yes, of course! This is so much better than where I came from!” Matilda said, rolling onto her side.

“I know it’s better, but I was just wondering…is it enough?” Am I enough?

Matilda rolled over and faced her. She looked confused. “I don’t understand.”

Jenny sighed. “What If you could have a family who loved and appreciated you. A mom and dad, your own room again. Your own bed! I can’t give you any of those things. Wouldn’t you prefer that over this?”

Jenny could see the scowl forming over Matilda’s features. “I thought you said you wanted to be my mom.”

“Of course, I want to be your mom!” Jenny said. “I may not be very good at it, but-”

“If I could choose, I’d still pick you.” Matilda said matter-of-factly. “This,” she gestured around the tiny room, “has felt more like home than anywhere else I’ve ever lived, because you’re here.”

“You’re so sweet, I hope you’re not just saying that.” Jenny said, pulling Matilda towards her and into a hug. “You know you can tell me the truth, no matter how small or big.”

“I do.” Matilda said, resting her head on Jenny’s shoulder.

“Uh-huh, Miss, no, I don’t have to pee.” She could feel Matilda stiffen against her. She bit her lip, maybe she shouldn’t have gone so far. “Why does that bother you so much?”

“I don’t know.” Matilda mumbled into Jenny’s nightgown. Liar. She rubbed up and down her bare back, her shirt having mysteriously disappeared again.

“Tell me, please. You never tell me you need something until it’s too late.” She could feel Matilda tense again. There was an issue somewhere around here. She was determined to get to the bottom of it. “You don’t like asking for help, even if it would save you a lot of trouble. Remember the museum?” Jenny could feel Matilda begin to shake with sobs, but she had to get to the bottom of this. “Talk to me, Matilda. I can’t be there for you if you don’t tell me what you need.” Jenny waited patiently, gently scratching Matilda’s back until she calmed down. “Tell me this, back at the museum, why didn’t you just ask me to unclip your overalls?”

“Because it was something a little kid would need.”

“Honey, you’re five years old, you are a little kid.”

“I don’t like,” Matilda said, but stopped.

“Go on, finish your thought.”

“I don’t like feeling helpless, and I don’t like people thinking I’m helpless.”

“Of course, I don’t think you're helpless, but needing help sometimes doesn’t make you helpless either. Adults need to ask for help all the time, too. ”

“But not like,” Matilda said, dropping her voice, “going to the bathroom or something.”

“Did you know brides on their wedding need someone to hold their dress up while they pee?” Matilda scrunched up her face.

“So I won’t get married then.” She said.

Jenny laughed. “Just over that?”

“These last few days have been awful!”

“I know, being sick is no fun, but I think you’re over the worst of it. Eve said you only threw up twice today. Maybe tomorrow you won’t throw up at all.”

“Not like that, I mean, yeah that was awful too, but I don’t like being sick, around other people. Like you said, you didn’t like not wearing clothes. I don’t like dealing with bodily functions around other people. Adults especially, It makes me feel-”

“Vulnerable?” Jenny asked.

“Yeah!” Matilda said. “I don’t like feeling vulnerable around adults.” Jenny frowned and stroked Matilda’s head. It didn’t really come as a surprise given everything she had shared with her, but it still made Jenny feel a little sad.

“Do I make you feel vulnerable?”

Matilda didn’t answer for some time. “You used to, but not so much anymore.” Jenny sighed.

“I want you to feel comfortable with anything you might want or need. You know that, right? No matter how embarrassing or personal. It doesn’t matter what it might be. I will never shame you, or belittle you, or scold you for asking or letting me know you need help.”

“D-do you mean that?” Matilda asked in a quiet voice.

“Of course, Matilda. Is there something in particular you wanted or needed that bothers you?”

“I- I guess, but it’s weird, and it would make you uncomfortable, and I don’t even know why I want to so bad!” Matilda said, tripping over her words. Jenny’s face frowned with concern. What was it she wanted that would make her uncomfortable?

“What is it?” Jenny asked.

“I- I want to,” Matilda said, looking uncertain. “I want to lay on your chest.” Matilda blurted out.

Jenny smiled, still confused. “That’s fine.”

“Your bare chest.” Matilda said, barely over a whisper. Oh…

Jenny paused. She stared ahead at the foot of the bed. Why would Matilda want to lay on her bare chest? One of the few things she wasn’t sure she could do… Her heart was beating in a panic. She was waiting, she needed to answer her. She could tell her, “no,” without belittling or shaming her, but was that fair? Jenny had been asking her to drop her guard. That was normal, though, she was the adult and Matilda was a child. She needed to be able to trust adults again.
Was this even an appropriate request to fulfil? She was just a child. Surely there was no ulterior motive, she even said herself, she didn’t know why she wanted it…so bad. Jenny gulped. Matilda had never said she wanted something badly. Why this of all things? She thought of Matilda lying on Hortensia’s bare stomach with her arms around her.

She was a girl who had never felt love. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Matilda was craving a kind of non-sexual intimacy, the feeling of skin against skin. Was that why she kept taking off her shirt? Jenny bit her lip. She was almost certain Matilda had stopped expecting a reply. She sighed and turned off the light.

……………….

Matilda felt her heart sink when the room had gone dark. She guessed that was Jenny’s way of saying, “no,” but she could have at least told her instead of ignoring her. She could feel tears begin to well in her eyes, Then she heard another sound, of something soft that had fallen to the floor.

“Come here, Matilda.”

An arm gently guided her down in the dark. She could hear Jenny suck in a panicked breath when their bodies made contact. Where was it? She felt around her chest, until she felt what she was after. There! She moved up as slowly and gently as she could and placed her ear where her hand had been. Matilda could hear and feel Jenny’s heart beating like mad.

“I won’t hurt you, Jenny.” Matilda whispered. “It’s okay.” She softly hummed for a bit and ran her fingers through Jenny’s hair. Ever so slowly, she could feel Jenny’s stiff body begin to slowly relax underneath her. Matilda smiled as she felt Jenny’s arms move around her and embrace her. Yes! This. This is what she had been longing her. She wanted to feel her body heat around her, and listen to her heart beat. There was something so intimate about it, like it was something only they could share.

“Are you okay?” Matilda whispered. The arms around her tightened in response, and she felt a pair of lips kiss her cheek.

“How did you know I needed this too?”

Chapter Text

The thing which woke Matilda the next morning wasn’t the fact that it was nearly an hour past when they should've been out the door, but the too hot sensation, as if she was sleeping on a furnace. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find she was almost in the exact same position as last night, only higher up, with her head resting in the crook of Miss Honey’s neck. Only now, instead of the pleasant warmth of their shared body heat, Jenny felt like a piece of metal that had been left out in the sun.

Oh no, Matilda thought, slowly lifting herself up to eye level. Jenny was whimpering softly in her sleep, and a strained look Matilda couldn’t quite place, somewhere between fear and anger. 

“I’m sorry,” Matilda heard in between nonsensical babble, followed by something that sounded a lot like “bull”. It was obvious who she was dreaming about, and Matilda knew there was no such thing as a pleasant dream if that woman was involved. 

“Jenny,” she whispered softly. “Jenny, wake up.” She pressed a hand to her forehead and frowned. She was burning! Matilda had gotten her sick after all. She quietly chastised herself. Why couldn’t she just leave her alone and stay on her side of the bed! Or even better, slept on the floor! Or stayed at Hortensia’s. There was no hope for them after what Matilda had done over there, anyway. 

Miss Honey was moaning now, before a wet gurgling sound escaped her lips. Matilda could see yellowish bile running down the corners of her mouth. She was going to choke! Matilda jumped off her and pushed until Jenny was on her side, head over the side of the bed. She forced open Miss Honey’s mouth and let it drain onto the bare wooden floor below. 

Jenny began coughing and opened her eyes, they were glassy, and her gaze unfocused, but Matilda breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was awake. Jenny tried to sit up, but Matilda stopped her. 

“You’re sick.” Matilda said. It seemed to take Miss Honey a minute to register the room she was in and why one of her students was in bed with her. Her eyes went from panic, to confusion, and then finally settled on understanding. 

“What time is it?” Jenny asked. She rubbed at her pounding temples. 

Matilda looked up at the clock before answering, “8:30.”

“Shi-” Miss Honey gasped. She threw the covers off and sprang up, stepping in the puddle of sick. Matilda was shocked. She had never heard Jenny come even close to swearing before. 

“Jenny, stop! You can’t go to class like this!” She watched Miss Honey brace herself against the wall of the bathroom, before lunging for the toilet to be sick again. 

“I have to.” Jenny managed to eventually choke out, before shakily wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “I’m already so late! She’s going to kill me.” Her protesting was cut short by more retching. 

Matilda went to the landline and pulled out the phone book. No way was she going to let Jenny anywhere out of the apartment today. The thought of her going to school was insane! She looked up the number for Crunchem Hall and dialed. The receiver was picked up after two rings. A man answered; it was the vice principal, Mr. Trilby 

Matilda quickly made up a story of walking to school and finding her teacher getting sick in the street, before walking her back home.

“Thank you for letting us know, Matilda. We were wondering what happened to her; it’s not like her to miss class. Ever. Tell her I wish her a speedy recovery. Even the principal is out with it.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Trilby, I will.” Matilda said before hanging up. Jenny would be happy to know the Trunchbull wasn’t there. 

Next, Matilda grabbed a rag from the sink and wiped up the mess off the floor, as well as the now yellowish footprints leading to the bathroom. The door was now closed and Matilda could hear the shower running. Matilda would be ushering her back into bed the moment she came out, whether she wanted to or not, she’d keep smacking her with the broom if she had to. 

While Matilda was thinking about what else she could do, there was a loud thunk sound from the bathroom. She went to the door and knocked. No answer.

“Jenny? Are you okay?” Still no answer. Worried, she opened the door and peeked inside. The shower was still running, but she couldn’t see the woman’s silhouette behind the curtain. “Jenny?” There was a moan in response. Matilda rushed inside and threw open the curtain. Jenny was crumpled in a heap on the bathtub floor, holding her head. 

“Jenny!” Matilda quickly turned off the water and kneeled on the floor to be eye level. She moved her hand away, but she couldn’t see any blood. “Are you okay? What happened?” 

“Just got a little dizzy. I’m alright.” Miss Honey said. 

“No, you’re not!” Matilda protested. “I called the school and told them you weren’t coming in.” 

“Matilda! No! You shouldn’t have done that! If the Trunch-” Matilda stopped her. 

“I talked to Mr. Trilby, and told him I found you ill on my walk to school, so I walked you back home and called as soon as we got here. He says he hopes you feel better, and not to worry about it. The Trunchbull called out, she’s got it too.” She could see the fight fall from Miss Honey’s face the moment she realized the Trunchbull wouldn’t be breaking down her door to find her. Matilda offered her a hand, and together, they managed to get her out of the bathtub  and onto the bathmat. Matilda didn’t like how wobbly she still was.

“Hold onto the towel rack, I’ll dry you off.” 

“Matilda, that’s really not necessary.” Miss Honey protested, but Matilda could see she was straining just to stay on her feet.

“Hold on to the towel rack.” She repeated, a bit more forceful. 

“Matilda,” Miss Honey said, sounding exasperated, but did as she was instructed. Matilda dried off her legs and hips, before climbing up onto the closed toilet lid to get her upper body. She could tell Jenny was uncomfortable with the close contact and being seen naked, but Matilda wasn’t going to let her risk falling again. She had read bathrooms were the most dangerous place in the house, and as she took in the edges of the sink, bathtub and toilet, she could see why.

When she had finished, she threw the towel onto Jenny’s head, giggling as it fell over her face. There was no hope of reaching her head, so she took Jenny by the hand and led her back to bed. 

“In,” Matilda ordered. Jenny didn’t argue, she was practically panting from the effort of standing and walking. She slid under the covers, letting her towel covered head hit the pillow. You’re pathetic, Jenny thought, making a child care for you, a grown adult. You’re no better than her. “Stop it,” Matilda said with a scowl. “You’re sick, and you’re not making me do anything. I’m doing it because I want to.” Miss Honey grimaced. She hadn’t realized she had said it out loud, maybe she was worse than she thought.

“We could play pretend.” Matilda said, after a minute of awkward silence. Miss Honey looked up at her. “We’ll pretend you’re not an adult. I’ll be the parent, and you’ll be the child.”

“Like playing house?” Jenny asked, closing her eyes. Hadn’t they been playing house this whole time? With Jenny pretending to be a strong, reliable adult in Matilda’s life, instead of the small cowardly child she felt like most of the time. 

“Yeah, like house. I know you don’t need my help, but we’re just pretending you do. It’s just a game.” 

A game of make believe? 

A fragment of a memory passed through Miss Honey’s mind. Her father, Magnus, getting his temperature taken with Jenny’s toy thermometer, band-aids all over his face and suit. 

“What is it, Doctor, what’s wrong with me?” Magnus asked.

“You’re sick!” Four-year-old Jenny declared. She pulled the toy from his mouth and stared at it, “112! Degrees.” 

“112 Degrees! Well, it’s a good thing Dr. Bumblebee is here to take such good care of me.” Magnus said.

“Yeah,” Miss Honey said before feeling a cup of medicine pressed against her lips. She swallowed it. “Make believe sounds nice. Let’s play.” The corners of her mouth twitched upward into a smile when she felt a cool, wet wash cloth gently laid on her forehead. “How do you always know?” She mumbled before falling back to sleep. 

……………………………………………………………….

Matilda sat crossed legged on the bed, silently watching, waiting and…feeling? The first time had just been a hunch, the second, a lucky guess. The third? Quick reflexes. The fourth time though… Matilda was puzzled. It was almost as if Matilda knew Miss Honey would be sick even before she did. Every time Jennifer had lurched forward, Matilda already had the trashcan floating in the air and ready in front of her. 

What had unnerved Matilda the most was her own body. She had been certain she had to pee, but when she went and sat on the toilet, nothing would happen despite the pressure growing stronger. This had been going on for the last thirty minutes, and it was driving her mad. Then an odd thought crossed her mind. No, it wasn’t possible . People couldn’t just… 

People also couldn’t make trashcans float in the air, but here she was, beckoning it into the bathroom to dump its contents into the open toilet. She pushed an imaginary lever in the air, and the toilet flushed. She supposed it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

“Jenny?” Matilda whispered at her bedside. “Jenny?” She placed a hand on her forehead. She was still burning up. Nothing she gave her seemed to break the fever. 

“Hmm?” Miss Honey mumbled. She opened her eyes, still glassy and unfocused.

“I was just wondering if you needed anything. Some water, maybe, or to use the bathroom?” Matilda could see the crease of worry form, before she tried to sit up. 

“I’m so dizzy,” Jenny said. The two of them slowly managed to get her into a sitting position with her legs over the bed, but that was as far as Matilda was willing to push her. She didn’t like how red her skin was getting, or how flushed her face was. She didn’t have a thermometer, but she was almost certain her fever was beyond 102. If she tried to get up, all Matilda could do was make a good cushion to fall onto, and fall Matilda was certain she would do. She just had to think. How could they do this? 

“Don’t!” Matilda said, when she saw Jenny trying to push herself up. “You’ll only get hurt.”

“I need to pee.” Miss Honey said, but stayed where she was, obviously spent from the small movement.

“I know,” Matilda muttered. “I’m thinking.” The obvious idea was out, Matilda’s pull-ups would never fit her. “How far can you scoot yourself off the bed? I could levitate the trashcan to you, but…” There was the issue of angles still, and she doubted Jenny would be willing, given her issues with modesty.

“Whatever, that’s fine, just hurry.” Matilda bit her lip. What she needed was a doctor. Did they really make house calls? Or was that just a thing of stories past? Did Jenny even have insurance? 

Matilda played with a few angles, but it was clear this idea was out. She would have needed to be on a corner, and it all came back to neither of them having enough strength… unless… She couldn’t move that much weight with her body, but maybe… They never had tested her limits. What if she could hold her up with her mind? 

“Try and stand up, I have an idea.” Matilda pushed with her mind as hard as she could, helping move Jenny’s body as Jenny tried to pull herself up. She was a little wobbly still, but much steadier than before.

“Are you the reason I feel so light?” Jenny asked. She was still hanging onto the bed frame. Matilda nodded, grabbing her hand. 

“I think I can walk you to the bathroom like this” Matilda started to say, but stopped. There was an intense, sudden pressure, like something was squeezing her. Another premonition? She wasn’t going to make it halfway across the room. “I’m sorry, but can you spread your legs a little?” The trashcan met its target just as the dripping started. “It's making you feel lighter, but I think it’s also squeezing you.” Miss Honey stood frozen in place, looking at the bathroom with longing. “It’s too late, and I don’t think I can keep this up much longer.” She lifted a towel off the floor with the last of her mental strength and held it over Jenny’s waist. 

“Thank you for that.” Miss Honey whispered, nodding at the towel, but Matilda had a hunch she didn’t care at this point. Matilda squirmed in place. She could feel the pressure inside herself ebbing away with the trickling sound coming from the other side of the towel. This was too bizarre! She patted the crotch of her pants, almost half expecting to find them wet, and then…she was fine. Matilda let the towel fall before she grabbed the trashcan with her hands and set in on the floor. She didn’t trust herself not to mentally drop it, and she needed to focus all her attention on getting Jenny back into bed. This was too much of a strain on her powers to rely on as a solution, even if Jenny would be willing to stand over the trashcan every time instead of trying to walk. 

Matilda collapsed into bed next to her. Maybe she would be more useful if she wasn’t still getting over this herself. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep as well, but she knew she couldn’t. She needed to keep watch. Matilda needed to keep…feeling. She had a sense of doom hanging over her, and she couldn’t seem to shake it. It didn’t seem to be what Matilda had, but in a way, this was worse. Her fever was spiking, not breaking. 

The first person Matilda called when Jenny started jerking in her sleep was Hortensia. It was the only number she knew. When Hortensia picked up, Matilda asked for her mom to come over, but learned Eve had also gotten sick. Matilda wasn’t happy to learn her issues were in her lower GI tract, just like Matilda’s and Hortensia’s had been. Matilda had been relieved she hadn’t had to deal with Jenny having diarrhea, but now she’d almost welcome it. She could deal with the mess if it meant Jenny would be better soon. 

When Matilda tried to get Jenny to drink water, only for her to spit it back out, she made a second phone call. Followed by a third, and then a fourth. No doctor's office made house calls, it seemed. She was almost in tears when she tried the last thing she could think of. She tried the school and asked to speak to Mrs. Rodgers. 

 “Hello, Matilda! Glad to hear you're feeling better!”

“I need help!” Matilda begged. “It’s Miss Honey! No one will come!” Now she really was crying. 

“What is it? What’s wrong with Miss Honey?” 

“I don’t know! I thought I got her sick, but it’s different, and her fever won’t break! Can you come look at her? I can’t even take her temperature! I don’t have a thermometer, but I think It’s really high, and I’m scared! Please!” 

“It’s going to be okay, Matilda, try and calm down. Can you tell me what’s wrong with her?” 

“S-she’s got a fever, and she’s throwing up, but not like from nausea. More like from her stomach contracting, and she’s not swallowing!” Matilda heard Mrs. Rogers suck in a breath. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure but, I’ll be there soon. Have you called an ambulance? Do you think she needs one?” 

“I don’t know,” Matilda said. She had been debating calling for one for the last hour, and if Mrs. Rodgers hadn’t picked up, she probably would have called, but she knew something about their living situation was complicated. She didn’t want to put Miss Honey at risk just because she was too dumb to know what was and wasn’t an emergency. 

“I’m coming, just hang in there.” 

Matilda was pacing the floor by the time Mrs. Rodgers arrived. Jenny’s breathing was getting shallower, and she wasn’t responding in anything but quiet moans. Matilda’s jaw was beginning to ache, but she wasn’t sure if that was because she was grinding her teeth, or had something to do with Matilda feeling Jenny’s pain. 

She opened the door wide for Mrs. Rodgers before she had even approached the door. Matilda eagerly beckoned her in. 

“Thank you! Thank you for coming! I don’t know what to do anymore!” All she had managed to do at this point was wipe her down with cold, wet rags and listen to her breathing turn more ragged. Matilda had thrown a sheet over her to cover her body after pulling the blankets off her, but she didn’t have the time or the energy to dress her. 

“Well, let's see where her temperatures at.” Matilda watched as she pulled a thermometer out of her bag. “Hopefully it’s not as high as you think.” Matilda hoped so, too. “Jennifer, can you hear me? It’s Mrs. Rodgers from school.” Miss Honey weakly opened her eyes, but didn’t say anything. “Matilda called me, she’s worried about you.” Miss Honey blinked in acknowledgement before closing her eyes again and rubbing her jaw. It was right where Matilda’s hand was on hers. “I’m going to take your temperature.”

Matilda held her breath and waited for the beep. Mrs. Rodgers pulled it out and looked down at. Matilda could see her face fall.

“Go ahead and call that ambulance now, Matilda.” 

………………………….

Everything seemed to happen in a blur. Their tiny apartment was full of paramedics asking questions, and yelling vitals. Matilda could see an oxygen mask being secured around Miss Honey’s face. Matilda was starting to cry again, but she didn’t care. She followed them out of the studio as they wheeled Miss Honey out on a gurney. Matilda stopped when she felt Mrs. Rodgers grab her hand.

“Come with me in my care, we’ll meet them at the hospital.” Matilda looked back at the ambulance, she wanted to stay with Miss Honey. “Please, I’d like to talk to you about something.”

Matilda followed her to her car, giving one last glance behind her, before climbing into the passenger's side. 

“What were all those scars on her body? Do you know?” Matilda nodded, but didn’t reply. It wasn’t her secret to tell. “It’s important, the paramedics need to know.” Matilda bit her lip.

“Cigar burns.” Matilda said softly. “She was abused as a child.” She heard Miss Rodgers suck in a breath before beating the steering wheel with a fist. Matilda jumped and stared at her.

“It was her, wasn’t it.” She said it in an accusatory tone instead of a question, but Matilda nodded her head. They sat in silence for some time, before Mrs. Rodgers started the car. “You did the right thing, calling for help.”

“I was afraid no one would come. I was so scared. She looked like she was hav-having a a a f-f-fit.” Matilda hid her face in her arm and learned against the window. 

Please be okay, Jenny, Please. You’re the only family I have. 

Chapter Text

Matilda couldn’t believe what she was hearing. No! No! No! 

“Let me see her!” She begged. Mrs. Rodgers had her by the arms, but no matter how much she threw her weight and thrashed against her, Mrs. Rodgers wouldn’t let go. 

“Matilda, you need to calm down!” Mrs. Rodgers said, but Matilda wasn’t having it. “They don’t know anything yet for sure!” 

She could barely make out the doctor standing in front of her through her tears. 

“We’re still running tests, but we’ll let you know as soon as we find anything. Once she’s out of radiology, and get her settled into a room, then you can see her for a few minutes before visiting hours are over.” 

Visiting hours! She wasn’t leaving Miss Honey here by herself! 

“Thank you, doctor.” Matilda felt herself get pulled back over to the chairs. “They don’t know for sure.” Mrs. Rodgers said again. 

“But I know!” Matilda cried. How had she not noticed the infected cuts? She had so busy looking at the scars, she hadn’t noticed the cuts! As soon as the doctor had asked if she had been around rusty metal, the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. The Chokey! The night she had been so late picking her up from Hortensia’s. 

“Matilda, how could you possibly know? He only said they were checking for Tetanus, it doesn’t mean she has it. He said it could be any number of things.” 

“B-but-but I felt it!” Matilda said. “In my throat, and she was pointing at it and-” 

“Shh, Matilda, you’re not making any sense. I know you’re worried, but Miss Honey is going to be fine.” 

“It could kill her!” 

“They don’t know if it was even metal that cut her. For all we know, it could be totally unrelated. They’ve already given her a booster shot just in case.” 

“She was late! Miss Trunchbull must have had her in the Chokey, and she got cut!” 

“I promise you, Miss Honey was not in the Chokey, she was with me all night.” Mrs. Rodgers said. “The Trunchbull made all the staff sit through a lecture after school let out. We walked off the grounds together. Now, Miss Honey loves to tell me how smart you are. I’m sure you know just how rare Tetanus is, don’t you?” 

It was true, but, Matilda had been so sure she had felt pain in her jaw. It was a classic symptom, wasn’t it? She tried to remember what she had read about it in the library after she had gotten all her vaccinations caught up. Was it Tetanus that caused jaundice, or was that Hepatitis? She let her face fall into her hands. She couldn’t remember! Her brain felt so fuzzy! 

Even if she was having jaw pain, why did that mean Miss Honey was too? She knew something strange was happening to her. She had been feeling all these complex and foreign things for days leading up to this, and she hadn’t understood why until today. Maybe they weren’t Matilda’s feelings at all. They had been Miss Honey’s. They had been so strong when they were lying next to each other, Matilda wondered why she hadn’t noticed before. 

How do you always know?

Perhaps it wasn’t only Matilda who had wanted to cuddle last night? Hadn’t Miss Honey admitted she had needed it as well? The sudden urge had overwhelmed Matilda. It was as if she had needed Jenny’s affection like she needed air. Was it because Miss Honey’s complex adult emotions had overwhelmed her? The self loathing. The fear. Feelings of inadequacy, of guilt, of loneliness, of shame. How could one person feel all that? Perhaps that’s why Matilda only noticed it today? Pain was something she could pinpoint. She understood nausea, and headaches, and a full bladder. 

Matilda nearly jumped when she heard the door swing open. 

“She’s in room 408 if you’d like to come back now.” 

Matilda’s heart began to flutter inside her chest. She could feel the sweat forming on her palms. She had been bound and determined to break down the door a mere ten minutes ago, and now as she made her way down the hall, she felt terrified. What was this? Another foreign feeling. She was right outside the door now. She swallowed nervously. It was guilt. 

Matilda craned her neck around the door frame, afraid of what she might see. What if she was hooked up to a breathing tube? Or an iron lung? Was she conscious? Would she recognize Matilda, or was she delirious from fever? 

Relief rushed over her as she met Miss Honey’s eyes. She practically sprinted to her bedside. She was awake, and sitting up, and even eating Jello! 

“Matilda, no, don’t! Give her some space!” Mrs. Rodgers said from behind her.

“No, she’s fine.” Jenny said with a croak. She patted the small space on the bed next to her that Matilda had already begun to scale. “C’mere, darling.” There was that longing again. Was it hers? Jenny’s? A bit of both? They wrapped their arms around each other as they rocked side to side. “I’m okay, sweetie, really. It’s all thanks to you.” 

“I didn’t do anything.” Matilda mumbled into Miss Honey’s shoulder. 

“Yes you did! You were right there by my side all day, and you were so attentive, you even noticed I wasn’t getting better and called for help. The doctor said if I hadn’t come to the hospital when I did, I could have had brain damage from the high fever.” Matilda shuddered. “I’m okay though. They were able to break it, and they’re giving me antibiotics and fluids. They just want to keep me here for observation.” 

 “Was it from metal?” Matilda asked. She pointed at the bandage on Jenny’s collarbone. 

“No, it wasn’t metal.” Jenny said with a weak smile, “You want to know what it was from?” Matilda nodded, eyes wide. “It was from that darn cat your dear friend Hortensia put in the Trunchbull’s office on Tuesday. It scratched me when I picked him up to put him outside. I didn’t clean it well enough, and it got infected.” Matilda frowned, That couldn’t be it. 

“What else?” Matilda demanded. Jenny sighed and ran her hand through Matilda’s hair.

“Can’t hide anything from you, can I? Now, I don’t want you to worry, bu- ” 

“Jenny! What is it?” 

“We have cupboard spiders.” Matilda blinked. 

“What? Spiders?” There it was again, the guilt. 

“I saw a couple the other day, but I didn’t want to scare you. I was going to go back and kill them once you fell asleep, but then I forgot about them. Looks like one of them found me last night and got me right under my jaw. I had a bad reaction, and It made my throat swell up.” Matilda looked up and noticed a bandage under her jaw line, right where Matilda had been feeling pain. She couldn’t help but laugh from relief. She hugged Jenny again, but much tighter. A spider bite? Really? 

“You scared me nearly to death thinking you had Tetanus!” 

“Why on earth would you think I had Tetanus?” 

“Because of the jaw pain! And the stomach contractions, and the fever!” Matilda could feel Miss Honey pull away from her and stare.

“How? What? I never told you about the contractions and jaw pain.” 

“Because I felt it.” Matilda whispered. “I can’t explain it; I just knew.”

“The bucket.” Jenny said quietly, her eyes growing wide. “It was always ready. You weren’t making it stay up the whole time?”

Matilda shook her head. “Three minutes is my limit. I just sort of knew when you were going to need it and got it ready.” 

“Matilda, that’s not possible, how could you-” Miss Honey started to say, but stopped as she realized what she was saying. How could you tell a girl who could move objects with her mind what was and wasn’t possible? 

“I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over.” A male voice said. Matilda turned to stare at him and then back to Miss Honey.

“C’mon, Matilda, say goodnight and let Jenny get some rest.” Mrs. Rodgers said, getting up from her chair. 

No! Not yet! A feeling of panic was rising in her. “Can’t I stay here with my mom?” 

“Don’t you want to have a sleepover with Hortensia? I’m sure the two of you can get into all sorts of fun trouble together.” Mrs Rodgers said. 

Matilda shook her head and looked at the nurse with pleading eyes.

“You’re allowed one family member to stay, but that’s up to your mom.” he said. Matilda felt Jenny take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. 

“She can stay if she likes.” Jenny said, before giving her a warm smile. “Thank you.” she whispered in Matilda’s ear before kissing her forehead. “I didn’t really want to be alone.”

“I know.” 

…………………………………………….

Jenny was both astonished and slightly disturbed at the knowledge that Matilda had developed the ability to peek inside her mind. Well, it’s a damn good thing I don’t have a sex drive, Jenny thought to herself. She could feel her face begin to burn at the “what if,” scenario that teased her mind. Her near constant isolation from the adult world had really been a blessing in disguise. The last thing she needed to do was get “turned on” and have Matilda start asking questions about a new sensation she didn’t understand. Well, that would make two of them. 

She glanced at Matilda, asleep on the couch, and smiled. She was covered in a thin hospital blanket and appeared to be dead to the world. Matilda had slept through almost every time a nurse had stopped in to check her vitals, only raising her head for the briefest second when Jenny had been helped out of bed and led to the restroom. Poor thing must have been exhausted if she could stay asleep through all the beeping and commotion of the surrounding room. 

“Hello, Miss Jennifer, how are you feeling?’ she opened her eyes to find the nurse from before standing over her and, Jenny gulped, two uniformed police officers. What? Why? Was this about her having Matilda? Her eyes shot back to the girl as she tried her best to swallow her panic. I haven’t done anything wrong.

“The pain medicine is wearing off.” she answered truthfully. She tried to give the nurse her full attention, but her eyes kept  wearily shooting to the officers. 

“I’ll have them bring you something else for the pain, but in the meantime, these officers would like to speak to you regarding your living situation.” Jenny felt her heart drop. No! She wouldn’t let them take her! 

“Hello, Jennifer, is it?” Miss Honey slowly nodded her head, eyes wide in panic. “My name is Anthony Jameson, and this is my partner, Rebecca Hastings. We have a few questions for you, we were hoping you wouldn’t mind answering for us.” Miss Honey cringed a bit. His voice was loud and carried in the quiet hospital room. She put her fingers to her lips and pointed at the covered lump on the couch. “Ah, sorry,” He said, before lowering his voice. “We received a call tonight regarding a possible domestic abuse situation, and we’re just here doing a wellness check.” Hiss Honey stared at him for a moment in confusion. Domestic abuse? She wasn’t even, or had ever, been in a relationship. 

“N-no?” Jenny answered. If this wasn’t about them taking Matilda, then what was it about? “I’m a bit confused, sorry.”

“It’s okay. There was some concern raised over the marks on your body. We were called to make sure that you and your child were in a safe situation and offer some assistance if needed.”

“O-oh, oh no,” Jenny said in a relieved sigh, “Those aren’t from a partner.” 

“Yes, the caller said something about a family member, your aunt? Or your boss?” Miss Honey’s face fell. 

“N-no, those, those are from my childhood.” She stuttered out. “I-ts nothing, just an accident.” 

“Don’t lie.” Jenny heard coming from the side. She paled as Matilda sat up. “That’s no accident! The Trunchbull did that to you!”

“Matilda, please.” Jenny said in a panic. She turned back to the officers. “Everything’s fine, really, it’s from a long time ago and-”

“Ma’m, is this person still in your life?”

“Well, yes, she’s my boss at the school, but like I said, it was a long time ago.” Jenny said, her voice rising with panic with every syllable. 

Jenny could see the female officer scowl. “You’re not talking about Agatha Trunchbull from that school over on Churchill street, are you?” 

“Umm, y-yes.”

“We’ve had multiple reports and complaints about her over the years and-”

“Then why hasn’t anyone done anything?!” Matilda nearly shouted. Everyone turned to look at her. “She terrorizes everyone! She hurts the kids, throws people out of windows! I saw her throw a girl over the fence by her hair, and she’s stolen all of Jenny’s money!” Jenny could see tears running down Matilda’s face. “All the adults are cowards! Why won’t anyone do anything?”

Jenny could see the female officer's shoulders slump. “We get reports, but when it’s time to press charges, we think she gets to them first. Either bribes or threatens them to stay silent. It’s not as easy as it sounds, unfortunately, facing the ones who hurt us.” The officer met Jenny’s eyes and nodded in understanding, but that seemed to make Matilda even more furious. 

“That’s what I mean, though!” Matilda said, “Everyone is so scared to face her, so they do nothing! And that’s why it keeps happening! Again and again! She knows she can get away with it! If even one person had stopped thinking about themselves and stood up, then maybe the person after would have been spared!” 

The female officer gently placed a hand on Matilda’s head. “You’re a very smart little girl.”

“Which brings us to our visit.” The other officer said. He produced a piece of paper and a pen and set it on the tray in front of Jenny. “We need your help, please give us your statement. It starts with one person.” 

Miss Honey let out a choked sob. “I-I can’t. I’m sorry, but I can’t!” 

……………………………………………………….

Matilda sank into the couch in stunned silence. Why? Why? Why? Why? She felt like she had just been punched in the gut. The adults are cowards. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. 

They were Hortensia’s words, and she had been silently fighting against them for days. Miss Honey was different! Miss Honey would protect them. Miss Honey loved her. Miss Honey was…Miss Honey was… just like the rest of them.

No! No! No! No!

“Please,” the male officer said, sliding his card on the table. ”Think about it and call us if you change your mind.”

Jennifer said nothing. 

“Hey,” Matilda heard. She looked up and saw the female officer looking down at her. “Don’t be hard on your mom. It’s not easy, you understand?” Matilda could feel the terror and helplessness coming from Jenny, but it was held back with her own rage, frustration, and, hurt? There was a deep ache inside of Matilda. She didn’t want to give it a name, because if she did, she would have to face the fact that Jenny, her Jenny, was making her feel…betrayed. Silent tears streamed down her face. “You’ll understand when you’re older.” 

You know it's more complicated than that. Life wasn't a story where everything always worked out in the end. There was no hero to swoop in to save the day. Reality wasn't a book where everyone got a happy ending, and good triumphed over evil. It was time to face the facts; she had been living in a fantasy world. Why had she assumed a woman as beaten down and broken as Jenny could somehow face all her fears just for her? Matilda was angry, not at Jenny really, but at herself. When had she lost touch with reality?

Matilda sat silently on the couch and watched the officers go. Once the room had emptied, and it was just the two of them alone again, Matilda felt the full force of Miss Honey's emotions. It was as if all the air had been sucked from the room. It hurt to breathe. Matilda looked down at her hands and found them trembling. She looked up at the woman who sat on the bed with her head in her arms on the tray, sobbing. Matilda couldn't stay mad, Jenny was filled with enough self loathing for the both of them. Matilda climbed back up onto her bed, squeezing in between the tray and Jenny.

"I'm sorry, Matilda, I'm so sorry!" Miss Honey choked out. "How did I ever think I could be someone you could rely on?"

"It doesn't change anything." Matilda said. She was relieved to find it felt true. "I still love you," she said, before adding, "mom." Matilda blinked in surprise. Mom? Miss Honey hadn't looked up, but she could tell she had stopped crying.

"Why now? When I feel like the furthest thing from it." Matilda herself was trying to understand it. 

Why now of all times did it suddenly feel natural?

"Because I think before, it felt too much like a fairy tale. Like I would wake up one day and find myself back with the Wormwoods. You were perfect, and everything I had ever wanted, and I think I knew deep down it wasn't real. I feel like I'm seeing you for the first time as a human."

"This is the real me, Matilda. A selfish, lowly coward."

Matilda put her arms around Jenny and rested her head in the crook of her neck and shoulder. "I still choose you, mom."

She felt a pair of arms slowly wrap around her. There, in the seemingly endless darkness and turmoil, she could feel the tiniest spark of hope ignite, like a lighthouse that had stood empty for years had finally been lit, signaling the way home. Matilda didn't know who was the lighthouse and who was the ship lost at sea, but she could feel the storm ever so slowly begin to ebb away, and for now, that was all that mattered.

"I love you so much, Matilda."

"I love you too, mom."

And as Matilda drifted to sleep in her favorite place of all, a thought crept into her mind. She smiled mischievously in the dark. Spiders, huh? I wonder how Miss Trunchbull feels about spiders.

Chapter Text

It had taken quite a bit of prying on Matilda’s part to get Jenny to tell her where exactly she had seen spiders in the apartment. At first Jenny had been reluctant to tell her and Matilda couldn’t understand why. She worried their link went both ways, and Jenny could feel the need for revenge seeping from her pores, but when Jenny admitted it was because she didn’t want Matilda to be afraid, she breathed a sigh of relief. 

“In the bathroom, behind the toilet.” She finally admitted. Now Matilda understood why Jenny didn’t want to tell her. There was something unnerving about needing to keep an eye out for creepy crawlies with your pants around your ankles. It was a good thing she wasn’t afraid of spiders; it was things that flew, Matilda couldn’t stand. Now, if Miss Honey had told her she had seen a wasp in the bathroom, she would also be peeing in the trashcan and levitating it to the toilet. 

“Are you sure they aren’t in the cupboard? They are called ‘cupboard spiders’ after all.” Hortensia said. They were both armed with flashlights and were searching the studio for spiders. They had come under the pretense of collecting Matilda’s things, since she would be staying at Hortensia’s until Jenny was released from the hospital, but they had finished packing ten minutes ago. 

“They're called False Widows, actually.” Matilda called from the bathroom. She had looked behind the toilet, but she hadn’t seen any. There were none in the shower, or any corner of the bathroom she could see. Hortensia had been on board with the idea of unleashing a horde of poisonous spiders on the Trunchbull in theory, but when it came time to actually searching, she seemed more than a little reluctant. She looked like she’d rather be anywhere than in the small confines of a room with a history of sending a grown adult to the hospital. 

“Well, I’m not seeing any.” Hortensia said, not a hint of disappointment in her voice. “Are you sure she even got bit here?”

“Have you looked under the bed?” Matilda picked up the bathmat and shook it out, followed by the towels hanging on the rack. Nothing. 

If I was a spider, where would I be? Somewhere dark…somewhere like… Matilda’s eyes rested on the cabinet sitting on the floor next to the sink. Somewhere like under there! She got down on her hands and knees and shone the flashlight into the small gap underneath. Her stomach rolled. She wasn’t afraid of spiders, they were useful and interesting, but ugh! She hadn’t expected to come face to face with one so large. 

“Hortensia! I need your help.” Matilda said, getting off the ground and making her way to the kitchen. She needed something to catch it in. She grabbed an empty water bottle off the counter before pulling out a knife. Matilda’s hands were too small to hold comfortably without risking injury, so made the blade levitate and begin sawing through the plastic. Once the top neck was removed, leaving a bit enough opening to rehome her new little friend, she turned to Hortensia. “I need you to pick up the cabinet in the bathroom, and I’ll catch whatever comes out.”

Hortensia did not look too keen on this idea. Her eyes darted in panic around the room. 

“Unless, of course, you’re afraid.” Matilda added, with a raise of her eyebrows. “I’m sure the other kids in my class would love to hear how the big, tough girl in top form needed a runt in the bottom to catch a itty bitty spider for her.” Matilda batted her eyelashes at her. 

“I’m not afraid.” Hortensia grumbled, sounding entirely unconvincing as she eyed the bathroom wearily. “I’m just wondering what you need me for? Why can’t you just use your powers?” 

“Because every hero needs a sidekick.” Matilda said with a grin. Hortensia scowled and muttered something under her breath before reluctantly following the smaller girl into the bathroom. “On the count of three.” Matilda instructed, before taking a deep breath herself. “One, two, three!” 

Hortensia lifted the cabinet as Matilda used her powers to pull anything and everything into the bottle. She waved her arm out and then back in like the lever on an arcade game as if she was trying to knock a prize down into a door, but instead of tickets, she managed to scoop up dust, cobwebs, a Q-tip, one fake fingernail, a cotton ball and finally two spiders. They were massive, hideous things with large butts and long legs. She placed a washcloth over the lid and tied it down with one of Jenny’s hair ties. 

“I’m done, you can put it back down.” Matilda said. Hortensia let the cupboard crash back down to the floor and let out an exaggerated sigh. They both stared at the contents of the bottle. One of the spiders was desperately trying to claw its way out to freedom, while the other seemed content to hang out with the cotton ball and other debris at the bottom. With that done, the girls grabbed Matilda’s things and headed out of the apartment, but not before Matilda muttered, “You’re not a sidekick to me.” 

………

Jenny flinched awake when she heard knocking on the hospital door, before a tall woman in heels wearing a business suit and a name tag which read Michelle Calver, L.S.W. strode in. A social worker? What was a social worker doing here? Was she here about Matilda? 

The woman introduced herself and pulled up a chair next to Miss Honey’s bed. Jennifer could feel her heart begin to pound with anticipation and unease. She took her pillow and hugged it to her chest.

“Do you have a moment to talk?” Michelle asked. Well, Jennifer couldn’t exactly say she was busy, could she? She nodded her head, gripping the pillow tighter. She felt so small, fragile, and powerless being in the hospital, and she hated it. Between the nightmares of her past and everyone passing her around to poke and prod, she no longer felt like the 23-year-old grown woman, but one of the wide-eyed and fearful children on their first day of school. Could she really even call herself an adult? What kind of adult didn’t even have enough money to have a bank account? And worse, what kind of adult needed to hide behind a pillow? 

Jennifer set the pillow aside and tried her best to straighten up and seem confident. As confident as someone who couldn’t make eye contact with anyone over 5 feet anyway.

“As I was saying, my name is Michelle, and I’ve been assigned to your case.” 

“My case?” 

“Yes, you’ve been flagged as a victim of abuse.”  Jenifer quickly changed her mind. She needed that pillow after all.

“O-oh, that. I-it was such a long time ago, really. It’s nothing to be concerned about.” Jennifer could tell the woman didn’t seem to believe her. She kept going on about getting her checked in with a local therapist. Jennifer had spent years not being able to afford to feed herself, how did anyone expect her to afford therapy? “T-that’s a bit out of my budget.” She admitted. 

“Oh, no! It wouldn’t cost you anything. There’s a fund for victims of abuse that would cover any costs.”

“Th-thank you, but there really is no need.” Jennifer said through a forced smile. The last thing she wanted to do was rip open the box she kept all these dark memories sealed within herself. 

“What do you do for a living, Jennifer?” Miss Honey blinked, taken off guard by the sudden change of subject. 

“I’m a year one primary teacher.”

“Oh,” Michelle said. “Do you like working with the little ones?”

Jennifer smiled for real this time. “Yes, very much. I find their energy and innocence endearing.” 

“I’d like to reverse the roles for a moment. I’d like you to take a test for me.” Michelle opened a manila envelope on her lap and slid a piece of paper towards Jennifer. “Don’t overthink the questions, just go with your first impulse, and this is very important, don’t lie.” 

Jennifer looked down at the test. It was thirty questions related to her mood and energy level, and she needed to answer them with a scaled number ranging from 0-5, zero being not at all and 5 being all the time. She picked up a pencil that had been on her tray and began.

In the last month have…

• You often find yourself on guard and easily startled. 

• You often have nightmares

• Have feelings of excessive guilt or shame

Some questions seemed to describe her perfectly, and she had to give high scores, while others seemed to be as far off as possible. Questions like… 

18. People often say you have a drinking problem.
19. Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed by how many you drinks you consume in a day?
20. You feel your drinking is out of control. 

And some that were just a mix of yes and no. 

When she had finished, she slid the paper over without a word and sat awkwardly by as Michelle graded it. She examined her finger nails and the surrounded room and anywhere else that wasn’t at the stranger in front of her. She felt completely cornered sitting here in the bed with no escape. 

“Jennifer,” Michelle said, looking up from the test. Jennifer grimaced. She didn’t like the serious sounding way the lady had said her name. “It’s clear to me that you are not fine. According to this, your Post Traumatic Stress Disorder score is nearly at the top. You also have high levels of depression and anxiety. Jennifer remained silent. “What if a child in your class had visible injuries, and was clearly struggling with internal turmoil? Would you convince them not to seek help?”

Jennifer's head shot forward, and she met the woman’s eye’s for the first time. “No! Of course not! I would absolutely encourage them to seek help! I’d help them if I could!”

“So then, why is it okay for a child to seek help when they need it, but not you?” 

Jennifer stumbled over her words for a bit. “I’m not a child, though. I’m a grown adult and-”

“Age makes no difference. Do you think you’re supposed to have your life together just because you turned 18? You can’t possibly expect your self to go through trauma at a young age, or any age really, and expect you’ll be fine just because it's over. Adults need help all the time, and that’s fine. My whole career is based on helping people in your situation. This position wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t many people experiencing something similar. You’re not alone. ” 

“I-I suppose.” Jennifer mumbled. 

“I’ll tell you what, let’s do a little exercise tonight.” She brought out a few sheets of blank paper. “Tonight, when you’re alone. Write down your story; you don’t have to show anyone. You can rip it up and throw it away as soon as you’re done, but just focus on how you feel after getting it out, and if it makes you feel any better, maybe reconsider therapy.”

That was how Jennifer Honey spent her night. She was very hesitant at first, but she lifted the lid on the box ever so slowly, letting only the smallest and most insignificant details out as she channeled them through her fingers and onto the paper. It was small things at first, the frustrations of being treated like a servant, but the more she wrote, the more she allowed the darker memories to come forth. The physical and verbal abuse, the threats of her body being sold to the highest bidder, the chokey, her face getting shoved into urine soaked sheets, the constant shame, the hopelessness, the contract, the burns, her escape, and finally, the first glimmer of light she had seen in her life, the day Matilda had walked into her classroom. 

Jennifer stared in stunned silence when she realized she had nothing left to write on. She had filled all the pages front and back with her careful, tiny, neat penmanship. Had she really admitted to all of that? The lid was off Pandora’s box now, and yet, she wasn’t cowering in fear. Instead, she felt somewhat at peace as she looked at the pages scattered across the tray. She knew she was going to throw them away and shove everything back in the box, but before she did, she had a strange compulsion. It still felt slightly incomplete, so she signed her name at the bottom. There, it was finished! 

A wave of exhaustion took over, and she let herself close her eyes. Therapy, huh? Maybe, just maybe, she could…

Chapter Text

Matilda had been transfixed watching her new “pets” in their cage. Hortensia had been more excited about planting them, than watching them crawl about.

“This one’s Charlotte.” Matilda said, pointing to the less energetic one towards the bottom. It seemed content, cozying up on its new bed of cotton. “You know, like from Charlotte’s Web.”

“You’re naming them?” Hortensia said with a shudder from her place on the bed, comic book held in hand in the air above her head.

“Hmm, I don’t know any other famous spiders. What should we call this one?”

“Peter Porker.”

“Peter…Porker?” Matilda asked. “Like Parker from Spider-Man?” She knew a lot about literature, but comic books were in short supply in their little town's library, although she had read what little they had.

“Kind of, it’s a spin off. See?” Hortensia held up what she was reading. “Marvel Tales Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham.” she read off.

Matilda grinned. “Is that a pig?”

“Yeah, see, it’s about a spider that gets bit by a radio active pig. Except, it will be the other way, we’ll be sending a spider to bite the pig.”

“Perter Porker it is.” Matilda said with a chuckle. “Hear that, you’ve got an important job to do.” She said to the spider. “With great power comes great responsibility.”

They went back and forth trying to figure out what to do with them. Should they go into her office or in her restroom? Hortensia wanted to use one for when the Trunchbull taught her class lessons, but they didn’t think they would live that long. They settled on tomorrow, when Matilda would go back to school. She’d put one on the inside handle of the water jug, during morning assembly, and use her powers to make it chase her around the stage in front of the school. No one would think anything supernatural about a spider floating around in the air, since it could swing on a web.

“I don’t care if I’m suspended, I’m sneaking in to watch.” Hortensia said eagerly. “I’ll sit in the back.” She was so excited, she was practically squirming. “Hold that thought, I’ll be right back.” She got up from the bed, and bounded down the hall, only to return a few seconds later. “Ugh, moms been in there all weekend!”

“Been where?” Matilda asked while setting her pets back in her backpack.

“The bathroom!” Hortensia grumbled. “She even made me pee in the backyard this afternoon. Damn, country bumpkin.”

Matilda gave her a sympathetic smile, “It was the sink for me when you were hogging it the other day. Your weird neighbor kept watching me in the backyard.”

Hortensia scowled at the mention of him. “He left with his boat yesterday, thankfully.”

“Are you really going to sneak in the school? If the Trunchbull catches you, she’ll put you in the Chokey, then you’ll wish you had a backyard to pee in.” Matilda said.

“It doesn’t stop me.” Hortensia said with a mischievous grin. “I just pee on the floor.” Matilda’s jaw nearly dropped.

“You just go in your pants?” Matilda asked. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of doing it on purpose. On accident was bad enough.

“On the days she leaves you in there all day, it’s going to happen eventually. She does it on purpose, so you’ll squirm around and cut yourself up more. It’s miserable. I found out the hard way my first few times in there, I came out so scratched up and bloody, and I was even miserable for days after until they all healed. It’s not so bad if you don’t fight it, though. And it’s not like I go in my pants, why do you think I wear skirts to school? All I have to do is pull my underwear to the side.”

That actually made sense, Matilda thought. Hortensia was much larger than she was, so if she tried to move around in there, she’d get scratched to bits.

“Doesn’t she get mad though?” Matilda asked. “And wouldn’t it get all over your legs and shoes?”

“Meh, it dries by the time she lets you out anyway. It’s better than the alternative, plus you get the bonus of making her office smell like piss.” Matilda chuckled at the thought. She had never thought of using that as a weapon.

“Ugh, could you imagine if one of us had been in there when we were sick?” Matilda asked. Just the thought of it made her stomach turn.

“She wouldn’t be able to step foot in her office for like a week! Although, to be fair, I think I’ll just stick to throwing stink bombs underneath her desk. I pity the kid who’d have to get stuck in there after.” She got up again and went to her closet. “See, I wear the hard shoes, so I just wipe them and my legs off with a wet paper towel, but I guess in your case you could just wear a diaper.”

“Eww, no, I’m not wearing a diaper to school.” Matilda said. “I hate having accidents, and doing it on purpose.” she scrunched up her face. “It rubs against your skin and makes it all raw. Show me how you do that thing with your skirt.”

Hortensia scrunched her face up before sighing. “Fine, since it looks like I’m stuck going in the backyard anyway, come on.” She kicked off her shorts and picked up a school skirt off the floor.

Matilda was about to protest. She had only meant for her to go through the motions, but was Hortensia actually going to SHOW HER show her? Matilda silently followed her outback. She’d probably just do the motions and tell her to go back inside, so she could squat.

“I’m only going to do this once, got it?” Hortensia said, coming to a stop in the grass. Matilda nodded and watched. “Let’s say this space is The Chokey,” she took her foot and dragged it along marking the perimeter. You’ve got maybe a foot to spread your legs apart, more for you since you’re small.” She stood in position. “Then you just reach up your skirt or dress, pull the fabric aside and just…”

Matilda’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Hortensia was actually… she was actually… peeing. How brazen! This girl had serious nerves of steel! Matilda wanted to look away out of politeness, but she was too transfixed and curious. It really wasn’t getting on her skirt at all as far as she could tell. She watched in stun silence as it trickled between her feet and into the grass.

“Obviously, your shoes will get a bit wet with it bouncing off the concrete instead of the grass, but yeah.” Hortensia explained, once she had finished.

“R-right.” Matilda muttered.

“Now you do it.” Hortensia said stepping back on the concrete.

“What!? Uh, no i’m fine!” Matilda said quickly. “I-I don’t have too.” she lied. She had been just as disappointed as Hortensia was to learn Eve was still in the bathroom.

“You’re the one who wanted a demonstration, and now you have to try it.” Hortensia insisted. She was smirking down at Matilda, whose face was turning a shade darker with every passing second.

“I didn’t mean to actually do it in front of me!” Matilda argued back.

“But you certainly weren’t opposed to watching.” Matilda felt a hand push her towards the grass. “Go on, do it already, you were squirming more than I was upstairs.” Matilda scowled. Was she really that obvious?

"Practice makes perfect, and what better place to practice than in the grass." Hortensia said.
"Umm, being alone?" Matilda said, walking towards the lawn. She stood in the grass, shifting from foot to foot. Her heart was hammering. She wanted to laugh at how ridiculous this was. Why was she even contemplating doing this? In front of someone no less! But the thought also gave her a little thrill, just like when she poured peroxide in her fathers' hair tonic. It felt a bit naughty She locked eyes with Hortensia who was trying, quite poorly, to hide the large smirk on her face. Matilda gulped, and spread her feet apart.

"Not that wide, there isn't that much room." Hortensia said. "Yeah, like that." She said, once Matilda had brought her legs closer together. Matilda frowned, she was sure Hortensia's legs were more spread out than this. She looked down at the half foot she had to work with. The urge was growing too strong to keep procrastinating. She reached up underneath her dress and pulled her underwear to the side with a feeling of resignment. She knew she wasn't getting out of this. Matilda tried in vain to block out the fact that eyes were on her and gave in.

No! No! Why was it running down her leg? She could hear Hortensia beginning to snicker.

"Move your hips forward." She tried, but still no luck. Hortensia's laughter began to grow, until they both heard the patio door slide open.

"What are you girls up to?" a very tired looking Eve asked. Matilda jumped and released her underwear, while her legs and arms sprang back into position. Only, she couldn't stop peeing, no matter how tightly she tried to clamp down. Warm urine flooded her underwear and began to streak down both sides of her legs now. She tried to hide the look of panic on her face and appear nonchalant, hoping Eve wouldn't know what was happening.

"Nothing, Ma." Hortensia said, but she was nearly rolling on the concrete from laughing. Matilda couldn't hide the look of guilt that plagued her features. She could feel her face begin to burn and watched in horror as Eve's eyes went from her face, before slowly making their way down her legs.

"For heaven's sake, Matilda! Do I need to get more diapers for you? I'm getting sick of this, you had the whole backyard, and you still went in your pants! Every time I turn my back you've either pissed or shit yourself. I thought you were five!" Hortensia had stopped laughing now. She stared at her mom, a crease now present in her forehead.

"Jeez, Ma, layoff." Hortensia said, shooting a worried glance towards Matilda, who now instead of embarrassed, looked furious.

"Do you pull this kind of shit at school? Does Jenny have to stop class and wipe your bottom after every lesson!"

"Ma!" Hortensia yelled, now looking panicked. Cracks were beginning to form on the sliding glass door. Matilda's eyes were burning, not with tears, but with power.
"Honestly, you've been nothing but trouble since you got here. I don't know how Jenny puts up with you." She turned to go back in the house, but froze when she noticed the door. "What the hell happened to my door?

"Ma! Get down!" Hortensia charged and knocked Eve down to the ground with Hortensia on top of her. "What the hell did you do that for, get off of m-"just then, the glass door exploded with a loud bang as shards of glass torpedoed inside and out. Matilda winced as shards of glass began to serrate her arms, legs and face. She felt one come dangerously close to her eye before she came to her senses and raised her arms to protect herself.

"I think someone's shooting at us! Get inside, both of you!" Matilda silently followed Eve and Hortensia, her accident now forgotten, and as tried to tiptoe around the glass on her bare feet. "Oh, I bet it's that creep from next door!" Matilda saw Hortensia turn around and put a finger to her lips.

"Yeah," Hortensia said. "That's why I told Matilda to pee around her underwear in case he was watching, but you came out and surprised her, so she let go. She didn't do it on purpose! Why'd you go and yell at her like that! Just because you're sick, doesn't mean you can take it out on us and-" Hortensia winced as she learned against the wall. "Oww, my back."

"Lift your shirt, let me see." Eve said, ignoring her speech. Matilda felt relieved Hortensia had stuck up for her, even if she had fudged the truth to get herself out of trouble too. Then there was the issue with the door. Matilda couldn't believe she had lost control of her powers like that! Eve could have died if Hortensia hadn't reacted in time. She was grateful Hortensia wasn't accusing her of trying to kill her mom. Despite the sharp incessant stinging pain all over her, she remained still and quiet, trying not to draw attention to herself despite dripping more blood than urine on the carpet. This was her punishment for losing control of her powers.

"You've got a nice size shard in your back, I'm calling the cops this time, this is the last straw! It's probably those kids with a BB gun again. What about you, Matilda, did any glass get yo-" Her words fell on her lips as she looked at Matilda for the first time.

"Sorry for making a mess." Matilda said through clenched teeth. She was trying as hard as she could not to cry, but the pain of the lacerations was making it too difficult. Once the first tear slid down her face and into an opened wound, any self-control she had was lost.

"Get in the car, girls. We're going to the emergency room."

..

Miss Honey sat in bed, squirming from restlessness. She felt much better now that they had given her various I.v. fluids, some kind of medicine, she couldn't remember which, and was eager to leave. She hated feeling confined against her will, and without a book to read or papers to grade she felt rather bored now. She inwardly groaned when there was a knock at the door. She was a private person, and for private people, hospitals were a special kind of hell.
Miss Honey did her best to give a welcoming smile, although she assumed it looked rather forced by now, as the day nurse popped in.

"Hello, Jennifer," she said. Miss Honey nodded her head in acknowledgement. "I was curious about something and wanted to run it by you, that girl who was in here before. Who is she to you?" Miss Honey frowned. Why did they want to know now? Was Matilda here trying to see her? Her heart leapt with excitement, despite Miss Honey telling her to stay at Hortensia's and not to worry about her.

"My daughter." Miss Honey answered. Not quite true, but she felt more like hers every day. "Why?"

"Can you verify her name for me real quick ma'am?"

"Matilda Wormwood." Miss Honey answered. They hadn't asked this of her last time Matilda had visited.

"I wasn't sure you were aware or not, but she's just been admitted downstairs in the emergency room."

Chapter Text

Matilda could no longer hide the pain she was in, whether she felt she deserved it or not. There was broken glass in her arms, legs, face, and worst, bottoms of her feet. Quiet tears had been rolling down her eyes in the car on the way to the hospital, but once she had tried to walk across the pavement barefoot, the glass she had stepped on in the kitchen made itself known, and she had left bloody footprints across the white tiled floor of the emergency room. Now staying quiet and suffering in silence had been impossible. Her skin felt as if it was on fire and the fear of the unknown began to take hold. She couldn't imagine the pain she was feeling getting any worse than this, but she had a feeling it could only get worse before it got better.

Would they give kids pain medicine without parental consent?

Matilda tried to think of all the medical and first aid books she had read, but nothing had involved children. Hortensia's mom was up front explaining to triage her version of events. When she was called up front, she had refused to get up from her chair. Her feet were in no shape to walk on, so they had brought her a wheelchair to ride into the back. It looked like Hortensia had stepped in glass too, judging by the way she was limping along. The only person who had been spared was Eve, who had been wearing slippers and a bath robe at the time.

Once they had arrived in the back, after what felt like hours of waiting, Matilda had been led to one bed and Hortensia to another with Eve on her tail. Matilda wasn't sure whether it was to comfort her daughter, or keep her from causing problems, but being left alone weighed heavily on Matilda's shoulders, whether she had wanted Eve there or not. Not more than five minutes ago she wished Eve wasn't here, now that she had left, Matilda felt abandoned.

She hadn't been left alone very long though, when a hospital personnel had stepped inside. They asked lots of questions and Matilda tried her best to answer them through clenched teeth. She was in too much pain for small talk. Next they asked her to get undressed, but her arms hurt too much to lift. The nurse tried to pull Matilda's dress off, but when it came into contact with the first cut, she let out an involuntary scream. Eventually, they had to cut her clothes off and in the process revealed more cuts Matilda hadn't even been aware of, but once she laid eyes on them, they began to sting and burn as much as the others.

If the nurse noticed her clothes were wet, she hadn't said anything. Instead, she tried to cover Matilda with a paper gown, but even that had caused too much pain, so they opted to leave her naked, except for a folded towel they were able to set over her waist. There were so many people in and out, grabbing supplies and asking her questions, she could no longer keep track of who was who.

It wasn’t until she could hear Hortensia begin to howl, swear and scream did Matilda feel true panic begin to set in. She knew she had to do this. Logic and sense told her she couldn’t live with glass inside her, but her flight or fight response told her to make a run for it, naked or not. In the end, logic won out, and she winced and shuddered as someone began to paint her body in orange colored disinfectant.

“We might need to take you to surgery, dear.” the nurse said. Matilda shuddered at the thought, but the nurse went on. “Wouldn’t you rather be asleep while we dig all this out of you?” Yes. Yes she would.

“Wha- ‘bout my fend?” Matilda tried to ask, only to discover she could hardly talk. The nurse shook her head.

“Nah, she was nothing. She’s already done. All that crying you heard? That was just the numbing shot.” Matilda wanted to laugh, but couldn’t. “Something wrong with your mouth?”

“I wit my tong” Matilda said. She must have done it while gritting her teeth when they were applying the disinfectant. She could taste the iron in her mouth. Matilda let drool slide down her face, and wiped it away with the back of her hand. Her saliva was bright red.

“Open your mouth and stick out your tongue.” The nurse said. “Oh my, you sure did. I’m going to go find something for you to put in your mouth, so you can bite down if you need to. Once your tongue swells, you’re going to keep accidentally biting it. Does it hurt? I can give you some oral medicine if it does.” Matilda nodded with gratitude.

She closed her eyes and listened to the surrounding noises. She could still hear Hortensia sniffling, the beeping of machines, someone a few rows over was moaning. Now someone else had come in, wanting an update. Another nurse, but this one looked slightly familiar. She had probably already been in here earlier, and they were starting to all look the same to Matilda. She closed her eyes again, trying to block everything out.

Someone had begun fussing over her, but she kept her eyes shut. Her tongue had really begun to swell, and now she was drooling for real. She felt the nurse gently wipe the side of her face with a washcloth before stroking her head and running their fingers through Matilda’s hair. Whoever this was, they were much more gentle than the others. She was almost enjoying the sensation, as they hummed quietly by her ear.

“Hello? Can I help you?” Matilda heard. Matilda cracked her eyes open briefly to find the nurse from before standing in front of the curtain. “Are you a relative?” There was only silence, but the nurse seemed satisfied. Matilda figured they had flashed their badge and Matilda went back to closing her eyes. Her body seemed to gravitate on its own towards the stranger's soft humming. She found it comforting in the surrounding chaos.

“Now I know this is going to look silly, but it was the only thing I could think of. I had to go up to pediatrics to find something small enough to fit in your mouth. I’ve put some medicine on it to numb your mouth, so keep this in for a good ten-to fifteen minutes. Alright mom? Make sure she keeps it in her mouth.” Mom? Matilda thought confused. She tried craning her neck around, but couldn’t see behind her.

“I’m right here, Matilda.” Her heart leaped. It hadn’t been a nurse humming to her, it had been Miss Honey! She forced herself to turn around despite the pain, and saw Miss Honey sitting in a wheelchair by her side.

Matilda made a sound that was supposed to be, “mom!” but sounded more like a wet sounding gurgle. Miss Honey smiled and wiped at Matilda’s face with the rag.

“We’ll talk later, sweetie.” Miss Honey said softly, running her fingers through Matilda’s hair again. “Lay back down, the nurse has something for you.” Matilda reluctantly turned back around, but before she could even settle, something had been popped into her mouth. She scrunched up her face. It was slimy and covered in some kind of thick gel that tasted like medicine. She moved her hand up to pull it out and examine it, but was immediately stopped.

“Fifteen minutes.” The nurse reminded her. Matilda laid back down staring up at the ceiling, occasionally fiddling, biting, and rolling her tongue on whatever was in her mouth. After a few minutes, her mouth had gone numb. On one hand it was a relief, on the other it only made the drooling worse. It almost felt as if she had forgotten how to swallow and spit seemed to be running freely down both sides of her mouth.

“I’ll be back soon, then you’ll be sedated and taken to surgery. We’re just waiting on the surgeon.” And then she was gone.

“Are you scared?” Miss Honey asked. Matilda nodded her head. Her eyes began to fill with silent tears. “I know it’s scary, but it’s better this way. You don’t want to be awake while they try and fish out everything.”

Matilda understood this, but it didn’t seem to stop the panic from rising inside her with each passing minute. She was going to town on the thing in her mouth, biting, sucking and moving the rubber ball of the gel applicator from one side to the other. It did little to calm her nerves, but it was something to occupy her mind with. Once she was sure 15 minutes were up, she pointed at her mouth.

“If you want to, but you look cute sucking on it.” Miss Honey said with a small smile. Matilda furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, before pulling it out and staring at it. Wait a minute, this wasn’t a medication applicator, this was a… Had she been sucking on this the whole time? This was a pacifier! Matilda dropped it and flinched away as if it was something poisonous. Miss Honey laughed. “It’s just a soother; It won’t hurt you. Besides, it’s not like anyone is going to see you.”

“Jennifer? Is that you?” Matilda frowned. It was Eve. Was Hortensia with her? “Can we come in?”

“Yes, it’s me, but let me come to you. Matilda isn’t decent.” Matilda watched Jenny wheel herself out, before stopping and turning to her. “I’ll be back in a minute, dear, I promise.” Matilda silently whimpered to herself and tried to close her eyes. Now that she was alone, she was feeling even more scared. Her hand fell on the pacifier. Soother, huh? She looked left and right before popping it back into her mouth and spinning it around with her tongue. That’s when she heard something she thought she’d never hear. Was that the sound of Miss Honey yelling?

“How could you say something like that to her!? Who cares if she has a few more accidents than normal? Do you have any idea what she’s been going through?” Matilda couldn’t hear what Eve was saying, but she had never heard Miss Honey sound so angry. “She is only five!” “Don’t give me that reverse psychology nonsense! She’ll grow out of it; it’s just a phase.” “Then if that’s what she needs, she’s more than welcome to with me.”

Matilda was startled to see Hortensia slip in behind the curtain and join her. “Hope you don’t mind if I join you, it’s a little, uh,” she pulled on her shirt collar before pointing behind her with her thumb. “Guess I shouldn’t have told Miss Honey what happened.” Matilda tried to shrug, but winced in pain instead.

“It’s okay,” Matilda slurred, only just realizing what was in her mouth. She quickly pulled it out, her face beginning to turn bright red. Hortensia smirked, but Matilda could see how exhausted she looked. “It had pain medicine on it.” She tried to explain. Her mouth was still numb, and she had a feeling Hortensia couldn’t understand a word she said. “I bit my tongue.”

“I didn’t see you sucking a pacifier.” Hortensia said, shrugging. “I heard you’re having surgery, you can suck on your toes for all I care.” Matilda smiled weakly, her eyes on the curtain. “Is all that orange where you have glass?” Matilda nodded. “Holy shi- dude, I didn’t realize it got you so bad.”

“My fault.” Matilda mumbled. “I lost control.”

Hortensia cocked her head to the side trying to process what she heard. “I don’t know what you said after, but it’s not your fault. I’m guessing they don’t really have a guide book for this sort of thing.”

Matilda grunted and forced herself up onto her elbows despite the pain. “Plan B.” she said meeting Hortensia’s eyes. Only all that came out was a bit of babble and a trail of saliva.

“Down! Get back down!” A voice said sharply, startling the two girls. Matilda’s arms gave up, and she crashed back onto the exam table with a loud thud. The nurse stood over her with her arms crossed, before shoving the pacifier from before into her mouth. Matilda wanted to pull it out, but her arms were still trembling from the effort of holding herself up. She heard a disapproving tisk, before she turned on Hortensia. Matilda couldn’t see, but she could imagine the large smirk on Hortensia’s face disintegrating from the look she was getting.

“What on earth are those two fighting about?” The nurse asked.

“Ah, well, my mom can be a bit of a jerk sometimes when she isn’t feeling well, and she sort of went off on Matilda for having another accident.” Hortensia explained. Matilda scowled, she didn’t like the way Hortensia had said, “another accident”.

“Why on earth would that matter right now with everything that’s happened?” The nurse asked perplexed.

“It’s, uh, complicated.” Hortensia said. The nurse stormed out to break up the fight, leaving the two girls alone again. “So you want me to just let the spiders go, or…?” Hortensia asked after a quiet pause. Matilda nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll find them a good home.” Matilda hoped she’d release Charlotte with her cotton ball, she seemed rather attached to it.

They both heard the nurse yell something about needing to, “Take your daughter and leave,” and since Matilda was in no shape to go anywhere, they both assumed it meant Hortensia and her mom.

“Looks like I gotta go. Good luck, squirt. Call me later.” Hortensia said before ducking out.

“You didn’t hear all that, did you?” A quiet voice said by Matilda’s ear a few minutes later. Matilda felt relieved to have Miss Honey back beside her. “Hortensia told me what happened and…” Miss Honey said trailing off. “That was so unlike me, but I was just so angry I.” she stopped mid-sentence and sighed, before brushing Matilda’s hair again.

The nurse came in again shaking her head. “Now that that’s all sorted out.” She looked down at Matilda and put on a smile. “This might help.” She raised the upper part of the bed, so Matilda was looking forward now instead of at the ceiling. Matilda looked over and was happy to be able to see Jenny sitting beside her. She instinctively reached for her hand and Jenny took it and gave a gentle squeeze. “Now the surgeon will be here any minute, do you need anything before we get started?” Matilda was thirsty, but she knew from reading she couldn’t eat or drink anything before anesthesia, or she’d risk choking on her own vomit, so she shook her head.

“You don’t need to go potty at all?” Matilda inwardly flinched. She was used to the other kids in her class talking, and being talked to that way, but Miss Honey had never used that sort of language with her. Instead, she talked to her as if she was another adult, and Matilda appreciated it. She could normally shrug it off when an adult spoke that way to her, but now, it made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

“No, I don’t need the restroom.” Matilda tried to say after pulling the soother out and silently cursing her still numb mouth. She felt Miss Honey gently squeeze her hand.

“How about you try, sweetie?” Jennifer asked.

“I think that’s a good idea.” The nurse said. Matilda reluctantly nodded her head and began trying to scoot towards the end of the bed, but stopped when the nurse said, “Woah, no, you stay put!” Matilda rested her head back on the pillow. Were they going to carry her or bring her a wheelchair? Either way, she was glad she wouldn’t have to walk, she could still hardly move. Her relief soon turned to puzzlement when she saw the nurse begin to put on latex gloves. “Since you are covered in open sores from head to foot, we can’t risk them getting infected, so,” she said, drawing out the last syllable as she pulled something down from inside a cabinet “you are going to do your business here.” Matilda blinked. Was she joking? She looked to Miss Honey, who squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“It’s alright, just do what she says.”

“I’m going to lift up your legs and slide this under you, okay?” Before Matilda could protest, she felt her lower half go airborne. She let out a startled cry before being set back down on something hard and plastic. She sat there feeling a bit stunned for a moment, before taking a peek at what was underneath her. It was a plastic, pink bowl of some kind. “Go on and try and go potty, might be a bit before you get another chance.”

Matilda could feel heat rush to her face. She could feel everyone staring at her expectantly. “I-I can’t.” Matilda stuttered out.

“Just try, dear. It’s okay if you can’t, but we just want you to try.” The nurse said.

Matilda inwardly sighed and tried to focus on something-anything else. Just as she thought maybe something might come out, the nurse asked. “Any luck?” Making Matilda’s body shut down tight again. Matilda was going to tell her no, but she found her throat, in a panic, refused to utter a sound.

“She’s shy.” Miss Honey said, after the nurse looked in the bowl to find nothing.

“Then how about I step out and round up the papers you’ll need to sign. We’ll give her until I get back.” Matilda felt a wave of relief once the nurse had left. She couldn’t go under that much pressure.

“Should I leave too?” Miss Honey asked. Matilda thought it over before shaking her head. “It’s hard, I know. They made me do the same, yesterday.”

“Could you?” Matilda asked.

“Not until I thought it was about to come out my eyeballs.” Miss Honey admitted. “The nurses are very busy, and they can’t always come right away. I don’t want you waiting ‘til the last minute only for no one to come in time. I don’t think you’d feel very happy then.” Matilda shook her head. She felt her heart sink. “I’m not saying this to scare you, but you’re a very logic based person. I trust you’ll make the right decision if you know all the facts.”

“I’m not choosing not to,” Matilda said, “This just feels weird, and I can’t. My butts going numb.” Miss Honey chuckled softly.

“Try closing your eyes, and here-” Miss Honey said. Matilda scowled when she felt the soother get put back in her mouth. “Don’t think about what it is and just suck.” Matilda sighed and closed her eyes. “That’s it, just relax.” She felt Miss Honey’s hand begin combing back her hair. It felt nice, despite the peculiar situation. “Now on the count of three, really try, alright. One, two, three!”

Matilda jumped and let out an involuntary yelp, before squealing. “Hey, mom! No, that’s cheating!” She cried, “Stop!” She let out another squeal of laughter and tried to move away from Miss Honey’s fingers, which had attacked under her arms at the count of three, but there was no way to escape.

“Not ‘til you go.” Miss Honey said with a cackle.

“I thought you were nice!” Matilda cried, who as a last resort to make the tickling stop, began to push. To Matilda’s horror, instead of urine, all she had managed to do was produce a loud creaking noise that echoed in the empty pan. Miss Honey stopped tickling her and looked down at her before the two of them began to laugh even harder, despite Matilda’s glowing red face of embarrassment.

“I can’t say I’ve ever tickled someone until they passed gas.” Miss Honey said.

Matilda groaned, face hidden behind her palms. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Uh-huh, and I suppose that time last week in bed wasn’t supposed to happen either?” Miss Honey asked. Matilda groaned again as Miss Honey chuckled. “Alright, let's settle down before we get in trouble.”

“Alright, I’ve got the paperwork all ready here. Are you feeling alright, Matilda? Your face is looking flushed.” The two giggled again as the nurse looked on, an amused and puzzled expression on her face. “Did I miss something?”

“No!” Matilda got out before Miss Honey could answer.

“Well, I hope you’ve been doing more than just giggling over here.” The nurse spread Matilda’s legs open and made a disapproving tisk sound.

“She really did try.” Miss Honey said.

“She went a little, but not very much.” Matilda felt overjoyed when she had been set back down on the bed.

“Do you think, maybe,” Miss Honey started to say before making eye contact with Matilda. She could see her mouth the word “diaper”.

“The problem are these.” She pointed to several cuts along Matilda’s upper thighs a few inches away from her groin. “They need to be uncovered and examined by the surgeon. Since she’s prone to accidents, I can make note of it in her chart, if anything they might put a pad under her. Has she always had this problem?”

“No, I don’t think so. I think it started when she came to live with me.”

“Ahh, okay. Sometimes young kids can regress a little with a big change. It’s normal. I had a young son who started acting out and wetting the bed when his father and I got divorced, but he came around eventually.” Matilda wanted to sink into the floor, but the nurse seemed to sense the topic's effect on her and gave her a warm smile. “You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of, alright? These things happen, and sometimes the only cure is time.”

*

Miss Honey watched anxiously as Matilda was wheeled out of the room towards surgery. She had promised to be there when Matilda woke up, but was startled when she felt someone pushing her back to her room.

“But my daughter,” Miss Honey started to say,

“Arrangements have been made for her to be brought to your room once she’s out of surgery. The doctor decided to release you tonight, so she can have the room. You're welcome to wait on the couch once you’ve signed the release papers.”

“Oh good!” Miss Honey said, relieved. She had been dreading the thought of being separated for the night, as all the rooms only held one bed. Now she could stay with Matilda. “How long do you think they’ll keep her here?”

“It depends, they need to check and make sure no glass got near any vital organs, and they’ll probably give her some antibiotics and fluid just in case. If all goes well, she’ll most likely be released tomorrow.”

Miss Honey breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad.” The relief was short-lived once she was wheeled into her room. It was a mess. It looked like things from her tray had been violently knocked over and scattered across the floor. Miss Honey stared, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She jumped from the wheelchair, despite the nurse's objections and began searching the floor, the bedsheets, the tray, but it was gone. The letter she had written to herself detailing her aunts abuse; the letter she had never meant anyone to ever see was gone. But who would have taken it? Her stomach tightened into knots as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“Was someone in here while I was downstairs?” Miss Honey asked.

“I’m not sure, I’ll have to go ask over at the nurse's station.” Miss Honey raised her head as another voice came from the doorway.

“Oh, Jennifer! There you are! Your aunt came by to see you, but I told her you were downstairs with your daughter and to come back later.”

Chapter Text

When Matilda slowly opened her eyes, she was no longer behind the curtain in the emergency room, but in a hospital bed in a dimly lit room. She tried to lift her arms to rub her eyes, but found she couldn’t. She looked down at herself and tried to blink her vision into focus, until she could make out the many bandages wrapped around herself making her limbs feel heavy. It took her a minute to remember why she was in this state. She vaguely recalled blowing up a glass door.

With great effort, she slowly turned her head around the room, fighting against the fog that wanted to pull her back down. Matilda was surprised to find, sitting on the couch, was a young thin woman with brunette hair with her face resting in her open hands. Matilda was embarrassed at how long it took her to remember why her school teacher was here. Whatever they had given her must have been powerful stuff. She couldn’t recall ever being this out of it before, even when she was sick.

“Mom,” Matilda croaked, her throat dry and raspy. Miss Honey looked up and smiled, but even in this state Matilda could tell the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She couldn’t however, feel her like she normally could.

“Hi sweetie,” Miss Honey said, getting to her feet, before moving to the plastic chair by the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“My throat hurts.” Matilda said, confused. As far as she could tell, they hadn’t operated on her throat.

“You had a breathing tube, that’s why.” She poured a cup of water from the pink pitcher on the tray and tried handing it to Matilda. “Dr. said it might feel a little raw for a day or two.”

"I can't move."

“You’re a bit bandaged up, aren’t you? You look a bit like a mummy.” Miss Honey said. “Here, try drinking some water.” She held the cup up to Matilda’s lips, who took small sips. “That’s it, there you go.” She set the cup down on the tray. They sat in silence for a bit before Miss Honey asked “Are you hungry at all?”

“No.” Matilda said. Her stomach felt a little funny from the drugs. “Feel strange.” she mumbled.

“I want you to try eating something, you haven’t eaten since before you were admitted. It will help you get your strength back.” She could hear Miss Honey opening something. “It’s nothing heavy, it’s just Jello. Might feel good on your throat.” She watched numbly as Miss Honey scooped up a piece of orange Jello with a plastic spoon, and with her other hand hovering underneath, carefully brought it up to Matilda’s mouth. “Go on, open up.” Matilda reluctantly opened her mouth. It felt strange being spoon-fed. Matilda was surprised at how much effort it took to swallow and not let it fall out of her mouth, but it was cold and did feel good on her throat. “That’s a good girl. Just a few more bites, and I’ll let you rest.”

Matilda nodded and let Jenny feed her the rest of the Jello. She could hardly keep her eyes open when she had finished.

“Get some rest, dear. I’ll be right here with you.”

*

When Matilda awoke, she was relieved to find her mind was much clearer than it had been, although her body felt like she had been in a car accident. Her limbs still felt heavy and sluggish and her throat seemed to ache even more than earlier. She looked to her right to find Jenny asleep on the couch mumbling something as she often talked in her sleep. It must be late, Matilda thought, or early, she couldn’t tell, it was dark outside and still somewhat dark in her room, but the light on in the hallway was enough to see by.

There was one thing Matilda was certain of though, she really had to pee. She moved the only parts she could move pain free, her feet, and winced as she reached for the remote by her side. She had overheard them telling Jenny they would have her up and walking today. Maybe they could start now? She hit the call button as she had been instructed to if she needed something and waited. And waited. And waited. Matilda frowned. Perhaps she hadn’t pressed it hard enough? She pressed it again, but still nothing happened. She had seen Jenny press it before, but someone had always answered right away.

Matilda scowled and wiggled her feet again. She’d have to wait until someone came to check on her. If last night was any indication, they checked on her quite frequently. It was hard to sleep when someone kept waking you up every couple hours. Matilda closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but found it impossible. She sighed and looked over at Jenny, who was still fast asleep. She hated to wake her up, but she knew she was playing with fire. It had only been fifteen minutes, but it felt like hours.

“Jenny,” Matilda croaked, before remembering. “Mom.” There was no answer. “Mom.” She said a little louder. She winced at the pain in her throat.

“Hmm?” Jennifer mumbled. Matilda wasn’t sure if she was still asleep or not.

“I need the bathroom.” Matilda said. She watched Miss Honey roll onto her side.

“Go in the sandbox.” came the mumbled reply. The sandbox? What was she, a cat? She would have found it amusing if she didn’t feel like she was about to combust. Matilda often had fun having conversations with Miss Honey only she could remember and had often woken Jenny with the sound of her giggling. She didn’t have time for it now though.

“Mom, please wake up.” Nothing. She pressed the call button again. Nothing. Matilda ground her teeth together. Wiggling her toes wasn’t helping, and she couldn’t get her voice loud enough to wake Jenny.

The speakers above her began to crackle. “We have a code blue in room 204. I repeat a code blue in room 204.” There was a loud commotion outside as she heard shoes running across the linoleum. She glanced over at Jenny dumbstruck. How could she have slept through all that?

“Mooom,” Matilda groaned. She sighed in defeat. She didn’t want to do it, but she didn’t have a choice. She was about to do what Jenny had warned her about downstairs if she couldn’t wake her up. Matilda checked one last time to see if anyone was coming before she focused her eyes on the water jug. It shook and jostled, making Matilda groan, before slowly rising in the air and making its way towards its victim.

“Sorry about this.” she mumbled before ever so slowly tipping its contents over Jenny’s face. She awoke with a start, and sprang to a sitting position, wide-eyed and hair dripping wet. Matilda let the jug fall noisily to the floor next to her. She wiped the water out of her face with her hand and stared around the room in a daze.

“Good morning.” Matilda said with a guilty smile, before her expression fell back into one of misery. She groaned and clenched with all the strength she had as a wave of desperation took hold. All Matilda could do was clench her closed fists by her sides and will herself not to leak.

“Matilda, what’s the matter?” Jenny asked. “Are you in pain?”

“I have to pee.” Matilda moaned.

“Honey, why did you wait this long? You could have paged someone to help you.”

“I’ve been trying!” Matilda croaked. “No one is answering, and then I couldn’t wake you up to get someone and-” She winced as she tried to wiggle her body.

“Let me see,” Miss Honey said, standing up and grabbing the remote. If this was going to be an instance of showing someone something didn’t work, only to have it work perfectly fine, Matilda would scream. Miss Honey pressed the button, waited a few moments and frowned. “That’s strange. Hello? Is anyone there?” she asked into the mic.

“Could you get someone?” Matilda asked. She’d be holding herself if her arms weren’t bound. She was breathing hard now from the effort of holding it in and starting to panic.

“I’m sorry, of course, dear.” She left the room, only to return a few seconds later. “There’s no one out there.”

“There was a code blue.” Matilda said with a whimper. “Everyone ran down the hall.”

“Oh dear, I hope they’ll be alright.” Miss Honey said, before letting her eyes fall on Matilda. “I’m sorry, sweetie, you’ll have to wait.”

Tears stung Matilda’s eyes. “I can’t.” She admitted. Her core was aching and straining from the effort. She knew she wouldn’t last.

“Well, let me check something, hopefully they were prepared for this scenario.” Miss Honey said, before lifting Matilda’s blanket up. She could see Miss Honey’s face fall. “They said they would at least have mats, but there’s nothing.“

“Could you carry me?” Matilda asked, hopefully.

Miss Honey shook her head. “You’re still hooked up to the I.v.”

Matilda gritted her teeth. She had no choice but to ask Miss Honey to do that for her. “Could you give me one of those things from last night?” she mumbled. She felt her face flush. She hated to admit she would have preferred a diaper to asking Miss Honey to do this.

Jenny stared at her blankly for a moment. “What thing? Ohh, one of those. Well, I don’t suppose they’d mind me helping with that. Let’s see if I can find one.” She went into the bathroom for a few seconds and rummaged around for a bit, opened and closed a closet of blankets, before turning towards the sink. “Here it is!” Miss Honey exclaimed triumphantly after checking under the sink. She held up the cursed object. Matilda looked away in embarrassment.

“I’m glad you thought of this. It completely slipped my mind.” She paused after seeing the look on Matilda’s face. “It’s alright dear, there’s no need to be embarrassed, they wouldn’t have let you up anyway.”

“But you're doing it.” Matilda mumbled.

“Don’t you worry about that. I’m going to lift your legs and slide it under you, okay?” Matilda nodded and braced herself. “There, you’re all set. I’ll give you a minute to-oh.” Matilda hung her head, face glowing. There was no reason for Jenny to give her a minute to do anything. Her body hadn’t even given her a moment to step away. As soon as she had felt the hard plastic underneath her, her brain must have given the all clear. Liquid trickled noisily into the basin, magnified by the fact she couldn’t close her legs from all the bandages. There was no need for Miss Honey to ask if she’d had any luck.

As if it couldn’t get any worse, the nurse had chosen that moment to walk in. Matilda inwardly moaned. She only had to wait a few more minutes, and she wouldn’t have had to ask Jenny at all. The nurse walked in, looked as if she was about to stay something and stopped. She looked around the room puzzled for the source of the sound, before coming over to investigate.

The nurse came to stand next to Miss Honey, who had quickly backed away as if in fear of being scolded for interfering with their patient, and took a peek.

“Oh good, finally.” she said, sounding relieved. “We were concerned when you told us you hadn’t gone since yesterday afternoon and refused throughout the night. Are you done?” Matilda nodded. “Actually, I’m going to press on your tummy a bit, see if we can’t get anymore to come out. Some people can have trouble completely emptying after being put under.” Matilda winced a little as the nurse pressed around under her belly button, before her eyes widened in surprise as the trickling resumed for a few more seconds before stopping for a final time. “See?” Matilda blushed as she felt herself get wiped before being lifted and set back down on the bed.

“Mom, If you notice any trouble with leaking, try gently pressing on her lower stomach while she’s still on the toilet. It might take a few days for her innards to fully wake up.”

“Well, we haven’t talked about what we are going to do, yet. Things have been challenging in her life and there’s been some minor issues as a result. I’m somewhat considering keeping her in pull-ups for the time being, at least until things calm down. I think it will take some stress off her.”

Matilda’s head shot up. What? No, she wasn’t! She was fine! She didn’t need diapers during the day! Their eyes met and Matilda gave her a pleading look. “We’ll talk about it later.” Miss Honey said.

“Hmm, let’s go outside for a chat.” the nurse said, putting the still full bedpan on the counter by the sink. Matilda wrinkled her nose. “The lab wants a urine sample.” Matilda shrugged. She didn’t want it.

“I’ll be back in a minute, sweetie, try and get some rest. I need to make a few phone calls as well. Hopefully someone can bring us some clothes.” Miss Honey said, who was also still in a hospital gown despite being discharged, before slipping out the door.

Matilda bit her fingernails anxiously as she waited for Miss Honey to return. Now that needing to pee no longer took full priority of her mind, she could feel the sensation of dread in the pit of her stomach she was sure was coming from Miss Honey. Matilda wondered what was wrong. Anxiety seemed to be a constant state for Jenny, but this felt different. It was as if she knew this was the end of the line, and she was just trying to hide it, but the end of the line for what, Matilda didn’t know. She’d ask when she got back, Matilda thought as she closed her eyes. She was tired now.

Just when Matilda thought she would fall asleep, she heard footsteps in her room. Matilda silently growled. They weren’t Jenny’s timid footsteps, but heavy, loud thumps. Now what did they want from her? She kept her eyes closed. Maybe if she pretended to be asleep, they’d leave her alone. She heard the tray over her bed get roughly pulled away and moved. Matilda strained to listen, but there was nothing. Had they left? No, Matilda was sure they were still there. She could feel a presence looming over her. She waited with held breath and listened for their departure, but she heard nothing. Something felt off. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. Hoping it was just her imagination she opened her eyes.

There, standing over her, mere inches from her face, was the Trunchbull, and she looked furious. Then her face twisted into a smile, revealing a set of rotting yellow teeth.

“Good morning, Miss Wormwood.” She sneered in a sing songy voice. Matilda gulped, eyes darting everywhere. The Trunchbull’s eyes narrowed. “And what do we say when someone says good morning to you?”

“G-good m-morning,” Matilda sputtered out. She could handle the Trunchbull in school without stuttering and shaking, but this felt different. Now she was trapped, unable to move, and at her mercy. She had no time to prepare herself, and now that she was alone and face to face with the beast, she felt all the courage she had gained plotting her downfall with Hortensia immediately disparate.

“Good morning, WHAT?” The Trunchbull yelled in her face.

“Good morning, Miss T-Trunchbull.” Matilda said. Her heart was racing out of her chest. She inched her hand down towards the remote and pressed the call button rapidly, only to remember it didn’t work.

“Now, ask me why I’m here.” The woman whispered.

“W-why are you here, Miss Trunchbull?”

“To pay you and Miss Honey a visit of course,” she said, fake smile plastered on her face. “Isn’t that nice of me? I came all the way here, on a very busy school day, to see why, even though I have it on good authority Miss Honey had been released last night, I still find my year one class without a teacher. What puzzles me even more was a message I received on the school's answering machine yesterday afternoon. Do you know what that message was?”

“N-no, Miss Trunchbull.” Matilda croaked.

“It was Miss Honey of all people. Quiet, obedient, Miss Honey, telling me she wouldn’t be able to teach class for a few more days. So of course I called her back to tell her I had better see her no good lazy ass back in class this morning, after all, she had her sick day on Friday. A day I did not give her permission to take mind you, and do you know what she said to me?”

“No, Miss Trunchbull.” Matilda said.

“That’s right, she told me, ‘no’.” Matilda could see the glint in the Trunchbull’s eyes growing more and more dangerous. “Sweet, cowardly Miss Honey told me, ‘no’. So, naturally, I had to come right away and see what the problem was. She must be on death's door, I thought. So imagine my surprise, when I come up and find an empty room. So while I was waiting for an explanation from her, a nurse comes in and tells me Miss Honey isn’t here. Miss Honey is downstairs with her DAUGHTER.” She screamed the last part in Matilda’s face, before straightening back up. “There must be some mistake I thought, Miss Honey doesn’t have a daughter. Imagine my surprise when they tell me, ‘Yes, she is downstairs with MATILDA WORMWOOD, who was about to go in for surgery.’ ” Now the Trunchbull was looking livid and purple in the face. “Miss Honey is neglecting her duties for a single disgusting little worm like you!? I couldn’t imagine what in the world had gotten into that air headed, dim witted woman, AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT I FOUND?” She waved the crumbled pieces of paper wildly in front of Matilda’s face. Matilda took the papers and uncrumpled them. She recognized Jenny’s handwriting. “Read it!” The Trunchbull hissed.

Matilda began to read and as she did, she could feel pieces of her heart begin to break. How could one person withstand so much abuse? She could feel tears begin to form in her eyes until the pages in front of her were just a blur. Once she had gotten to the part about a broom she had to stop and look away. She didn’t want to know!

“I said READ IT!” The Trunchbull screamed.

Matilda choked back a sob and continued. The woman was crazy! How could she have done this to Jenny?! Matilda felt sick to her stomach with rage and hatred. The power behind her eyes was beginning to burn.

“I sat there thinking all night, how can I teach Miss Honey a lesson? I thought, I know, I’ll throw her in the Chokey, but no, I’ve already done that when she told me she wanted to adopt you, and you know what? She went behind my back and did it anyway! This woman’s started to forget just what I’m capable of. I need something good. I need to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget! I need to put the fear of me back into her! Then the answer clicked. It was staring me in the face all along. The answer is you.” The grotesque smile came back. “I’m going to do to you every little thing Miss Honey wrote about in that letter, until you beg for death. That will teach Miss Honey not to open her mouth about things that should have stayed silent.”

Matilda could feel her blood boiling. Images of Jenny being chained to a wall filled her mind. She wanted to fight back, but there was nothing she could fight with except… She stared at the bed pan sitting on the counter and willed it to rise. It wasn’t much, but it was all she had. She watched it soar into the air before coming closer and closer as the Trunchbull rambled on. It was directly over her head, when the Trunchbull forcefully grabbed Matilda by the chin.

“PAY ATTENTION WHEN I AM TALKING TO YOU!” The Trunchbull screamed. Matilda forced her eyes up, until ever so slowly, the pink pan began to tip, spilling its contents right onto the Trunchbull’s head, before falling to the floor. The Trunchbull let out a gasp and spun around to see who else was in the room, but there was no one there. She stared down at the floor, yellow droplets of liquid falling to the white linoleum, then to the pink pan until very slowly, realization dawned of just what had been dumped on her.

“You!” She growled, lunging for Matilda and wrapping her hands around her throat. “I knew it was you who threw that newt in the cup at me, just like I know it was you who put those spiders in my car! You’ve been nothing but trouble since the day you showed up! If Miss Honey wants you so badly she can pick up your body at the morgue!”

Matilda gasped as she felt the Trunchbull’s hands beginning to squeeze. She weakly fought with all her might. She couldn’t breathe! This was it, she was about to become another victim of the Trunchbull. No one was coming to save her. The world around her was starting to go black. She could vaguely make out a white figure in the doorway. Was that an angel, coming to collect her soul? The figure in the doorway lunged, letting out a primal scream Matilda had never heard before.

“LET GO OF HER!” There was a loud crash. The Trunchbull let go of Matilda’s throat and began to stagger. Another crash. Between Matilda’s gasps and coughs for breath she caught sight of the figure. It wasn’t an angel coming for her. It was Miss Honey, and she was… Matilda couldn’t believe it. She had the foldable chair from the hall in her hands and was smashing it across the Trunchbull’s head. The Trunchbull was running for the door, but came to stop. Several security guards were blocking her exit, but she barreled through them as if they were nothing.

“Matilda!” Miss Honey cried coming towards her, but Matilda’s vision was already fading to black. She reached her hand out.

“Mommy.” Matilda mumbled before fading into unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

The first thing that came to her was the sound of an alarm beeping. She could feel pressure around her throat. Massive hands were strangling her. She tried to scoot away, but she couldn’t move. The hands were holding her head in place. Matilda tried to yell, but no sound would come out. Why couldn’t she scream? She couldn’t move, or make a sound. She tried to suck in a lung full of air, but the hands around her throat were restricting air flow!

Matilda let out a gasp of air and then another! Her eyes burst open, expecting to see the Trunchbull looming over her, but there was no one there. She could feel her heart pounding as she gasped for breath. The Trunchbull’s hands were around her throat, so then why couldn’t she see her? She tried to swing at the invisible threat, until a figure came into view.

“Hey! She’s awake!” 

Another figure emerged and held her down. No! Someone was helping her now? 

“Matilda! Matilda! You need to calm down!” A voice said. Calm down? How could she calm down? She was being strangled! She wouldn’t go quietly! “Matilda! Take a deep breath! You’re safe!” That voice! She knew that voice, but why? 

“What’s going on?” Someone knew and unfamiliar. 

“She’s woken up, but she’s panicking! She’s going to hurt herself even more!” 

“Matilda! Stop struggling, you’re going to pull out your I.V.” 

“What’s 297 times 1,294?” The familiar voice said. Matilda paused for a moment. Why would someone trying to hurt her suddenly start asking math questions? The answer was 384,318 but when she tried to answer, nothing but a painful whistling sound emerged. The question had made her pause just enough for her vision to focus. She took in the room. The Trunchbull wasn’t here, but instead one of the nurses from before and… Mrs. Rodgers? Why was she here? And if no one was strangling her, what was around her neck? 

Matilda’s hands slowly went up to her throat until they came into contact with something hard and plastic. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, before looking at the nurse and pointed. 

“A brace. You’ve been involved in a-” The nurse stopped as if unsure how to explain. “Situation.” Matilda wanted to pull it off, it was confining. She felt like an animal that had been put in a cone to keep from licking its stitches. Then a thought came to her. A new surge of panic. Where was Miss Honey? She couldn’t move her head to see to the left or right. Her eyes began to water before silent tears began to fall. Had the Trunchbull gotten her? 

“What is it? Are you in pain?” the nurse asked. All Matilda could do was make raspy whistling sounds that made her throat burn even more. “On a scale of 1 to 10 how do you rate your pain?” Matilda thought for a moment before holding up five fingers, but it didn’t matter to her right now. She had to think. She cursed herself for not knowing more than a few simple things, but tapped her thumb to her chin and spread out the rest of her fingers. Mrs. Rodgers looked at her blankly, but the nurse seemed to understand.

“Your mommy will be back soon. She had to go do something, but I’m sure she will hurry right back once she learns you're awake.” Matilda bit her lip. Was she safe? She sank back into her pillow and stared at the clock. It was 2:45 in the afternoon. Had Matilda been out all day? She was sure it was early in the morning when she had been…. She winced at the memory of hands around her throat. 

“Let’s get you something for the pain.” She watched the nurse leave before looking up at Mrs. Rodgers. 

“Sorry, it was me who sent her away. She hadn’t left your side since then, so I sent her home to get some sleep.” Mrs. Rodgers said before scowling. “She’ll never listen to me again once she learns she wasn’t here when you woke up. ” 

Matilda felt the panic ebb away slightly. The room was silent for some time before Mrs. Rodgers spoke again. “You know, in all the years I’ve known Jennifer, I’ve never known her to express emotion, not happiness, or anger. She’d engage in polite small talk if we bumped into each other in the hall, and that’s it. The woman’s been a complete mystery. All the children adore her, but the adults,” Mrs. Rodgers shrugged. “We’ve never been able to get more than a, ‘Hello, how do you do?’ or ‘Good morning’”.  

Matilda wondered where she was going with this. Did the other teachers not like Miss Honey? She couldn’t imagine anyone not liking Miss Honey.  

“So you can imagine my surprise one day when I run into her in the hall. She’s got her arms full of books and the biggest smile on her face i’d ever seen. I had to do a double take, was that really shy and reserved Jennifer I was seeing? It was such a peculiar sight, I had to stop and ask her about it. You should have seen the way her eyes lit up as she told me all about this extraordinary new student in her class. She talked so fast I could hardly keep track of what she was saying. It was like she had been dying to tell someone and couldn’t contain her excitement another moment. I was just so stunned she was talking at all. 

As the weeks went by, the other teachers started commenting on the change in her as well. It was small things at first. They’d ask, ‘What has Miss Honey in such a good mood lately?’ and, ‘Is it just me, or has Miss Honey been more talkative lately?’ I think my favorite was Mr. Trilby stumbling into the teacher’s lounge looking shell shocked with the pinkest ears I’ve ever seen. We asked him what happened, and he mumbled something about Miss Honey saying he looked cute in his new tie.”

Matilda smiled at the thought of Mr. Trilby getting flustered over a compliment. 

“Do you know who noticed the biggest change in her though?” Matilda gave her a puzzled look. “Oh I think you do.” Matilda winced. “Yes, Agatha Trunchbull.” Matilda remembered what the Trunchbull had said to her.

“ Quiet and fearful Miss Honey told me ‘no’.” 

“From what I’ve seen and heard from the others, Jennifer had a tendency to, well, I’m trying to find the best way to explain this to you so you can understand. Do you know what ‘dissociate’ means? It’s okay if you don’t, I can’t imagine you would, let me find a simpler word an- Oh.” Mrs Rodgers stopped rambling once she noticed Matilda’s thumb in an upright position. “You know what that word means?” Matilda gave her another thumbs up. “Oh well, right, I shouldn’t be surprised. Jenny really wasn’t exaggerating about you. Let’s see, Jennifer had a habit of dissociating when the Trunchbull went on one of her rampages. She’d just mentally check out as the Trunchbull launched students from windows and picked them up by their ears. It was almost as if she wasn’t seeing it at all.” Mrs. Rodgers said, but then sighed and sat on the edge of Matilda’s bed.

“It’s not like the rest of us did much more to stop her, but I never understood how someone who liked the children so much could just stand there and let it happen. Now I understand.” Mrs. Rodger's face paled, and she shook her hands. Matilda had a sinking suspicion that she had learned of Jenny’s past in a similar manner, although she found it very unlikely Miss Honey had shown her what she had written.

 “So you can imagine the shock to the Trunchbull when the woman who would normally check out began raising a fuss. The thing you need to understand, Matilda, is that this resentment in the Trunchbull has been building for quite some time. She’s been watching her hold over Jennifer slipping bit by bit every day, and it’s causing a chain reaction.” 

“The other teachers have begun sticking up for their students as well, and you know what my   favorite part is?” Mrs Rodgers eyes flashed mischievously. “We’ve all started looking the other way when a certain friend of yours is up to no good. Some have started dropping hints about the Trunchbull’s daily schedule, what she’s afraid of, places in the school she never goes. Even Mr. Trilby has ‘accidentally’ let slip where the spare key to her office was.” Mrs. Rodgers laughed. “The girl thinks she’s being sneaky, but she’s about as subtle as a rhinoceros.”

Matilda scowled. All this time she had admired Hortensia for the way she could pick locks and sneak around without getting caught. Now here was Mrs. Rodgers telling her they had been giving Hortensia everything she needed to wreak havoc on a silver platter. Matilda smiled weakly. Despite feeling disillusioned with her hero, she wondered what she could be capable of if she knew the teachers were on her side. 

“The point I’m trying to make is that Miss Honey has begun to come out of her shell, and Miss Trunchbull has finally realized who is responsible for that.” Matilda furrowed her eyebrows and pointed at herself, a look of doubt in her eyes. “Yes, you. Miss Honey adores all her students, but she very much loves you. I think only love could have given her the courage to stand up to the Trunchbull and put an end to all this.” Matilda gave her a puzzled look. What did she mean by “put an end to this”? Mrs. Rodgers eyes sparkled again. “Matilda, she’s turned over the note to the police. She’s agreed to testify. ”

Matilda sat there feeling stunned. Just a few days ago she had been a whimpering, cowering mess at the mere thought of it, and now? Matilda’s heart swelled with pride. She was going to do what every other adult had been too afraid of. Her Jenny -No, her mom, was going to lead the charge to take down the Trunchbull. Matilda couldn’t hide the smile that spread over her face. Hortensia was wrong. Not all the adults were cowards. Miss Honey had literally attacked the Trunchbull with a chair to save her. Matilda would be dead if not for Miss Honey. 

A thought came to Matilda and she frowned. Why had the Trunchbull tried to kill her? It hadn’t made sense. Why attack her in the middle of the day in a hospital? It would be one thing if they were somewhere secluded and no one knew the Trunchbull had been there with her, but people had seen her here. She couldn’t possibly think she could strangle Matilda and just be able to walk out and no one would stop her. Had Matilda really made her so mad she acted without thinking? 

Her thoughts were interrupted at the sound of approaching footsteps. Matilda had hoped it would be Miss Honey, but was disappointed to see her nurse pushing a cart inside with different sized basins, washcloths and vials. 

“It’s time to get you cleaned up.” the nurse said. “I’ve also got some pain medicine for you.” She sat and watched Mrs. Rodgers stand up and stretch. 

“If you’re going to be with her for a bit, I think I’ll go down to the cafeteria and have a cup of coffee.”  Matilda felt a wave of gratitude. She recognized one of the basins and didn’t feel like going through this dance again with an audience.  The nurse waited until Mrs. Rodgers had left before rounding on Matilda. 

“Let's start with your pain first. Are you still at a five?” Matilda held up 6 fingers now. Her throat was even rawer than before. She watched anxiously as the nurse began preparing a syringe, but relaxed when she explained it wasn’t shot. “It’s what the I.V. line is for.” Matilda watched fascinated as the nurse pushed the plunger, and in less than a minute the drug's effect started to take hold. She could feel her eyes glaze over as a sense of relaxation took hold. The room began to gently sway. This wasn’t so bad, Matilda thought. It almost made the I.V. line worth it, but she was suddenly feeling rather warm. There was another sensation as well, but it felt good, so she closed her eyes and let it happen. She didn’t even mind when the nurse told her she needed to take her blood. The problem came halfway through the blood draw when Matilda’s mind began to clear. The flushing had stopped along with the pleasant lightheadedness, and reality came crashing down when she realized she was sitting on something now very wet. 

She sat in stunned silence until tears began to slide down her face. She couldn’t believe she had just done that. 

“I’m almost done, see last tube. Just a few more seconds. There, all done, no more needle.” Matilda’s face began to burn. Oh geeze, the nurse thought she was crying because of the blood draw. “It’s all done, you can look up now.” Matilda let out an audible whimper and kept her head down. “Nothing scary left, I promise! All that’s left now is a nice towel bath and to go potty.” Matilda had begun to cry even harder at this. The nurse was confused until understanding dawned on her when she pulled back the blanket. 

“It’s okay, Matilda, see? You're laying on a disposable pad. I wasn’t expecting it to be dry. I hadn’t changed it since yesterday.”  Matilda looked down now feeling even more confused. Was it wet before, and she had only now just noticed it? Or had she peed herself while high? “Or are you so upset because you were awake when it happened?” She didn’t know! “Did it happen when I gave you the pain medicine?” Matilda slowly raised her thumb. “Nothing to get worked up over then. It’s a possible side effect, I’ll just give you something else next time.” 

Matilda blinked in surprise. She hadn’t thought of that. 

“Let me get this dirty one out from under you.” She turned Matilda onto her side, and replaced the pad with a fresh one. “There, see, no problem. Just let us know if you ever need a clean one. We don’t want you sitting on a yucky one all day.” When she turned Matilda back over, she found herself laying on top of hard plastic. “You still need to try going potty though.” Matilda sighed, resigned to her fate. At least no one was here for this part. 

After a demeaning amount of praise for emptying her bowels, she was very slowly wiped down with wet towels as she tried not to irritate the cuts and stitches all over her, and then finally helped into a clean hospital gown. Matilda tried to be polite and say thanks, but all that came out again was an unintelligible rasp. 

“Try not to talk. The doctor wants you to rest your throat. Your vocal cords have been injured, and they need rest.” Matilda wrapped her hands around the brace and imitated getting choked. The nurse nodded her head sadly. “Your mom was hoping you wouldn’t remember.” Matilda mimicked writing. “Oh, yes, I’ll get you some paper and a pen.” She left and quickly returned with a notepad and pen. 

  How long have I been unconscious? 

The nurse seemed suddenly taken aback. Her eyes went wide, and it seemed to take her a minute to compose herself. 

“Oh my, Matilda, you have such neat writing, and wow, unconscious, that’s a big word you know how to write.” She stared at the sentence for a moment, before snapping back to attention. “You’ve been in and out of it for two days.”  

What happened to the Trunchbull?

Matilda could see the nurse shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, but she didn’t drop her gaze.

“You know, let’s wait for your mom to come back, and she can answer any questions you have.” Matilda scowled, she knew that meant bad news. She picked up the pen and continued writing. 

Why does my throat hurt so much? 

“You had a small procedure yesterday, the Dr. went down your throat with a camera to make sure everything looked all right.”

An endoscopy? 

The nurse stared blankly, now at a loss for words. Matilda let out a silent exasperated sigh. If she wanted answers faster, she was really going to have to dumb herself down. Under normal circumstances, she would have found her reaction slightly amusing, but right now she felt impatient and in a slightly bad mood. She figured it came with being made to poop in a tray. 

“Yes, that’s right.” The nurse mumbled, “Did your moms friend tell you?”

No, I just like to read. Did they find anything wrong?

“That’s amazing, Matilda, you know most kids your age struggle to-” The nurse stopped as Matilda tapped her question with her pen impatiently. She really was in a bad mood. She didn’t want to be told she was amazing, she felt far from it. Matilda wanted answers, and mostly, she really just wanted Miss Honey. 

Sorry Matilda hurriedly scribbled. I don’t mean to be so petulant. 

“There was some contu- sorry bruising in the windpipe, and the muscles of your neck, but it’s nothing time won’t heal on its own. You’ll just be sore for a bit.” 

Matilda sat there and tried to process all the information she had learned today. So the Trunchbull was angry at Miss Honey’s weak protests to stop hurting them? If Matilda hadn’t known Miss Honey so well, she would hardly call, “Miss Trunchbull, please don’t throw children out the window,” sticking up for them or making a fuss. She supposed it was more than the other teachers had done, and if she was being realistic, given Miss Honey’s past, it took serious courage for her to even do that much. If that had upset the Trunchbull so much, she wondered how angry she was after getting hit in the head with a chair. 

“This might help you get more comfortable.” She heard Velcroed straps loosening around her, followed by the wonderful freeing sensation as the brace was removed from her neck. She nodded her thanks and closed her eyes.

It was nearly 6 pm when Matilda awoke to the sound of hurried footsteps coming into her room. She found herself clenching the bed rail in one hand and the call button, which thankfully now worked, in the other in anticipation. Her heart began to hammer in her chest, until a wide-eyed and out of breath face poked its head around the curtain. 

A large relieved grin spread across Matilda’s face. 

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.” Miss Honey panted. “I can’t believe I slept through the call. I woke up to a message on the answering machine and hurried over as fast as I could.”  Miss Honey managed to lower one of the guard rails of the bed and sat down next to her. Before she could object, Matilda had immediately scooted herself into Miss Honey’s lap and thrown her arms around her. It didn’t seem like Miss Honey was interested in scolding her for moving though. She had just as eagerly wrapped her own arms around Matilda and was now holding her tightly and rocking her back and forth. 

“Oh, I’m so relieved you’re alright.” Miss Honey whispered before kissing Matilda’s forehead. Matilda had so many questions, but right now they didn’t seem so important anymore. She knew this is what she wanted and needed more than anything. She rested her head on Jenny’s chest and listened to her hum. To Matilda at this moment, there was no sweeter or more beautiful music in the world. 

Once they had reluctantly separated, Matilda began to scribble down question after question. 

 “One at a time, dear.” Miss Honey said. Matilda pointed to the most significant one. Where was the Trunchbull? Miss Honey sighed. “Probably at home having supper.” Matilda blanched. No! Why? Why wasn’t she in jail where she belonged? Miss Honey could read the anger on her face. “I know, it’s not fair. The police say there’s nothing they can do right now, there were no witnesses.”  Matilda was outraged! She pointed at herself, then at Jenny. She was there! 

“I know, but the Trunchbull’s turned it around on me. She says she walked in on me choking you, and I hit her with a chair to keep her quiet.” 

That’s absurd! What about the security guards? 

“They only saw me attacking her with a chair, but don’t you worry. The police don’t buy her story for a minute, even the part about me being an unfit mother to you. Mrs. Rodgers was kind enough to come down to the station and give a character witness as well.”

Matilda sat there silently seething for a moment, before picking her pen back up and pointing to another question. 

If she wanted to separate us, why did she attack me? Why not just say you were unfit to begin with? 

Miss Honey sat there for a moment before speaking. “I’ve been wondering the same, honestly. She’s always been impulsive and angry, but she’s never done something so brazen as this.”

She made me read your letter. Did she really do all those things to you? 

Matilda could see the pain in Jenny’s face as her eyes began to tear up. “You were never supposed to read that. No one was. But yes,” Miss Honey said after a long pause, “It was true. My childhood was not a happy one.” Matilda had remembered her saying that before, but now that she knew just to what extent, her heart ached for her. Forget Matilda’s parents never paying attention to her, it was nothing in comparison. “I’ve decided though. Enough is enough! Someone has to be the first to come forward, so it might as well be me.”

Why now? What changed? You were so against the idea before.

Miss Honey smiled sadly before wrapping her arms around Matilda and whispered in her ear. “Because no one hurts my baby.” 

Chapter Text

“Oh, I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” Miss Honey said, pulling along the same wagon Matilda, according to Hortensia, had claimed as her own. Matilda smiled, lying atop the many pillows to make it more comfy and spread out her arms. Riding in the wagon was much more fun when she wasn’t vomiting over the edge.

“We have to… face her eventually, and the more… you put off going back to work… the more trouble you’ll get into.” Matilda said through several pauses. Matilda was more than ready to be back in class, even if she had just gotten out of the hospital. The thought of spending another day in bed was enough to drive her mad. She missed her friends terribly, so much that she had even agreed to Jenny’s conditions.

No leaving the classroom unless accompanied by her.
No using her powers unless absolutely necessary to defend herself.
If anyone asked what happened to her, she had her tonsils removed.
She had no memory of the Trunchbull’s visit.
She’d be wearing a diaper.

Matilda had argued the last condition so much, Jenny had put her foot down.

“You’ll wear it, or you won’t go to school at all. That’s final.” Matilda had been so shocked she had quickly agreed and hadn’t brought it up again. “I’m sorry, Matilda, but you know I can’t stop and leave the class unattended to help you, and I don’t expect you to be able to hold it all day.”

Matilda didn’t like it, but she understood. Walking was still incredibly painful. Her body still felt like she had been involved in a serious car accident, and she didn’t possess the strength yet to pull herself on and off the toilets. Even the strain of walking while needing to go often led to her bladder voiding itself from the effort, so Jenny often carried her to the bathroom, set her on the toilet, and let her try and make her way back to bed on her own, although she stayed close to catch her if she fell.

The closer they got to school the more Miss Honey’s anxiety increased. Matilda could feel it building in the pit of her stomach, at least she thought it was coming from Miss Honey. The two of them had gone over their lines and roles all day yesterday. Jenny would have to pretend she “got the message” and slip back into her terrorized, subservient role no matter how much she hated what she saw or heard. The Trunchbull had to believe she was too terrified to lift a finger.

Matilda had found it fun giving Jenny ideas. Not only would they have to convince the Trunchbull Jenny was terrified, that was the easy part, she would also have to believe Jenny’s interest in Matilda was merely a hobby.

“I never adopted her” Jenny would say. “She stays with me during the week, so I can tutor her in the evenings, then she goes back home on the weekends. It’s only temporary, until her parents find her a proper tutor. I hear they're even looking into sending her to boarding school out of state.” And if the Trunchbull asked what Jenny got out of it, she’d shrug and say, “It’s not everyday I get the opportunity to work with a genius.” That was the plan. Jenny would have to pass Matilda off as some kind of freak of nature Jenny took interest in studying. As for hitting her with the chair, “I had to stop you somehow Headmistress, it was for your own good. Her parents are counting on her to make them loads of money in the future, everyone else might look the other way, but I hear they have connections with the Italian Mafia.”

“Matilda, there’s no way she’d buy that! The Italian Mafia? Really?” Miss Honey had said with a laugh.

“That part's actually true,” Matilda had said. “They have my dad make stolen cars untraceable for them, although I doubt they’d lift a finger, he’s in hot water with them last I checked.”

When they got to the school, Miss Honey turned around. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay with Eve?” Matilda wrinkled her face. Matilda was still angry with her, and she knew Jenny was too. It was clearly a last ditch effort to keep Matilda away from the Trunchbull, but she couldn’t hide forever.

“I want… to go… to school.” Matilda said, ignoring the butterflies swarming around in her stomach.

They made their way in through the back of the building, the only way in with a ramp, and headed towards the year one classroom. They passed Hortensia on the way, peering inside the Trunchbull’s office.

“I hope you’re not up to anything already.” Miss Honey said making Hortensia jump.

“O-of course not.” Hortensia said, hiding her hands behind her back. She looked down, now noticing Matilda for the first time. “Hey! Your back!”

“So…are you…” Matilda wheezed.

“Geeze, what happened to your voice? You sound like a rubber chicken being held under the faucet.”

“Tonsils.” Matilda mumbled. She hated lying to her friends, but she couldn’t risk the plan.

“You’re a walking train wreck.” Hortensia said with a shake of her head. Matilda shrugged. It was true, it seemed to be one thing after another lately.

“We’re going to the classroom, you can come along if you’d like.” Miss Honey said. Matilda could sense she was eager to get away from the Headmistresses door. Hortensia gave one last look at the office before following along.

“What did you do…with the spiders?” Matilda asked. She had a feeling she knew exactly what Hortensia had done with them, if the Trunchbull was to be believed. The wicked smile that began to spread across Hortensia’s face told Matilda all she needed to.

“I’m not even going to ask.” Miss Honey said. She dug in her coat pocket for her keys, before unlocking her classroom door, but when she opened it, she stopped. Miss Honey let out a loud sigh. Matilda couldn’t see from behind Jenny’s legs, but when she was finally dragged in she saw what had upset her. Everything colorful had been ripped from the walls. Where children’s artwork had once hung, there was now only tape residue. All the bright and smiling decorations were gone, and the animal stickers had been peeled off, leaving the room gutted and a depressing shade of brown like the rest of the school.

Matilda felt a wave of anger. She knew how hard Jenny had worked to make her classroom look inviting and friendly as possible, despite the lack of money. She had even made most of the paper crafts herself, and now to see Jenny’s hard work sitting ripped to shreds in the waste paper basket enraged her.

“It’s not the end of the world, Matilda. Don’t even think about it.” Miss Honey said. “Rule number two, remember.” Hortensia looked from Miss Honey to Matilda before finally asking.

“What’s rule number two?”

“No powers.” Matilda mumbled. “If I wanted to… come back to school… I have to follow…mom’s rules.”

“You know I love it when you call me the ‘M word’, but remember where we are Matilda, it’s more important now than ever.”

“Yes, Miss Honey.” Matilda said, trying to hide her smile. She had been out of school for too long, and now calling her Miss Honey felt strange after calling her ‘mom’ and on some occasions ‘mommy.’

“Hortensia, would you mind taking this to the dumpster? I don’t want the other kids to see.” Miss Honey said, pointing down to the trashcan.

“Sure,” Hortensia said, picking it up with one hand. “Oh.” She began pulling pieces of a picture out and setting it on the desk. “Look.” Matilda was too low to the ground to see, but Miss Honey bent over the desk to examine it. Matilda could see a pained smile on her face and wondered what it was.

“I’ll think I’ll keep these and tape it back up.”

“What is it?” Matilda asked.

“It’s a Get Well Soon card the kids made me.” Miss Honey said, continuing to stare at the pieces. Matilda balled her hands into fists. She was going to have a hard time following rule number two.

When the bell rang and kids slowly began to trickle in, shouts of excitement filled the room at Miss Honey’s return. Almost everyone wanted to give her a hug and ask her how she was feeling. Matilda smiled from the back of the classroom and watched as she stretched out in the wagon. Sitting up for long periods was still too taxing. She wanted to be in her desk by Lavender, but she knew she’d be too exhausted and in pain by the end of the hour. So she had opted for a corner in the back with her backpack and a chair, so she could prop up her books to read.

“Miss Honey.” Lavender said from her desk once the commotion of their teacher's return had died down. “Do you know if Matilda’s coming back at all?”

“Look behind you,” Miss Honey said. Lavender spun eyeing all the faces in all the other desks, before turning around and giving Miss Honey, what Matilda could only assume, was a look of puzzlement. “A little lower.” Miss Honey said with a smile, “No, not on the floor, a bit higher. Keep looking. Getting warmer. Warmer. No, colder. Warmer aannnnnd bingo!” Matilda grinned and waved from her spot in the corner until Lavender’s eyes met hers.

“Matilda! Where have you been?” Lavender said, springing from her seat and charging to the back taking Matilda completely by surprise and squeezing her in a bear hug.

“Oww oww oww.” Matilda said.

“Ohh, Lavender, do be careful! She’s not quite up to par yet!” Miss Honey called. Lavender quickly released her and looked her up and down.

“What happened to you? You’re all green and purple!”

“I crashed… my bike…into a rosebush.” Matilda lied. Lavender frowned looking even more concerned.

“What happened to your voice?”

“I had to…get…my tonsils removed.” Matilda croaked. Her throat was starting to burn from talking so much. She met Miss Honey’s eyes, who mimicked drinking from a glass. Matilda pulled the thermos out of her backpack and took a few sips.

“Lavender, you can catch up later, please return to your seat.”

“But why is she back here by herself, Miss Honey?” Lavender asked.

“Because I don’t think Matilda wants to be eye level with everyone’s bottoms.” Miss Honey answered, creating explicit giggles from the room.

“But what if we pulled her desk out, then she could sit in front and see fine.” Matilda shrugged as Miss Honey looked at her questioningly.

“If Matilda’s okay with that, then it’s fine with me.” Miss Honey said. Before Matilda could answer, Lavender had already picked up the handle and began pulling the wagon forward. After a quick re-arranging of desks, Matilda found herself directly in the front, with Lavender behind her whispering about what she had missed. Miss Honey gave her an apologetic smile, but Matilda didn’t mind, although it would make discretion a bit more challenging. “There’s no getting in trouble now, Matilda. Not with you right under my nose.” Miss Honey said playfully. She pointed to her eyes with two fingers, then at Matilda. “I’m watching you.” Matilda chuckled along with the class.

Matilda found it difficult, probably for the first time in her life, to find the motivation to crack open one of her books. She wanted to just sit and watch Miss Honey in her element. She seemed happier than she had all week, now that she was back with her class. Suddenly, Matilda felt a pang of something she wasn’t quite familiar with. She was certain it was an emotion, and she was certain it was one of her own, but she couldn’t quite place it. She must have sat there for quite some time spacing out, because the next thing she knew the class was giggling, and Miss Honey was waving a hand in front of her face.

“Matilda, are you sure you’re up for this?” Miss Honey asked, squatting down to be eye level with her. “You haven’t even opened a book yet.”

“Yes! Sorry, mo-Miss Honey.... I just got lost in thought… for a moment. I’m fine, really.” Matilda said, before reaching into her bag and pulling out her math workbook.

“Well, if it ever gets to be too much, I can always have Mrs. Rodgers take you to lie down in her office.” Miss Honey whispered. “Or you can close your eyes here for a bit, although I’m not sure how much rest you’d get up front in all the commotion.” Matilda smiled.

“I think… if I stayed back there….I’d feel left out.” Matilda said, surprised at how true the words sounded to her.

“Well, alright, but keep drinking water, you sound terrible.”

It hadn’t taken long for Matilda to forget her surrounding completely once she got into her studies. Her quest for knowledge seemed to outweigh her desire to participate and by the time she looked up, nearly three hours had passed. That was the nice thing about independent studies, if she wanted to focus on one subject, she could spend all day on it if she wanted to. She looked over the pages she had completed, surprised she had gone through a full week of lessons without stopping. While she was reaching over and swapping out subjects, she realized she had to pee.

Oh, c’mon! She thought, feeling a bit sullen. If she could wait just two and a half more hours until lunch, Miss Honey would be free to take her to the restroom, as was their agreed upon terms, so Matilda could try and go number two to avoid having to use the diaper. Her classmate Nigel had once pooped his pants and the classroom had smelled horrid all day. Miss Honey had promised her she wouldn’t make her do that, and she’d call Mrs. Rodgers to take her to the restroom if need be. Matilda wasn’t thrilled with the idea of Mrs. Rodgers standing nearby while Matilda tried to poop, but it certainly beat the alternative.

Matilda tried to busy herself with other subjects, but she just couldn’t commit all her attention to her work in this state. She tried changing positions, and wiggling her feet, but with limited room to squirm about the urge just kept building more and more rapidly. Matilda couldn’t keep the glare off her face as, one by one, hands began to raise and ask to be excused. When she was about to switch positions for the tenth time, her eyes met Miss Honey’s, and she stopped. Miss Honey seemed to be able to read her like an open book now, and while still speaking to the class, tapped the side of her waist with her index finger a few times.

Matilda scowled and looked away. The hand sign had been meant for her, Miss Honey was telling her to use the diaper. Matilda looked up at the clock and sighed. They still had an hour and a half left. She caught Miss Honey waving her finger at her in a “no-no” gesture before pointing at her waist again, all while reciting the three times tables. Matilda kept holding it for another ten minutes, before getting a stern glare from Jenny she hadn’t expected. Matilda gulped and sat still as Miss Honey passed, casually dropping a piece of paper in Matilda’s lap. She opened the crumbled note and sighed in defeat.

A Deal’s a Deal

Resigned to her fate, Matilda hoisted her book bag onto her lap and pretended to dig through it, using it as a cover to hide the deep blush that was creeping up her face. At least it wasn’t like using a bed pan with someone standing over her waiting for her to go, she thought, until she saw Miss Honey eyeing her. Sort of.

Ok, you can do this, she thought to herself. Don’t think about all your closest friends sitting mere inches away from you. She leaned back against the pillows and closed her eyes, clutching her book back to her chest for support. She fought against the panicked feeling building in her chest as her crotch began to grow warm. It’s not an accident if you do it on purpose. Her heart was beginning to beat faster and faster. She could hear a faint hiss. She clutched the bag even tighter and prayed no one else could hear it either. Miss Honey’s voice was coming closer as she asked the class what 8 times 3 was.

Oh no! Matilda realized. The power was building behind her eyes. The burning was beginning to become too much. Her panic was feeding the power. She had to break rule two, or her eyes would melt! She quickly opened her eyes and met Miss Honey’s worried expression. Instead of panicking, Miss Honey reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny rubber ball. She bounced it in front of Matilda, who focused and kept the rhythm going for as long as it took, until her bodily urges, both in her eyes and in her bladder, seemed to be satisfied.

Miss Honey bent down and scooped up the ball, before putting it back in her pocket and giving Matilda’s head a reassuring pat before carrying on with the lesson as if nothing had happened.

“What was that about?” Lavender whispered in her ear. Matilda just shook her head, now exhausted and closed her eyes.

Matilda didn’t open her eyes again until Miss Honey had dismissed them all for lunch.

“Oh, you want me to pull you while I run?” Lavender asked her. Matilda was about to say no, but Miss Honey beat her too it.

“Sorry, Lavender, but I have to take Matilda to the nurses' office for her medicine, but you two can catch up in the cafeteria after.”

“Sorry,” Matilda mumbled as Miss Honey pulled her into Mrs. Rodger's office.

“It’s alright, dear, you’re just going to have to learn not to get so worked up next time.” Matilda didn’t want there to be a next time. “I’m just trying to figure out what makes it so uncontrollable. Is it anger? Embarrassment? Any strong emotion? Does it have to be negative?”

Matilda wasn’t really sure herself. She sat lost in thought as Miss Honey rolled her into the single bathroom unit in the nurse's office. “Lift your dress, and I’ll get you out of that.” Matilda lifted it above her waist as Miss Honey examined things below. “These are much better than the ones we had at home.” Matilda preferred the ones she could pull on and off herself, but now that she didn’t have much mobility or independence, there wasn’t much of a need. Miss Honey ripped the tabs off and pulled it out from under her. “Are you ready?” Matilda nodded, and Miss Honey lifted her up and set her on the toilet. “Was it really that bad?” Miss Honey asked from the other side of the bathroom to give Matilda some space.

“I was scared kids could hear.” Matilda admitted.

“Well, maybe you could try and not make it so obvious next time.” Miss Honey said with a grin. “You don’t even need to stop what you're working on.” Matilda let out an audible groan before flushing the toilet. “Done?” Matilda nodded before being scooped up. “You’re braver than I am. When I was your age I was terrified the toilet would suck me down with it.” Miss Honey admitted. “I was so scared I wouldn’t flush, until my aunt-” Miss Honey stopped after realizing what she was saying. “Never mind.”

“You can say… if you want.” Matilda said.

“No, it’s not very nice. Some things shouldn’t be repeated.” Matilda wanted to ask her if she had given therapy another chance, but her throat was too raw, so she just nodded and stayed silent. “Let’s finish getting you settled, then we can go to the cafeteria for lunch. Lavender is probably thinking I stole you.” Once they had exited the bathroom, Miss Honey laid Matilda down on her back on a cot and pulled the curtain around them.

“Did you…have to…deal with this…in the hospital?” Matilda asked, holding her dress out of the way so Jenny could finish.

“I think I would have made a run for it if I had, truth be told.” Miss Honey admitted, before seeing the look on Matilda’s face and adding, “You’re just a child, it’s different. You may be mentally years beyond your classmates, but your body isn’t. You haven’t gone through puberty, yet, be thankful for that.” Matilda grimaced as the cold wipes made contact with her skin.

“It still… feels weird.” Matilda said.

“Would you prefer Mrs. Rodger’s help you instead? Would it make it easier on you? She is a medical professional.”

“No!” Matilda answered a bit too quickly. She had been on the receiving end of this sort of thing by four different people now, and Miss Honey was, by far, the gentlest. The others were certainly faster and more sure of themselves, but Matilda didn’t care much for being man handled and flipped around. The rough treatment left her feeling stunned and a tad bit violated. “You’re better…at it. I just wish…I could…hold it better…”

Miss Honey smiled as she taped up a fresh diaper and offered Matilda a hand to help her sit up. “You expect too much of yourself, dear.” She saw the look of doubt on Matilda’s face. “When we get back to class, pick a kid, any kid and pay attention to how often they ask to be excused. You’re perfectly fine the way you are.”

“You said…in the hospital…you were going to…put me in pull-ups…to prevent…accidents…”

“Matilda,” Miss Honey said, dropping her voice to a whisper. “It’s not those kinds of accidents I’m worried about. It’s the more supernatural kind that concerns me. You got seriously hurt because someone reacted poorly to kids just being kids. The idea is to prevent something like that from happening again. I swear, if the other children blew things up with their mind too when they had an accident, I’d make pull-ups a requirement for the whole class!” Matilda giggled. “There’s nothing wrong with you, sweetheart. I’m just trying to make things as easy for you as possible right now, okay?”

Matilda nodded her head. “Could…I…” She swallowed and winced. She had really over done it talking today.

“What is it?”
“Have a… hug?” Matilda finished, suddenly feeling shy. Miss Honey smiled. “Of course you can. Are you having a rough day?” Matilda nodded. She was in pain and feeling exhausted already. She frowned when Miss Honey wrapped a single arm around her and let go. “Not a…Miss Honey…hug.” Jennifer frowned.

“What do you mean? Not a hug from me?” She asked feeling slightly puzzled.

“Not a…Miss…Honey hug.” Matilda repeated, trying to get the words out through the pain. “I want a…” Matilda blushed and looked away.

“What? Tell me what you want, dear.” Miss Honey asked sitting next to her on the cot.

“I want…a hug…from…mommy.” Matilda whispered, face now glowing red. Miss Honey sighed.

“You know we’re at school, dear.” Miss Honey whispered, “You know I enjoy all our mommy/ daughter time just as much, if not more, but it has to wait until we get home. I have to be Miss Honey now. You know that.”

Matilda nodded, she did understand, but she couldn’t stop her shoulders from slumping. She had grown accustomed to getting to snuggle whenever she wanted this week, but now that they were back in school, Matilda was finding it difficult to have her so close, but so far. Matilda was suddenly struck by a realization, and It made her cringe. The feeling that she couldn’t place from earlier. It had been jealousy. She was jealous of having to share Miss Honey with the rest of the class!

“Ugh!” Matilda moaned, hiding her face in her hands. “What’s wrong…with me?”

“Hey, Jen, is that you back there?” Mrs. Rodger's voice called out.

“Yes! We’ll be right out in a minute!” Miss Honey called back.

“Take your time, I just wanted to let you know She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named called out again. Said she had another headache, in case you were worried about running into her today.”

Both Matilda and Miss Honey sighed in relief. Miss Honey bit her lip before eyeing Matilda.

“Just for a minute, okay?” Matilda nodded, before Miss Honey picked her up and set her in her lap. Much better, Matilda thought, resting her head on Jenny’s chest and wrapping her arms around her as she felt herself being slowly rocked back and forth. She smiled as she felt Jenny softly kiss the top of her head and begin to quietly hum.

“I love you, mommy.” Matilda whispered.

“I love you too, Matilda.”

Chapter Text

Miss Honey gritted her teeth. That girl was wiggling around again. She was a genius, and yet, how did she not grasp the simple concept that if she had to go, she could just go. Children, Miss Honey thought, no matter how easy they’d still wait till the last minute. She gave Matilda another scalding stare, she seemed to be getting a lot of practice with that today, but the girl shook her head. Was she telling her no? She shook the thought from her head the moment it appeared. Matilda wasn’t the type, although she had been growing more defiant lately. Jenny had chalked it up to her being under the weather. Even Jennifer the People Pleaser had gotten a little snappy when she had been in the hospital.

“Is something wrong?” Miss Honey whispered, squatting down in front of the wagon. “You better not still be trying to hold it.” She threw in, before slightly wincing at herself. She’d never talk to a student like that. Miss Honey watched as Matilda’s face turned a shade of pink.

“Already did that.” Matilda mumbled. Miss Honey wasn’t sure whether to believe her or not, but she’d have to take her at her word. She wasn’t about to check her in front of the whole class and risk the room’s blackboard splitting in half. “It itches!” Matilda whispered. Miss Honey could smack herself. She hadn’t been putting anything on her skin for fear of making it even more awkward, but judging by the pained look on her daughter’s face, awkward would have been the preferred choice.

“Do you think you can wait until we get home, or would you want to see if Mrs. Rodgers can help you with that?” Miss Honey frowned for a moment, before adding. “Actually, I better send you to Mrs. Rodgers. I don’t have anything at home to help with that.” She saw Matilda’s face fall. “I don’t think just rinsing it will help.”

“I’ll wait.” Matilda said. Miss Honey frowned, she could tell she looked miserable. She tried to rack her brain. She at least had baby powder at home, didn’t she? Miss Honey wished she hadn’t sent everything back with Eve, but she wasn’t about to call her and ask her for help. Maybe she could ask Mrs. Rodgers if she could lend her something from the school's supply, although now that she thought of it, she was starting to doubt she’d have anything either.

“Are you sure?” Miss Honey asked. Matilda nodded. “Alright, but let me know if you change your mind. I know it’s hard, but try and sit still, or you’ll only make it worse.”

“Miss Honey?” Lavender asked loudly, making the woman look up. “Why is Matilda wearing a diaper?”

Miss Honey stood there frozen for a moment, horrified, and slowly looked down at Matilda, who sat as still as a statue and paler than Miss Honey had ever seen her.

“She’s not wearing a diaper, Lavender.” Miss Honey said, trying to play it off and hoping against hope the small girl would drop it.

“Yes she is, I can hear it.” Lavender blurted out. Miss Honey pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, before reaching in her pocket for the bouncy ball before the building started to shake.

“Class, if I throw this as hard as I can against the wall, how long do you think it will bounce for?”

…….

“Matilda, really, it’s going to be okay.” Miss Honey said for what felt like the 20th time on their way home. She looked behind her and had to suppress a smile. Matilda sat, with her arms folded across her chest, glaring out at the street.

“She was my friend!” Matilda said angrily.

“She still can be, don’t take it too personally.” Miss Honey said. “You have to remember, she’s only five.”

“So? I’m five, and I wouldn’t just blurt out something like that!”

“Matilda, dear, you’re the exception, not the rule.” Miss Honey said, giving her a sympathetic smile. “MOST children your age are still far from understanding social norms and what is and isn’t appropriate to say out loud. I pulled her aside and very lightly, without going into detail, explained your situation. I also pointed out it wasn’t nice of her to tell the whole class and that she’d upset you. I think she feels very badly about hurting your feelings.”

“Why did it have to be that of all things? Why couldn’t it be about the cuts or something!” Matilda complained. “Or my hair? Or why I bite my nails? Or literally anything else!”

“I know you’re upset, but let’s try to calm down before you knock out everyone’s cable.” Miss Honey said eyeing the transformers wearily. “How about when we get home, you can have a nice long soak in the tub, and then we’ll have some hot chocolate and snuggle together with a good book.”

“Okay.” Matilda said, before letting out a long sigh.

“You remember who Bruce Bogtrotter is, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I think the entire school knows him after the chocolate cake fiasco.”

“Well, several years ago, back when he was in my class, he raised his hand during a lesson. When I called on him, he informed me, along with the rest of the children, that his mommy’s breasts were much bigger than mine, then immediately went back to working on his school work like nothing had happened.” Miss Honey turned around and saw Matilda, with lips sealed tight, trying desperately to suppress a laugh. “You see? Children your age tend to blurt out the first thing that pops into their head, and I’m not trying to invalidate your feelings. I understand you’re embarrassed and hurt, and that’s perfectly normal, but try not to hold a grudge against Lavender. She made a mistake, it happens. Besides that, I hate to see you so upset, and I’m afraid we’ve given the children an unrealistic expectation of how long rubber balls bounce.”

…..

“Oww! Mom, don’t touch it!” Matilda yelped. She was lying on her back on the bed, fresh out of the bath tub.

“Ohh, yep, that’s a rash.” Jennifer said, wincing at the angry red patches on Matilda’s skin. “Shoot, I can’t believe I don’t have anything for that. There’s nothing in the medicine cabinet or under the sink.”

“Did you check the hospital bag they discharged me with? The one with the socks and paperwork? I think they said something about having supplies.”

“Yes, but it was just the wipes. Oh, I really don’t want to have to drag you back out to the store.”

“Just leave me here.” Matilda mumbled as she wrapped herself back up with the towel and closed her eyes. She let out a yawn and said, “Zinnia left me alone all the time.” Miss Honey was about to ask if Zinnia was her old babysitter, but stopped as it clicked into place. Zinnia was her mother. She had never heard Matilda call her by her name before. Had Jennifer already taken that place in Matilda’s life? She fought to suppress a smile.

“I can’t just leave you alone in the state you’re in, dear. That’s cruel, and not to mention, illegal. You’re much too young to be left on your own.” Matilda frowned.

“But I like being on my own, at least sometimes, and I can fend for myself. I can even cook. It’s not like I’d get into trouble, I’d just read or something.”

“I know you wouldn’t get into trouble, I trust you, but that’s not the issue. You can’t leave young children home by themselves. If someone noticed you were alone, they’d call the police. I would have called the police if I had known you were being left alone.”

“I’m safer alone than i’ve ever been at school.” Miss Honey bit her lip. It pained her to admit she was right about that. It was far more than a little unsettling. “That was then though.” Matilda added. “I liked being apart from my parents, but I like being with you more.” Miss Honey smiled, but still felt a pang of sadness. She couldn’t give Matilda her own space in this studio apartment. She couldn’t have her own room, and heck, she couldn’t even give Matilda her own bed.

Miss Honey sighed before heading to the phone. She’d have to swallow her pride and call Eve.

….

“Hortensia’s coming over to drop off a few things.” Miss Honey announced once she’d hung up the phone. It had been a civil conversation, although short. Jennifer hadn’t exactly been on her best behavior the last time they had spoken. She bent down and rummaged in Matilda’s half of the dresser and pulled her out a shirt and some sweatpants. “Your skin needs to breathe” she explained when Matilda questioned the lack of undergarments.

When the doorbell rang 15 minutes later, Miss Honey opened the door, but instead of one pair of eyes greeting her, there were two. Hortensia stood holding a bag of supplies next to a very surprised and puzzled looking Lavender.

“When I told her I was on my way to Matilda’s she begged to tag along.” Hortensia shrugged. “She said she needed to talk to her, said it was important.” Miss Honey quickly recovered from the surprise and smiled.

“You might as well come in then. I was about to make hot chocolate.” Miss Honey stepped out of the way, so they could come in. “Matilda, you have visitors.”

A very tired and disoriented looking Matilda popped her head out from under the covers. “What is it, mom?” She mumbled, and then froze when she saw Lavender standing at the foot of the bed. Lavender seemed in shock as she looked from her teacher to Matilda, and then back again.

“This is where you live?” Lavender asked after an awkward moment of silence. Matilda slowly nodded her head. Lavender looked again at their teacher. “But what’s Miss Honey doing here?” Jennifer sighed. There was no getting out of this.

“I live here too, Lavender.”

“Woah, you live in the same apartment building as Miss Honey? That’s so cool!” Lavender said. Miss Honey pinched the bridge of her nose. Now why couldn’t she be this oblivious earlier today? Matilda looked at Miss Honey, seemingly lost for words.

“It’s alright, might as well tell her.” Miss Honey said.

“We live together.” Matilda said. “She’s my mom.”

Poor Lavender, Miss Honey thought staring at the small girl, who seemed unable to utter a sound. I think we’ve broken her.

“But,” Lavender said, now looking at Miss Honey, “at the start of the year, you said you didn’t have any children of your own.” before turning back to Matilda, “and you said you lived with your mom, dad, and older brother.”

“At the time… I did.” Matilda said with a shrug. “Now I live… with Jenny.”

“You said her first name.” Lavender said with wide eyes before looking confused again. “I didn’t know you could switch parents.”

“Well, not really, Lavender. It’s complicated.” Miss Honey said.

“Complicated how?”

“Hmm, well, Matilda’s parents, the Wormwoods, they’re very different from Matilda, with very different goals and values in life. They were so different from each other, that after a, umm, talk, we all decided it was in Matilda’s best interest if she lived with me instead.” Miss Honey explained. “So while it was true I didn’t have any children at the beginning of the school year, I decided I very much wanted Matilda to be a part of my life permanently. But Lavender,” Miss Honey said looking much more serious now. “It’s very important that you not tell anyone about this. No one knows. Can you do that?”

Lavender, with wide brown eyes, nodded her head eagerly, proud to be trusted with such significant information. She looked at Matilda, then at the room full of people and frowned. “Can we go in your room?”

“You’re already…in it.”

“Oh.” Lavender said, looking down, before handing Matilda a folded piece of paper. “I made this for you. It’s a card. I’m sorry!”

Miss Honey watched from the corner of the room and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Matilda smile. It was amazing how kids could forgive each other so easily.

Miss Honey made them each a mug of hot chocolate, except for herself and Matilda, who drank theirs out of bowls since they only owned a mug each, before Miss Honey sent the girls home. It was clear from the look on Matilda’s face she was about to crash any minute.

“You look exhausted.” Miss Honey said, dumping the contents of the bag Hortensia had brought onto the bed. “Now that I’ve got some proper medicine for you, it will help you with the itching, then you can take a nice nap before dinner, okay?” Matilda nodded and stifled and yawn while Jennifer threw back the covers. “Might be a bit cold.” She warned. Matilda winced as Jennifer dabbed at the inflamed areas of her skin with ointment, before rubbing something cold into her upper thighs and back side. Matilda scowled when she heard the crinkling of another diaper being unfolded, but said nothing. “This is what I should have been using to begin with.” Matilda opened her eyes briefly to catch a container of baby powder being shaken onto her before closing them again. She didn’t want to know.

“There, all done.” Miss Honey said shaking the powder from her hands. “I’ll wake you up when dinner’s ready.” She heard Matilda mumble something. “What was that?”

“Lay down with me.” Matilda said. “At least until… I fall asleep.” Miss Honey smiled. She had promised after all.

“Just for a bit.” Jennifer said, climbing onto the bed. She wrapped her arms around the girl, who had instinctively begun scooting closer, and held her against her chest. There would come a time when Matilda would desire more and more space. She’d need her own bed, and her own room, and the nights spent cuddling would come to an end. I’d better enjoy it while I can, Jenny thought.

Chapter Text

The day that followed felt eerily similar to the day before. Matilda rode in the wagon in silence feeling just as sullen about her undergarments as yesterday, except now, she was wrapped in the thickest winter coat she had thought to pack from Harry and Zinnia’s house. The chill of the crisp winter morning crept into her bones no matter how tightly she hugged herself. Their breath left visible puffs of air that reminded Matilda of cigar smoke. She watched her mom and frowned as she pulled the wagon.  When Matilda had asked why she wasn’t wearing a coat, Miss Honey had shaken her head and smiled.

“I don’t need one. I like the cold;  it makes me feel awake and energized.” 

Matilda let out a discouraged sigh. She wished her new mother would be more honest with her. Matilda had been tempted to remind her she could feel what she did, but she knew it made Miss Honey even more uncomfortable than her telekinesis for some reason. When she had tried to ask her why, Miss Honey had gone red in the face and mumbled something about adults needing their privacy. 

“Because of sex stuff, right?” Matilda had asked innocently. Jenny had nearly dropped her mug of 

coffee to the floor. She had never seen the woman’s face change so many colors in such a short amount of time. “What?” 

“Matilda!” Miss Honey hissed, looking a combination of horrified, embarrassed, and shocked. She had begun muttering a slew of unintelligible syllables before she had managed to calm down enough to utter a clear sentence. “That’s not an appropriate topic for someone your age.” Matilda had frowned, looking confused.

“Why not? It’s just basic human biology. Almost every species mates in order to reproduce, aside from those that use parthenogenesis, it’s only obvious humans would too.” Miss Honey had hid her face in her hands for almost a solid minute before lowering them and staring at Matilda. 

“What is parthenogenesis?” 

“The ability to self fertilize without male involvement. Chickens, turkeys, some insects, reptiles, and even certain species of sharks have been known to do it when the population dips.” Matilda had answered staring puzzled at the frazzled woman from across the table. 

“An-and, how,” Miss Honey swallowed nervously, “do you know what ‘sex stuff is?’” 

“Biology books from the library.” Matilda shrugged. “I wanted to know where babies came from.” Miss Honey blew out her held breath, seemed to visibly relax, and chuckled nervously. 

“Sorry, I guess I should have figured. My mind jumped to the worst case scenario, and I forgot you’re not like other kids your age.” Matilda frowned.

“Worst case scenario?” Matilda asked. Miss Honey began to fidget nervously.

“It’s never usually a good sign when children are knowledgeable on this subject. They either looked at something they weren’t supposed to, which is bad, or an adult taught them, which is much worse.” Miss Honey said, looking serious. Matilda frowned again and began feeling guilty.

“Was I not supposed to read what I did?” Matilda asked after a few minutes of silence. Had she done something wrong? Miss Honey smiled and shook her head.

“No dear, you're fine. Your mind works differently than most people, and I think it’s something I still need to get used to. If there’s anything you ever want to ask me, you can, but it’s still very important not to share this information with the other children.” 

“Why is it okay for me to look at it and not other kids?” Matilda asked. Everyone always called her “different” and, “special” but she looked just like any other kid in her class. 

“Because the other kids aren’t mature enough to handle it, their parents probably still tell them babies come from storks.” 

“Storks?” Matilda was very confused now. “But we’re mammals! We don’t hatch from eggs! Who in their right mind would believe such a silly thing?” Miss Honey chuckled. 

“I bet you the last packet of hot chocolate, if you ask Lavender, she won’t even know what a mammal is. My point is, we need to let your classmates, and the older children, keep their innocence as long as possible. Once you learn you exist because your parents had sex, there’s no going back.” 

“But it’s the truth.” Matilda said. “Why would you want to believe a lie?” Miss Honey had seemed to find her answer very amusing. 

“No one wants to think of their parents that way. I’m an adult and I certainly don’t want to think about the woman who raised me doing it. Personally, I’d prefer a stork bringing me a baby over having sex.” Miss Honey said before clamping a hand over her face. “Forget I said that.” Matilda frowned again.

“You don’t like it?” Matilda asked. Miss Honey’s face went very red, but she remained silent. Matilda finally understood. “You’ve never had sex?  I thought all adults had sex.” Miss Honey hid her face behind her hands again. “What? You said I could ask you anything.”

“Yeah, but, I didn’t mean about my sex life!” Miss Honey muttered from behind her hands.  

“So you have? I’m confused.” Matilda answered looking up at her with wide innocent eyes.

“I’m not talking about this with you! This is very inappropriate.” 

“But don’t you want kids of your own someday?” 

Miss Honey stared at her for a moment before taking a deep breath and chanting something that sounded like, “Her mind works differently. Her mind works differently,” before composing herself and smiling. “Why would I need a child of my own? I have you now. This is all I need to be happy.” But Matilda could sense a deep sadness coming from her. 

“You’re lying.” Matilda said blankly. They stared at each other for a moment before Miss Honey admitted the truth.

“I can’t have children of my own from an old injury.”  Matilda thought of that letter again and clenched her fists. The anger was beginning to reemerge, and if she wasn’t careful, she’d lose control of her powers. 

“I’m sorry, you probably want a normal child, not someone-” She suddenly felt Miss Honey’s hands around hers. 

“I want you. Just the way you are, got that? Nosey questions and all.” 

Matilda shivered as she thought about their conversation on the way to school. She had a feeling Miss Honey was merely settling with her, since she couldn’t have a baby of her own, but she had hid her suspicions behind a smile. Now she examined their relationship more closely. There was Miss Honey’s insistence of her wearing diapers to school, as well as the weird incident with the pacifier in the hospital, which she knew for a fact Miss Honey had taken home with them. She had even tried to put it in Matilda’s mouth the first night back when she had been in so much pain she was making things levitate around the room. Then of course, Matilda had started thinking of the issue of bed-wetting itself. She had almost never wet the bed until she had gotten close to Jenny. What if, in Matilda’s sleeping unconscious mind, she had picked up on Miss Honey’s desire for a baby and her body had decided to respond? What if they slept separately? Would she stop wetting the bed? 

Matilda’s heart began to ache at the thought. That would mean no more cuddling together, or reading together before bedtime. Was she really willing to give it up just to stop wearing pull-ups to bed? She let out a long sigh and shook her head. What had happened to her? She used to be so independent, and now the thought of even sleeping apart from her new mom scared her. 

When they entered the school they found Hortensia waiting for them by the classroom door. 

“She’s not here again.” Hortensia announced. Matilda felt relieved, but she was surprised when she felt the worry coming from Miss Honey. She scowled, was Miss Honey worried about the Trunchbull? Matilda focused, but she could never make out the cause for Miss Honey’s feelings, only the emotions themselves. 

“Here’s my keys, would you mind staying in the classroom with Matilda till I get back? I want to go talk to Mr. Trilby.” Miss Honey said, and without waiting for an answer, left them in the hall. Matilda was both annoyed that Miss Honey thought she needed a babysitter at school and relieved now that she could talk to Hortensia in private.”

“Did you give Charlotte her cotton ball? She seemed attached to it.” Matilda said. Hortensia rolled her eyes before picking up the wagon's handle and heading toward the year one classroom. 

“Yes, I made sure to dump out the cotton ball too.” Hortensia said. “I even caught her a few extra friends.” 

“Really? When? How? What did you do with them?” Matilda asked. Although her voice was still raspy, she was glad to notice today she didn’t need to stop for breath every couple words. 

“As soon as I got home the night when we were in the Emergency Room, I got in a fight with Ma, so I took the bottle and went for a walk. I eventually ended up in front of the Trunchbull’s house. The car doors were locked, but the sunroof wasn’t! I opened it, dumped Peter Porker in the front seat, and Charlotte with her cotton ball in the back. Then I decided to start looking around to see if there was anything else I could add.” Hortensia said before shrugging. “It was just a few little garden spiders, if anything the other two will eat them, but it was something.”

Matilda felt impressed. Hortensia had been scared of spiders, yet she had gone and planted them and even went looking for more. 

“Yeah, she told me there were spiders in her car.” Matilda said with a laugh. Hortensia stared at her with a look of confusion.

“When did you see the Trunchbull? She called out the day after, yesterday, and now she’s a no show today as well.” Her eyes lit up. “Do you think she got bit?” 

Matilda sat in silence for a moment. She hadn’t known the Trunchbull hadn’t been back in school since attacking her. She reluctantly let her mind wander to the night she was attacked. The headmistress was standing over her, just as angry, red-faced, and foul as always, and yet… Was it her imagination playing tricks on her, or had she been drooling? Did the left side of her face always sag that much? And the real question, why attack her when she knew she couldn’t get away with it? 

“No,” Matilda said. “I think… I think she might have a brain tumor.” Hortensia scrunched up her face. “

“Who has a brain tumor?” Miss Honey asked, standing in the doorway. Hortensia shrugged. 

“No one, I’m just thinking out loud.” Matilda said. Miss Honey smiled. 

“I want to hear.” Miss Honey said. 

“I don’t know.” Matilda said. “What if there was a reason the Trunchbull was so vile? It’s the third day she’s called out with headaches, and the last time I saw her, she wasn’t making much sense. And when she…” She eyed Hortensia and rephrased. “She hadn’t really thought that through.” 

Miss Honey stared blankly at her for a moment. “You think the headmistress has a brain tumor?”

Matilda shrugged. “There’s something called a glioblastoma multiforme. It’s an aggressive tumor, and causes headaches, personality changes and aggressive behavior. You said her behavior’s been getting worse over time.” 

“Well, yes, but she’s always been aggressive and foul tempered.” 

“I guess I’m just looking for an explanation.” Matilda said. “I like when things make sense.” 

“You weren’t looking through any medical text books when you were in the hospital, were you?” Miss Honey asked. 

“I, umm, might have been.” Matilda admitted. “One of the doctors was very nice and let me skim through the books in his office.”

Miss Honey sighed and shook her head. “I hope you didn’t see anything in those that scared you.” 

“What did Mr. Trilby have to say?” Matilda asked, hoping to change the subject. 

“She never called out this morning; she just didn’t show. He said he’s thinking of going over and checking in on her.” 

“He’s brave.” Hortensia said. 

“Well, after what you’ve told me, I think it might be a good idea.” Miss Honey said. “I mean, I doubt she has a brain tumor, but I’m starting to learn to trust your hunches. They’re frighteningly accurate.” 

“A girl can hope.” Hortensia said. Miss Honey looked like she was going to tell her off for wishing harm come to a person, even if that person happened to be a demon sent to earth to wreak havoc, but Matilda could see a slight smile begin to tug at the corners of her mouth. 

Despite Lavender’s pleas, Matilda had insisted on staying in the back of the class today. She was behind on her school work from missing so many days, and she found being so close to Miss Honey was a distraction she didn’t need. To be fair, she also didn’t feel like being watched so closely. She found it a bit unnerving. If she had to wet herself, she wanted at least a little privacy. If she wasn’t embarrassed, maybe her powers wouldn’t go out of control. 

Matilda had been right about that. She had been deep into her world history text book when she felt the first urge. Instead of making the mistake of looking around, or trying to hold it until she couldn’t, she kept her nose buried in her book and just let it happen. She shuddered involuntarily and tried to focus on the text. It was easier than it had been yesterday, but still unpleasant overall. She tried to picture the sudden warmth was coming from a heating pad wrapped around her waist instead of bodily fluids. If she did that it wasn’t so gross; the warmth almost felt kind of good compared to the chilly air of the classroom, if she didn’t think too hard about what had caused it. Then as if she hadn’t just purposefully gone against one of the most basic natural orders of the universe, she went back to studying. 

Matilda had been so engrossed in her studies she hadn’t even noticed the lunch bell. It wasn’t until Miss Honey was standing over her did she even snap back into reality. 

“How’s it going back here? I haven’t seen anything move by itself today.” Miss Honey said. Matilda looked around surprised she would mention it, until she noticed all the other kids had been dismissed already. 

“It’s better back here.” Matilda admitted, before mumbling, “easier.” Miss Honey look relieved.

“I’m glad you’re not so uncomfortable as you were yesterday. I’m sure you’re eager for something drier.” Matilda nodded, a bit of a blush creeping into her cheeks. She had been miserable when it had gotten cold, so she had used it again despite knowing she could have easily held it until lunch, just to warm herself up. She hadn’t realized it had been this close to lunch though. 

“Oh shoot.” Miss Honey said once they were alone in the bathroom in the nurse's office. “You’re soaked.” Matilda felt around with her hands once she had been freed from the diaper and set on the toilet.  No wonder she had been so cold, she had leaked into her pants. Looks like she really should have held it until lunch after all. “Maybe there’s a blanket we could drape over your lap for the rest of the day. Well, go on and kick them off, and I’ll see if Mrs. Rodgers can help. Matilda frowned, but obliged. She didn’t like how often she had to ask Mrs. Rodgers for clothes. 

“Can I get off now?” Matilda asked. She didn’t dare try and hop off just yet. The toilet in the nurse’s office wasn’t small like the others, and she was good couple feet off the ground. Her body wasn’t ready for such an impact. Even the small ones still weren’t an option yet. 

“Have you gone?”  Matilda shook her head. She hadn’t even been able to pee. 

“Well try for a bit longer while I go talk to Mrs. Rodgers.” Miss Honey said while she slipped out the door. Matilda sat for a bit, swinging her legs back and forth before eyeing the faucet on the sink. Maybe that would help. She focused on the faucet until it turned on. Much better. A few moments later she heard a knock coming from somewhere. She frowned in confusion. It wasn’t coming from the door. It was coming from behind her from the window. She turned her body as much as she could and stared at the blinds. There it was again! Someone was wrapping their knuckles on the glass. What in the world? The nurses' office was a few feet off the ground. The school wasn’t quite what she would call level, sitting at one and half stories. Whoever was knocking on the window would have to be a giant. 

Matilda reached a hand out, curiosity outweighing caution, and tentatively lifted a blind. Huge black eyes greeted her. She dropped the blind in a panic and let out a scream. A moment later Miss Honey rushed back in without closing the door behind her. 

“What? What is it? Are you okay?” Miss Honey asked in a panic. 

“There’s something out there!” Matilda cried. She lifted her arms. “Get me off! Get me off! Get me off!” Miss Honey picked her up as Matilda clung to her, heart racing. “There it is again!” Matilda nearly yelled as the rapping against the window continued. “No, don’t open the blinds! It’s a mon-” the words stopped in her throat as Miss Honey pulled the blinds up. “Woah!” Matilda gasped. It wasn’t a monster now that she could see the rest of it. 

Miss Honey let out a gasp as well. “How beautiful.” It was a large barn owl sitting on the edge of the building and tapping the window with its beak. 

“Everything okay in here?” Mrs. Rodgers asked, poking her head in. “I heard screaming.”

“Look.” Miss Honey said stepping aside. “It’s an owl. I’ve never seen one up this close, or during the day.” 

“Umm, mom.” Matilda whispered, pulling on Miss Honey’s sleeve. “I need clothes.” Miss Honey snapped out of her trance.

“Sorry, right.” Miss Honey carried her out quickly and set her down on the cot before pulling the curtain around them. “Well that was unexpected.” Miss Honey said, before grabbing her bag she had set by the bathroom door. 

“Olivia, can you come here in the bathroom!” they heard Mrs. Rodger’s shout. 

“Whose Olivia?” Matilda whispered, trying to distract herself from the awkward situation going on below her waist. 

“Mrs. Rodger’s granddaughter from the states, she’s in town for the holidays visiting  from some kind of boarding school. She’s very excited to have her here, she hasn’t seen her since she was a baby.” 

Matilda heard footsteps enter the bathroom, before some kind of commotion. She frowned. Were they opening the window? She strained to hear more. They were having some kind of argument. She knew it was rude to eaves drop, but she couldn’t help it. 

“It wasn’t me. I swear!” a girl's voice said Matilda assumed could only be Olivia. 

“Why else would an owl be here carrying a letter addressed to you? Are you sure you didn’t do it on accident?” Mrs. Rodger’s said. An owl? Carrying a letter? What in the world were they talking about?” 

Suddenly she heard loud swearing, before a mumbled apology. 

“It’s alright, I just don’t want you getting in trouble with your new school.”

“I swear, I didn’t do…anything.” Matilda heard footsteps coming out of the bathroom before someone crumpling up a piece of paper and threw it into the nearby waste paper basket. Matilda wondered what it was. She must have heard wrong. She hadn’t seen the owl carrying a letter, at least not in its beak. Matilda had read about owls carrying messages, but it was hardly the 1800s. She heard more swearing, followed by another apology.

“You don’t have to apologize every time, dear.” 

“Right, sorry. No, wait, I mean-” Olivia started to say, but heard Mrs. Rodger’s begin to laugh. 

“Calm down.”

“She has a bit of a condition.” Miss Honey whispered. Matilda looked confused. There was more swearing, followed by a bunch of words that almost sounded made up. 

“Are you sure it wasn’t that they picked up on?” Miss Rodger’s asked. 

“I don’t think so. It’s not like the words themselves do anything.” Olivia said. “I don’t think. BLOODY HELL YOU CALL THAT A BISCUIT!?” 

Matilda jumped in surprise. So that’s what Miss Honey had meant. 

“Tourette’s?” Matilda silently mouthed. Miss Honey nodded. 

“You’re all done.” Miss Honey said, “I’m just not sure what to do about your pants.” She pulled the curtain back and the figure standing by the curtain let out a surprised yelp. She spun around and Matilda came face to face with a black haired girl about Hortensia’s age. 

“I’m sorry! Fuck. Cocksucker. Biscuit muncher! I didn’t know anyone was here. I’M A WITCH!” Olivia hid her face behind a palm. “Sorry.” 

“You look a bit young for a witch. You don’t even have any boils.” Matilda said. Hortensia would like her. 

“You read too many stories.” Olivia said with a small smile.

“If you only knew.” Miss Honey muttered. “Is your grandma around? We’re having a bit of a wardrobe malfunction.” 

“Yeah, she’s IN THE OVEN BAKING AT 350 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT! Umm, in the back.” Olivia said. “Still feels weird. I didn’t even know she was alive until my headmaster sent me to stay with her over the holidays.”   

Matilda raised an eyebrow. How did she not know her grandma was alive? She was so intrigued by this stranger, it wasn’t until her legs began to feel cold did it remind her of her situation. She let out an eep and tried to cover herself, but it was clear Olivia had already seen what she was wearing. She gave Matilda a sympathetic smile and shrugged. 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got my own embarrassing problems.” 

“It’s Tourette’s, right?” Matilda asked, trying to pull her shirt down as much as possible with little success. 

“I’m surprised you know what it is.” Olivia said, then looked to Miss Honey. “Is my grandma telling everyone?” 

“Matilda is… intelligent for her age.” Miss Honey said. “Don’t let her size fool you.” Olivia shrugged before walking towards the back. Miss Rodger’s came out a few moments later and Miss Honey followed her, leaving Matilda alone. 

Matilda eyed the wastepaper basket. Now was her chance. She focused the power in her eyes and pulled it towards her. It slid loudly across the tile, until it stopped by the cot. Matilda bent down and picked up the crumpled letter before opening it. She stared at it puzzled. It was a very fancy and official looking card addressed to Olivia but… She scrunched her face in confusion. What in the world was The Ministry of Magic? Underage Sorcery? Decree for underage wizards? She threw the note back in the wastepaper basket before hearing Olivia scream from the back of the room. 

“AGAIN? IT’S NOT ME! UGH!” 

Matilda quickly sent the wastepaper basket back to where it was before she heard a gasp. She looked up and found Olivia staring at her wide-eyed. Oh, crud. She saw. Matilda swallowed nervously, but Olivia said something that caught her off guard. 

“It’s you. You’re the one casting magic! GRANDMA! I FOUND THE CULPRIT!” Matilda saw another envelope clenched in her fist. Mrs. Rodger’s and Miss Honey came out of the back room looking puzzled. Mrs. Rodger’s looked at the envelope in Olivia’s hand, then at a very guilty looking Matilda. 

“That’s not possible.” Mrs. Rodger’s said in a hushed tone. 

“I saw her move the trashcan! And-” Another loud rapping sound. “Bloody hell, again!?” Olivia stormed into the bathroom and came back with another identical envelope. “See, they think it’s me, but it’s not! I saw her!”

“It’s not Matilda. We’ll talk about this later.” Mrs. Rodger’s hissed. Olivia gritted her teeth before eyeing Matilda and heading back towards Mrs. Rodger’s office. 

“Ignore her.” Mrs. Rodger’s laughed nervously. “She has delusions sometime’s and thinks she sees things.” Matilda felt a pang of guilt. Had she gotten Olivia in trouble somehow by using her powers? For some reason she couldn’t just let it go. She couldn’t let Mrs. Rodger’s think her granddaughter was crazy so, against her better judgement, she pointed to the trashcan by Mrs. Rodger’s feet and made it rise. Miss Honey sighed as Mrs. Rodgers jumped back. 

“She’s not delusional.” Matilda said. 

“Have I ever told you Matilda has telekinesis?” Miss Honey said with a nervous laugh. There was another round of rapping on the window. 

“FOR FUCK's SAKE, IT’S NOT ME!” 

“I believe you now.” Mrs. Rodger’s said staring dumbfounded. Matilda let the trashcan drop to the floor as the adults stared at it. A wave of exhaustion swept over Matilda. She hadn’t recovered her strength yet and had tried to do too much too soon. 

She laid back down on the cot and closed her eyes. “Can I stay here and sleep for a bit?” she mumbled, but before she got an answer a new voice emerged. She forced her eyes open.

“Miss Honey! There you are! I’ve been looking for you!” Mr. Trilby said. “I just got back from the headmistresses house. She’s gone!” 

“Gone?” Miss Honey asked. “What do you mean? Like out shopping or to the doctors?”

“No! I mean gone gone! All her clothes, everything. She’s just disappeared!” Mr. Trilby said, before calming down. “This was on the door. It’s for you.” He handed Miss Honey the note. With trembling fingers, she opened the letter and read.

Drop the charges and it’s all yours. The House, the money, the brat, everything. 

Miss Honey’s eyes widened. She was scared! She couldn’t believe it. The Trunchbull had gone on the run! She was tempted to accept. She was so tempted, but… What if she ran and started over? What if she restarted the cycle of abuse? Found a new school, injured more children? More people? She tore the note in half. Matilda had given her the courage to fight, and she was going to see this to the bitter end. Now wasn’t the time to hide back in her shell. 

“Not a chance.” Miss Honey said.

Chapter Text

Matilda could hardly contain her excitement. She skipped and walked quick circles around Jenny, overjoyed to be back on her feet now. It had been what felt like the longest two weeks of her life being stuck in the little wagon. She was free! Free to walk, and free of those wretched diapers. She had a sinking suspicion it was only because she had run out, but free was free. Now was her chance to show Miss Honey she didn’t need them.

“Calm down.” Jenny said, but she was beaming too. They had both been in particularly good moods the last few days, it was hard not to be happy without Miss Trunchbull terrorizing the school. It had done wonders for Jenny’s anxiety and Matilda herself had even woken up the last three mornings in a row dry. “You don’t want to wear yourself out before you even get to school.” Jenny reminded her.

“I won’t.” Matilda said, but slowed her pace just the same until she had matched Jenny’s slower walk.

“Matilda,” Jenny said a little more quietly. The young girl looked up, feeling a bit of dread now. She knew that tone. “I’ve packed a few extra changes of clothes just in case.” Matilda could feel the heat beginning to burn her face. It never got easier talking about this.

“I won’t need them.” Matilda insisted, looking away. Not because she was 100% confident it wouldn’t happen, but because she had also snuck a change of clothes into her own backpack while Jenny had been in the shower.

“Just in case you do, they’ll be in the nurse's office.”

“I can walk to the bathroom now.” Matilda insisted, but her argument felt half-hearted after yesterday.

Matilda had been at the library while Jenny was taking driving lessons with Mrs. Rodgers. She had been so engrossed in a book about the solar system she had blocked the rest of the world out completely. It wasn’t until the librarian, Mrs. Phelps, who had promised Jenny she’d keep an eye on her came by and let out a startled gasp did Matilda even look up from her book and realize much too late what she had done.

She had never been in trouble with Mrs. Phelps before. She knew she could be strict when it came to disrespecting the library rules and property, but being on the receiving end had been a shock. When Mrs. Phelps had finally finished scolding her for wetting herself in one of the armchairs, she made Matilda clean up the mess, check out her books, and wait outside for Jenny to pick her up.

Matilda was nervous about returning to the library today after school, but there was one thing that scared her more than an angry Mrs. Phelps, and that was Jenny’s driving. She was proud of her mom for trying new things, but there was nothing wrong with being proud of her from the safety of an armchair. Miss Honey was trying to drive stick, and the near constant lurching back and forth from the back seat had been too much for Matilda’s stomach to take. She had only just managed to scurry out in time before losing her lunch in the street.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine if you put your mind to it.” Jenny said, patting her shoulder. “But don’t beat yourself up too badly if anything happens. Do try to be more careful at the library though.”

Matilda gritted her teeth. She still couldn't believe she had done that. It wasn't like she had had a legit accident, she had just completely forgotten that she wasn't wearing a diaper anymore. She couldn't believe she had done something so dumb. In as little as two weeks she had almost managed to untrain herself.

"I could stop by the store and get you more pull-ups before I take you to the library." Jenny offered. Matilda quickly shook her head.

"Please don't." she begged. "I just wasn't thinking."

"Are you sure? You were awfully upset yesterday when I found you." Jenny said. "You were throwing snowballs at the side of the building." She said before adding, "without touching them."

"I've never been kicked out of the library before." Matilda mumbled. She was so embarrassed she was even tempted to cave to Jenny's offer, but she decided against it for a couple of reasons. The first being she just had to get this under control, and the second was why Jenny hadn't just gone out and gotten more when she had run out. She couldn't afford them. As much as Jenny tried to hide things like finances, it was nearly impossible to hide things from her. Matilda didn't need to see her checkbook. She could do the math in her head. There was rent, food, utilities, etc. etc. It was also nearing Christmas and the end of the month.

She had told Jenny a million times she didn't want anything for Christmas. She had even lied and said her family had never celebrated it anyway, but Jenny had spotted the Wormwood's car going by with a large red bow and antlers.

"It's just for show." Matilda had insisted. "He always said it was good for business." Miss Honey hadn't believed her though. "It really wasn't anything special there anyway." Matilda admitted. "I only ever wanted books, but got hair accessories and nail polish instead. I already have everything I want." Matilda insisted squeezing Miss Honey's hand.

"You're sweet, but a terrible liar." She knew Jenny had only been joking, but the comment had made Matilda a little angry.

"Do you really think I'd be upset if you didn't buy me stuff?" Matilda asked, emphasizing the last word. "We have a little over seven pounds to last two weeks after making the minimum payment to the hospital. Don't waste it on that."

"You're not supposed to know that." Jenny said with a sigh. "It's our first Christmas together. I want it to be special."

"It will be!" Matilda insisted. "I've always wanted someone to walk down Santa Claus Lane with and look at the lights on Christmas Eve, and we can drink hot chocolate, and play chess, and read. I've never had anyone to do any of those things with on Christmas." Miss Honey seemed to genuinely smile at the suggestion.

"I would love to do those things with you on Christmas." Jenny said. "I should consider myself fortunate you know Santa isn't real." She frowned in confusion when the girl beside her stopped walking. She looked behind her. "Matilda, why did yo-" She froze at the look of horror on her face. No! No! No! She did not just do what she thought she did! She remained silent, a feeling of panic over taking her senses...until the girl began to burst into giggles. "Oh, you little..."

"The look on your face." Matilda said, bending over to catch her breath. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. You did just tell a five-year-old Santa wasn't real." Miss Honey gave her a playful shove.

"Keep it up, and you're getting a mug of coal for Christmas instead of hot chocolate."

"If Santa was real I'd ask to stop wetting the bed." Matilda mumbled.

"If Santa was real, I'd ask that it didn't bother you so much, even if you did."

Matilda scrunched up her face in disgust. "Can't you just ask I not do it either?"

"Hmm, nope." Miss Honey said. "Can't have you thinking I'd trade you in for a dryer model."

"A dryer model?" Matilda asked with a slight giggle.

"It's just an inconvenience, sweetie, you understand that, right? I'm not mad or disappointed in you in any way. None of this is your fault."

"It's my body. I should be able to control it." Matilda grumbled.

"If only it worked that way." Miss Honey said, wrapping an arm around Matilda's shoulder. "You remember last week when you had to wake me up from that nightmare?"

"Yeah, you were screaming in your sleep."

"Do you also remember that I couldn't stop shaking, and you sat up with me half the night?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Do you think less of me? Even though I'm an adult who has nightmares, something mostly associated with small children."

Matilda frowned. "Of course not."

"Just because it's your body, it doesn't mean you always have control over it, even if you want to. I'm supposed to be the adult, but you were the one having to talk me down and tell me it was just a dream. Of course, you helped me, but I still felt ashamed."

"So you, sort of, understand what it feels like?" Matilda asked.

"I do, more than you know."

“I liked being able to help you though.” Matilda said. “You weren’t a bother.” Although she could do without getting smacked in the nose by flailing limbs. Sometimes sleeping next to Jenny was dangerous. Matilda felt the arm tighten around her.

“I don’t want you to have to see me like that though. There are certain expectations with being an adult, even more so being a parent, and I’m afraid I don’t meet many of them.” Matilda stopped walking and looked up at Miss Honey.

“Who says it has to be one sided?” Matilda asked. Jennifer furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “If you want to be what I need, why can’t I want the same? Why can’t we both just look out for each other? We made up our own family, why can’t we make up our own rules too? If neither of us fit into a box, then let’s be a circle.”

“A circle, huh?” Jenny said with a smile. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around the small girl and held her close.

“We’re in front of the school, you know.” Matilda said, but made no move to break apart.

“I don’t care.” Miss Honey whispered. “You’re already everything I need.”

Chapter Text

Miss Honey smiled to herself as she sipped on a mug of tea. Matilda was out in the yard with her friends enjoying the freedom of mobility, giving Jenny time alone in the classroom before school started for the day. She sat and reflected on their earlier conversation that morning. Matilda had such a unique way of looking at the world around them, she thought. She enjoyed their walks to and from school together immensely. Without even realizing, it had become one of her favorite times of the day. They never seemed to run out of things to talk about, but even when it was quiet between them, it was a comfortable silence.

Why does it have to be one-sided? Why can’t we both just look out for each other?

Miss Honey thought back to that night and grimaced. She couldn’t even remember what she had been dreaming about, but the all consuming terror that had filled her senses when she had awoken in the dark had been all too real. As she thought about it, she could feel the shame inching its way back in. Their roles had been reversed so quickly. It was Jenny that was cowering and trembling like a child with Matilda gently guiding her back to reality. It wasn’t until Matilda had taken Jenny’s head and guided it down onto her chest with instructions to find her heartbeat did she finally calm down.

It wasn’t until that night did Jenny finally understand Matilda’s fascination with lying on her bare chest. While she didn’t outright object, she often wished she could keep her night gown on. Now she understood. Matilda was right, it really wasn’t the same. There was something so intimate and calming about feeling another person's body heat and listening to their heart beat. Matilda must feel it tenfold being as small as she was and able to stretch out on top of her. For someone who had never known physical affection from her parents, Jenny imagined it felt like a safe haven to her.

Miss Honey felt a little bad about her reaction towards it before, lying underneath stiff as a board and frightened. Matilda had only asked twice, both when at her lowest and most vulnerable. Once when she had been sick, and another after her first day back to school when they had somewhat been at odds. Jennifer didn’t need to have supernatural powers to know how difficult it was for Matilda to ask. It was obvious the girl wanted something with the way she kept staring up at her and opening and closing her mouth like she was going to say something. It had taken a bit of prodding to get her to open up.

At least now Jennifer could slightly understand the appeal. Now if she could just get herself to relax quicker and quit flinching every time she moved. What if she herself offered? Would that make Matilda happy? Maybe on Christmas they could… Ugh what was she thinking? Sorry, I can’t afford presents, but you can lay on me instead?

Miss Honey let her face fall into her hands and let out a frustrated moan. What was she going to do?

“Everything okay in here?” A voice asked.

Miss Honey jolted upright and forced a smile, but relaxed when she saw it was Mrs. Rodgers.

“Yes, it’s fine, I’m just racking my brain trying to come up with something to do for Matilda for Christmas.”

“You haven’t started shopping yet?” Miss Honey gritted her teeth. She wasn’t about to explain their financial woes.

“N-not really, no. Things have been a bit difficult with everything going on, she’s only just recently gotten enough strength back, so I don’t feel like I have to keep a constant eye on her. ”

“Then let’s go shopping after we drop her off at the library today. Today’s payday.”

“I-I don’t know, she’s a bit tricky. Not very materialistic. A bit hard to shop for a child genius.” Miss Honey said, letting out a bit of nervous laughter. “I think we’re looking more into things to do rather than just things.”

“Tell me about it. When I asked my granddaughter what she wanted, she said she wanted a broomstick. I asked her if she wanted a mop to go with that, but she rolled her eyes and called me a ‘muggle’ whatever that is.” Mrs. Rodgers said. “What are you two doing, anyway?”

“I’m not really sure. I know she wants to see the lights on Christmas Eve, and then after that, maybe stay in, play chess, work on some puzzles.” Mrs. Rodger’s frowned for a moment.

“You’re welcome to come over to our place for Christmas dinner. It’s just the two of us as well.” Miss Honey’s eyes lit up.

“Really? Are you sure?”

"Yes, of course. Someone needs to come put that girl in her place at chess."

"Thank you very much, I'll ask her about it today and get back to you."

"So, shopping? Yes? No?" Mrs. Rodgers asked. Miss Honey bit her lip. She was about to decline the invitation when there was a knock on the open door and a new face emerged. Someone from the office entered and handed her an envelope, before nodding politely and leaving. Miss Honey stared at it curiously for a moment. "You don't get direct deposit?" Mrs. Rodgers asked.

"Huh?" Miss Honey said. She looked down at the envelope again. It couldn't be. With trembling fingers she began to slide it open before slowly examining the contents. She could feel the moisture beginning to build behind her eyelids as a drop slowly streaked down her face. No wonder she didn't recognize it. She had never received one before. "How?" Miss Honey choked out, looking at the figure on the check.
"It's payday. Did you forget you changed banks or something?" Mrs. Rodgers asked before frowning. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes! I'm more than alright! I'm.. I'm..." Miss Honey couldn't find the words. She wiped at her face with her free hand. It was as if four hundred pounds had just fallen from the sky. Her aunt must have withdrawn all her money and closed her bank account when she went on the run. She still couldn't believe it. She was almost afraid to look away in case it might disappear. With this, now she could give Matilda a real Christmas. "I think I'd like to go shopping after all."
...
Matilda was feeling very confused as she sat in her desk in class studying Miss Honey's expression. Her eyes said sad, but her emotions felt...well, she was nearly ecstatic. Adults, Matilda eventually thought, shaking her head. So complicated. If she was happy why was she crying? Whatever it was, it seemed to be contagious.

Matilda was filled with a sort of restless energy. She could hardly sit still. She was...oh no. Her hand shot up as she crossed her legs.

How had she not realized sooner? She looked up at the clock. Was it already that late? Had she really been reading her science textbook for three hours straight? Matilda stretched her hand as high as it would go, but Miss Honey wasn't looking up. She was across the room helping Nigel with something. She tapped her foot and drummed her fingers against her desk. C'mon, mom!

Matilda was tempted to call out, but Miss Honey was strict about interrupting and waiting turns. Even more so with Matilda, so she didn't show favoritism. She began to squirm in her chair and bite her lip. She really needed to stop getting so lost in her school work. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. Matilda had to make a choice. She could wait for Miss Honey to notice her and probably have an accident, or she could make a run for it and hope she didn't get stopped by a school prefect without a hall pass.

She ran. Well, more of a hurried shuffle really. If Miss Honey saw her get up and leave she hadn't said anything. When she got to the bathroom she cursed herself for how close she had cut it. While she was washing her hands, Lavender came in.

"Miss Honey wanted to know if you needed me to bring you anything from the nurse's office." Lavender asked looking puzzled. "Are you sick?"
Matilda shook her head, trying to hide the embarrassed look on her face. So Jenny had noticed her make a break for it. Lavender shrugged and the two of them walked back to class. Matilda held her breath as she crept back to her seat. She nearly jumped when she heard Miss Honey come up behind her and whisper in her ear.

"Everything all right?"

"Y-yes." Matilda said. "I tried to ask, but I couldn't get your attention in time without..." She let her sentence fall incomplete. No need to finish that thought.
"It's alright, I'm glad everything's okay. There's no need to wait for me. If you need to, you can just get up and go." Matilda frowned as Miss Honey preemptively wrote her a hall pass and signed it.

"What happened to not showing favoritism?"

"This is different. There's a difference between needing something and wanting something. The other children might want my attention, but I need you not to blow up my classroom.” Matilda sat stunned when Jenny leaned over and kissed the top of her head, something she never did at school. “Try and pay a bit more attention next time, sweetie.”

Matilda watched dumbstruck as Miss Honey seemed to glide back to the front of the class. What in the world was up with her? Startled as she was with the change that had come over her, Matilda couldn’t help the grin from spreading across her face. Seeing her happy really was contagious.

Their good mood seemed to last all throughout the day, until Matilda was dropped off in front of the library. She found herself feeling anxious as she pulled open the big wooden door. This had always been her happy place, she shouldn’t feel nervous about being here, she thought to herself. She peered around the lobby to see if the coast was clear. With Mrs. Phelps no where in sight, she crossed the distance to her favorite armchair tucked away in the corner, as she tried to look like she belonged.

Once she arrived, she looked down at it, relieved it held no sign of damage from the previous day. Luckily the hard faux leather surface had been easy to clean with its water-resistant surface, otherwise she might have been in more trouble. Satisfied it was no worse for wear, she took a seat and pulled out the book she was reading. No more than thirty minutes passed then she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. She gulped as she saw the figure of Mrs. Phelps standing over her.

Out of paranoia, her hands shot to her lap. She breathed a sigh of relief. Dry.

“Good afternoon, Matilda.” said Mrs. Phelps.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Phelps,” Matilda mumbled, trying to resist the urge to drop her eyes.

“Are you all ready for Christmas?”

“Umm, n-no, not really.” Matilda said. “I don’t really know what to do for Miss Honey.” She answered honestly, grateful that she wasn’t jumping straight into the events of yesterday. “It’s not like I can really buy her anything.”

“Well of course she doesn’t expect you to buy her anything.” Mrs. Phelps said. “If you want to do something for her, why don’t you make her something? I’m sure she’d appreciate some kind of arts and crafts piece from you. Aren’t you working on anything like that in school?” Matilda bit her lip. Arts and crafts was the one thing she wasn’t good at. In fact, she was so bad at it, she stuck to her studies while the other children made things for their parents. The most successful “art project” she had ever put together was the time she had glued her father's hat to his head.

“Well, I’m not very good at things like that to be honest.” Matilda admitted. “I tend to avoid anything involving scissors, folding, and glue. I made my biological mother something once, but she told me not to bring garbage home and threw it away.”

“Oh my,” Mrs. Phelps said, wide eyes full of concern. “That wasn’t very nice.” Matilda shrugged. She tried not to think about them much anymore.

“I like living with Miss Honey better anyway.”

“You live with Miss Honey?” Mrs. Phelps asked sounding surprised. “Outside of school?”

Matilda nodded. She supposed it had been a while since the days she used to walk here nearly every day, so it was only natural the old librarian would be out of the loop.

“Yes, for a few months now. It’s wonderful, she’s wonderful.” Matilda gushed. She spent the next few minutes filling her in on bits and pieces of her new life.

“Well that certainly explains why your teacher asked me to keep an eye on you.” Mrs. Phelps said. “I figured she was just worried about her favorite student being down here by herself.”

“Please don’t let her hear you call me her favorite, she’s hard enough on me already to prove to the other students I’m not!” Mrs. Phelps chuckled.

“I always hoped Jenny would have a family of her own someday. She was such a quiet, reserved and sullen child. I’m glad you’ve found each other. Now I’m absolutely convinced she would love anything you made her.”

Matilda wasn’t convinced, but Mrs. Phelps kept insisting, so she reluctantly agreed to page through a book of crafts. Together they managed to settle on decorating a picture frame. Matilda wasn’t sure there was a picture of them together to go in it, so she wondered what else she could fill it with.

“Do you still write poems?” Mrs. Phelps asked.

“Sometimes.” Matilda said. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Jenny seemed to like the one she made up about her on her first day of school, although she may have just been being nice at the time. Maybe she could do a poem and a picture.

Mrs. Phelps led her to one of the large circular tables with instructions to start writing while she searched around the back for crafting supplies. Matilda looked up hopefully when she returned but instead of decorations, she began winding the dial of a white plastic timer and set it next to her. Matilda stared at it then back up at Mrs. Phelps curiously.

“You’re a smart girl, I think you know what that’s for.”

Matilda hid her blushing face in her notebook and tried to focus on the poem. After about an hour of writing and scribbling out lines, she had a very rough draft of what she wanted to say. She had forgotten all about the picture frame and even the timer until it began to shrill and buzz next to her. She nearly jumped on it in a panic to turn it off. Why would Mrs. Phelps start something so loud in the middle of her library? She sat there for a second trying to let her heart beat calm down. She could feel people staring at her in annoyance for disrupting them.

Matilda picked up her pen and tried to get back to work when she heard the sound once again of someone clearing their throat. She turned to find Mrs. Phelps staring at her with her arms crossed.

“I set that timer for a reason. I believe there’s something you still need to take care of.”

Matilda gulped and quickly rose to her feet before scurrying away in embarrassment. Had Miss Honey said something to her or was this punishment for yesterday?

When she had gotten back from the restroom, she was a bit perturbed to find Mrs. Phelps reading what she had been writing in her notebook. It wasn’t ready for anyone to see, and that was between her and Jenny!

“It’s not done.” Matilda said weakly. Mrs. Phelps looked up and stared at her.

“Matilda, this is beautiful.” Matilda shrugged uncomfortably and shifted from foot to foot. It was a very, very rough draft. “She’s going to love it. I promise.”

…

It had only taken Jennifer one lap around the store to realize just how true her earlier comment had been. Shopping for a child genius was damn near impossible. Mrs. Rodgers had listed off many ideas, but none of them seemed to fit Matilda well, and just because she had gotten one paycheck didn’t mean she didn’t still have to be extremely careful. She thought of clothes, but Matilda had plenty in perfect condition. Most of the toys were out too, Jennifer doubted anything could hold Matilda’s attention for long and their living space was too small for clutter.

Miss Honey was able to pick out a few small things, like a mug, extra packets of hot chocolate, and a few small things of candies. She smiled when she saw a little pouch of small, black chunks of gum labeled “coal” and added it to the cart. She looked down at her cart and frowned. There was still nothing really special that stuck out to her. She sighed in frustration as she pushed her cart down the baby aisle. Might as well pick her up more pull-ups while she was here.

“Has that gotten any better?” Mrs. Rodger’s asked while Jennifer tried to decide on plain white, or splurge and get something with designs.

“It depends. Sometimes she can go nearly a week without issue, and then the next she wakes up wet almost every morning. She gets so discouraged by it. She holds herself up to such impossibly high standards it doesn’t matter how many times I tell her lots of children her age deal with similar issues. I’m starting to think I’m the problem.”

“Jen, why on earth would you think this is your fault?” Mrs. Rodger’s said, hands on hips. Jenny sighed.

“Matilda, she’s, well, she has certain…abilities.”

“I noticed.” Mrs. Rodger’s said.

“Yes, but she’s also incredibly sensitive to what others are feeling around her, and I have this sinking suspicion the problem is me. I think she’s picking up on my stress, especially at night, and her body just can’t process it. I’ve been noticing a pattern. She almost always wets the bed on the nights I have nightmares. I didn’t notice at first because she was always trying to hide it by getting up before me, but at least now in the last few weeks she isn’t trying as hard.”

“At least she’s getting more comfortable with you.”

“Yes, I think she is, I just wish I could think of something special to do for her to really show her how much she means to…” Jennifer trailed off as her hand brushed up against the check stub in her pocket. Her eyes lit up. “What time is it?” She nearly shouted as she spun around on the spot.

“Uh, almost three.” Mrs. Rodger’s said started.

“Would you take me somewhere? I have an idea, but I need to hurry!”

…….

Christmas came sooner than either of them was prepared for. Matilda was giddy from the excitement from their walk on Christmas Eve to see the lights. She hadn’t even complained when Miss Honey had asked her to wear a pull-up in case there wasn’t an easily accessible bathroom. It ended up being a wise choice because there hadn’t been. During the entire walk through the beautifully decorated park they had only passed two porta- john’s with the longest lines Matilda had ever seen.

“How come you never have to pee when we’re out?” Matilda asked, waddling in a now very cold, used pull up. Miss Honey laughed.

“Because I don’t drink half my body weight in hot chocolate before leaving the apartment, unlike some people I know.” She teased. “I think it comes with being a teacher. I’m used to holding it, and I’m not about to use one of those porta potties.” She waved a hand in front of her nose and scowled as Matilda giggled.

“Hey, how come you get to hold it, but you always tell me not to!” Matilda asked. Just the other day Jenny had had her squat in an ally while Jennifer stood guard after all the stores in the area refused to let her use the bathroom without buying anything first. She could have made it home…probably…

“Because I don’t dance around and stick my hands where they don’t belong.” Miss Honey said as they made their way towards home. “Did you have fun?”

“Yes! It was so pretty! I loved the big display of Frosty, and that huge tree! How do you think they get all those lights on it? It’s got to be nearly 30 feet tall! This has been the best Christmas ever! Thank you! Thank you!” Matilda gushed clinging onto Miss Honey’s hand. Jennifer laughed.

“It’s not even Christmas yet.”

“It doesn’t matter! This is the most fun I think i’ve ever had at Christmas.”

“To be honest, I think this is my favorite Christmas so far too.” Miss Honey said with a smile. “Thank you.”

Neither one of them had slept well that night, not because of nightmares or fears, but because both of them were too giddy. They spent most of the night talking about what they were looking forward to the most the following day.

“Mrs. Rodgers cooking.” Miss Honey said. “She’s making all kinds of things! And I can’t wait to see her granddaughter’s face when you beat her at chess.” They both laughed. “She said she hasn’t been able to beat her yet, but I have a pretty good feeling her reign of terror is about to come to an end.” Although, for the life of her, she couldn’t understand what Mrs. Rodger’s had meant when she said, “The pieces kept telling her where to move.” She wondered if that was part of her illness, but she didn’t recall hearing voices as a symptom of tourette’s.

It wasn’t until nearly one in the morning when they both finally nodded off, each just secretly excited to give the other their present.

When Matilda awoke, she was shocked to discover several wrapped packages sitting on the kitchen table, and Jenny, already up making pancakes.

“Merry Christmas!” Jenny sang to a stunned looking Matilda. “Those are for you.” Matilda stared in awe, but then frowned.

“How?” She asked confused. They had already gone through the 12 pounds on groceries.

“Santa must have brought them.” Jenny laughed as Matilda rolled her eyes. “Well, go on, open them!”

Matilda was delighted to open the little candy trinkets Miss Honey had picked out, and the new mug was absolutely her favorite. She threw her arms around Jenny’s waist when she had finished opening everything.

“Thank you! I love them! And all these flavors of hot chocolate! I can’t wait to try them!” Matilda exclaimed. “But first…” she dove underneath the bed and pulled out the little gift bag. “This is for you.”

“Matilda! You didn’t have to do anything for me.” Jenny said, before flipping pancakes onto a plate and setting it aside. She made her way towards the kitchen table before taking a seat and eyeing Matilda, who bouncing giddily in her chair. She slowly and carefully unwrapped the decorated frame and let out a gasp. “Did you decorate this?” She smiled wide at the picture of the two of them together at the library Mrs. Phelps had had them pose for “for the wall”.

“Mrs. Phelps helped me, but turn it over. I wrote the poem for you.” Miss Honey turned it over and began to read. Matilda watched with concern as the woman’s eyes began to fill with tears. Matilda bit her lip anxiously. She had written about how she wished Miss Honey would let her help her through her troubles as she had helped Matilda. “Do you not like it?”

“Matilda, I love it.” Jenny said, finally looking up and wiping her face. “Oh, I was going to give you one other thing at dinner, but after this, now I can’t wait.” She stood up and placed the picture carefully on her nightstand before digging through a drawer. She came back with what looked like a wrapped book and handed it to her.

Matilda carefully unwrapped it and revealed a lovely black and gold colored diary.

“Open it.” Miss Honey urged. Matilda opened the hard cover and was surprised to find several folded pieces of paper inside. She took them and spread them on the table and began to read. She blinked several times. Matilda looked up in surprise. Did this mean what she thought it meant? “I think it’s pastime we made this official.” Miss Honey reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “What do you say to legally becoming my daughter?”

“Mom, how?” Matilda asked. Now she had tears in her eyes as she looked over the adoption papers. It was nearly 300 pounds just to file them, not to mention they needed proof of income.

“Will you?” Miss Honey asked.
Matilda stood up and ran into Miss Honey’s outstretched arms. “Yes!” she cried.

“Well that’s a relief, because that’s just a copy, I’ve already filed the paperwork.” Miss Honey said, squeezing Matilda and rocking her back and forth.”

“How? They said no last time we tried.” Matilda asked, finally looking up.

“Yes, but I got a hold of something I didn’t have before.” Jenny said with a grin. “I got a paycheck. A real one. The whole thing! I was floored! I called the bank my aunt has my paychecks sent to, and they confirmed she closed the account before she took off!”

“Mom! That’s wonderful!” Matilda cried.

“Yes, I was able to submit my pay stub. We might have to go before a judge in a few weeks for the final ruling, but the hard parts done! Once It’s approved, I can finally make parental choices for you, and move you up into a grade you belong in.” Miss Honey said. “And best of all, even if my aunt does come back, she can’t do anything to separate us. We’ll finally be a real family.”

“I love you, mommy.” Matilda said, sniffling into the collar of Jenny’s shirt.

“And I love you,” Miss Honey said, before kissing the top of her head. “My daughter.”

Chapter Text

Matilda’s eyes shone brightly at the word “surprise”. She swallowed her mouthful of toast and strawberry jam and looked up at Jenny sitting across from her at the table working on a crossword puzzle.

“What’s the surprise?” she asked eagerly.

“Well, you’ll just have to wait and see at school.” Jenny said grinning.

“Aww, can’t you give me a hint?”

“Hmm, well it involves your friend, Hortensia.” Matilda perked up even more.

“Are we going somewhere?”

“Yes, we’re going to school.” Matilda frowned.

“Mom,” she groaned, “that’s not what I meant.” Miss Honey laughed before draining the last of her mug of tea. “So the surprise is at school?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see, we’ll go as soon as you finish your bre- Matilda!” Jenny chastised as she watched the girl nearly unhinge her jaw before shoving half a piece of toast inside her mouth.

“Hmmfy.” Matilda said with a mouthful of bread, which Jenny could only assume meant, “ready”.

“If you’re so eager to leave, you could have taken it with you! You won’t get a surprise if you choke to death first! Now you’ve got jelly all over your face.”

“Mowry” Matilda said between chewing, before going to the sink to wash her face off.

“And don’t talk with your mouthful, please.”

“Who do you think you are? My mother?” Matilda said, poking her face out from the dish rag with a playful smile.

“Well as a matter of fact, according to the letter I received in the mail yesterday, I believe I am.” Jenny said, before her mouth broke out in a wide grin. They had been so excited last night, Jenny had done something she had never done in her adult life. She ordered a pizza to celebrate. It was a large splurge for her, even with a second paycheck to her name, but it seemed the kind of thing that needed to be celebrated. It had seemed such an impossible hurdle before, but now it was finally done and over.

Matilda grabbed her backpack, and Ms. Honey buttoned her coat, something Matilda had nearly demanded she buy herself, before they left the apartment.
“Is Hortensia doing some kind of show and tell in our class today?” Matilda asked as they walked down the sidewalk. It was her eighth wrong guess, but Jenny refused to confirm or deny any of her answers.

“My lips are sealed.”

On their walk into the school, Matilda had nearly walked passed Miss Honey, who had stopped at the Headmistresses office, instead of walking toward her classroom like usual. Matilda gave her a puzzled look, but Miss Honey just smiled and beckoned her inside as Mr. Trilby opened the door for them.

“Well good morning, Miss Honey, what was it you wanted to meet about?” Mr. Trilby asked as they had all taken their seats.

“First, I’d like to officially introduce you to my daughter, Matilda.” She slid a piece of paper over to him. Mr. Trilby’s eyes went wide in surprise as he looked from Miss Honey to Matilda, then to the paper. He picked it up and read before a large smile spread across his face.

“Congratulations you two! I had no idea!”

“We’ve had to keep it quiet until everything became official, because of, well, it’s complicated.” Jenny trailed off. Mr. Trilby folded his hands and listened intently. “Well, the reason I asked for this meeting, is because now that the Headmistress is no longer here, I was hoping to see about moving Matilda up to the class she belongs in. She really has no business being in the bottom form.”

Matilda’s heart sank. Miss Honey was moving her out of her class?

“So you want to move her into year two? Do you think she’s ready?” Mr. Trilby got up from the desk and made his way to the file cabinet and began rifling through folders. “I can have her take an assessment test to see if she’s prepared enough for year two.”

“No, Mr. Trilby, sir,” Miss Honey said. “Not second year either. I’d like her to go into year five.”

The sound of shuffling papers stopped abruptly. Matilda saw the temporary headmaster’s head nearly swivel around like an owl as he gave Miss Honey a curious expression.

“Year five!? But Miss Honey, that’s a five-year jump! That would put her with the ten and eleven-year-olds! Why don’t we start with year two and see how that goes?”

“No, Mr. Trilby.” Miss Honey said firmly. Matilda wasn’t sure what the man seemed more stunned by, the idea of sending her to class with children twice her age, or the fact that Miss Honey sternly told him no. “You’re right, Mr. Trilby. She doesn’t belong in year five.” Matilda watched as the tension seemed to seep out of the man’s face and right into Matilda. She didn’t want to leave Miss Honey’s class, but she didn’t want her mother slipping back into her subservient, people pleasing roll. “I think she’s ready for top form, but I’m not ready for her to graduate and move on to another school. I want to keep an eye on her and see how she handles being with the older children for another year before I feel comfortable sending her on to senior form. Maybe once she’s a little older. Six or seven, perhaps.”

“S-senior form…s-s-ix or seven.” Mr. Trilby let out a shaky laugh. He fell quiet as he stared into Ms. Honey’s face. “You’re serious.”

“Yes, very.” The two adults stayed quiet for a moment, until Miss Honey spoke again. “Ask her multiplication, ask her about science, or spelling, or, or, whatever!” Mr. Trilby stared ahead before letting out a defeated sigh.

“Matilda, can you tell me what seven multiplied by nine is?” he asked. Matilda stared ahead at the look of doubt on Mr. Trilby’s face, but remained silent. The answer came to her at once, but the words wouldn’t budge from her lips. “How about something a bit simpler? Five times five?” Again, Matilda remained quiet. She could feel Miss Honey’s eager expression begin to falter. “Nine times three?”

“Matilda,” Miss Honey began, but Mr. Trilby put a hand up to silence her.

“Miss Honey, look, even if she got them right, I can’t in good conscious move her five grades, and these are basic-”

“Mr. Trilby, please, may I speak to her in the hall for a moment?” Miss Honey stood and took Matilda by the hand before he had even had a chance to give her an answer. “Sweetie, what is going on?” Miss Honey asked. “These are super easy questions.”

“I don’t want to move classes!” Matilda blurted out, tears filling her eyes. “I want to stay with you.”

“Matilda? You have no business being in my class. There’s nothing I can teach you.” Miss Honey said softly.

“Yes there is! What about the independent studies? You always explain things perfectly if I ever have questions. You teach me things every day! Why can’t I stay with you? You’re the best teacher here!”

“Matilda, I love that you think that, but I’m running out of material to give you from this school. To be honest, I think you’re already ready for senior form. I’m nearly positive you’d pass the exit test with flying colors, but I have no idea how you’ll do with the older children. I think you’d, as well as I, would be more comfortable if you stayed here one more year. If I can get Mr. Trilby to agree, you’d be with your older friends, Hortensia and Bruce. It’s not like you won’t see me at home, and just think, no more arts and crafts.”

“Promise?” Matilda mumbled.

“Yes! We’ll still walk to school and back home every day, we’ll still read together every night and-”

“I meant about no more arts and crafts.”

Miss Honey laughed. “I promise. Now how about we go back in, and you show Mr. Trilby what you can really do?”

“Okay.”

…..

Mr. Trilby let out an exasperated sigh as he looked from Miss Honey to Matilda. “So she knows up to her twelve times tables, I’ll admit I’m impressed, but there’s much more than multiplication in year five. There’s grammar, and reading, and..” he dropped his voice and mouthed the words, “Sex Education.”

“I can keep going.” Matilda said quietly. Mr. Trilby gave her a puzzled look. “You said I knew my twelve times tables. I can keep going if you want.” He gave her an amused smile.

“Matilda, what’s 1, 243 times 13?” Miss Honey asked.

“16,159.” Mr. Trilby’s amused smile faltered.

“What about 867 times 962?” Miss Honey asked.

“834,054.”

“Wait wait wait,” Mr. Trilby said. “Are you saying she can do large multiplication in her head?” He gave Matilda an incredulous look. Matilda shrugged.

“Ask her some, see for yourself.”

Mr. Trilby opened a desk drawer, shuffled some things around, and pulled out a calculator. He paused for a moment, seemingly racking his brain before asking, “566 times 88?” he asked, still sounding a bit doubtful.

“49,808.” Matilda answered, barely a moment of hesitation. She watched as Mr. Trilby typed in the numbers before his face began to drain of color.

“Wh-what about d-division?” he asked, before clearing his throat. “Do you know division as well?”

“Yes, Mr. Trilby.” Matilda answered.
“What if I threw in a decimal?”

Matilda shrugged. “Yes, Mr. Trilby.”

“Percentages?”

“Yes, Mr. Trilby”

“Fractions?” Matilda nodded and Mr. Trilby leaned back in his chair. He glanced over at Miss Honey who nodded her head as well. He stroked his beard thoughtfully, before glancing over at the filing cabinet. “Would you mind if I gave you a few tests? I’m intrigued to say the least, and I’d like to know how you do in other subjects before I agree in placing you in such an advanced class for your age.” He stood and began rummaging through his file cabinet once more.

“Thank you,” Miss Honey said sincerely. “It’s more than Miss Trunchbull would do.”

“Would you be okay if I kept her here while you taught your class?” He asked. “I think I can have her back by the end of the day. ”

Miss Honey agreed, wished Matilda well, and left to her classroom. Mr. Trilby came back with several folders, before setting them on his desk and took a seat.

“Can you really do all of those math equations in your head?”

“I think so.” Matilda said quietly.

“Do you come from a family of mathematicians?”

Matilda shook her head, before staring at the manila folders.

“Now don’t worry if you don’t know some, or even many of the answers to some of these. It’s a test that cover’s all grade levels in the public school system, even all the way up to year 13, far beyond the six years we have here at Crunchem Hall. If you don’t know an answer just leave it blank, and move on. I’ll give this to you last if there’s time, and only if you score well on this other test. It’s not important, more for my own curiosity.
Normally, I wouldn’t dream of giving someone your age this. Now this is the one I want you to fully concentrate on.” He slid a packet of papers over to her, along with a pencil and a piece of blank paper. “This covers the levels of subjects we teach at this school, and depending on how many you answer right, it will give me a better understanding of which year to place you in. Now between you and me, year five, I just don’t see it happening in all honesty, but I do agree, I don’t think the bottom form is where you belong.”

Matilda nodded.
Was Miss Honey mistaken? Was all her talk of university in a few years just…talk? Maybe Matilda wasn’t as special as Miss Honey thought. Would she be disappointed?

“Now this is a timed test. I doubt there’s any form of timed testing in Miss Honey’s class, but you have three hours to complete this. If you need a break at all between subjects, just let me know, and i’ll stop the timer. Do you have any questions?” Matilda shook her head.

“Alright, well, whenever you’re ready, you may begin.”

……

When Matilda had finished, Mr. Trilby wasn’t in his office. He had left to lead morning assembly, but a woman from the office sat in the corner keeping an eye on her at his request to make sure she didn’t cheat by using a calculator, or somehow getting a hold of the answer key. So Matilda sat at the desk and waited. She stared at the Chokey and had to smile. It had been covered by a sheet and bore a sign that said. “Closed for Business,” In a more messy and childish scrawl below it said, “Miss Trunchbull’s new office.” With a rather colorful depiction of a large stick figure woman getting speared in multiple places. She had a feeling she knew who had added it, and found it even more amusing that despite the added graffiti, the sign still hung.

“Matilda, are you stuck or did you need something?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Well, let’s get back to work.”

“I finished already.”

The lady gave a sympathetic smile. “Did you have to skip many of them? That must be very hard for someone your age since it covers all grade levels. Are you testing for the next level? You must be very smart for them to want to move you.”

Matilda didn’t feel like explaining, so she just shrugged.

“Why don’t you see if there’s anymore you can answer? Maybe it will come to you with a second glance.”

“May I use the restroom?”

“Sure, you can just use the one in here.” She pointed to the door on the other end of the room. Matilda had always wondered what that old, peeling, green painted door led to. She had pictured another torture room full of things worse than the Chokey, but when she opened the door, she only found a small, private bathroom.

While she was washing her hands in the sink, she heard Mr. Trilby come back and ask where she was.

“I think she had a hard time with the test. She said she finished already. She obviously had to skip a lot, but I did see her writing for a while. I didn’t think kids her age could read and write already.”

“They can’t.” Mr. Trilby said, before Matilda heard shuffling papers. “Except for this one. Look at this.” Matilda heard the creaking of a chair, followed by footsteps. “She completed a three-hour test in thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like she did the whole test, that’s not possible for someone her age. She’s in bottom form.”

“Not anymore.” Mr. Trilby mumbled.

When Matilda came back out, she took her seat at the desk. Without looking away from the papers in his hand, Mr. Trilby slid the other packet across the desk towards her.

“Same rules apply, just do whatever you can, until you get stuck. It will keep getting harder, and like I said, this one isn’t important. It’s more just for fun while I grade this.”

………………..

It was nearly lunchtime when the phone rang in Miss Honey’s class. She was going over basic vocabulary with her students when she picked it up and heard Mr. Trilby’s voice over the line.

“Miss Honey, would you come to my office at your earliest convenience?”

“Of course, sir, I dismiss the class in fifteen minutes.”

“Actually, you can give the children an extra fifteen minutes on the playground. Go ahead and dismiss them now. I’m sending Matilda out to join them, so we can talk privately.” She hung up the phone and let the students out early, much to their delight and made her way over to the office.

Miss Honey let out a deep, shaky breath as she got to the headmistresses' door before knocking and chastising herself that she no longer had anything to fear here. She entered when beckoned in, and shut the door behind her.

“Please take a seat, Miss Honey.” She frowned a little and did as she was told. She had never seen Mr. Trilby looking so serious.

“There’s a few things I need to speak to you about, and I’m not sure where to start.” She saw he looked a bit shell shocked.

“This is about Matilda, right?”

“No. I mean, yes, her as well, but also about Miss Trunchbull. She was your family, wasn’t she?”

Miss Honey shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the mention of her aunt.

“Matilda is my family.” Miss Honey answered, although her voice rose an octave higher than she had meant it to. She noticed he looked a little relieved to hear this.

“S-so you weren’t close, or anything?”

Miss Honey shifted in her chair again. “N-no. Can we talk about Matilda first?” He gave a smile that seemed a tad forced and nodded.

“Well, I’m afraid to tell you, my first assessment of her was right. She doesn’t belong in the fifth year.” Miss Honey frowned, but before she could protest, he held up a large packet. “This is a test that covers all 13 years of school. I gave it to her to keep her entertained while I went over her answers on a much simpler test. I got maybe a page or two in when I noticed something strange.”

“Strange? What do you mean strange?”

“I’ve never seen a student smile while taking a test before. I asked her why, and she said, ‘you’re right, Mr. Trilby, this is fun.’ ”

Miss Honey let out a relieved laugh. “Yes, she enjoys this sort of thing.” She frowned again as she thought of what he said. “So if you won’t place her in year five, what about four or-”

He shook his head, and snaked his hand down his face. “According to her test, she places in year seven.”

Miss Honey let out a sigh herself before letting out a nervous chuckle. “I was afraid of this, but I had a feeling she would test beyond this school. She absorbs information like a sponge, I was running out of text books to give her.”

“How long have you known you had a genius in your class?”

“Since day one.” Miss Honey said. “I tried to tell Miss Trunchbull, but she refused to listen. So I went to her parents, thinking they must be highly intelligent people and,” She let out a bitter laugh “Poor girl had some of the worst people I’ve ever met for parents.”

Mr. Trilby gave a sort of pained expression. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t mean to change the subject, but there really is something I need to tell you. The police called. They found Miss Trunchbull.” Miss Honey could feel the color draining from her face.

No! She wasn’t ready to have her aunt back in her life! She was finally free!

“D-did they arrest her? Did they say where she was? They aren’t bringing her back here, are they?”

Mr. Trilby stared at her confused for a moment before realization dawned on him. “ Miss Honey, Jennifer, no. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but I meant they found Miss Trunchbull’s body.”

Chapter Text

“Won’t you tell me what’s upset you?” Miss Honey asked as she took both of their hardly touched dinners and dumped them in the trash. The walk home had been a very silent one, and neither of them had felt like eating.

“Nothing.” Matilda mumbled. Jenny sighed as Matilda continued to stare off in any direction that wasn’t Jenny.

“Is it about switching classes tomorrow?”

“I’m over that.” came the mumbled reply.

Well if it wasn’t that, Jenny thought as she bit her lip. It had to be…

“Who told you?” Jenny asked, admitting defeat. She had been trying to keep her emotions in check all day, so Matilda wouldn’t suspect, but the truth was, Jenny didn’t feel… anything. She didn’t know what to feel. Maybe she was still in shock? Miss Honey had been told her aunt had been found in her car at the bottom of a cliff, and all Jennifer had wanted was to ask when they could move Matilda to year five.

“Hortensia,” Matilda said, finally looking up. “She said it was on the news this morning. She was happy and expected me to be happy, but I-” Matilda hid her face in her hands.

Miss Honey reached down and picked her up before sitting on the bed. “It’s okay to feel sad when someone dies, even if it’s not someone we like very much.” She could feel Matilda shake her head. “What is it then? Won’t you tell me?”

“Angry,” Matilda said with a sniffle after a minute of silence. “I feel really, really angry.” Miss Honey didn’t respond, but instead began to stroke Matilda’s head. “She was supposed to go to jail! She was supposed to pay for everything she did! Everything she did to you! Now there’s nothing! No case! No trial! Now people are going to mourn her as if she was this great person and no one will know the truth!”

“Matilda,” Jenny whispered softly, “Think about today. Did it look like anyone was in mourning? And as for what she did to me,” She shrugged. “I have you, and now I have the knowledge that no one is going to try and take you away from me. The whole trial thing was never about seeking justice or revenge, Matilda, it was about keeping you safe. You’re all that matters to me, sweetie. Knowing my aunt is six feet underground is just the cherry on top. Relieved, yes, that’s how I feel about all this. Just…relieved.” Miss Honey finished, speaking the last part more to herself than anything.

“Do you think she did it on purpose?” Matilda asked after the two had embraced for some time.

“You mean like drove off the cliff on purpose?” Miss Honey asked. Matilda nodded. “No.” Miss Honey said firmly. “I don’t think she killed herself. I don’t think it was us she was running from either.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think it was the threat of me testifying that made her pack up and run. The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. She had a natural talent for turning things back around on me. She could have made anything I said sound like a lie.”

“Then why leave you the house?”

“Huh? The house?”

“Yeah, in her note. She said you could keep everything if you dropped the charges.” Matilda said, counting it off on her fingers. “The brat, the money, the house.”

She hadn’t even thought of the house, but now that the Trunchbull was gone, she supposed it really did belong to her now.

“I have a house.” Miss Honey said, feeling stunned. “We have a house.”

Matilda smiled. “So what are you going to do with it? Sell it? Burn it to the ground?”

“We’re going to move in of course!” Matilda’s smile fell.

“Move in? Why would you want to live there?”

“Matilda, are you serious? Look at this place, we can’t keep living here. You’re going to need your own room, your own space.”

“Mom, I don’t think it’s a good idea. That house holds so many bad memories for you.” Matilda insisted.

“Not all of them are bad.” Jenny said. “Before it was the Trunchbull’s, it belonged to my father, Magnus. There are things of his still in the attic, I think. And think of all the new memories we can make. It doesn’t have to be a horrible place.”

“Mom,” Matilda said with a grimace. “If you want a bigger place, won’t you consider selling it and starting over someplace else?”

“I’d have to get it ready to sell,” Miss Honey said while biting her lip. “It would take time, and a lot of hard work.”

“I can help.” Matilda said, before a dresser began to slowly wobble and shake before rising ever so slowly into the air. “Matilda’s Psychic Moving Service is open!”

“Put it down!” Jennifer said firmly.

“Matilda’s Psychic Moving Service is closed until further notice.”

“C’mon, it’s a big day tomorrow, go get ready for bed, and we can read for an hour or so before lights out.”

……………………………………

“Matilda, wake up! MATILDA!” The young girl gasped as she opened her eyes. The room spun for a moment before coming into focus. “I said we need to get moving!” Matilda slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked over at the clock and nearly let out a shocked gasp. She had never slept in this late before! “Hurry, go get dressed, no time for a bath.”

“Uhh,” Matilda said. “I…need one.” She could feel the cold dampness against her skin, and, oh gosh, down her legs too.

“A shower then, a really fast shower! Can you reach the knobs?”

“No, but I can use my-” she started to say, but Miss Honey cut her off.

“No powers! I don’t want you exhausting yourself. Get in the bathroom, I’ll start the shower for you.” She heard the water running before she had even managed to get to her feet. She pulled her nightshirt off and threw it on the bed, before making her way to the bathroom. Before she even knew what was happening, she heard the ripping of tape and felt herself getting lightly pushed towards the bathtub. “Get in, we have to be out the door in less than ten minutes. I overslept too!”

“Can’t I use the toilet first?” Matilda mumbled, still feeling herself pushed towards the tub.

“No time!” Miss Honey said in a panic. “Get in.” She felt herself get lifted and set under the stream of water. “Pee in the tub.” she called over her shoulder before frantically pulling out clothes from their dresser.

“Uh, no.” Matilda complained before Miss Honey set an outfit for her on the closed toilet seat lid.

“Then you’ll have to wait until you get to school.” Matilda felt something slimy get poured on her head before feeling hands roughly begin to scrub.

“What? But I-”

“Then just go before I finish washing you.”

“Not with you watching!” Matilda protested, shifting from foot to foot.

“Matilda, we don’t have time for this! Privacy is for those who get out of bed on time, this is your last chance.” Jenny said as she maneuvered Matilda’s head back under the water.

“Fine,” Matilda grumbled after spitting out a mouthful of water as Jenny spun her around and began scrubbing her back with the loofah. It was the closest thing to privacy she was going to get, Matilda realized and with a defeated sigh, she relaxed, thankful for the lack of additional noise. She was halfway done when she felt herself get spun back around. Matilda let out a yelp of surprise and covered herself with her hands.

“You’re fine.” Jenny said sounding exasperated as she plucked one of Matilda’s arms away and began to cover it in suds. “Are you done? Is it safe to wash the rest of you now?”

“Yes.” Matilda mumbled.

Two minutes later Matilda heard the water turn off and felt herself get wrapped in an already damp towel. She reached for her clothes and froze.

“I stopped having accidents during the day.” she said, seeing the pull-up on top of her clothes.

“Yes, and you’ve been doing great, but just in case. Your new teacher doesn’t let students leave class between breaks, but I’m hoping he’ll make an exception since you’re five, and not ten, but if he doesn’t, and you can’t hold it. No one has to know.”

Matilda didn’t like the sound of this, but stepped into it anyway and pulled it up her hips, before letting her dress fall over it.

“You can’t see it, right?” she asked as they ran out the door.

“Not unless you're looking for it.”

“That’s not a ‘no’” Matilda said in a panic.

“You’re fine, I’m just joking.” Miss Honey said, “I promise.”

By the time they got to school, Matilda’s stomach was a mess of butterflies. What if this wasn’t such a good idea?

“You’ll do great, Mr. Trilby will be there to explain everything to your new teacher, and I put some extra you-know-what’s in your backpack. When you let out for the day, just meet me in my classroom, and you can tell me all about it on the way home, okay?”

Matilda let out something between a whine and a “okay.”

“Don’t be nervous, you have friends in their remember? Go on, don’t be late, but give me a hug first.”

Matilda stopped at the door that said Year 5 and gulped. Mr. Trilby wasn’t there. Was she supposed to wait outside for him? Go in and wait? Was she supposed to meet him in his office and then walk in together? If she didn’t enter the classroom in the next minute or so she’d be late. Why did her stomach have to hurt now?

Matilda braced herself and pushed open the door. It felt as if a sea of faces had turned to stare at her. She gulped.

“Can I help you?” A man’s voice asked. Matilda turned to find a silver haired man wearing black rimmed glasses, and a beat up suit sitting at a large desk.

“I-I’m new.” Matilda managed to get out.

“Well, I can assure you, this isn’t where you belong. If you go down to the office, I’m sure they can help you find your class.” The teacher said, fake smile plastered to his face.

“Uh, no, I’m not new to the school.” Matilda said.

The door crashed open with a loud bang, and all heads turned to see Hortensia panting. “Made…it…” she said, but as she was about to head for her desk she spotted Matilda and froze. “What are you doing here, squirt?”

“ Good, you know each other now. Take her down to the office, she says she’s new. She’s lost.” the teacher said.

“Matilda’s not new.” Hortensia said with furrowed eyebrows. “She’s in Miss Honey’s class.”

“Then take her back where she belongs.” came the bored reply.

“Was there something you needed?” Hortensia asked more quietly.

“I’m new to the class.” Matilda managed to get out this time. “I was moved up.”

“You know this is the year five classroom, right? Are you looking for year two? I know sometimes young kids can get them confused.” The teacher said sounding doubtful. “And we don’t typically promote students mid-year.”

“About time you finally got out of Miss Honey’s class, nerd.” Hortensia said. “C’mon, year two’s this way.”

“I’m not in year two.” Matilda said, feeling a bit annoyed. “You’re Mr. Larson, yes?” But before he could answer, there was a knock on the door and another figure appeared. Matilda breathed a sigh of relief as Mr. Trilby poked his head in.

“Oh good, you are here already. I’m sorry I’m late.” he said as he entered the room. He turned to Mr. Larson and said. “I’d like you to meet your new student starting today. This is Matilda Wormwood.”

Matilda could see Hortensia gawking at her, but it was nothing compared to the look on Mr. Larson’s face.

“You’re joking.” Mr. Larson said after a moment of silence. He looked from Mr. Trilby to Matilda, then back to Mr. Trilby.

“I am not.” Mr. Trilby said with a mischievous smile on his face as he rocked back and forth on his heels. “Let me know how it goes after today.” and with that, he left leaving Matilda to face the silent stunned crowd.

Mr. Larson silently looked her up and down a moment. “How old are you?”

“Five.” Matilda said quietly.

“Jesus, what was he thinking?” He said pinching the bridge of his nose. “You two know each other?” He pointed at Hortensia, who still seemed frozen to the spot in shock.

“I’m her babysitter.” Hortensia answered. Matilda frowned as giggles erupted from the class. She thought they were friends.

“Babysitter.” Mr. Larson mumbled. “Jesus, okay, umm just take a seat next to her and, Brittney, move over, go take the empty seat by Bruce. We’re having a quiz today, but don’t worry about it, Madeline.”

“It’s Matilda, and I’d like to take it, if that’s okay.”

Mr. Larson shrugged. “You can, umm, read right?”

“It’s all she ever does.” Hortensia said. “C’mon, I’ll show you where we are in math.”

“Babysitter!” Matilda hissed after taking a seat. “I thought we were friends.”

“I meant it like, I know you.” Hortensia said.
“You know who else knows each other? Friends.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, friend” Hortensia said with a bit too much emphasis on the last word. “I can’t believe you’re in my year. I thought you meant you were skipping A year, not all of them!”

“I helped you with your math homework, why would you think I’d be in year two?”

“Because you’re five! Who puts a five-year-old with kids twice their age?” Hortensia said as she opened up her math textbook. “The quiz is on this chapter. Like he said, you don’t have to do it if you’re not familiar with it.”

Matilda glanced over at it and frowned.

“Still want to take that quiz? You don’t look happy to see the work.” Mr. Larson said. “If it’s too hard, just let me know.”

“No, it’s not that. I’ll do it.” Matilda said. Mr. Larson shrugged again and began handing out papers. “Books away. It’s time.”

Matilda let out a disappointed sigh as she looked over the quiz. She had expected year five work to be…harder. She had done this chapter almost a month ago. Not only that, but she had even done this same quiz as a worksheet. She rubbed aimlessly at her stomach which had begun to ache as she filled in the answers. Once she had finished, she looked around the room. Everyone was still working. What was she supposed to do now? Could she pull out a book and read? She looked up and saw Mr. Larson smirking at her.

“Everything okay? Are you stuck?” he asked, coming over to her.

“I’m done. Can I read?” Matilda asked. She saw Mr. Larson frown.

“The sides of your paper are blank. Where is your work, you need to show your work.”

Matilda frowned. She had never been told to show her work before. “I do it in my head, not on the paper.”

“Well I need to see it on the paper, so I know you’re not cheating. For all I know you’re using a calculator.” Matilda shrugged and began writing out the equations. She didn’t like it. It was so much slower than just doing it in her head, but at least it gave her something to do. Ten minutes after she had finished writing it all out, he called for them to pass their tests forward before working on the next chapter. She pulled the book out Mr. Trilby had given her and got to work, making sure she wrote out the equations.

“Miss Hortensia,” Mr. Larson called. “Could you please explain to me why the girl you babysit scored higher on the quiz than you did?” The class erupted into giggles. Matilda glanced over at Hortensia. She couldn’t help it. Payback had presented itself on a silver platter.

“That’s because I’m her tutor.” Matilda said with a smile.

Chapter Text

It had been a close call. Matilda sighed contently as her bladder emptied into the toilet below. She had been too nervous to ask for a hall pass after what Miss Honey had said. As for Mr. Larson, Matilda was convinced he knew exactly what she wanted. He kept eyeing her, almost daring her to ask just so he could say, “see, you don’t belong here!” She had a feeling he had tried to stop her, but Matilda had been on a mission with only one thing on her mind. Now if only her stomach would stop hurting. She tried to push, but nothing happened, not even gas. She sighed, feeling disappointed.

“You’re going to hit at the worst possible time aren’t you?” she muttered to her stomach. “Why won’t you work when it’s convenient for me!”

“Uh, you okay in there?” Hortensia asked. Matilda hid her face in her hands. She hadn’t even heard anyone come in.

“Great.” Matilda muttered, trying to push one last time. Another failure. When she came out of the stall, Hortensia was leaning against the sinks, waiting for her. “What?”

“Mr. Larson sent me to check on you since you practically bolted.”

“I’m fine.” Matilda mumbled.

“And, uh, you always have conversations with yourself in the bathroom?’ Hortensia asked with a smirk.

“Pretty much.”

Hortensia looked her up and down. “You sure you’re okay? He can be a jerk, don’t take it personally.” Matilda shrugged. He had jumped at every opportunity to correct what she was doing, whether it was working ahead, looking at another book after she had finished the assignment early, or closing her eyes for a moment.

“If I have to hear ‘Year five isn’t like year one’ one more time I might be sick.” Matilda said with a hint of a smile. The work itself was simple enough, but the classroom dynamics made her feel more lost than ever. Was this what Miss Honey wanted her to learn? Maybe it was just stress.

“I think he wanted to talk to you.” Hortensia said. Matilda groaned. So she hadn’t imagined it. “When you’re done, come out to the field, we’re playing kickball.”

“We’re not allowed in the field.” Matilda said.

“Since Trunchbull’s gone, no one really cares anymore. It was her rule. Seems a waste not to play in a perfectly good space. Later.”

She made her way back to the classroom before poking her head in. She found Mr. Larson eating a sandwich at his desk as he glanced over the newspaper.

“You wanted to see me?” Matilda asked, a bit more timidly than she had meant. He waved her in, a mouth still full of sandwich and pointed at a nearby desk. She assumed he meant sit, so she took a seat, the desk much too large for her small frame.

“So what do you think?” Mr. Larson asked.

Matilda shrugged. “The work is fine.”

“I have to admit, I’m shocked. You show up without warning and completely ace a quiz you haven’t studied for, not to mention you don’t even look like you’re old enough to read.”

“I like to read.” Matilda said quietly. “And I’ve already done that section a few months ago.” Mr. Larson frowned.

“Hortensia said you were in Miss Honey’s class. How did you already do that section?” He asked before taking another bite, a blob of mayonnaise falling onto his desk.

“I did sort of independent studies in her class. She’d give me text books and let me work out of them in class.”

“Ahh, that makes sense, no wonder you have a hard time paying attention. Well, unfortunately in my class, you won’t be able to go off and do your own thing. You’ll have to learn to follow along. Is this your first time in a real class? One that doesn’t have nap time and snacks.”

“Yes.” She shifted uncomfortably.

“So you must be some kind of genius or something to get moved five grades.” Matilda shrugged. She never knew what to say when people called her that.

“Well, there’s more to being in year five than book smarts. I will have far more expectations for you than year one. There will be no talking out of turn, no leaving the classroom except for scheduled breaks, no eating or drinking during class.”

Matilda gulped, she didn’t like that no leaving the class rule. Her stomach seemed to tighten even more in protest.

“You will be expected to finish all assignments during class, and turn in all homework on time. There will be no naps, snacks, or arts and crafts.”

Good, Matilda thought, she hated arts and crafts anyway. She nodded her head.

“Any questions?”

“No, Mr. Larson.” Matilda said quietly.

He nodded his head and looked her over one last time. “You’re excused.”

When Matilda tried to rise from the desk, she winced in pain. Her entire core now seemed to ache, and it hurt to move. Kickball was definitely out. If Mr. Larson noticed her discomfort, he didn’t say anything. She shuffled out the classroom and into the hall, closing the door behind her. She looked up at the clock, she only had ten minutes now until they would be shuffled to the cafeteria. The thought of eating seemed about as appealing as asking her new teacher if she could lay down in the back and take a nap during their next lesson.

She took a couple steps towards the exit and froze. Maybe she should ask Mrs. Rodgers if she had anything for her stomach? It had never felt this hard before. Maybe she could nip it in the bud before anything bad happened. The last thing she wanted was diarrhea on her first day during a class she wasn’t allowed to leave.

With Matilda’s mind made up, she slowly shuffled over to the office and to the nurse’s station. She found Mrs. Rodger’s handing an ice pack to, Matilda scowled, Hortensia. Why was she everywhere the moment she wanted privacy?

“Sup,” Hortensia said. Matilda took one look at Hortensia’s leg and blanched. How in the world had she gotten that hurt so quickly? There was a large open gash covering her knee and ending halfway down her leg. “I was running the bases and tripped over a gopher hole.” Hortensia said before Matilda could ask.

“And that’s why the fields off limits.” Miss Rodgers said. “You’re lucky you didn’t get broken glass in that scrape.” At the mention of shards of glass, both girls shuddered. “Leave the ice on it for another 15 minutes, you can go sit on the cot, I want to see it one more time to make sure the swellings gone down.” She waited until Hortensia had hobbled off, before addressing Matilda.

“You didn’t get hurt trying to keep up with the older kids too, did you?” Miss Rodgers asked. Matilda shook her head and gingerly took the offered seat.

“My stomach.” Matilda muttered.

She heard Miss Rodger’s suck in a breath. “Your stomach again? It never ends with you, does it? It’s not like before, is it? Do you need a bucket? Do you think you’re going to be sick?”

“No, not like that.” Matilda said. “It just hurts all over. It hurts to bend down and move. It’s like I ate rocks or something.”

“Hmm, any other symptoms?”
“No, do you have some pepto I can take?”

“Sorry kid, nothing like that here. Open your mouth, let’s take your temperature.” Matilda hung her head. This wasn’t how she wanted her first day to go. “No fever, that’s good. Does this hurt?” Mrs. Rodgers poked around Matilda’s belly as the girl winced. “Ah, yep, it’s hard.” Matilda wasn’t sure what that meant. Did she have to go to the doctor again? “Honestly,” Mrs. Rodger’s said, “It’s most likely trapped air.”

“Trapped air.” Matilda repeated and frowned. Seriously? “So it’s not going to make me sick during class or anything, right?”

“I don’t think so, but you might be uncomfortable until you pass it.”

“Do you have anything to make it stop hurting?” Matilda asked. The thought of getting through the rest of the day being scolded with a stomach ache was getting lower on her priority list. Part of her wanted to go back to Miss Honey’s class and say, “I quit,” while grabbing a mat and taking a nap. “I have fifteen minutes before I have to go back to class.”

“Well, if you want relief, I suggest you lie on your stomach on the cot, stick your booty in the air and try and pass as much gas as you can.” Matilda looked at her horrified. She could hear Hortensia snickering in the back room with the cots.

“I think I’ll be okay, thanks.” Matilda mumbled. She was about to get up and leave before Miss Rodger’s spoke again.

“Better here than in the classroom.”

That was how Matilda found herself curled somewhat in a ball with her knees tucked up to her stomach and her forehead resting on the cot trying to fart. She could hear Hortensia snickering beside her before something that sounded like a trumpet filled the room.

Matilda groaned as she heard footsteps approaching.

“There, do you feel better now?” Mrs. Rodger’s asked. Matilda shook her head.

“That wasn’t me.”

Now out of time and with no relief, Matilda trudged back to class, fearing the thought of accidentally farting in class. At this rate she’d probably get a detention.

“I fart in class all the time and I never get in trouble.” Hortensia said. “The trick is to blame someone else before someone blames you.”

By the end of the day, Matilda didn’t care if she farted in front of the queen let alone in class. Everything hurt to move. She’d gladly take a detention in exchange for mobility. It felt like she had eaten concrete.

“Matilda, what’s wrong?” Miss Honey asked once she had entered her mothers' classroom.

“Nothing,” Matilda said, forcing a smile on her face. Miss Honey scowled.

“When will you start being honest with me?” Jenny said, arms crossed over her chest. “It’s written all over your face.”

“I’m tired, it was a long day.” Matilda said, looking away.

“And what’s this I hear about you spending your lunch in the office with a stomach ache?”

“Traitor.” Matilda mumbled. “I’m fine, It’s just from stress or something.”

Miss Honey let out an exasperated sigh. “You know you can tell me when you’re not feeling well.”

“I’m not sick, she said it was just…” Matilda mumbled the rest.

“Do I need to bounce you on my shoulder and burp you like a baby?” Miss Honey giggled, but stopped when she saw the look on Matilda’s face. “Well, I’m glad it’s nothing serious, but still. You look miserable. When we get home i’ll make you a heating pad for your tummy. Should I ask Mrs. Rodgers to drive us home?”

“No, it’s okay, I can walk.” Matilda said. She didn’t think she could bend enough to get in and out of the car.

“Alright, maybe some light exercise can help work things through.”

Matilda silently groaned as she gingerly got into bed. She had homework, but it was simple enough. She completed them all before, but just the mere thought of sitting at the table was too much work.

“Honey, are you sure it’s just gas? Maybe I should take you to the doctor.”

“No.” Matilda groaned. “I just want to sleep, besides, I have homework.”

“Okay, but if you get any worse, I’m calling the doctor and making an appointment.”

Matilda groaned in acknowledgment and closed her eyes. Sometime later she could feel the blanket covering her lift and something nice and warm was placed on her stomach. “Thanks.” She hugged the sewn bag of rice to her stomach as tight as she could and drifted off to sleep.

“Matilda, sweetie, wake up, dinners ready.”

“I’m not hungry.” Came the muffled reply from underneath the covers.

“Did you eat anything at all today?” Miss Honey took the silence to mean “no”. “You hardly ate anything last night either. Please try and eat something.”

“I’m not hungry.” Matilda repeated.

“Would you come out from under the blanket, so we can talk?” Miss Honey watched as ever so slowly, the blanket came down and a tear streaked face emerged. “Oh, sweetie,” She yanked the covers down off her. “Do you know exactly where it hurts?”

“Everywhere.” Matilda whimpered.

Miss Honey hurried to the bathroom and began searching the medicine cabinet. Since she had begun receiving an income, she had since stocked up on medicine for most childhood ailments. She pulled out the bottle of pink liquid, before shaking it and measuring it out.

“I should have given you this before you fell asleep. Can you sit up?” Matilda winced as she painstakingly rose to her elbows and accepted the little cup. “I know it’s not fun to take medicine, but it will he- Oh, good job.” Matilda made a face of disgust before handing back the now empty cup. “It’ll be worth it, I promise.”

It had taken a little less than an hour until Matilda was feeling well enough to move around again. She slowly shuffled around the room, gingerly testing her body’s limits. She still felt sore and bloated, but it was worlds better to how she was feeling before.

“And you thought I bought too much.” Miss Honey said with a smile.

“You did, I’ve never had a cold sore in my life.”

“You’ve never had a cold sore in your life, yet.”

Matilda carefully climbed up onto the kitchen chair and sat at the table. She supposed she had better do her homework now while she was feeling up to it. She retrieved her math textbook and opened it to her assignment. Matilda had never felt like doing math less than she did tonight. Now it seemed like a chore having to write out all the steps.

“How do you like your new class?” Miss Honey asked.
“It wasn’t a good first day.” Matilda answered after a pause to think it over.

“Because of your stomach?”

“Because of a lot of things.” she admitted. “I’m not a fan of Mr. Larson, he’s kind of…obnoxious.” Matilda said, trying to avoid Hortensia’s description of, “a dick.”

“I hear that a lot about him. That’s too bad, I thought you wouldn’t have issues with him since you’re such a good student. He’s normally only strict with the slackers. Maybe once he gets to know you better, he’ll lighten up.”

“I miss your class.” Matilda admitted. “I feel like I’m always in trouble.”

“Maybe that’s just his way of reminding you of the rules. It’ll take some getting used to being in a more structured environment. I know I sort of let you do whatever you wanted as long as it was educational.”

“Why can’t we just stick with that? I’ll learn more that way than I’ll ever learn in Mr. Larson’s class!”

“Because there are some things you can’t learn from a book.”

"Like what?"

"Like socializing. You get so lost in your schoolwork you hardly communicate with any of the other kids. So I figured maybe being in a group of more mature children would spark your interest." Miss Honey explained. "You know I love your eagerness to learn, but you'll find life difficult if you don't have the social skills to go with it. I don't want you ending up like me."

"More mature group of kids?" Matilda asked skeptically, before pulling out a crude drawing someone had slipped her during class featuring a certain body part of the male anatomy wearing glasses titled "Mr. Larson's True Form."
Miss Honey made a noise between a snort, groan and a laugh. Matilda raised an eyebrow in surprise. Miss Honey cleared her throat.

"Umm, you know girls mature faster than boys." She offered weakly.

"It wasn't a boy."

"Hortensia, you are not making this any easier." Miss Honey grumbled.

"It's okay, I like sitting next to her. I find her antics amusing, and I think my day would have been much worse if I had been alone." Matilda said thinking back. "Even if she introduced me as "the runt she babysits" to her friends." Miss Honey rolled her eyes. "It's okay, I introduced myself as her tutor."

"I'm sure she loved that." Miss Honey said with a grin. "I'm glad you're getting along, but the moment I catch you drawing depictions of teachers as genitalia, I'm moving you." They both giggled.

"Aww, but I thought you wanted me to participate in crafts with the class, remember?" Matilda said before taking the drawing back and hovering her pen over it. "He's missing his bow tie anyway."

"Matilda! Stop that." Miss Honey said as she laughed, before taking the drawing back and crumpling it up. "Feel up to eating anything yet? How's your stomach now?"

"Better, but not back to normal." Matilda said as she rubbed her stomach. "It's still uncomfortable."

"Hmm," Jennifer said. She sat on the bed and patted her lap. "Come here, I have an idea." Matilda narrowed her eyes.

"You're not going to try and bounce me on your shoulder, are you?"

Miss Honey chuckled. "You're a little too big for that, I want you to lay face down across my knees."

Matilda gave her a puzzled expression. "No thank you, I think I'll be okay."

"Oh, just come here." Matilda eyed her for a minute before setting her pencil down and hobbled over.

"That's it, now lay down."

"This is very uncomfortable." Matilda groaned, her head hanging down over Ms. Honey's legs. "You know I was just joking about the bow tie."

"Uh-huh, sure you were."

"Isn't it illegal for a teacher to strike a student?"

"Hmm, but as of this morning I'm no longer your teacher, am I?" Miss Honey said, giving Matilda's backside a playful swat. "Go on, stretch out all the way." Matilda felt an arm lock around her waist.

"What are you doing? Hey! Hey! Hey! No!!" Matilda shouted as Miss Honey's legs began jostling her up and down.

"We're going to work it out of you the old-fashioned way."

"You ARE trying to burp me!" Matilda groaned feeling Jenny's knees bouncing into her stomach. "And what if it's not a burp? What if it wants to come out the other end?"

"Then let it. Your tummy will feel better, and I'll consider this a success."

“In your face?” Matilda groaned.

“Judging by how you like to pretend to be asleep, toot in bed, and then throw the covers over my head with psychic powers, I don’t think you care where my face is.”

Matilda half snorted and half moaned. “Don’t make me laugh right now, it hurts. Can you stop? Please.”

“Not until I hear some kind of noise come out of you.”

“Mom, this really hurts. Stop!” Matilda breathed a sigh of relief as Miss Honey’s legs stopped kneading into her.

“Sorry dear, I was hoping it would help break it up.”

“It didn’t! It just really hu-” Matilda started to say before her words were cut off by a familiar pressure. She pushed herself up and shuffled to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Please, she silently begged as she sat on the toilet, hoping for something more than just air, but no luck. It was just a small amount of gas.
It was the third day she hadn’t gone, and now her stomach was paying the price. Curious about the treatment, she had looked it up, and now she realized curiosity came with a cost. She would NOT go to the doctor for this. Matilda looked up at the medicine cabinet. There had to be something in there.

“Matilda, is everything okay?” She heard Miss Honey knock on the door.

“Yes.” Matilda said before pinching the bridge of her nose. Miss Honey wanted her to be more honest. She let out a defeated sigh. “No.” She stood up and flushed the empty toilet bowl as she heard the door opening.

“What’s wrong? Did it not work?” Matilda shook her head.

“No gas at all?”

“A little, but that’s the problem.” She closed the lid and took a seat. “That’s all that comes out.”

“What do you me… Oh.” Miss Honey said. Matilda saw her lips crease in worry. “For how long?”

“A couple of days,” Matilda said, before adding an “-ish” to the end.

“Matilda!” Jenny said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t really notice until I woke up with a stomach ache this morning.”

“I’ll call your doctor's office and make an appointment.”

“No!” Matilda said, a bit more forceful than she meant to. Miss Honey gave her a puzzled expression. “I mean, umm, don’t you have something in there?” she pointed to the medicine cabinet. She watched as Miss Honey dug through the bottles, until she pulled out a box before staring at the instructions on the back.

“I guess I can give you this and see if it loosens things up, but I should really ask your pediatrician.”

“No point in missing school, he’ll just tell me to drink more water or something.” Miss Honey stared at her for a moment.

“You seem very eager to not go in. What’s going on?”

“What kid wants to go to the doctor?” Matilda laughed nervously.

“Well, you, for starters. You love picking everyone’s brain there. It’s not like you’re going to get a shot.” Miss Honey narrowed her eyes. “You’re not even afraid of needles.”

“Well, I sort of got curious and looked up the treatment.” Matilda admitted before blurting out, “They’re going to shove a tube up my butt!”

Miss Honey stared at her a moment before letting out a chuckle. “No, Matilda, no one’s putting anything in your bottom. This, this is the treatment.” She shook the box in her hand before smiling. “It goes in your mouth.”

“Oh.” Matilda said, breathing a sigh of relief. “What is it?”

“Laxatives. You’ll probably have some cramping in the morning, most likely some diarrhea, but then it will be over.” Matilda made a face.

“What about school? I can’t leave class, he won’t let me.”

“I’ll get you up an hour earlier, it’ll be out of your system by then, but just in case, I’ll send you off with a note.” Matilda took the pill she was offered and chased it down with a cup of water. “You’ll feel better soon. I promise.”

Chapter Text

Matilda stood in front of Mr. Larson, nervously stepping from foot to foot despite the pain in her stomach. The laxative had done nothing but give her cramps. She had tried to go several times before they left for school, but Matilda was able to produce nothing but small amounts of gas.

“Well that wasn’t very smart of you, was it, child genius?” He had the note Miss Honey had written out explaining her situation. Matilda clenched her hands into fists by her sides. “You should have waited until the weekend to flush your system, not midweek when you know you can’t leave class. And why was this written by your former teacher?”

“She’s my mom.” Matilda said through clenched teeth.

“So that’s why you had so much special treatment.” He sneered, making Matilda begin to see red. “Well a note from mommy isn’t going to fly either. Come back with a doctor's note if it’s so bad.”

Matilda was silently growling now. It was so unfair! She spotted the coffee sitting on his desk. If he wanted to be so petty, then she would too! She focused her eyes and commanded in her head for the cup to tip over. It wobbled a bit before crashing down as a satisfying wave of brown liquid coated his desk. She let out her held breath and walked to her seat as Mr. Larson scrambled to clean up the mess.

When Matilda took her seat, she turned her head to find Hortensia smirking at her.

“I know what you did.” She whispered.

“He made me mad.” Matilda muttered. She wasn’t in the mood to play innocent. She was worried the laxative would kick in at the most in opportune time possible, even if the cramping had stopped an hour ago. Her stunt had bought them all an extra ten minutes, as Mr. Larson ran back and forth with paper towels while he grumbled about his cheap, uneven desk.

“I told you he’s a dick.” Hortensia whispered. Matilda nodded her head in agreement, now feeling a tad guilty about not taking her serious before. She had always assumed Hortensia had deserved whatever punishment she was given, minus the chokey of course. While he was nothing compared to the Trunchbull, he was even farther from the kind woman she had grown accustomed to who cared deeply for each of her students.

Maybe there was once a time Mr. Larson enjoyed teaching, but as the day went on, Matilda was convinced he had lost whatever passion he had for it long ago. He droned on in a bored voice that made Matilda feel sleepy.

It was an hour and a half before lunch when one of her fears came to fruition. While it wasn’t the worst case scenario, she found her full bladder to be increasingly painful. Matilda tried shifted her weight, focusing on her textbook, and even daydreaming about what she could do to him with her powers when realization dawned that she wasn’t going to win this round. The blockage was putting too much pressure on her bladder, and vice versa. The longer she tried to hold it, the more pain she was in and the more obvious she was making her situation.

“Wormwood, sit up and sit still!” Mr. Larson barked. Matilda flinched and instinctively obeyed, but as soon as she did, her body had thrown in the white towel. She tried desperately to act natural as she felt the pull-up under her growing warm and expanding. A mixture of disgust and relief intertwined inside her as the excess pressure eased away.

“That’s cheating. Suffer like the rest of us.” Hortensia whispered. Matilda could feel her face begin to glow bright red. Hortensia snickered. “I was just joking, but the look on your face says it’s true. Have fun sitting in it until lunch.”

If there was one thing Matilda hated more than having to use a pull-up, it was having to sit in it afterwards. She took her frustrations out on Mr. Larson, inconveniencing him in any little way she could manage. If he threw a crumpled up piece of paper towards the trashcan, Matilda would make sure he would miss, if he set anything on his desk, she’d knock it over.

“Someone’s feeling a little feisty today, I like it.” Hortensia said once they had been dismissed for lunch.

Matilda shrugged and picked up her backpack. The only thing on her mind now was changing. She was almost to the door when she heard Mr. Larson’s grating voice.

“Wormwood, backpacks stay in the classroom.” Matilda sucked in a breath of air.

“I need something out of it.” She said.

“Then take what you need and leave your backpack here.”

“It’s personal.” She said through clenched teeth. There was no way she was going to carry a pull-up around class and down the hall like it was nothing.

“What, don’t tell me you’re on your period.” He said sarcastically.

Matilda bit her cheek in annoyance before dropping her bag back at her desk. She opened it and stared at what she needed. She didn’t even have a sweater to hide it in. Matilda zipped up her backpack and put it back under her seat. She’d have to go without and hope she didn’t have another accident today.

Once in the bathroom stall, she got to work trying to clean herself up. She wished she had a wet wipe instead of the cheap, single sheets of school toilet paper. She looked down at her dress. It was going to feel weird going without underwear. Maybe she should stay inside in case it gets windy.

“Yo, runt, that you?” Hortensia called out.

“Yes.” Matilda grumbled. She heard footsteps approaching her stall door before a hand slid under the bottom holding… oh no! She yanked the pull-up out of Hortensia’s hand. “Did you pull that out of my backpack? Did anyone see you?”

“No one saw, relax. I put it under my shirt when no one was looking.”

Matilda was about to snap at her for going through her things, but stopped. She looked at the pull-up. She really did need it. “Thanks.” She bent over to try and put it on, but groaned in pain. How was she going to get this on? After stumbling, banging into the wall and dropping the pull-up several times, she groaned in frustration. “I can’t do it!”

“Sorry, my help stops at delivery.” Hortensia said. “I’m not diapering you.”

“I wasn’t asking you to.” Matilda said. She sat on the toilet and tried to catch her breath, feeling weak and dizzy from not eating. Even sitting down, she couldn’t reach far enough. Now what was she going to do?

“I’ll be right back.” Hortensia called.

Now what was she up to? Matilda sat, feeling angry and frustrated. She was tired of being in pain, and she was tired of dealing with one adult after another who treated kids like trash. Matilda froze when she heard the door open again.

“I brought reinforcements.” Hortensia called.

“Sweetie, is everything okay? Hortensia said you needed my help with something.” Miss Honey’s voice called out.

“Hortensia!” Matilda groaned. “It’s nothing, mo- Miss Honey.” Matilda sighed, this really was what she needed, she’d better not send her away. “I can’t get a new thing on. My stomach hurts too much to bend over.”

“Can you open the door?”

Matilda slowly got to her feet and unlatched the door.

“Dear, you look awful.” Miss Honey said. “Why are you so out of breath? And you’re all sweaty.”

“From trying to get it on.” Matilda mumbled.

“Come on out, let’s go somewhere with more space. Where is it?” Matilda pointed to a corner in the stall.
“Sorry, I dropped it and couldn’t pick it back up.”

“It’s all right, I got it. Let’s go in the big stall, and I’ll help you.” Miss Honey ushered her in and closed the door behind them. She bent down and held the pull-up open. “Can you step in?” Matilda did, and Miss Honey hoisted it up her legs for her. “There, all done.”

“Thank you.” Matilda mumbled.

“Matilda, did you have an accident during class?” She asked softly. “What about the note? Did you not give it to him?”

“I did, but-” Matilda hung her head.

“He was a total dick to her. I saw.” Hortensia called out. Matilda could see Miss Honey’s naturally gentle expression begin to harden.

“How so?” She called back out. Matilda winced as Hortensia filled her in. Miss Honey let out an angry sort of huff, before her expression softened again. “Was it from the laxative?” she whispered.

“No, it just hurt too much to hold, I’m sorry. It wasn’t on purpose.”

“Sweetie, You don’t have to apologize. I know it wasn’t on purpose. I’m concerned because the medicine from last night didn’t work like we expected.” Miss Honey sighed. “I’m sorry, Matilda, but I need to take you into the doctor today.”

“What? No! I’ll be fine!” Matilda insisted, unlatching the stall door and stepping out.

“Matilda,” Miss Honey said softly. “Something’s wrong, you couldn’t even put on a pull-up by yourself. I need to get you checked out.”

“You do look like shit.” Hortensia chimed in.

“Language.” Miss Honey said, but her eyes never left Matilda’s face. “Let’s go talk to Mr. Trilby and see if I can leave early.”

“Can’t we give it another day and try the medicine again tonight?”

“Honey, you look like you’re about to collapse at any moment. You’re not eating, you can hardly move, in fact here,” Matilda whimpered in pain as Miss Honey picked her up, but rested her head against Miss Honey’s shoulder as her mom walked down the hall.

Matilda couldn’t help but tense when she saw Mr. Larson coming up the opposite way. She was about to ask Miss Honey to put her down, but he had already spotted them.
“Miss Wormwood, what do you think you’re doing? You should be in the cafeteria, you can’t just run to your mommy every break.”

Matilda could feel Miss Honey tighten her grip around her.

“She’s sick.”

“That’s no excuse, Miss Honey, we have rules in this school. Maybe if you hadn’t coddled her in your class she’d adapt quicker.”

Matilda could feel herself practically getting squeezed now. It was as if Jenny was afraid he would pluck the girl from her arms.

“I’m taking her to the doctor, she can hardly move. And I wasn’t coddling her, do you really expect someone with her intellect to sit there and listen to me teach the class their Abc’s when she can already do long division in her head? And what’s this I hear about you not honoring my note?” Miss Honey said, her tone growing lower and more dangerous.

Mr. Larson scoffed. “Who gives a child a laxative on a school night? Why couldn’t you wait until the weekend? Or how about waiting until after school to take her to the doctor? Do you always set such a poor example? Don’t you have a class to teach? Shirking your responsibilities for the whims of one child.” He shook his head.

“Wait until after school?” Miss Honey’s voice was rising now. “For all I know, her god-damn appendix is going to burst!” Matilda whimpered. Her appendix? She hadn’t even thought of it being anything serious! And wow! She’d rarely ever heard Jenny swear before and never at a teacher! “My responsibilities are to her first, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to Mr. Trilby’s office, telling him I’m leaving, and then we are going to get on a bus and go to the hospital.”

“There’s no need.” A voice said from behind them. Matilda could feel Jenny tense as she slowly turned to find Mr. Trilby standing there. “I’ll give you a ride.”

…

“Thank you, sir.” Miss Honey said. “I’m sorry for all the commotion, that really wasn’t like me and-”

“We’ll talk about it later.” Mr. Trilby said as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. “I hope everything is well.”

“Me too.” Miss Honey said quietly, before collecting Matilda from the back seat and carrying her inside.

…
“Well, the good news is her appendix is just fine. ” the doctor said. “There’s no sign of a fever or infection, and the ultrasound came back normal.”

They both let out their held breath. Matilda had spent the entire ultrasound looking at the screen trying to tell if anything looked like it was going to blow.

“So it really is just trapped gas?” Miss Honey asked.

“Well, no, it’s not that either.”

“Then what is it?” Miss Honey asked.

“It’s nothing serious, she’s just constipated. It’s common in young children, especially if they’ve been through anything stressful recently. Usually, I’d just send her home with recommendations on dietary changes, things like eat more fiber, drink more water, and suggest an over the counter laxative.”

“Oh, I’m so relieved.” Miss Honey said. Matilda winced. Why had he said “usually”?

“In her case though, I don’t like a few things here. One being the fact that she hasn’t been able to eat, and two, how distended her belly is.” He lifted Matilda’s gown and pointed out the raised areas.

“She’s not going to need surgery, is she?” Miss Honey asked.

“Oh no, no nothing like that, but we are going to help her get all that nasty stuff out of her system before she leaves. A nurse is going to come and perform a simple irrigation of her bowels.”

“No!” Matilda nearly shouted. “Not that, please!” She made herself into a ball despite the pain and hugged her knees.

“But, Matilda, sweetheart, once it’s over you’re going to feel a lot better.” Miss Honey stood up and began to gently rub circles on Matilda’s back.

“You promised!” Matilda said, whose voice now cracked with sobs. “You promised they wouldn’t!”

“Sweetie, when did I promise that?” Miss Honey asked gently.

“Last night!” Matilda choked out. Miss Honey thought back to their conversation and cringed with realization.

“Oh, Matilda, I thought you were talking about that test with the camera. I didn’t realize you were referring to this.”
“Please, don’t let them.” Matilda begged. Miss Honey bit her lip. She had never seen Matilda like this, and it broke her heart.

“Is there any other option?” Miss Honey asked. “Something less…invasive?”

“I mean, I could recommend over the counter laxatives, but that would take several days to clear the entire thing, and to be honest, I wouldn’t feel right sending her home like this. This really is the fastest and safest method.”

Miss Honey pinched her eyes closed before stroking Matilda’s head. “I’m sorry, baby, but it needs to be done.” she whispered before nodding her approval to the doctor. She would have normally taken Matilda’s wishes into more consideration, but it was clear she wasn’t acting herself. “It’ll be okay, sweetie, it will! You’ve been through so much worse than this.” Matilda didn’t say anything. “Compared to everything else, this is nothing.” Jenny whispered as she continued to stroke her back. “And I’ll be with you the whole time, okay?” She smiled as she saw Matilda slowly nod her head. “There’s my brave girl. It’ll all be over soon.”

“Do you think she’d be able to make it to the bathroom in time?” A nurse asked, wheeling in an IV pole with a bag and tubing attached.

“Probably not.”

“That’s alright, It’s a little far from here for this anyway.” Miss Honey had noticed that too. Matilda would be a wreck if she had an accident out in the hall. She shuddered to think what her powers might do. “Unfortunately, the bathroom isn’t a sterile environment, otherwise we’d do it there. It would make our jobs much easier.” Miss Honey watched as she fiddled with the equipment, before donning a fresh pair of gloves. “Alright, Matilda, are you ready?” Matilda shook her head and whimpered.

Miss Honey walked to the other side of the bed, and took a seat, so she was now face to face with the terrified girl, before scooting up as close as possible. “Give me your hand. It’s alright, you can get through this.” Matilda reached over and grabbed onto Jenny’s outstretched hand and squeezed. “That’s it.”

The small girl let out a loud whimper and grimaced.

“You’re doing good.” The nurse said. Jenny’s eyes shifted from the bag as it slowly began to empty and back to the trembling girl’s tear streaked face. “Now you’re going to feel the need to go right away, but I want you to try and hold it for at least five minutes.” Matilda clutched her stomach and let out a panicked sounding moan. “The bag’s almost empty, you’re doing great.”

“Mommy!” Matilda began to cry. “I can’t!”

“Yes you can. I’m right here, just keep squeezing my hand.” Miss Honey said. Gone was the overly mature child genius and in its place laid the trembling and terrified five-year-old girl. Jenny watched as sweat began to mix with the child’s tears.

“You did it, it’s all gone. I just need you to hold it in a little while longer.” the nurse said, removing the cord.

“I can’t!” Matilda cried. She was writhing and twisting on the bed, and judging by the smell, some of the concoction had already begun to leak out. Jenny’s heart ached. No wonder she didn’t want to do this.

“You’re halfway there, sweetie. Just a little bit longer.” Jenny said. She looked around the room. Where exactly were they going to have her release it? She was going to blow any minute. Jenny met eyes with the nurse with the stopwatch before noticing someone coming in with a familiar looking plastic object. Oh, Matilda wasn’t going to like this, Jenny thought as she took in the moaning girl on the bed. Then again, she might not even care at this point.

Jenny watched as the second person lifted Matilda’s gown, which was now clearly soiled and stained. “Let’s just take this off you, actually.” He quickly untied the strings and threw it in the laundry hamper, before rolling Matilda onto the bed pan.

“One more minute. You can do it.”

“I-I can’t!”

Jenny watched the clock in the corner of the room. 50 more seconds. 45 seconds. 40 seconds. But when the clock hit 37 seconds, Matilda’s body said, “no more” and began to release.

“It’s alright, that’s close enough.” the nurse said. “You did good, kid.”

“That’s it, you’re doing great.” Jenny said, giving Matilda’s hand a squeeze. “It’ll all be over soon, just let it all out.” But it was clear to Miss Honey, and anyone within a 20 yard radius, that Matilda couldn’t have stopped it even if she wanted to.

“How are you doing there, mom? You’re looking a little green.”

“I-I’m okay.” Miss Honey said, fighting the urge to gag. She had seen more than she ought to have when they had switched out the pans and the smell was nearly unbearable. How had all that come out of such a small girl? No wonder her stomach had hurt.

“Feel free to step out into the hall if you need to for some fresh air. These clean outs are never pretty. Some of these have even turned our more seasoned veteran’s stomach’s to putty. One older gentleman we had insisted he could make it to the bathroom, only made it halfway, and one of our orderlies slipped in it and fell.”
“Oof.” Miss Honey groaned, that story had done nothing to help her stomach.

“But seriously, the worst is over now.” Jenny looked down at Matilda, who laid out on the bed looking shell shocked and exhausted. The episodes were coming further and further apart now.

“I think I will get some air, thank you.” Jenny said. She stood up to leave, but found Matilda’s hand still gripping hers tightly.

“Please don’t go.” Matilda mumbled.

Jenny immediately sat back down and clasped Matilda’s hand in both of hers. “I’ll stay as long as you need me to.” She pressed Matilda’s hand to her lips and gave it a kiss.

Once things had all calmed down and Matilda had fallen asleep, Jenny turned when she heard one of the nurses speak to her.

“I noticed she was wearing a pull-up when she came in. Has she been having trouble with toilet training?” Miss Honey shook her head.

“Bed wetting mostly, and some issues at school. Her new teacher is…” Miss Honey clenched her fists and made a frustrated grunting sound. “He doesn’t let students use the bathroom during class.”

“What kind of teacher doesn’t let first year children use the bathroom? Does he really expect them to hold it?”

“She recently transferred to year five, and he won’t make an exception to the rules for her. Her body just isn’t developed enough to compare to the older children. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

“Year five?” The nurse asked wide-eyed. Miss Honey smiled and nodded. “She should actually be in year seven, but I’m not ready for her to leave the school I teach at. I want to keep her close just a little while longer.

“What school is that?”

“Crunchem Hall.”

The nurse’s eyes went wide. “You haven’t heard? They haven’t announced it yet?”

“Announced what?”

“My husbands a member of the education board. They’ve been trying for years to build a secondary school in that lot across from it, but that headmistress kept refusing. She was out voted last month. They haven’t decided if it will be a separate school, or an addition to Crunchem Hall, but if it is, you’d be able to have her there with you all the way to year 13.”

It was the first Jenny had heard of this. Could she really watch over Matilda until she was done with mandatory education? At the rate she learned and absorbed information, she’d be done and off to university before she was even ten. They’d cross that bridge when they came to it. “That would be wonderful.”

“And not to change the subject, but you might see an improvement with the bed-wetting now. The impacted stool could have been putting pressure on the bladder. It’s another common symptom.”

Could it really be so simple?

“But this has been going on for months.”

“That blockage didn’t form overnight either.”

Could this really not be my fault, Jenny wondered. Was it possible it was nothing overly complicated as a psychic connection after all, but just run-of-the-mill constipation?

“Last month she was sick with the stomach bug. Wouldn’t that have cleared a blockage though? The bed-wetting has been going on long before then.”

“It’s possible it went around, but I’m just speculating.”

“I certainly hope that’s all this was. She’s very self-conscious about it.”

……………………………………

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that.” Miss Honey said, hugging the girl in her lap to her chest as they rode the bus back towards home. It was clear Matilda was still cross with her over the whole situation. The diaper Miss Honey had requested in case another episode struck while on the bus wasn’t helping either. “I bet you feel much better though.” She kissed the top of the girl's head.

Matilda grumbled something Jenny couldn’t quite catch, but didn’t try to pull away. After another twenty minutes, she was sitting sideways, with her arms wrapped around Jenny’s stomach and her head resting on her chest while Jenny stroked her back.

“You did so well in there. I’m so proud of you.” Miss Honey whispered in her ear. “How about we stop at the store on the way home and pick up some ice cream?” Matilda grunted into Jenny’s shirt. “So you don’t want any ice cream?”

Matilda pulled her head away a few inches. “I didn’t say that.”

……………

After dinner, ice cream, and a long soak in the tub, Matilda climbed into bed without bothering to put on a nightshirt and turned off her bedside lamp.

“You don’t want to read tonight?” Miss Honey asked. Matilda shook her head. She was too exhausted. “Should we just go to sleep then?” Matilda nodded before she noticed Jenny doing something out of character. She eyed Miss Honey out of the corner of her eye as she began to undress for bed, something she had always done in the privacy of the bathroom. Instead of putting on one of her nightgowns, she slipped under the covers next to Matilda and gave her a shy sort of uncomfortable smile. “Do you want to cuddle for a bit?” Matilda did. Very much so.

“I hate it.” Matilda mumbled, now spread out and relaxed in Jenny’s arms.

“This?” Miss Honey asked confused.

“Mr. Larson’s class.” Jenny sighed. The kids hadn’t been exaggerating. He really was, a, a- well, that thing they had drawn.

“Well, now you have all the necessary doctor’s notes, and I have a meeting with Mr. Trilby first thing in the morning.”

“Us?” Matilda asked.

Jenny sighed again. “No, me and Mr. Trilby. He set it up. I think I’m in trouble for leaving, but you know what, I’d do it all over again.” She squeezed Matilda tight. “But you better believe I’m going to give him an earful about that teacher of yours.”

Matilda smiled in the darkness as she felt Jenny’s chest rise and fall with every breath. Miss Honey sure had come a long way.

Chapter Text

When Miss Honey heard the message on the answering machine the previous night from Mr. Trilby requesting a meeting, she had assumed she was in trouble, but this!? Her chest was tightening. Her heart was racing. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She stared at the small man wide-eyed. He had to be off his rocker! Going senile! Crazy! Maybe he was even on drugs! It was the only thing that would explain what she had just heard come from his mouth.

He stared at her expectantly, his hands intertwined and resting on the desk between them.

“What?” It was all Jenny could manage to get out. Maybe she was the crazy, senile one. She must have heard wrong. Must have hit her head in the night.

“I said, I’m retiring” Mr. Trilby said. “And I want you to take my place.” There it was again. She hadn’t imagined it. “You don’t have to give me an answer right away, but please think it over.”

“Why me? I-I’m nothing but a first year teacher. I know nothing about being a headmistress.”

“Yes, but you see, that’s what this place needs. It doesn’t need someone with management skills, or another disciplinarian. What it needs is someone creative, caring, and passionate. This school has been ruled by, well, rules and fear for far far too long.”

Jenny remained silent, still at a complete loss for words.

“I’ve been watching you, Miss Honey, and I’ve seen the way you speak to the students. Students that aren’t even in your class. You see them, you listen to them, and to be honest, you’re one of the few teachers we have that care about them.”

“Of course I care about the students, sir, but wouldn’t literally anyone be better for this?”

“No, no they wouldn’t. If I promoted anyone else, how would I know the cycle of abuse wouldn’t continue?”

“How can you be so sure the cycle of abuse wouldn’t continue with me?” Miss Honey asked. In her entire life she had never been in a position of power before. What if it went straight to her head?

“Oh I doubt that very much.” Mr. Trilby said before smiling. “I do believe we both know of a certain little girl who would be up to the task of keeping you accountable.”

“Sir, to be perfectly honest with you, the way things are going I don’t know how much longer I can justify keeping her enrolled. Unless…”

Mr. Trilby raised an eyebrow. “Unless what?”

“I heard a rumor yesterday. Is it true they’re expanding the school?”
“All the way to year 13.” He said. Miss Honey’s eyes widened. She really could keep an eye on Matilda. “And you know what? If you were headmistress, you’d have the final say in Matilda’s education.” Miss Honey bit her lip. It sounded nice, she had to admit. She could pull her from Mr. Larson’s class or… she could just pull Mr. Larson.

“The teachers here, some of them are, how can I phrase this?” Miss Honey said.

“When the previous headmistress hired some of them, she was looking for disciplinarians, someone who could keep the students in line. She prioritized discipline over everything else, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

Miss Honey suppressed a shudder. “Yes, I’m aware.”

“So I would suggest before the following school year, if you're interested, we sit and go over the personnel files together. Let’s decide who stays and who goes.” He frowned for a moment as he waved his hand through his graying hair. “Well, there’s a bit of a problem we need to solve before we can even think of hiring new teachers.”

“What’s that?”

Mr. Trilby sighed deeply. “It’s the ledgers! The longer I stare at them the less sense it makes! I looked at our bank balance, and it’s practically empty. We’ve still four months left in the school year, and yesterday I find out how much money we get a year from the government and I just can’t figure it out! Where did it all go? There’s so many things that need repairing, but when was the last time the previous headmistress did more than hand over a roll of duct tape? The playground is nothing more than an asphalt lot, we have no heating or air conditioning, half the toilets are out of order, and to be quite honest, I feed my dogs better quality food than the school feeds the children.”

“Was the Trunchbull over paying herself?” Miss Honey asked. She wouldn’t put it past her aunt to pocket the money and let the school fend for itself.

“It’s the first thing I checked. While she certainly paid herself more than she paid us, it was still considered reasonable and not enough to make this much of a difference.”

“Sounds like you need to hire an accountant.”

“I made a call to inquire about it, but they said we don’t need just any regular accountant, we need a forensic accountant, and they don’t come cheap. We can’t afford it and i’m in over my head here. Do you have any ideas?”

Miss Honey racked her brain, thought of something, laughed darkly and shook her head.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s silly.” Miss Honey said shaking her head. Hey, Matilda, sweetheart, if you can help us find the embezzled funds, I’ll let you have a bowl of ice cream and stay up an hour past your bedtime.

Mr. Trilby seemed to read something in her face. He laughed for a second before saying, “No, absolutely not. No way.” Miss Honey smiled sheepishly, embarrassed the thought had even crossed her mind. Although, she wasn’t the one who brought it up.

“She’s cheap.” Miss Honey said with a laugh.

Mr. Trilby let his face fall into his hands before shaking his head and letting out a frustrated groan. He slowly raised his head and met her eyes. “How cheap?”

…………………………

Hortensia was flashing her Cheshire cat grin. Matilda raised her eyebrows in question. “I always knew you were full of shit.” Matilda rolled her eyes.

“Not anymore.” Matilda moaned. The right side of her face was resting on her desk with her head craning up to see Hortensia. “You don’t want to know what i’ve been through.” It was the third-worst experience of her life. “I’ve been violated.”
She was still a bit bitter over the whole situation. She had little to say to Miss Honey this morning, even if she had been mere putty in her arms last night. Jenny had caught her by surprise was all. Matilda wasn’t expecting her to pull out the big guns. It wasn’t like her to offer fabric free cuddling. Matilda closed her eyes and pictured last night. So soft and warm. And Jenny hadn’t been panicking nearly as much this time. Matilda let out a contended hum.

“Yeah, for someone who says they were violated, you sure have a dopey grin on your face.” Hortensia teased.

Matilda could feel her cheeks turning red. “I do not. I never want to do that again. The cramping! And then they make you hold it and-” Matilda shuddered. She tried to picture Jenny’s arms around her again to flush her brain, but it wasn’t working.

“Yeah, I hear enough about enemas from my mom. I’m good.” Hortensia said. “She gives them to the old people like candy, then she comes home and doesn’t spare me the details.”

Matilda cringed. “Poor old people.” Hortensia shook her head.

“She says they beg for them like sweets. She can’t go a day without shoving something up someone's ass.”

“Hortensia, mind your audience.” Mr. Larson called out in his bored voice.

“She brought it up first.” Hortensia said with a snicker.

“I meant me.” Mr. Larson said. “I just ate.” Matilda watched as his gaze stopped on her. “Wormwood, I take it you still have all your internal organs.”

“Yes sir,” Matilda said.

“You have a doctor’s note excusing you from class yesterday? Bring it up.” Matilda grabbed the two folded pieces of paper on her desk and sprang to her feet. She hurried and handed them over before standing awkwardly to the side as he examined them. He nodded his approval at the first, but paused at the second. “Look, Wormwood, I get it, I do, but I can’t just give you special treatment.”

“You told me if I brought you a doctor’s note-” He held up a hand to silence her.

“That’s why you need to come up with a hand sign.” She furrowed her brows in confusion. “Look, flash me the peace sign, a thumbs up, hell, flip me the bird, I don’t care. I’ll make up some reason for you to leave the classroom, but you can’t ask to use the restroom in front of everyone.”

“Why though?”

“C’mon, you’re the genius here. Look, cause if I let you, then everyone else will ask too, and I can’t just let everyone in the class wander the halls whenever they want. She’ll-” He stopped mid-sentence. “Ah, you know what, never mind. Just don’t abuse it.”

Matilda gazed up at him feeling even more puzzled. “O-oh okay.” So was she supposed to make a hand sign or not? She scurried back to her desk and waited for the bell to ring.

Matilda had to admit class was going much more smoothly today than the previous two. The small things that had set Matilda on edge didn’t seem to bother her as much. She could be patient when Bruce tripped over his words while reading, even if she had read the paragraph ten times by the time he got through it once. Or Brittany’s never ending complaints of “I don’t get it” in math.
The thing Matilda couldn’t seem to get over was her boredom. She was starting to welcome Hortensia’s crude drawings, and the pokes and prods of her classmates wanting to know how she had skipped five grades. How had following along turned school into something so boring?

Matilda had never been so happy when the lunch bell rang. She grabbed the book she had been reading out of her backpack and stood up to stretch. Finally! She could do whatever she wanted to for the next thirty minutes.

“A book?” Hortensia asked. “Leave it, we’re playing kickball in the field again. It’ll be way more fun than reading.” Matilda looked down at Hortensia’s bandaged leg. Did this girl learn nothing?

“I’m not wearing the right footwear for kickball.” Matilda pointed out. They both looked down at her pink Mary Jane shoes with the purple butterflies on the sides.

“Let me have them, I’ll see if anyone will switch with you for the afternoon.” Matilda wanted to point out no one’s feet would even come close to being as small, but arguing with Hortensia when she was bound and determined to make something happen was like arguing with a brick wall. So Matilda silently kicked them off and handed them over. She grabbed her book and sat on a nearby picnic bench to read. She figured Hortensia would realize her mistake and bring her shoes back eventually. At least she’d get to read.

Only, when Hortensia came back, she didn’t have Matilda’s shoes, she had someone else’s brown sneakers. Not only that, but they fit! Well, sort of. They were a little big, but with a second knot, there wasn’t much slip. She wanted to ask how in the world she had gotten them, but she had a feeling she didn’t want to know.

“Why do you want me to play kickball with you guys? You know I’m going to be terrible at it, right?” Matilda asked Hortensia as they walked out to the field where the majority of the older kids had gathered and began picking teams. Hortensia flashed her another Cheshire grin.

“Not necessarily.”

They made their way into the crowd to be selected for teams. Hortensia was picked nearly right away, despite the bandages and slight limp. Matilda on the other hand was chosen dead last. Even Bruce Bogtrotter was chosen before her. Matilda sighed. She’d rather be reading. Matilda stared over at the opposite team, where Hortensia was laughing with some of her friends.

Was she just trying to make Matilda look bad? No, that couldn’t be it, it was obvious just looking at her size she’d be terrible. She stood off to the side and watched as they flipped a coin to see who’d go first.

“Heads! Yes!” An older boy called. It looked like her team was kicking first. She saw Hortensia flash her a wink before running off to the outfield. Matilda shook her head and took her place in the very back of the line in the hopes she’d never get to go up. She watched with mild amusement as the older kids ran and chased each other. It was better than class, but still. Why couldn’t Hortensia just let her read?

Matilda was five spots away from kicking now. She watched the biggest looking boy, besides Bruce, kick the ball and send it sailing through the air. Matilda was sure no one could catch it, until she saw Hortensia sprinting for all she was worth and snatch it before it could land. Matilda had to admit she was good. There was the echoing of cheers from the outfield as Hortensia threw the ball back to the pitcher.

“First out!” She called.

Matilda was four spots away now. Then three. Why wasn’t the opposing team getting them out? Was it wrong to root for the opposite team? Two spots. One spot. Doug scooped the ball off the ground and got the kicker out at first. Oh no, now it was her turn. How had she gotten into this situation? She hadn’t even wanted to play. Matilda could hear the outfield begin to laugh.

“Move in.” they yelled. She watched as everyone came much closer. Of course they would, she couldn’t kick very far compared to them. Then she noticed something strange. Everyone had come closer. Everyone except for Hortensia that was. It almost looked like she had backed up even. But why? She watched as Hortensia stuck her fingers to the sides of her temple and closed her eyes. Huh?

Matilda stared at the pitcher who had a large cocky smile on his face. What did she care? She knew she’d be out.

“Ready?”

Matilda nodded. He rolled the ball, her foot came up to meet it and- she missed.

“STRIKE ONE!” The pitcher yelled. He was laughing now, but not with her. At her. She was getting annoyed. What did they expect? She looked at Hortensia one more time. Again, she made the strange hand signs. She stared blankly until. Oh. So that’s why Hortensia wanted her to play. But that was cheating, wasn’t it?
Matilda looked at her classmates who were laughing. It was just a game. It wasn’t like anything was on the line. She bit her lip and thought it over. She couldn’t use her powers if her foot didn’t make contact with the ball.

Matilda nodded to the pitcher. She’d get it this time! She swung her foot and …missed again. There was more cheering and laughing.

“STRIKE TWO.”

Again Hortensia gave the signal, and this time Matilda understood. What if she used her powers to slow the ball down a little? She nodded to Hortensia this time. The pitcher rolled the ball again, but instead of running forward, she followed it with her eyes and mumbled,” Slow down. Slow down.” It was barely moving by the time it got to her. She kicked as hard as she could. Yes! Contact!

Matilda ran as she watched the ball roll back towards the opposing team, now picking up speed instead of slowing down. The first player was in position to scoop it up, only the ball had suddenly changed direction! It rolled off to the right now as two more players scampered after it. Matilda came to a stop at first base, now breathing heavy and giggling like mad. Huh, this was fun after all. She broke her connection and let them scoop up the ball.

“Lucky kick.” The first baseman said.
There seemed to be a lot of lucky plays that game for many of her teammates. Balls were kicked impossibly high and far, pitches were slow, and every once in a while, the ball seemed to hit an invisible rock in the dirt and change direction.

“You’re right that was fun!” Matilda said as they walked into the cafeteria.

“I meant use your powers on your turn, not for your whole team!” Hortensia growled in her ear. “You little cheater.”

Matilda looked down at her feet as they stood in line to get lunch. “Oh yeah, where’s my shoes?”

“Oh, I traded them with some little kid, if you see him, he’ll be glad to give them back.” Hortensia said.

“What? He? How’d you get a boy to trade shoes with me?” Matilda asked. She didn’t like where this was going.

“I may have told him I’d stick his head in the toilet if he didn’t.” Hortensia admitted.

“Hortensia!” Matilda grumbled. She let her head fall in her hands. “Why? Did you at least get a name, so I can give them back.”

“Nigel, I think.” Matilda could feel the color draining from her face. No! She didn’t!

“You…threatened a kid…in my mom’s class!?” She hissed. Ohh they were in deep trouble. Oh no! Oh no!

“Oh, was he in Miss Honey’s class?” Hortensia shrugged. “What’s the big deal? Just go to her classroom and give them back before she notices.” She glanced at Matilda and frowned. “What’s with you? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“She already knows everything.” Matilda whispered. She could feel her anger from across the school. She was tempted to slip off the shoes and make a break for it. No she couldn’t do that, running would make her look guilty. Matilda hadn’t done anything wrong. She thought it was a voluntary trade! Oh no, she was coming this way! “It was nice knowing you.” Matilda whispered.

“What? What’s she going to do, ask to trade back without saying please? Miss Honey’s the nicest person here.” Hortensia said with a scoff.

“Not if you threaten one of her students.” Matilda said with a wince.

The cafeteria doors violently slammed open. There stood Miss Honey looking angrier than Matilda had ever seen her. She gulped. Matilda watched as her eyes scanned the room before stopping on her. She gulped again. Miss Honey had Matilda’s shoes in her hand. She pointed at them, then at the space in front of her.

……………………………………………..

“You want to explain to me why I found Nigel Hicks crying and wearing your shoes!” Miss Honey demanded. Both Matilda and Hortensia were shaking now from their chairs in the headmasters' office.

“I-I thought it was a voluntary trade. With a girl!” Matilda said.

“Do those look like a girl's shoes?!” Matilda looked down at her feet. Now that Miss Honey mentioned it, no. No they did not.

“And you’ve gotten them all dirty! What were you doing? Why did you even need them?”

“So she could play kickball with the rest of the class.” Hortensia chimed in. “Nigel just happened to be the only small enough person I came across.”

“So you threatened to put his head in the toilet!?”

“I wasn’t actually gonna do it!” Hortensia said.

“It doesn’t matter!” Miss Honey said sounding disgusted. “Go clean them off and give them back to him. I’d give you a detention if I could. This school has had enough bullies!”

“I think that’s a fair punishment.” Mr. Trilby said. “Hortensia, you have detention with Miss Honey after school. You’re excused.”

Hortensia hung her head, took the shoes, and left. Matilda sat in her chair, avoiding Miss Honey’s glare.

“I’m disappointed in you, Matilda.” Miss Honey said. Matilda gaped up at Miss Honey.

“All I wanted to do was read! I only told her I didn’t have the right shoes, so she’d leave me alone. I didn’t know what she did to get them!”

“Why didn’t you just tell her you didn’t want to play?!”

“Because no one cares what I want!” Matilda yelled back.

“That is not true, Matilda!” Miss Honey said firmly. “I care.”

“Like you cared what I wanted yesterday.” Matilda said darkly.

“Matilda! That is not- that’s not even… just…just go back to class.” Miss Honey said through gritted teeth. The two locked eyes for a moment and stared each other down before Matilda got up and headed for the door. “And Matilda…” She glanced back over her shoulder just as her hand gripped the door knob. “Meet me here after class lets out. You have detention too.”

Miss Honey groaned as she heard the door slam. Oh, that girl! She knew just how to hit where it hurt!

“I don’t like this, sir. I don’t think I can do this.” Miss Honey said into her hands. “I don’t like punishing children.”

“Then I’m more sure than ever I’ve made the right choice.”

Miss Honey sighed as she made her way back to her classroom. She thought they were on good terms after last night, but apparently not. Jenny had been so sure Matilda understood the procedure had been for her own good. She tried to tell herself it was no different from any parent taking their kid in for a vaccine. Of course, they wouldn’t be happy about it, but it still had to be done. It’s not like she could just let a five-year-old make medical decisions for herself. It was ridiculous! Matilda would just have to get over it. Decisions being made for you was all part of growing up, yet…she couldn’t shake the feeling this ran deeper than yesterday. And what was with that attitude? That was so unlike her! She hadn’t planned on punishing her at all until she opened her mouth.

At least now Jenny didn’t feel so bad about offering her up as free child labor. The only difference was now she would be telling Matilda to go through the expense reports instead of asking her. At least for today. It’s not like either of them thought she could figure it out in less than an hour, or really, at all. Mr. Trilby had been studying them all week.

It really had been a dumb idea. “I know you, with your many college degrees, can’t figure this out, Mr. Trilby, but how about letting my five-year-old take a look?”

Miss Honey shook her head trying to clear it from this afternoon's events as she stood outside her classroom. She took a deep breath, put on a smile, and went on with her afternoon.

…

It was almost an hour before school let out when Miss Honey first heard her classroom door open. She looked up, but there was no one there. She looked around the room. Had someone left? Miss Honey did a quick head count. She frowned in confusion. Everyone was present and accounted for. Maybe it was a draft? She got up and closed the door. Miss Honey got halfway back to her desk when she heard it again. She spun on her heel. The door was open again.

What was going on? She hadn’t had anything weird happen in here since Matilda left…Oh… Miss Honey tiptoed back to the door and poked her head outside. There she found a small figure, with their back against the wall, and head in their lap quietly sobbing. Miss Honey looked back at her class. They were all pre-occupied with their coloring assignments. She stepped out of her classroom, closed the door behind her, and joined the figure on the floor.

“Matilda, why aren’t you in class? What are you doing out here?”

“I-I’m so-rry f-f-for wh-at I sa-id.” the figure on the ground managed to choke out. Miss Honey bit her lip. The lights in the hallway were beginning to flicker. “I-I c-c-couldn’t st-top think-ing ab-about it and- and- then I couldn-t b-b-breathe and o-one of t-t-the li-ghts in the cl-classroom blew!”

“Matilda, I need you to try and calm down.” Miss Honey whispered. There was a loud, angry buzzing sound. She stared at the lights overhead. The three nearest them were beginning to surge brighter and brighter. She had to think of something. Miss Honey jumped to her feet, yanked Matilda to hers, and pulled her into the dark storage closet. “Shh shh shh, it’s alright, you’re alright.”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Matilda sobbed, arms now tightly wrapped around Miss Honey’s waist.

“Shh, let’s see if we can find a spot to sit down, and then we can talk.” She moved her feet around to see how much room there was before sliding down and pulling Matilda into her lap. “Sweetie, what’s been going on with you? I thought we were okay after last night.”

“We are.” Matilda muttered into Miss Honey’s shoulder in between sniffles.

“Then why did you say that earlier?”

“I’m sorry!” Matilda cried.

“I know you are, but why did you say it?” Matilda remained quiet for some time. “C’mon, talk to me.”

“I was angry.” Matilda mumbled.

“You seem to be angry a lot recently, you want to tell me what’s that about?”

“I can’t explain it.” Matilda said.

“Can you try?”

Matilda sighed. “It’s like no one hears me, or is listening, or cares what I want.”

“You said that earlier, but I don’t understand what you mean. This isn’t about yesterday, is it?”

“No, not really.” Matilda mumbled before letting out her held breath. “My stomach feels great. I was even able to run without it hurting.”

“While I’m certainly happy to hear you’re feeling better, I’m still not following.”

“I thought I wanted to go to normal classes, but they're awful! I never thought I’d ever dislike school so much.”

Miss Honey frowned. “It’s only been three days, Matilda, give it time.”

Matilda let out a frustrated groan. “This is what I mean! No one’s listening!”

Miss Honey held her tongue and sighed. “Alright, Matilda, I’m listening. What is it you’re trying to say?”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s three days, or three months or three years! It’s not going to work, I’m so frustrated being forced to stay with the class I want to pull my hair out! I could have read five chapters by the time it takes the class to get through one! I feel so trapped being stuck at the pace of the slowest learner!”

Miss Honey frowned as Matilda’s words began to sink in. Oh God, she was right. This wasn’t something time would fix. Neither would moving her up another grade nor two. It wasn’t even about not liking the teacher or wanting to be around her. Matilda just wasn’t built for typical schooling of any grade level. It would only hold her back. She’d just run into the same problem again and again and again. What she needed was the ability to work at her own pace with a private tutor.

“I think I’m finally hearing you.” Miss Honey said with a sigh. “You really were better off in my class. Oof.” She felt Matilda crash into her and squeeze. Miss Honey held her for a moment before letting go. “Let’s get out of this closet. You can stay with me the rest of the day. Actually,” Miss Honey smiled mischievously. “You’re going to serve your detention early.”

“What?” Matilda asked in a high-pitched tone.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of trouble.” They both stood up, and Miss Honey led her into the classroom and to her old desk. “Sit.” Miss Honey went back to her desk, pulled out a weeks worth of projects and the necessary supplies and set them on Matilda’s desk. “For your detention,” Miss Honey said with a grin. “You’ll be doing arts and crafts.”

Chapter Text

Matilda was fuming by the time Hortensia walked in. Her hands were covered in glue, there was glitter in her hair, and this stupid crown Miss Honey was making her wear kept slipping down her face. Matilda was ready to rip the current project to pieces. She was supposed to be making some kind of sculpture using strips of paper and glue, but no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn’t stand up.

“Man, what the hell, I thought your mom was the nice one.” Hortensia grumbled. School had already been dismissed, leaving the classroom empty save the two of them. She plopped down in a nearby empty desk. “How am I supposed to write lines with my knees up to my chest?” Matilda ignored the feeling of eyes boring into her. “Umm, what are you doing?”

“My detention.” Matilda grumbled.

“Are you kidding me? You get to do art for your detention!? That is so not fair!” Hortensia complained. Matilda slowly craned her neck towards her and glared, the paper crown she had made now covering one eye. Hortensia smirked at her. “What’s with the, umm, what is it supposed to be?”

“She’s making me wear everything I make.” Matilda moaned. “It’s supposed to be a crown.”

“That’s a crown?” Hortensia laughed. “You look like you scribbled on a piece of paper, ripped it, and taped it to your head.”

“Shut up.” Matilda hissed. “This stupid thing is so itchy.” She scratched at the back of her neck where her coiled paper necklace hung, careful not to rip it in case Miss Honey made her do it over.

“Does Miss Honey have the leash to go with your collar?”

“It’s a necklace.” Matilda said.

Hortensia snorted. “You made it too tight, it looks more like a choker.”

“Don’t you have lines to do?”

“What are you working on now?” Hortensia asked, ignoring her. Matilda sighed before holding up the instruction booklet. Hortensia studied the page, looked at what sat in front of Matilda, then back to the booklet. “I see you’re going for a more…modern art approach.” She said, trying to suppress a laugh.

“I hate art.” Matilda grumbled. She had only done three out of five projects. She frowned as the “sculpture” collapsed again. Two out of five projects! She had been at this for over an hour! Was Miss Honey going to make her keep going at this until she really finished five of them? They’d be here all night!
The door opened. Both girls turned in their seat to see Miss Honey walking in.

“That better not have been the sound of talking I heard!” Miss Honey said. Both girls shook their heads. “I don’t see you writing, Hortensia.”

“Why does she get to do art projects and I have to do lines?” Hortensia complained. Miss Honey’s eyes shifted to Matilda and back.

“Does it look like she’s having fun?”

Hortensia craned her neck and looked at her a moment. “It looks like she’s trying to hang herself.”

Miss Honey sighed. “Matilda, what are you doing? You’re going to choke yourself.” Matilda was pulling on the back of the rings, tightening it even more around her neck.

“I’m trying to get it off without ripping it.” Matilda said, growing even more frustrated.

“Why did you make this so tight?” Miss Honey asked, disentangling one of the paper links and liberating the girl's neck, which was now covered in glue and angry red marks.

“I ran out of paper! I had no choice.”

“Matilda!” Miss Honey said sounding exasperated, “You were supposed to cut the paper into strips and tape them together. Now both of us are covered in glue, and how in the world did you-” Miss Honey stopped after seeing the melancholy expression on her face.

“I ran out of tape making something else.” Matilda mumbled. Miss Honey looked around, but didn’t see anything. “It’s just as atrocious as everything else I made though.”

“Would you let me see?”

“It’s in there.” Matilda said, pointing to the empty desk next to her. “Please don’t pull it out though.” If Hortensia saw it, she’d probably keel over laughing. “It’s for you.” She added barely over a whisper.

Curious, Miss Honey lifted the lid of the desk and stared down. Sitting atop another student's scattered belongings, was a piece of paper covered in taped on glitter spelling out the words, “THANK YOU FOR BEING MY MOM!” Underneath were two taped on popsicle stick figures holding hands.

“I thought we didn’t have any glue, and that’s why I used all the tape, but then I found the glue, and it was already too late, so that’s why I had to glue the necklace together and-”

“Matilda, I love it.” Miss Honey said, a now genuine smile spreading across her face. “This wasn’t even one of the projects.”

Matilda shrugged. “I wanted to make it before I got…” She put up her hands and bent her fingers into claws for emphasis. “Frustrated.” She finished. “It’s not perfect or anything…”

“Matilda, it doesn’t need to be perfect to be special.” Miss Honey said before closing the lid of the desk. “The fact that you made it is what makes it special.” Matilda looked away, now feeling embarrassed. Miss Honey strode over, lifted her crown up and kissed the top of her head. There was a moment of silence before Miss Honey coughed and winced before she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Matilda, how did you get glue in your hair?”

Matilda flashed her a sheepish smile and shrugged. Miss Honey sighed and shook her head. “Alright,” she said taking in the work Matilda had put into everything. “I think you’ve been punished enough. Go in the bathroom and try and get all that glue and glitter off and meet me in Mr. Trilby’s office. We have a project for you I think you’ll enjoy.” Miss Honey watched Matilda scurry off, wincing at the sticky substance now coating the door handle.

“What about me?” Hortensia asked. Miss Honey looked down at the blank piece of paper save for her name and raised her eyebrows.

“What about you?”

“Can I be a part of your secret project?”

“Absolutely not.” Miss Honey laughed. “You’re staying here and writing lines.”

“So you’re trusting me to stay in your classroom, by myself?” Hortensia asked. Shoot, Miss Honey thought as she bit her lip. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She looked around the classroom. Would it be in one piece by the time they got back?

Miss Honey sighed. “Fine, we need someone to make copies.”

“Yes!” Hortensia exclaimed pumping her fist in the air. “I knew you were one of the nice ones.” She quieted down once she saw the look on Miss Honey’s face as she came within inches of her own.

“If I ever hear you’re threatening one of my students again, I’ll be making sure you’re writing lines until the day you graduate.”

Hortensia gulped and nodded her head vigorously.

“Good,” Miss Honey said, her features softening once more. “Follow me, I’ll show you what we need copies of.” She led Hortensia down the hall, ignoring the comment under her breath which sounded like, “It’s always the quiet ones.” When they entered Mr. Trilby’s office, both Matilda and Mr. Trilby were already waiting in a chair looking at them both curiously.

“Can I have Augusts folder, sir?” Miss Honey asked. When he handed it to her, she handed it to Hortensia. “Go make three copies of everything in this folder, and don’t lose a single piece of paper. Then come right back, and I’ll give you the next month, until you finish making copies of the whole school year.”

“The whole year?!” Hortensia exclaimed. “I’ll be here all night!”

“Would you rather be writing lines?” Miss Honey asked.

“No.” Hortensia mumbled before hanging her head and heading back out to the copier.

“Outsourcing the work to the students already, Miss Honey?” Mr. Trilby laughed.

Matilda watched as Miss Honey’s face began to turn a deep shade of crimson. “No! Sir, It’s for her detention, I would never!”

Mr. Trilby laughed again. “I’m only teasing you, Miss Honey.” Jennifer gave an uncomfortable, nervous laugh before sitting down next to her daughter. He then turned his attention towards Matilda and smiled. “As for you, since you have such an extraordinary knack with numbers, Ms. Honey suggested we let you take a look, just for fun. Once Hortensia comes back with the copies, what we’d like you to do is to go through and highlight any…mistakes you find.”

Matilda gave him a confused sort of glance.

“Sweetie, this is completely voluntary, if you don’t feel up for it, or it’s too hard, just say the word. You’re not being punished anymore.” Miss Honey said.

“Is it another test?” Matilda asked.

“No,” Mr. Trilby said, “it’s not a test, it’s more like…”

“A puzzle,” Miss Honey threw in. “or a long world problem in math. You like those, don’t you?”

Matilda nodded. “Will it be challenging?”

“Yes, that’s why we thought you might enjoy taking a crack at it, and if you enjoy it, we can keep coming back after school. It’s not something that can be solved in one night.”

Matilda seemed to frown for a moment. “A large math puzzle that can’t be solved in one night?”

“Exactly,” Mr. Trilby said. “You see, the puzzle starts with a big monetary number, and every time money is spent, the big number gets lower and lower. The problem is, the big number is already almost gone, and we have all these little pieces of the puzzle that need to match and tell a story as to why the big number…isn’t so big anymore. Does that make sense?”

“You’re letting me help with the school's bookkeeping records?” Matilda asked, eyes now shining brightly.

“What? No, no, of course not, this is just a hypothetical puzzle.” Mr. Trilby tried to say, his voice now raised an octave higher than it should be.

“Matilda, how much exactly do you know about bookkeeping?” Miss Honey asked.

Matilda shrugged. “I was reading a book about a man who was in jail for embezzling money from his company, but he was actually framed. I didn’t know what embezzlement meant, so I looked it up, but then I got curious about how embezzlement works, which led to Ponzi schemes, then to money management and banking, then to bookkeeping and auditing.” Miss Honey and Mr. Trilby exchanged blank looks.

“And how much time did you invest in researching bookkeeping and auditing?” Mr. Trilby asked.

“An afternoon.” Matilda said. “Then I went back to the book I was reading.” Miss Honey watched as Mr. Trilby seemed to deflate in his chair like an untied balloon.

“But you have a general understanding of what we’re trying to do, right?” Miss Honey asked.

“So you are going over the schools accounts?” Matilda asked. Miss Honey nodded.

"If that's the case, I'm going to need more than receipts. I'll need payroll, ledgers, accounts receivable...." Matilda listed off a few more things off the top of her head. Miss Honey looked from Matilda's eager face to the now pale headmasters.

"I, I can't let you see those things. Th-their private." Mr. Trilby said. "We're just letting you see the school's expenses for fun. I've already gone through everything else." He turned to see Miss Honey's face. "No, I can't let a student go through our staffs' personnel files. There are wages, social security numbers, it would be a major breach of privacy."

They waited in silence until Hortensia got back with arms full of papers. She dumped them unceremoniously on the desk before pulling up a chair.

"That's a lot of stuff!" Hortensia complained. "What are you guys doing with all this? And why's the squirt involved?"

"We're looking for mistakes in the math." Miss Honey said.
"You're going to have a field day then, there's over 10 just on the first page!"

Both Matilda and Mr. Trilby reached for a copy of the first page and frowned. "No there isn't," they both said in unison.

"What are you, blind?" Hortensia asked.

"Enough, go start on the next month and leave this part to us." Miss Honey said, handing her another thick envelope.

Matilda scowled as she read and re-read the first page. What was Hortensia talking about? She ran the numbers inside her head, then proceeded to read them aloud. So far, everything checked out. It was the beginning of the year purchasing order for textbooks. Matilda frowned, no wonder Hortensia complained so much about her mom making her buy her own replacements if she lost them. They were expensive for a student to have to shell out the money for, even if they were the cheaper paperback pull apart for grade schoolers.

Matilda flipped through the next page, and then the next mentally doing the math in her head for all the subjects and grades she had completed this year. She grimaced at the number. Had Miss Honey really stolen over 600 pounds worth of text books for her? No wonder the Trunchbull was so mad!

Matilda could feel expectant eyes following her every movement as she flipped through page after page. Her forehead began to crease with worry. They had expected her to find at least something, anything! There were purchase orders for toilet paper, soap, erasers, markers, lightbulbs, cooking ingredients, chalk, but nothing stood out to her as suspicious. The math added up. If anything, now she understood why the school bought the cheapest toilet paper possible. She flipped the last page over and looked up.

"I'm sorry, everything adds up." Matilda said. The textbook industry was a scam, but she had already known from reading articles about it in the newspaper. She had even heard a university student complaining about it during Christmas break in the library.

"I came to the same conclusion." Mr. Trilby said. "Well, I'm relieved. At least I didn't miss anything glaringly obvious."

Matilda remained silent, glancing over the first page again.

"Sweetie, if you didn't find anything wrong on there the first time, I doubt there is. Hortensia just likes to blurt things out to make people worry. Last week she told me I was trailing toilet paper on the bottom of my shoe as she passed me in the hallway, but when I looked down, nothing." Miss Honey said. Matilda rolled her eyes. It sure sounded like something Hortensia would do, but still. She stared at the page until the next month's worth of copies arrived.
This batch of papers wasn't nearly as big. This time Matilda was able to highlight a few numbers that were off, but it didn't make much of a difference in the budget. Still, it seemed to make the adults happy whenever she was able to spot a few subtle errors, like a decimal in the wrong place, or an added zero where there shouldn't have been. By the time she had gotten through the third month, she had found a total of six errors, but no obvious fraud.

"I think we ought to call it a day." Mr. Trilby said. "It's getting late."

Matilda looked up from the papers and noticed for the first time it was already dark outside. How long had she been looking at this? A wave of exhaustion now seemed to crash over her. When she looked back down at the paper, she frowned. The previous neat column was now a blurry mess. She rubbed at her eyes, but the numbers refused to refocus.

"Mr. Trilby, I need your opinion on something." Miss Honey said. "I'm not sure what to do about..." Matilda had her head down, but she was sure they were talking about her. "It's just not working out."

"Is it still about the teacher, or...?" Mr. Trilby asked.

"No, while I'm certainly not a fan of his, it's much more complicated than that. We had a talk today, and she finally managed to get it through this thick skull of mine." Miss Honey said. "She's just not built for traditional education, and I'm at a complete loss. I can't expect her to sit in a classroom like any other child. She absorbs information at such an impossibly fast rate, but is stuck being taught at the rate of the rest of the class. She wants to come back to my class and continue what she was doing before, but what about next year? And the year after that? There's never going to be a classroom setting that can keep up with her." Miss Honey let out a sigh. "She needs a one on one tutor and a much faster paced curriculum, but it's nothing I can find for her here."

Mr. Trilby remained silent for some time before answering. "Actually, what if you could? You know if you took the job-"

"Sir," Miss Honey said. "I doubt the board would be happy if I requested to hire a teacher for one student."

"Hear me out," Mr. Trilby said. "What if you could still be her one on one tutor?" Matilda lifted her head now, intrigued. "If you took the headmistress job, you'd have access to all the curriculum materials. Instead of placing her in a class, you could put a school desk in here and have her study with you."

"Headmistress?" Matilda asked, looking at Miss Honey, who seemed to be at a complete loss for words.

"You could even dismiss her for recess with her friends class, so she doesn't completely miss out on social interaction." Mr. Trilby added.

"I could." Miss Honey said. Her eyes were wide as they took in the room with a new perspective. Matilda could see her mind was going a mile a minute. What in the world was going on? “Would they really let me do that?”

“You’d have to make a case for it and present it to the education board as to why she’s not in a classroom, but I think her test scores alone could make a near solid case.”

Miss Honey remained quiet for some time thinking things over, only coming to when Hortensia entered with another month's worth of print out.

“That’s it for today, you’re excused.” Mr. Trilby said.

“Yes!” Hortensia exclaimed while stretching. “There wasn’t even anything interesting to read through. I can’t wait to get home and eat.”

“Wait!” Matilda called, before Hortensia could make it out the door. “What you said earlier about there being a bunch of mistakes. What did you mean?”

Hortensia frowned. “You said there weren’t any.”

“But why did you think that? You weren’t just joking, were you?” Matilda asked. Something had been bugging her, but no matter how long she had stared at the page, nothing jumped out at her. It was probably nothing, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

“The textbooks were too expensive.” Hortensia said.

Mr. Trilby frowned. “Textbooks have always been expensive, that’s why it’s important to take care of them.”

“No, on the list, they were like really expensive.” Hortensia said. Matilda gave her a blank stare before searching the pile of papers for the first page of the report. Hortensia dug through her backpack for a minute before pulling out her math book. “Look, the price is right on the back of the book. Twelve pounds, I remember because I had to buy a new one last month.” Matilda gaped open-mouthed at the list.

“She’s right!” Matilda said, “Look! The purchase order is for 37 pounds a book!” She groped around before pulling out the second and third pages. So that’s 25 pound difference per textbook, times the number of subjects, times the number of kids in a class times the number of grades.” She wrote a large figure on the back of a piece of paper and slid it over to Mr. Trilby.

….
“Stop beating yourself up, Matilda.” Miss Honey said on their walk home. “Of course you’d be more interested in what’s inside the book than the outside.”

“But how did I not see it?” Matilda asked for the tenth time. “I still can’t believe it was Hortensia who found the fraud.” She grumbled.

Miss Honey let out a chuckle. “How do you think Mr. Trilby feels? He’s been agonizing over it for weeks, and the school's notorious problem child finds it in one glance. I’m still very proud of you though, you know why?”

“I didn’t do anything.” Matilda mumbled.

“Oh yes you did,” Miss Honey said. “It’s thanks to both of you we found the problem. Both Mr. Trilby and I assumed we knew better and brushed her comment off. It’s you who listened and investigated further. You reminded me that I need to pay closer attention to what the children are trying to tell me, even the problem ones. Especially if I’m going to accept the job offer.”

“What job offer?” Matilda asked.

“Mr. Trilby wants to retire, and he asked me to take the role of headmistress starting next school year.”

“Woah! Are you going to take it?” Matilda asked.

“I’m considering it.” Miss Honey said. “It depends on how you’d feel about it.”

“Me? Why me? Of course you should take it!”

Miss Honey laughed. “No, not that. I meant how you’d feel about me teaching you privately in the office, instead of you trying to be in a classroom. It’s not like I could keep you in my class every year.”

“Can we really do that?” Matilda asked, “Wouldn’t you be busy with other things?”

“If I can teach a lot of first years and still manage to keep you occupied, then I don’t see how this would be much different. You do so well on your own anyway, I’m kind of afraid my only job would be to hand you the next book to work out of.”

Matilda shrugged. “It’s worked well so far.”

“We still want you to go over the other months, just so you know. Just because Hortensia found a large amount of money that went missing, it doesn’t mean there isn’t more spread out somewhere else. We also need to figure out where the money went.”

“No where good if she felt she had to hide it.” Matilda said. “So if she didn’t keep it for herself, where would the Trunchbull spend it?”

“That’s a good question.” Miss Honey said. “What would you say to a little snooping through the house after school tomorrow?”

“As long as we don’t get stuck in the closet again.”

Chapter Text

Something peculiar caught Jennifer Honey’s attention out of the corner of her eye. She put her book down and tried to spot whatever it was that had passed by her table at the library. Jennifer almost could have sworn it was a child, but what would a child that small be doing in the adult section of the library by themselves? She watched for a moment, until she saw a small figure pass by on the other side of the bookcase. She was right! It was a child.

Jennifer craned her neck searching for an accompanying adult, until she realized how silly she was being. “They’re not your responsibility until tomorrow.” She quietly chastised herself. But still…she should probably let Mrs. Phelps, the librarian know. She closed the book she was reading and stood, before pushing her chair neatly back into place.

When she arrived at the front desk, she gently placed the book, a Charlotte Bronte novel, on the counter and waited patiently for Mrs. Phelps to return from the back room, ignoring the bell with the sign that read “please ring for assistance.” She busied herself reading the signs and posters taped to the walls even though she knew she had them memorized by now.

“Jennifer!” A stern voice called from the back. The woman stiffened on instinct and fought down the urge to flee. She relaxed when an older woman with wrinkly skin and silver hair hobbled over to the counter. “The bells there for a reason.”

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Phelps.” said Jennifer, ignoring her comment.

“Just this?” The librarian picked up the book and began writing the information out on a separate card. Their town was small and behind on the times, that or the old woman still refused to use a computer.

“Yes please. Umm, I think I saw a little girl wandering around by herself over there.” Jennifer pointed to the back corner from where she had recently emerged. “I think she might be lost or…” Jennifer stopped when Mrs. Phelps craned her neck in the opposite direction, staring at an empty table nearby.

“It was probably just Matilda, she won’t hurt anything.” The older woman shook her head. “You’ve probably seen her in here before, she’s here most afternoons.” Jennifer frowned as she tried to remember, but she couldn’t recall seeing a little girl before this afternoon.

“I don’t think I’ve seen her before.” said Jennifer.

“She’s so quiet I forget she’s here half the time. I have her sit over there, so I can keep an eye on her, but it’s like watching a statue sometimes.” Jennifer watched as Mrs. Phelps followed something with her eyes off in the distance. She turned around and spotted a small raven haired girl standing by a bookshelf facing the titles.

“Is she here by herself?” Jenny asked.

“I think one of her parents drops her off and picks her up out front on weekdays. Part of me wants to give them a piece of my mind for treating the library like a daycare, but she’s been no trouble.”

Jennifer tried to imagine any one of the kindergarten students she taught left here to their own devices' day in and day out. She shook her head. The library would be in shambles.

“How old is she?” Jennifer asked curiously as she watched the little girl carefully pull a book from the shelf and examine the back cover.

“Five or six, I think. Normally she stays put, but she’s a bit antsy today.” Jennifer watched the girl for a moment. “She told me she starts school tomorrow.”

“If only they stayed that excited about school.” said Jennifer. “Did she say which school?”

“Yours.”

“Mine?” Jennifer frowned. She wouldn’t wish her school on anyone. Jennifer Honey taught at the only private school in town, notorious for its strict rules and overzealous principal. The majority of the student body fell into either one of two categories: The children of the wealthy, and the children of the parents who were at their wits end. It was the school parents threatened to send their kids if they misbehaved. “So she’ll be in my class then?”

Mrs. Phelps stood there for a moment watching the girl before answering. “No, I don’t think so.
….

Matilda had spent the entire evening tossing and turning, before giving up on sleep entirely. She sat crouched on the floor, reading under the glow of her night light. Just four more hours until her first day of school. Three more hours. Two more hours. She could hear the ringing of her parent's alarm clock. Matilda closed her book before jumping back in bed to feign sleep. Twenty minutes later a large fist began pounding on her door.

“Get up! Don’t make me late!” her father barked from the other side.

“I’m awake!” Matilda called back.

“You better be! Don’t make me come in there and drag your ass out!”

She hurriedly jumped out of bed, surprised she had actually fallen asleep, and changed into her school uniform. When she came out to the kitchen, she found her mother complaining as she stood in front of the stove, frying eggs.

"I still don't understand why we have to send her to that fancy expensive school. Why can't we just send her off to Mikey's school? It's free."

"Two words, sweet cheeks, corporal punishment. That brat needs to learn some respect, and what better way than having it beat into her." said Harry. "I met the principal the other day, a real wacko but that's besides the point, she's huge, intimidating, and she promised to give her a real good smack with the riding crop when she meets her."

Matilda froze in the kitchen. Surely her father was just trying to scare her. She made eye contact with her mother, a large woman with dyed platinum blonde hair and frowned.

"Cute uniform." Her mother said before turning back around. Matilda scowled. Was that all her mother cared about?

"They don't really beat children there, do they, daddy?" asked Matilda. "That's against the law."

"You bet your ass they do. It's a private school, they don't have to play by the rules, so you better be on your best behavior, got that? You watch that smart mouth of yours if you know what's good for you."

Matilda rode in the backseat in silence next to her brother.

"I hear you're going to the delinquent school." Michael, her older brother, sneered. "My friend says they throw kids in a wooden box."

"They do not!" Matilda hissed back. She stared out the car window. The slight feeling of dread began to mix with the excitement. Even if they did hit kids there, it’s not like she’d do anything to warrant such a punishment. She wasn’t as bad as her father thought she was. The only times she had ever acted out was when he had deserved it.

When they had pulled up to what looked like an old, decrepit, gothic stone building, Matilda stared out the window dumbfounded. This was her school? It looked like it could have been a graveyard once upon a time.

“Well, what are you waiting for? The red carpet? Get out!” Her father barked. “And you can find your own way home. I ain’t coming back here to pick you up.”

Matilda quickly gathered her book bag and scrambled out, ignoring her brother as he shouted about having fun in the coffin. Well, she thought as she took in the crumbling building, she was finally here. It was the moment she had been dreaming about all year, her first day of school. So why did she feel like she was about to step foot in a nightmare?

She could do this, she told herself as she walked onto the grounds, taking in the high weeds and cracked asphalt lot. Matilda stopped as she got near the entrance. She was starting to feel overwhelmed by the large amount of children huddled in groups surrounding her. She stared from group to group as they eyed her. Everyone already seemed like they had a place they belonged. But where did Matilda belong? She searched each pocket of children, trying to find kids her own age. She spotted three kids huddled together by the stairs who looked about as terrified as she felt, but when she got halfway to them, the school door burst open and out flew a tall lanky figure with blond hair.

“She’s coming!” The figure yelled. “The Trunchbull is coming!”

Matilda stood mystified. It was as if a switch had suddenly been thrown. The loud chatter had suddenly ceased as boys and girls scurried to stand side by side in two long rows facing each other, leaving a walkway in between them.

“Get in line, runt!” The tall lanky figure shouted at her from her spot. “Not in the boys line, get in with the girls!” Matilda scurried over, heart beating wildly in anticipation. What was going on? “If she addresses you, you need to answer all her questions with ‘ma’am’ if you don’t want to get smacked, got that?” The tall figure said. Matilda looked up at her, just now realizing it was a girl. “One more thing, if she tells you to stick out your hands, just do it. It’ll be worse for you if you don’t.”

Matilda swallowed and nodded her head as a very large, imposing figure slowly made its way out of the school building and began walking in between the row of children. Matilda thought she was the unhappiest looking woman she had ever seen. The corners of her lips curled as if she had just tasted something sour, her eyebrows were pointed downward, giving her a permanent look of anger, and her one piece green smock looked about two sizes too small for her. The thing that scared Matilda worst of all was what she had in her hand. It was a large leather riding crop that she periodically smacked inside the open palm of her hand.

There was a loud rhythmic thumping sound that filled Matilda’s head. She wasn’t sure if it was the sound of her pounding heart, or the Trunchbull’s massive boots crunching bits of asphalt beneath them with every step. Periodically, the massive woman would stop in front of a terrified looking kid before sizing them up like a wild, hungry predator trying to decide which child would make for a delicious treat.

Finally, when the woman got to where Matilda stood, she stopped. Matilda held her breath and chanted inside her head please keep going, please keep going. The Trunchbull turned and glared at her.

“You!” she barked. Matilda winced. The woman’s voice was loud, booming and made her ear drums ring. “You’re new here, yes?”

Matilda swallowed, her throat now dry. “Y-yes.” She stuttered out before feeling a kick to her shins from the girl standing next to her. “Ma’am,” she quickly added.

“What’s your name, you filthy little good for nothing miscreant?”

“Matilda Wormwood, ma’am.” She managed to choke out.

“Wormwood, eh?” A smile began to creep along the woman’s face revealing a set of yellowing teeth. Matilda inwardly grimaced. Her happy face was much more terrifying than her angry face. “Stick out your hands.” Matilda froze. “I said stick out your hands you incorrigible wretch!” Matilda’s hands shot forward.

Matilda let out a howl as a blinding flash of pain shot through her.

“That was for your father and this…” Matilda let out a second, louder scream. “Is for me.” Tears streamed from her eyes as angry red welts began to appear on the backs of her hands. Matilda couldn’t believe it! The woman had hit her with the riding crop! Why? She hadn’t done anything!

“I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I don’t like you, Wormwood. I could say I even hate you.” The Trunchbull said. Matilda’s eyes were as wide as saucers. The Trunchbull turned and stared at everyone else. “In fact, I hate each and every one of you brats.” She turned as she reached the end of the line and began making her way back towards the school. Every once in a while, she’d notice something out of place. She ordered a third grade boy to stick out his hands for having an untucked shirt. Matilda winced at the sound of leather striking skin. Her hands still ached and stung, but she didn’t dare look down at them. Matilda winced again as a girl got struck for the color of her hair tie, and the worst one, a large boy was struck in the stomach for, “being a fat ass.”

Matilda’s legs were shaking by the time the giant disappeared back into the school house. She had taken her sweet time going through the rules, and dear lord, there were so many! Matilda’s head spun. How was she supposed to remember all of them?

When a bell began to ring, Matilda watched as the children began to separate themselves into lines by what Matilda could only assume were grades, until all that was left was about 20 lost and terrified looking five-year-olds standing about unsure of what to do.

“You lot, form a line and your teacher will come escort you into your classroom.”

Matilda got in line with the others, each one looking just as scared and shell shocked as she felt. She sucked in a breath and watched as one by one adult's came and led a line of students inside, each as quiet as the children now were. She was so transfixed watching the other lines of students that she hadn’t noticed her own line was moving until she felt someone poke her from behind. Matilda quickly hurried forward to fill in the gap as she tried to steal a glimpse of who they were following.

It wasn’t until they had begun filing one by one into a classroom did Matilda see who it was. There, standing post by the open door like a prison guard, stood a plain looking young woman watching them all. Matilda gulped nervously, she couldn’t get a good read from her face, but she looked just as unfriendly as everyone else here. It wasn’t until everyone had filled the room, and the door was shut, did her demeanor suddenly change. Gone was the hard stare, rigid posture, and unreadable facial features, and in their place was a sort of gentle, calming expression.

“Please take a seat, anywhere you’d like.” the woman called out. Her quiet voice was a sharp contrast to the booming and demanding shouts from Miss Trunchbull. Matilda hurriedly took a seat in the first empty desk she could find and stared ahead, a mixture of terror and wonder fighting for dominance inside her. “Hello everyone, welcome, my name is Miss Honey. I know some of you might be feeling a little scared this being your first day and all, but I just want you to know, when you’re in this classroom with me, you have nothing to be afraid of. I know Miss Trunchbull can be scary sometimes, and she most likely told you all we teachers have sticks we use to hit you with.” The woman bent down and picked up a long wooden cane and held it up, so everyone could see. Matilda instinctively flinched. “While I do have a stick, I just want to let you know, I will never hit you with it. I don’t believe in hurting children. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for all the other teachers, so do try and be on your best behavior when you’re out in the halls or in the cafeteria.”

Matilda stared wide-eyed up at her teacher as she finished up her introduction. Matilda could have sworn she had never seen the woman before today, but there was something familiar about her. She was even more sure they had crossed paths when she had each student stand up and recite their name and at least one thing they liked or were interested in.

Matilda grew more anxious the closer it got to her. Miss Honey seemed to already be familiar with a large handful of children from either knowing their parents or an older sibling. She was also quickly realizing almost everyone here were the children of well-to-do families. There was the son of a doctor, Nigel, and the daughter of a team of husband and wife attorneys she had seen advertised on a bus stop. When it was finally her turn, she quickly stood, nearly tripping over her feet in the process.

“My name is Matilda Wormwood and I like books.” She said. She was about to sit back down when she noticed a peculiar expression on Miss Honey’s face, almost like she was surprised to see her here. Matilda swallowed nervously and hid her hands behind her back on the off chance Miss Honey had also been instructed to strike. Or was it because it was so obvious she didn’t belong in a class of wealthy children?

“Matilda,” Miss Honey said softly, as if testing out the name. “Were you by chance at the library yesterday?”

“Yes,” Matilda said.“I go most days. I love it there, and Mrs. Phelps is nice.”

“Yes, she is.” said Miss Honey. Matilda was surprised to see the woman’s lips curve in a soft sort of smile. It was smaller than the ones she had given all the other girls and boys, but something about it seemed much more genuine. When the last child had introduced themselves, Miss Honey addressed the class again.

“So something I like to do on the first day of school is to read you all a story. I find it helps settle those first day jitters. Let’s see, Matilda, since you’re a fan of books, why don’t you go pick one out from the shelf?”

Matilda, eyes now alight with excitement, leapt from her seat and hurried over, but frowned when she saw her options to choose from. Clifford the Big Red Dog, Bernstein Bears, The Rainbow Fish, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, The Giving Tree? These were all…

“Are you having trouble deciding?” Miss Honey asked.

“It’s just, these are all for little kids.” Matilda said, frowning when Miss Honey began to laugh.

“Of course they’re for little kids, this is a kindergarten classroom.”

Matilda’s shoulders slumped. She thought kindergarten would be more educational. Her eyes scanned the room until she stopped on a book lying on Miss Honey’s desk. Was that what she thought it was?

“Yes, this one!” Matilda said snatching it up and bringing it to Miss Honey. “I read it last week, but it’s still good.”

Miss Honey took the copy of Wuthering Heights and frowned. “Sweetie, this is mine, why don’t you go pick out something you’ll understand.”

“I understand it.” Matilda said with a face full of hurt. “It’s about Catherine’s and Heathcliff’s relationship, but their different classes in life keep them apart. Also, Heathcliff marries his neighbors' sister for revenge for bullying him in his childhood. Personally, I don’t think that’s a very good reason to get married, but I guess times were different back then.”

Miss Honey stared at her wide-eyed. She looked at the book in her hands, then back at Matilda’s eager face. “Y-yes, I see, well I’m sorry, but you still need to pick out something more appropriate for the rest of the class.” She watched the little girl's shoulders slump with disappointment.

“Okay,” Matilda said glumly. She went back to the shelf and without really looking, picked a story at random, handed it over and returned to her seat. It wasn’t until Miss Honey began to read did Matilda perk up. That’s where she recognized her from! Every Wednesday during the summer, there had been a lady who had come to read books to the children. Matilda hadn’t been very interested in the stories themselves as they were a bit too juvenile, but she had enjoyed sitting around the corner and listening to her voice. She loved the emphasis she put into each of the characters voices and the way she made the stories come alive.

Once the story was done, Matilda’s hand shot up, eager to share her revelation.

“You’re Jenny from the library, aren’t you?” Matilda asked when she was called on. “You were my favorite reader to listen to.”

Miss Honey gave her another genuine looking smile. “Yes. I’m glad you enjoyed it, but,” Miss Honey stopped as if trying to remember. “I don’t ever recall seeing you.”

“Oh, well, that’s because I usually sat at a table around the corner.” Matilda admitted with a bit of a blush “I didn’t want Mrs. Phelps to see me.”

“Well, I hope you won’t feel the need to hide in class.” Miss Honey said. “Now everyone, I’m sorry to do this to you all on your first day, but I have a test for you. Now don’t worry about not knowing the answers, it won’t count against you. This is just to help me see where you all are at and know which areas you might need some extra help in. Some questions are meant to be hard, so don’t worry if you don’t know them, just do what you can. I don’t expect any of you to get perfect scores.

“Has anyone ever gotten a perfect score?” a girl asked.

Miss Honey laughed and shook her head. “If someone in here got a perfect score I’d be worried.”

“Why?” someone else asked.

“Because it would mean they shouldn’t be in my class. This test covers several grades ahead of ours as well. There are fifty questions covering math and reading. I’m only expecting to see scores in the teens.”

“What’s the highest anyone’s gotten?” the same girl from before asked.

“Well, this is only my third year teaching, but I did have a student last year score a 19.”

“I’m going to get a 20!” another student shouted.

“I’ll get a 25!”

“I’ll get them all right!”

Miss Honey beamed at them all. “That’s the kind of enthusiasm i’m looking for!”

Matilda eagerly pulled out a pencil. This was her chance to show her father she wasn’t as stupid as he thought she was. She let out a sigh. He would probably just accuse her of cheating even if she did do well. He had put all his eggs in one basket with Mikey, and there was no more hope or affection left for her. The only person who had ever showed her any kindness was Mrs. Phelps. Matilda looked up from her test and eyed the young woman standing in front of the class. Maybe, just maybe, there would be another.
…

Miss Honey let out a sigh as she collapsed into her desk chair. These new kids were just as rambunctious as last year! She briefly looked over the class roster. So many new names to memorize. She had already called Brian by his older brother's name twice, and she doubted it would be the last time. Her finger paused as it got to the very end of the list. Wormwood, Matilda. Why had Mrs. Phelps been so sure she wouldn’t be in her class? Miss Honey eyed the phone sitting on her desk. No, she’d just be bothering her. She was probably busy. She bit the inside of her cheek as she debated. Finally, curiosity had won out. She dialed the number for the library.

“Mrs. Phelps, hi, this is Jennifer Honey.”

“So you finally figured out how to use a telephone.” came the curt reply. Miss Honey bit down on her cheek again. “I’m only teasing. What can I do for you?”

“You had said something peculiar yesterday, and I was hoping you would clarify. It’s about the girl from the library, Matilda. She’s in my class after all-” She stopped when Mrs. Phelps voice came over sounding disgruntled.

“Why on earth would they put that girl in your class?”

“Because she’s five?” Miss Honey said sounding unsure.

“You haven’t noticed yet?”

“Noticed what?”

“Matilda is,” there was a brief pause. “Special.” Miss Honey wanted to laugh. If she had a dollar for every time a parent told her their child was special she wouldn’t be living in a shack.

“She tried to get me to read Wuthering Heights to the class this morning. How she even knows what that book was about is beyond me but-”

“Do you have it near you?”

“Yes,” Miss Honey said, picking up the book she had gotten from the library yesterday.

“Open the cover and pull out the card in the sleeve.”

“Alright,” said Miss Honey, unsure where this was going. “I’m looking at it.”

“Recognize anyone?” She skimmed the list until she got to the second to the last name right above hers. Matilda Wormwood.

“So her parents read her the classics?”

“I think you’re missing the big picture here, Jennifer.”

“Which is?” She wasn’t in the mood to play guessing games. The kids would be back from lunch soon.

“What else would someone do in the library all day?” Mrs. Phelps asked.

“Read?”

“Bingo.”

Miss Honey shook her head. She couldn’t be serious. “Are you saying she read this?”

“She reads anything she can get her hands on.”

“No wonder she was falling asleep while I was going over vowel sounds.” said Miss Honey. “If she can read and understand full length books…” A sudden thought came to her. The test! “They make me give the children this horrendously difficult test to the children on their first day. I haven’t graded them yet but,” she dug through her desk in search of Matilda’s. “I think I’ll grade hers now.”

“Keep me on the line, I want to hear this.”

There was a long moment's pause while Miss Honey skimmed the answers on her test. She could feel all the tiny hairs on her arms and back of her neck begin to rise. This…This wasn’t possible. Finally, she let out her held breath as she stared down at her score dumbfounded.

“How?” was all Jennifer was able to blurt out.

“Well?” Mrs. Phelp’s asked. “How’d she do?”

“You were right.” said Miss Honey. “This girl has no business being in kindergarten.” She stared down at the near perfect score in awe. “It wasn’t just reading, it’s math too.” Something Matilda had said began to worm its way into her head. “Does she understand?” Jennifer asked. “How far ahead she is?” Matilda had asked her why all her books were for little kids. Did she think they were below kindergarten level?

“I don’t think so, but I’m not sure how much interaction she has with other kids her age.”

When Miss Honey had hung up the phone, she peeked out at her students on the black top. They were all huddled into groups, all except one. She could see Matilda, sitting alone on a picnic bench with a book. She slipped out the classroom and out the doors before making her way out to her.

“Hi, dear, what are you doing?” asked Miss Honey. No answer. “Sweetie?” Nothing. “Matilda?” The girl looked up now startled.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were talking to me.” said Matilda.

“Who else would I be talking to?” Miss Honey asked taking the seat across from her.

“Terms of endearment are a bit foreign to me, so I might assume you’re addressing someone else.” Miss Honey frowned, opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again.

“So what are you reading?”

“To Kill A Mockingbird.”

“I like that one.” said Miss Honey. “I have a bit of a silly request.” Matilda cocked her head to the side. “Would you read me a page?”

“Out loud?” Matilda asked. Miss Honey nodded. “Sorry if it’s not good, I don’t usually read out loud.”

“It’s alright, just try.” Miss Honey held her breath as Matilda read just as fluently as any adult. There wasn’t a pause, stutter or stumble. When she had finished the page, she had looked up, but Miss Honey was so enthralled she had asked her to keep reading until she had finished the chapter she was on. “That was wonderful.” Miss Honey said with a wide smile. “How long have you been able to read?”

“I can’t remember a time I haven’t been able to.” Matilda answered after a brief pause. “I really like,” she paused again to find the right way to explain. “Not being here.” Miss Honey frowned.

“Not being in school?”

“No, I mean, not being in the present. Every time I open a book, I’m there in that world, and every world is different. Why would I want to be here when I could be on a pirate ship, or in the 19th century?”

“That’s a wonderful way of looking at it. I love reading too.”

“Really?” asked Matilda, “I tried asking my classmates but…” her shoulders slumped. “What do you like to read?”

“Have you read any of Charles Dickens? I enjoy his stories quite a lot.”

“Only everything at the library. The first adult book I read last year was Great Expectations.”

“Matilda, you read Great Expectations when you were only four years old?” Matilda shrugged, as if it was a feat any toddler could do.

“I asked Mrs. Phelps to let me read a famous book, and that’s what she brought back. After I finished it, I read David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities. I also read Nicholas Nickleby, but after today, I’m starting to wish I hadn’t.” She held up the backs of her hands, where Miss Honey could see the angry red welts still present.

“Oh, Matilda,” Miss Honey whispered. She had the overwhelming desire to clasp the girl's hands in her own. She had to fight down the impulse. Affection was frowned upon here, reminding Miss Honey this school really was like the school in Nicholas Nickleby. “What happened?”

“My daddy asked her to. I thought he was just trying to scare me, but…” her voice trailed off. Miss Honey could see her eyes begin to flood with tears before she wiped them away with her arm. “Once she heard my name, she ordered me to stick my hands out.”

“I’m so sorry, dear, she likes to pick out children at random on the first day and use them as an example to scare everyone into behaving. It might not have had anything to do with your name.”

Jennifer couldn’t imagine someone telling Miss Trunchbull to hurt a girl like Matilda. She had only known her for a single afternoon, but from what she could tell, she seemed very sweet, well-behaved, and extremely intelligent. It wasn’t until you got into at least third grade that the problem students started transferring in.

Jennifer felt a pang of sadness for what she had to do, she would have loved to continue to see just how vast Matilda’s mind really was. In fact, she had a feeling she could easily spend hours talking about books. Finally, here was someone who understood how wonderful reading could be, but. Miss Honey frowned. Why couldn’t it be another adult? Why did it have to be a five-year-old? She had longed to have a real adult conversation with someone that wasn’t awkward small talk while she bagged their groceries during the summer.

Who was she kidding? Every conversation she had ever had with people her own age was awkward. It didn’t help that she couldn’t seem to look anyone over five feet in the eye without panicking. She loved children, their innocence, and their wild imaginations, but she could only take so many one-sided conversations about Paw Patrol or whatever other television shows were popular.

“What’s wrong?” asked Matilda. “You have this worried look on your face.”

Miss Honey had to mentally smooth out her features, hiding her surprise at having been caught. So she wasn’t just book smart, she was amazingly perceptive too.

“Nothing, dear.” said Miss Honey. Matilda studied her face for a moment.

“Why do adults lie so much to children?” asked Matilda rather bluntly. Her innocent features now sported a scowl. There was no hiding things from this one it seemed.

“Because sometimes it’s just easier than explaining the truth. Some things aren’t appropriate to tell children.” Like the fact she was having an existential crises at the thought of going to see the principal.

“So you are worried about something?”

“I’ll tell you a secret.” Miss Honey leaned her head in and Matilda eagerly did the same. “I’m starving.” Matilda giggled, before replying.

“That wasn’t a I’m hungry face, though.” Jeez this kid! “It was more,” Matilda thought about it. “Scared.”

“Once you see the cafeteria food, you’ll be scared too.” Matilda grinned before shaking her head. Miss Honey’s smile faltered. She let out a sigh. “I have to see the principal about something.” She leaned her head in again and whispered. “She scares me too.”

“Do you have someone to go with you? I could go with you if you want, then maybe it won’t be so scary.”

Miss Honey smiled. The offer was cute and touching, but she shook her head. “That’s very sweet of you, but it’s something I have to do alone. It’ll be like ripping a band-aid off, I’ll feel better once it’s over with.” There was no way Jennifer was bringing her anywhere near the principal's office. If Matilda thought her riding crop was scary, Jennifer would never see her again if she saw what awaited disobedient students in Miss Trunchbull’s office. She shuddered at the thought.

She was about to tell Matilda it was time to get washed up for lunch when her stomach let out a loud growl. The girl stared at her wide-eyed before bursting into giggles. “I told you I was hungry.”

…….

This had not gone to plan. This had not gone to plan at all.

“So?” Miss Trunchbull asked after looking at Matilda’s test score.

“Well, I figured she’d be happier in a more advanced class. For someone who can already read fluently and has a firm grasp of basic mathematics, kindergarten would be very boring for her.”

“No.” Came the curt reply. Ms. Honey frowned. “She obviously cheated anyway.”

“No, M-miss Trunchbull, I heard-”

“She’s a real wart that one. She’s a cheat and a liar. Even her father said so. Asked me to give her a good smack when I met her. I had her screaming and crying this morning, yes I did.”

Ms. Honey’s mouth nearly fell open. They certainly weren’t talking about the same girl! “No, there must be some mistake! Matilda is a very-”

“Big, and revolting problem you must deal with. Don’t let those little slime balls manipulate you! Or do I need to re-educate you on how to handle children?” Ms. Honey quickly shook her head. She could hear whimpering coming from around the corner where Ms. Trunchbull kept that. “This is a school, children aren’t supposed to be happy. So you either keep the little wart in line or I will.”

Ms. Honey’s head was pounding with anger as she rode her bike, an old rusted beach cruiser she had liberated from the dump, towards home. What was she supposed to do now? And how could Mr. Wormwood say something like that about his own daughter? The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and the angrier she became, the more frantically she peddled. She was pedaling so hard by the time she reached the farm fields she almost rode right past the figure sitting on the sidewalk with their head tucked to their knees. If it wasn’t for Crunchem Hall uniform, she would have kept on going.

Ms. Honey hit the brakes and stared at the figure. What was a student doing all the way out here?

“Hey, are you okay?” Miss Honey asked. The child looked up, tears streaking down their face. “Matilda?” She hopped off her bike and squatted down next to her. “What in the world are you doing out here by yourself?”

“I-I-Iwastryingtowalkhomebutigotlostandnowi’mtootiredtokeepwalkingandIreallyhavetopee” Matilda blurted out before bursting into tears.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that a bit slower? I didn’t understand any of it.” She tried to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but instantly felt the girl stiffen.

“I’m lost.” Matilda said before getting up and beginning to pace before stopping, crossing her legs and bending forward at the waist. Ms. Honey watched her for a moment before what she said beforehand clicked into place. Oh. She looked around, but there was nothing but fields.

“I don’t live far. Do you think you can wait a few more minutes?” Ms. Honey wasn’t so sure if she could, but Matilda sniffled and nodded. She picked up her bike got on and had Matilda climb on the back of the seat and wrap her arms around Jennifer's waist. Within a few peddles she knew this wasn’t going to work. Matilda couldn’t sit still. She would send them both crashing to the ground.

“I’m sorry, but c’mon, let’s go over here.” She took Matilda’s hand and led her down a dirt path and away from the main road.

“Where are we going?” Matilda asked, staring at her hand in Jennifer’s as if the mere act of holding hands was something foreign to her.

“Somewhere you can go potty.” Ms. Honey watched as Matilda craned her neck this way and that.

“I don’t see a restroom.” Ms. Honey bit back a laugh, before looking behind her.

“I think we’re far enough from the road. Around here should be okay.”

“Around he-” Matilda stopped mid-sentence as her situation seemed to click. Ms. Honey watched her face go from pale white to a bright shade of scarlet.

“Have you ever been camping?” Matilda shook her head as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. “See, normally what you want to do is dig a hole, but the ground is a bit too hard here.” Ms. Honey struck it with a stick, but nothing happened. “Oh well, you won’t hurt anything.” Matilda stared at her silently for a moment. “Go on. It’s okay.”

“I-I don’t have to go that badly.” Matilda lied.

“You haven’t stopped squirming since I found you. I have a feeling your family won’t be happy if you show up with a wet uniform. They’re very expensive.” Matilda hung her head and crossed her legs. “Best to just get it over with. I won’t look if that’s what you're worried about.”

“Like a band-aid.” Matilda mumbled.

“Yes, just like that. Did you still want me to read Wuthering Heights?”

“Yes.”

“How about this. Once you go potty, we can still go to my house. I’ve got a map and once we figure out where you live, I’ll read you a chapter.”

Matilda let out a breath. “Okay.” She mumbled. “Where?”

Miss Honey turned around. “Right where you’re standing is fine. Wait first, hand me everything you're wearing from the waist down. This will all be pointless if you still get everything wet.” She grabbed the clothing when she felt something soft get pressed against her arm. “Now all you have to do is squat down and make sure your legs are apart.”

“Okay.”

After a minute of silence, Miss Honey peeked behind her to make sure everything was going alright, but frowned when she saw Matilda, now half naked, still dancing from foot to foot.

“You’re not going to feel any better until you get it over with.”

“Hey! You said you wouldn’t look!”

“I’ll look away once you get down.” Matilda groaned, hands clenched into fists in front of her while pumping her legs up and down. “Fine, I’ll read two chapters.”

“I can’t. Not here.” Matilda whimpered.

“Sweetie, you won’t make it anywhere else.”

“No, I mean, I can’t get down here.” Matilda was crying again.

“What? What is it? Are you hurt?”

“N-no, there are holes” Jennifer looked down. Yes, there were quite a lot of holes, but they were in a field. She gave Matilda a quizzical look. “I d-don’t like holes I can’t see down. What if they're full of yellow jackets?”

Jennifer took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. Children and their irrational fears. “They’re just old gopher holes. The quicker you go, the quicker you can get away from them.”

“Would you put your privates next to holes you can’t see down and start pouring liquid?”

Miss Honey blanched. When she put it like that. It didn’t sound so irrational after all.

Matilda. 1.

Jennifer. 0.

“Do you want to look for somewhere else, or do you want to try and wait until we get to my place?”

“I think I can wait.” Matilda said, hands still covering herself. “Can I have my clothes back, please?”

“Hmm, tell you what? Let’s play a game of risk.” Jennifer said. Matilda frowned. “You have until we get to the bike to change your mind. If you can make it until we get there, I’ll read you two chapters.”

“Okay, then I’ll wait.” Matilda said.

“But if we have to stop along the way, one chapter, and if you have an accident, no chapters.”

“O-oh okay.” Matilda said. “So can I have my clothes back?”

“I’ll give them back at the bike, because once you put them on, it starts.”

“It starts at the bike?” Matilda asked.

“If you change your mind and find somewhere to go potty before we get to the bike, I’ll still read you two chapters. So keep an eye out.”

They walked in silence back towards the street, Matilda trailing a few steps behind her. Jennifer was hoping she’d hear her run off somewhere, but the girl seemed determined. When they got back to the street, Jennifer looked left and then right to make sure the coast was clear. When she saw that it was, she bent and picked up the bike and that's when something struck her.

“Matilda,” Jennifer said with her back still turned towards her. “There’s something you should know before I give you your clothes, and we head towards my place. It’s an outhouse.”

“Huh?” Matilda said.

“The bathroom. It’s an outhouse. Do you know what that is?”

“Like a porta-potty?”

“Sort of, it’s more like a seat that sits over a big hole in the ground. I’m not sure just how uncomfortable you are with holes, but-” she peeked over her shoulder at the crestfallen expression on Matilda’s face and heard a tiny audible whimper escape. “There are no holes here sweetie.”

“Pl-pl-please don’t tell anyone. My d-daddy would- ” Matilda’s voice broke.

Jennifer got off her bike and steered it over about a foot from the curb.

“Your daddy doesn’t need to know. Come over here behind the bike so no one sees if they drive by.” She watched out the corner of her eye as Matilda scurried over behind the bike and disappeared. Ms. Honey waited for a minute, but she didn’t hear any movement. “Everything okay?”

“Yes.” Came a quiet sniffle.

“Are you going potty?”

There was a second much quieter, “Yes.” Jennifer almost wasn’t sure she heard. She peeked behind her, before turning back around, pleased to see there was now liquid streaming down the gutter.

“There’s a good girl. I’m sure you feel loads better now.”

“Pl-ple-please don’t t-t-tell a–ny-one.” Matilda cried.

“Sweetie, it’s nothing to be upset about. Even adults have to do it sometime.”

“My p-p-parents say girls can’t pee outside, only guys get to.”

“Well, it’s easier for them sure, but what do you think female hikers and campers do?”

“My daddy said they hold it until they get home.”

“That’s not very practical, is it?”

"Miss Honey, can I please have my clothes back?" Matilda asked from behind the bike.

"Oh, yes, here." She bent down and opened up the girl's underwear for her to step into, but Matilda quickly pulled them out of her hands and dressed herself. "All set?" Jennifer asked once Matilda had stood up and come out from behind the bike.

"Almost." Jennifer watched her rub at her temples with her hands.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, it's just, whenever something unpleasant happens, I like to imagine it getting locked in a box where I'll never remember it again."

“Matilda, it really isn’t a big deal.”

“Of course it’s a big deal! It was my first day of school, and I just peed in the street in front of my teacher! You must think I’m disgusting or uncivilized! Or some kind of infant who isn’t ready for school!” Matilda said, her voice getting louder with every word.

“No, sweetie, I don’t think any of those things. You made the right choice. You recognized your limitations and acted accordingly. I think what you did was smart, but if it bothers you this much we can both pretend it never happened. Just know, I have seen more than half the class naked and in far more compromising positions, so you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Matilda furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“I think I missed that part of class.” Jennifer laughed and shook her head.

“No, silly, I’ve babysat most of them at one time or another over the years. I’ve given them baths, cleaned up diaper blowouts, changed wet sheets and wet pajamas.”

“Oh I see, but that’s when they were babies, obviously.”

“Uhh, not quite.” Miss Honey said with a small smile. “But we will need to rinse off your legs.” She quietly chuckled to herself as Matilda’s face began to glow bright red. “So do you want to ride on the back of the bike, or shall we walk?”

“Walk. I don’t want to get your bike dirty.”

Once they started walking, Matilda seemed to snap out of the embarrassed trance she was in. Jennifer was having difficulty keeping up with her in conversation. She bounced from one topic to the next, leaving Jennifer in awe. She couldn’t believe she was having these types of conversations with a small child. They talked about feminism in the early 1800s compared to today, classism in A Tale of Two Cities, working conditions of the poor, religions of the world. Jennifer was so entranced she hardly noticed how far they had walked. It was as if Matilda had stopped being this vulnerable, lost child and had become a miniature scholar. She was quite knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects, but as soon as Jennifer had started asking her anything about her own life, she seemed to clam up, and once again she could glimpse the vulnerable child.

“We’re here, right through these trees.” Jennifer led her through a maze of trees and shrubs until they came upon a small building no one would ever find unless they knew where to look for it. She pushed her bike up and leaned it against the small white building.

“You live here?” Matilda asked, wide eyes taking in the property. Jennifer could see her eyes light up in excitement as she spotted something across the yard. “You have a hammock! That’s so cool!” Jennifer smiled and watched the young girl take off across the yard until she came up to a group of trees she had strung up a once broken hammock she had bought at a yard sale and sewn back together. “You have a garden too! Is that corn?”

“Yes, I enjoy gardening. I grow all sorts of fruits and vegetables, like corn, squash, cucumbers, strawberries.”

“Is that a real well?” Matilda ran over and peeked inside before quickly backing off.
“Can’t see the bottom.” She mumbled.

“Yes, It’s how I get my water. There isn’t any modern plumbing inside, so I can’t just turn a faucet. If I need water for anything, I have to draw it from the well.”

“Why don’t you have running water?” Matilda asked.

“Well, back in the day, it used to be the sla- I mean servants quarters. It’s old and out of date. I’m afraid the outside is much more interesting than the inside.”

“And is that the outhouse?” she pointed to the other corner of the yard. “Why doesn’t it have a door?”

“Ah, well, I took it off since it’s just me here, it’s out of the way and secluded from the rest of the main property and anyone who might walk by. I don’t like being in small spaces.”

“But what if you have guests?”

“Well, I’ve never had to think of that before, you’re the first person I’ve ever had over.”

“Really? How long have you lived here?”

“Almost two years.”

“You’ve lived here for two years, and I’m the first guest?” Matilda asked incredulous. “Why?”

“I like living simply. This is the only place I can really be myself, it’s not much I know, but here I’m free. Now, come here, let’s get you cleaned up, and then we can lay in the hammock and read.” She led Matilda back over to the well and drew the bucket up. Next she went inside and retrieved one of the few washcloths she had and dunked it in the water. “Pull everything from the waist off, and I’ll wipe you down.” Jennifer frowned when Matilda began backing away.

“I can clean myself.”

“If you insist, but make sure to get everywhere, so you don’t go home smelling like urine. I'll be over here when you’re done.” She handed her the damp cloth and laid down in the hammock to wait. Five minutes later, Matilda tried to pull herself up, but nearly tipped Jennifer out. “Over here, so you can see.” Matilda let out a startled yell when Jennifer picked her up and set her down in between her legs. “Why do you look so uncomfortable? Relax, I’m not going to hurt you.” She placed a hand on her shoulder and felt her body go rigid. Jennifer frowned in concern. “Does being touched bother you?”

“I’m not used to it is all. My family isn’t the affectionate type.” Miss Honey remembered what she had said during lunch about terms of endearment being foreign to her.

“Don’t they ever hug you or hold you or tuck you in at night?”

“No.” Matilda said flatly. Jennifer bit her lip.

“Matilda, are you safe?”

“Can we read, Miss Honey?”

“Not until you answer my question.” Matilda shifted uncomfortably.

“If you answer mine.” Jennifer pinched the bridge of her nose.

“What do you want to ask me?”

“Do you live here because you like it or is it just because you're poor?” Matilda asked. Jennifer froze.

“Both.” She thought of lying, but this girl seemed to have a built-in lie detector. “Now answer mine.”

“What do you mean by, ‘safe’?”

“Are you taken care of? Fed? Loved?”

“There’s food in the house, I’m not being starved or locked in a cupboard like I’m Harry Potter. Do you not make much money from teaching?”

“But a child needs more than just their physical needs met. They need to be shown love and kindness.”

“Mrs. Phelps is kind to me.” Matilda mumbled. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I make enough, but my aunt takes it all as back payment for raising me. I live off the money I get doing odd jobs like babysitting on the weekends, or working over the summer. It’s difficult to be an independent adult when you take home as much money as a teenager. As for Mrs. Phelps, she’s not your mother. It’s not enough, trust me, I know. I grew up in a loveless home, and the only kindness I received came from the same source.”

“Why did your aunt raise you?” Matilda asked. “Was she mean?”

“My parents died when I was very young. And yes, she is a very mean woman.”
“I’m sorry. Was she mean like Miss Trunchbull?” Jennifer stayed quiet for a moment until Matilda turned around to face her. Finally, she settled on the truth.

“My aunt is Miss Trunchbull.” Matilda gasped.

“Ms. Honey!” Jennifer smiled sadly.

“Enough about me, and you don’t have to keep calling me Ms. Honey while we’re here. When we’re not at school you can call me Jenny.” She looked down at Matilda. “And if this position makes you uncomfortable, you can move.” Matilda sat still for a moment and looked at her place in between Jennifer’s legs.

“Can I stay?” Matilda mumbled.

“Absolutely. In fact, lay back, get comfortable.” She pulled the girl down until she was leaning fully against her and picked up the book next to her. “I promised to read some chapters, didn’t I?” Matilda grinned and nodded her head.

Jennifer got halfway through the second chapter when she stopped and listened. She could hear Matilda’s deep rhythmic breathing. She looked down and found the girl turned on her side and resting her head on Jennifer’s stomach, now fast asleep. Jennifer smiled and gently ran a hand over her back. She thought of waking her and offering to take her home but decided against it. Matilda had had a rough day and maybe a nap was really what she needed, and maybe a little something else. She wrapped her arms gently around the sleeping girl and smiled when she felt tiny arms wrap around her as well. She may not be able to challenge her mind, but at the very least, she could offer Matilda something her books and family couldn’t and wouldn’t. Human Affection.

Chapter Text

Jenny took a deep breath in an attempt to calm the butterflies swarming in her stomach. Both her and Matilda stood in front of Jenny’s childhood home the following Saturday, buckets of cleaning supplies in hand. She hadn’t been inside in years, save the one time Matilda had dragged her inside and gotten themselves stuck in a closet all evening. Already the childhood memories she wished to burn from her mind began to pour in.

“Ready?” Matilda asked. Jenny felt a small hand wrap itself around hers and squeeze.

“Ready.” Jenny said, reassured by the reminder that she wasn’t alone. She pushed the door open, surprised vandals and squatters hadn’t had their way with the place as they walked inside and set the buckets down. “What do you think?” Jenny asked as they slowly walked from room to room checking the place out.

“There are a lot of rooms, it’s even bigger than my parent's house.” Matilda said wide-eyed.

“I wonder what she did with my old room.” Jenny said as they went upstairs. “Probably tore it to pieces when I said I wasn’t coming back home.” She led Matilda down the hall and stopped at a closed door. “Let’s see what disaster awaits behind door number one.” She opened the door and let out a gasp of surprise.

“It’s…” Matilda started to say but stopped.

“In one piece.” Jenny said. She slowly walked around the room taking it all in. The bookcases, the desk, her old white bed frame. It was all still here and…Lucy! She went to the bed and picked up a doll wearing a white dress and hugged it for a moment before setting it back down. She stared fondly at the other knickknacks placed neatly on the shelves. “This would be perfect for you.”

“It doesn’t look like anyone’s been in here in years.” Matilda said, running a hand along the bed frame before wiping the dust on her pants before perking up, “Let’s look at the master bedroom.”

They left the room, leaving the door open behind them as they made their way to the master bedroom.

“That’s umm… well, it’s..” Matilda said staring ahead at a complete loss for words.

“It’s coming down is what it is!” Jenny said with a grimace as they both stared at the large tapestry of The Trunchbull hanging over the large four-poster bed.

“Do we throw it away or burn it?” Matilda asked as she looked around. “She really liked pictures of herself.”

"No kidding." Jenny said with a wince as she looked around. "I haven't been in this room since I was your age." She pressed down on the mattress a few times. "I used to sneak in early Sunday mornings before the Trunchbull would wake up, and sit in my father's lap while he read the paper. He was the one who taught me how to read. He loved reading, and always instilled in me the value of education. He would have loved you. I'm sure of it."

Matilda didn't know how to respond, so she stood by fidgeting awkwardly as Jennifer seemed to stare off into space. She wasn't sure if Jenny was thinking of happy memories or sad. The emotions were too complex to pull apart and decipher. Whatever it was, it was overwhelming to Matilda. Just as Matilda figured she should leave her, she seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in.
"Of course, once he died, I was never allowed in here again. Along with a long list of other things." She said more under her breath than to Matilda.

"Can I?" Matilda asked, pointing up to the tapestry. She made a ripping motion with her hands as Jennifer stared blankly at her.

"No, I'll just throw it out later. I don't want you hurting yourself trying."
Matilda scowled. Ever since the incident with the glass door, Jennifer had been reluctant, almost even fearful of letting her use her powers. Matilda had even started wondering if Jennifer thought by not letting it out, they would go away on their own. Matilda didn't want it to go away. They had become a part of her, and not using them made her feel trapped inside her skin. She could feel the power inside of her bouncing around, begging for release. It was like an itch she couldn't scratch. She imagined it akin to something like having wings that were bound or perfectly good legs and never being allowed to walk. Matilda wanted little more than to give it fresh air, but it was always the same.

"No, you'll hurt yourself"

"No, you'll make yourself too tired."

She needed to get her mind off it, or the pressure building inside her would drive her insane. It had been nearly a week since she had tormented Mr. Larson and made the lights blow. They were here to clean and snoop, so that's what she would do. Matilda got on her hands and knees and peered underneath the large bed. Jackpot! She crawled underneath.

"Matilda, what are you doing under there?" Jennifer called.

"Looking for secrets." came the reply.

"I don't think you're going to find anything under there but dust bunnies."

"Then what's this?" Matilda asked triumphantly, shoving the shoebox out by Jennifer's feet before crawling out herself.
"Look at you, you're covered in dust. When I said we were going to sweep, I meant with a broom, not with you." Matilda ignored her while Jennifer smacked the dirt off the girl's clothes. "So what's in the box?"

“I'm not sure." Matilda stared blankly at the contents. There were several strangle shaped things inside. Some twisted into odd shapes, some had bumps and some were smooth. She was about to reach for one when the cover of the shoebox slammed down. She looked up at Jennifer confused, who was now sporting a grimace before letting out a nervous laugh.

"I think that's enough snooping in here for you."

"What? Why?" Matilda said indignantly.

"There are things in here that are too inappropriate. Why don't you go start emptying the fridge?"

"But Je-"

"Out! Out out out."

"Okay, okay stop pushing!"

"I'm just going to do a quick sweep of the room, then I'll help you downstairs. Oh, and Mrs. Rodger's will be here soon anyway. Why don't you let her in once she gets here. "

"Fine." Matilda grumbled, before leaving the room.

Once Jennifer was sure Matilda was gone, she looked under the bed to make sure nothing else was underneath. She felt dismayed when she saw there was. Wasn't one box enough? She tried to crawl underneath the bed, but found she wouldn't fit. Then she got on top of the bed and tried reaching down between the wall and the headboard. She could just reach the tip, but couldn't quite bring it up without squishing her arm. So she slid it forward as much as she could. Now lying on her stomach over the edge of the mattress, she reached as far as she could, just touching the edge once again. Oh, c'mon! Just a little farther!

Jennifer was vaguely aware of Matilda yelling something up to her, but all her focus was on disposing of any evidence of her aunts extracurricular activities, she hadn't heard the footsteps working their way up the stairs.
Just a little more! She inched her body further over the side of the bed, hands now connecting with the shoebox underneath. She dragged it out, but when she tried to pull herself back up, she found she couldn't. Instead of pulling herself up, she found herself sliding further down. She let out a frightened yell, dropping the second box and spilling its contents while she tried desperately to grasp onto the comforter. Too late.

Jennifer felt herself somersaulting over the side of the bed and onto the floor with a loud crash. Now dazed and sore, she clutched the blankets and tried to pull herself up once again, only now to slip on a pile of magazines and send the first shoebox, which had been resting only a foot from the side, down on top of her.

"Jennifer, are you alright? I heard a crash. Do you need he-" Mrs. Rodger's stopped mid-sentence as she took in the sight. Jennifer sat there looking stunned.

"Mom, are you okay? Did you-" Matilda froze too. She looked down at her feet where a purple phallic shaped cylinder had come to rest.

"Don't touch that!" Miss Honey cried. Instead, Matilda pointed at it and wordlessly commanded it to rise in the air. She looked from it back to Jennifer sitting in a pile of various shaped objects and raised an eyebrow.

"Mom, if you wanted some alone time, you could have just said so." Matilda watched with some amusement at Jenny's ever-changing face. It seemed to change color like a flickering Christmas light, going from white, to bright red, before finally settling on a ghostly gray.

"I-I'm not- I wasn't!" Jennifer babbled.

"You're sitting in a pile of dirty magazines and adult toys." Matilda said, mentally flipping the switch and making it vibrate loudly before turning it off and letting it fall to the floor. She saw the dismayed and disappointed look on Miss Honey’s face. She hated when Matilda knew what adult things were for. "Zinnia left hers out on her dresser once and caught me using it as a back massager." Matilda frowned for a moment. "I don't know why they're only made for adult backs though. When I asked her she said it was because Daddy’s hands were too small to satisfy her, so sometimes she needed something extra.”

Miss Rodger’s let out a snort before quickly stifling it at the scathing look she received from Jennifer.

“Yes, well, Miss Trunchbull must have had a lot of kinks in her back.” Jennifer said before clearing her throat. “Please go back downstairs and get started in the kitchen while we clean this up.”

“Well, she certainly had a lot of kinks, but I’m not sure about them being in her back.” Miss Rodger’s said once Matilda was out of earshot.

Jennifer shuddered as she began shoving magazines blindly back into the box. The less she saw the better. She didn’t want to know what her aunt had been into. Miss Rodger’s on the other hand seemed amused flipping through the pages.

“Bondage, that doesn’t surprise me one bit. You notice they're all women?”
“I’m trying not to notice anything.” Jennifer replied. She had scooped up the last of the pile when a few Polaroids fell to the floor. She bent down, picked them up and froze. Jennifer could feel the color begin to drain from her face. The room began to sway. Her throat constricted. No! No! No! No! No! No! She let out a strangled whimper.

Mrs. Rodger’s looked up and frowned.

“Jennifer, what is it?” but all the woman could do was shake her head as a silent tear began to fall. Mrs. Rodger’s came over and stared at the pictures still clutched in Jenny’s hand. “Oh shit.” she muttered.

…

When Matilda opened the fridge, she let out a dry, involuntary retch. The food inside had long since spoiled and bugs were crawling in and out. If there was ever an excuse to use her powers, this was it. She held the trash bag open and one by one, sent the contents of the fridge hovering into the bag. See, her powers could be useful! It felt so good to let them out. Sure, she was growing tired alarmingly quick, but that was just because she was out of practice. By the time the fridge was empty, Matilda had filled three gallon trash bags and felt like she had just run a marathon. She felt very weak as she stumbled out of the kitchen and towards the couch. She just needed to sit down, and she’d be fine.

Matilda was just about to collapse onto the sofa when she felt an alarming pang in her chest. Her legs began to wobble. She quickly sat and gripped the sofa. What was this? Was this from over using her powers? There was another feeling. Terror. No, sadness. No, hate! She wanted to yell. It was too much! This had Jennifer written all over it. She wanted to go to her, but found she couldn’t move. Just when Matilda thought she couldn’t take it anymore, the feeling all but disappeared. Matilda sat there, panting and shaking as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

She tried to put on a smile, but dropped it when she saw the serious look on the two women’s faces.

“What happened?” Matilda asked Mrs. Rodger’s as she busied herself in the kitchen making everyone tea. All Matilda knew was Jenny was nearly catatonic, and Mrs. Rodger’s had called the police.

Mrs. Rodger’s bit her lip before peeking out into the hallway. “We found some things we thought we should hand over to the police.”

“What? Like a gun?” Matilda asked.

“No, not a gun.”

“Matilda! Would you come over here?” they heard from the living room. Matilda perked up as she rushed to Jenny’s side.

“Mom, are you okay?” Matilda asked. Miss Honey smiled weakly. She still looked very pale and shaken. “What happened?”

“Sweetie, would you do me a favor?” Matilda nodded her head eagerly. What did she need? A blanket? Some water? Tea? A snack? “Would you go up to my old room and lie down for a nap?” Matilda scowled. A nap? She was telling her to go take a nap?

“Mom, really?”

“Please?” Miss Honey asked. Matilda sighed. She looked desperate. “I’ll come wake you up later, so please, just stay up there. You don’t even have to take a nap if you really don’t want to. You can read a book, I have several.”

“Okay.” Matilda sighed.

“Thank you.” Miss Honey gave her a tight embrace. Matilda was halfway to the stairs when she stopped and stared at the wall.

“That’s a big spider.” She could see Jenny flinch and turn around. Matilda took a step closer to examine it. “It has a cotton ball just like Charlotte.”

“Matilda, get away from that! That’s not a cotton ball, that’s an egg sac.” Matilda’s eyes went wide. She took it the white fluffy ball. If that was an egg sac… She sucked in a breath and jumped back.

“I think I’m going to go lie down after all.” Matilda said in a monotonous tone. She numbly climbed the stairs, her brain refusing to quiet. If it wasn’t a cotton ball she had put in the backseat of the Trunchbull’s car. No, she couldn’t think about this right now! She pinched her eyes shut as she imagined hundreds of legs emerging from their white fluffy prison. Legs that were scurrying and climbing over the backseat. Legs that had caused their victim to panic.

When Matilda reached Jennifer’s old room she stopped and stared at the door. She hadn’t noticed the deadbolt before. She frowned. It was on the wrong side. She stared up at it as realization dawned on her. It wasn’t for keeping someone out. It was for keeping someone in.

Chapter Text

Something was going on, it was quite obvious. The question was what. Matilda’s curiosity was killing her. What had Miss Honey found that had upset her so much? What was so bad that they needed to hand it over to the police?

Resisting the urge to lay down, despite the bed looking incredibly comfortable at the moment, she had crept out of the room and stood as still as a statue in an attempt to eavesdrop. From her vantage point, she could see Jennifer and Mrs. Rodger’s sitting on opposite couches facing each other. The corner of Jennifer’s bottom lip was bleeding from being gnawed on, her tell-tale sign of distress. Matilda crouched to the floor and silently scooted her way closer to the banister to make out what they were saying.

“Jennifer, I know this is a difficult subject, and I apologize if I’m crossing a line by asking this, but-” Mrs. Rodger’s paused. “Were you, did she…?” Her voice dropped to nearly a whisper. Matilda couldn’t hear what was being asked, but she could clearly see Jennifer’s shoulder’s stiffen before going limp. Her head fell forward.

“Yes.”

“How old were you?”

“I think it started when I was around Matilda’s age.”

“Jesus, Jen. Didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry! I didn’t know it was wrong! I- I- I She…She’d…” Jennifer’s voice was cut off by quiet sobs. Matilda’s heart ached. She could feel moisture in her own eyes. Matilda didn’t know what they were talking about, but she got the distinct impression it wasn’t something she should be listening in on. Whatever it was, whatever had happened, it was bad.

Matilda scooted herself back along the hallway, no longer trying to listen in, but hearing their voices just the same. The large house seemed to carry the sounds no matter how quiet they tried to be. If Matilda had wanted to eavesdrop all she had had to do was keep the bedroom door open.

“I’m sorry, Jen. Of course you wouldn’t know at that age. None of it was your fault. Shh it’s alright.”

“But this is my fault! All of this! It’s not like it only happened when I was little. If I had said something, but I’m such a coward…”

“This. Is. Not. Your. Fault. We don’t even know if these kids had been. Just because she had pictures of them… And look, they’re all fully dressed. It’s not like we found pictures of them naked and tied to the bed.”

“But they’re in my room! And this boy is clearly crying. Don’t you recognize him?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Rodger’s said with a defeated sigh, “I recognize Billy Reyes.” Matilda scrunched up her face. Why did that name sound familiar? “But, Jennifer, look at me. This isn’t your fault. I need you to understand. Matilda needs you to understand. Even if you had spoken up those years ago, they may not have taken your claims seriously. When people hear the words, ‘sexual predator’ and ‘pedophile’, women don’t usually come to mind.”

The knot of guilt in the pit of Matilda’s stomach told her one thing. Jenny did not understand.

“I think… I’ll go check on Matilda.”

Uh-oh.

Matilda scurried back into the bedroom as the sound of creaking wooden stairs filled the air. She jumped onto the bed and pretended to be asleep as Jennifer's soft footsteps came closer. Matilda tried to slow her racing heart as the footsteps approached the bed. There was a moment of silence before she felt her shoes getting untied and one by one getting slipped off her feet. Matilda wanted to cringe. How could she have forgotten to kick her shoes off? She opened her eyes just as a figure bent down and pressed their lips to her forehead.

“I saw you in the mirror. Try and stay put this time, love. This isn’t something I want you to hear. Can you do that for me?” Miss Honey whispered. Matilda could feel Jennifer’s tears on her face. She sat up, all pretense of sleep gone.

“ What’s going on? Who’s Billy Reyes?”

“Matilda, please, not this. Please don’t get involved in this.” Miss Honey said, a fresh wave of tears sliding down her face. “I want to preserve your innocence as long as possible.”

“Mom, I know what those things were, I lied about thinking they were back massagers. I’m not that innocent. You don’t need to coddle me. ”

“I know you did, but if you could, can you keep lying to me for a little while longer?”

“I’m sorry,” Matilda mumbled. “For listening in, but how can I support you if I don’t know what’s going on?” She could just see the corners of Miss Honey’s lips curve upward into a painful looking smile.

“It’s not your job to support me. All I need from you is to close those eyes and forget this whole thing ever happened.”

“But, mom I-.”

“No, Matilda, I mean it. Promise me you won’t leave this room until I tell you it’s alright to leave.” Well, Matilda thought, Miss Honey did ask her to keep lying.

“I promise.” Matilda mumbled.

“That’s a good girl. Now lay back, close your eyes, and it will be time to go home before you know it.” She let Miss Honey tuck her in, and watched as she walked out. Matilda frowned. There was a sudden rattling coming from the other side of the door. She lifted her head off the pillow and stared. No! She wouldn’t! Matilda sprang from the bed and tried the door.

“Mom! Please! Don’t lock me in! I’m sorry! I’ll stay put!” Matilda yanked on the door again, but it wouldn’t budge.

“I’m sorry.” Came the quiet response.

Matilda sighed and pulled one more time before letting out a frustrated groan. Miss Honey knew her too well. Now what? She looked around the room taking in the odd collection of figurines and dolls, before examining the book case. Matilda frowned. They were all children's books. Wasn’t this supposed to be her room until a few years ago? Then why did it look like it still belonged to a little girl?

Matilda sighed again before reaching for a copy of Anne of Green Gables from the shelf, but when she pulled it down, something rattled. She shook the book. There it was again. When Matilda opened the book and skimmed the pages she let out a small laugh. About a quarter of the way into the book, the pages had been cut out in the middle, leaving behind a secret pocket containing a lighter, two strange looking cigarettes, and an empty wrapper from a bar of chocolate. Even timid, submissive Jenny had a rebellious side it seemed. She’d have to tell Jenny she found her contraband stash. She picked up one of the cigarettes and sniffed it before wrinkling her face in disgust. Why did it smell like a run over skunk? Was it because the tobacco expired?

Now Matilda scanned the room in a new light. What else had rebellious teen Jenny been hiding? She smiled mischievously as she opened every book and turned it upside down. She was disappointed when they revealed nothing. It wasn’t until Matilda shook out a copy of The Three Little Pigs did she see several pieces of paper fall to the floor. She picked them up and read them.

I hate you, Aunt Trunchbull. There I said it. I hope you slip and fall on the floors you make me polish.

One day, I’ll buy a bus ticket and get as far away from you as I can, you-

Matilda’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the use of expletives. She had only ever heard her swear once. Matilda didn’t even know she knew that many swear words. Something about knowing Jennifer had at one point had the will to fight gave her comfort. She wondered what had happened to change her.

I’ve been in here for three days. Doesn’t anyone realize I’m gone?

Three days? Had the Trunchbull really locked her away for days at a time? No wonder she had left hate filled messages in random crevices. Matilda would too if she was trapped in here for days at a time, if not to vent than purely out of boredom. She stuck the notes back in between the pages and set the book back on the shelf. If that was all just in the bookshelf then what sort of goodies was she hiding under the bed? Did she also have “back massagers”?

Matilda got on her hands and knees and peeked underneath the bed. A bucket? She used her powers to drag it out before picking it up, hoping it would be full of more contraband, but it was empty. So then why was there a bucket under her bed? It almost reminded Matilda of stories set in the 1800’s where every one had chamber pots under their…

“Eww!” Matilda muttered, sending it to the far corner of the room. “I touched it.” She wiped her hands on her jeans in disgust. “Please don’t tell me that’s what it’s for.” Was Jenny not even allowed out to use the bathroom? Matilda eyed the bedroom door. Miss Honey would let her out if she needed to, right? She just had to yell. Besides, it was probably just a mop bucket for cleaning the floors…even if there were no mops or washcloths to go with it.

Matilda peeked back under the bed, but found there was nothing else under there. At least she thought so until she spotted one of the floor boards sticking up an inch too high. Yes! There had to be something good under there Matilda thought as she crawled underneath the bed. She pried up the loose floor board and saw… Matilda scowled. Empty chip bags? What was this? Hortensia’s old room? She stuck her hand in and pulled out food wrapper after food wrapper until there was nothing else in there. Disappointed, she crawled out from beneath the bed with her haul. Matilda stared at the pile of trash until a thought crossed her mind. Did Jenny have to hide the fact that she had eaten junk food? A worse thought. Did Jenny have to hide the fact that she had eaten at all?

Matilda stumbled her way back towards the bed and sat. She looked from the food wrappers, to the bucket, and then to the locked door. Jennifer had told her she didn’t have a happy childhood, but this? Suddenly, the room was feeling a bit too small and stuffy. She went to the window and tried to open it, but that too wouldn’t budge. Matilda searched for a latch to undue, but instead found nails driven through the wood. She backed away now feeling horrified and collapsed on the bed. It had been one thing to hear stories, but to see the evidence first-hand left her feeling hollow inside.

Matilda hugged her knees to her chest. Why would Jennifer ever want to keep this place? She shut her eyes tight. She had seen enough for one day. Matilda didn’t want to know what the adults were doing anymore. The person she wanted to be angry at was already dead, so with nowhere to go, the anger turned to sadness, and it sat in her stomach like a weight wanting to pull her down into sleep. So Matilda let it.

“Sweetheart, we’re all done.” Jennifer whispered as she sat on the edge of the bed. She had expected to be greeted by a very angry little girl, but instead Matilda was fast asleep clutching Lucy to her chest. She grimaced a little as she took in the state of the room. Matilda had clearly not been sleeping the whole time.

Jennifer stood and crossed the room, picked up the bucket and began collecting the trash inside.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” came a mumbled response. Jennifer turned and saw Matilda sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“I don’t.” Jennifer said sounding a bit confused.

“Anne of Green Gables says otherwise.” Jennifer cringed. She walked to the shelf and plucked the book from its spot and pocketed the contents.

“So which hiding place did you find?” Jennifer asked, motioning to all the trash.

“Floorboard under the bed.”

“Ah,” she crossed the room as Matilda watched, bent down and removed a piece of the baseboard before sticking her hand into the wall and removing more trash. “This was my way of acting out. I’d wait until my aunt was asleep, sneak downstairs, and steal from her stash of snacks I wasn’t allowed to have.”

“So she wasn’t starving you?”

“No, I could eat as much as I wanted during meal times. If she starved me, I wouldn’t have enough energy to cook and clean. She would however buy snacks she knew I liked and not let me have any. She’d eat them right in front of me and make me watch.”

“I’m relieved you weren’t up here starving, but still.” Matilda said with a grimace. “Did she often lock you in here?”

“Every night.”

“But you said you’d sneak downstairs after she went to bed.”

“I had my ways of getting out if I really wanted to.” Miss Honey said with a small smile. “When I was around 11 or 12 I’d sneak down and move the furniture just to mess with her. It used to drive her crazy. She never did figure out how I was getting out, because I’d be in my room come morning deadbolt still in place.” Miss Honey laughed at the surprised look on Matilda’s face.

“You would? B-but your so…so…” Matilda started to say, but stopped.

“Cowardly?” Miss Honey finished for her. Matilda scowled. “I wasn’t always. While I certainly wasn’t up there with you or Hortensia, I had a knack for getting myself into trouble when I was younger.”

“What changed?”

“Sometimes you have to learn to pick your battles.”

In truth, her aunt’s escalating erratic behavior happened. Getting sent to your room was one thing, getting locked in your room was another. Then came nailing her window shut and locking the pantry at night. And there were the other things. She shut her eyes for a moment. No, she wouldn’t think about those things.

“Can I leave the room now?” Matilda asked. Miss Honey looked up to find her squirming on the bed.

“Yes, go.” She watched Matilda spring off the bed and dart towards the door before stopping. Matilda turned back to look at her.

“You would have let me out, right?” Miss Honey stared at her.

“To use the bathroom? Of course I would have, do you think I would have made you hold it?”

“Not exactly.” Matilda mumbled. Miss Honey followed her line of sight to the bucket in her hands full of trash.

“Matilda!” Jennifer said in surprise. “Why would you think that?”

“Did she make you?”

Jennifer was nine, pounding on her bedroom door, crying, begging and pleading. Aunt Trunchbull would break her wrist again if she had another accident up here, but she couldn’t hold it until morning.

“Please! I need to go!”

The heavy pounding footsteps were coming. She hurried away from the door less she got smacked in the face by it again when it swung open. Once was enough.

In flew a plastic object with such force Jennifer couldn’t tell what it was. The door slammed shut again.

“I better not hear another peep out of you if you know what’s good for you, brat!” Her aunt bellowed before retreating back down the hall.

Jennifer stared at the door incredulously. Wasn’t she going to let her out? She stared behind her at the object that had come to rest by the foot of her bed. Jennifer blanched. She stared at the bucket. No! That was disgusting! She wouldn’t! She refused! But as the minutes ticked by, so did her resolve. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. Jennifer picked the object off the floor, set it down on the other side of the bed, bunched her nightgown over her hips and squatted down.

“Um, well, yes.” Miss Honey admitted. Matilda wrinkled her face. “It wasn’t that bad, honestly, it was vastly better than waking her up in the middle of the night. You wouldn’t believe how angry she would be with me. But sweetheart, I would never do that to you, if you ever needed anything all you have to do is ask. I’m not my aunt.”

Matilda seemed to think about this for a moment before unknowingly uttering the words that would send Jennifer into a downward tailspin.

“But you locked me in.”

Chapter Text

Miss Honey stared at the hurt expression in Matilda’s eyes. The moisture in her mouth seemed to all at once disappear. Her stomach began to churn.

“S-sweetheart, n-n-no, I’m sorry, but I had to.” Jennifer stammered. Her heart was beginning to race in her chest. “It was just to prove how serious I was, if you really wanted out, it wouldn’t have held you for two minutes.” Matilda still looked doubtful. “Do you want to see how I got out?” Suddenly, the hurt expression was gone as quickly as it had come and in its place was a mischievous smile. Jennifer breathed a sigh of relief. “Go stand outside and lock me in.” Matilda’s eyes widened.

“Really?” 

“Yes, go ahead.” 

“Umm, can I use the bathroom first?”

“Yes, go potty, then lock me in.”

“Hmm,” Matilda said before backing out of the room. “No.” Jennifer could see the glint of mischief in her eyes. The door closed, and the lock clicked into place. “I think I’ll lock you in, then go to the bathroom. Be back in a minute!” Jennifer sighed, she supposed she deserved that. 

Why had she locked the door? Because she wouldn’t have stayed put, Jennifer argued with herself. 

“ Mom, I’m sorry! Please don’t lock me in!”

Matilda would have stayed put then. She had gotten the message loud and clear. You should have unlocked it then, not walked away. She could have easily gotten out.  That’s not the point! 

Jennifer winced as she went to her desk, retrieved a small, square object from a cup of pens and stood by the door to wait. A few seconds later she heard Matilda’s voice announcing she was back.

“Ready?” 

“Ready!” 

Jennifer retrieved the small object from her pocket and held it up to the door with practiced precision. “Up a quarter inch and slide to the right.” she mumbled. She opened the door to find Matilda’s amazed face as if she couldn’t move things herself with her mind.

“Woah! How did you do that?” Matilda asked. Jennifer opened her palm. “A magnet?” 

“Yep, see.” She held it up to the other side of the door where the lock was and slid it back and forth. Matilda watched in awe as the deadbolt went in and out. 

“Now that I know your secret, you can’t lock me in again!” Matilda said clasping her fingers together. “Muahaha.” 

“Matilda,” Jennifer said softly before bending down to one knee to look her in the eyes. “I never should have locked you in the room in the first place. I’m sorry, will you forgive me?” 

“It’s okay,” Matilda said looking sheepish. “I wouldn’t have stayed.” she mumbled. Miss Honey smiled.

“I know, you’re a terrible liar.” 

“I am not!” Matilda said.

“I’m your mother, I can see when you’re lying a mile away. You have a tell.” Miss Honey said with a laugh before wrapping her arms around the girl and squeezing tightly. 

“I do!?” Matilda said with a gasp before resting her head on Miss Honey’s shoulder and returning the hug.

“Yes, the moment I signed those papers, it appeared all over your face, just like magic.” Matilda giggled.

“No it didn’t!” There was a pause. “What is it?”

“I think I’ve revealed enough secrets for one day.” Miss Honey said with a laugh before stopping. “Actually, I think, I think we need to talk.” Matilda hung on as Jennifer carried her back into the room and sat on the bed. “Do you understand why I did what I did?”

“You didn’t want me listening in on your private conversation.” Matilda mumbled. “I was being rude.” 

“It wasn’t to punish you sweetheart, even though you really shouldn’t be eavesdropping. That’s not the point. I wanted to protect you.” 

“Because I’m little?” Jennifer sighed. 

“Not just to protect what’s up here.” Jennifer said lightly touching Matilda’s head. “I know you know about things, more things than I wish you did.  What most concerns me is here.” She touched the girl's chest. “Your heart. Your innocence.” 

“I’m not that innocent.” Matilda grumbled.

“I know you keep saying that, but, maybe I’m not phrasing this right. Maybe innocence isn’t the right word. Your spirit, yes, that’s it. This has nothing to do with your age, it doesn’t matter if you were ten, fifteen, or even twenty, once your spirit is broken, that’s it. You may never see the world the same way again. You may never be so quick to smile, so easy to make laugh.”

“Is that what happened to you? Did the Trunchbull break your spirit?” Matilda asked. 

“Yes,” Miss Honey whispered, “She did.” 

“Is there anything I can do to fix it?” Jennifer wrapped her arms around Matilda and squeezed, gently rocking her back and forth before kissing the top of her head.

“Every day I get to spend being your mother makes me come alive more and more. I love you more than anything. I never thought I could ever feel this.” 

“I love you too, mom.” They sat in silence, enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms, until Jennifer spoke again.

“The thing is, I don’t know what I’m doing.” Matilda looked up at her.

“What do you mean?” 

“This whole parenting thing. I don’t know how to be a good parent.”

“I think you do.” Matilda said, resting her head back on Miss Honey’s shoulder.

“You’re sweet, but I’m serious. Matilda, in the future, I might-no I will make mistakes. Do you know what my biggest fear is?” Matilda thought about it for a minute.

“Small spaces?” 

“No, it’s hurting you. Not here,” Miss Honey tapped her forehead again before moving her hand to Matilda’s heart. “But here.” 

“You won’t.” Matilda said confidently before frowning in confusion as Miss Honey’s eyes began to water.

“I’m scared, Matilda. I’m so scared I’ll cross that line someday. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I need you to pick a word.”

“Huh?”

“I want you to pick a word you’ll always remember, and if I ever do or start to do something that hurts you here,” she patted Matilda’s heart again, “you say that word and I promise to stop whatever I’m doing, and we’ll talk about it.”

“But, why?” Matilda asked looking puzzled. 

“Because I never want you to hurt the way I did. I wasn’t raised in a loving home. I may not know what is and isn’t acceptable when the time comes. While I’ll always have your best interests at heart, I worry there will come a time, no matter my intentions, my actions will cause you more harm than good. So pick a word, please.” Jennifer said, stroking Matilda’s head.

“Okay, umm, pumpkins.” Matilda said. “So I just say ‘pumpkins’ if you ever start chasing me with a riding crop?” Miss Honey smiled weakly.

“If I ever chase you with a riding crop, we may have missed a few signs leading up to it. I can’t promise I won’t use it to chase out the first boy you bring home though.” Matilda giggled as she wrinkled up her face. “Heaven help him if he ever breaks your heart. Straight to the chokey with him!”

“Mom!” Matilda said in shock before giggling.

“I’m kidding.” 

“Why are you so scared of hurting me that we need a safe word?” Matilda asked once they had calmed down.

“I’m going to pretend you don’t know what that means.” Matilda rolled her eyes. Miss Honey let out a deep sigh. “Because of my genetics.”

“Your genetics?” 

“My aunt wasn’t born a monster, I don’t think. She was turned into one by her father, my grandfather. According to her, well, let’s just say he did some not nice things to her, but treated my mother like a princess. It caused a lot of bitterness and hate to fester inside of her for a very long time. I don’t know what caused him to turn out that way, but I have a feeling this goes back decades.”

“Just because she was abused doesn’t give her the right to abuse others.” Matilda said. 

“Of course not, no one has the right, but there’s this little voice in the back of my head that still worries I’ll wake up one day and realize I’ve become my aunt. There was a time I was also filled with anger and hate.” 

“Yeah, I saw your notes.” Matilda said.

“What notes?” 

“In the Three Little Pigs, there were scraps of paper inside. I didn’t realize you had such a, uh, colorful vocabulary.” 

Curious, Miss Honey stood and went to the book case, retrieved the book, and shook its pages. Sure enough, bits of paper began to fall to the floor. She scooped them up, read the first two and audibly groaned. Now she remembered. What was she, like, 12? 

“It’s when she nailed my window shut. She thought it would make me spend less time in my room and more time cleaning.” 

“Did it?”

“Oh yeah, she cut off my only source of fresh air, and when there’s a bucket of excrement in your room...”

“Eww.” Matilda said wrinkling her nose in disgust. “I thought you only had to use it during the night.” 

“Sometimes I’d be locked in all weekend, and, well, I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. So yeah, there were times I’d scrub the floors by hand with a toothbrush if it meant fresh air.” Among other things. 

She flipped to the last note and frowned. This wasn’t her writing. She slipped the note in her pocket and crumbled up the other two. She’d show it to Mrs. Rodger’s downstairs later. 

“Oh, I almost forgot one more hiding place! Want to see?” Matilda nodded her head eagerly. She looked to the chair but decided against it. “I’m going to need your help with this one. Come here. Ready?” She asked when Matilda stood next to her. She picked her up by the waist and hoisted her up to the air vent. “Push up then pull out.” 

“Mom, what in the world?!” 

“Pull them all out, but hurry I can’t hold you up like this for much longer.” Suddenly, it began to rain bits of dust, and an odd assortment of television remote controls, wallets, and sets of car keys. 

“One. Two. Three. Four. Five, jeez mom, six. Seven. That’s all of them.” 

“So food may not have been the only thing I stole on my nighttime strolls.” Jennifer admitted sheepishly. Matilda eyed all the fallen debris before bursting into laughter. “While I may not have openly defied her, I certainly enjoyed inconveniencing her.” 

“Can I go show Mrs. Rodger’s all this stuff?” Matilda said with a large smile on her face.

“Yes, go for it.” She smiled as Matilda grabbed as much as she could carry and bounded down the stairs. Once Matilda was gone, the smile fell off of Jennifer’s face. She looked at the room one last time before making her way into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. 

She leaned over the sink as a fresh wave of tears overcame her. Her hands shook as she gripped the porcelain as tight as she could. “Gotta hold it together.” she mumbled to herself. “I can’t let her see.” She stared at her reflection in the mirror, but instead of the twenty- three-year-old staring back at her, it was her 11-year-old self.

Jennifer washed her hands again and again and again. Her skin was water logged, and raw, but no matter how hard she scrubbed, they wouldn’t feel clean. Soap wasn’t enough. She reached underneath the sink for the bottle of peroxide. She opened the cap and dumped it on each hand, resisting the urge to scream. Yes, burn away that vile woman’s scent. 

She shouldn’t have given in. She should have just let her lock her in the cellar. 

“You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.”  Her aunt had told her.

“I never wanted my back scratched.” Jennifer now mumbled through her tears. She looked up at her reflection again and let out a horrified scream. She wasn’t alone.

 “That’s not how I remember it.” Agatha Trunchbull said with a toothy grin. Jennifer let out a terrified whimper. She watched her put her hands on Jennifer’s shoulder, but she felt nothing. She wasn’t there. This wasn’t real! “And I certainly wouldn’t say you never wanted it. Don’t you remember the last time?”

“I never wanted it.” Jennifer growled. “I was just a kid.”  

“You may not have wanted it, but you certainly learned to enjoy it.” Jennifer shut her eyes again as a wave a revulsion tumbled through her. She was going to be sick. 

“No! Shut up! You’re dead!” 

“Look at you now, a chip off the old block. Do you enjoy climbing into bed with her?” Jennifer fell to her knees.

“No! No! It isn’t like that!” she sobbed. 

“Does it feel good when you both undress and hold each other?” Agatha whispered into her ear. Jennifer crawled to the toilet and vomited. 

“Mom? Are you okay?” Matilda asked. 

“I’m fine, sweetie!” She bit down on her knuckle as quiet sobs racked her body. 

“Why don’t you tell her how you really feel? How you can’t wait to get her alone tonight and offer to scratch her back.” 

“No! I’m not you!” Jennifer cried before getting sick again. “Not my daughter.” She moaned. 

“Not me? You practically stole her from her parents and jumped in bed naked with her. Please tell me how that makes you fit to be her mother? How that makes you not me. ”

“Mom? Who are you talking to? Are you crying?”

“N-no, m-mommy just needs a minute alone.” Jennifer managed to choke out through heaves. She heard Matilda’s footsteps retreat, before a second pair was quickly rushing up the stairs. 

“Jennifer, is everything all right?” Mrs. Rodger’s asked, but all Jennifer could do was sob. “I’m coming in.”

“N-no!” but the door was already opening. She turned her head up to face her aunt, but found she was gone. 

“Mom!” Matilda was rushing towards her. Jennifer’s heart sank.

“Pl-please don’t touch me.” Jennifer moaned.

“But mom-” she felt a small hand on her back as another wave of revulsion washed over her.

“I SAID DON’T TOUCH ME!” Jennifer threw an arm out to get her away, but ended up pushing her to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Matilda fall, before scurrying back into the corner. “I-i’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” 

“Jennifer,” Mrs. Rodger’s said sounding concerned.

“Please. Please.” Jennifer said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Take Matilda to Hortensia’s, and then, if it’s not too much trouble, take me to the hospital. S-s-something’s wrong with me.” She turned her head and stared at Matilda, curled into a ball, staring at her with wet, wide eyes. She was mouthing something. Miss Honey closed her eyes and sobbed. It was pumpkins.

Chapter Text

Matilda stood at the black gate in front of Hortensia’s house feeling stunned as she watched Mrs. Rodger’s car drive away.

“Pumpkins.” she mumbled as a new wave of tears fought for escape and blurred her vision.

“What was that?” Hortensia’s mom asked. Matilda shook her head. Eve stared down at her looking unsure of what to do or how to approach her. The last time they had met, Matilda had sent them all to the hospital by blowing up their glass sliding door out of anger. Now Matilda had been dropped off on their doorstop in tears with no warning and little explanation other than, “Her mom’s ill, please watch her, I’ll call you later and explain.”

Matilda followed her inside, hiccuping along the way.

“I know you’re upset, but let’s try and calm down. You’re going to make yourself sick. Why don’t you join ‘Tens on the couch, and she can put on a movie for you.”

Matilda made her way into the living room where Hortensia’s attention was glued to the screen with her left hand in a bag of potato chips. She looked away as Matilda climbed up, seemingly noticing her presence for the first time.

“Hey, what are you doing here squirt?” Hortensia took one look at her face and added. “And what did ma do to you? MA!”

“What?” Eve said, hands on her hips.

“What did you do to make her cry?”

“I didn’t do anything, she came this way.”

“Well, what happened?”

“I don’t know.” Eve said shaking her head. “Someone from the school just dropped her off in a bit of a panic. Said Miss Honey was ill, didn’t say with what.”

“From the school? On a Saturday? Ohh, that must be Mrs. Rodger’s.” Hortensia pursed her lips. “You’re not sick too, are you?” Hortensia scooted as far to the other side of the couch as she could and made a cross with her fingers.

“Stop picking on her; she’s upset. Actually, come here ‘Tens.”

“What did I do?” Hortensia scowled. “I was just joking!”

“Just come here, I want to talk to you.” Hortensia let out a loud annoyed huff as if she had just been told she had to clean the entire house by herself before following her mom into the hallway. Matilda sat awkwardly by herself, trying not to think about anything. She stared at the television without really seeing it.

“Ma, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” she heard Hortensia say from the hall. She had clearly not mastered the art of keeping her voice down. “You’re going to make her more upset than she already is.”

Matilda had the distinct impression they were talking about her, even if Hortensia wasn’t making it obvious. Whatever it was they thought would upset her was fine. She didn’t care. Nothing could possibly make her feel worse than she already felt.

When Hortensia came back, she leaned over and whispered, “I tried.”

“Matilda, dear, would you come back here for a minute?” Matilda stood and before making her way down the hall, met Hortensia’s eyes. Sorry, the older girl silently mouthed.

She walked down the hall, searching for where the voice had called her from. She found Eve sitting on Hortensia’s bed. Matilda stopped in the doorway, head down and shoulders slumped.

“Come have a seat.” Eve said, patting the spot on the bed next to her. Once Matilda had sat, Eve continued. “What’s got you so down? Do you want to talk about it?” Matilda shook her head. “Is there anything we can do to make you feel better?” Matilda shook her head again. “Are you worried about Miss Honey?” Instead of responding, she just sat there taking in the disaster that was Hortensia’s room. She didn’t want to have this conversation. She didn’t want to think about it.

“I SAID DON’T TOUCH ME!”

Matilda hid her face in her hands and began to bawl.

“I told you not to do it!” they heard coming from the front of the house. Eve stood up and closed the bedroom door before sitting back down.

“Your mommy’s going to be just fine, there’s nothing to worry about, honey. Did she get bit again?” Matilda shook her head. What had happened in those two minutes she was gone? One minute she had been telling her she loved her and the next…

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH ME!”

What had she done wrong? Miss Honey had never yelled at her like that, let alone shove her away. A sinking feeling began to grow in the pit of Matilda’s stomach. It only left one option. Miss Honey knew.

Tiny legs crawling over the upholstery. Tiny legs crawling over the Trunchbull’s arms, her legs, her back, her face. The Trunchbull losing control of the car. Crash.

Matilda continued to violently sob. She didn’t know how to handle this…this guilt. There was so much.

I killed someone. I killed Miss Trunchbull. So many spiders. So much guilt. She hates you for killing her aunt. That’s why she looked at you with such disgust.

She let Eve hold her. Part of her was still angry at Eve, but it was buried so far down and away from the surface it didn’t matter. They sat together in silence until Matilda’s sobs became dry hiccups.

“Why are you covered in dirt?” Eve asked, after pulling an arm away to find it black. “It’s even in your hair, and all over your arms. Have you been crawling under beds?” And into air vents, Matilda thought with a sniffle. “You're taking a bath young lady.”

Matilda sat numbly in place and watched as Eve began to untie her shoes and slip them off before doing the same to her socks. She let herself get led to the bathroom by the hand and watched as Eve began to fill the tub.

“Get undressed.” Eve ordered. Matilda just stood there. Her arms felt too heavy. Her whole body seemed to suddenly feel too heavy. Besides, she could do this herself in private, but right now, she just didn’t care. Fighting Eve just felt like too much work. “Not feeling very independent today, are we? That’s alright, let me help you.” Matilda felt her shirt get pulled over her head before Eve tugged her pants and underwear down in one swift motion. “Step out.”

Matilda lifted her leg up obediently, but felt herself start to stumble back. Eve caught her before she could fall and stared at her, eyes now full of concern.

“Are you feeling okay?” Matilda shrugged. “You’re probably just exhausted from all that crying. A quick bath and then I’ll put you down for a nap on the couch before dinner. Do you want to try going potty before your bath?” Matilda shook her head. She had to draw the line somewhere. “Well, how about we just try.” She felt herself get picked up and set on the toilet. What was the point of asking her then? Eve was staring at her expectantly now.

If it was any other day she would have said something, but she felt too apathetic, so she just averted her eyes and did as she was told. The roar of rushing water from the bathtub made it easy at least and masked the tinkling sound of urine.

"All done?" Eve asked. Matilda nodded. She reached for the toilet paper and pulled off a couple squares, but frowned when it fell from her hand and onto the floor. "Don't worry about it, you're going in the bath anyway. Just sit tight until the waters ready." Matilda had nearly nodded off before Eve told her she was ready for her. When Matilda hopped down from the toilet, she began feeling lightheaded and stumbled a bit.

"Woah," Eve said with a frown, "careful now." She thrust out a hand to keep Matilda from crashing into the wall. "Are you sure you're okay?" Matilda nodded, but Eve didn't look convinced. "I think I'll stay here with you. I don't know how I feel about leaving you alone like this." Matilda shrugged. "You sure aren't feeling very talkative today, are you?" Matilda looked away and stared at the blackening bath water. She really had been dirty, no wonder Eve threw her in the tub.

"It's alright, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I must admit though, you're being very well-behaved. You must have been so ornery last time because you weren't feeling well. Ten's is worried you'll be angry with me for this next part, but I don't think you'll give me any trouble, will you?" Matilda saw Eve reach for her and had to fight back the slight impulse to bite her hand. She had hardly been the ornery one on their last meeting, Matilda thought as she felt her head get dunked under the water.

Once Eve had finished scrubbing her down head to toe, Matilda felt even more lightheaded and out of it than earlier. When she stood on the bathmat she had needed to grab onto Eve's waist for support.

"At least you're clean." Eve said with a grimace, staring down at her now wet outfit. "Just a little bit longer, and then you can lay down in front of the TV." Matilda was breathing a little heavy by the time she got back to Hortensia's room. She had had trouble standing in place without swaying while Eve dried her off with a towel. She had been so tempted just to sit on the floor.

"Go ahead and hop up on the bed while I find you something to wear." Matilda wasted no time. She laid down on her back, feeling snug in her towel and closed her eyes while Eve rummaged through the closet. She was fine just staying here like this. It wasn't until she felt her towel getting tugged away did she open her eyes. Eve was standing over her with a t-shirt and, Matilda would have scowled if she had the energy.

"You've been so well-behaved today, you're not going to give me trouble, are you?" So that's what Hortensia had meant when she said she tried to stop her.
Matilda tried to shield herself as a way of saying, "no" but Eve just brushed her hands away. Eh, she tried.
"Yes, Matilda, you've been a very upset little girl today, so let's just cover all our bases, just in case. Besides, you're going to sleep anyway." Matilda should have told she didn't need them anymore since they had "unplugged" her, but honestly, she found she didn't really care all that much. She laid back down without further protest and felt Eve pat her thigh. "Thank you. Since you're being so good, I think I'll even let you have some ice cream. How does that sound?" Matilda shook her head. She didn't want any ice cream. She just wanted today to never have happened.

"You really are feeling out of sorts." Eve said as she taped the diaper in place. She offered her a hand up before helping her into an over sized T-shirt. "Come get me if you need to go potty, and I'll pin it back up when you're done, just like last time. Now let's get you to the couch, I'd let you stay here, but I'd like to keep a closer eye on you. Something's off." Matilda hung on to her neck as Eve picked her up. "It's going to be okay, really." Eve whispered. Matilda felt her eyes begin to water again. Why did she always cry when people told her that? "Shh, shh, no more tears."

"Sorry," Hortensia said once she was set down on the couch and Eve had left. "Please don't be angry." Matilda could tell she was scared. She shook her head. She didn't have anything to be scared of. Matilda couldn't blow anything up right now even if she wanted to. "Please don't break the telly." Of course, she'd be worried about that. She wanted to tell her she wasn't angry, but every time she tried, the words kept getting stuck in her throat, so she just gave up and shook her head again.

Hortensia frowned and stared at her more closely. "MA!" she yelled. "Did you drug her?!" Eve came back from the kitchen.

"No! I did not drug her!”

“Then why is she acting like a zombie?”

"Then maybe they gave her a Benadryl to calm her down or something. I offered her ice cream, but she didn't even want any." Hortensia stared at her and gave her a look as if she was deeply offended before letting out a deep sigh.

"I guess I have no choice, Ma, I'll have to eat it for her." Hortensia said.

"The hell you will!" Eve stopped and stared at her for a minute before a smirk appeared on her face. "Actually, sure Tens', you can have some ice cream." Hortensia perked up.

"Really?"

"Of course, all you have to do is let me put you in a diaper for the evening." Hortensia's shoulders slumped, and she made a disgusted sound.

"Tease," she grumbled under her breath. "And don't you even think of egging her on!" she added to Matilda, but Matilda had already curled herself into a ball and shut her eyes, burying her face into her folded arms so no one could see her cry. All it took was another ten minutes before the sounds of the television she so despised were completely gone.

The next thing Matilda knew she was being shaken awake. "Sweetheart, it's time for dinner." A voice said softly in her ear. Matilda slowly lifted her head, feeling even more disoriented and unaware of her surrounding than before. She wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, vaguely aware she had been drooling. How long had she been asleep? She craned her neck and stared out the window. It was dark out now.

"Wow, good job! You're dry even after that long nap. I'm impressed." Eve said in a high falsetto used exclusively for very young children. Matilda struggled to focus her eyes until the three Eves that were holding up her shirt and peeking at her waist became one.

"MA!" Hortensia yelled from the kitchen. "Cut it out, she's in my year! It's weird."

"You don't mind, do you?" Eve asked her without waiting for a reply. Matilda had planned on telling her she wasn't hungry and going back to sleep, but Eve had scooped her off the couch as if she was a rag doll. If her mind had been working, she would have thought Eve was rather enjoying her current state, but the only thing going through Matilda's mind at the moment was relief that she didn't have to walk.

"You can tell her to stop." Hortensia whispered to her once she was set down in a chair at the table. "She's treating you like the toddler next door." Matilda shrugged and closed her eyes. “Dude, what's with you? You'd be loosing your shit right now." She'd rather this than someone else be angry with her. The thought made her heart ache. She touched the place Jennifer had touched, her spirit. Is this what she had meant about her spirit breaking? If she explained she hadn't meant to kill her aunt and apologized, could they ever go back to the way they were?

“What have I told you about swearing?” Eve said with a scowl.

“What? You cuss all the time! Just this morning you burned yourself and was all F-”

“Little ears are present.” Eve said, cutting her off.

If she thought Hortensia swore too much, she’d have an aneurysm if she spent a single afternoon with Harry down at the shop. It’s not like she caved easily to peer pressure either, although there was the time Hortensia had bet Matilda her pudding if she could say at least 15 cuss words in thirty seconds. It had been a delicious pudding and Hortensia had walked away with the knowledge of how to say “fuck off” in three new languages.

She wrote one of them now on the condensation of a glass of water that had been set in front of her and showed Hortensia, who snickered. Matilda brushed the glass with her fingers and wiped away the words. She doubted Eve spoke any German, but just in case. She preferred Eve thinking it was her daughter that was the bad influence instead of the other way around. If she had even the slightest inkling of how much Matilda knew about the things Miss Honey said she had “no business knowing about” Eve would be trying to convince Jennifer to ship her off to a reform school in Antarctica or something.

Matilda felt another twinge of regret. Would Jennifer get rid of her? That look of utter disgust ran through her mind one more time. There was no love in those eyes, only revulsion. Maybe she could convince Jenny when the time came to send her to boarding school in Switzerland instead of Antarctica, where her only friends might be penguins.

“Do you want me to cut up your pork chop for you?” Eve asked before looking away and dicing the meat before Matilda could respond. Yes, she supposed “Pork chop” would be a cute name for her future waddling friend. She imagined trying to sneak it in to her dorm room without anyone noticing. Maybe it would even let her hold him at night like a big stuffed animal to keep warm.

Matilda gritted her teeth when she looked down at the food set in front of her. She had let her imagination get away from her and now when she looked down at the cut up meat all she could see was diced penguin. Now she felt sad all over again. She really did ruin all her relationships, both real and imaginary.

“Are you not hungry?” Eve asked her. Matilda shook her head. She hadn’t been hungry even before imagining the life, and death, of her made up companion. There was a lump in her throat that made swallowing difficult. Just the thought of trying to force solids down made her feel like she was choking. “Well I want you to try.” Eve said. “I don’t want your mom thinking I didn’t feed you while you were here. She thinks I was too harsh with you last time, and I’d rather not make her angry again.”

So that explains why she had gone from one extreme to the other. Eve wasn’t coddling her because she was upset, she was doing it because she was afraid of Miss Honey’s wrath.

Matilda looked over at Hortensia and blinked in surprise. She had only gotten her plate of food three minutes ago, and it was already nearly gone. Watching Hortensia eat never ceased to amaze her. She was like a squirrel stuffing her face with acorns, but a more accurate description to Matilda was a leviathan sea monster or some other Lovecraftian being chowing down on…penguins. What was with her and penguins tonight?

“What’s that look for?” Hortensia asked.

“She must be disgusted at your table manners.” Eve said in a teasing tone. “You eat like you’ll never see food again. Slow down, and you might even be able to taste it.”

Matilda had been wishing they had a dog, so she could sneak it bits of food, but who needed a dog when you had Hortensia. She clapped her hands together in a silent prayer and mouthed please help before pointing at her plate.

“What, you don’t like it?” Hortensia asked out loud, drawing Eve’s attention. Matilda wanted to smack her, Hortensia really had no sense of her surroundings.

“Matilda, I hope you don’t think I’m dumb enough not to see what you’re trying to do.” Eve said. Matilda quickly shook her head. She could hear a bit of Eve’s customary sharpness underneath the fictitious warmth. “Good, because I had really hoped we could continue on this path of good behavior.”

Matilda nodded and stared at her plate of food, which at the moment, seemed as appealing to her as if it really was diced penguin. She picked up her fork before piercing one of the pieces of meat, only to end up dropping it with a loud clang as it landed against the porcelain plate. Matilda cringed as she hastened to pick it up. The last thing she wanted was Eve to think she was stalling.

When she finally got it into her mouth, it really wasn’t bad, but when it came time to swallow, it was as she feared. The lump in her throat refused to let anything go down. No matter how much she chewed, her subconscious wasn’t sending the message to the rest of her body to do its job. She reached for a napkin and tried to spit it out as subtly as possible, but Eve wasn’t having it.

“Swallow it, chewing isn’t the same as eating.” Matilda took a deep breath through her nose and forced herself to swallow. “Four more pieces, and if you really don’t want anymore after that, I won’t force you.”

Matilda looked down at her plate, then back to Eve. She tried giving her the universal choking sign, but Eve just sighed.

“I know you're upset, sweetie, but let’s try and be a big girl and use your words now.” Matilda violently shook her head and crossed her hands over her throat again, only to realize it wasn’t getting her anywhere. She looked desperately to Hortensia. Wouldn’t someone realize what was happening? She was running out of air!

“Ma, I think she’s choking!” Hortensia said. Matilda nodded and clawed at her neck. It hadn’t gone down all the way, it had only managed to get halfway before lodging itself in her throat. She tried coughing, but couldn’t get enough air to force it back out.

“Water! Drink some water!” Eve said thrusting the glass into Matilda’s hands. Matilda tried to swallow a mouthful, only for it to immediately come back up and out. “Try again!” She repeated the process, only for the same thing to keep happening. She was beginning to panic now.

Matilda jumped to her feet, unsure of what to do. The next thing she knew, she felt herself being lifted into the air as hands forced themselves right below her ribs and began thrusting over and over. Five times, six times, seven times. Just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore, on the eighth thrust, she felt the piece of meat dislodge itself. It flew from her mouth and onto the floor where Matilda collapsed next to it, panting and gasping for air.

Eve stared in shock, not at Matilda, but at Hortensia.

“And no one thinks I pay attention in class.” Hortensia said.

“I think you just earned your ice cream.” Eve said.

………………………

Jennifer sat in silence in her hospital bed in the emergency room counting the ceiling tiles for the fifth time - there were 128 of them. Mrs. Rodger’s, Carol she kept reminding her, had been sitting next to her in a chair the entire time.

“Jen,” Mrs. Rodger’s said, breaking the hour-long silence. “What happened?” Jennifer’s eyes met hers, before hastily darting away.

“I don’t know.” She mumbled.

“Why did you push Matilda away like that? That wasn’t like you.”

“Is she okay?” Jennifer asked, slowly meeting her eyes.

“Physically, yes, but if I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so upset.” Jennifer groaned and hid her face in her hands. Here she had made this big speech about not wanting to hurt her and less than five minutes later Matilda was pulling out her safe word. “Talk to me, Jen. What happened?”

Jennifer let out a deep sigh. “I had a flashback. I have them sometimes, but this was so,” she paused, trying to come up with the best way to describe it before finally settling on, “vivid.” She glanced up at Mrs. Rodger’s, who sat patiently waiting for her to continue. “I was looking in the mirror at my childhood self. It was a memory from the night she finally convinced me to reciprocate-”

“Coerced.” Mrs. Rodger’s interjected. “You do not ‘convince’ a child, you ‘coerce’ them. Do you understand the difference?” Jennifer bit her lip before nodding. “No matter what she got you to say or do, you didn’t consent. This wasn’t your fault.”

Jennifer nodded again before continuing, “Afterwards, I washed my hands until patches of skin peeled off. When I still didn’t feel clean, I burned them with hydrogen peroxide.” Mrs. Rodger’s winced. Jennifer let out a dry, humorless laugh. “I remember when I was very little, I scraped my knee and my father poured some on it. He told me the stinging means it’s cleaning.”

“Was this memory, this flashback, what made you ill?” Jennifer slowly shook her head. “What then? What you described sounds awful enough.”

“You’ll think I’m crazy.” Jennifer mumbled, feeling the sting of tears. “And it’s not very appropriate, it’s not like I can tell Matilda even though it involves her. I know she wants to know these things, but she’s only five, and it’s not like I have anyone else to really talk to.” She felt Mrs Rodger’s grab her hand and gently squeeze.
“You have me, and guess what? I’m not five.” Jennifer sniffled and gave her a weak smile.

“If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

“Why have you been so kind to me?” Jennifer asked. “You’ve taught me to drive, you’ve taken me all over town, you invited us over for Christmas, you’ve stayed in the hospital with Matilda, you’re sitting in the hospital with me now…”

“Well, why were you so kind to Matilda?” Mrs. Rodger’s asked. “You were only her teacher, you didn’t have to get so involved.”

“How could I not? She’s the most amazing, sensitive, intelligent child I’ve ever met, but when I looked into her eyes, all I could see was this lonely little girl who needed someone to step up and show her she wasn’t alone.” Jennifer felt her hand get squeezed again. She looked up.

“Matilda’s not the only lonely, little girl I see. I think it’s pastime someone showed you you’re not alone either.”

Chapter Text

Matilda watched as Hortensia appeared in the living room carrying the biggest bowl of ice cream she had ever seen, before joining her on the couch.

“You should choke more often.” Hortensia said, beaming at her as if it had been something they had planned together all along.

“You didn’t have to drop me on the floor after.” Matilda rasped out, voice barely over a whisper. She had the feeling Hortensia had been in utter shock when the piece of pork chop had actually dislodged itself that she forgot she still had Matilda hoisted into the air and had simply let go.

Hortensia shrugged and began to pile ice cream in her mouth as if those minor inconsequential details didn’t matter. Matilda supposed they didn’t really. Being sore was better than being dead, and it was much more than her mom had done for her.

Eve had been fussing over her ever since, asking if she wanted anything every couple of minutes. Matilda was content with the cup of applesauce she had been given. It was much easier to swallow and eased her raw and aching throat. Matilda guessed it was her way of apologizing.
Hortensia found it amusing whenever she ran in the room every time she heard a cough, she had even coughed on purpose just to see if she’d run in. What she did not find as amusing was being showered in praise. Matilda noticed she looked very uncomfortable whenever Eve had thanked her for her quick reflexes and thinking on her feet. It was clear to Matilda that Hortensia didn’t know how to take a compliment.

“But I wasn’t thinking. I only knew because of a scene in a comic book.” Hortensia mumbled when Eve had finally left the room for the 8th time in the last hour. “What if she expects me to know what to do next times there’s a problem?”

“I think she’s just surprised you beat her to it.” Matilda said. “She didn’t even realize I was choking until you said something.” She was even more surprised than Eve. Hadn’t she just been fanaticizing about smacking her for not paying attention to her surrounds? And speaking of smacking…

Matilda gingerly rubbed at her upper belly and grimaced. While some of the thrusts had hit their intended target, others had not. Two of Hortensia’s blows had been too high and to the left, landing themselves directly into the bottom of her rib cage. Instead of keeping her fists in place, Hortensia had essentially assaulted her stomach and ribs with a barrage of punches followed by her lifting Matilda into the air in what Matilda could only guess was an attempt to crack her like a glow stick. Yet the physical pain she was in was a welcome change. It gave her mind something else to think about. Now the lump in her throat had all but disappeared, and she had been able to find her voice again.

When Eve came into the room again a half hour later, the longest she had gone without checking on them, Matilda asked if she had heard anything from Miss Honey. It was getting late and Matilda wanted nothing more than to climb into bed.

“Oh, yes, Mrs. Rodgers had called while you were asleep earlier. They’re keeping her overnight for observation.” Matilda was about to ask why she hadn’t been given the phone, but Eve chimed in answering the question before the words could leave her mouth. “She told me not to wake you.”

Her heart gave a small twinge of pain as the voice in the back of her head reminded her she was being left out again.

“Did she say anything else?”

“Miss Honey wants you to know she loves you.” Matilda’s head shot up.

“You talked to her?”

“No, Mrs. Rodgers said she was under sedation.” Matilda lowered her head.

“Oh.” she said, feeling disappointed. “Then it wasn’t really her who said it.”

“She told me a little bit of what happened. She said you walked in on Miss Honey having some kind of episode, and it scared you.” Matilda looked away. She didn’t want to talk about this. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before changing the subject.

“Am I staying here?”

“Yes, I’ll make a spot for you on the couch. Let’s see, first things first,” Eve flipped up Matilda’s shirt, in what Matilda could only guess was to check the diaper, but she saw eyes begin to travel up. “Can you take this off?” she asked. Matilda eyed Hortensia, the idea of being seen in nothing but a diaper was about as appealing as trying to eat another piece of pork chop, but the older girl's attention was transfixed to the tv screen. When Matilda began grimacing in pain, Eve stepped in and helped.

“Ooh,” Eve said with a grimace of her own. She looked Matilda up and down. “Was that from earlier?” Matilda nodded. It was about the only body part she could move without causing her core to ache. “How am I going to explain this to your mom?” she groaned. “She’s going to think I beat you. Does it hurt?”

“It’s a bit sore when I move. OW, no, don’t touch it!” Eve let out a sigh.

“Somehow you always manage to get hurt here. I don’t think you’ve broken anything, I think it’s just bruised. Even if you do have a cracked rib, there’s nothing that can be done for it but rest and time. At this rate, I’ll feel fortunate to give you back with all your fingers and toes.”

“Better than being dead.” Matilda said.

“Yes, very much so, but you’re not supposed to look like you’ve been given chest compressions from abdominal thrusts. The saying ‘If you’re not breaking ribs you’re not doing it right’ is only meant to refer to CPR.” Matilda hissed in pain and smacked Eve’s hand away when she began pressing on the purple raised spot again.

“It’s like I got CPR from the back.”

“What? Like ass to mouth resuscitation?” Hortensia said with a snicker.

“You better watch that mouth of yours.” Eve said with a shake of her head. “Cynthia’s coming over tomorrow morning to check in while I’m at work. You remember what happened last time?”

“Ugh, why?” Hortensia complained. “It was her stupid fat kid's fault.” she grumbled. In the midst of arguing with her daughter, Eve proceeded to rip the tapes off Matilda’s diaper. While quite glad to be out of the sweaty thing, Matilda did not appreciate being stripped naked in the living room for all to see.

“Hey!” she shouted, quickly bending to cover herself before immediately regretting it.

“Sorry, dear, I keep forgetting you’re not one of my patients.”

“Don’t you work with old people?” Matilda asked skeptically.

“Yes, but they're not always with it. Some have dementia, some have hearing loss, so you have to be very firm and direct with them, or they won’t hear or understand you.‘Tens is always after me to use my inside voice. And none of them bat an eye when they come strolling out to dinner in their birthday suit. What?”

Matilda was gripping her side in pain, but she couldn’t stop laughing. All this time she was afraid Eve had been treating her like a baby, but it was the exact opposite. She was treating her like a geriatric. She couldn’t stop picturing herself bent over with a walker and searching for her dentures, which only made her laugh more.

“You broke her.” Hortensia said.

“Says the person who tried to snap her in half.”

“G-get off my lawn!” Matilda said shaking a fist before doubling over from the pain of laughing as she gasped for breath.

“Yep, she’s broken.”

“Alright, I’m glad you're feeling better, but let's calm down before you hurt yourself more. Do you think you can make it to the bathroom on your own or do you need help?”

“I need my walker!” Matilda said, now silently shaking from the effort of holding in suppressed giggles.

“Okay silly, I’ll be your walker, give me your hands, up we go.” Matilda groaned in pain as she was lifted to a standing position, all thoughts of modesty gone. “Go potty, then I’ll give you something for the pain. Do you need help?” Matilda shook her head and slowly hobbled over to go take care of business, not fond of how much it hurt to get on and off the toilet.

Once she was done, she peeked her head out the bathroom door. She didn’t care for the thought of streaking back into the living room, so she yelled out she was done.

“Meet me in ‘Tens room. I’ll be there in a minute.” came the reply.

When Matilda got to the bed, she discovered a problem. She couldn’t pull herself up. The more she tried, the more sharp pains greeted her with every breath. Matilda stood awkwardly to the side, and waited for Eve to get her something to wear. She eyed a towel on the ground she could cover up with, but she quickly found bending over was as impossible as pulling herself up. She let out a growl of frustration.

When Eve finally made her way back, she was carrying the diaper from before in one hand and a small medicine cup of red liquid in the other. Matilda quickly downed it without hesitating before making a face. Children’s Cherry flavored Tylenol. She recognized the taste from the last time she was here with a fever.

“I wish my patients were as good about taking their medicine as you are.” Eve said taking the cup from her. “Now let’s get this back on you. Hop up on the bed.”

“I can’t. It hurts too much. Can’t I go without it? I don’t need them anymore, I swear!” Matilda said taking a reflexive step back.

“Tell you what, put this on tonight, and you can take it off in the morning. You’ve had one disaster after another today. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit, previous bed wetter or not, if you didn’t make it through the night. I wouldn’t blame you one bit, so how about we save both of us the stress of ‘what if’s’ and you just worry about getting a good night sleep. ” When Matilda didn’t answer, Eve added, “They're all the rage at the nursing home.” causing her to crack a smile.

“Fine.” Matilda grumbled. She knew even if she said no, Eve was just going to do it by force. She whimpered from the pain as she was picked up and laid down.

“The medicine will kick in soon.” Eve said to reassure her as she pinned the old diaper back on with bobby pins. “There, all done. I’ve made you a spot to sleep on the couch.” She offered a hand up to Matilda, but she hesitated.

“Can I sleep here?” Matilda asked softly. The thought of trying to get off the bed made her break out in a sweat.

“No, sorry, I can’t have Hortensia sleep out there, she’ll stay up all night watching tv.” Matilda pointed to the tv in her room. “It doesn’t get the channels she watches. You didn’t have a problem sleeping on the couch earlier. What’s wrong?”

“I can’t get down. It’s my arthritis.” Matilda said with a slight smile.

“Very funny.” Eve said, before bending down and scooping her up behind her neck and knees and carrying her fireman style back to the couch. “You’ve got water, pillows, blankets, anything else you need before I turn out the lights?” Matilda shook her head and nestled underneath the blankets. “Hortensia! No, turn off the tv, and go to your room.”

“But it’s not even nine!” Hortensia complained. “I can’t sleep this early!”

“You don’t have to go to bed, just go in your room, so Matilda can sleep in peace. Go read one of your little picture books you like so much.” Matilda buried her face in the blanket to hide the snicker while Hortensia ground her teeth.

“They’re comic books. Com-ics!”

“Yes, yes, whatever.” Eve said while following her daughter down the hall before flicking off the lights, leaving Matilda alone in the dark. “Good night,” she heard called out before two doors closed.

Matilda laid there for a moment lost in thought. How long had it been since she got to sleep alone? This was kind of nice. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of…nothing. No one was breathing next to her, or sleep talking. No one was hogging the blankets. When was the last time? The Trunchbull’s crazed face as she tried to strangle her entered her mind. Matilda eyes sprang open. That was the last time she had slept in an empty room.

Now Matilda didn’t feel so alone, and not in a good way. She scanned the darkness for threats.

“Think about the good things,” she whispered to herself. No bed hogs, no fighting over blankets, no Miss Honey trying to attack her in her sleep. Matilda frowned. No Miss Honey to hold her. No Miss Honey to talk about her day with. No Miss Honey.

Matilda forced her eyes closed, ignoring the moisture now spilling from them, and quietly cried herself to sleep.

When Matilda awoke again, the room was still dark and empty. She turned her head and stared at the digital clock on the VCR. It was only 3:30 in the morning. She shuffled her feet as she realized what had awakened her. Matilda quietly groaned in annoyance. She had to pee. Couldn’t it wait till morning? She tried to go back to sleep, but found it was impossible. Fine, you win, she thought. The sooner she got up and went to the bathroom, the sooner she could snuggle back under the covers. Only, when she tried to sit up, she was met with an excruciating stab of pain that made her sink back down on the pillow at once.

It took Matilda a moment to focus on her bearings. She slowly tried to inch herself back up but froze. The most she could do was get herself into a sitting position by leaning her back against the arm rest before the pain won out. The Tylenol had clearly worn off, and now she sat unsure of what to do. She really needed the bathroom now, but she couldn’t get up without help, and help was still sleeping.

Matilda looked again at the clock. What time would they get up on a Sunday? 7:00 am? 8:00 am? What if they slept in? Four more hours at best. Matilda began to panic. She couldn’t wait that long! It was actually starting to hurt to hold it in. She’d have to figure out a way to get herself up, but try as she might, the pain was only getting worse each time she hoisted herself up or tried to turn her torso. It left no other choice. She’d have to call out for help and hope someone heard her.

Would Eve be angry if she woke her up? Matilda gripped the front of the dry diaper and squeezed. She couldn’t hold it in this way like she could with regular underwear. There was too much padding. There was another thought. She could just pretend she wet the bed. Eve had said she wouldn’t be surprised or angry. Miss Honey had made her use them before. It would be easy enough to just…let go.

Matilda made a face of disgust. What was she thinking about? She loathed sitting in her own urine. Besides, she had to prove she didn’t need these things anymore, and there was something even more shameful about having an accident while she was awake.

“Hello?” Matilda finally moaned into the empty air. “I need help!” She waited, but no one came. She tried again. Nothing. Now she was starting to sob. “Please! Anyone!”

Finally, she heard a door begin to creep open as heavy footsteps began to approach.

“Is that you making all that noise?” A half asleep Hortensia asked.

“I need the bathroom, but I can’t get up on my own.” Matilda said.

“Why not?” Hortensia mumbled.

“Because my side hurts!” Matilda said. “Pull me up.” Matilda let out a howl of pain as Hortensia tried to get her up. “Stop! Stop!” Matilda begged, clutching her side.

“I’ll get Ma.” Hortensia said before shuffling back down the hall. Matilda waited and squirmed in place, but instead of Eve, only Hortensia emerged looking sheepish. “She told me to give you some more Tylenol.” Matilda watched her pour out the medicine before coming back and handing it to her. Matilda downed it and handed the cup back.

“Is she coming?” Matilda asked.

“No,” Hortensia said avoiding eye contact.

“But I need the bathroom!” Matilda nearly cried.

“Yeah, she said if you’re in that much pain to just, umm, go in the diaper.” Matilda let out a horrified whimper. “Sorry,” Hortensia said. “Maybe you’ll be able to get up once the Tylenol kicks in?” Hortensia was about to leave, but Matilda stopped her.

“Don’t leave!” Matilda nearly shouted before she could stop herself. “Could you stay and try and get me up again if I can’t?”

“I’m tired.” Hortensia complained. “I want to go back to bed.” Matilda dangled the tv remote in front of her. “Fine.” she grumbled.

Matilda had her hands balled into fists at her side as she tried to focus on the screen. Each attempt to get up every five to ten minutes was only met with more pain. Hortensia kept looking from the screen back to Matilda. Finally, Hortensia sighed and turned off the tv.

“Dude, c’mon, it can’t be that bad.” Hortensia said.

“You broke my rib! Yes, it hurts that bad!” Matilda said with tears running down her face.

“I didn’t mean that, I meant, uhh, you know…” Hortensia mumbled. “Wouldn’t it just be easier to…”

“No!” Matilda hissed, shooting her a death glare. “Try and pick me up again.”

“Dude, no, I’m just going to hurt you more.”

“Please, I- I can’t-”

They both jumped when they heard the other bedroom door swing open.

“Hortensia! You better not be out there watching television! Get back to bed!” Eve shouted. Hortensia flashed an apologetic look before shuffling back down the hall. “Get the wipes and a clean diaper from your closet while you’re at it.”

Matilda gritted her teeth as Eve approached. She didn’t need a new diaper, she just needed up!

She had to cover her eyes as Eve flipped on the light switch. Eve was standing there in a brown bathrobe looking as bleary-eyed and exhausted as Hortensia had been.

“Alright, let’s get you situated, so we can all go back to bed.” she mumbled.

“I just need help up!” Matilda said with urgency as she squirmed underneath the blankets.

“Matilda,” Eve said sounding a bit annoyed. “Didn’t ‘Tens tell you what I wanted you to do?”

“No,” Matilda moaned.

“‘No’ ‘Tens didn’t tell you or ‘No’ you’re not going to do it?” Matilda glared at her defiantly. “You better wipe that look off your face, young lady.”

“Why won’t you help me?” Matilda cried.

“I’m trying to help you, but you’re making this very difficult.” Eve said sounding very tired.

“This isn’t helping! All I need is to be put on my feet!”

“And then what, hmm? How do you expect to get on and off the toilet if you can’t get on and off the couch?”

“You helped me earlier.” Matilda said looking away.

“Matilda,” Eve said before taking a breath and running a hand down her face. “This is why I had you wear a diaper during the night, because I didn’t think you’d make it to the morning.”

“I don’t wet the bed anymore.” Matilda said. “I told you that!”

“You’re supposed to be the genius here, I didn’t think I needed to spell it out for you. When I said It was okay if you did, it was supposed to be an invitation, not a challenge to prove me wrong. I had you wear it for this very reason in case you woke up and couldn’t manage by yourself, so you could just relieve yourself and go back to sleep. ” Matilda wrinkled her face in disgust.

“Then you’d just think I wet the bed.”

“Matilda, I wouldn’t have cared as long as there wasn’t a mess for me to deal with.”

“I’d care, especially if you told Miss Honey.” Matilda mumbled, “but it’s not like she wants me anymore.”

“Is that what this is all about? You don’t want me telling your mom?” Matilda sniffled before slowly nodding her head. Eve sighed.

“And if I promised this stays between us? Then would you go? Please? I can’t keep picking you up, I have a bad back, and it’s really acting up tonight.”

“Why didn’t you just say that to begin with?” Matilda asked. “I would have done it if I knew you were in pain.”

“Why isn’t your own pain motivation enough?” Eve asked with a shake of her head, but Matilda could tell she looked much less annoyed.

“Because I’d rather hurt outside than inside.” she mumbled, before hiding herself underneath the blanket. She tried to relax, but her body refused to listen. Matilda let out an annoyed huff. She had been on the verge of losing control mere seconds ago, but now that it was okay, her bladder refused to empty. No one would listen to her. Not even her own body. She couldn’t seem to do anything right.

“You don’t need to cry, shh, come on out, and I’ll help you get cleaned up.” Matilda stayed where she was. Crying seemed to be all she was good for. “Matilda.” She felt the blanket getting lifted off her head, but it only made her cry harder. She wanted to curl into a ball, but she couldn’t. “Are you all done going potty?”

“I c-can’t!” It was hurting to breath. “I want to, but I can’t, and it hurts, and I don’t want to make you mad, but it’s all I seem to do is make people mad.” Now she could feel all the blankets getting pulled off.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m not mad, see? Try and take some deep breaths for me, okay? Maybe you’re just too upset now.” She could feel Eve brushing her hair back. She wanted to pull away, but there was nowhere to go. Matilda batted her hand away. That was Miss Honey’s thing she did for her and now…and now… Was this the disgust Miss Honey felt when looking at her? Is this what she felt when Matilda had touched her?

Matilda couldn’t take this feeling anymore. She needed to feel something else. Anything else! She forced her torso and legs around into an upright sitting position and yelled out in pain.

“Matilda, what are you doing!? Stop it! Lay down, you’re hurting yourself!”

“It’s better.” Matilda said, still sobbing.

“No, it’s not! What are you talking about?”

“It’s better than the other pain.” she moaned.

“What other pain?” Matilda pointed at her chest. “Well of course your chest hurts.” Matilda shook her head. “I don’t understand. Is it your heart? Does your heart hurt?” Matilda slowly nodded. “Did someone break your heart?” Matilda nodded again. “Who?”

“Miss Honey.”

She hadn’t planned on telling anyone about what had happened, especially not Eve, but the next thing she knew, she found herself pouring her heart out, from being locked in the room, to the look of disgust in Miss Honey’s eyes, to the absolute terror that consumed her at the thought of going back to the loveless life she had lived after being shown how wonderful it could feel to be wanted.

“That’s certainly not like Jennifer, but Matilda, I can absolutely promise she loves you. I don’t think anything is ever going to change that.” Eve said after quietly listening to her lament.

“But you weren’t there! You didn’t see the look she gave me!”

“You’re right, I wasn’t there, but Mrs. Rodger’s said she was having some kind of episode. I don’t know what she meant by that, but it’s clear to me, she wasn’t acting like herself. She may not have been aware of her surroundings, or who she was talking to. If it’s anything like the ‘episodes’ I see the patients go through, there’s no telling when or where she thought she was.”

“I guess.” Matilda mumbled.

“I promise. She is not going to send you away. All we can do is hope she’s getting the help she needs right now, so you don’t get caught in the crosshairs again. I can see this has deeply affected you. I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to take it personally. We’ve all done things we didn’t mean to when we were scared or upset, even adults.”

Matilda turned her head and stared at the newly replaced back patio door feeling a pang of guilt. She had done plenty of things she hadn’t meant to under emotional duress.

“Oww, don’t.” Matilda whined, blocking her stomach from the sudden invading prods.

“Dear, not to change the subject, but I really need you to go pee. It's worrying me that you need to but can’t. Do you think it’s a mental thing? I know you don’t want to go in the diaper. Do you think that’s what the problem is?”

Matilda shrugged in response and cradled her lower belly. The fullness was starting to ache.

“Because I’d much rather it be a mental problem than a physical one. I can work around a mental one. I still don’t think it’s a good idea to take you to the restroom, because I may not be able to help you on and off the toilet without hurting you even more.” Matilda hung her head. “But, do you think you can walk if I manage to get you on your feet?” Matilda nodded eagerly. “Do you think you’d have an easier time if you stood in the grass out back?”

Matilda could feel her face flush, but it was still better than peeing on herself. It always burned her skin and no matter how well she was wiped down, she never felt clean until she took a bath.

“It might, but what about your back?”

“I’d rather have peace of mind knowing it’s nothing more serious. I was more concerned about dropping you onto the hard toilet. At least this way, you’ll only fall back on the couch if my back spasms while lifting you.”

“What happened to it?”

“My back? I was hit by a car as a teen.” Matilda grimaced. “Make sure you look both ways while crossing the street, are you ready? Lift out your arms.” They both grunted in pain, but they managed.

Yes! She was on her feet! And she was walking, albeit while holding on to Eve’s arm, but she was doing it! Just a few more steps and… no! No. No. No. Matilda let out a soft whimper. She stopped walking and crossed her legs. Not now, not after all that work of getting her up!

“What? What is it? Are you in pain? Do you need a break or…” She saw Eve’s eyes searching for the source of the hissing sound until they stopped on her waist. She felt a hand give her shoulder a pat. “Just let it happen, dear, it’s alright, uncross your legs. There’s a good girl. ”

“I’m sorry!” Matilda groaned before averting her eyes. With a grimace, she stood as still as a statue, helpless to stop the flow of urine now surging out like water from a pressure hose into the rapidly expanding padding. She wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or disgusted. Would Eve be angry she had gotten her up for nothing? Clearly there was diddly squat keeping her from peeing now.

“There isn’t anything to be sorry for, you go on and finish.”

It felt like one of the awkwardest minutes of Matilda’s life as she stood there, legs now forced apart from the swollen garment. Was she done? She couldn’t tell. The noise had stopped, but everything was just so warm and wet against her skin. Ick. She hated this feeling. Eve was rubbing circles on her back now. At least she wasn’t angry.

“All done? Ready to go back?” Matilda nodded her head and gave one last scowl towards the backyard. She couldn’t have held it another minute?

“Gross. Gross. Gross.” Matilda chanted with every step.

“I’ll get you fixed up and into something dry. I’m just glad you were able to go. Maybe it had to do with the way you were sitting and walking loosened up your muscles.”

“I don’t want to do this again.” Matilda complained as she slowly lowered herself back on the couch with Eve’s help.

“I know you don’t, and hopefully you won’t be in as much pain. It’s going to be up to Cynthia tomorrow though on what to do. You need to be a good girl for her and do as she says, even if you don’t like it.” Matilda shuddered as her bottom half was exposed to the cold air. “If she wants you to use diapers, I don’t want you arguing with her. If she can help you get to the bathroom, that’s fine, but I’m going to ask her to stay in there with you.”

“What? No!” Matilda protested.

“Honey, no offense, but I’ve never met a more accident-prone child than you, and I’m not talking about what comes out. I need to give you back to Miss Honey in one piece and so far, we’re off to a terrible start. Brace yourself this is going to be cold.”

Matilda grimaced as she felt herself getting wiped down. No matter how many times she went through this, it never got easier.

“I don’t want some stranger watching me use the bathroom or changing me.” Matilda grumbled.

“Would you rather ‘Tens do it?” Eve asked, eye-brows raised.

“NO!” Matilda nearly shouted.

“I didn’t think so.” she said with a smirk. “There, all done, was that really so bad?”

“Yes,” Matilda said, arms crossed over her chest.

“Oh, stop pouting, you’ll be fine. A few wet diapers won’t hurt you.” Eve said as she spread the blanket over her. Matilda wanted to argue, but all she could manage was a large yawn. “Go back to sleep, I’ll check on you in the morning before I leave for work.”
Matilda sighed as the lights were flicked off, and she was left alone once again. There was something about being in a diaper that made her feel so small and helpless. She felt like she was stuck in a never ending cycle of getting hurt or sick and ending back up in diapers no matter how hard she tried to stay out of them. Did other kids go through the same thing? She never heard anyone mention it before, but maybe it was just one of those things everyone went through but no one talked about. Matilda couldn’t be the only one this unlucky. Hopefully she wouldn’t be in this much pain come tomorrow. She let out another yawn, glad to be comfortable once again, and looked at the time. It was 3:50 in the morning. She was asleep before the clock struck four.

Chapter Text

“That dirty pig!” Jennifer nearly spat. She clutched the list he had made her write out in her fist. “That quack! That slimeball!”

Mrs. Rodgers stared at her, a half amused, half curious expression on her face. She had gone for coffee while the Dr. had come in to give her privacy and what his treatment option had been had left Jennifer stunned and fuming. New medications? Fine. Good. Great. Mandatory Psychological Assessment. Understandable. But to suggest she…she… Who in their right mind would give that man-pig a license to practice medicine!?

“I feel like I missed something here.” Mrs. Rodgers said, but before Jennifer could reply, another person came behind the curtain.

“Hello, Miss Honey, so the Dr. says since you said you live alone with just a young child with no available support options, he’s requested you be placed under an involuntary 72 hour hold since you noted on your intake form you felt you were a threat to yourself or others.”

Jennifer stared at the middle-aged woman with the clipboard.

“B-but he gave me medicine and said I could go. I can’t stay here for three days, I have a daughter waiting to be picked up!” Jennifer said. If she left Matilda with Eve for three days, there’d really be no hope she’d ever forgive her.”

“I’m sorry, it looks like he must have changed his mind.” Jennifer ground her teeth together.

“Well, wait. What do you mean by, ‘no support options?’” Mrs. Rodgers asked.

“Like family to stay with.”

“Nonsense, go tell the Doctor she’ll be staying with me.” Mrs. Rodgers said.

“But-” Jennifer tried to say but was cut off by a quick hand gesture telling her to zip it.

“Oh, umm, are you family? Because she can only be released into the care of a family member and Miss Honey stated she had no close living relatives.”

“Yes, she probably thought you meant close by distance. See, I live out of state, but I’m in town visiting, isn’t that right, Jenny?” Mrs. Rodgers sent her a look that said, “agree or else.” Jennifer gulped before nodding her head.

“I see, and how are you related?”

“I’m her mother.”

…
“My mother? Really?” Jennifer asked as they walked back to the car.

“It worked, didn’t it?” Mrs. Rodgers said with a laugh.

Jennifer bit her bottom lip. Maybe she should have let them lock her up. What if she really was a danger to Matilda like her aunt-okay, hallucination of her aunt-said.

“Stop that, you’re making your lip bleed again.” Mrs. Rodgers said. Jennifer dabbed at her lip with the back of her hand and stared at the blood. “Here’s a tissue.”

“Thanks.” Jennifer held the tissue to her lip and climbed into the passenger seat. “Let’s get Matilda. I hope she’s okay.” And hasn’t blown anything up this time, Jennifer thought.

“Later,” Mrs. Rodgers said. “First, let's get your prescriptions filled, and then we’re going back to your place to get your things.”

“My things? What things?” she started to ask before it clicked. “Mrs. Ro- Carol, no.”

“Yes, You’re staying with me, and I’m not taking no for an answer. Something's going on with you, and I’m not letting you out of my sight until I know you’re safe.”

“I’m fine now, really.”

“No you’re not! Something scared the living shit out of you today. What did the doctor have to say?”

“That pig!” Jennifer growled.

“Why do you keep saying that? What happened?”

“He told me to…to… I can’t even say it!” She looked around the car as if someone else might be listening in before leaning in close to Carol and whispered, “He told me to…touch myself.”

“Like right then and there in front of him?” Mrs. Rodgers asked.

“Well n-no, but still!” Jennifer said, face now flushed with embarrassment. “He made me write out a list of things I think might set off another episode, so I had written out a few things, and one of them was, umm,” Jennifer mumbled the last part, “sex”.

“Ohh, that makes more sense. Jen, you scared me, I thought you were going to say he did something inappropriate like make a move on you.” Jennifer stared at her wide-eyed.

“How was that not inappropriate? The only kinds of women who would do such a thing are perverted sicko’s like my aunt!” She watched Mrs. Rodgers purse her lips together until they all but disappeared. Huh? Was it something she said? All she had said was… A knot began to form in the pit of her stomach. “No, no, no, no! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that!”

Carol’s eyebrows shot up. “How else would you mean it? You just compared millions of women, myself included, to a raging psychopath.”

“M-millions?” And oh god, and did she just say her? Is this what a normal sex drive did to people? She couldn’t imagine ever wanting sex, let alone wanting it so much she’d touch herself.

“I take it you haven’t had many close female friends to discuss it with?” Carol asked. Jennifer shook her head and stared out the window. Sex was an uncomfortable topic. At least Carol wasn’t five. “Well, I can ease your mind about one thing at least. He didn’t suggest it because he’s a pervert. It sounds more like a type of exposure therapy so when the time comes, maybe you won’t be so anxious.”

Jennifer shuddered at the thought. There would be no “when the time came” for her.

“No, thank you,” she mumbled.

“You can’t just avoid sex your whole life.”

“Why not? It’s worked well for me so far.” Carol shook her head.

“Don’t you think maybe that’s what’s gotten you into this situation in the first place?”

“Not having sex? I don’t think they hospitalize people for that.”

“Why take the chance?” Carol said with a wink. “I’m kidding, I’m referring to you avoiding your problems instead of facing them. It’s like you bottle everything and pretend it’s not there.”

“No I don’t.” Jennifer said. Usually.

“You’ve been avoiding the question all day. What happened?”

“I told you what happened. I had a flashback.”

“Why did you push Matilda away? And that look on your face… did you not realize it was her?” Jennifer looked back out the window again, hiding her face and the stream of tears threatening to fall any second. The guilt had returned, now more suffocating than ever.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Yes, we need to talk about this. We’re not leaving this parking lot until you tell me the truth. You’ve been released into my care, and now you’re my responsibility. You can’t keep carrying on like you have been.”

“Look, it’s not- I mean, she was,” Jennifer let out a frustrated sigh and hid her face in her hands.

“C’mon, just take a deep breath and then start again.”

“Carol, I’m scared.” Jennifer said, looking at her now through the blur of tears.

“I know you are, but why?”

“I’m scared I’m turning into a monster, just like her.”

Mrs. Rodgers stared at her a moment, at a loss for words. “Why on earth would you think that?”

“Because I think I- I’ve been, I think I’ve been grooming Matilda this whole time.” Jennifer said before breaking down in sobs. She could feel Mrs. Rodger's body stiffen in the seat next to her. “I don’t want to hurt her! I didn’t realize until today, and just the thought makes me feel so sick to my stomach.”

“I think, I think we should go back to my place and talk about this. I’m calling Eve and telling her they’re keeping you overnight.”

The ride to the pharmacy had been a quiet one, and by the time they had pulled up to Jennifer’s place, she was shaking from anxiety. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. She debated just slamming the door closed behind her and locking herself in until Carol left, but she seemed to have read her mind. She stayed by her side like a prison guard escorting a dangerous inmate. After she threw together a few outfits for herself and Matilda just in case, she tossed them in Matilda’s suitcase. She felt kind of silly packing herself a bag with butterflies on it, but it was the only suitcase they had. Her hand went automatically to the bag of pull-ups and stopped.

Matilda had been good about not having accidents lately, even at night, but even so, if she was going to be sleeping in someone else's bed, might as well pack them just in case.

By the time they made it to Carol’s, Miss Honey was a nervous wreck.

“Go sit at the table, I’ll get us something to drink.” Carol said. Jennifer nodded and sat. She felt like a kid whose parents had told them “we need to talk”. “Here, this’ll help you relax.” Carol set a wine glass in front of her filled with a dark red liquid and sat across from her, sipping from one of her own.

Jennifer took a tentative sip, she had never had wine before. She had to resist making a face. She hadn’t expected it to burn.
“Let me ask you something.” Carol said after a minute of silence. Jennifer felt her stomach clench. She took another sip of wine. “Are you having sexual fantasies about Matilda?” Jennifer nearly spat out her drink.

“No, of course not!”

“No desires to touch her anywhere inappropriate?”

“No!” Jennifer insisted.

“And you’re not asking her to touch you anywhere?”

“Carol! No!”

“Then why did you say you’re afraid you’re becoming a monster? And you said something about grooming her. I need you to explain what you meant.”

Jennifer took a larger gulp of the wine. It was starting to taste all right.

“You remember when Matilda was sick?” Carol nodded. “She had asked to lay on my chest without my night gown on. I did it as a one time thing, because maybe my skin felt cooler than hers with her fever but, even after that, she’d ask after a hard day, and we’d lie in bed holding each other.” Jennifer drained the remaining liquid in her glass and waited for the disgust. “And once I had even offered.”

“And what were you feeling? Turned on? Excited?”

“N-no, just, it-it felt nice to hold her.”

“Just nice, not anything else?” Jennifer shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“I got undressed and in bed with a child.” Jennifer whispered. “And then held her and let her get on top of me, and I liked it. When I had that… episode in the bathroom, my aunt was there reminding me that’s exactly how it started. She used to climb in bed with me naked when I was Matilda’s age, and now I’m doing the same thing.” Well not completely naked, they both had their underwear on, but close enough.

“Let me ask you another thing.” Jennifer gripped her empty glass, but nodded. “Did you ask your aunt to do that?”

“No.”

“Did you want her to do that?”

“No.”

“Jennifer, look at me.” She hesitated before slowly meeting Carol’s eyes, surprised to find a soft smile on her lips. “It’s not the same thing.”

“How is it not the same thing?”

“Your motivations for one.” She watched as Carol got up, grabbed the bottle off the kitchen counter and refilled both their glasses. “Your aunt got into bed with you uninvited. You didn’t want it or ask for it. I think it’s safe to say she didn’t have your best intentions at heart. You on the other hand were just trying to comfort your sick daughter with no ulterior motives. You followed her lead, and you were just trying to be a good mom. And that feeling you described, that’s called love. It may have been a long time ago, but I still remember how it felt to hold my son in my arms. You’re not a monster, Jennifer, you’re a mother.”

“Thank you.” Jennifer said with a sniffle and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. “I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear that.”

“Now I just have one more question for you. It’s very important.” Carol held up something in her hand. Two somethings. “Are these what I think they are?” Jennifer padded her back pocket, it was empty. She grimaced.

“Matilda found them in my old room. I had a copy of Anne of Green Gables cut in the center to hide things in. They were my aunts.”

“Jenn, you little Klepto.” Carol laughed. “Fitting book.” Jennifer gave her a sheepish grin. “So… got a lighter?”

“Carol! They’re like eight years old!”

“Just how the Trunchbull liked them.”

“Carol!”

“Sorry, sorry, bad joke. I blame the wine.” Jennifer dug in her other pocket and placed the lighter on the table. “Now we’re talking!”

“Ugh, this is disgusting.” Jennifer said between coughs, “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

“But do you feel better?” Carol asked, taking another hit. Jennifer’s head was swimming, but she was surprised to find she did feel tremendously better than she had earlier that day.

“I do.” she admitted.

“See, mother knows best.” Carol said, cracking them both up. “Oh, I need to call Eve.”

“Oh, let me.” Jennifer stood up, but suddenly the whole kitchen was moving. She quickly sat back down and put her head in her hands.

“Umm, better not. You are far from sober right now.” Carol said with a chuckle.

“Some mother you are.” Jennifer groaned from the table and held her head. She had never been drunk or high in her entire life and here she was practically both! She watched as Carol began talking into the receiver but frowned in concern as a puzzled look crossed Carol’s face.

“No, we didn’t give her anything. That’s odd, can you put her on? No, no, just let her sleep, she probably needs it.”

“Tell Matilda I love her.” Jennifer mouthed.

“Umm, Jennifer is…under sedation right now. Should be released by tomorrow. We’ll call you if anything changes.” They talked for a few minutes more, but Carol’s voice had dropped and Jennifer could no longer hear what she was saying.

“What happened?” Jennifer asked when Carol got off the phone.

“Eve said Matilda was acting a little loopy and off balance. She asked if we had given her anything to calm her down. I said we hadn’t.” Jennifer frowned. That was strange. They hadn’t given her anything, and she was too smart to have to worry about her getting into things she shouldn’t. “Well, she’s sacked out on their couch now, I told her to let her sleep and passed on your message.”

“Thank you.” Jennifer held her head.

The room was swaying now, she didn’t like it. She gripped the edge of the table to try and ground herself, but it wasn’t working. Her mind was jumping from one unfinished thought to another, each one making less and less sense, but leaving her with the feeling she was on to something miraculous if only she could see the bigger picture. And the deja vu! She had had this conversation with Carol before, hadn’t she?

“I don’t mean to cut our conversation short, but would you mind if I laid down for a bit? I’m feeling a bit woozy.”

“Oh, of course, just go down the hall and first door to your left. Oh and, I got you something at the pharmacy, but don’t be mad.”

Huh? What was she talking about? And that look on her face could only mean trouble. Jennifer watched as Carol pulled something from her pocket and tossed it at her. She tried to catch it, but wasn’t even close and watched as a small bottle of what looked like lotion skittered to a halt on the kitchen floor. She bent down and picked it up before examining it. Jennifer read the label before eying Carol with pursed lips.

“In case you change your mind.” Carol said with a wink. Jennifer didn’t feel like arguing right now, so she slipped the bottle in her pocket without a word and made her way to the spare bedroom. Once there, she collapsed on the bed and moaned into the pillow. The room was swaying back and forth. Was it from the wine or the expired marijuana? Did that even expire? All she knew was never again.

Something was poking her waist. Jennifer slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out the bottle and eyed it darkly as she read the label. For clitoral stimulation. Why had Carol given this to her? She had no interest in doing that. It was dirty and shameful. Without thinking, she popped the lid off and sniffed it. It smelled odd. Besides, how would this stimulate anything? It was nothing but a placebo, she was sure of it. She squirted some on her finger. It felt just like regular lotion. She rubbed her fingers together. It was a placebo, it wouldn’t work unless she wanted it to. She could probably put it on and nothing would happen. Would that prove she wasn’t interested in sex? Then would Carol drop this line of thinking?

The next thing Jennifer knew, she was wiping it off on herself. It went on cold, and slimy. There, she tried it. There was a knock on the door. Jennifer quickly put the bottle back in her pocket and sat up as Carol walked in.

“Hi, sorry, thought you might want an extra blanket and a bottle of water.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you alright?” Carol asked, looking over her with a questioning glance. Jennifer could feel heat rushing to her face, along with somewhere else.

“Yes, I’ll be fine,” Jennifer said, forcing a pained looking smile as she shifted in place. It was getting warmer now. Why on earth had she gone and done that for? She had no intention of following through!

“Are you sure? You look a bit uncomfortable.”

Jennifer was sweating. It was too warm! Too itchy! Too…too…

“Ah!” she sprung out of the bed and pumped her legs in place. “What is this?” she pulled the bottle out of her pocket and held it up. Carol stared at her wide-eyed for a moment in shock before bursting into laughter. “How much did you use?”

“I don’t know! I was just smelling it and next thing I knew it was in my palm and-” Jennifer let out a groan. “It burns.”

“You only needed a dab.” Carol said through her laughter. “You can wash it off in the shower.”

Jennifer followed her to a closet, fidgeting all the way. There she was handed a towel, and given instructions on how to use the shower's knobs. She closed the bathroom door behind her and groaned into her hands, still hearing Carol’s giggles retreating down the hall. She didn’t even wait for the water to warm all the way before jumping in. Jennifer had to get this stuff off her. She grabbed a washcloth that was hanging on a handrail and used it to wipe herself. Ugh, slimy. She wiped again. Still slimy. How was it possible it was getting warmer? She began to frantically scrub, desperate to get it off her skin.

Jennifer was starting to panic. Her heart was racing. Her breaths came in short gasps. Then the next thing she knew, there was an electrical current running up her belly. Her lower half began to pulse and throb. She stopped scrubbing as a wave of relief washed over her. What the hell was that? It almost reminded her of the time she had… A sinking shameful feeling began to form in the pit of her stomach. No! She hadn’t been trying to! She hadn’t meant to!

“Keep telling yourself that, Jen. Just like you keep telling yourself you didn’t enjoy those nighttime visits.”

No! No! Not again! Jennifer slowly turned and looked out through the glass shower door. She could see the blurry outline of a figure standing in the bathroom.

“I didn’t.” Jennifer mumbled weakly.

“Oh really? Your mouth says one thing, but your bedsheets always said another.”

“No! Stop it!” Jennifer moaned. Her hands were covering her ears. She didn’t want to remember.

“If you didn’t like it, you wouldn’t have cum.”

The shame. The self loathing. She was sinking. Drowning in the memories. Or she would have been if not for the sudden, intense pain in her side. It was as if someone had taken a baseball bat to her. She bent over, moaning. She was seeing spots, but just as sudden as it had started, the pain vanished.

Jennifer stood bent over underneath the stream of water and tried to get her bearings. She looked up. The blurry figure behind the glass was gone. She slowly straightened up and felt along her side. Nothing. No pain, no tenderness. What in the world? Was it a stomach cramp? Whatever it was, she couldn’t have asked for better timing. It had snapped her out from her spiral and back to reality.

When Jennifer emerged from the shower, she made her way back to the spare bedroom, put on her night gown and crawled into bed. No matter how much she had washed herself, she still felt dirty. She didn’t want to think about what she had done. What she wanted more than anything was innocence. She wanted to be in her classroom. She wanted to see the light and joy in children's eyes. But what she wanted most of all was her innocence, even if she knew it was something she could never have. The last thing she thought about before sleep overcame her was her daughter. She hoped Matilda was having a better night than she was. If Jennifer couldn’t have her innocence, then the least she could do was watch out for Matilda’s.

Chapter Text

Pound. Pound. Pound.
Matilda winced. Why could she feel her heartbeat in her head? She was still halfway in and out of consciousness, only barely aware of disembodied voices somewhere off in the distance. She swallowed, immediately repulsed by the sour taste that had formed in her mouth overnight.

"So is she special needs?" a voice Matilda didn't recognize asked.
"Something like that." a more familiar voice said after a pause. "Very intelligent, but..." But? But what? Even her semi-conscious mind knew they were talking about her. There was another long pause. Matilda's ears were burning, almost daring Eve to finish that sentence. "I've only just recently met her a few weeks ago mind you, but she just seems different."
"Different how?" The stranger asked.
"I can't explain it, not off, just a little odd. She's a sweet girl, very intelligent like I said, but a bit slow when it comes to social cues I'm starting to learn, that, or she just has incredibly selective hearing. "
The stranger giggled.
"Eve, you said she's five. Of course, she's not going to listen. Since when has your daughter ever listened to me?" Now it was Eve's turn to laugh before letting out a groan.
"That's more because 'Tens has no respect for authority. Good lord, if I get one more call from her school, so help me!" They both giggled now. "No, Matilda isn't intentionally disobedient from what I've seen, unlike someone else we know, she just doesn't act her age."
"Oh? Still in the toddler stage? Is that why she's still in diapers?"
"No, no, quite the opposite, I'd swear she thinks she's 30. If she wasn't hurt, she'd probably try vacuuming and making you lunch instead of the other way around. It's like she has no idea what it means to be five. Her foster mom, no wait, it's a little more complicated. Her year one teacher adopted her."
"Really? Talk about taking your work home with you." More giggling.
"That woman has the patience of a saint with young kids. She says Matilda was neglected, so she has a hard time trusting people. She's very independent, but she doesn't really know her limits. You'll have to keep a close eye on her, so she doesn't make it worse."
"Make what worse?"
"Ahh, it's really my fault. She was upset last night about her mom being in the hospital again and wasn't talking or eating. She tried to tell me in her own way she couldn't swallow, but I wasn't paying attention and made her eat. She ended up choking and I just sat there. It was 'Tens who ended up giving her the Heimlich, albeit very badly. She managed to cough it out, but not without cracking a rib. She's not very mobile at the moment. That's why she's in diapers."
"Oh, the poor thing."
"She's still trying to get up and go to the restroom on her own. Please make sure she doesn't. She's going to hurt herself even more. She doesn't want to use them, and i'm sure you don't want to change them, so if you want to work something out with her, feel free to use your best judgement. I just put them on her to get her through the night, unfortunately, she didn't seem to get the memo and still woke us all up at 3 in the morning to try and get someone to take her to the restroom."
"I wish some of that determination would rub off on Chuckie. Sounds like i've got one extreme and the other today."
"Still no luck?"

Matilda tuned out their conversation now that they were no longer talking about her. She felt like she could sleep for five more hours. She wished they would stop talking. Every word seemed to reverberate through her skull and her stomach along with her mouth felt sour. She didn't need this today. She was miserable enough without a -. Matilda frowned in confusion. The first word she had thought of was "hangover", but clearly that wasn't it. She had read about them sure, but she was hardly in a position to be drinking alcohol. She was five. What did someone do? Spike her milk?
While she was in the middle of taking stock of what body parts hurt where, she felt something wet land on her face, forcing her to open her eyes for the first time. It took a second for things to come into focus, but when they did, she let out an involuntary scream. There, right above her face stood a boy towering over her.
"Matilda, are you alright?" Eve asked emerging from the kitchen. Matilda looked back at the older boy standing over her and frowned. The boy let out a dopey looking grin. Now that her bearings were slowly coming back to her, Matilda took in his baby face, and nearly toothless smile. He wasn't an older boy at all. He was just the biggest toddler she had ever seen.
"You must be Chunky." Matilda said quietly once she managed to catch her breath. She wiped at her face and stared at the liquid on the back of her hand, then back to the giant toddler. Her stomach began to somersault. He had drooled on her.
"Are you alright?" Eve asked again.
"Yes, he just scared me." Matilda said. She tried to swallow and tasted more of the sourness. Her mouth was watering, filling with the taste. "Eve, I don't feel good."
"What's wrong? Is it your side?"
"I don't feel good." was all Matilda could think of to say before putting her closed fist to her mouth and swallowing again.
"Oh no, not now." Eve groaned. "You've got to be kidding." She ran back into the kitchen before re-emerging with a large mixing bowl and a little cup of pink medicine. "Can you sit up?" Matilda slowly propped herself on her elbows and inched herself up until she was in a somewhat sitting position. The mixing bowl was thrust into her hands, and before she could process anything, the tiny cup of medicine was dumped into her partially open mouth. She could feel a streak of it running down her chin. "Swallow."
Fighting against her gag reflex, she swallowed the Pepto down, before making a face and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"If Cynthia asks, tell her you ate something bad." Eve whispered in her ear. Matilda was clutching the bowl with both hands, trying to will her stomach into submission.
"She's the germaphobe. The one I couldn't ask to use their restroom." Matilda said between deep breaths.
"Yes, exactly. If she thinks you're sick, she'll pack up and leave. I can't afford to miss any more work, but I also can't get anyone to watch you on short notice."
"Hortensia's here." Matilda mumbled.
"Yes, that's what worries me." Eve said.
"She's not bad. I like her."
"That also worries me."
Matilda smiled weakly. "We won't get into trouble. I'll sleep and she'll watch tv."
"Mm hmm, and what about the problem you found yourself in last night? She can't help you, and you'll be stuck in the same diaper until someone picks you up. I don't think you'll be very happy about that. If you think she'll help you change, you're barking up the wrong tree."
Matilda scowled. Even if Hortensia was willing to help... She shuddered. There's no way Matilda would let her. There were boundaries friends didn't cross. She'd rather be left naked in the grass.
"She'd break my leg trying." Matilda said. Eve laughed.
"She doesn't know the first thing about changing a diaper, she'd probably try and fit it over your head." Matilda gave another weak smile. "I said I'd try and walk you to the bathroom before I left for work. Are you up for it?" Matilda shook her head. She'd probably puke if she tried to stand up. "I'm glad to see you're not willing to hurt yourself more over this. I'll be back later to sort you out."
Matilda closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the couch once Eve retreated back to the kitchen. Her mind couldn't put two and two together. All she could focus on was not getting sick. It had felt like only a second since she'd left, but Eve was already back. She handed Matilda a bottle of water. She gratefully accepted it and took slow, tentative sips. It seemed to help ease the nausea a bit.
"Have you gone potty yet? I've given you ten minutes." Matilda stared at her. Had she been supposed to? Matilda shook her head.
"I just want to sleep."
"Okay, if that's what you want. Cynthia will be here if you need anything. I hope you feel better."
"Thanks." Matilda mumbled. She set the mixing bowl on the floor, relieved she hadn't ended up needing it after all, and inched her way back down.
When she awoke again to the shrill sounds of a toddler screaming, she let out an audible groan.
"Give it back you little-" Hortensia was running through the house chasing Chuckie, who had taken the remote. Matilda sat up and rubbed at her temples. She didn't think it was possible to feel worse than she had this morning, but she did. At least she didn't feel in danger of throwing up.
"Good morning sleepy head." The unfamiliar voice from earlier said. Matilda turned to find one of the largest woman she had ever seen sitting on the opposite end of the couch. She wasn't fat, just incredibly tall and strong looking. She wondered if she was Samoan. It would explain the size of the kid. Matilda felt a pang of relief. This woman would have no problem picking her up.

"Hi," Matilda mumbled. She reached down for her water bottle and took a few sips noticing that the mixing bowl she had been given to be sick in was now filled with popcorn and sitting in Cynthia's lap. Her stomach gave another twirl of disgust. Either Eve had shoved the nearest container in Matilda's lap in a panic, or Cynthia was now eating out of the family barf bucket. The Wormwoods had kept theirs under the sink, but no one had ever brought it to her. She had been expected to fend for herself for as long as she could remember.
It had been months now, but it still felt surreal. The very concept of someone bringing her medicine when she wasn't feeling well would have been unheard of. Maybe if Jenny threw her out Eve would take her? Or maybe Mrs. Rodgers? It would be a steep decline in her quality of life, but they still showed her more kindness than she would have imagined possible months ago.
A sharp cramp in her abdomen snapped her from her train of thought, followed by a familiar heaviness. No, no, no. Not now. Not like this.
"Is something wrong?" Cynthia asked.
"Could you take me to the restroom, please?" Matilda asked through clenched teeth. Another cramp had nearly doubled her over. She couldn't let Cynthia know.
"Of course, sweetheart." Suddenly, there was a loud bang followed by a crash coming from the kitchen. Chuckie began wailing and Hortensia was yelling at him. Cynthia let out a groan. "Hold that thought, I'll be right back." Matilda wanted to beg her to stop. She didn't have time for this, but Cynthia was up and out of her chair before Matilda could open her mouth.
"You! You need to settle down right now!" Matilda heard her yell.
"What did I do? He's the one who ran into the table!" Hortensia yelled back.
"You were chasing him!"
"He stole the remote!"
Matilda was beginning to panic. The weight on her backside was growing heavier and heavier. There was no hiding she had diarrhea. Her only hope was getting to the toilet and hoping it sounded watery enough to be urine. Matilda could flush the toilet before Cynthia saw anything, that wasn't the problem. The issue was air. But as more and more time passed with Cynthia dealing with whatever was happening in the kitchen, the more Matilda doubted she would make it far enough. She was just about to give up completely when she noticed something sitting in the other room behind her. Was that what she thought it was? There was only one way to know for sure.
Matilda focused her eyes on the white bulky object before motioning it over with a finger. It soundlessly slid across the carpeted floor until it came to rest by the couch next to her. She stared at it feeling more elated with every second. They must have brought it for her, there was no other explanation. It was half the size of a kitchen mop bucket with a toilet seat on it. It was the most beautiful thing Matilda had ever seen. The only question was how to get on it. With a grimace and moans of pain silenced by a closed fist to her lips, Matilda managed to scoot herself to the foot rest of the recliner before tearing the tapes off the diaper and pressing the button to lower herself down to the portable toilet. With a bit of adjusting and a lot of pain, she had managed to situate herself correctly just in the nic of time.
The feeling of letting go without soiling herself was near euphoria. She could have sworn her eyes had nearly rolled into the back of her head. She felt like the luckiest person on the planet, that was until the Amazon sized toddler strolled into the room and saw what she was doing.
"MINE! THAT'S MINE! GET OFF!" he screamed. Matilda saw him run back into the kitchen and shuddered when she heard him whine, "My potty! She's on my potty! Get her off!"
Her heart sunk when she realized what she had done. It hadn't been for her at all. Of course a regular training potty wouldn't fit that behemoth. She let out a soft whine of embarrassment as she heard footsteps approaching. She would have curled into a ball if she could have.
"What are you talking about? Where is your potty? I left it over here."
"GET OFF!" The toddler screamed.
"Chuckie, what are you-oh." Cynthia seemed to freeze at the sight of her. "Matilda," she asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "are you going potty or are you just sitting there?" Matilda buried her face in her hands. What kind of question was that? Why else would she be sitting on it?
"Get her off! It's mine!" Chuckie whined.
"Shush, honey. Go play."
"It's mine!" he whined again before bursting into tears.
"I know it is, but Matilda needed to use it. Can you share with her this one time? I can't get her off until she's done." The following shrieks and screams told Matilda that was a "no." It was no wonder Hortensia couldn't stand him. She had to uncover her face in order to plug her ears.
`"Sweetheart, you could have just gone to the restroom by yourself if you needed to go that badly. You didn't need to wait for me."
"Can't get up." Matilda mumbled. "Hurts too much."
"Well you must have gotten up in order to get on this." Matilda shook her head.
"I sat on the edge of the chair and rode the recliner down onto it." She could see Cynthia doing the mental gymnastics to see if that was even possible. She gave Matilda a sort of sympathetic smile.
"I know Eve can come off a bit strong without meaning to. You just didn't want to get in trouble for getting up by yourself. I understand, you can tell me the truth. I won't punish you." Matilda scowled.
"I'm not faking being injured."
"Honey, I'm not saying that at all. I know Eve said you can't get up and use the restroom by yourself, but I'm saying, if you really need to, and I'm not around to help, feel free to just get up and go." It would have been nice, if she could actually get up by herself. "Are you done?"
"No," Matilda moaned. She had been fighting back a second wave ever since they had come in. "Could you go in the other room?" she mumbled. "Please?" She must have sounded desperate enough.
"C'mon, Chuckie, let's give her some space." Cynthia said. She had managed to push him halfway out the room before the toddler let out a primal and enraged sounding scream. Matilda whipped her head around just in time to see him charging at her like an enraged bull. She tried to throw up her hands as a shield, but it did her little to no good. The next thing she knew he had collided with her, knocking her onto the floor. Someone was screaming. White-hot searing pain was all she could comprehend. She had landed on her good side, but he had slammed into the injury. Who was screaming? She had the faintest notion it was her.
"Holy shit! Ma's going to go nuclear." It was Hortensia. She was standing over her taking in the room. "It's all over the carpet."
"Yeah, well, go get the carpet cleaner and a rag and start scrubbing." Cynthia said.
"No way! That's disgusting!"
"Consider it your punishment for swearing."
"No! This is your fault. You weren't restraining your kid. I saw him tackle her!"
"Hey, I never told her to get up and use his potty. I said I was going to take her to the restroom. If she had to go that badly, she should have either used the diaper or just gone to the restroom on her own. She obviously has no problem getting up."
"No, she can't!"
"I put his potty in the hallway like I always do since your mom won't allow it on the carpet. She's the one who got up and dragged it over."
"No, she didn't! She can barely move!"
"That potty didn't just grow legs and walk over. Now will you, for once in your life, do what I tell you?"
"I ain't scrubbing shit out of the carpet because you can't control your spoiled brat."
"What have I told you about swearing? You can either scrub the carpet or scrub a kid. If you don't help out, I'm telling your mom you're misbehaving." Hortensia made a disgusted noise. Between the blur of Matilda's tears she could just make out Hortensia looking down at her, the anger quickly dissolving from her face.
"Put her in the bathtub and i'll do the rest." Hortensia said with a growl. "I can't pick her up without hurting her."
There was a pause. "Really? You will?"
"Because you obviously don't care." Hortensia said under her breath.
"That's not fair, I do care! She's just in shock. She'll calm down on her own in a minute."
"Does this look like shock to you?" Matilda felt her shirt get lifted.
"Oh Jesus." Cynthia said quietly. She felt another figure bend down next to her. "Oh sweetheart, I had no idea."
"Didn't Ma tell you?" Hortensia asked sounding doubtful.
"I mean, she mentioned she had gotten hurt, but I figured it was something minor. Little kids tend to exaggerate, you know?"
"She's not like that. You see how hurt she is, if she actually got up and dragged that thing over, she did it for you, despite how much pain she's in. We told her you don't like germs, so she probably thought it would be easier on you to empty a bucket rather than carry or change her. I can't believe you're over here blaming her for this."
Cynthia let out a pitiful whimper. If Matilda wasn't in so much pain she would have laughed. Way to lay on the guilt.
"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry." She felt Cynthia wave a hand through her hair, but Matilda couldn't stop crying enough to tell her to keep her hands off. "Don't you worry, your big sister Hortensia's going to make it all better." Big sister? Ha! "Shh, shh, it's going to be alright." Matilda felt herself get lifted into the air as if she were a bride getting carried over the threshold. A very stinky and messy bride that was. The moment of impact had caused her watery bowels to empty, and she doubted it had made it into the bucket. A bucket of which had been knocked over onto her, Chuckie, and the carpet.
She could feel herself getting rocked in the air. Matilda fought, scratched, clawed, screamed and lashed out in any way she could, even if it only compounded the pain. This woman had the nerve, no, the audacity, to blame her for this? No wonder Hortensia didn't like her.

"Matilda, please, try and calm down." Cynthia begged. "I know you're in pain, but you're only going to make it worse if you keep moving like that."

Pictures on the walls were beginning to wobble and shake. There was a loud crash as a glass fell off the table and shattered onto the floor. She was losing control again.
Matilda heard Hortensia swear before taking a step back and making a run for it. Fine! Matilda didn't care. Go on and leave! Go on and leave her like everyone else in her life did! Her parents didn't want her, Jenny didn't want her. Why wouldn't Hortensia leave too? She was starting to wonder if she would bring the whole house down on top of them when something was forcefully shoved into her mouth with instructions to bite down.
All at once, everything went still.

"Put her in the bathtub!" Hortensia said. Matilda stared at her. She had come back? Was it her who had forced this object in her mouth? What was it? It felt familiar, but it couldn't be. It was much too large and filled her whole mouth. She couldn't cry or scream. Only silent tears fell from her eyes as she bit down on what felt like rubber.

"Try sucking on it instead, you might feel better." Cynthia whispered. Matilda wanted to do the exact opposite of anything she said out of spite, but curiosity had won out in the end. By the time she had been lowered down in the tub, she was sucking on it for all she was worth. There was no question now on what it was, but she didn't think they made them so big. She didn't want to admit it, but it was a welcome distraction. The more she fiddled with the thing in her mouth, the more down to earth she felt. It was like breathing in a bag. She hurt, yes, oh god she hurt, but she could see through the pain. There was a world on the other side and the more she sucked on the knob in her mouth and counted in groups of twos, three's, four's, and five's, the more in control she felt. And then, all at once, the world seemed to slam into picture perfect focus, and she realized she was stark naked, sitting in a tub covered in her own feces with the closest thing she had to a best friend dumping cups of warm water on her.

"Do you hear that?" Hortensia asked. Matilda listened. She could hear Chuckie wailing in the other room.
"YOU DO NOT SHOVE OTHER PEOPLE TO GET WHAT YOU WANT!" Cynthia yelled. There was a loud hollow thump sound followed by more sobbing.

"I've waited so long to hear that." Hortensia said, before dousing her with another cup of water. "He's a little shit." Matilda pulled what looked like the largest pacifier she had ever seen out of her mouth, and took a few gulps of air before answering.

"I noticed." Matilda said weakly.

"So is she." Hortensia said much more quietly.

Again Matilda said, "I noticed."

"This is taking too long." Hortensia complained. "Knock the shower head down, I can't reach it from out here."

"What makes you think I can? You're taller than m-oh, right." Matilda said, feeling a little embarrassed. It still didn't come naturally to her. She still found herself hopping up on chairs to reach tall places. Then there was the time her stomach was hurting and Hortensia had to get Jenny because she couldn't bend over to pick up the pull-up. She could have just willed it in her hand.
"How do you forget you have powers? I'd never get off the couch. Oh, and the pranks! What you did to Mr. Larson was great and all, but that was small stuff."

"When Miss Honey came to get me from my parents, I convinced them I was possessed. I made all the furniture fly around the room. You should have seen how scared they were."
"So that's how you came to live with her?" Matilda nodded. "If you can make furniture fly around the room, how come you can't get a shower head down?" Hortensia asked skeptically.
Matilda was breathing heavy now, concentrating as hard as she could, but all she could manage was to gently jostle it around in its holder. Matilda broke the contact, too exhausted to keep trying.

"I was angry then, really, really angry."

"Didn't you want to live with Miss Honey?" Hortensia asked, stepping up onto the rim of the bathtub, so she could manually pull down the shower head.

"I did, but it's one thing to think your family doesn't want you, and another to see it's true. I know why Miss Honey talked about me the way she did, but it still stung. The whole conversation, it was never about giving me a better life, it was about how much their lives would be better without me. They traded me for the idea of owning a parking lot. When I saw how easy they were willing to give me up, I just snapped. I doubt they'd take me back. You think your mom would let me live here when Jenny throws me out?"

"What?" Hortensia said dumbfounded. "Miss Honey ain't throwing you out."

"I don't think she wants me anymore." Matilda said, before sputtering on the blast of water sprayed directly into her face. "Hey!"

"I told you! She ain't giving you up."

"How would you know?"
"She always gets this weird sappy look on her face whenever she sees you, like she's looking at a puppy or something. Personally, I don't see the appeal, if you were a puppy you'd probably shit yourself less."

Matilda stared at the shower head in Hortensia's hand and twisted a finger, making it turn in her hand and spray its holder.

"Hey! Hey! Quit it! I'm doing you a favor here! " By the time she released the power in her eyes, Hortensia, and the bathroom, were soaked. There was a knock on the door.

"Everything okay in there? I hear screaming." Cynthia said. Before either of them could respond, the door swung in. "What in the word?" She eyed Hortensia up and down before raising her eyebrows. "What happened to you? Did you fall in?"

"I think I picked the wrong kid." Hortensia said. She wiped her wet hair back with a hand before blowing up at the semi dry strand that refused to stay. "We're done here anyway."

"Not my fault you sprayed yourself with the shower head." Matilda said with a snicker. Hortensia scowled, picked up the pacifier off the edge of the tub and shoved it into Matilda's mouth.

“Thank you,” Cynthia said. “It’s nice to see you still have a sweet side. I haven’t seen this side of you since your little boyfriend ran away.” Matilda yanked the pacifier out of her mouth.

“Hortensia had a boyfriend?” Matilda asked with a laugh.

“He was not my boyfriend.” Hortensia growled. “And he didn’t run away.”
“‘Tens,” Cynthia said, “I thought you would have grown out of that by now. You know the police found evidence of him wanting to run away in his room.”

“That doesn’t mean he did! I’m telling you, the Trunchbull got him.”

“Hortensia, your headmaster was not some monster who went around murdering children. Sure, she was a bit eccentric, but she was just some grouchy old lady who liked to scare disobedient troublemakers.”
“Who are you guys talking about?” Matilda asked as she was wrapped in a towel after being set on the bathmat.
“He was a friend of mine when I was younger. I told you about him, here.” Hortensia sprinted out of the bathroom leaving Matilda alone with Cynthia.

“The police say he ran away to go live with his dad. His parents were going through a nasty custody battle. Hortensia’s never been able to accept it.”

“Did he ever turn up at his dads?”

“He says no, but then moved to the States soon after, so it's assumed he was hiding him and smuggled him out of the country somehow. Most missing children cases are the result of one parent taking off with the child to spite the other.”

“Oh.” Matilda said. It was true. She knew most child abductions were because someone didn’t get their way in court and almost 70% of the time, it was the father.

“Here, this is him.” Hortensia said pointing to a photo in a yearbook. Matilda snickered at a much younger Hortensia, hair done in pigtails with her arm around a small boy.

“Nice hair.” Matilda said with a grin before the teasing smile was wiped from her face as she read the caption.

Hortensia Strickland (L) and Billy Reyes (R) .

Chapter Text

“Look, this boy is clearly crying. Don't you recognize him?"

"Yes, I recognize Billy Reyes."

Matilda was lost in thought, so lost in thought even that she hadn't even put up a fight when Cynthia put her back in a diaper with only one of Hortensia's shirts to cover it.

"Let's stay in your room." Matilda said. Hortensia looked at her hesitantly.

"Only if you promise not to shit in my bed." Matilda rolled her eyes.

"I believe you." Matilda said when they were left alone. "About your friend." The name had been driving her nuts. She knew she had heard it before, but she never connected it to the missing boy Hortensia had told her about. One of several, she remembered. "I don't think he ran away either."

Hortensia perked up. "I knew you were smart."

"When Miss Honey had her, um, episode, we were at her aunts house cleaning it out. She found a box full of dirty magazines and, uh, adult toys. One of them actually fell open on top of her, it was pretty hilarious." Hortensia wrinkled her face in disgust.

"No wonder she had to go to the hospital. I would too if something that had been in the Trunchbull touched me. Miss Honey probably has leprosy now."

"That's not how you get leprosy, it's not an STD, anyway, when she was putting them away-"

"What's an STD?" Hortensia asked.

"Oh," Matilda bit her lip. It was one of Miss Honey's cardinal rules-She let her learn about anything she wanted to, including human biology, but only on two conditions. She couldn't ask Jenny any more personal questions about her private life, and she couldn't share what she learned with the other kids. It was strictly for educational purposes only. "It's nothing, it's just a family of illness, like viral or bacterial." Hortensia narrowed her eyes at her.

"You're lying."

"Do you want to hear what happened or not?" Hortensia grumbled but waved a hand to go on. “When she was picking up everything off the floor they found a couple pictures. I didn’t see them, but then Miss Honey and Mrs. Rodger’s started freaking out and called the police. I may have, sort of been eavesdropping and heard them mention one of the pictures had been of Billy Reyes.”

“Why would she have a picture of him?” Hortensia asked with a scowl. Matilda had a good idea why. The timing of Jennifer’s escape and Billy Reyes abduction was a little too coincidental. It also explained the crushing weight of guilt Matilda had been feeling via Jennifer. Miss Trunchbull was a woman who had demanded absolute control and having her live in play thing slip out of her fingers must have been a crushing blow to her pride. If Billy had been anywhere near as troublesome as Hortensia, what better way to feel in control again than to flex her power over a student she saw as a nuisance.

“As a trophy.” Matilda said.

Hortensia remained silent for a long time. If real life was like a cartoon, Matilda was positive she would have been seeing smoke coming out of her ears.

“I knew it. I knew she’d accidentally kill someone some day. You can’t just throw kids out a window or over a fence and expect them to be fine.”

Matilda didn’t have the heart to tell her it most likely wasn’t an accident. She had a feeling he was targeted. From what she had overheard, he was locked in Jennifer’s room, and he had been crying when the picture was taken. Matilda felt a horrible sick feeling. There was a reason the picture had been in that box.

Matilda winced as she slowly situated herself into a more comfortable position. She didn’t want to think about this anymore. She didn’t need the reminder of what Miss Honey had gone through and how powerless Matilda was to help. Jennifer tried so hard to keep the truth from her, but Matilda knew. Matilda had always known. It was in the way the woman carried herself, and the way Miss Honey shied away from another’s touch. It was in the way she couldn’t make eye contact, and most of all, it was in her nightmares. The first time Matilda heard Jenny beg in her sleep for her aunt to stop, she had silently cried in bed next to her.

“Would you read to me?” Matilda asked without looking up.

“Uh, what? You can read just fine on your own.” Hortensia said after a long pause.

“Just until I fall asleep. Please? It doesn’t matter what, I just don’t want to think anymore.” Matilda would listen to a microwave manual if that’s all Hortensia was willing to read. Without saying a word, the older girl got up and rummaged in her closet for a bit before coming back with a comic book.

“X-men is one of my favorites.”

Hortensia read awkwardly at first, but after a few minutes she seemed to forget she had an audience. Matilda was in and out of consciousness as she listened. At one point she could have sworn the door had opened, and a voice had said something along the lines of “adorable.” By the time Matilda had lifted her head, the door was closed and there was no one else in the room but her and a red-faced Hortensia. After a few more minutes, she was gone entirely.

……

Jennifer was sitting at the kitchen table, her face resting against the cool wood. She had the worst headache she had ever had in her life. The lights in the kitchen were dimmed to only a small glow, and she had been nursing a cup of tea Carol had made for her.

“What have we learned?” Carol asked with an amused look on her face.

“You’re not a real nurse.” Jennifer mumbled. Carol chuckled.

“I was going to say drink more water next time.”

“No next time.” She felt nauseous and shaky. Jennifer had a hard time believing people did this for fun.

“These will help.” Jennifer was reluctant to take anything Carol offered her at this point, but when she looked up, she was relieved to find it was just a bottle of Excedrin. She poured two tablets out and took them with her hot tea. “I was going to bring you some water.”

“I’m not sure if it was from, umm, what we were doing last night or what, but have you ever had a memory, and you’re not sure whether it really happened or if it was just a dream?” Jennifer asked after a moment of silence.

“Probably from what we were doing last night, especially if it was your first time, although those joints were the weakest things i’ve ever had. I didn’t even get high. I doubt you did either given how old they were. We most likely just smoked an empty wrapper and dust.” Jennifer frowned. Then why all the spinning? “Placebos are a powerful thing.” Carol said as if answering Jennifer's unspoken question.

“Then I was just drunk?”

“If you were, you’ve got the lowest tolerance to alcohol I’ve ever seen. That wine was only 4% alcohol.” Carol said amused.

“I have no idea what that means.” Jennifer admitted.

“A normal wine is around 13%. You drank the equivalent of one, maybe two light beers. You may have been a little buzzed, but certainly not drunk. Just enough to get you to drop your guard a bit and loosen up.”

Jennifer scowled. “You tricked me?”
“You think i’m going to bring you over and get you drunk and high after having a mental break-down? I didn’t even intend for you to get buzzed.”

Jennifer hid her face in her hands. All those things she had told Carol, and she hadn’t even been under the influence of anything. A horrifying thought crossed through her head.

“And the lotion?”

“That was real. I wouldn’t give you anything to put down there that wasn’t meant to be. That’s a good way to get an infection.”

Jennifer let out her held breath.

“Why do I feel so sick if I didn’t do anything?”

“Some people have a bad reaction to alcohol, even in small amounts. You could be one of them. So what was this dream you weren’t sure was a dream?”

“I think,” Jennifer paused to try and remember more. She had been positive it had been a memory when she had woken up, but now it was fading back into her subconscious. “I think there was a time I did ask for help. I wrote a letter and gave it to someone.” Jennifer frowned. “I gave it to a giant.” Maybe it had been a dream after all.

“A giant?” Carol asked.

“Not a literal giant, I was a little girl then, and he was the tallest man I had ever seen. I must have given the letter to him because he looked like he could take my aunt. In my dream, or whatever it was, I had put so much hope in him coming to rescue me, but in the end, nothing had ever come of it.”

“Where did you see the man? Out shopping, or at a bus stop?”

“He was at school.” Jennifer said. “Although I don’t think I’ve ever seen him since.”

“It could be a memory,” Carol said after thinking about it, “or a mix of both. The mind can’t make up faces in a dream. They’re always people you’ve seen before.”

“We never did find what she did with the missing money.” Jennifer said. “Or the missing kids.”

“I don’t think you should be thinking about that right now.” Carol said.

“Mr. Trilby’s set up a meeting for tomorrow with the board of education to go over the missing funds. He wants to introduce me as next year's new headmistress.” Jennifer said. There was a sour taste in her mouth at the thought.
“Or that.” Carol chirped. “How about once you’re feeling a bit better, we go pick up Matilda and play some board games here. Something to keep your mind off current events.”

She felt another pang of guilt. She had forgotten about their fight. Fight? It was Jennifer who had shoved her away. Jennifer rubbed at her temples and sighed. Best to get it over with as soon as possible. Maybe she wouldn’t be too angry with her… she hoped. The memory of Matilda, tears streaming down her face while mouthing her safe word played over and over in her head. It was hard to believe it had only been yesterday.

Jennifer had been so lost in thought she hadn’t noticed Carol get up from the table until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped on instinct and nearly spilled her half drunken cup of tea.

“Relax.” Carol whispered. She shuddered again when she felt something make contact with the top of her head, before gently sliding down. Jennifer sat in the chair feeling both on guard and puzzled. It took her a near solid minute until she realized what was happening. Carol was brushing her hair. She wasn’t sure how to feel. She felt irritated at the invasion of her personal space, and yet, she felt touched. No one had ever brushed her hair before. It was such an odd, yet intimate gesture. Jennifer was surprised to find she felt disappointed when Carol had finished.

“Thank you.” Jennifer said quietly unsure of what else to say.

“Scalp massages increases the blood flow and helps with headaches.”

“Oh, I see.” Jennifer said, rubbing at her upper arms in an attempt to lower the goose bumps that had risen there.

“Well, let me know when you’re feeling up to going over there.” Jennifer picked up her cup and downed the rest of its contents in three large gulps before setting it back down.

“Let’s go.”

When they knocked on the front door, Jennifer was surprised when a stranger, and not Eve, answered the door. She did a double take at the address to silence the intrusive thoughts which told her she really was high from last night, and was now standing naked in a random neighborhood inquiring about a daughter she didn’t have. She subtly padded her blouse just in case.

“Are you here for Matilda?” the stranger asked before Jennifer could formulate a sentence.

“Yes!” Jennifer said a bit too enthusiastically. She inwardly cringed and silently chastised herself to act normal.

“You must be Miss Honey, come in.” The stranger beckoned them in. Jennifer wrinkled her nose when they stepped inside. The house smelled strongly of cleaning products. The stranger led them into the living room where three or four rags were laying on a large wet patch of carpet in front of the couch. “Sorry about the smell, there was an incident this morning.”

“What kind of incident?” Carol asked. The stranger looked glum.

“I’ve been trying to potty-train my youngest son, but he’s shown little to no interest until today.” The stranger shifted her feet, now looking more uncomfortable. “Matilda had a bit of an upset tummy this morning and couldn’t hold it until she got to the restroom.”

“Oh no, not on the carpet.” Miss Honey said with a wince.

“Umm, no. She ended up using my son’s training potty.”

“Oh.” Poor Matilda, she must be sick again. “She must have been positive she wouldn’t have made it.”

“And my son saw this, and, tackled her off.” The stranger admitted with a grimace. Carol let out a snort of laughter.

“I’m sorry, I’m just picturing her getting blindsided by a baby.” Carol said. “He must have really caught her by surprise.”

“He sent the whole thing flying, both the kids and the carpet ended up getting covered in…yeah.” she gestured to the rags and damp patch on the floor. “Hortensia’s been a big help with her today, got her all cleaned up and calmed down for me.” The stranger lowered her voice and leaned in. “I’m honestly still in shock, I haven’t seen this side of ‘Tens in years. I even walked in on her reading out loud to Matilda. It was adorable.”

Jennifer smiled. Matilda had a way of getting past the walls people erected. Jennifer herself had always wondered what Matilda saw in that foul-mouthed troublemaker, but she must have seen past Hortensia’s hard exterior. Who knew the school bully would have a soft side?

“She left on her bike saying she was going down to the corner store to get a ginger ale for Matilda’s stomach but,” the stranger looked at her watch and frowned, “that was nearly an hour ago.”

“Where is Matilda?” Jennifer asked. She was growing increasingly anxious the more she put off their reunion.

“She’s sleeping in Hortensia’s room. I’ll go wake her up and let her know you’re here.” Jennifer was tempted to go get her herself, but she felt going into one of the students rooms without them was crossing a line somehow. Suddenly, she felt an elbow bump her. She turned to see Carol pointing something out to her-no not something, someone. A very large someone.

“You don’t suppose he’s the one who knocked her down, do you?” Carol asked. Jennifer stared at the massive child and felt a wave of worry. Looking at him from the back, she would have assumed he was nearly eight, but when he turned around, she saw he barely had any teeth and a line of drool and snot were trailing from his mouth and nose.

The young boy turned and made eye contact with them. His eyes narrowed in a glare, and he stomped his foot.

“MINE!” He yelled. The two women watched taken aback as he stormed past them, before turning around and giving them another dirty look. He stopped at the foot of the hall before dropping his pants and sitting on what Jennifer could only assume was the training potty the stranger had told them about.

“Well that’s one way to mark your territory.” Carol said. “Possessive little booger, ain’t he?”

“Oh! You’re using it without being reminded? Mommy’s so proud of you! You’ve made so much progress today!” they heard coming from the back of the house.

“Mine!” The toddler shouted, still glaring at the two intruders.

“You cheated.” Carol leaned over and whispered to her. “You got to completely skip this phase.”

“You haven’t seen her when she loses control. There’s self-help books for the Terrible Two’s, but none for So You Adopted a Stephen King Character. I gave her detention once, and she shattered all the lightbulbs in the hallway.” Jennifer whispered back. Carol made a silent “O” with her lips. “I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”

“Just don’t let her go to prom.”

They stood in the living room for a few more minutes before Jennifer began to wonder if something was wrong. She could hear the frantic opening and closing of doors and footsteps pacing from room to room.

“Is everything okay?” Jennifer finally asked when no one had emerged. Finally, the lady from before appeared with a deep frown and guilty expression.

“I can’t find her, I just checked on her fifteen minutes ago, and she was sound asleep.”

A knot began to form in her stomach. Matilda was hiding from her. She didn’t want to see Jennifer.

“She’s still angry with me.” Jennifer said sadly.

“Hey, she was probably just having too much fun and isn’t ready to come home yet.” Carol said. Jennifer shook her head.

“I knew she could walk.” the stranger muttered under her breath.

“Do you mind if I have a look?” Jennifer asked. Hortensia’s privacy be damned. “Where did you last see her?”

“Down this way, Oh, I’m Cynthia by the way, Eve’s neighbor.” Cynthia led her down the hall to a bedroom in such disarray she wasn’t sure if it was robbed or her daughter had had another supernatural fit. “She was sleeping in the bed.”

“She’s still in here.” Jennifer said. She didn’t know how she knew, but she knew just the same.

“I looked everywhere. Under the bed, in the closet, in the other rooms.”

Jennifer picked up the blankets before looking under the bed. Not enough room even for someone as small as Matilda with the storage bins underneath. She eyed the closet before letting out a sigh. Matilda was in there. She was positive. Matilda knew she hated small spaces, but even then, something was calling her to it. She couldn’t explain it any more than she could explain how Matilda could move things with her mind, but she knew what she had to do.

Jennifer went to the door and opened it, ignoring the other woman telling her she had checked there three times.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, she’s not in here.” Jennifer said before putting a finger to her lips. She crept inside and closed the door behind her. She waited patently, standing as still as possible and listened intently. There, to her left. She heard something crinkle.

“Come on out, Matilda. I know you're there.” Jennifer said softly before lowering herself onto an unknown pile of clutter. “Come on out and let's talk.” She sat in the dark and listened. There, in the far corner came a quiet voice.

“I don’t want to leave.”

Jennifer let out her held breath. Was that all this was about? Was it like Carol said? She was simply having too much fun? No…

“You don’t want to go home?” Jennifer asked confused. She frowned even more when she heard a quiet sniffle.

“I don’t want to leave home.” came the strained emotional reply.
“Matilda, I don’t understand. Where are you? Won’t you come out and talk to me?”

“I can’t.” More sniffling. Jennifer was sure now she was crying.

“Why not?”

“I’m stuck.”

Jennifer stood and reached around blindly for a light switch. Once the closet was illuminated, Jennifer could see a tiny arm reaching out from a large pile of clutter. She brushed aside boxes of puzzles, clothes, stuffed animals and comic books before uncovering the small girl underneath. Jennifer eyed her up and down. She briefly wondered why she was in a diaper, but that didn’t matter much right now.

“There’s my girl.” Instead of opening the closet and ushering her out, Jennifer scooted as much stuff out of the way before sitting down next to her. “Come here, sweetheart.” Jennifer patted her lap.

“You told me not to touch you.” Matilda whispered. Jennifer sighed.

“I’m sorry, dear, I’m really truly sorry. I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t in the present.”

“Please don’t send me away.” Jennifer watched in confusion as Matilda dissolved into a wave of fresh tears.

“Matilda,” Jennifer said softly. “I would never send you away. Why would you think that?”

“You don’t want me anymore.” Jennifer let out another deep sigh and bent over to scoop her up but froze when Matilda flinched. Now it was Jennifer’s turn for her eyes to water.

“Please don’t be afraid of me.” Jennifer whispered through her constricting throat. More slowly this time, she hoisted Matilda up by the armpits and set her down in her lap where they were facing each other. “I love you, Matilda. Nothing's going to change that. I’m your mother now, whether you want me to be or not. I can’t just send you away, nor would I ever want to.”

“I want you to.” Jennifer’s heart sank. She was almost afraid to ask.

“You want me to send you away?”

“No, I want you to be my mother.” She could feel a wave of calm relief wash over her.

“And I want to be your mother. Forever.”

Jennifer repositioned the two of them so that Matilda’s head was resting on her shoulder with one arm under her cold and damp diapered bottom and the other on the back of her head slowly combing her fingers through Matilda’s hair. No amount of rocking, humming or soothing words seemed to comfort her though. Jennifer frowned in concern as she took in Matilda’s trembling frame.

“What’s the matter, baby. Are you cold?” She put a hand to Matilda’s forehead to check for a fever and was relieved to find it felt normal.

“My body hurts.” Came a pitiful sounding response.

“Where does it hurt?”

“Everywhere. When I heard you coming I panicked and crawled in here even though it hurt to move, and now it hurts even worse.”

“Why did it hurt to move?”

“From yesterday.” She felt Matilda pull away and lift her shirt. At first Jennifer didn’t see anything until she pulled up the T-shirt more. She let out a gasp.

“Matilda,” Jennifer said. Tears were now blurring her vision. “D-did I do that to you?” Matilda shook her head. “Please tell me the truth,” she begged. She was terrified of the answer, but she needed to know. She hadn’t thought she had used that much force, but Matilda seemed to get hurt so easily.

“No, it happened last night.” Matilda filled her in on all the details. Hortensia seemed to be full of all sorts of surprises lately. After taking a moment to process everything, Jennifer let out an exasperated sigh.

“I swear I can’t let you leave the house without covering you in bubble wrap and making you wear a helmet. How is it you keep getting hurt?”

“I don’t know.” Matilda moaned.

“Well, I’ll have to take you to the hospital today.”

“No!” Matilda said, burying her face into Miss Honey’s neck and crying anew. Jennifer rubbed her back feeling puzzled. Sure she had had a few rough visits, but this sort of reaction over seeing a doctor was new.

“I need to make sure you’re okay, sweetheart. It looks awfully painful.” Matilda nodded in agreement. “The doctors can help you feel better faster, you know that, so why all the tears?”

“That’s w-where y-y-you take kids you d-d-don’t want anymore!”

“Matilda, where on earth is this coming from? I’m not going to abandon you, you understand? Look at me.” She could feel the girl bury herself even further down. What had happened to make her think Jennifer didn’t want her anymore? Was this all about the incident yesterday? Jennifer scrambled to try and come up with something that would calm her down enough to get her willing to talk, but her mind kept drawing a blank-except for one thing. There was a song she often hummed when the two of them were cuddled up together, but she had never outright sung the words, even though they encompassed the very thing Matilda made her feel. So with a shaky breath, Jennifer began to quietly sing.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You’ll never know just how much I love you
Please don’t take my sunshine away”

She could feel Matilda violent sobs begin to ever so slowly ebb away. It was progress, so Jennifer sang it again and again, until Matilda’s wails were nothing but quiet sniffles.

“Can you tell me what’s got you so upset?” Jennifer asked after a few minutes of silence. “Where is this line of thinking coming from?” She waited patiently, unsure if she would get a response or not, but a small muffled voice from her shoulder spoke.

“Because of what I did.” Now they were getting somewhere. Relief rushed through Jennifer. It wasn’t yesterday, at least not entirely.

“You’re feeling bad because of something you did?” A small nod. “Would you tell me?” Silence. “I promise, no matter what you did, I’m not going to abandon you.” More silence. “I bet you’ll feel loads better if you get it off your chest. It might not be as bad as you think. You know, the reason I had that issue yesterday was because I was carrying a lot of guilt too, and it finally caught up to me. I had a good talk with Mrs. Rodgers about it last night, and she assured me this bad thing I thought I had done had only been in my head. I probably would have gone on punishing myself forever if I hadn’t opened up about it.”

“What did you think you did?” Matilda asked.

“Well, I, umm, my aunt, you know, she did some inappropriate things to me, and I thought, I was doing the same to you, in a way.”

“It’s not like you molested me like your aunt did to you.” Jennifer froze, unable to respond. “What?”

“H-how do you know about that?” She could feel her mouth going dry. “W-who t-told you?” She had tried so hard to keep this from Matilda. She didn’t need to know life was full of monsters just yet. It was bad enough she had seen the scars of the years of physical abuse, but it was the sexual abuse which left the open festering wounds, only they were invisible to the naked eye. At least she thought they were…

“I’ve always known. It’s not hard to put two and two together. You could have just talked to me about it, I would have told you you weren’t doing anything weird.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“Maybe it is that simple.”

“No, Matilda, it’s not. It’s like there’s an infected open sore inside me that refuses to heal. I can always feel it throbbing just under my skin and if I address it or acknowledge it in any way, the infection will spread. If I show it to you, it will only cause you to be infected too, that’s why I have to keep it from you. It’s nothing personal, I just can’t risk doing irrevocable harm to you.”

“Mom,” Matilda groaned pushing off from her, so she could look her in the face. “If there’s an infected open sore inside of you, you’re doing exactly what you’re not supposed to do. You can’t just seal an infection and expect it to get better. It’s going to hurt, but you have to cut it open and work the puss out, or it will never get better.”

“I didn’t mean there’s a literal infection inside of me.”

“I know, but it’s the same idea really. Don’t let this eat you from the inside out.”

“Enough about what’s eating me, I want to know what’s eating you? Out with it. What did you do?” Matilda looked away, mumbling something Jennifer couldn’t make out. She tried to bury herself back in Jennifer’s chest, but she stopped her with a palm to her forehead. “No, no running away, time to come clean.”

“Only if you answer mine.” Jennifer bit her lip. That sneaky little…

“Depends on the question.”

“Mrs. Rodger’s said you pushed me because you thought I was someone else. Is that true?” Jennifer sighed. Carol had left her the perfect out, but she had a sinking suspicion Matilda would know if she lied and was testing her.

“No,” Jennifer said after giving it some thought. “I knew it was you, but I had no intention of pushing you down to the ground and hurting you. I had what’s called a flashback. In my mind, I was eleven again, and Miss Trunchbull was telling me I was just like her, and I was going to do these very bad things to you. I wanted you to stay away from me, not because I didn’t want you with me, but because I wanted you to stay safe. Does that make sense?”

“Yes.” Matilda said quietly.

“Alright, my turn, does what you’re feeling guilty about have anything to do with what happened the last few days?” Matilda shook her head. “Hmm, then does it ha-”

“It’s my turn.” Matilda said before she could finish. “Are you sad about your aunts' death, despite everything she did to you?” Jennifer should have known these wouldn’t be typical five-year-old questions like, “What’s your favorite color?” and “What’s your favorite dinosaur?”

“I don’t know.” Jennifer answered honestly. “I don’t miss her, but it was very sudden, and I don’t think i’ve given it much thought. Ok, i’ll change it up before I go for the big guns. Did you wet the bed again? Is that why you’re wearing a wet diaper?”

“That’s two questions.” Matilda said with a scowl. “No, I didn’t wet the bed. Are you afraid of being in this closet?”

“As long as you're with me, no.” Jennifer said giving Matilda’s hand a squeeze. “Why are you wearing a wet diaper?” Jennifer laughed quietly as Matilda’s face began to turn a shade pink.

“Because Eve and Cynthia think I’m a walking accident waiting to happen.” she grumbled. “I tried yelling for Cynthia like a hundred times to take me to the restroom, but she couldn’t hear me from out there. Okay, this is going to sound weird but, were you drunk last night?”

Jennifer sputtered. The question had caught her so off guard she began to choke on her own saliva. “Why are you asking me that?” she finally managed to get out.

“Were you?” Matilda asked again.

“I, umm, wasn’t drunk, I was just, well, I had a couple glasses of wine. How did you know?”

“Because I swore I woke up today with a hangover. My head was pounding, I was nauseous, my stomach was upset.” Matilda narrowed her eyes. “Since when do they serve wine at the hospital?”

“Since the person who took me pretended to be my mother to break me out and took me back to her house to talk.” Jennifer said with a guilty expression on her face. “They let me go last night, but Carol wanted to talk just the two of us.”

“You mean I could have avoided being tackled by the Not So Friendly Giant out there?”

“Sorry.” Jennifer said with a pained expression. “Alright last question before I ask you the main thing. How would you have a hangover if I drank alcohol?”

“Because I can somehow feel what you do, if you feel it strong enough.” Matilda said with a frown. “You already knew that.”

“Yes, but I didn’t realize it was also physical sensati-” Jennifer stopped. Oh no. Oh no. If she knew she had been drinking, did she also know she had… “Matilda, did you…umm.” Now it was Jennifer’s turn to grow a shade darker. “Did you feel anything else strange, last night?” Matilda’s eyebrows shot up.

“Were you doing something else at Mrs. Rodger’s besides drinking?”

“N-no, I was-I mean, I didn’t mean to, it just sort of-” Jennifer sighed. “Pass.”

“Oh, no no. No passing.” Matilda said with a grin, now a flash of her usual self shone in her eyes. “You only get this flustered when someone brings up s-” Matilda’s eyes went wide.

“No. No. No. Not that.”

“With Mrs. Rodgers? And you?” Matilda asked, face scrunched in confusion. Jennifer’s face felt like it could light the bulb in a lighthouse.

“NO!” Jennifer said firmly. “We. Did. Not.”

“I was going to say… she’s kind of old.” Matilda whispered.

“Alright, alright, enough of this. Spill it. What made you think I was going to leave you at the hospital?” Matilda gave her a pained look. “Come on, it can’t be that bad.”

Matilda took a deep breath. “I- think, I think.” She stopped and took another breath. “I think I’m the one who killed your aunt.” she whispered. Jennifer’s eyes went wide. She stared at Matilda. What? “I didn’t mean for her to get hurt…badly! It was just a prank to scare her! I was so angry when you were in the hospital and-”

“Slow down. Start from the beginning.” Jennifer said. She listened intently as Matilda told her story of the spiders and the cotton ball that wasn’t really a cotton ball.

“Are you mad at me?” Matilda asked once she had finished. Jennifer sighed. It was a lot to take in. It wasn’t likely the cause but… maybe they should keep this between the two of them just in case.

“No, I’m not mad at you, Matilda, but I am disappointed in you. I told you several times not to mess with that woman, she’s dangerous. It’s probably why she had it out for you in the hospital. If anything had happened to you, I don’t know what i’d do. I thought I taught you better than that. Revenge is never the answer.”

“She had to be stopped.” Matilda mumbled, head back in between Jennifer’s chest.

“Yes, she did, but that was the police’s job, not yours.”

“I couldn’t let her keep hurting you.” Matilda said. “I didn’t mean for her to die, just get sick like you did. I thought, maybe there was a genetic link between you two. I couldn’t stand to see what she did to you. How could I not fight back?”

“Matilda, you have a brilliant mind, and abilities that shouldn’t even be possible. Don’t ever let me hear of you using either one to hurt someone else again or you’ll need that diaper just to sit comfortably. I know you had good intentions, but this didn’t involve you-”

“How can you keep saying this doesn’t involve me?” Matilda said, tears streaming down her face. “I feel everything you do. I feel your anger, your guilt, your disgust, how much you hate yourself. I feel it all, and I don’t know why. It does involve me! I watch you have nightmares almost every night and there’s nothing I can do to help! I have abilities, but I’ve never felt so powerless.”

“You do help me.” Jennifer said, placing her forehead against Matilda’s. “I’d still be in that shack alone if I hadn’t met you. You think the old me would have hit her with a chair? As for the nightmares, every time I wake up and see you, I know I’m safe. Just having you in my life has been the biggest help of them all. Now come on, let’s get out of this closet, my legs are falling asleep, and I’m afraid to know just what we’re sitting in.”

“If you’re hungry, I found a snack.” Matilda said with a slight grin as she held up a moldy sandwich. Jennifer wrinkled her face in disgust before giving Matilda a kiss on her forehead.

“Still not getting rid of you.” Jennifer whispered.

Chapter Text

The hospital was the same as last time. The same dreary atmosphere. The same white walls. The same nurse who stood at the foot of her gurney, hands on her hips, giving her a disapproving stare.

“Miss Matilda, back so soon? What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?” The nurse glanced at the chart. “Chest and abdominal injuries. Let me guess, slammed into your bike's handle bars?” Matilda shook her head with a weak smile. “Trampoline accident?” Matilda shook her head again. “Rollerskating while hanging on to the back of your mom's car bumper?”

“Heimlich.” Matilda said.

“Sort of.” Mrs. Rodgers threw in.

“I’ve got kids in here almost every day with broken bones from skateboarding, trying to jump homemade ramps on their bikes, the list goes on, but you’re telling me you got hurt while eating?”

Matilda flashed a guilty sort of grimace. She hadn’t wanted to go to the hospital, there was nothing they could do for her anyway. Matilda had begged Miss Honey to take her home every half hour that had passed in the waiting room without getting called. The hospital seemed to be packed today. Geriatric patients in wheelchairs complaining of chest pains and headaches filled the emergency room taking precedence over her cracked rib. Finally, after about three and a half hours, she had been called back.

Miss Honey had had to carry her in. She was in so much pain from sitting up in the chair for so long she could hardly give her name and the reason for her visit. She had even ignored all attempts at small talk from the triage nurse up front who had taken her vitals in an attempt to reign in her psychic powers as they had a tendency to get away from her whenever she was hurt or upset. The last thing she wanted to do was cause a panic, although she wondered if she would be seen faster if half the emergency room left in fear of the place being haunted.

“She’d also been tackled this morning by a larger child.” Miss Honey threw in.

“Ah, the truth comes out, you were rough housing.” the nurse said. Matilda didn’t feel like correcting her. It sounded better than she had gotten hurt while eating and pooping, two supposedly mundane activities. “Well, let’s take a look. Go ahead and strip down and change into this gown with the opening in the front. Mom, if you want to help her.” She gestured down to Matilda, who could hardly move.

By the time they had gotten her undressed, with many yelps and grunts of pain, Miss Honey decided the gown wasn’t worth the trouble of getting it on her, but Matilda insisted. If she was going to be in the hospital, she wanted the whole experience, patient identification on her wrist, oxygen monitor on her finger, and exposed bare butt in the open. She had regretted her choice the moment they had to sit her up. She had regretted a lot of her choices today.
At least she was out of her wet pants, Matilda thought, hugging the dry gown around her front.

Three hours ago they had asked her for a urine sample. Matilda had thrown logic to the wind (she blamed the pain) and insisted she didn’t need help. She had even snapped at Miss Honey when she had tried to follow her in. Matilda had run into her first problem right away as soon as she had closed the bathroom door behind her. She couldn’t get on the toilet. No matter, she had thought, she didn’t need to pee in the toilet, she just needed to pee in this cup.

So instead of apologizing to Miss Honey and asking for help, she instead had the bright idea to use her powers and make the cup float in midair while she stood over it. Only, once she had finally managed to lower her pants enough and get into position, she found to her great disbelief, her plan had backfired. Instead of going into the cup like she had planned, it merely trickled down her left thigh and into her pant leg. When Miss Honey had come in to check on her, she found Matilda in tears trying to dry her pants under the hand dryer.

Matilda had fully expected a scolding, she knew she deserved one. Instead of rubbing it in her face or lecturing her, Miss Honey had simply helped her clean up as best she could, before they had to explain to triage they couldn’t get a sample.

“You’ll have to try again later.”

When they got back to their seats in the waiting room, Matilda clung onto Miss Honey’s arm and held it against herself. It was the closest she could get to a hug at the moment.

“I’m sorry,” Matilda mumbled. “I can’t believe I did that.” Miss Honey smiled gently at her.

“We all do silly things when we aren’t feeling up to par. Let me help me you next time.” Matilda wasn’t happy about it, but she nodded her head in agreement. “Tell me when you’re ready.”

It took a little over an hour before she thought she could try again. Miss Honey helped her down from the chair and stood her on her feet as Matilda whimpered. Unfortunately, they had lent out all their wheelchairs they had available, so she was forced to get up and down from the chair, each attempt growing more painful than the last.

Now armed with a new specimen jar, Matilda hobbled over to the bathroom, Miss Honey now beside her.

“Just pretend I’m not here.” Miss Honey said. Matilda pursed her lips. It was a little hard to do with Miss Honey crouched in front of her while Matilda sat with legs splayed open on the toilet.

She’s my mother not my teacher. She’s my mother not my teacher, Matilda chanted in her head as she closed her eyes and relaxed. She hoped Miss Honey was able to catch it because there was no way she was doing this again.

“Is that it?” Matilda nodded, still refusing to open her eyes. “It should be enough.”

Then the worst possible thing happened. Miss Honey must have forgotten to lock the door because suddenly the door was forcefully swung open and in strolled another woman. Matilda thought It must have looked bad seeing an adult reaching their hand under a child's privates, because Matilda had never seen Miss Honey jump away from her so animatedly. The woman had merely apologized and left, but the damage had already been done.

“Uh, mom, you dropped the cup in the toilet.”

“So I hear you’re 0 for 2 on the urine collection.” the nurse said when she came back once Matilda had been changed into her gown. “Third times a charm.” Matilda could see she was holding another specimen jar. She shook her head adamantly.

“I can’t.” Matilda said. Just the thought of trying to climb down off the bed was enough to break out in a sweat and feel woozy. It didn’t help that she hadn’t eaten anything since last night’s applesauce.

“Still empty?” the nurse asked. Matilda nodded. She supposed she could have if she tried, it had been nearly an hour since the last attempt, but she had no interest in getting up and repeating the process. “We have ways to fix that.” Matilda watched her leave behind the curtain. She breathed a sigh of relief and closed her eyes. Finally, she could rest for a bit. At least that was what she thought. No sooner had the nurse left than she had returned carrying a cup of something. “Bottoms up.” she handed the cup to Matilda who looked inside and saw it was water.

Matilda sighed and downed the cup before handing it back. Before she could even get comfortable, she was handed another. And another. And another. By the time she was handed a fifth cup, she could only take small sips. She felt so full and bloated now.

“Ready to go yet?”

“No,” Matilda lied even though she could hardly keep her legs from shuffling around. She refused to meet the nurse's all knowing eyes.

“Matilda, how about we go try again?” Miss Honey suggested before lowering her voice, “you’re dancing around quite a bit.”

“I don’t have to.”

“Matilda.” Miss Honey said, much sterner sounding now. Matilda whimpered before motioning her to come closer.

“I can’t get up; it hurts too much.”

“Oh. Even if I carry you?” Matilda nodded.

“Is there a problem?” the nurse asked looking between Matilda and Miss Honey.

“Can you give her something for the pain?” Miss Honey asked. “She says it’s too painful to get up.”

“Is that what’s wrong? We can work around that.” Matilda scowled when she returned with a familiar looking pink object. If they would just give her something for the pain, she could get up and do it normally. “Ready?” Before Matilda could object, she was physically twisted, lifted and manipulated in the blink of an eye until she was lying on top of it with her gown wide open. She really did need to pee, but this was too much. “Well?”

Matilda stuttered out a weak objection.

“Best to just get it over with.” Miss Honey whispered. Matilda silently grumbled. Why did this always happen to her lately? She felt like she was stuck in a never ending loop of getting hurt or sick. She stared at the ceiling tiles and tried to focus on the relief of the pressure ebbing away and not on the three adults watching her pee.

Matilda made a disgusted face when she was done. She felt just as wet now as she would have if she had gone in a pull-up. Angles and gravity were not her friend today.

“There, that wasn’t so hard now, was it? Just sit tight for a bit, the doctor will probably want to do some labs as well. I’ll bring you something for the pain in a bit.”

It had only taken a few minutes for the nurse to return. Matilda thought it was odd she seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her as she put something into her IV, but in a few moments, Matilda was far from caring. She laid her head back on the pillow and sighed in relief. The world around her was fading and dimming. The pain, while still there, didn’t feel nearly as excruciating. She could almost even say she was comfortable.

“My apologies,” Matilda heard coming from far away now, “I got distracted when I left your room earlier by another nurse. I sort of forgot what I had intended to do, and I flushed your urine sample. I’ll need another when you can.”

. . .

Jennifer stared at the prescriptions dropped off by the bedside. It was nearly ten at night and Matilda was out cold. She doubted the girl had even heard the doctor come in and talk to them. It was a broken rib, and just like Eve said, there wasn’t much anything could be done other than time and rest. But there was something else that worried Miss Honey. It could have been something, or it could have been nothing, the doctor wasn’t positive. It could have just been a blip on the film, but there was a possibility one of her kidneys could have been injured, and there were small traces of blood in her urine. It was invisible to the naked eye, but it had been detected all the same.

Matilda needed to do another test with contrast to be sure, but it would be impossible tonight with the water she had consumed. The nurse from before came back with an appointment card a week from then and instructions on home care.

A part of Jennifer was glad Matilda had slept through this. Would Matilda be scared to learn she needed to be on the lookout for blood? What kid wouldn’t be? If her at home remedy was to flush her kidneys, but she was scared of blood, would she try to put it off as long as possible? Even if the doctors had impressed she can’t put it off? So Miss Honey brought up her concern.

“No, I mean, she really can’t, that’s why I’m writing her prescriptions for a muscle relaxant and an over the counter diuretic. Now if there is blood in the urine, or any swelling in her limbs, come back to the emergency room.” Then he started taking worse case scenario: Dialysis, Catheters, and kidney transplants. Miss Honey’s head was spinning.

The car ride had been mostly silent until they had gotten a few blocks from Mrs. Rodger’s house.

“How do I tell her?” Jennifer whispered. “She was so happy to be out of pull-ups, but this medicine makes it sound like it’s going to set her back.”

“I mean her no ill will, but limited mobility, diuretics, and muscle relaxants.” Carol grimaced and pulled into a nearby parking lot instead of heading for home. Miss Honey frowned. Why were they back at the pharmacy? “Do me a favor? I know you don’t like to disappoint her, but, well, maybe pull-ups aren’t the answer?” Miss Honey sighed.

“What if she won’t take the medicine if she knows what it’s going to do to her?”

“Then don’t tell her. At least you can check for bleeding without her knowing.”

“She’s going to demand to know why she’s in a diaper.”

“Just tell her it’s the same reason Eve had her in one, so she doesn’t have to hurt herself getting up and down. If everything's good and well, and she’s not seriously injured, she’ll soak through the pull-ups, just letting you know.”

“Okay, I’ll get some.” Jennifer said with a sigh. “If there is something wrong, what’s the first sign?”

“Blood in the urine and retention. Peeing uncontrollably is better than not peeing at all. She can restrengthen her muscles, but she can’t regrow them.”

Miss Honey gave one last look to the girl asleep in the backseat.

“Sorry, baby.” she whispered before sliding out of the car.

Chapter Text

Miss Honey slept uneasy that night, once again plagued by old childhood nightmares. They seemed to be filled with a small tinge of hope as her small frame stood in front of her bedroom window staring out with just a smidgen of expectation.

Someone would come for her. They had to. She had written the most honest detailing of her life in this hell and had given it to the largest and strongest looking man she had ever seen. He had to come for her. If not him, then the police.

Someone.

Anyone.

Jennifer could feel a tear begin to streak down her face. This false sense of hope was the cruelest of all because she knew the ending of this story in this lucid dream. No one was coming to save her. She began to sob before slowly coming back to reality.

It took Jennifer a moment to realize the sobbing hadn’t been coming from her dream at all. Or from her. She willed her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She scanned the room, searching for the source. Her eyes fell on the lump on the couch, and she remembered all at once. Matilda! She struggled out of the armchair she had been sleeping in, flicked on the table lamp, rushed to her side and knelt beside her.

“Hey, sweetheart, it’s alright. Are you in pain?” She felt little arms fling themselves around her neck. It had been a rough night in the recliner, but the moment she felt the trembling girl in her arms she knew she had made the right choice. Not even a child as brave as Matilda could be unfazed by waking up in pain in the dark, alone and in an unfamiliar place. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you. ” Jennifer whispered.

Miss Honey let her calm down a bit before trying to get an answer from her, but even then it took her a few tries to make sense of Matilda’s whimpered responses. Matilda was still disoriented either from the pain or the medicine, or both.

“Would you like something for the pain, dear?”

“Huh?” Matilda mumbled. She gave Jennifer a thousand yard stare.

“Are you in pain?” She slowly nodded her head and looked around the room with wide frightened eyes. “Do you need anything else while I’m up? An extra blanket, or a change?” She put a hand to Matilda’s forehead, relieved at the lack of warmth.

“A change of what?” Matilda asked, before turning to look at her. Miss Honey gave her a sympathetic smile and wondered if Matilda would remember any of this in the morning.

“Are you wet?” Now Matilda looked more confused than ever. Instead of looking down, she looked up at the ceiling.

“Why would I be wet? Is it raining?” Jennifer was both concerned and amused.

“No, silly girl, let me take a look.” She pulled the blanket off, but couldn’t tell with the low lighting.

“I’m not sitting on the remote.” Matilda mumbled.

“You’re right, you’re not on the remote, and you’re still dry.” Jennifer announced after feeling the padding for herself, something Matilda normally would have complained about. Now, she just stared at her curiously with a somewhat blank expression.

“Of course I’m dry; I’m inside. Why would I be wet?”

“Well, because I told you if you needed to go potty in the night to use your diaper, but it looks like you didn’t need to.”

“Oh.” Matilda said. She looked down, seemingly noticing it for the first time. “I need to.”

Jennifer let out a breath. Okay, this was good, she thought, her bladder must have woken her up. The muscle relaxant wasn’t making her wet the bed. She didn’t want to see Matilda getting discouraged about that again. Hopefully, she’d just have to pee a little more than usual, and that was it.

“Alright, I’ll go get you some medicine while you go potty, okay?” Matilda’s eyes were still staring at something far off in the distance, but she slowly nodded her head. “That’s a good girl, I’ll be right back.” She gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head before turning to the kitchen to get the pills when she heard Matilda groaning. Jennifer quickly spun around. “No, Matilda, down!” Even drugged out of her mind she was still trying to get up. “You’re going to hurt yourself even more, lay back down.”

Matilda frowned at her in confusion. “But you told me to go potty.”

“Yes, but I meant,” Jennifer pointed at her waist. “You’re supposed to be resting, remember?”

“Oh.”

“Do you understand? No getting up, okay?”

“Okay.” Matilda mumbled. Jennifer lingered a little longer this time to make sure she stayed put. Once she was sure Matilda wasn’t going to go anywhere, Jennifer was about to turn and go when she noticed a peculiar expression on Matilda’s face. Jennifer stared at her for a moment. It almost looked like she was strain-
“Woah! Woah! Stop! Stop!” Jennifer nearly shouted. Matilda stared up at her even more confused. “Not that! You didn’t say you needed to do that!”

“But you told me to go potty.”

“I know I did, just hold on a second.” Jennifer searched desperately for the shopping bag. Where was it? She spotted it, sitting on the kitchen counter. She ran to it and produced her other purchase before coming back. Jennifer ripped the tapes off Matilda’s now wet diaper, praying it wasn’t too late. She breathed a sigh of relief. All clear. She lifted Matilda up by the legs as gently as she could before sliding the bed pan underneath her. “There, now you can go.”

…

Matilda awoke to the sound of cackling coming from somewhere behind her. She opened her eyes and looked around. This wasn’t where she last remembered being. She tried to think back. The last thing she remembered was being in the emergency room and then… nothing. How had she gotten here? And where was “here” exactly? She tried to sit up, but stopped when she was greeted to a world of pain. Matilda quietly groaned and grabbed her side. Ugh, Hortensia. No ten-year-old girl should be that strong. She tried to remind herself Hortensia had probably saved her life, but the pain in her ribs and side told her to curse her and all her descendants.

“Aww what’s wrong Jen, don’t want to change a poopy diaper?” a voice said before cackling again.

“It completely took me off guard. She throws a fit whenever someone suggests she pees in one. She’s only ever done the other thing twice and both times it was because she was violently throwing up. I’m so glad I bought the other thing, I was queasy enough dumping that out. I don’t think I could have handled scraping it all off her backside.”

“You get used to it.”

“Oh, are you volunteering?”

“Hey, I did my time. You’re the one who tried to skip this phase and cheat.”

“Mom?” Matilda asked.

“Uh-oh, looks like she’s awake. You ready for an earthquake?”

“Shush.”

Matilda heard a chair scrape before light footsteps began to approach. Matilda felt nervous for some reason. She scooted as far back as she could against the couch’s armrest and away from the sound before throwing her blanket over her head. Why did she have the growing suspicion she was in trouble for something?

“Good morning, Matilda.” She felt the blanket get lowered off her face. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I want to curse Hortensia.” She grumbled back.

“My granddaughter might be able to help you with that.” Mrs. Rodgers said coming into view. Matilda’s surroundings finally clicked into place. She had been here before for Christmas. It was Mrs. Rogers' house. Why were they here now though?

“Don’t give her any ideas.” Ms. Honey said before turning back to her. “The doctor gave you some pain pills last night, I’ll get you one. Do you need me to crush it into something, or can you swallow it?” Matilda wasn’t sure. She had never tried to take pills before.

“I think I can swallow it.”

“I’ll bring you some water, and if that doesn’t work, you can try some applesauce with it.”

Matilda sat herself up as best she could. She debated asking Mrs. Rodgers what had happened after she fell asleep last night, but the thought of opening her mouth and talking sounded exhausting. What she really wanted was to go back to sleep, but she knew Miss Honey would be on her case about getting ready for school. She had never felt less like going to school than she did at that moment.

“Why are there three of them?” Matilda groggily asked once Miss Honey handed them to her.

“The doctor said you need to take one of each every four hours.” Miss Honey said. “He said it will help you heal faster.”

“It’s big.” Matilda said. She picked up the large white one in the palm of her hand and examined it.

“That’s for the pain.” Miss Honey explained. “Do you need me to cut it in half?”

“I don’t know.” Matilda mumbled, fighting to keep her eyes open.

“I can give you some Tylenol instead, but this will work much better.” Matilda wrinkled her nose in disgust. Just the thought of the sickly tasting cherry syrup made her feel ill. She picked up the large pill and put it in her mouth before trying to flush it down with water. It took a few tries, but it finally went down, but not before semi dissolving in her mouth. She hurriedly drank more water in an attempt to flush the chalky bitter after taste from her mouth.

“Did you get it down?” Miss Honey asked in surprise. Matilda nodded with a grimace before moving onto the next pill. It took her just as many tries, but she was relieved the capsule left no trail of substance in her mouth or down her throat. The last was the easiest of all. She tried to hand the half full cup of water back when she had finished, but Miss Honey was adamant she drink it all. “It’ll keep the pills from coming back up.” Matilda scowled. One taste of that pain pill was enough for her.

“Give it about a half hour and you should feel better soon, but in the meantime, eat this and then we need to get ready to go.”

Matilda ate her yogurt in silence while fighting against the urge to go back to sleep. She wondered if Miss Honey would let her sleep in class like the last time she had gotten hurt.

“All done?” Matilda nodded and handed over her half eaten yogurt. Miss Honey looked down at it and frowned. “You need to eat more than this.”

“I’m not hungry.” Matilda mumbled.

“Two more bites.” Matilda stared at Miss Honey in mild disbelief as she scooped up a spoonful and held it in front of Matilda’s mouth. “Open.” Matilda opened her mouth to complain, but before she could get any words out, Miss Honey had taken the liberty of shoving a spoonful in. Matilda gave her a puzzled look before swallowing. This time when Miss Honey began to come forward with another serving, Matilda tried to take the spoon from her and feed herself, but Miss Honey ignored her outstretched hand.

“I’m glad to see you’re more with it than you were last night. Are you sure you don’t want anymore?” Matilda waved it away. She felt too full from the large glass of water earlier. She watched Miss Honey, now feeling a bit apprehensive, as she scooped up more yogurt onto the spoon in fear of getting force fed again, but relaxed as she watched her finish it off herself.

“Last night? In the hospital?” Matilda asked. Miss Honey’s sunny disposition faltered for a moment.

“Do you remember waking up in the middle of the night?”

“No.” Matilda said. Had she? She racked her brain trying to remember, but all she could recall was their time in the emergency room.

“For the best. You weren't acting yourself.”

“What happened?” Matilda asked suspiciously. Mrs. Rodgers let out a snort of laughter.

“It’s…nothing, don’t worry about it.” Miss Honey said with a fake looking smile. Matilda forced herself up a little more, her desire for sleep now forgotten.
“What did I do?” Matilda said horrified.

“You didn’t do anything, sweetheart.” Miss Honey said. Matilda narrowed her eyes and looked to Mrs. Rodgers.

“It’s more what you tried to do.” Mrs. Rodgers said.

“Carol!”

“What did I try to do?!” Matilda asked looking from Mrs. Rodgers to Miss Honey.

“You were trying to leave your mom a present.” Mrs. Rodgers said with a snicker.

“Carol, don’t tease her.” Miss Honey said before turning back to Matilda. “It was my fault. You woke up needing to go potty, so I told you to go ahead and use your diaper.” Miss Honey said before averting her eyes. “I didn’t realize you meant you needed to…”

“I didn’t!” Matilda said horrified. She looked down, only now realizing for the first time she was wearing one.

“You didn’t, don’t worry.” Miss Honey said. “I just noticed you were making a funny face, so I stopped you and got you situated in time.” Matilda stared at her horrified.

“Why didn’t you just take me to the restroom in the first place?” She got another sad look in return.

“Honey, if I set you on the toilet last night, you would have just fallen right off. You could hardly even make eye contact with me.”

“Well obviously I didn’t since you had to take me there anyway.” Matilda frowned when Miss Honey avoided her eyes. “I didn’t, did I?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“See? Now can I take this off and go to the bathroom?” All the water inside her was making her front and sides ache.

“ Because I didn’t take you to the restroom last night.” Miss Honey said. “And no,” she added before taking a deep breath. “You can’t take the diaper off.” Matilda stared up at her at a loss for words.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Matilda said before taking a deep breath of her own. “Can I please take this diaper off and will you please take me to the restroom?” Matilda frowned. There was that pitying look in Miss Honey’s eyes again.
“No.” Matilda gritted her teeth. She wasn’t in the mood for puzzles and mind games. The building pressure was beginning to throb. She winced and held her stomach. If Miss Honey was looking for the right phrase or wording, she was cruel to use now as a teaching moment. She racked her brain, but she only had one idea left.

“Will you please take this diaper off and-”

“No.” Matilda gaped up at her. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Matilda could feel tears begin to sting her eyes.

“Why?”

“Matilda, please go so I can get you ready. I need to go to work.”

“Mom, why?” Matilda croaked out.

“Jen, if you plan to go through with this, maybe you should call out today?” Mrs. Rodgers suggested. “Hell, let's all three of us play hooky.”

“Carol, I can’t, what about the kids?”

“Jen, I think this kid needs you more.” Mrs. Rodgers turned to Matilda. “Do you want to go to school today?” Matilda adamantly shook her head. “See? Why don’t you explain what’s going on, and I’ll talk to Mr. Trilby.” Jennifer looked back between the two of them before reluctantly nodding.

“I’ve missed so many days though.” Jennifer groaned.

“Jen, have you ever considered going out on maternity leave?”

“Maternity leave? Since when have we ever had maternity leave? And it’s not like I had a baby.”

“We’ve always had it, but Agatha just terrified everyone too much to use it. Remember Rachel Davine? Agatha forced her to stay until the moment her water broke in the middle of class, then tried to bully her into coming back the next day. No wonder she quit.” Matilda watched as she picked the phone off of the wall and began dialing the school's number. “You don’t need to have a baby, it’s also available if you adopt so you can bond with the child.”

“I never thought about it.” Miss Honey said.

“Please,” Matilda said in a desperate voice as Miss Honey turned to look at her. “Please can I use the restroom? I’m not going to hurt myself and neither will you. You’re not as rough as Eve, please?”

Miss Honey had indecision written all over her face. Just another push and Matilda was sure she’d give in.

Mrs. Rodgers seemed to have the same suspicion though. “Stick to your guns, Jen. Don’t half ass this.”

“I’m sorry, Matilda, but no.” Miss Honey finally said as she knelt beside her. “You’ll have to pee in the diaper.”

“But why? I need to go to the bathroom anyway to brush my teeth! You’re just making it worse for yourself.”

“No, Matilda, the only one making this worse for themselves is you. The sooner you stop arguing and pee, the sooner you’ll feel better.”

Now Matilda could feel a tear escape and slowly fall down her face. “Why?” she tried to ask, but all that would come out was a squeak.

“Because, sweetheart, starting today, you’re grounded.”

Matilda’s mouth fell open. She had expected “for safety” or for “ease”, but punishment? Punishment for what?

“Y-you put me in diapers to p-p-punish me?” Matilda asked, flabbergasted. She didn’t understand. This had to be a joke! She couldn’t be doing this to her! Miss Honey had always been reasonable and level headed, but this was anything but!

“Don’t cry, baby, it’s only for a week.”

“A week!?” Matilda nearly shouted. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this! Where’s the logic?”

Miss Honey tried to grab her hand, but Matilda yanked it away.

“You deliberately disobeyed me, Matilda. I told you she was dangerous. I told you not to rile her up, but you went behind my back and did it anyway. As a result, you got seriously hurt.”

“B-b-but that was weeks ago! The Trunchbull had to be stopped, how could you expect me to sit back and not do anything when she’s killing kids. I know who Billy Reyes was, he was Hortensia’s friend. She killed him, didn’t she?”

“We are not talking about that, we are talking about you using your mind and powers to purposefully hurt other people. That’s why you’re grounded. I know what you think you did was right, and I appreciate you wanting to stick up for me, I really do, but Matilda, if what you told me was true, that’s manslaughter, or worse, first degree murder.”

“I-I-I just wanted to scare her!” Matilda said, breaking down into sobs, “I wasn’t trying to kill her!”

“What if instead of driving off a cliff, she drove onto the sidewalk and seriously hurt someone? Or crashed into another car? What were you thinking? That was very irresponsible of you. I expected better.”

“A-a-are you going to call the cops?” Matilda asked tearfully.

“No, Matilda, I’m not going to tell anyone, but I want to impress upon you the seriousness of what you’ve done. I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I’ve decided the best way to let that message sink in is to take away the thing you value most. Your independence. You’re going to have to learn to trust the adults in your life to take care of things from here on out. I understand you’ve never had a good example of that, and I know I myself haven’t stepped up when I should have, but that’s going to change.”

Matilda scowled. She knew she deserved it; the guilt inside of her had been almost as unbearably painful as the pain in her side, but to ground her from the toilet?! What was Miss Honey thinking?!

“Couldn’t you take away my books or something?” Matilda mumbled.

“I thought about it, but I decided that would be too cruel. You don’t have many options to pass the time and I’m not about to take away your one escape.”

“You could ground me from the telly, that’s what Eve does to Hortensia.” Matilda offered. Miss Honey gave her a puzzled but amused look.

“Nice try.” Miss Honey said.

“Please, not this, Jenny, I'll do all the arts and crafts you want! I won’t even use my powers! Please!” Matilda begged, but this only seemed to make her frown.

“I thought we were passed calling me Jenny.”

“Fine, mom, mommy, whatever you want; I’ll do all the laundry, the dishes, I’ll cook all the meals…” Matilda pleaded. Miss Honey sighed before standing back up.

“You’re missing the whole point. I’m not trying to make you grow up. Making you take on more responsibility is the last thing I want.”

“But…”

“The answer is ‘no’ Matilda, end of discussion.” Matilda silently seethed.

“What kind of parent grounds their kid from the toilet?” Matilda spat. She could see Miss Honey stop in her tracks.

“Do you want a time out on top of everything else?” She asked without turning around. “Because that’s what you’re going to get if you don’t drop this attitude right now.”

“No, Miss Honey.” Matilda said through clenched teeth. She could see Jennifer stiffen in place before slowly turning around to face her. Matilda was expecting her to be angry, but instead she just looked sad. Matilda watched apprehensivly as she walked to the edge of the couch, grabbed something out of a bag and headed to the back of the house. A few seconds later she was standing in front of Matilda.

“Sit up.” she ordered.

“No.”

“Have it your way.” Without another word, Matilda felt hands dig underneath her and lift her up.

“Stop it; that hurts!” Matilda yelled. “Put me down!”

“Then you should have listened to me the first time.” Matilda struggled to get out of Miss Honey’s grasp, but it only made the woman grip her tighter. “Stop moving, do you want me to drop you?”

“If it gets me away from you, then yes!” Matilda yelled back. She tried to turn to see where they were going, but all she could see was the ceiling. It wasn’t until she had been deposited on a disposable mat on the bed did she realize she was in the bedroom Mrs. Roger's granddaughter had been staying in during the Christmas holidays.

“You can come back out when you learn how to be a good girl.” Miss Honey said.

“You can come back in when you learn how to be a good mother!” Matilda yelled back. Miss Honey turned and left, slamming the bedroom door behind her and leaving Matilda alone with her thoughts.

Chapter Text

Jennifer paced back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. After a few minutes of back and forth, she tried to sit down on the living room sofa, managed to stay still all of three minutes, and resumed her trek. She could feel Carol’s eyes watching her wearily from the kitchen. She glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner for the tenth time in the last hour.

Had enough time passed to let Matilda out? Would she be civilized now or would she still be ornery? She had to have peed by now; she must be wet and cold.

“Jen, come make yourself a cup of tea and sit down. All that pacing is making me nervous.” Carol called from the kitchen. Jennifer apologized and reluctantly joined her at the table. “You can’t take what she said personally.” Miss Honey bit the inside of her cheek. “Kids can be brats, even the well behaved ones.”

“But not Mat-”

“Yes, even Matilda.” Carol said, cutting her off. “She’s five, she’s in pain, and she’s not getting her way. It’s like the unholy trinity. It has the power to turn children into demons.”

Jennifer winced at the word “demon”. Was this what all the other moms’ felt when their kid threw a tantrum in the supermarket? She should have removed anything breakable before setting her loose in there. She hadn’t expected Matilda would throw such a fit over a time out.

“I am so sorry.” Jennifer said for the hundredth time that morning. “I’ll replace anything that’s broken.” As soon as she had shut on the door, there had been a series of loud bangs, and ear splitting shrieks of anger. It had taken Jennifer so off guard all she had been able to do was stand rooted to the spot as she stared at the closed bedroom door in horror. It had only lasted a few minutes, but still. She would never have expected Matilda to act in such a horrendous way.

Carol waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

“I’m serious. I just can’t believe she’d act this way over being grounded.” Jennifer admitted. “She’s normally so level headed.”

“I doubt it’s about being grounded. Those weren't ‘I’m mad’ screams.” Carol said. Jennifer raised an eyebrow. “Those were coming from a much deeper place I suspect, and I believe it’s been building inside her for a long time. These last few days were probably enough to push her over the edge.”

“I don’t know whether to ground her longer, forget the whole thing, or call in an exorcist.” Jennifer said, letting her head fall into her hands. “She was never really grounded in the first place. I was going to drop the whole thing once I was confident she wasn’t bleeding. I was just trying to kill two birds with one stone; dissuade her from using her powers against people and make sure everything was looking good and healthy without her knowing.”

“You know you’re an open book. I think she would have realized something was up if you kept staring into her used diapers like they contained the answers to the universe.”

“I am not.” Jennifer said, although she could feel her cheeks begin to warm. “I just didn’t want her to be angry with herself if the medication caused her setbacks. It’s no fun to hate your own body, I think I'd rather her be angry at me than herself.”

“Bullshit.” Carol said, bluntly. Jennifer looked up at her stunned. “ That’s not why you decided on this.” Jennifer stumbled to come up with a response. “You want to know what I think? I think you want her to be angry at you. You’re still punishing yourself.” Jennifer opened her mouth to argue, but found her mouth had gone alarmingly dry.

“No,” she finally managed to croak out. She could feel the sting of fresh tears and averted her eyes.

“Yes,” Carol said. “Stop bottling it up, Jennifer, and come clean.”

“There’s nothing to come clean about.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying!” Jennifer insisted, despite feeling the moisture on her cheeks. She buried her head in the crook of her arm and flinched when she felt Carol grab her hand and begin stroking the top of it with her thumb. Jennifer could feel the goosebumps rising on her body again and shivered.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d swear the two of you really were biologically mother and daughter. You both have the worst coping mechanisms I've ever seen.”

Jennifer half chuckled and half sobbed before stiffening. She could hear Carol dragging her chair around to her side of the table. She felt her breath catch in her throat when a hand rested on her back and began to rub small circles. She felt frozen in place. This was much more touching than she was used to. Her limits were a handshake here, and a quick hug there, a longer one if the person in question was under the age of ten, but this was different. It was as if Carol had picked her up and thrown her far outside her comfort zone, yet she couldn’t get herself to pull away or tell her to stop.

Oh god, was she actually enjoying this?

“It’s okay, Jen, breathe.” Carol whispered. The palm rubbing circles on her back had stopped and had been replaced by the tips of her fingernails running up and down her back. “You’re safe here; I promise.” Jennifer let out her held breath. “There you go. There you go. Take some more deep breaths.” Now there were two hands running up and down her back. There was an unfamiliar tingling sensation spreading from the top of her head, down her torso and up her arms. “Now take this thing you’ve been hiding inside and let it out.” Jennifer shook her head.

“I can’t.” Jennifer whispered.

“Yes you can; You have to. It’s eating you alive; I can see it.”

She tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, but it had refused to go down.

“I-I-I’m-”

“You can do it, go on.” Carol whispered.

“I’m so…so…pathetic. A five year old felt like they had no other choice than to step up and save me.” Then everything was a blur. She was sobbing, no, bawling into Carols’ shoulder. How had they gotten to the couch? Why was Jennifers’ arms wrapped around her as if this woman was the only thing keeping her on this earth? Was she really being rocked back and forth? Why was she telling her all these secrets she had long since buried?

“That’s it. That’s it. Let it all out. It’s alright. It’s alright.”

“...and the worst part of all…I-I” Jennifer said. Now she was crying harder than she had ever cried.

“Say it.” Carol whispered. “Get it out in the open; get it off your chest once and for all.”

“I…I… had a…a…” Jennifer stammered. She couldn’t get the word out. It was stuck. “I can’t say it.”

“An orgasm?” Carol offered. Jennifer nodded her head into Carols’ neck. “Is that what you’ve been so ashamed of?” Jennifer nodded again and felt Carol pull away from her. “Sweetheart.” Carol tucked a strand of hair behind Jennifer's ear. “It doesn’t mean what you think it means.”

“How could it not?” Jennifer cried. “How could it not mean that I liked it like she said?” She shut her eyes. She could feel Carol wave a hand through her hair and shuddered.

“Of course she would say that, Jen. She was manipulating you.” Carol let out a deep sigh. “How old were you?”

“F-f-fourteen or f-fifteen.”

“Oh, baby, no.”

“It had been happening longer than that, but it was the first time I had ever… She said I had lost the right to say no since I obviously liked it, and that’s when she started burning me with the cigars. When I refused to…”

“Oh, Jen.” Carol whispered. “It doesn’t mean you liked it.”

“Why?” Jennifer croaked. “How?”

“Think of it like an involuntary response to stimulation. Say for instance, if you were ticklish, and I ran my fingers up the bottoms of your feet, you’d probably laugh. But would you think it was funny?”

“N-no.” Jennifer admitted.

“Your body was most likely doing whatever it could to protect itself. That doesn’t make you dirty, or damaged, or a monster. Whatever it was she said to you to justify her actions; It was a lie.” Carol grabbed one of her hands again and squeezed. “You did nothing wrong. You have nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn’t matter what you had to do or convince yourself of to survive. You’re the victim. You. Did. Nothing. Wrong. Now say it.”

“I-I-d-did…”

“Go on.” Jennifer took a deep shaky breath.

“I d-did n-nothing wrong.”

“Yes.” Carol said before giving her a gentle warm smile. “How do you feel now?”

It was like the bomb in her chest that had been nearing closer to 0:00 everyday had finally been diffused. She let out a weak, and shaky laugh. “B-better.”

“I don’t expect you to magically be cured, but I hope this has helped clear some of the rubble so you can begin to lay a new foundation in your life, and maybe you can start to finally heal.”

“Thank you.” Jennifer whispered. Her eyes went wide in surprise as a pair of lips pressed against the top of her head. She had never been shown so much affection and kindness from an adult before. She briefly wondered what it would have been like to have grown up with a mother, but shook the thought away.

“Damn it, Matilda!” Carol said, suddenly sounding angry. Jennifer sat up in a panic. What had she done now? “I want to kill that woman, but she already beat me to it!” Jennifer let out a shaky laugh. “Now go make things right with her; I think she can handle the truth.”

……

Jennifer poked her head in the spare bedroom and took in the room. It was a disaster. All of their things she had brought from home were scattered on the floor. She looked for damage in the walls, and in the decorations Carol had throughout the room, but apart from her and Matilda's things, everything was in their place. Jennifer let out a relieved breath of air. She scooted a pair of pants, the ones with large metal buttons on the front, with her foot. They noisily scraped across the floor. So that had been the source of the noise, she thought. And there, lying on top of the bed was the perpetrator, now fast asleep with a towel covering her like a blanket.

Was that the cause of the mess? Was she only looking for something to cover up with? Maybe it wasn’t the pants, maybe it was dresser drawers opening and closing. But the screaming… She looked to the dresser then back to Matilda. Had she tried to force herself up to look in the drawers? Jennifer stood and tried to mentally put the pieces together.

Say Matilda peed in her diaper which made her cold. She tried to get under the covers, but couldn’t. She screams in pain trying. She opens the dressers and closet looking for a blanket, but she can’t see, so she has to take everything out of the drawers, which explains the mess… The closest thing she can find is a towel. She wraps herself up in it and goes to sleep. Maybe she hadn’t thrown a tantrum after all… She couldn’t completely give her the benefit of the doubt though. She had said some cruel things. Well, Jennifer would have to see what the defendant had to say for herself.

“I’m sorry,” came a tiny quiet voice before Jennifer had even made it to the bed. Oh, so she was awake after all.

“Quite the mess you’ve made.”

“It was hurting my eyes, and I was afraid of breaking Mrs. Rodgers’ things.” Then in a much softer voice full of emotion. “I wet the bed. I’m sorry.” Jennifer bit her lip. So the medication was going to affect her like this.

“It’s alright. It’s not like I left you any other choice, did I? It’s not your fault.”

“But I need to go again.” she whimpered. “Really bad.” Jennifer could see her legs jiggling under the towel.

“It’s okay, go on. There’s a pad under you in case it leaks. You won’t hurt anything.”

“It’s already wet.” Matilda mumbled. Jennifer frowned and removed the towel. She was greeted with a blast of ammonia.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Jennifer said. She was soaked, the pad under her was soaked, even the blanket was damp, but she wasn’t 100% positive. So this was what she meant when she said she had wet the bed. She took in the squirming girl. She’d soak the bedding if she wet again and it wasn’t theirs. “I’ll go get the bed pan.”

“Hurry.” Matilda moaned. Jennifer darted out of the room. Matilda was desperate. She wasn’t even begging to be taken to the toilet. Where was it? Where was it? Where was it? Why couldn’t she find it?

“Everything okay?” Carol asked.

“She’s soaked through everything in three hours, and she still has to go.” Carol whistled. “I might need to wash the bedding, I’m sorry.” She spotted the package of bed liners and grabbed one. This would have to do. She hurried back and spread the new liner out on the bed a little ways over. “You’ll have to pee on this. Ready?” She grabbed Matilda under the arms before she could respond, sat her up and quickly moved her over. Jennifer was a little surprised Matilda wasn’t scowling or protesting. She just sat there with a sort of dazed look on her face as her clenched body began to relax. “There’s a good girl; I’ll set you in a nice warm bath once you’re all done.”

Jennifer tried not to make it obvious as she peeked into the discarded diaper Matilda had peeled off in preparation for the bed pan. She breathed a sigh of relief. No blood.

“I wouldn’t have been scared.” Matilda said quietly.

“Did you hear us talking?” Jennifer asked. Matilda nodded. “I guess you’ve figured out what the extra medicine does.”

“I think I may have an idea. Can I take a bath now?”

“All done?” Matilda nodded with a grimace. Now there was the disgust she had expected. Once she got her situated in the bath, Jennifer came back and lifted up the pads with a groan. She sighed. She shouldn’t have bought the cheapest ones. She stripped the bed and carried everything to the washer before going back to the bedroom and prying open the window to air out the room. She’d have to go back to the pharmacy and pick up better supplies. She’d need something a lot thicker, and maybe some pads to go in it as well. Jennifer wasn’t sure what to do. It wasn’t like she could just leave her in the bathtub to sleep at night. She had a funny thought of letting Matilda camp out in the backyard pantless, but she’d probably kill Carols’ lawn, and just the thought of sitting in the grass bare bottomed made Jennifer squirm. They’d figure something out though. This time she’d make sure to get Matilda’s opinion.

Chapter Text

Matilda sat glumly on the couch, with about three or four bed liners underneath her. She wasn’t entirely sure how many Miss Honey had laid out on the couch cushion, but it seemed a bit excessive. She shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around her torso. All the windows had been opened so the house didn’t smell like urine.

Matilda cringed as she heard the alarm go off from the kitchen stove. Next came the sound of chair legs scrapings against the linoleum followed by footsteps.

“How ya doin’, Super Soaker?” Mrs Rodgers asked. Matilda bit her tongue. She hated her new nickname.

“Fine,” Matilda mumbled, hands clenched into fists beneath her blanket. She looked longingly at the door. Why wasn’t Jenny back yet?

“Are you sure you don’t want me to put on a movie for you? You must be bored just sitting there.”

“I’ve got a book.” Matilda mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

“Which you haven’t even cracked open. Are you feeling sick? What’s your pain level at?”

“A six?” And rapidly climbing. She was feeling irritable again, an indication the pain medicine was wearing off. It didn’t help that Mrs. Rodgers seemed to find this morning's events funny. She had even gone as far as to pocket a rosary, which she waved at her with a smirk every time they crossed paths.

Matilda felt a little ashamed. Usually she had better control over her temper, but today all bets had been off. She was pissed, no pun intended. When Miss Honey had shared her theory with Mrs. Rodgers about what she thought had been going on in the back room, Matilda hadn’t corrected her. Their original assumption had been a bit more accurate. Mrs. Rodgers had given her a wink and mimed zipping her lips. She knew the truth.

Mrs. Rodgers consulted her watch.

“You’re a little early; think you can wait another 30 minutes or so?” Matilda grumbled. Not feeling all there had been the only thing that made any of this slightly bearable. Now that it had worn off, she was all too aware of the cold wetness she was sitting in, or more accurately, stewing in.“How about I make you a deal then? Let’s get through this without any fighting or complaints and i’ll give you your pain pill a little early? Deal?”

Matilda pursed her lips and thought about it. She wanted to be out of pain, but she had been hoping Jenny would have been back by now. She needed to do more than pee. It was the reason she hadn’t cracked open her book. All her focus had been on keeping the back door shut and locked. She had been scared to tell Mrs. Rodgers for fear she’d make her go in the diaper. Poop was Jenny’s hard pass, and she was willing to take her to the toilet if it meant she didn’t have to deal with it. Mrs. Rodgers on the other hand had already told her she was immune to all things gushing, dripping, squishing, projecting and leaking that could come from the human body due to her time as an ICU nurse.

Before Matilda could come up with an answer, Mrs. Rodgers had removed her blanket and was already lowering her down into a vertical position. Matilda winced at the movement.

“You are soaked.” Mrs. Rodgers said, untapping the used diaper. Matilda cringed. Did she have to point out the obvious? “One, two, three…” She pulled the used pads out from under her. “If your mom can’t find something better at the store, you might really be camping out in the backyard on one of the lawn chairs.” Matilda laid still and tense as she waited for the cold wet wipe, but instead, she felt her lower half get raised and set down on hard plastic.

“Empty the tank while I toss this stuff. Bonus points if you can get anything else out, you know how squeamish Jennifer is.” Matilda was all too happy to oblige. It wasn’t the toilet, but at least it wasn’t the diaper either. “All done or you need a minute?” she asked after returning from the outdoor trash can.

“I’m done.”

“Did you try to po-”

“Yes.” Matilda mumbled.

“No luck? Are you sure you don’t want to try for a little longer?” Matilda shook her head. “Okay, well, just let me know if you need to- well never mind then.” Mrs. Rodgers said when she removed the bed pan. She left to go flush and rinse it out before coming back. “Jenny will be happy.” she said before giving Matilda a frown. “You know you can tell us when you need to go.”

“You told me to try, so I did.” Matilda said avoiding eye contact.

“I was only gone thirty seconds at most. That wasn’t a ‘I tried and something came out’, more like ‘I’m already prairie dogging’.” Matilda gave her a puzzled look. “You know how they stick their heads in and out of the holes.”

“Eww,” Matilda said, half smiling half grimacing as Mrs. Rodgers went back to fixing her up. Matilda winced. There was the cold wet wipe she had been expecting.

“Since you’ve been a good sport about this with me, how about we do something different?” Mrs. Rodgers offered. “How’d you like to sit out back? I can turn on the fire pit and we can make smores.”

“Can I have my pain pill first?” Matilda asked. Just the thought of getting moved again sent her pain from a six to a seven.

“Yes, let me get that.” She rose from the couch and went into the kitchen. “Anything in particular you want to drink? Milk? Water? The blood of a freshly sacrificed goat?”

“Will you let me finger paint pentagrams with it on the patio?” She could hear Mrs. Rodgers let out a snort of laughter.

“Sorry, demon summoning hours are over, the neighbors will complain since it’s after eight. It’s in my HOA contract.”

“They should at least extend it to nine.”

“That’s what I say!”

“Can I have milk?”

“Sure.” Mrs. Rodgers came back with a large cup of white liquid and set it on the coffee table along with four pills. Matilda’s heart sank. Four pills? Why was there an extra pill? What was this going to do to her? “Need any help sitting up?”

“I can do it.” Matilda insisted. She tried pushing up with her elbows but found herself too weak and in too much pain to get more than a few inches. She fell back down, arms shaking and out of breath.

“Stop being so stubborn; it’s okay to ask for help.”

“I’ll keep that in mind during summoning hours.”

“I’m serious, if you need something, don’t be afraid to ask. The worst we’re going to say is, ‘no’.”

“Then can I chuck the other pills over the fence?” Matilda asked, before letting out a grunt of pain as Mrs. Rodgers sat her up.

“Nice try.” She handed Matilda the glass of milk and pills. Matilda looked down at them, relieved to find there wasn’t an extra pill after all. Rather, the large pain pill had been cut in half for her. It still took a few tries to get down, but the taste of the milk helped mask the bitterness of the rapidly dissolving pill in her mouth.

“What do these do?” Matilda asked. She opened her palm to show Mrs. Rodgers the white and orange capsule and the little white tablet.

“I thought you would have figured that out by now.”
“I have a general idea, but what do they do specifically?”

“Well, one is a diuretic, so between that and all the extra liquid it must feel like we’re forcing down your throat, that’s the reason you have to pee a little more than usual.”

“A little more?” Matilda asked, a doubtful expression on her face. The only times she had felt dry were right after a change, and that only lasted twenty minutes or so.

As much as she hated being wet, it hadn’t taken long for her to feel grateful she wasn’t getting her way. She didn’t know it was possible to hurt more than she had yesterday, but the thought of having to move her body every half hour sounded like torture. Even being carried hurt. Her only escape had been the drug induced naps the pain pills brought on. She had even stopped asking for the bedpan a few hours in when getting lifted on and off had become too much. Now she only used it in between changes in an attempt to keep the new diaper dry for as long as possible.

“The other one’s a muscle relaxant.” Mrs. Rodgers finished.

“That’s why I feel so weak!” Matilda exclaimed.

“They didn’t want you holding it; if there is something wrong with your kidney, it could cause more damage. As much as you hate diapers; you’d hate a foley more.”

“What’s a foley?”

“It’s when they stick a tube up your urethra and into the bladder to drain it.” Matilda made a face. “It doesn’t hurt, but there is a much higher risk of infection and you’d have to carry around a bag of your pee with you.”

“Nope, I’m never getting one.” Matilda said.

“Too late for that; you’ve already had one.” Mrs. Rodgers said with a smirk as she watched Matilda’s face darken. “Not a foley, but a straight.”

“When did someone do that?!” Matilda asked, horrified.

“When you had surgery. Usually they put it in and take it out while you’re asleep.”

“Oh. I guess that’s okay then.” Matilda said. As long as she was unconscious. “Okay, I get why I’m peeing so much, but why are they making me take this? Doesn’t this just give my kidneys more work?”

“I know it seems that way, but it’s actually less work since there’s less of a concentration of toxins to flush out. Did you notice it doesn’t smell anymore when we change you?”
“Really? I thought I had just gotten used to the smell.”

“Nope, it’s because there’s less urea and ammonia now. Now quit stalling and take your medicine.”

“Only if you agree not to chase me with a hatchet.” Matilda said before popping the pills in her mouth and chugging the milk. She looked up to find Mrs. Rodgers giving her a quizzical look.

“Why would I chase you with a hatchet?”

“It’s something Jack Torrance kept saying when he chased his family through the hotel. ‘It’s time to take your medicine.’” Matilda said as she mimed swinging an ax.

“Whose Jack Torrance?”

“The dad from The Shining, you know, the book about the haunted hotel they stay in during winter and he goes stir crazy.”

“Come play with us, Dan-ney.”

“Yeah, that one.” Matilda said with a giggle.

“So you like Stephen King?”

“Yes! I had asked Mrs. Phelps if she knew of any books about a young girl with supernatural powers, given, you know.” Matilda gestured to herself. “She recommended Fire Starter and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

“Which one’s your favorite?”

“Hmm, “ Matilda thought for a moment. “Probably, ‘It’. I like his stories about kids the best.”

“So what would Pennywise turn into if he ran into you?” Mrs. Rodgers asked. Matilda imagined getting chased by a clown, a red balloon in one hand and a diaper in the other.

“The Trunchbull,” Matilda lied. “What about you?” Mrs. Rodgers seemed to be deep in thought for a moment.

“Well, since Pennywise only goes after children, I think I’m safe.”

“Okay, if you were a kid.”

“It would probably have to be,” Mrs. Rodgers said before pausing, “a giant chicken.”

Matilda burst into laughter.

“Why a chicken?”

“When I was little we’d go visit my aunt's farm out in the countryside on holidays. She would have chickens roaming around the property and she had this one in particular, a big nasty thing. It was brown with these black beady eyes, and I swear the moment I’d step out of the house, it would chase me. It wouldn’t chase anyone else, just me. This thing would sit watching the house and wait for me to come out.” Matilda gripped her side in pain, but continued to laugh. “My dad came out looking for me because I was late for Thanksgiving dinner, and found the beast in question circling the base of this large willow tree, with me up in the branches screaming I was going to turn it into a chicken sandwich.”

It took Matilda a good solid minute to calm down.

“Ready to go outback?”

Matilda looked down at herself. She was still naked from the waist down.

“I think you might be forgetting something.”

“Don’t worry about it; just promise you won’t pee on me.” Matilda braced herself and hung on to Mrs. Rodgers neck as they headed out into the back yard.

“How else am I supposed to mark who gets sacrificed and who doesn’t?”

“It’s after eight.” Mrs. Rodgers reminded her.

“Damn.” Matilda let out a surprised yelp as the arm that had been supporting her pulled away and she felt a soft smack to her bare butt.

“No swearing, you’re only five.”

“I’ll be six in a few months!” Matilda exclaimed.

“That doesn’t make it any better in the slightest.” Mrs. Rodgers said with a playful shake of her head. She set Matilda down on one of the outdoor chairs. Matilda looked down at it. It was one of those white hard plastic lounge chairs with horizontal white strips of rubber running up and down the length of it. Matilda kind of wished she was back in a diaper. It was cold out here and she had the feeling her back and butt were going to look like a candy cane by the time they went back inside. “ Don’t go anywhere, I'm going to run inside and get the lighter.”

Matilda gave her a quizzical look. Where exactly did she think she could go half naked with broken ribs?
While she waited for Mrs. Rodgers to return, she took in her surroundings. She couldn’t see much in the dark, but she could make out the fire pit in front of her with three other chairs, a grass lawn further off in the distance and what looked like a tree.

Suddenly, there was a loud hoot off to her left by the patio door. Matilda whipped her head around and let out a gasp. There, resting on a large perch she hadn’t noticed before, was a large, brown, barn owl. It was both beautiful and terrifying. They both stared at each other unblinking, until Mrs. Rodgers returned.

“I see you’ve met, Whodini.” The woman said before stroking the side of the owl's head.

“You have a pet owl?!” Matilda asked, flabbergasted. “You just told me you’re afraid of chickens! It’s like a giant chicken that can fly.” Whodini let out a hoot of indignation. Apparently the owl didn’t appreciate being compared to a common domesticated fowl.

“She didn’t mean that; don’t listen to her.” Mrs. Rodgers cood, before turning back to Matilda. “Olivia’s headmaster gave him to me so we could keep in touch.”

“Wow.” Matilda said. All her Headmistress had given Matilda was a crushed larynx.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do with an owl around the house, but he’s been so useful! Yes you have!” Matilda watched as she stroked the owl a few more times, before taking a seat across from her. “There hasn’t been a single rabbit, mouse or squirrel destroying my garden all week. I think he’s scared them all off.”

Matilda stared at the scattered bones underneath the perch. More like eaten them, she thought.

In a few minutes, Mrs. Rodgers had managed to light the fire pit to Matilda, and Whodini’s, delight. The owl had flown closer and perched atop one of the empty patio chairs to enjoy the warmth of the fire. Matilda watched the flickering flames, enjoying the change of scenery as she chatted with Mrs. Rodgers about other books they had enjoyed.

“Do you still have that chess set with the talking pieces?” Matilda asked hopefully.

“No, that was Olivia’s, she took it back to school with her.”

“Oh, bummer.” Mrs. Rodgers grinned.

“She said they still won’t listen to her after you beat her so badly.” Matilda thought back to Christmas and chuckled. It was the strangest thing she had ever seen. A chess board whose pieces moved on their own, talked and attacked each other. The first round they played Matilda had won, only for the pieces to congratulate Olivia on her sportsmanship by allowing her young opponent to win on purpose. It wasn’t until Matilda’s third win in a row did it, or they, realize Olivia had not been throwing the game. By her fifth win, Olivia’s pieces had told her throwing them in the fire would be a kinder fate than taking orders from a dimwit who couldn’t even defeat a small child. That’s when Olivia packed up the game and said she wasn’t in the mood for chess anymore.

“Everything okay?” Mrs. Rodgers asked after about twenty minutes. “You’ve gone awfully quiet.” Matilda hung her head and mumbled. “What? What’s wrong?” Matilda sighed.

“I have to go.” she mumbled.

“Go? Go where? Back inside?” Matilda shook her head. “Ohh, do you need to pee?” Matilda meekly nodded and averted her eyes. She waited for Mrs. Rodgers to get up and take her back inside, but instead of hearing the scraping of chair legs, Mrs. Rodgers said, “it’s alright, go on.” Matilda looked up at her, confused. “No point in wasting supplies; you won’t hurt anything back here.”

Matilda looked around, then back up at Mrs. Rodgers doubtfully. The pain medicine had started to kick in and her thoughts were becoming fuzzy. “Where?” she asked, just to make sure. She didn’t trust herself to fully understand the situation in this state.

“Right where you’re sitting, silly. It’s not like you can get up and walk to the grass.”

Matilda looked down, then back up. “In the chair?!”

“It’s plastic and it’ll just run down the gaps. I can always just rinse everything off with the hose later.”

“If you’re sure.” Matilda mumbled. She really hadn’t wanted to go back inside just yet anyway. She kept her eyes focused on the fire and relaxed, cringing as it noisily began to trickle and splatter on the concrete patio below.

“Matilda! No! What are you doing?” Matilda clamped off the stream in fright and whipped her head around. Miss Honey was standing in the doorway looking horrified with two shopping bags in her hands.

“Relax, Jen, I told her to.” Mrs. Rodgers said. “Come pull up a chair.” Miss Honey pursed her lips for a moment before stepping out into the back yard. “Not that one, sorry, it’s taken.”

“By who?” Miss Honey started to ask before jumping back in surprise. “Is that an owl?!”

“This is Whodini; he’s my Mousekeeper.” The owl let out a hoot and ruffled its feathers. “Sorry, and postmaster.”

“Uh, right, I’ll sit over here with Matilda.” Miss Honey picked up the free chair and scooted over as far as she could from the large bird of prey. “Has she given you any problems?” Matilda could see Miss Honey eyeing her suspiciously.

“None at all.”

“Really?” Miss Honey raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“And you’ll be happy to know she even evacuated her bowels.”

Matilda could have probably heard Jenny’s sigh of relief from across the yard. She turned to look at her.

“Thank you for behavi-” Jenny started to say, but stopped. “What’s wrong?” Matilda’s jaw was clenched tight along with her legs, but the rest of the liquids inside her were demanding release.

“Go on and finish, kid.” Mrs. Rodgers said. Matilda gave a small moan of embarrassment but the pressure was too much. The trickling beneath her began to resume.

“I should really go put her in a diaper now.” Miss Honey said.

“She’s fine, Jen, I mean, just look over there.” Jennifer and Matilda both looked where she was pointing. Underneath the perch, the ground was covered with feathers, bones, and owl poop. “I need to hose everything down anyway. Don’t waste the supplies.” Jennifer pursed her lips, but said nothing. “Might want to move your chair though.” Jennifer looked down before scurrying out of the way as a stream of urine was cascading towards her shoes. Matilda grinned as she made eye contact with Mrs. Rodgers, who was giving her instructions with her hands from underneath her own chair.

“So did you find anything at the store?” Mrs. Rodgers asked.

“Yes, I found some diapers made for night time along with some extra padding to go into it. Sorry it took so long, I had to go to several stores.” Miss Honey frowned as she looked down before picking up her chair and moving forward again away from the still oncoming stream. Matilda and Mrs. Rodgers grinned at each other.

“I hope it wasn’t too expensive for you. Let me know if you need me to pitch in for anything.”

“No! Carol, you've done so much for us already! I’m just trying not to ruin all your furniture. I mean, we can always just go back home so you don’t have to deal with any of this.”

“No,” Miss Rodgers said with a frown. “I don’t think that would be wise; it’s too soon.” Jennifer bit her lip in embarrassment and averted her eyes before her frown increased. She picked up her chair once again and walked it to the dry side of the patio. “Just give it a few more days; at least until we know something’s seriously not wrong with her. It’s a lot for you to take on by yourself.”

“I don’t know how I could ever thank you for helping us through this.”

“You can thank me by not looking down.” Mrs. Rodgers said with a chuckle. Miss Honey’s eyes fell and she let out a startled yelp.

“It’s chasing me!” Matilda and Mrs. Rodgers let out howls of laughter. Miss Honey looked between the two of them confused before the pieces of the puzzle clicked. “Matilda!” Jennifer said, jumping to her feet. She pointed to the pattern of wet cement and how one particular stream zigzagged and seemingly changed direction. Even Whodini seemingly let out a hoot of laughter.

“Huh, they really didn’t level this patio very well.” Carol said between chuckles. Matilda was smiling from ear to ear, before letting out a yawn. The pain medicine had completely taken hold and now she felt exhausted.

“I thought you were on my side.” Jennifer said with a shake of her head. “C’mon, let’s get you ready for bed.” She bent down and picked Matilda up, but as soon as she did, Carol burst into another fit of laughter. “What?”

“The chair was a little dirtier than I thought, she’s got dirt stripes all up and down her backside.” Miss Honey sighed.

“Into the bath with you.”

After a quick bath, Matilda was carried to the back bedroom and laid out on more disposable pads. She scowled when the new diaper was taped up.

“I can’t even come close to closing my legs.” she mumbled through the haze of sleep.

“Maybe these will help you feel dryer longer.” Jennifer said, before lying on the bed herself. “Come here.” She pulled Matilda into her arms and let her rest her head on her chest.

“I’m sorry for what I said to you this morning.” Matilda said, closing her eyes and melting into Jenny’s touch. “You’re a good mom. The best.” she said before sleep overcame her.

“I love you.” Jenny whispered as she rubbed Matilda’s back. “Even when you act possessed.”

Chapter Text

Matilda could feel the wave of anger emanating from Miss Honey’s core as her flats stomped and pounded up the walkway behind her. With the palm of her hand pressed to Matilda’s back, her adoptive mother forced her feet forward. Matilda felt like she was being led to the gallows.

“Get inside.” Jennifer barked. Matilda watched as Jennifer tried and failed to get her house keys in the lock as the keyring shook and jangled in the trembling woman's hand. “Take off your shoes, go to your room and just, just stay there. ” Matilda kicked her shoes off with a little more force than was necessary. This was so unfair! “You better knock that attitude off, young lady!”

“Or what? You’ll make me stand in the corner?” Matilda growled between clenched teeth. She watched as Jennifer's face began to flush.

Matilda felt a small wave of satisfaction deep inside her. For reasons she couldn’t comprehend, she wanted to get under the woman’s skin. She knew in the back of her mind she loved Jenny more than she had ever thought she could love a fellow human being, but these last few weeks everything about the woman was irritating! The way she sing song called her name in the mornings! The way she always made her stay in her sights when they left the house! And wouldn’t let her use the stove without her permission and supervision!

Matilda had been cooking for herself long before Miss Honey had come into her life!

It was just pancakes, Matilda thought bitterly. She could have at least said thanks.

“You know what? I have had it with your behavior lately! I don’t know what’s gotten into you! First the daycare window, and now t- this?” Miss Honey said followed by a choked back sob.

“You’re overreacting.” Matilda said with an eye roll.

“OVERREACTING? Matilda, do you have any idea how scared I was!? When I went to pick you up, they told me they couldn’t find you! I called the police, Matilda! I was certain you had gotten snatched!”

“I was just messing around, like they told you.” Matilda grumbled. “Didn’t want to stop, you know, playing.” she said quietly with a touch of sarcasm. In the blink of an eye, she found her cheeks pinched together between Jennifer's hand and her face pulled forward. Jennifer leaned down and forced her to meet her eyes.

“I called the police because I was certain that if my highly intelligent and mature daughter didn’t come out after hearing her name frantically called for over ten minutes by seven different adults, it must mean she’s either dead or not in the building! I thought I knew you better than to think you, of all people, would sit there not ten feet away underneath a table cloth, and let me believe the worst! That you’d rather sit there in the cold and listen to me cry, than to come out and let me know you were at least safe! That you-that you’d rather pee yourself than make the worst day of my life stop!”
“Worst day of your life?” Matilda said incredulously! “This was far from the worst day of your life! Worst day of your month maybe! I said I was sorry! It wasn’t like that.”

…..

“Then tell me what it was like?” The woman who sat cross legged on the carpet across from Matilda asked. “Look, i’m just throwing this out there, and see, maybe if it fits with all those feelings and emotions you say you can’t explain. If it doesn’t fit, that’s totally okay.”

Matilda sat in front of the therapist and stared down at the circle of marbles. She clearly wasn’t interested in their game or she would have noticed something was amiss everytime Matilda took a turn. Her marble would hurdle forward, mysteriously turn directions, and knock out several marbles one at a time in ways that clearly disregarded the laws of motion despite barely being tapped.
She had been amused by a new game she made. It gave her such a rush. To see what she could get away with right in front of people. Could she make an object float in the air right outside their peripheral? If they saw it, how would they react? Would they assume it’s a trick of the light, or would they believe what they were seeing? Questions like this poured into her mind, and she needed to know.

Mrs. Reinfield was apparently a trick of the light kind of person.

“Matilda, were you maybe a bit upset over what you’ve come to call the, ‘wardens rules’ at home and maybe, the reason you hid was because you felt just a little bit justified making her worry. Do you think maybe you hid because you wanted to punish her a little?” Mrs. Reinfield asked with her fingers indicating a minuscule amount.

Matilda brustled.

“No,” she said a little too quickly. She lost concentration and fired. With a tiny tap of her thumb she had sent the marble shooting out and smashing every other marble in its path leaving behind a trail of glass.

Matilda slowly raised her head with a blank expression. How long could Mrs. Reinfield lie to herself?

“Matilda, let's put away the marbles; I know what you’re doing, and yes, I've noticed what you can do and we can address that later if you wish, but right now-”

“I’m surprised she told you.” Matilda stared at her for a moment. “I’m surprised you believed her.”

Mrs. Reinfield let out a nervous chuckle and mumbled something that sounded like, “I may owe her an apology and new diagnosis.’But Miss Honey everyone thinks their child is exponentially smart and special’” she said in a mockery of her own voice.

Matilda made the marbles rise and twirl as Mrs. Reinfield stared in amazement before snapping back.

“Put the marbles down and let's talk about last night.”

“Aren't you going to just accuse me of looking for attention again?” Matilda mumbled. She let the marbles drop before manually scooping them back into the bag.

“I wasn’t accusing you of anything, last time. I’m not here to point fingers and assign blame.” I’m here to help investigate what may have happened and hopefully help open a line of communication between you and your mom. You’ve brought up concerns of trust, and she wishes you would open up to her more.”

“It didn’t happen like they said.” Matilda blurted out. “I wasn’t hiding from them.”

“If you weren't hiding, then what were you doing?”

“I was sleeping.” Matilda said with a sniffle. “At first.”

“But you must have woken up when everyone started yelling your name?” Mrs. Reinfield asked.

“Yeah.” Matilda said, barely over a whisper. “I thought I was in trouble.” She hung her head.

“Matilda, was there a particular reason you were sleeping underneath a table cloth? You could have laid down inside if you were feeling that tired, somewhere where’d they have known where you were?” Matilda shook her head.

“I can’t just sleep out in the open. They'll pour water down my pants again.” Matilda grumbled. “He got me put on the bed wetter list so now every time I even look sleepy they make me wear those stupid padded training underwear. He tried to pull me back into a plastic chair full of water so it looked like I had an accident during the day, but one of the helpers saw him do it.”

“Who is doing this to you? Is one of the boys picking on you?”

“ It’s an old classmate from Miss Honey’s class. We sort of unintentionally swapped shoes for an afternoon kick ball game and he’s had it out for me ever since.”

“Had it out for you how?”

“This one time Lavender,another one of my old classmates, yelled during class I was wearing a diaper, so now he goes out of his way to knock over my cup of water into my lap,” Matilda finished with a huff.

“Is it at all possible he bumped into you accidentally?”

“No! He’s been harassing me all week!”

“All week? So this hasn’t been happening for, say, a few months?”

“No,” Matilda said with a scrunched up face. “He used to be nice, until a few weeks ago. Now he goes out of his way to torment me. He just wants to look cool in front of Greggory, one of the guys from the highschool.”

“You know you can tell me the truth here. You’ll never be in trouble for telling me the truth.”

Matilda scowled and looked away.

“Do you think, maybe, you had an accident that day and were just trying to assign blame because you were embarrassed? Because from what your mom has told me, Nigel, the boy you’ve been saying is picking on you, wasn’t there the day you claimed he knocked over your cup.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Matilda said flatly, trying to avert her gaze and stare at anything besides the woman with the long curly red hair.

“Alright, then let's talk about you smearing poop on the walls.”

“ I did NOT smear poop on the walls!” Matilda snapped. “They made it sound like I took my own poop and smeared it around inside the building! Someone didn’t pick up after their dog, and I stepped in it! There weren't any sticks outside or grass to rub it off. I took my shoe off and scraped it clean using the bottom corner of the brick building.”

Matilda conveniently left out the part where she had stepped in it on purpose in order to track it inside for the janitor to clean in order to cover the smell of her own accident.

“Your mother’s concerned about this apparent shift in behavior. She said it was very unlike you to act out in such extreme ways. You’re not in trouble, Matilda, but we need to get to the bottom of this.”

Matilda said nothing.

“Did something happen at this day care that upset you?”

“It’s an afterschool club, not a daycare.” Matilda said icily. “I hate it there. It’s just a bunch of snobby rich kids, like Nigel.”

“Why though? Jennifer said you were so excited about it and said you had a blast the first couple of days, so she went ahead and prepaid for the rest of the summer.”

“I changed my mind.”

Mrs. Reinfield let out a small sigh.

“Alright, Matilda, that’s it for today, I’ll see you here next week at the same time.” Matilda got to her feet and headed for the door. “Would you mind if I spoke to your mom for a few more minutes before you leave? I still need to apologize.” The woman winked, but Matilda left with the same blank expression she had worn coming in.

“Please tell me you have some idea about what’s going on?” Jennifer asked after lightly sitting on the couch and resting her face in her hands.

“I have some theories.”

“Tell me!” Jennifer urged.

“I think a good first place to start would be with you.”

“With me?” Jennifer said, raising her head in alarm.

“Yes, I think a good first step will be to manage your expectations.”

“But-”

“Yes, I can see where you’ve been coming from. Yes, she’s intelligent, yes, she’s mature…for her age. She isn’t an adult. Her brain isn’t even close to being fully developed. She doesn’t yet have the ability to think logically in the face of extreme emotions. Let me ask you something, Jennifer. You’ve told me she likes to ‘punish’ people, who in her opinion, have wronged her. Did you really think she was missing? ”

“YES!” Jennifer nearly shouted.

“Or were you hurt that she felt you needed to be punished?”

Jennifer opened her mouth before closing it again. Had she known she was under the table the whole time? No, it was the furthest thing from her mind.

“Did something else happen yesterday? Before she went missing? Did you get in a fight at all?”

“N-no, it wasn’t a fight, but she did throw quite the tantrum yesterday morning. I told her to eat some cereal for breakfast since I was too tired to cook and wanted to sleep in some more. She knows she isn’t supposed to use the kitchen appliances, I’ve told her so many times it’s too dangerous, she’s only six, but she went behind my back and made pancakes. I found her eating them at the table when I came down.”

“And how did you react?”

“Well, I told her I wasn’t happy about her breaking the rules.”

“And how did she react?”

“She threw a plate of them across the kitchen. Her behavior has been so out of control. She’s deliberately breaking all the house rules, picking fights with people, back talking. It’s just so not like her.”

”From what you’ve told me about her past, this behavior isn’t surprising.”

“But she wasn’t like this before!”

“The thing you have to understand about a young child coming from a neglectful home, is just because you remove them from the situation, it doesn’t mean everything’s going to be fine. Neglected children are some of the hardest to raise. From the time they are born, until around age five, a babies brain is developing and learning from social cues. From what you both have told me, Matilda never bonded with her biological parents. She never learned how to rely on other people for the things she needed. Now that she’s in a safe environment, her brain may not be capable of turning that programming off. It’s fully wired and ingrained in her that if she needs something, she has to do it herself.
I’ve seen several cases of attachment disorder; it doesn’t matter if they are regularly fed three full meals a day, it’s still common to see things like food hoarding and binge eating. Their brains are telling them that if they don’t eat or hide away food, they may never eat again, and this can be a lifelong challenge.”

“But why now? If that were the case, then wouldn’t I have noticed this sort of behavior before?”

“There’s been a lot of large changes that would set most children back. You’ve recently moved into your aunt's house.”

“My fathers house.” Jennifer corrected. “I’m almost done purging the house of her.” She was one week, and a fresh coat of paint away from it being like she was never there at all. If only she could wash away the memories like she had washed the cigar smoke off the walls. “It was supposed to be a colossal improvement to our living situation but…” It felt more like all it had done was drive a knife in between their relationship.

“She’s talked about you not allowing her to see her friends.” Jennifer gritted her teeth.

“She can see her friends! I’ve offered to take her to Lavender, I've offered to have Lavender over, or anyone else, except…” The therapist raised an eyebrow. “It was for her own good. It’s like everytime those two get together, Matilda gets hurt in some way. Everytime I’d go to pick her up, i’d have to take her to the hospital.”

“Then what if you supervised them?”

“I’d just feel better if Matilda spent more time with kids her own age. The friend she wants to see is twice her age and size. Isn’t that kind of weird? An eleven year old wanting to hang out with a six year old?”

“So your concern is more about what this other girl gets out of their friendship?”

“Well, yes and no. I mean, she’s not the greatest influence. She has a reputation for causing trouble at school. I don’t need Matilda picking up those habits. She’s enough of a handful as is. The two of them together could tear down the school.”

“Did Matilda’s behavior begin to change before or after you separated them?”

“Before. I think.” Jennifer said. She tried to remember. There was a day in particular that stuck out to her. “It was the very beginning of summer. We were shopping, Matilda was riding in the cart and she, well, she soiled herself.” Jennifer said with a frown.

“Was she sick?”

“No, that’s what was so bizarre. I mean, she’s had issues in the past of wetting, but that was because of a physical issue.”

“It’s not unheard of, she’s only six. She could have just put it off too long.”

“No, it wasn’t like that.” Jennifer explained. Her eyebrows creased in concentration. “I’ve seen her wet her pants before. There’s tears, apologies, and she panics like I’m going to punish her over it. She makes a much bigger deal out of it than I do. It would be different if she just waited too long out of laziness, but it’s never been the case. Like when she first started living with me, it was difficult for her to tell me when she needed something, like if we were out and about. So for her to have a much worse accident and not react at all. The whole situation was very strange.”

“So she was uncomfortable coming to you with her needs? Has this improved?”

“Yes, and I’ve learned to read her cue’s, like when something is bothering her or she’s not telling me something.” Miss Honey twisted her hands together. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, a good place to start might be to unenroll her from the daycare.”

“I’ve tried, but they won’t give me my money back and they want to charge extra to pull her out. She can’t seem to give me a straight answer as to why she doesn’t like it. Everything she tells me turns out to be a lie. I don’t know if she really doesn’t like it or is saying it to frustrate me.”

“I do think there is something deeper going on. It may not be as Matilda describes, but it’s something. Between the personality changes, the tantrums, soiling herself, there’s something going on. She could just not be able to articulate it, or maybe she's scared or embarrassed to tell you, but the idea that she's doing it on purpose to anger you is unlikely.”

“Well, i’m not sure whether to be relieved or worried.”

“I know you’re not thrilled by the idea, but what if you invited her friend over to your house instead of Matilda going over there. She might be more willing to open up to her friend about what’s going on.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Chapter Text

Mrs. Reinfield sat at her kitchen table deep in thought, hand absentmindedly poking at her nearly untouched dinner. Normally she could separate herself from her patients and leave her work at the office, but tonight her mind was plagued by one of her clients in particular. A young girl and her adoptive mother. She had been seeing them for nearly two months now, but she was no closer to understanding the workings of the young child's mind than she had been on the day they first met.

On the one hand, her short temper and emotional immaturity were on par with a typical child her age, despite what her mother perceived as irregular behavior. Children her age talked back and had meltdowns when they were stressed or didn’t get their way, but on the other hand, every once in a while, she got a quick glimpse of what the mother had been referring to as her “previous self” and it often left her speechless for a moment. Her insight of the world was uncanny. And when the girl looked at you, she didn’t merely look at-but into you.

Then of course, there was the obvious.

A six year old with the power to move objects with her mind. A power so strong, if the mother was to be believed and Mrs. Reinfield was discovering very quickly she could, she had the ability to shake the foundation of a building when upset. It was no wonder why the mother was so desperate to get the bottom of this.

“Is everything okay, Helen?” her husband asked.

“Yes, sorry, a lot on my mind.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Helen smiled. Her husband, Eric, was a bank manager. Child psychology was clearly not his forte, but she decided to humor him anyway. Maybe she was looking at this wrong.

“I’ve got an unusual client.”

“Unusual how?”

“It’s difficult to explain. It’s a very young girl, and yet, she isn’t.”

“Umm, I’m going to need a bit more to go on than that.”

“Let’s say, hypothetically, she could do something extraordinary, like move things with her mind.”

“Okay, obviously not a real client. Are you thinking of writing again? Is this the main character?”

“Yes,” Helen said. She had written several young adult novels over the years, but it had been quite a while since she had picked up a pen. “But I’m having trouble with the characters' motivations. The little girl is very smart, like genius level IQ, but lately, she has been doing some very dumb things, like telling obvious lies and levitating objects in front of strangers when she knows she needs to keep it a secret. Why would she do that?”

“For attention?” Eric said with a shrug.

“It was my original thought too, but the more I ta- the more I flesh out the character, the more I’m discovering she isn’t the attention seeking type.” If she was looking for attention, why did she shut down the moment she got what she wanted? Most little girls loved talking about themselves, but not this one. Sure, she’d talk about her favorite authors, foods, things that happened during the day, but the moment Helen tried to dig past the surface, she’d freeze. “I think there’s some other reason.”

“Have you given her a back story yet? Maybe if you focus on her past the present will make more sense.” Helen froze, spoonful of food halfway to her mouth.

“Her biological family neglected her so her primary school teacher adopted her.”

“You YA authors sure love your tragic backstories. Why can’t you give kids happy childhoods? People can still be messed up without villain backstories.”

“If you think that’s bad, you should hear the teachers.” Helen stopped. She had been assuming something horrible had been going on at the daycare. She had a thought, but it was difficult to imagine a young child feeling these things. With Matilda though, it was very hard to picture what must be going through her head. Helen couldn’t make assumptions based on her age. “What if she thought the problem was too minor and was just too ashamed to admit that that was what was bothering her? Or she just didn’t recognize it?”

Eric shrugged. “It’s your character.”

………………………

Jennifer let her head fall into her hands. She had been in the middle of preparing the order sheet for the new schools text books when the phone rang. It was the daycare wanting her to collect Matilda. She had been caught defacing the property…again.

“What is going on?” Jennifer groaned.

Her heart dropped when she walked into the lobby. There was Matilda, covered head to toe in paint and doing everything she could to avoid meeting her eyes.

“What happened?” Jennifer asked. She was afraid to find out. An angry looking woman led her into a back room. Jennifer’s stomach clenched. “Why?” Was all she could manage to get out.
…………………….

“Matilda, please put the marbles away. We aren’t playing games today.” Mrs. Reinfield said. “Sit on the couch. It’s time we talked.”

Matilda remained silent, but sat on the couch.

“Why did you smear paint on the walls? And don’t try to say it wasn’t you; you’re smarter than that. You were covered head to toe in it.”

Matilda shrugged.

“No more shrugging. I need you to answer me.” They both sat in silence. “It’s not fair for the person who has to clean up.” There, Helen thought, in her eyes, there was a sudden flash of anger. “The janitor didn’t deserve it.”

“He’s off on Tuesdays.” Matilda said before she could stop herself. Helen raised an eyebrow, but Matilda volunteered no more. Curious, she flipped open Maitlda’s chart. “So you’re saying you wouldn’t have done it if he was there?” No answer. Helen eyed Matilda’s rap sheet. Smeared fecal matter on walls. July 12. Destroyed art supplies. July 17. Broke window on the 24th. Finger painted the classroom on the 31st. They were all on Tuesdays. Interesting.

“Matilda, who’s in charge of cleaning up on Teusdays?” Silence. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll just have your mom find out.”

“Some guy.” Matilda mumbled. Helen eyed her. Her body had gone rigid, and her fists were clenched at her sides.

“And does this guy have a name?” Matilda mumbled something. “What was that?”

“I don’t know.” she mumbled back.

“I think you do.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“I think it does. I think it matters quite a lot.” More Silence. “Matilda, did you plan to do these things ahead of time so this person would have to clean it up?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Yes, Matilda, we need to talk about it. Is this the person that’s been bullying you?”

“No.” Matilda said, “He has nothing to do with anything.” But the tears told Helen a different story.

………

“I never noticed.” Jennifer said in shock. She started doing the math in her head. “It is all on Teusdays.”

“I think it has something to do with someone who works there.”

“Do you think they were hurting her?” Jennifer said, sounding worried. “Cause I’ll give them a piece of my mind, child or not.”

“I don’t know the story, she refuses to tell me. Maybe her friends know.”
……….

“Did she know anything?” Carol asked.

“Not a thing.” Jennifer let out a frustrated sigh. “It was too much to put my hopes in a six year old. Lavender said she didn’t even notice Matilda had been acting differently, but it turns out they aren't playing much together anyway. ”

“Maybe someone a little older and more observant could help.” Carol suggested.

“No.”

“If someone’s giving her problems, she’d scare the shit out of anyone.”

“No.” Jennifer said again. She crumbled up their empty fast food wrappers. She sat silently for a moment and stared off into the distance at the play structure she had sent Matilda off into so she and Carol could talk.

“What about the daycare? Did you find out who works there on Tuesdays?”

“They gave me a complete run around when I tried to ask.”

“They probably thought you were accusing them of something.”

“Yeah probably.” Jennifer said with a sigh. “She’s so angry all the time. The psychologist wants to send her to a psychiatrist to be put on mood stabilizers and I don’t think I’m comfortable with that. She’s only six.”

“Is there a reason you can’t pull her out? If you think the daycare’s the problem…” Jennifer leaned over and whispered a figure into her ear. “Jen! You could have bought her a fricken pony for that!”

“Yeah well, I’m starting to wish I HAD bought her a pony instead.”

“You spent that much to keep her away from Hortensia?”

“It’s not only about Hortensia. I didn’t want her to be cooped up all summer while I worked at the school, and one of her school friends was going there. She really liked it at first, then it was like overnight she refused to get in the car. We had been arguing more, so I thought she was just trying to get under my skin.”

“Well, maybe if she keeps this up, they’ll give you your money back just to get rid of her.” Carol said half jokingly.”

“I was starting to think she was misbehaving to get herself kicked out, but now that the psychologist discovered she seems to be causing trouble on a specific day of the week, I just don’t know. I’ve tried asking her if there’s someone there she doesn’t like, but everytime I bring it up, she just walls herself off. I’m not sure which is more worrisome, her losing her temper or knowing her actions are calculated.”

“Well, looks like this is where I come in.” Carol said with a mischievous smile. Jennifer knitted her eyebrows in confusion. “Someone needs to go see what’s going on down there and I have too much free time on my hands during the summer.”

“No, Carol, I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’ve already done so much for us.”

“You need a spy. It’s me or Hortensia. Personally, I think she’d open up more to Hortensia, but-”

…

“She really doesn’t like that girl.” Carol said under her breath on Tuesday morning as she stood under the awning of Clear View Academics Center. It was a large three story brick building directly in the heart of the wealthier end of town that lacked the prison esque feel of Crunchem Hall. She had gotten a quick tour the other day when she had offered to volunteer a few days of the week, all it had taken was a little white lie. They were weary of letting in strangers, until she had said she was Matilda’s grandmother here to help keep her in line. They seemed quite fond of her after that.

It hadn’t taken Carol long at all to see why Jennifer had shelled out the money for this place. Compared to Crunchem Hall, it was a kids paradise. There was a computer lab, a library, hell it even had a makeshift movie theater. Now why on earth did Matilda hate it so much? She was more curious than ever now.
“Mrs. Rodgers! Good morning! We can’t tell you how happy we are to have you join our family!” A middle aged man said, offering his hand. He wore glasses and a green polo shirt tucked into Khaki pants. Carol shook his offered hand, inwardly flinching at the logo on his shirt, belt buckle and glasses. His outfit must have cost him her whole months salary. And it wasn’t just him, the entire office staff seemed to be dressed in similar designer clothes. By the time she was introduced to the third and final staff member of the office, she felt wildly underdressed. The only other person who did not appear to have stepped out of a Prada and Versace Summer line up was a pudgy looking teenage boy in a t- shirt and denim shorts making copies in the corner.

Carol’s smile faltered for a moment. The stack of paper next to him looked to be over a foot high. She hoped they wouldn’t be putting her to work in the office. It was Matilda and the other children she wanted to observe.

“Go bring pallet of water from the storage and stock the fridge in the break room. It’s going to be another scorcher.” A woman said without looking up. Carol was unsure who she was speaking to, but the boy grunted, and quickly left, seemingly happy to get away from the mundane task he had been previously given. “And don’t take an hour this time! I better see you back at that copier in fifteen minutes!” Carol caught a glimpse of him rolling his eyes before disappearing around the corner.

Carol breathed a sigh of relief when she was led into one of the other rooms with children. The adults present seemed to be much more reasonably dressed than the eye candy out front. She glanced over the many little heads and spotted Matilda tucked away in a corner by herself. Carol frowned. She would have expected her to have her head in a book, but she just sat there, scanning the room from side to side. Their eyes met, and a bit of life shone in them. She stood and hurried towards them.

“Are you here to pick me up, Mrs. Rodgers?” Matilda asked hopefully.

“No silly, you just got here.” Carol said, before leaning down. “And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Grandma.”

“Grandma?” Matilda asked puzzled. Carol winked conspiratorially before giving her a hug.

“I may have fudged a detail or two so I could come work here for the day.” Carol whispered.

“Why would you want to work here?” Matilda asked, face wrinkled in disgust.

“Two words, kid. Air Conditioning.”

It hadn’t taken long for Carol to notice one of Matilda’s complaints to ring incredibly true. The place was full of snobs. These kids, and even adults, seemed to come from completely different worlds.

“I went to Milan with my parents.” A girl no older than eight said after Carol had asked how she was enjoying summer break.

“Oh how neat, I love that movie.” Carol said. The girl frowned in confusion.

“Milan, not Mulan, you know, Italy.” She said, as if Carol was somehow mentally slow. “I wanted to go to Rome though. My parents said maybe for my birthday. They did get me this though while we were there.” She showed Carol a gold colored heart shaped locket hanging around her neck.”

“Wow, that’s very beautiful, wait, is this real gold?”

“Yes,” The girl said, drawing out every letter, as if to say, “What else would it be?”

“Are you sure you want to wear that here? What if it gets lost?” The girl shrugged and walked away, leaving Carol feeling dumbfounded. She tried to make eye contact with Matilda as a way of asking, “Is this place for real?” but Matilda wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes were trained on the door.

“Hey,” Carol said, coming to stand next to the only familiar face. Matilda seemed to nearly jump out of her skin. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you waiting for someone? You keep looking at the door.”

“No.” Matilda said.

“Honey, are you okay? You look exhausted. You’ve got dark circles under your eyes. Are you sleeping okay?” Matilda merely shrugged. “Do you want to lay down?”

“No!” she said more forcefully than Carol had ever heard her speak. “I’m fine.” she quietly added.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without your nose in a book. Have you seen the library in this place?”

“Yeah, it’s big.” Matilda said half-heartedly.

“So…” Carol said. “I thought you’d be all over that.”

“I don’t feel like reading.”

“Don’t feel like reading?!” Carol said in exaggerated shock. She placed a hand over her heart. “Who are you and what have you done with Matilda?”

Around noon Mrs. Rodgers led the room out to the playground and baseball field. Her jaw nearly dropped. It was massive! It put Crunchem Hall's sad, little metal contraption the kids called a jungle gym to shame. There were swings, slides, bikes, tricycles, scooters, a tennis court, a baseball field, and even a swimming pool that offered swimming lessons Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. But then she noticed something that made her do a double take. Along the baseball field's metal fence were the banners of sponsors, various fast food establishments and local businesses, but the largest and gaudiest of them all read Wormwood Motors. Carol frowned. It looked much newer than all the other sun bleached signs, but it was covered in holes and dirt . She wondered who could have possibly been responsible. She had to hide the smirk on her face.

Curious, she approached one of the other female workers who was helping a boy across the monkey bars.

“Just out of curiosity, what does Wormwood Motors have to do with this place? Is it really a sponsor? I’ve heard some rumors he’s not the most reputable business owner in town.”

“Oh, him.” The woman rolled her eyes before leaning in conspiratorially. “You want the dirt?”

“Yes please.” Carol said with a grin.

“He didn’t have a choice. His son and his friends were caught breaking in and trying to steal the computers. He made a huge donation to keep them from pressing charges.”

“Oohhh.” Carol said.

“Yeah, and they’re making him work here during the summer to pay restitution.”

“Wait, he’s here?” Carol said with a frown.

“Yeah, ”

“And they wouldn’t happen to make him clean the buildings on Teusdays when the janitor is gone, would they?” Carol made eye contact with a little face sticking out from one of the towers. “Come down, Matilda.” The face disappeared. “Don’t make me come up there.” Carol waited a moment before sighing. “Alright, I’m coming up.” She groaned and forced herself up the rings, before hoisting herself up onto the platform. “I’m too old for this.” She muttered before finally getting her bearings. “You kids make that look so easy.” She huffed. She approached the figure who sat huddled in the corner with her head buried in her knees.

“So,” Carol said as she slowly lowered herself down beside the girl. “Your brothers here.” She waited patiently for a response, but none came. “Is that what this is all about?”

“Leave me alone.”
“If he’s bullying you, I don’t care if he’s a kid; I'll beat his ass.” Carol frowned as the figure began to silently sob, her body rising and falling with shaky breaths. “Hey, what is it? You can tell me.”

“I-I-I-c-cant!”

“Yeah you can, I’m your grandma, remember. Grandma’s don’t judge.” Carol said, but Matilda shook her head.

“Has he done anything to you?” Shake. “Did he say something to you that upset you?” Shake. “Is it-”

“I-I d-don’t know!” Matilda cried. “Leave me alone!”

“Do you want to be here?”

“N-no!”

“Okay, then let's go home.” Matilda slowly lifted her head.

“R-really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Jenny says I can’t because they’ll charge her more.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I think I know a way around it.”

….

“I got here as quickly as I could! What happened?” Jennifer demanded, nearly barreling over Carol to get inside.

“Shh, she’s sleeping.” She gestured to the lump on the couch.

“Why are you here? I thought you were going to volunteer at the daycare.”

“All it took was asking the right person. I think I figured out what’s wrong, at least partially. It’s her brother.”

“What?” Jennifer asked. “Her brother? She’s barely even mentioned him before.”

“They have him working at the daycare. All the stuff she’s broken on Tuesdays. He’s the one who has to clean it up.”

“So this was all just to get at him?” Jennifer said.

“It’s more complicated than that, I think. We had a good talk after we got back. She says she doesn’t understand why she’s been acting out and so gung ho to go after him, and I’m no therapist, but it sounds like she was trying to get him to just acknowledge her. The staff said he had told them he was an only child, and maybe Matilda overheard it. She also told me about seeing Zinnia in the grocery store right before school let out for the summer.”

“What?” Jennifer said in shock. She racked her brain trying to remember ever having seen her, but there was nothing. She had a sinking suspicion she knew what day it was though. “I wonder if that’s the time when she, well-” Carol nodded.

“They made eye contact for a split second, and Zinnia walked away like nothing happened. Matilda was in shock. Come to the table, I want to show you something you left here.” They walked into the kitchen where Carol handed her a printed piece of paper from her time at the hospital.

“This is from…” Jennifer said in confusion.

“Look at one and two. Doesn’t that sound just like her?”

“Denial and anger.” Jennifer read aloud from the chart. “But they're only across town; they're not dead.”

“Maybe to her, they could be.”

Jennifer put her head in her hands, before swiping at her face and reciting a C.S. Lewis quote she had learned at the hospital. “I sat with my anger long enough until she told me her real name was grief.”

Chapter Text

“Is this statement true or false? Seeing members of my biological family upset me.”

Matilda sat motionless on the couch next to Miss Honey trying to avoid everyone's expectant gaze.

“It’s okay, sweetie, just answer the best you can.” Miss Honey whispered. Matilda shrugged.

“Try and use your words.” Mrs. Reynolds said. “True or false.”

“I don’t know.” Matilda mumbled. This was awkward and uncomfortable. She didn’t want to talk about it.

Helen tried again. “Seeing my brother made me feel angry.” Silence. “Seeing my brother and him not acknowledging me made me feel angry.” Silence. “Seeing my broth-”

“I want to go home.” Matilda said. She could feel Jennifer stiffen beside her.

“Matilda,” Jennifer said softly, “We need to talk about this.”

“I don’t want to.” Matilda complained.

“Is it because it hurts to talk about it?” Helen asked.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Matilda mumbled.

“Why do you think that?” Helen asked.

“He never did anything.” Matilda nearly whispered. “Any of them.”

“Anyone from the daycare or anyone from your family?”

Silence.

“Matilda, we just want to help you,” Miss Honey said. “But we can’t if you don’t tell us what’s bothering you. Please. I know something is wrong.” Matilda shut her eyes tight and took a deep breath.

“My family.”

“So your family never did anything to hurt you?” Helen said doubtfully.

“They didn’t hit me, or burn me, or assault me.” Matilda said softly. “Not like…” She gestured a hand to the woman who sat beside her.

“You don’t need to use violence to hurt someone. Sometimes words- or lack of them- can be damaging enough. And Matilda, life isn’t a game of compare and contrast where only the worst victim gets to feel pain. You’re allowed to feel sad, or angry, or hurt. Do you understand?”

“I guess.” She mumbled.

“Imagine there’s a giant ball of yarn or thread inside everyone. As we go through life and experience things, that ball of material is getting bounced and batted around, until eventually it’s going to get so knotted and tangled up no one can tell one end from the other. Sometimes, the knots get so bad we can’t untangle it by ourselves. That’s why I’m here. My only purpose is to help you untangle the threads until it all makes sense again. Those threads are our emotions. Sometimes life gets so bumpy we don’t know where one emotion ends and one begins, so it just sits inside of us and makes us feel sick. Does that sound like it might apply to how you're feeling now? Like there’s a knot inside of you that you can’t even begin to unravel or make sense of?”

“Yeah.” Matilda said, barely above a whisper.

“Everyone has different material inside of them. Some people are born with a tough rope that doesn’t tangle easily. Others are a delicate thread, one wrong move or tug and the whole thing could snap. That’s why it’s important not to compare yourself to others' struggles. We don’t get to choose what material we’re made out of. You also don’t want to let the knots sit, because if they sit too long, it could turn to barbed wire. You’ll just end up hurting yourself and anyone who tries to get close. Does that make sense to you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Good. Now, will you let me take a look at those knots?”

Matilda sucked in a lungful of air before slowly letting it out. “Okay.”

…

“You made a lot of progress today. I’m proud of you, Matilda.” Jennifer said, as she tucked Matilda into bed that night.

“I’d rather play with marbles.” Matilda grunted.

“I know, therapy isn’t very fun.” Jennifer said, sitting on the edge of her bed. “It’s a lot of hard work. I know there’s moments in my life I want to bury and pretend never happened. The last thing I want to do is take a magnifying glass to them, but I’m learning the hard way that bringing it out in the open is the only way we’re going to heal and move past it. It’s like she said today, letting it sit and fester will only cause us to hurt the ones we love.”

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” Matilda asked, without looking up.
“If that’s what you want. I think you’ve more than earned it today.”

Matilda softly giggled as she was lifted into the air and carried to the master bedroom. God Jennifer had missed that sound.

“Can I take you somewhere tomorrow?” Jennifer asked once they were both under the covers. Matilda rolled over and faced her.

“Where?”

“On a hike to the lake. Just the two of us. It might be a little difficult for you, but there’s no rush. We can stop and take as many breaks as you need. I used to go there a lot by myself when things got too overwhelming. I want to share it with you.”

Miss Honey could see the ghost of a smile on Matilda’s face.

“You’re not luring me out there to steal a kidney, are you?”

“A kidney? No no no. Little girls' hearts are much more valuable on the black market.” Jennifer said as she turned off the light. Jennifer laid perfectly still as she felt the covers rustle and move, until a dark shape came to snuggle up against her chest like old times.

“You already have my heart.”

……

She was gasping for breath. Sweat was beading down her face. “I need. A break.” she groaned, before nearly collapsing on a nearby rock.

“Again?” Matilda scoffed. “I thought you said you used to hike this trail before.”

“When I was a teenager.” Jennifer huffed between gasps for air. She glared at her shaky legs as if they had betrayed her before digging out her thermos and sucking from it as if she’d never see water again. “Drink some more too.” Here she had been so worried Matilda couldn’t keep up she hadn’t stopped to consider herself. Her worries had been for nothing, the girl was running circles around her. She could probably make it to the lake and back before Jennifer made it to the halfway point.

“I’m fine.” Matilda grumbled, shifting from foot to foot. “You’ve been forcing water down my throat every five minutes. I feel like I'm being waterboarded.”

“I don’t want you getting sick from heat exhaustion.”

“Can we keep going?” Matilda said impatiently.
“It hasn’t even been thirty seconds. Give me a minute. I’m old.”

“You’re not that old.”

“What’s the rush? We’ve got all day.” Jennifer said, choosing to ignore the “that” in her daughter's statement. She was only twenty-three. Apparently, a very out of shape twenty-three-year-old.

Matilda grumbled something under her breath and fidgeted. Jennifer shook her head. She knew that dance. So that’s why she was so eager to keep moving.

“Matilda, go squat somewhere if you need to go potty.”

“I’m fine.” Jennifer rolled her eyes. Some things never changed.

“If you’re waiting for a bathroom, you’re not going to find one out here.”

“I don’t need to.” Matilda said, looking away.

“Liar liar pants on fire. Well how about we just try? Thirty seconds.” Matilda faced her, a sudden mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Alright, mom.”

Jennifer narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Alight, go on.” She gestured to the edge of the trail. Matilda remained motionless. “What are you waiting for? It’s just us here.”

“You.” Matilda said with a smirk.

“Okay, okay.” Jennifer turned around on her rock, so she was facing the other way. “Go on.”

“Not what I meant.” Jennifer twisted back around to look at her. “You said it, not me. We are going to try.” Matilda said emphasizing the we part. Jennifer opened her mouth to argue. She was now acutely aware of just how wide open this space was. She really had to watch what she said around this kid.

“It’s just an expression.” She tried.

“What’s wrong, mom? It’s just us.” Matilda repeated her words with a smirk. Jennifer ground her teeth.

“You think I won’t call your bluff?”

“Nope.” Matilda said with a giggle. “I am POSITIVE you won’t squat down for thirty seconds with your pants down in the open.”

“W-well, you’re right, because I’m not the one needing to pee.”

“Are you sure about that? You sure have been drinking an awful lot of water. How will you know if you don’t try?”

“Matilda, stop playing around. If you need to pee, then just pee.”

“I can wait.”

“Matilda,” Miss Honey said, getting annoyed.

“I said no!” Matilda nearly yelled. Jennifer stopped and took a deep breath. She didn’t want to fight. This was supposed to be about working past their issues, not driving the knife further. She was obviously still emotionally raw from yesterday. Her mood had shifted fast.

“Okay, Matilda,” Jennifer said, calmer than before. “What do you want to do then?”

“Wait.”

“For how long?”

“Until there’s more cover, I guess.” she mumbled. “I’m wearing my bathing suit under my clothes. ”

“It’s pretty much like this all the way to the lake. ”

“How much further?”

“At this pace. A few hours.” She watched Matilda’s face fall. “You don’t have to strip naked, just move the crotch aside, and if it gets wet, no big deal, we’re going swimming in the lake.”

“Oh, right. Hortensia showed me that once.” Jennifer frowned.

“What were you and Hortensia doing for her to show you that?”

“Oh.” Matilda shifted awkwardly. “I had asked her what she would do if she needed the bathroom in the Chokey. I didn’t understand when she said she just went.”

Jennifer wrinkled her nose. “So that’s why I caught her washing her shoes in the sink at school.” Matilda chuckled lightly. “So was that the problem? Your bathing suit?” Matilda nodded. “It’s okay, we can work around it.” Jennifer inwardly cringed. There she was saying “we” again. “Take off your shoes, socks and shorts.” She said a silent prayer of thanks as the girl started kicking off her shoes, until the first pang from her bladder hit. You’ve got to be kidding me, she thought as the prayer turned to a curse. Here she had thought she had managed to weasel her way out. Sure, she could make it to the lake and go in the water like she usually did, but if Matilda caught her squirming in her emotional state. Her mind flashed back to her father.

“Ugh, the things we do for our children.” he’d say in mock indignation before giving Jennifer a cookie or something.

Jennifer sighed in defeat and kicked off her shoes. Matilda stopped mid sock. “When in Rome.” Matilda snorted.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Please don’t. I’m-” she paused, “different.”

“It's an expression.” Matilda said. “And ooh, hair.” she said sarcastically.

“That’s…that’s not what I’m referring to.” Jennifer said softly. Matilda stiffened. Matilda had seen her naked before, but she had remained tactfully silent when it came to her injuries below the belt line. Thank God she hadn’t adopted Lavender instead.

This was probably the first time she had ever addressed it. With anyone. Ever.

“Does it-” Matilda started to say, but quickly stopped herself. “Nevermind.”

“Here, hand me your shorts, I’ll put them in my backpack.” She was about to pull her own shorts off when Matilda’s panicked voice stopped her.

“Y-you don’t have to. I’m sorry. I-I forgot.” Matilda said looking embarrassed before casting her head down. “I wasn’t thinking.”

Jennifer gave her a sad smile. “It's not something I want you to be thinking about, but don’t worry about it. I really did drink half my thermos already.”

“Oh, uh, okay, I’ll-I’ll just wait over here for you then.” She stood stock still, facing away.

“Hey, relax.” Miss Honey said, putting an arm around her. “We’re just trying, remember? Thirty seconds. Stand more like this or else you’ll just pee on your foot. There, you can hang on to me if you have trouble balancing, the ground’s a bit uneven here. See, easy, just like that.” She said to herself. She lowered herself down and moved her bathing suit aside. If she was going to go through this whole production, she may as well actually get it over with. No point in pretending. She closed her eyes and waited. Just when she thought nothing was going to happen, she could feel things start to slowly work its way out. Out and into her bathing suit.
“No, no, no!” She groaned. Matilda whipped her head around.

“What, what is it?”

“It’s going backwards.” Jennifer groaned, trying to re-adjust herself with her hand. So much for Matilda not seeing, Jennifer was practically holding it open. “Stupid scar tissue.” She could hear Matilda giggling beside her.

“It’s just a bathing suit.”

“Yeah, you're right.” Jennifer said. She let the material fall back into place before squatting back down and finishing through her suit. She should have just done this to start with if she had been so concerned with Matilda seeing. “Go ahead and ask me what you wanted to earlier.”

“D-did she do that to you?” Matilda asked softly.

“Yes.” Miss Honey said after a pause.

“Does it hurt?”

Jennifer racked her brain for a moment struggling to find an appropriate answer before settling with the truth. “It can, under the right conditions. The winter is most difficult. ”

“Why in the winter?” Matilda asked after a long pause as they continued hiking up the trail.

“The cold makes it ache.”

They walked in silence for a long time, before Matilda finally asked. “Why did she do that to you?”

“It’s a complicated answer, and one I don’t think would be appropriate to share with you.”

She had expected Matilda to be angry, but all said was, “okay.” The conversation should have been finished, but Jennifer was surprised by herself when she found herself elaborating a few minutes later.

“I wasn’t much older than you when it started. She taught me things at a very early age. Things I had no business knowing. Things I didn’t ask to know. I know you don’t think it’s a big deal since you already know what these things are and how they work, but I wasn’t like you, Matilda. I didn’t desire to know how everything around me worked.”

“How old were you when she did…that.”

“Sixteen, maybe. By then, certain…expectations had become the norm. It wasn’t this vile thing it used to be, more like an annoying chore. Now as an adult I see that wasn’t the case, just something I told myself. Well, one day she caught me doing these things…alone. I don’t know why she was so surprised or angry, she was the one who taught me. She often became enraged quite easily as you know, so it was her way of making sure I never enjoyed it again.” Matilda walked in silence processing this. “God, Matilda, I’m so sorry, you didn’t need to hear that, I just told you I wasn’t going to tell you and then I-”

Matilda grabbed her hand and lightly squeezed. “Because you needed to tell someone.”

“It makes me no better than her, forcing adult things onto you like that.”

“Don’t say that! I was the one who asked!” Matilda said glaring at her.

“I have a therapist. If I needed to talk to anyone it should have been her.”

“So you only want me to talk to my therapist now and not you?” Matilda said, a tone of defiance in her voice.

“No, Matilda, I want very much for you to talk to me, but there’s things you don’t tell your children and I’m afraid I just crossed a very big line. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” Matilda said with a sigh. “I want to understand you.”

“I’m not a science experiment, dear. You don’t need to analyze me.”

“It’s not like that; It’s because I love you.” Matilda said softly. Miss Honey stopped walking and gave her a sad smile. Their relationship had been so rocky for months, it felt good to hear those words from her. Just…not like this.

“Come here.” Miss Honey knelt down and opened her arms. “I love you more than anything, that’s why I want to protect you from the monsters in this world.” Jennifer hugged her tightly.” I’m afraid you’ve already met monsters of your own though. That’s why I wanted to bring you out here.”

“They weren’t monsters; not like the Trunchbull.” Matilda said. “They didn’t throw acid on me.”

“It doesn’t matter, Matilda. Sometimes the things people don’t say and do can be just as damaging as the things they do. And it wasn’t acid; it was a pot of spaghetti I had boiling on the stove.” Matilda winced. “At least she never touched me after that.”

“Did that hurt?’ Matilda asked softly.

“Getting boiling water poured on me? Umm… yes?” Miss Honey said incredulously.

“No, t-the other thing.” Matilda said.

Miss Honey frowned and stared at her a moment. “I-I don’t think I understand.”

“Well, you said she never touched you again.” Matilda said slowly. “Did it hu-”

“N-No! Of course not! S-she never violated me again!”

“But did it feel like it then?” Miss Honey’s mouth went dry. Bile was rising bit by bit in the back of her throat. “It was the only sign of affection you had from her. Even though you hated it, and it was vile and horrible, and you knew it was never affection at all. It was all you had.” Matilda said with a shrug. “Did it-”

“Ma-Matilda, please just- just stop. No. No! It wasn’t like that at all. I never wanted her.” Jennifer spat out a little more forcefully than necessary. She took a few shaky breaths. Man, it was hot today. She pulled her shirt out from her chest a few times. The hot and humid air was making her shirt stick to her. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. You surprised me. I just- where did you even come up with that idea?” The bile was rising higher.

Matilda looked at the ground guiltily. “Nothing, it’s dumb. It’s not the same thing at all. I know that.”

“What isn’t the same thing?” Jennifer's legs were starting to shake, and there was a sharp prickling behind her eyes. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that she wasn’t going to like what she heard.

“I thought that, in a miniscule way, there were similarities. Like with my brother. All he ever did was torment me. That was almost our entire relationship. Once he even stuck my head in a toilet. I hated him and the rest of my family. My life has always been better with you. It’s as plain as day to me that this is better. But when I saw him and he didn’t come after me to trip me or pull out my chair, in a weird way, it kind of hurt. Obviously, him not coming after me is a great improvement, but it made me so angry for some reason. Like it really hit home for me I meant nothing to them.”

“I’m sorry Matilda, I’m going to-” Jennifer dropped her backpack with a loud crash and sprinted to the edge of the trail to be sick.

“Mom, are you okay?” Matilda called out.

“Yeah, I’m ok.” Jennifer yelled back before wiping her mouth with the back of her arm and sitting in the dirt. “Can you bring me my thermos though. It’s in the backpack.” She cringed a little as she watched Matilda try and pick up the backpack.

“Mom, what the heck?” She unzipped it and pulled out the thermos. “No wonder you made yourself sick! You’ve been carrying rocks with us this whole time? I was starting to think you just liked sitting on every hot boulder we passed.”

“Leave them!” Jennifer called out. “It’s part of why I wanted to bring you here.”

“What? To drown me?” Matilda called back. She handed Miss Honey the water jug, who took a few, slow sips before standing up. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?

“Yeah, we’re almost there. Less than a mile now. See all the weeds coming up? Hey, don't throw the rocks out, we need those.”

“I’m not, I was just going to carry some.”

“Matilda, you can’t lift all those by yourself, put some back.”

“I don’t need to.” Jennifer watched her put some in her own pack, some in her arms, and some hung in the air and followed silently along.

“But how long can you keep that up for?” Miss Honey asked. She picked up her own bag and hefted its weight. It was much lighter now. Matilda shrugged and followed along.

They were both exhausted by the time the large pool of water came into view. They both collapsed in the grass by the water's edge.

“Why? Why did you try to kill us with all those rocks?”

“So we can throw them. But later, let’s go swimming.” The only thing on her mind now was getting her waist into the lake. While Matilda had no problem stopping as needed along the trail, Jennifer's experiment with gravity had left her leery of re-attempting it. Despite rinsing off with the water jug, hiking in a wet bathing suit had been a rather uncomfortable ordeal. She turned to find Matilda squatting in the grass. “You can just pee in the lake, you know.” She saw Matilda scowl and paused on her descent.

“Uhh, no thanks, that’s how you get parasites.”

“Parasites?” She looked to the water, then back to Matilda. “This isn’t Africa, or South America.”

“You can get human urinary myiasis if you urinate in warm water. It’s where larvae travel up and into you and lay eggs.”

Miss Honey scowled. She looked to the water with longing before sighing in defeat and squatting down. Privacy was so close, but so far.

After swimming for a few hours, Miss Honey laid on her side on the grass watching Matilda’s chest rise and fall as she napped in the sunlight. She looked up at the sky. They’d better do what they came here to do before it got too late. She sat up and upended her backpack as rocks and more rocks came tumbling out. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a few markers.

Matilda opened her eyes and slowly sat up. The next thing she knew she was being handed a marker and a pile of rocks. She watched curiously as Miss Honey wrote something on a rock before staring at it silently. Then without warning, she reared back and pitched it forward into the water with all her strength.

“I want you to take a marker and write something on a rock that upset you, but you don’t have to tell me what it is. Then you’re going to channel all that rage you have stored up and channel it into the rock. And when you’re ready to let those feelings go, throw it as far and hard as you can.”

Matilda watched Miss Honey pick up another rock and repeat the process before picking up one of her own. She uncapped the marker and wrote “rules” before glaring at the rock. She imagined the tan stone turning black with her disgust over them before throwing it into the water. She watched as it silently sailed through the air before landing with a satisfying splash. It was cathartic. She picked up another and wrote “bedwetting” before she sent that too into the air. She followed those with, “helpless” “weak” and “loneliness.” With a final splash, the last rock in the pile disappeared. She was exhausted, hungry, sore, and yet, she felt lighter than she had in months.

Miss Honey sat on the bank and retrieved something from her backpack. She stood and handed three of the objects over. “These last ones. I really want you to stop and think, really think before you toss them. It’s okay if you're not ready. We can take them back with us.” Matilda stared at the three rocks. Each one had a picture of one of her family members on it. A hard lump began to form in her throat. Her eyes burned. She sat on the bank and cried for the loss of the family she knew she truly never had.

…

It was late by the time they had gotten home. Both of them were exhausted and ready to drop. Miss Honey frowned in confusion at the note taped to the door.

Call me, it’s urgent. -C & H

“Who's that?” Matilda mumbled, half asleep.

“Whatever it is, it can wait till morning.” Jennifer grabbed the note off the door before fishing out her keys. “Home at last.” She threw her keys onto the kitchen counter before staring at the answering machine in alarm. Seventeen missed calls!? Her stomach dropped. She pressed play. A babbling and near hysteric voice greeted them. There were parts Jennifer wasn’t sure if the voice was laughing or crying. She couldn’t understand a single word being said. She didn’t even know who was calling. She looked to Matilda to see if she had any clue, only to find her white as a ghost. “Who is it? Do you know?”

Matilda, eyebrows knitted in concern, nodded her head. “It’s Hortensia.”

Chapter Text

“We’re going to Carol’s. Sorry, I know you’re probably tired.” Miss Honey said as she hung up the phone.

“What’s going on?” Matilda asked. She was now wide awake thanks to the adrenaline surge.

“She wants me to come over and talk. She refuses to tell me over the phone.”

………..

It was nearly nine at night when they arrived at Carol’s. They found the woman waiting for them on the porch. Jennifer’s stomach did a little summersault. This couldn’t be good.

“Where have you been all day? We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for hours.”

“I’m sorry, we were at the lake. What’s going on?”

“It’s Hortensia’s mom.”

“What? Is Eve okay?”

“She’s been arrested, Jen. It’s been all over the news today.”

“What!?” Jennifer said in shock. “Why?”

“I don’t know officially any more than what’s been released to the public, but the police have been searching Hortensia’s house.”

Jennifer let out a held breath before a sudden thought reignited the panic. “You don’t think it has to do with the girl's possible involvement with my aunts…” she whispered so Matilda wouldn’t hear.

“Jen, they had nothing to do with it. Didn’t you follow up with the coroner?”

“Well, no.” Jennifer admitted. She had basically washed her hands of her aunt almost the moment she died and had spent every free moment trying to rid the house of any sign of her. She had never even bothered to claim her body.

“Her official cause of death was suicide. She intentionally drove off the cliff.”

“How do they know?”

“They just released the 911 call. She phoned it in before she did it.”
Jennifer was surprised Agatha would take her own life, but at the same time she was a bitter and unhappy woman. She was incredibly relieved to hear Matilda and her spiders had nothing to do with it, but in a twisted way, she had grown fond of the idea that Matilda had saved her.

“What does all this have to do with Eve though?”

“Ready for this? Trunchbull mentioned her and her husband by name as the reason. She said they had been blackmailing her for years. ”

“The missing money from the school!” Matilda said.

“Exactly.” Carol said with a nod.

“For what though?” Miss Honey asked.

“Aren't they breaking ground on the new school tomorrow?” Carol asked slowly. “In the field the children were never allowed to play in?”

“Yes,” Jennifer said, confused. “It was dangerous.”

“And don’t you think it’s odd a woman who threw kids into a makeshift iron maiden would care if they got hurt playing in a field?” Jennifer could feel the blood rushing from her face. “Matilda, how about you go inside? I think Hortensia could really use a friend right now.”

Matilda was about to protest, until the last part of the sentence clicked into place. “She’s here?”

“In the spare bedroom, but she might be sleeping. She wasn’t feeling well. If she’s asleep, my medical textbooks are in the bookcase in the master bedroom. Knock yourself out.”

“Ooh.” Matilda said, turning towards the door.

“No gory stuff!” Miss Honey chimed in. The last thing she wanted was Matilda spouting more facts about things like human urinary myiasis.

“If they find remains, Hortensia could lose both her parents. It would mean your aunt was telling the truth.”

“But how would Eve know there were remains there in the first place? Crossing my aunt was a dangerous game and that’s a pretty big risk for a bluff.”

“Because the Trunchbull said she wasn’t the one who did it.”

“And you believe her?”

“No, but I do find it interesting that the person she claims is responsible is the same person blackmailing her. She’s pinning it all on Hortensia’s dad, who might I add, is already in prison for fraud apparently.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.”

“Neither did Hortensia.” Carol said with a sigh. “If all this is actually true, and they do find bodies. And let's just say for the sake of argument, your aunt had nothing to do with it. Could you imagine what that means for her? Billy Reyes, her best friend, was probably killed by her own dad. Call me crazy, but the more I consider it; the more plausible it sounds. Her dad was arrested six years ago, and the last kid to go missing…”

“Was six years ago.” Jennifer said. “Oh my God.” She stood in silence as she processed all this. She felt bad for Hortensia, she really did, but what exactly did this have to do with her? She didn’t care if her aunt had been blackmailed and framed for murder. The only thing she cared about was the paper trail she had to clean up.

“The police are going to call you tomorrow; they’re going to ask you to give a statement about a few things.” Carol was starting to give her a strange look.

“What? What does any of this have to do with me?”

“Jennifer, this is what I needed to talk to you in person about.” The look in her eyes was pity. “Do you remember that morning you were staying here? You told me you remembered something, but you couldn’t remember if it was a memory or a dream? Something about asking for help from a very tall man.”

No.

“I dreamed I wrote a letter.” she said flatly.

“It wasn’t a dream, Jen.” Carol fished something out of her pocket and handed it to her. It was a picture. “Jacob, Hortensia’s dad, is 6’ 7.”

No.

“They found your letter in Eve’s safe.”

I dreamed I asked a giant for help.

“No. She didn’t.”

But he used me for money.

“Jen, that’s what they were using to blackmail your aunt with. I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to be alone when you heard.”

“Please watch Matilda. ” Jennifer whispered. “I need to go for a walk.”

They could have stopped it from happening.

Her hands went to her front.

But they sold me out instead.

“Can I walk with you?” Carol asked. “She won’t even know we're gone.”

She wanted to be alone, but she begrudgingly accepted. They walked down the street in silence for a few minutes.

“I want to apologize for the last time you were over. I’m afraid I tried to pressure you into something you didn’t want to do, and for a good reason. I didn’t know about… and even then, it was never any of my business.”

“Matilda.” Miss Honey grumbled. Guess she couldn’t keep it to herself after all.

“There’s something that’s bothering me, as a medical professional, how were you not removed from the home the moment you showed up at the hospital?”

“Because I was never taken to the hospital.” Jennifer tried to think if she had been, but her memory was a blur. Gaps of time were missing. “I can vaguely recall someone taking care of me. I thought it was my aunt. Out of guilt or panic. I don’t know. I was in and out for a long time. Days I think.”

“Well it would depend on if Matilda was exaggerating about the severity.”

“Probably not.” Jennifer admitted.

“Then it’s not possible your aunt was the one caring for you. You had at least second, probably third degree burns. You would have needed round the clock care, antibiotics, pain killers, surgery. The risk of infection would have been off the charts.”

“I had a high fever,” there was an image of her in her mind in bed with wires, i’vs, her pelvis in bandages.

“Do you know if there’s any sign of repair? Scars from stitches or anything?”

“I don’t know.”
“Can you find out?” Jennifer scowled and shook her head. She wasn’t in the business of touching down there anymore. “Has anyone given you a pelvic exam since this?”

“No.”

“Does anyone in the medical field even know?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Jen!” Carol sighed. They walked around the rest of the block before Carol said. “I know this is going to sound inappropriate, but could I see?”

“What? No! Why would you even ask that?” Jennifer said, feeling horrified. Carol had pushed boundaries before, but this was going way too far!

“Because if there’s evidence of stitches, that’s a serious crime. Pelvic scalding like that is almost a guaranteed sign of child sexual abuse. Medical professionals are mandated reporters. It doesn’t have to be weird.”

“My friend just asked to look up my crotch; It’s passed weird.”

“I’m a trained medical professional.”

“You’re a primary school nurse.”

“I worked in the hospital for twenty years. I have pulled more household objects out of sexual orifices than I care to admit for a Catholic Hospital.”

“Why does it matter if it was Catholic?” Jennifer asked.

“Do you know what it's like to watch a priest come into a man's hospital room and offer to pray with him before his procedure when you know he has a statue of the Holy Mother of Jesus stuck up his rectum?”

Jennifer shuddered.

“What’s Hortensia doing here anyway?”

“She called me from the police station when she couldn't get a hold you.”

Jennifer’s frown deepened. “Why would she try to get in touch with me? To talk to Matilda? Surely, she had other friends parents, or family to come.”

“She’s been specifically asking for you.”
“Why for me? She wasn’t even one of my students. My only interactions with her have been to give her detention and yell at her for picking on the younger students. I’m hardly the person to call in an emergency.”

“I don’t know. You’re the child whisperer; not me. I just remove Jesus candles out of the masses' asses.”

“Oh Jesus.”

“Yeah, I think that’s what they were saying too.”

“CAROL!” Jennifer shuddered again. “You’re such a pervy old lady.” Carol grabbed her heart in mock indignation. “Who let you be around children?”

“I can be professional when I need to be.”

“You just asked to see me naked two minutes ago.”

“You’re not a child.” Jennifer felt her face flush and she stammered.

“Not happening. I don’t care if I was worked on or not.”

“You should.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is. Whatever happened is in the past and I don’t remember. It’s not something I want to drag to the surface.”

“It’s at the surface whether you realize it or not.”

“Just stop!” Miss Honey said forcefully enough to make Carol stop walking. “You and Matilda, please, just stop. I don’t want to talk about it!”

“Okay, Jennifer.” Carol said slowly. “I’m going to go check on the kids. Take all the time you need. I’ll leave the front door unlocked.”

Miss Honey gave a grunt of acknowledgement and kept walking. Eventually she came to a secluded park. Without thinking about what she was doing, she took a seat on an empty swing and gently rocked herself back and forth with the tips of her toes.

The world couldn’t even give her 24 hours before opening the next box of chaos and dumping it over her head. Her mind refused to dive past anything surface level. She could feel the cool air on her skin, the sting of tears in her eyes, how sore she was from hiking. But everything else was locked in a box she had no intention of opening.

Jennifer wasn’t sure how long she had stayed out there. Her backside had long since gone numb from the small swing seat and when she finally stood, walking had become a challenge. She had to fight the urge to curl up in the grass and go to sleep. Her daughter was waiting for her. She’d go back to Carol’s, get Matilda and go home. Hortensia would have to call her actual family in the morning. She could stay with her neighbor with the fat kid until they came to collect her.

When Jennifer reached the front door, she was surprised to find a note. She hadn’t been gone that long, had she?

I’ve put Matilda down for the night. I tried waiting for you, but it’s been a long day. Make yourself at home. I’ve put out bedding on the couch.

Miss Honey frowned as she opened the door. The house was dark except for a coffee table lamp by the couch, which was piled up on one side with blankets and pillows. She had no intention of staying. She’d leave Carol a note as soon as she woke Matilda. She quietly opened the spare bedroom door and peered inside. Maybe she’d catch Matilda up and reading. She stared into the room for a couple of seconds before her eyes adjusted to the dark. The girls were cuddled up together like a pair of sleeping kittens. It was the most Un-Hortensia like thing she had ever seen. She quietly closed the door behind her and made her way to the couch and took a seat. She eyed the clock on the wall and, what!? How was it already midnight!? Had she really been gone for three hours? No wonder everyone was asleep.

Resigned to her fate, she kicked her shoes off and slid them under the coffee table before grabbing a pillow and blanket. She had no change of clothes, or toothbrush. She didn’t even have her medication. Jennifer silently chastised herself. She should have just woken Matilda up and left, but she had neither the heart nor the backbone to separate them. So reluctantly, she laid down and fell into an uneasy sleep filled with the nightmares of her past.

She was in her childhood bedroom lying on her back, naked, legs spread atop of her bed. Carol was there, standing over her, wearing gloves.

“Is the patient ready for her exam?” Anger filled Jennifer. She had told Carol no! She wanted to close her legs, but she couldn’t! Instead of covering herself, she found her hand sliding down to rub small circles. Carol was watching, but Jennifer couldn’t stop. She softly moaned and picked up speed. She never lasted long when she was being watched.

“Whore.” Carol spat out disgusted. Jennifer came.

“You disgusting little whore!” Another voice boomed. Carol was nowhere to be found. Now it was her aunt, red faced and angrier than Jennifer had ever seen. What was that in her hands? A pot from the stove? “This’ll teach you to keep your hands off when I’m not around!”

Miss Honey awoke with a scream before curling herself into a ball. Her body shook violently from the unbridled sobs as she quietly wailed into the pillow.

She jumped when she felt something cold touch her arm. She wasn’t alone. She sat up and searched the darkness in wild panic. She could just make out the tall outline of a figure holding something out. The cold thing softly brushed her skin again. She reached out with a trembling hand and took the cup of water.

“Thank you, Carol.” She choked out after taking a sip. “I’m sorry. I’m fine. Just a dream.” she mumbled. “It happens. You can go back to bed.” She heard footsteps retreating. Jennifer let out a held breath before a door opened and the footsteps approached again. She felt something fuzzy press against her.

“He helps.” A soft voice Jennifer hadn’t expected to hear said. “Just don’t tell anyone.” The footsteps retreated again before a door opened and closed. Her stomach clenched.

Hortensia.

Chapter Text

“Good morning, ladies!” Carol said, much too chipper for the morning's mood as she emerged from her bedroom. The only other person who seemed to be in good spirits was Matilda, who sat on the couch with a large medical book opened across her lap.

“I told you not to look at anything gory!” Jennifer chastised. “That person doesn’t have a face!”

“Before the car accident they did. Look at how much they were able to reconstruct it!” Matilda said after flipping a page. Jennifer winced. She didn’t want to look at these kinds of things, especially not after the night she’d had.

“What are you looking at so eagerly over there?” Carol asked, sitting next to Matilda on the couch.

“Burns.” Matilda said without looking up.

“Carol, can you please put that back in your room? She doesn’t need to be looking at that.”

“No, moooom!” Matilda complained. “I can handle it!”

“So what are you thinking you want to be? Doctor? Nurse?” Carol asked.

“Plastic surgeon.” Matilda said before turning the page.

Both adults briefly looked up at her. “So you want to give rich middle aged housewives fake breasts?” Carol asked, trying to hold back a laugh. “Let me know when you’re in business, the girls have been starting to sag.”

“What? No!” Matilda said. “I want to help burn victims.” Carol and Jennifer locked eyes for a moment.

“Well, it’s a little early to be looking at third degree burns. Can you keep it PG for the rest of us? Your friend may not want to see bits of scalp while she eats.” Carol said before looking around. “Where is she, anyway?”

“Still sleeping.” Matilda said.

“Still sleeping?” Carol walked to the bedroom door and knocked. “Wake up in there! What do you want for breakfast?” After no response, she opened it. “Hey, breakfast? You’ll feel better if you eat something. No no, no moping around in bed today. Don’t you want to go see your mom?” Carol stepped back into the living room. “Matilda, want to help me make breakfast?”

“Can I use my powers?” Matilda asked hopefully.

“Are you going to make a mess?”
“No.” Matilda said at the same time as Jennifer’s “yes.”

“Practice makes perfect, c’mon.” Matilda eagerly put the book down and headed towards the kitchen. Soon there were lots of loud banging, crashing, and laughing. “Hey, Jen, can you try waking up Sleeping Beauty? Pancakes are almost done.”

Miss Honey grabbed the stuffed dog from last night, approached the door and knocked, but there was no answer. She knocked again. Still no answer. Reluctantly, she pushed open the door to find a lump hiding under the covers.

“Hey, breakfast is almost ready.” Miss Honey said from the doorway. She wasn’t going in there.

“Not hungry.” A voice from under the covers answered, followed by a wet sounding sniffle.

Don’t do it. Don’t do it.

“Can I come in?” Miss Honey asked. More silence. Well, it wasn’t a “no”. She slowly crept inside and sat on the edge of the bed. She lifted a corner of the blanket up and slid the stuffed dog inside. A pair of hands immediately grabbed it and yanked it in the rest of the way. “Thank you, for last night.” Miss Honey said softly.

“You were crying.” Hortensia stated it as a fact rather than a question. “Why?” the voice from under the covers asked after an awkward moment of silence. “I’ve never seen an adult cry before.”

Just what Jennifer needed, another reminder that she wasn’t really an adult.

“Sometimes I have bad dreams.”

“I’ve never cried from a dream.” Miss Honey breathed a frustrated blast of air from her nostrils. Not all kids were going to be as understanding as Matilda she supposed. “It must have been bad.” she added, quieter.

“Yes.” Miss Honey said before changing the subject. “What about you? Why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying.” Hortensia said. Her voice was raw and full of emotion. Jennifer was entirely unconvinced. “Just stupid.” Hortensia mumbled.

“You’re not stupid.”

“I thought my dad was out of the country driving trucks for most of my life. H-h-how d-d-did I not see what horseshit that was?”
Jennifer bit her lip to keep herself from reprimanding the girl on instinct for swearing. Now hardly seemed the time.
“Sometimes we adults don’t always tell kids the truth in order to spare them from unne-”

“”Y-y-you mean you lie!”

Miss Honey slowly let out a breath. “Yes, sometimes, we lie to protect the ones we love.”

“Did my mom re-really do all that stuff the Trunchbull said?”

“You can’t take anything my aunt said seriously. She was already deliriously livid over my relationship with Matilda. She even came to the hospital and strangled her. The more I think about it the more I realize how not in her right mind she was towards the end. Maybe even before then.”

“She never was!”

Jennifer chuckled bitterly until the words began to ring true in her head. She never was. She. Never. Was. Of course she knew her aunt was crazy, she had always known since the woman moved in, so why was it only now sinking in? There was a tiny tiny tiny voice in the back of her mind that began to speak to her so softly she would have easily missed it. If she was never mentally sane; maybe you never deserved it. There had always been that feeling of culpability deep inside that hung over her shoulders like a weighted blanket.

What if. What if. What if.

“Yeah, I guess you're right.” Jennifer said softly.

“Do you think she made up all that stuff about my parents because she was mad at me then?”

“It’s possible.” Miss Honey said. “I’m sure this mess will get all sorted out and she’ll be back home before the weekend’s over. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Are you lying?” Hortensia asked after a moment of silence.

“No.” Miss Honey lied. She sat on the bed unsure of what to do. Did she try to place a comforting hand on her shoulder or would that be weird? Was she supposed to pretend nothing was wrong and follow Hortensia’s lead? She had no truthful words of comfort for her. If it was Matilda she’d know what to do; Matilda responded to touch, but this wasn’t Matilda. The two girls couldn't be any more different. All Jennifer could do was lie. But there was one question burning a hole in her mind. “Why did you call me? Why not your neighbor?”

“Because I hate them.” Hortensia answered bluntly.

“What about your friends from school?” The moment the words left Miss Honey’s mouth the realization struck her in the face. She reached over and peeled the blanket down to reveal the girl curled in a ball clutching a stuffed dog to her chest. Gone was the perpetual smirk that seemed to never leave her face; now it was replaced by a trembling lower lip. Red, watery and puffy eyes now replaced the defiant glare and attitude. For the first time, Jennifer saw her for what she truly was. A scared kid.

“No.” Hortensia whimpered before hiding her face again. A thought crossed Miss Honey’s mind of the water and stuffed animal she had been given last night. There seemed to be a much gentler side to her than what she presented at school with her friends. Or maybe…it had always been there and Jennifer had just never noticed.

Hadn’t it been Hortensia who had come and gotten her when Matilda had needed her at school? And even though it had angered Jennifer, the issue with stealing Nigel’s shoes had been Hortensia’s way of including her. Then there was the choking.

The more Jennifer thought back, the more she felt like an idiot for separating them.

“If there’s anyone stupid here it’s me.” Jennifer said with a sigh. Hortensia wiped her face before looking back up at her puzzled. “I should have trusted Matilda’s choice of friends better. She has this ability with people to see what others miss.”

“It’s not really that we’re friends.” Hortensia said with a look of deep concentration. “I ain’t friends with the runts. She’s just…different.”

“Different how?” She was curious how the other children saw her.

“If any of my friends tried what she does, they’d get black eyes.” Hortensia grumbled, but Jennifer could see the fight drain out of her the moment it had come.

“I could talk to her if you want; if she’s too clingy for you. I noticed she was snuggled up pretty close to you last night.” She had to bite back a smile as the girl's face began to turn crimson.

“Made it hard to sleep with her crushing me like that.” Miss Honey had to keep herself from pointing out that she looked pretty comfortable to her, but that seemed a bit more than Hortensia seemed able to take at the moment.

“She has a way of walking right past the barriers we put up as if they weren't really there.”

“She’s just a little kid. It’s not like I’m gonna push her off or something.” Hortensia grumbled.

“You admitted if it was anyone but her, they’d get a black eye.” Jennifer had noticed her arms had been around Matilda just as tight. “So if you’re not friends; what are you?”

“I don't know. I just don’t really have to try…” Horensia said slowly before adding barely above a whisper. “To be tough.” It was so low Miss Honey wondered if she had been meant to hear it at all. Either way, Miss Honey understood now. Hortensia hadn’t wanted anyone to see her this way. The words seemed to finally come to her.

“Hortensia.” Miss Honey said. She couldn’t believe she was going to do this. She swung her legs up on the bed and scooted her back against the headboard. “Come here.” She patted her lap. Hortensia stared at her wide eyed as if she had lost her mind. Maybe she had. But maybe, the girls weren't so different after all. “Rest your head; It’s alright.” Jennifer gave her a soft smile.

Hortensia stared as if frozen in place. She was about to say she didn’t bite, but that didn’t seem the right thing to say. “It can stay between us. You can let your guard down with me.” Just when Jennifer was positive she wasn’t going to budge, the lump began to slowly inch its way closer to her. Her hand trembled as she stroked the sobbing girl's hair. This was only the third person she had let get this close to her. First Matilda, then Carol, and now the child she had least expected, Hortensia.

“Your hair reminds me of a little girl I met once. She had the most beautiful blond curls.” She could vaguely remember running her fingers through it. “She wanted to learn to read so badly so I showed her how to sound out a few words. Made me realize I wanted to be a teacher.”

“I hate having long hair.” Hortensia mumbled. “And reading.”

“You used to have long hair? Why’d you cut it?”

“The tangles hurt. Mom got tired of chasing me with a hairbrush every morning so she cut it off. She was so mad she gave me a frickin’ bowl cut.” Miss Honey cringed. She had wondered who the school photo of the blond boy was hanging in Eve’s house.

A sudden loud banging followed by laughter coming from the kitchen made Miss Honey stop. She let out a sigh.

“We should probably go out there. Mrs. Rodgers is letting Matilda cook using her powers and it sounds messy.” The first hint of a smile crossed Hortensia’s face as she sat up and climbed out of bed. Miss Honey frowned and stopped her at the doorway. “Hortensia, are you forgetting something?”

“Huh?”

“Pants.” Miss Honey said with an amused grin. “Didn’t take you for a Spice Girls fan either.” Hortensia shrugged, bent over and grabbed her shorts off the floor. Oh geez. “Wait, do you have any clean clothes?” Hortensia shook her head.

“They wouldn’t let me take anything from the house.”

“I’ll see if Mrs. Rodgers has anything you can borrow.” Miss Honey frowned as she thought of the best way to phrase the next part. “Do you need any, umm, hygienic products or do you have those with you?”

Hortensia stared at her blankly. “Like a toothbrush?” Oh no.

“Feminine hygienic products.” Please no. No. No. No. Not now.

Another blank stare.

“Go wait in the bathroom; I’ll talk to Carol.” Miss Honey said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Ookay.” Hortensia said slowly. She gave her a puzzled look before heading down the hall.

Jennifer entered the kitchen and froze. What had happened in here? Everything, and everyone, was covered in white powder. She looked to her daughter, who gave her a guilty wide grin.

“Do I want to know what happened?” Jennifer asked.

“Nope.” Carol said. At least she was smiling too, Jennifer thought with a sigh.

“Might have a problem. Do you have any pads?”

“Hysterectomy, sorry. Did it sneak up on ya?”

“MS. HONEY!” a panicked voice screamed from the back of the house.

“Not for me.” Jennifer hiked a thumb over her shoulder. Carol’s lips curved to form a silent O.

“You don’t think its her first-”

“Yes.” Miss Honey said with a groan. She should have known something was amiss when Hortensia willingly curled up with her. “Here I thought she had a sensitive side. Turns out it was just hormones.”

“Well this is unfortunate timing.”

“Your patient is calling Mrs. Medical Professional.” Jennifer said. There was a reason she worked with five and six year olds.

“Nice try, I believe that was your name being yelled.”

Chapter Text

The four of them sat around the table eating the pancakes Matilda had made. They were different, Miss Honey thought as she stabbed another piece with her fork. Her daughter had clearly gotten creative with the ingredients. Whipped cream-which was good- chocolate syrup- a little much for breakfast-but these little orange candies were, well… Miss Honey forced herself to swallow. Disgusting.

She hadn’t wanted to hurt Matilda’s feelings so she had eaten all three of them. She had never tasted anything quite like them, but, blegh. Where had Carol bought these from? Were they stale? She'd have to remind her daughter if she wanted to cook, she needed to get into the habit of checking expiration dates. Miss Honey looked at the other plates. Matilda had eaten two, Hortensia, who was looking rather green, had taken a bite out of one, and Carol had simply scraped them to the side of her plate.

“Hortensia, do you have any questions?” Carol asked.

“What did the squirt do to your kitchen?” Hortensia asked. They all turned to look at the white cupboards and floor.

“I dropped the first batch of batter.” Matilda admitted.

“I shouldn’t have let you use your powers.” Miss Honey said.

“Oh no, that part was fine.” Carol said. “Impressive really. It happened when she tried to grab the bowl with her hands.” Matilda flashed a guilty sort of grin. “Do you have a question about anything else?” Hortensia shrugged, before eyeing Matilda, and looking away. “You did know what a period was, right?” Hortensia shook her head.

“You started your period?” Matilda blurted out. Hortensia let her face fall in her hands.

“Even she knew what it was?” Hortensia mumbled, horrified.

“Honey,” Jennifer said softly. “Did you really have no idea?” Hortensia shook her head. Eve, Jennifer thought with a frustrated sigh.

“So…any thought of adding sex education to the curriculum now, Miss Headmistress?” Carol joked. Miss Honey closed her eyes.

“Okay, okay, you were right.” Jennifer admitted. She had planned on dropping the whole subject, much to Carol’s admonishment, but now Jennifer could clearly see it was necessary. The Trunchbull had treated her as if she was something vile the moment she had started hers. Jennifer hadn’t learned it was normal until years after.

“You knew what sex was, but not a period?” Matilda asked with a wrinkled nose.

“Well so-rry my mom goes around saying ‘I need dick’ and not ‘I’m bleeding from my vagina!’” Hortensia sniped.

“She says what?!” Miss Honey nearly choked.

“I overheard her say it on the phone to her friends. I bugged her until she explained.” Hortensia shrugged.

“Well, please don’t say those things.” Miss Honey said.

“What things?”

“Dick and vagina.” Miss Honey said behind her hands.

“Okay,” Carol said, putting her hands up. “If you can’t even handle the word ‘vagina’ maybe you should leave this to me.”

“She’s eleven, she doesn’t need to be saying it.”

“Out.” Carol said, pointing to the back yard. “Both of you.” She pointed to Matilda as well.

“Why do I have to leave?” Matilda argued.

“Because I don’t care how smart you are or how much you already know, I’m not having the sex talk with a six-year-old.”

“I think we should leave this conversation to her mom.” Miss Honey tried, but was shot down.

“Eve had her chance.” Carol said. “I can at least let her know she’s not dying.” Miss Honey looked to Hortensia, who was looking a mixture of pale and green. She had a point. “If you want to help, you can go down to the corner mart and get her some pads.”

“Okay, just,” she eyed Carol suspiciously, “nothing too adult, please.”

…

When Jennifer and Matilda returned from the store, the scene was not how Jennifer had pictured it. Sitting on the table was a hand held mirror, eggs, and a banana in a- oh lord was that a condom? So much for no adult stuff. But the biggest surprise was Carol looking very agitated in the kitchen.

“Matilda!” She said sternly, making both her and her daughter jump. “Is this what you put in the pancakes?” She held up an empty candy bag. Matilda nodded and Carol groaned. “A word Jen?” She motioned for her to follow her to the backyard.
“She put these in the batter.” Carol held out the bag and Jennifer examined it closer. She didn’t see anything usual, until she saw the little leaf towards the bottom. Her mouth went dry.

“Why do you even have these? These aren't legal!” Jennifer said, staring horrified at the empty bag of edibles.

“I had them for chemo nausea a few years ago. They didn’t do anything, so I put them in the cupboard and forgot about them. There’s only 5mg of Thc in them.”

“I don’t know what that means!” Jennifer nearly shouted. “How did you let her get into them? Why were they somewhere she could reach?!”

“If you haven’t noticed already, you can’t really put things ‘out of arm's reach ' with your kid.” Carol said. “If I had known they were there, I would have watched more closely.”

“What do I do? Should I take them to the hospital?” Miss Honey asked.

“What? No, they’ll be fine. Yes they can be dangerous in high doses to kids, but I don’t think anyone had that many. Normally, I'd say let them sleep it off, but my only concern is Matilda.”

“Because she’s so young?”

“Because she can move things with her mind. Last thing we need is her getting high and moving major appliances around.”

“Oh.” Miss Honey turned green at the thought.

“Do you think she’ll be willing to make herself throw up?”

“I’m not sure.” Jennifer said. She bit her cheek and thought about it. Maybe she could be trusted before the whole day care fiasco, but now, she wasn’t so sure. They had only recently dug up what had been brewing underneath the surface. Jennifer couldn’t assume anything. Even if she saw this with a clear head, throwing up was never fun.

“Well, time is of the essence. Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Matilda, mind coming back here?” Carol called. “You might not want to watch if you're squeamish.”

“What are you going to do to her?” Miss Honey whispered.

“Shove my fingers down her throat.”

“Carol!” Miss Honey said horrified.

“We don’t have time to ask. If she runs, we don’t have time to chase her down, and I like my house.”

“You call us?” Hortensia asked, poking her head out. Miss Honey bit her lip. She could see her daughter cowering behind the older girl's legs.

“Actually yes, both of you, please.” Carol said. Hortensia walked out, before Matilda reluctantly followed, hanging her head and sniffling.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to poison everyone!” Matilda said before bursting into sobs.

“Hey, this was ultimately my fault.” Carol said. “You’re not in trouble. And you didn’t poison anyone, but, here’s the thing, Matilda, this is very important. Your mom and I both need you to do something. It would make us feel a lot better if you could make yourself throw up.”

Please don’t run. Please don’t run. Jennifer chanted in her head. The last thing she wanted to do after reconciling was pin her daughter down so someone could shove their fingers down her throat. That would go really well for their relationship.

“I can't,” Matilda said with a sniffle. Miss Honey’s muscles tightened. Don’t fight.

“All you need to do is take a finger and stick it all the way to the back of your throat.” Carol said.

“I already threw it up, I can’t throw up anymore.”

“Matilda, please, we just -”

“Why did you throw it up earlier?” Miss Honey asked.

“Because that’s the first thing you do when you think you’ve been poisoned.” Matilda said.

“Poisoned, what?” Hortensia said. “I ate your cooking one time and I’ve been poisoned?”

“No, you haven’t been poisoned,” Carol said. “We’re just doing this as a precaution.”

“But my throat already burns.” Matilda complained.

“Just one time to prove there’s nothing in your stomach. Then I’ll give you something cold to drink.” Carol said. Matilda pouted. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

“Why can’t you just believe me?” Matilda said.

“Wrong answer.” Carol said. Jennifer watched, a mixture of apprehensiveness and dread welling from within her as Carol dragged Matilda over to the grass by an arm.

“Let me go!” Matilda yelled. “Stop it!”

“Are you going to do it yourself then?”

“I already did! I’m not stupid!”

“No one’s saying you're stupid, sweetie.” Jennifer said gently. “We just need to know you’ll be safe.”

“Fine!” Matilda grumbled. “Let go of me so I can go to the bathroom.”

“Do it here.” Carol said. “Last chance.” She pushed Matilda’s back down so she was doubled over the lawn. Miss Honey bit her lip. She wanted to tell Carol not to be so rough with her. “One. Two…”

“Give me a s-” Matilda tried to say, but Carol had used the opportunity to shove a finger in her open mouth. Matilda gagged before retching.

“She’s clear; It’s just bile.” Carol said.

“That was disgusting.” Hortensia said. Matilda shoved Carol away angrily, before storming into the house.

“Can I trust that you’ll take care of this yourself?” Carol asked. Hortensia quickly nodded and hurried into the house before she got the same treatment.

“What should I do?” Miss Honey asked. “Should I throw them up too?” Carol shook her head.

“You’re not in any danger. If anything, you’ll be hungry, then thirsty, and if it gets too much, you’ll have a nice nap. It’s up to you though. I can take Hortensia to see her mom and figure out where to send her, just whatever you do, don’t drive. Just stay here and make yourself at home.”

“Hmm, maybe I should toss them.” Jennifer said. She couldn’t decide. She had no interest in getting high, but she really hated throwing up.

“Your call.” Carol said, before pursing her lips tightly together. “Be careful with that one.” She nodded her head towards the kitchen.

“Hmm?”

“Do you really think she didn't notice they weren't candies?”

“Mistakes happen.” Jennifer said pointedly. Her head hurt. She didn’t want to think about it. Carol shrugged and walked back inside.

A part of her wanted to demand she stay put and explain herself. Why on earth would her daughter purposefully try to poison every one? She couldn’t…She wouldn’t! Yes, her behavior had been unrecognizable recently, but Jennifer was under no delusion that a single trip to the lake together was going to fix everything. Smearing paint on the walls and breaking windows was a far cry from poisoning her loved ones.

Matilda had to have not noticed! She was only six, and that warning label was on the bottom of the package. It was basic philosophy! Occam’s Razor! The simplest explanation is usually correct! Carol was just overthinking this.

Jennifer swallowed hard as her eyes fell to the pile of bile in the grass.

Right?

….

“Don’t worry about it.” Carol said for the hundredth time. “You’re in no place to go out like this, Especially not to a police station! Just relax. In fact, go to the master bathroom and take a bath. It’s a custom built tub. Try not to panic, it will only make it worse.” She turned to Matilda. “Keep an eye on her.” Carol whispered as she eyed Jennifer, who was sitting on the couch staring at the television remote as if she had never seen one. Matilda giggled nervously.

“I’m in charge?” Matilda asked.

“You created this monster; she’s your responsibility now.” Carol said as Matilda’s face fell.

“But I asked.” Matilda said softly, eyes beginning to water.

Carol sighed. “Yes, yes you did. I’m only teasing. I’m just a little concerned about leaving her like this.” They both stared at Jennifer, who was trying desperately to wave a strand of hair out of her face, only for it to fall back into place. “Don’t let her go out, and don’t let her drown. Think you can handle that?” Matilda nodded vigorously. “You two!” Carol said, so they can both hear. “No leaving. No parties. No boys.” Carol added a wink to the end making Jennifer loudly giggle before snorting. Matilda, Carol, and Hortensia stared at her, then at each other. “Oh, I really don’t want to leave.”

“Is this bad?” Matilda asked slowly with wide fearful eyes.

“No, hilarious.” Carol whispered. “This is almost as good as the time she thought she was high.”
“Miss Honey’s high?” Hortensia blurted out with a laugh. “Seriously?” She darted in front of Jennifer and stared into her eyes before cackling. “Oh my God, you’re right, she is! Her eyes are all bloodshot!”

Jennifer cackled back and pointed. “So are yours!”

Carol instantly sobered. The smile vanished from her face. No no no. She walked towards Hortensia and groaned.

“Please tell me you’ve been crying.” She said. Hortensia’s body shook with silent laughter, before letting out hisses of air while shaking her head. Carol pinched her nose. “Please, tell me you threw up that edible like you said you were going to.” Hortensia shook with more laughter.

“Hey, why’d you take her word over mine?” Matilda said. Her eyebrows narrowed in a scowl.

“Because. I. thought. I. had. shown. her. how. serious. the. situation. was.” She lightly smacked Hortensia in the arm with every word. She turned toward Matilda. “It was that or call an ambulance. Those are very dangerous to kids, especially ones as young as you. I didn’t want to freak out your mom and ring the alarm bells right away. But the situation was too dangerous to just take your word for it. She’ll be fine.” She pointed her thumb at Hortensia and rolled her eyes. “She’s built like a horse.”

“You're Horsetensia!” Jennifer shouted, before they both fell over onto the couch cushion from laughter.

“Oh. My. God.” Carol said. She held up her hands. “None of you are leaving this house. I’m going to the police station myself to talk to her. Horsetens- she sucked in a breath. “Hortensia, I will take you to see your mom once you sober up. Matilda?” She gave her a questioning look. The Telly flicked on.

“Problem solved.” Matilda said. “But why not just call her?”

“Because we need to have a face to face conversation.”

…..

“Number seven.” The guard directed her.

Carol walked down the rows of families conversing between a sheet of glass until she got to the stall marked number seven and had a seat on the stool. She didn’t have to wait long. A disheveled and terrified looking woman took a seat and reached for the phone.

“You… what are you doing here?” Eve asked.

“You know this affects all of us.” Carol said softly. “What happened? What did they find?”

“My pervert neighbor ended up being some kind of investigator.” Eve said with ground teeth. “I knew he was spying on us.”

“What did they find?” Carol repeated.

“Jennifer’s letter.” Eve admitted. Carol sighed. “I can’t go to prison. What about Hortensia?” Eve whimpered.

“I have her. She called me.” Eve gave her a confused look. “She called me when she couldn’t get a hold of Jennifer.”

“Why would she try to call Jennifer?” Eve said before blanching. “Does she remember?” Carol shook her head.

“I don’t think either of them remember. I think Hortensia just likes her and Matilda over your neighbor. Jennifer thinks she gave the letter to a tall man.” Carol winced. “I may have led her to believe it was your husband.”

“She was so full of drugs, who knows what she thought she saw.” Eve said before waving a hand. “Let the bastard take the fall. What did you tell Hortensia?”

“That he’s been in prison out of state.” Eve raised an eyebrow. “I know. I know. I said a lot of things yesterday that I regret.” Carol said.

“Are you going to tell Jennifer the truth? Or are you going to make me out to be the villain?”

“I don’t know.”

“I have a child!”

“So does she!”

“It was her idea!” Carol held a finger to her lips.

“Do you have a lawyer?”

“Not yet.”

“I’ll start looking. For all of us.”

Chapter Text

Hortensia was very easy to keep entertained. Once Matilda had flicked on the telly for her, she had become transfixed, even more than usual. Matilda hadn’t been sure that was even possible, but getting her attention had proved almost futile. One down and one to go.

Miss Honey on the other hand proved to be much more of a challenge. She had lost interest in the screen as soon as Carol had left and now had Matilda running room to room trying to keep her in check. No, she didn’t need to go to the store, no, she didn’t need to go to the school, and, although it had taken all of Matilda’s willpower to stop her, she didn’t need to make cookies. Matilda did not, however, have the willpower to keep her from ordering pizza. Her stomach had growled loudly at the idea, and even Hortensia had snapped her head away from the screen when she heard Miss Honey mention pizza.

Matilda’s mouth nearly dropped when she answered the door. How much had her mom ordered? The girl at the door kept handing her box after box until Matilda’s head was nearly covered. She staggered back to the kitchen and placed the spread on the table.

“Hungry?” Matilda asked dumbfounded. There were three pizzas, breadsticks, cinnamon sticks, soda and wings. “Carol’s going to think we had a party.” She couldn’t help but giggle as she watched Miss Honey take a large bite and began to moan.

“Everything sounded so good. I couldn’t decide.” So the munchies weren't just a story trope.

After one slice, one breadsticks and two cinnamon sticks, Matilda thought she would burst, but these two seemed to be bottomless pits. She watched in both captivated awe and bewilderment as they tore in like wild, starved animals while Jennifer talked animatedly about her ideas for the new school year on deaf ears.

“What are you making?” Jennifer asked. Hortensia had been intently folding and unfolding her napkin.

“An airplane.” Hortensia said. She held up the finished product before tossing it into the air. Matilda watched as it nose-dived into the ground.

“Hold that thought.” Jennifer said before springing to her feet. Matilda watched her dig through a drawer before returning with scraps of paper and markers.

“Miss Honey’s letting me make paper airplanes? Woah.” Hortensia said.

“We’re not in school.” Jennifer said. “So you can stop calling me Miss Honey.”

“If you stop calling me Hortensia.”

“That’s literally your name.” Matilda said.

“Yeah, but I hate it. ‘Tens’ is fine. How’d you like to be called a whore?” Matilda watched curiously as something seemed to flash behind Miss Honey’s eyes. Pain? Anger? But before Matilda could figure it out, the look was gone.

“Okay, Tens, show me how to make one.” The next twenty minutes was spent making paper airplanes and throwing them across the kitchen before Jennifer announced they should have a contest. “Winner gets to pick a movie.”

They each stood on top of their chairs, paper airplanes in hand. Jennifer was up first, she threw it and it glided across the kitchen before smashing into the refrigerator. Next was Hortensia. Hers looked the most impressive, she had colored it and written across the side The Horsetensia. It expertly flew around the room and out the kitchen before landing on the couch.

“Wow! That was so good!” Jennifer said in awe. Hortensia bowed from atop her chair.

“That’s because she spends more time making paper airplanes during class than doing school work.” Matilda said with a giggle.

“You’re just jealous.” Hortensia said, nodding towards the sad excuse for an airplane Matilda had clutched in her own hand. “What’s that supposed to be?” Matilda frowned. She was terrible at this sort of thing. Her hands could never do what she saw in her head.

“It’ll still go farther than yours.” Matilda said.

“Prove it.”

“If I win. No movie.” Matilda said with a grin. “You have to read me a comic.”

“Pshh. Deal.” Hortensia said. “That thing’ll never fly.” With a confident smirk, Matilda threw it and it soared laps around the kitchen. The three of them watched it fly out, and into the living room sailing far past the Horsetensia. The older girl stared slack jawed in shock, until the light in her head finally flicked on. “You little cheater! You’re using your powers!” Matilda cackled.

“You never said I couldn’t.” Matilda said with a grin as Jennifer chuckled.

“Yeah, well, I don’t have a comic so, ha!” Hortensia said.

“You still win, Tens.” Jennifer said with a smile. “Go pick something.”

“She’ll pick a superhero movie, watch.” Matilda whispered as they climbed down from their chairs. Sure enough, by the time they reached the living room, Hortensia was holding a Batman VHS.

“Matilda, fetch me Rover!” Hortensia said from her spot curled on the couch while Jennifer was setting up the VCR. “And a blanket!”

“Since when are you willing to be spotted with your stuffed dog?” Matilda chuckled.

“Secrets out.” Hortensia grumbled. “I feel funny. I want him.”

“Whose fault is that? You weren't supposed to eat them.” Matilda hissed.

“Couldn't help it.” Hortensia said before yawning.

“She wasn’t supposed to eat what?” Jennifer asked. She turned to face the girls. Matilda made a strategic exit to fetch blankets. “Matilda! Matilda, get back here!” She turned towards Hortensia, who curled into a tighter ball. “Did…did you two plan this?!”

“No, not…really.” Hortensia mumbled.

“Not really? What does that mean?” Jennifer demanded.

“I found them yesterday when I was looking for snacks.” Hortensia said.

“And you told Matilda about them?” Jennifer guessed. Now her head was starting to spin as well. She needed to sit down. “Matilda!”

Matilda slowly made her way back into the living room carrying blankets and sporting a look that screamed guilty.

“It’s not everyday you catch someone from school with drugs.” Hortensia said. “Of course I told her.”

“Then how did they end up in the pancakes?” Jennifer asked, trying to be stern.

“Hortensia said she caught you crying last night.” Matilda said softly. Jennifer took a long, slow breath before letting it out. “You had another nightmare.”

“Yes. And? What about that made you think putting drugs in everyone’s breakfast was okay?”

“I read it's supposed to help with anxiety.” Matilda admitted. “And I knew you wouldn’t try it...”

“Matilda! That’s…No, Matilda! You can’t just do that! You can’t tamper with people’s food! It’s illegal!” Jennifer said. She waved a hand through her hair feeling horrified. She really did do it on purpose! Carol had been right! “You could have made everyone sick!”

“You do it to me all the time!” Matilda said with a frown. “You put medicine in my drink, you’ve hid pills in my pudding...”

“That’s not the same thing!” Jennifer said.

“I just wanted to give you medicine so you’d feel better.” Matilda said. “How was it not the same thing?”

“You could have made Hortensia and yourself very sick! Not just you two, but if anything had happened… Matilda, I could lose my job!” Jennifer said. “More importantly, I could lose you!”

“She wasn’t supposed to eat any of it.” Matilda said, throwing a glare at Hortensia.

“Giving children medicine is a parent's job, not yours! It doesn’t go both ways!”

“That’s such a double standard!” Matilda said with a scowl.

“Matilda, you’re smarter than this! How could you do something so reckless, and… and…stupid!”

“I just wanted you to feel better!” Matilda said, tears filling her eyes.

“Promise me, Matilda, promise me you’ll never do something like this again!”

“Okay.” Matilda mumbled, head hung down.

“No, look me in the eyes and promise me!”

“I promise.”

“Thank you.” Jennifer said with a shaky breath before collapsing onto the sofa. “Let’s just watch the movie for now.” Matilda sniffled and wiped her face before pulling herself onto the sofa and cuddling up next to Hortensia.

“Why are you so close? Get your own seat.” Hortensia mumbled. Jennifer noticed Hortensia made no attempt to push her away. Ugh, why did they have to go and look so cute together after the shit they just pulled?

….

After thirty minutes, Jennifer could no longer stay focused on the film. She kept forgetting everything that had just happened and nothing seemed to make sense. She looked over at the girls who both seemed sacked out. Now seemed like a good time to check out that bathtub Carol had told her about. She pushed herself up, silently cursing the spins as she stood. She looked over as Matilda opened her eyes and gave her a questioning look.

“I’m going to take a bath. Go back to sleep.” Jennifer whispered. Matilda closed her eyes and curled herself closer to Hortensia. “You guys are lucky you're cute.” Jennifer grumbled as she picked up the fallen blanket and covered the both of them.

She stood and made her way past Carol’s room and into the master bathroom. “Oh. My. God.” She whispered before letting out a low whistle. “Jackpot.” The bathtub in question was massive! It was practically a jacuzzi. It even had jets! She had never seen anything like it. It was so deep. Jennifer grinned as she reached over and turned on the water. She watched for a few minutes as the tub began to fill before she began to undress. She turned her body to throw her shirt away only to freeze in place.

….

Matilda awoke to an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She blinked and sat up, wiping the drool away from her face with the back of her hand. Was she sick? Had she eaten too much pizza? She frowned as she tried to focus on the feeling. No, that wasn’t it. What was wrong? And where was Jenny? She realized what the feeling was. Panic. She spun her head around. Where was she?

“Mom?” Matilda yelled. She stood up and made her way to the back of the house. She peeked her head in the spare room. Maybe she was taking a nap? Nope. Hadn’t she said something about taking a bath earlier? She tried the bathroom, but she wasn’t there either. She hadn’t left had she? Carol had given her one job! Matilda frowned as she heard it. Crying. She swallowed nervously and followed the sound. “Mom?”

Matilda found her half naked, sitting on the floor with her bare back against the tub and her head buried in her knees.

“Mom? What’s wrong? I thought you were going to take a bath.” Matilda said before sitting next to her on the floor. This only seemed to upset Jenny more. “Are you feeling sick?” Jenny shook her head and pointed. Matilda looked, but all she saw was the floor to ceiling mirrors that covered the wall. She stared at their reflection for a moment, confused, until realization dawned on her. Miss Honey didn’t like mirrors. She always covered the bathroom mirror, especially when she had to undress. There was no covering this mirror though. It was massive.

Matilda stood and stuck her arm in the bathtub. The water was still warm.

“Close your eyes.” Matilda whispered. She helped her stand up with some difficulty. Jennifer began to fight when Matilda tried to tug down her underwear. “It’s okay, don’t panic. I’m going to guide you in.” Jennifer whimpered, but let Matilda finish. “Swing your leg up and over. Hold onto the side with your other hand. There.” Matilda breathed a sigh of relief as Jennifer’s torso disappeared underneath the water. “You can open your eyes. You can’t see it from there.” Matilda watched her for a moment to make sure she’d be okay. “Just yell when you want to get out.” She turned to leave, but Jennifer stopped her.

“Please stay.” Jennifer said softly.

“Are you sure?” Matilda asked. Her mom was very private when it came to these sorts of things.

Jennifer nodded. “I don’t think I want to be alone right now.” Matilda sat on the tile that wrapped around the tub with the shampoo bottles. “Join me. There’s plenty of space.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Matilda asked.

“Flashback.” Jennifer said softly, averting her gaze, before frowning. “I think.”

“You think?” Matilda asked as she pulled her own clothes off before tossing them on the floor with the others. “Woah.” She said as she climbed in. The water went up to her neck!

“Right? It’s nice.” Jennifer said. “It could do without the mirrors though.”

“What happened?” Matilda asked. She didn’t think her mom was going to answer, but finally Jennifer spoke.

“Sometimes I see her in the mirrors.” Jennifer whispered. “I can still hear her calling me a wh- calling me names.”

Yeah, three gummies had been too much.

“She’s gone. She can’t hurt you anymore.” Matilda said.

“I know.” Jennifer said softly.. “But sometimes it feels like she keeps coming back from the grave to…” She let her words trail off. “Thank you.” She finally said with a sniffle and shake of her head. “It’s nothing.”

Matilda pushed herself along until she came to rest in Miss Honey’s lap. She quietly looked in Jennifer's eyes for a moment, before taking a hand and splashing her in the face.

“What was that for?” Miss Honey asked before coughing and swiping the water out of her eyes with a hand.

“Stop saying it’s nothing.” Matilda said. “It’s obviously something.”

“Well, it’s obviously something I don’t want to talk about.” Jennifer said, returning the splash. Matilda grinned.
“I found you crying on the bathroom floor. Hortensia found you crying on the couch. Stop trying to downplay it.” Matilda cupped her hands and fired a stream of water before frowning as it failed to reach its intended target.

“I already told you; it was just a flashback.” Miss Honey said before dunking Matilda’s head underneath the water.

“A flashback of what?”

“Don’t worry about it, now hand me the shampoo so I can wash your hair.” Matilda scowled before pointing at bottles and making them hover over.

“Reminds me of the first time I gave you a bath. You nearly gave me a stroke with that little trick.” Miss Honey said with a chuckle. She grabbed a couple of bottles out of the air and set them on the ledge next to her.

“I told you I could.” Matilda giggled as she moved her head this way and that as Jennifer lathered soap into her hair.

“If I had a dollar for everytime a student told me they could do something impossible like that I wouldn’t have been living in that shack.”

“Is that why you let me stay? Because I can move things with my mind?”

“No?” Miss Honey said. She gave her a puzzled look. “Why do you think that?”

Matilda shrugged. “It’s the only reason Hortensia tolerates me.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“I heard her tell you we weren't really friends.” Matilda admitted in a low, sad voice.

“Hmm, I don’t think that’s what she meant by that.” Miss Honey said. “And you shouldn’t have been eavesdropping.”

“What else would it mean?”

“Well, to be honest, it concerned me a little. What would one of the bigger kids want to be doing around someone as young as you? I was worried she was trying to take advantage of you or something, but I talked with her this morning, and I think I have a better understanding.”

“What? Because I'm ‘different’? Matilda said, making air quotes with her fingers.

“No, I think she sees you like a little sister.” Miss Honey silently laughed as Matilda’s features fell. “That’s right, you don’t have the greatest experience with siblings.”

“Why can’t we just be friends?” Matilda moaned.

“I don’t think she’d let you snuggle up with her if she thought of you as just a friend. I’m fairly certain that’s only something she lets you do.”

“She was in your lap.” Matilda mumbled.

“Oh, you saw that, did you? Weren't you supposed to be in the kitchen making breakfast?” Jennifer chuckled.

“I needed the bathroom.”

“Well, I’m sure she’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about that. She’s going through a lot right now, and we don’t want her to feel like she has to tough it out.”

“I wouldn’t tell anyone.” Matilda said with a scowl. Miss Honey let out a small sarcastic laugh.

“I wish I had been given that same luxury.” Matilda turned to face her and gave her a puzzled look. “You told Carol about my…injury. That was something that was supposed to be private. I’m not thrilled about that, you know.”

“I never said anything.” Matilda said, looking both confused and hurt.

“Matilda,” Jennifer said sternly before sighing. “How else would she have known if you didn’t tell her? She told me it was you.” She could see Matilda’s face go from shock to anger.

“I didn’t say anything! I wouldn’t!”

“Matilda, calm down.”

“I never told anyone!”

“Ok, ok, settle down.”

“Mom, I didn’t!”

“Matilda, you’re getting too worked up.” Jennifer said.

“I am not!”

Jennifer pointed above them. Matilda looked up to find a loofah floating in the air.

“Take a deep breath. Now come here,” She patted her lap. “and I’ll answer your question from earlier.”

“What question?” Matilda asked, still glaring and making no move forward.

“Come here and I’ll tell you.” Matilda hesitated before begrudgingly sliding over until Miss Honey’s arms were wrapped around her anchoring her in place. “Now breathe.”

“Tell me.”

“Not until you drop everything.” Matilda clenched her teeth in annoyance before closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths until she heard a clatter of various objects falling from the air onto the bathroom counter. “There, now, to answer your question. No, I didn’t want you for your powers.”

“Okay…?”

“I was enthralled with you from the first day you set foot in my classroom. I had never met such a fascinating child before. Your peers were just learning to read basic sentences, and there you were devouring full novels and doing mathematical calculations in your head with as much ease as if I had asked you what one plus one was.”

“Oh.”

“It was the day you came home with me.” Jennifer admitted. She could feel Matilda stiffen in her arms.

“I’d rather not think about that day.” Matilda mumbled.

“Oh, but I do, quite often in fact. It’s one of my favorite memories.” Jennifer laughed as Matilda screwed her face up in disgust. “Do you remember what you told me that night?”

“No, I’ve tried to erase that day from my memory.”

“You had fallen asleep in my lap while we were reading, and you had told me you wished I was your mommy.” She laughed as Matilda’s face turned a shade of red.

“I said that?” Matilda groaned.

“Yes.” Miss Honey said. “And in that moment, I had never wanted anything as much as I wanted to be your mommy too.” She squeezed Matilda tightly in her arms before kissing the side of her forehead. “That’s when I realized I loved you.”

“And now you are.” Matilda whispered, resting the side of her face against Miss Honey’s chest.

“And now I am.” Jennifer said with a hum of happiness as she gently swept her fingers through Matilda’s hair. “Why on earth did you want to stay with me though? I’m a mess.”

“You were lonely too.” Matilda mumbled. Miss Honey’s hand stopped briefly for a moment before it resumed.

“Yes. I was.”

“You had Mrs. Rodgers though so why were you lonely?” Jennifer pursed her lips.

“We had never said a word to each other before I met you,”Jennifer said. Matilda frowned.

“But I thought you guys were friends?”

“Now we are. I wish we were friends then, but our only interaction had ever been a polite nod here and there in passing.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Matilda said, pushing herself off and standing up. “But something is kind of weird about her.”

“Matilda!” Miss Honey admonished. “She’s done a lot for me, for us.”

“I know,” Matilda said as she climbed out of the tub. “That’s why I thought you had been friends before.”

“She’s a very kind woman.” Jennifer said standing up herself.

“She’s not who she says she was. She told me she was a nurse.” Matilda said as she dug into the cupboard for towels.

“Yes, she was.”

“So why does she have a doctorate?” Jennifer scrunched her face in confusion. “It’s hanging in the hallway.” Yes, Jennifer thought, she had seen it several times, had even stopped to admire it. So why did it now only sound strange instead of awe inspiring? Jennifer silently pondered this while she dried herself off. It certainly made her vastly overqualified for her current position.

“Why are you so suspicious of her all of a sudden?”

“I’m not.” Matilda said with a shrug. “Doesn’t matter to me.”

“Then why all the questions?”
“To distract you.” Matilda said with a wide smile. “See, you did it.”

“Did what?” Jennifer asked. She scooped their clothes off the floor before sliding her underwear back on. Matilda motioned behind her to the mirrors. Oh. She stared at herself for a moment in surprise. She hadn’t even thought of it. She had been so preoccupied with what Matilda had been telling her. “You’re sneaky.” She tried to hide the mixture of disgust and guilt she felt, but she had a feeling she was doing a terrible job of it. “What kind of person is afraid of their own reflection?”

“A high one.” Matilda grinned. “Don’t worry about it.” Jennifer grimaced. She hadn’t even meant to say that part out loud. She groaned. It was like she could feel her brain cells cooking as she spoke.

“I think I need to lie down. Let’s go to the other room.”

“The sheets need to be washed. She bled on them.” Matilda said. “You can lie down here.” She pointed to the bed.

“That’s Mrs. Rodger's bed.”

“I don’t think she’d mind.” Matilda said. Jennifer scowled. It felt invasive, but she was so tired she felt like she might collapse.

“On top of the blankets then.” She relented. She crawled on the bed still only half dressed and wrapped in a towel. “Just for a few minutes.” She could feel her towel getting pulled away before a little body curled up on top of her. “You in your happy place?”

“Mm-hmm.” Matilda purred.

“Thank you.” Jennifer whispered as she wrapped her arms around the pile of what was essentially dead weight on her chest.

“What gave you a flashback?” Matilda mumbled.

“My shoulder popped while I was taking off my shirt.”

Matilda looked up at her. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Jennifer admitted with a disparaging sigh. “It doesn’t take much.”

“I thought it was the mirrors.” Jennifer had already been spiraling by that point.

“What really did it was trying to throw up this morning. I used to do it a bit as a teen.”

“Did you have an eating disorder?” Matilda asked.

“No, I had this unhealthy little ritual, or a delusion, really, I’d…” Jennifer stopped as she remembered her audience. “Yes, let's just call it an eating disorder.” Except it wasn’t food she was eating that made her feel the only way to cleanse her mouth was to burn it away with stomach acid.

“And your shoulder? What did that have to do with it?” Matilda said, face scrunched in confusion.

“It was the sound. Miss Trunchbull had…” What had her aunt done? She could hear the snap of bones, followed by agonizing screams. “I don’t remember. I think she broke someone’s arm.”

“Yours?”

“No. I don’t think so.” Well, she had broken her wrist at one point, but this wasn’t it. Jennifer winced. She could still hear the screams, but she wasn’t even sure if it had been a real memory or not. “Let’s not talk about this.” The last thing she wanted was another repeat of last night. She was already feeling paranoid. She closed her eyes, but she couldn’t get Matilda’s words from earlier out of her head. Her mind was trying to make connections from things that weren't really there. Was this from the gummies? It had to be. She really should have thrown them up.

“Mrs. Rodgers asked me once about the cigar burns the day we called the ambulance for you. That’s the only time we’ve ever talked about you.” Matilda mumbled. “Well, about that sort of stuff.”

“Okay.” Jennifer said. She was fading fast. Maybe it was she who had mentioned it and she just didn’t remember? No, she had mentioned Matilda by name, but hadn’t Jennifer mentioned her first? Maybe Carol had been playing off her assumption that Matilda had told her. But why? What did it matter if Carol knew or not? Ugh, she needed to stop thinking, but now the image of Carol scraping the edibles off to the side of her plate kept replaying in her mind.

“She’s not who she says she is.” Matilda had said.

Jennifer winced. She could hear the sound of snapping bone and screams again.

“I told you not to involve anyone else!” Her aunt bellowed.

“I didn’t have a choice!” A voice she didn’t recognize sobbed. “I can’t do this on my own! Please don’t hurt her!” SNAP! “ANASTASIA!”

“Maybe next time you’ll listen.”

…
Jennifer jolted awake at the sensation of something falling onto her. Her heart was hammering in her chest.

“It’s okay. It’s just me.” Carol said softly. Jennifer looked down to find herself now covered with a blanket. Oh god, she had fallen asleep nearly naked on someone else's bed.

“I’m not decent.” Jennifer mumbled, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself.

“I would have left you as is, but you were shivering. You fell asleep still wet, didn’t you?”

“Where’s Matilda?”

“The girl’s are out back playing with the hose. How do you feel?” Jennifer moaned. “Well, you did eat three servings of them. Matilda mentioned you were having an anxiety attack; that can happen if you have too many.”

“Why didn’t you eat any?” The words were out of Jennifer’s mouth before she could stop herself. Carol gave her a bemused sort of expression.

“There was enough sugar on those pancakes without the candy.” Carol seemed to stare at her for a moment. “Are you still feeling them?”

“Yes.” Jennifer said, holding her head. The conversation had been put into motion. Might as well quelch her drug fueled fears. “So you didn’t plan it with them? To drug me?” Carol’s eyebrows rose in surprise, before a flash of anger crossed her face.

“Are you asking me if I purposefully allowed young children to consume drugs just to get you high? No. I. Did. Not.” She blew a breath of air from her nose.

“Sorry, yeah, I know.” Jennifer mumbled. “The girl’s admitted they planned it, and my mind isn’t…working right.”

“Ah, yes, the paranoia.” Carol relaxed. “Any other absurd, drug induced paranoid questions I can answer for you?” She added a bit lighter.

“Were you…” Jennifer asked before pausing. “Were you a doctor?” She watched Carol’s face lose a shade of color.

“I was.”

“So why are you a school nurse? Why don’t you go by Doctor Rodgers?”

“Because I’m not a doctor anymore.”

“Don’t retired doctors still introduce themselves as doctors?”

“I didn’t retire. My medical license was revoked.”

Jennifer knew it was a sensitive topic, but she couldn’t stop herself. Tact was apparently not something she could attain on drugs. “Why?”

“For stealing medical supplies.” Carol finally answered. “It’s not something I like talking about and not something I want to spread around the school. That’s why I don’t introduce myself as a doctor.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve done things I’m not proud of.” Carol said before taking a deep breath and sitting on the bed. “Things to you.”

“Wh-what are you talking about? You’ve been nothing but helpful. I don’t know what I'd do if it wasn’t for you. You’ve been such a good friend!” Jennifer stopped as Carol frowned.

“No, Jennifer. I’m not a good friend.” She said quietly. “I’m the one who let you down.”

“I don’t understand. Y-you taught me to drive, you lied to get me out of the hospital, you’ve watched Matilda for me countless times, you even got me my money back from the daycare. How could you have possibly let me do-?”

“Because I didn’t put my foot down!” Carol said as she hung her head. “I should have called you an ambulance the moment I saw you, but she was holding her hostage and I had to choose.”

“Carol, you’re scaring me. What are you talking about?” Jennifer asked. She could feel her mouth go dry.

“Do you remember me?”

“From when? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“We’ve met before.”

“When?”

“You were what, fifteen, sixteen?”

“No.”

“Yes.” Carol said with a heavy sigh. “I was the one taking care of you.”

“You saved my life.” Jennifer said after a moment of silence. Carol snorted.

“I had a duty to report her and I didn’t. Instead I took the money. It’s my fault. Those cigar burns weren't there before.”

“You didn’t do it for the money.” Jennifer said slowly. There were fragments of memory there. Where were they coming from? The snapping of bones. The screaming. Her eyes opened wide. “Anastasia!” Carol chuckled darkly. “Is she okay? Did she make it out? What happened to her?”

“You can ask her yourself, she’s in the backyard.” Jennifer nearly choked. The sweet little blond girl couldn’t have been… “Although, we still have no idea where you got the name Anastasia. You kept calling her that no matter how many times we told you her name was-”

“Hortensia.” Jennifer said in shock.

“Do you remember?”

“No, not really.” Carol sighed again.

“Then let me fill you in.”

Chapter Text

Just a few more inches Mr. Perry thought as he adjusted the article. He tweaked the alignment a little more to the left before he nodded in approval. There, the outline was done. He wiped his ink stained hands on a nearby rag. Picking which articles made the paper was always a daunting task, but this week even more so. Should he choose the article about Mrs. Hubbard's bake sale, or the church's swap meet? The missing Reyes boy would be front and center and-.

Mr. Perry looked up from his work as his office door slammed open.

“Ma’am, you can’t be back here!” He could hear someone shout out front followed by hurried footsteps.

The next thing he knew, he was being overshadowed by a giant formidable looking woman.

“You!” The giant barked. “Are you in charge of this paper?”

“Yes, but this area isn’t open to the public.” He was met with a malicious glare. Mr. Perry swallowed nervously. “Can I help you with something?”

“I need this in the paper.” She slammed a note down onto his desk. He looked it over.

“I’m afraid you’ve missed the deadline, but I’d be happy to print it in next weeks-”

“I need it in tomorrow's paper!”

“The layouts already completed, I can’t just-” He was silenced again by another slam, but this time when her hand rose it revealed a folded 100 pound note. His hand slid over it. “Tomorrow it is.”

…

Evelyn Smith stared glumly at her empty wallet. “Stupid cheating bastard.” She huffed. It was never the “right” time to be abandoned, but why’d he have to do it while she was still in school? He couldn’t wait one more year until she graduated? Now she had no job, no money, and no child care if this last place refused her.

“Don’t. Bite. Anyone.” She hissed to the child she had clutched by the wrist in her right hand. If this child got kicked out of one more daycare…

“When’s daddy coming home?” the little girl whined.

“Soon.” Evelyn lied through clenched teeth. “He’s away for work.” She stopped at a newspaper dispenser on their walk and deposited a few coins. She had been combing the classifieds religiously, but she couldn’t find anything that could work around her schedule. She opened the paper and scanned down the listings. Today appeared no different. She was about to crumple up the paper in frustration when something caught her eye.

URGENT! CARETAKER NEEDED! A.S.A.P.
MEDICAL EXPERIENCE A PLUS
MOTHER OF YOUNG CHILDREN PREFERRED
WILL PAY CASH

Eveyln’s hands shook. This was…this was perfect. She needed a phone! She had to call before someone else did.

“Hurry,” she said. She pulled the girl's hand, making her run to keep up beside her until they came to a payphone. She punched the numbers with trembling fingers. She was so excited she kept misdialing. On her third try, she got it right. The phone picked up on the first ring.

“Hello, I’m calling about your ad in the-”

“How soon can you get here?” The voice demanded.

“I- have to take my daughter to daycare, but-”

“How old?”

Evelyn blinked in surprise. “Umm, almost five.”

“Bring her, here’s the address. Involve no one else. We value our privacy.” The line went dead. She stared at the phone in her hands. B-but she had school! She sighed. Maybe she could work out a schedule later. She could miss one day. She bit her lip as she pulled her daughter along who was about to chase a grasshopper into the street. They were doing rounds in the hospital today. Yuck. The last time had sent her running to vomit into a trash can into the hall. How did people ever get used to the smell?

“Change of plans, you’re coming with mommy today.” Evelyn said. “I need you to be on your best behavior. Please! Mommy needs this job and the lady on the phone was nice enough to let me bring you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” She didn’t have time to care. The woman sounded distressed, she must really need someone. “Maybe she has a disabled child and needs someone good with kids.” Evelyn cringed at the thought. The last thing she needed was her daughter to blurt out something insensitive like, “Why don’t you have legs?” during the interview.

When they got to the address, she was surprised to find a large red brick building with the front door already ajar. She knocked on the door.

“Come in! Hurry! Close the door behind you!” A voice barked from inside. She quickly did as she was told and turned to find a towering figure at the bottom of the stares waiting for her.

“Hi, I’m Eve, and this is my daughter Hortensia, thank you for meet-” She started to say, but was cut off by a loud moan directing her attention upstairs.

“Yes, yes, up here!” the woman barked and motioned for her to follow. The moaning was getting louder. Then the smell hit her.

“It stinks.” Her daughter complained.

“Sush.” The woman pointed to a door. “Why don’t you wait out here for a minute?” Eve took a deep breath before walking inside. It took all of five minutes for her to realize she was in over her head. This girl didn’t need a caretaker. She needed a hospital! She stepped out of the room looking pale and shaky.

“Ma’am, she needs to go to the emergency room!”

“No!” Her deep frown, which Evelyn had taken for stress, turned frightful. Her giant hands were resting on her daughter's shoulders. Her features relaxed for a moment. “I mean, she’s just been released, but I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I-I don’t think I can-” The woman shoved an envelope into her chest. Evelyn opened it. Her mouth went dry. It was enough to cover rent, daycare, and food for a month. Evelyn swallowed. “I’ll need to pick up supplies from the hospital.”

“Involve no one.” The woman hissed.

“Hortensia, come on, we need to-”

“She stays.” The woman said. Her hands had tightened around her shoulders to the point her daughter began to whimper. “I need to make sure you come back.”

“Of course I’m coming back! Let her go. I’ll leave the money if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“She stays.” The woman repeated. There was another loud, agonizing moan. Evelyn’s eyes flicked to the door. “Hurry up.”

…

“… I’ve prescribed you antibiotics. If you don’t see any improvement in the next week, call my office and schedule another follow up.” Doctor Carol Rodgers said. She slipped her gloves off. “I’ll step out so you can get dressed. Check with the front desk for paperwork on your way out.” She closed the door behind her and stepped into the hall. She had only seen one patient and she already wanted to go home. She went to the next door and pulled the chart down. Oh good. Something easy.

“I need to speak to the doctor here!” A voice yelled from the front. Carol poked her head up. “It’s an emergency!”

“Ma’am, you’ll need to make an appointment. The doctor is with other patients at the moment.”

Emergency? Gynecology didn’t get many emergencies. Unless… She sighed. It must be someone from one of those communities. There were several Anabaptist settlements outside the town lines that preferred home births. Every once in a while someone would come in the hospital begging for help.

Carol frowned as she poked her head out into the waiting room. This wasn’t one of them. Instead, there was a young woman dressed in scrubs looking wild eyed and panicked. Carol had seen her before. She eyed her name tag. That’s right, she had passed her in the hall last week while her head was in a trashcan. Carol had been teasing her. She was a nursing student.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Rodger’s. Do you need something?”

“I need you to come with me! It’s an emergency! And bring supplies! Pain medicine! Iv line!” She began listing odd and end supplies. Carol could barely make out what she was saying. Something about her daughter and needing the money. Yes, it was just as she originally thought. Another home birth.

“How old is the patient?”

“Young! I don’t even know if she’s in her teens yet.” And here she thought today would be easy.

“I’m not a midwife.”

“Fine! Please, hurry!” Evelyn huffed. “I need you to drive. I ran here.”

“From the settlements?!”

“No, a home in town. No time, please. She has my daughter!” The woman was near hysterics now.

“Okay, okay, calm down.” She looked at the front office worker. “Call Susan in and cover my patients. If not, reschedule them.” She went to her office and retrieved her emergency bag. It wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last. “Explain on the way.”

“You’ll have to see.”

When they pulled up to the house, Evelyn jumped out the car and barreled her way inside, Carol followed, bag in hand. Once she was inside, she was greeted with the anguished sounds of labor pains coming from inside.

“Fill a tub of warm water and bring it upstairs. And bring lots of towels.” She hurried upstairs two at a time and opened the bedroom door to find a large, surprised woman holding a squirming child by the wrist.

“Who are you?!” The woman demanded. Carol ignored her and turned her attention to the girl writhing in pain on the bed.

“Hello, my name is Doctor Rodgers.” she said as she looked the girl over. Her skin was ghostly pale, and she was sweating profusely. “Can you tell me how far along you are?”

“She’s not pregnant, you imbecile!” The woman yelled from behind her. Carol frowned. If she wasn’t in labor, what emergency could a Gynecologist be needed for?

“Can you tell me your name?” Carol asked.

“J-Jen-ny.” The girl panted out through gritted teeth.

“Hello, Jenny, can you tell me what’s wrong?” The girl weakly pointed down before her hands became fists at her side and she let out another moan.

“IT HURTS!” She screamed out.

“I’m going to take a look, okay?” Carol lifted the blanket. Her face blanched.

“The clumsy thing spilled a pot of water while she was cooking.” The woman said before turning her attention to Evelyn. “You! I told you not to bring anyone!”

“Let my daughter go!” Eveyln demanded, setting the bowl of water and towels down. Carol stared in shock as the beast of a woman took the child's arm, and with a sharp sudden twist ,snapped it. There was a loud crunch. The girl let out a howl.

“HORTENSIA!” Evelyn screamed.

“Next time when I say don’t bring anyone maybe you’ll listen!”

“I can’t do this on my own!” Evelyn cried.

“She needs to go to the hospital.” Carol said.

“No. Fix her here.” The woman growled.

“Au-aunt Trunchbull, p-p-lease.” The girl begged.

“SHUT UP!”

“I’m calling an ambulance.” Carol said. She hurried downstairs to the phone, loud clomping followed behind her. She reached for the phone, but when she picked up the receiver there was nothing but silence. She glared at the woman, Trunchbull the girl had said. “What did you do? Why isn’t the phone working?”

“She. Stays. Here.” The Trunchbull said. Carol swallowed. She still had the crying child gripped tightly by her broken arm. “Who do you think is faster, the police or me?” Her hands moved to the child’s neck. “Now get back upstairs and quiet the little whore.” Carol silently went back up the stairs.

“Can you rate your pain on a scale of one to ten?” Carol asked. She knew what the answer would be.

“T-ten.” Jenny cried.

“How long ago did this happen?” Carol asked. She pushed the blanket up to her stomach and stared. She hadn’t seen scalding this bad in years. She didn’t have the right equipment for this.

“I don’t know.” Jenny whimpered. “I’ve been i-in and out.”

Carol reached into her bag and began to put on gloves. The first thing she needed to do was clean her up. Judging from the stains she had urinated on herself. Carol grimaced. She couldn’t imagine how agonizing that must have been. “This might hurt.” She lightly dabbed the wet washcloth against her skin and was rewarded with an ear piercing scream. “I know. I know. I’m sorry, but I need to clean it. Evelyn, can you start an Iv line? Do you know how?”

“Yes.”

“Good, after that I’m going to need you to go back and get me a list of things. Go back to my office, hand it to them and they will get it for you.”

“Will she let me leave? What about my daughter?” Eve asked. They both looked at the child whimpering in the corner.

“You’ll have to convince her. I’ll keep her safe.” Carol said. She wiped at Jenny’s skin again and earned herself another blood curdling scream. “I need a few dipstick strips, pain medicine, a catheter, Iv fluids, a pole, stirrups, antibiotics. She has open, infected wounds. She’s running a high fever. And bandages. Lots of bandages. How’s that IV coming?”

“She won’t stay still.”

“Try and keep your arm still. I know it’s hard.”

“Got it!”

Carol handed her a list of supplies she needed. “Hurry.” She turned back to the girl in the bed.

“How did this happen?” Carol whispered. “Did she do this to you?” She couldn’t tell between the writhing and moaning, but she was almost certain the girl had nodded. “We’ll get you out of here.” She pulled out the desk chair and got to work gently dabbing the wounds clean.

“What’s your name?” Jenny weakly asked. Carol was about to answer when she realized Jenny wasn’t talking to her.

“Hortensia.” The little girl said with a sniffle.

“Anastasia’s a pretty name.”

“It’s Hortensia.”

“Why are you crying?”

“She hurt me.” Hortensia whimpered, cradling her arm against her chest.

“She hurt me too.” Jenny whispered before closing her eyes.

“I like your stuffed animals.” Hortensia said. Jenny opened her eyes and gave her a forced smile.

“Which one’s your favorite?” The girl pointed. “I can’t see.”

Shit, Carol thought. Did she just say she had to pee? She wasn’t prepared for that yet.

“Can you wait for the catheter?” Carol asked. No, if she couldn’t, she’d be in agony. She couldn’t risk getting urine in the wounds again. That’s probably why they were infected in the first place. But how could they do this? Getting up wasn’t an option. A bed pan was no better.

“Huh?” Jenny moaned, rolling her head back forward. “Will it hurt?” She asked in ragged pained breaths.

Yes. It would. “I’ll be gentle.” She dug in her bag until she pulled out a protective pad. She’d start with this. “Can you roll onto your side?” Jenny grunted in pain before falling back onto the bed.

“No.” She groaned.

“Try pushing yourself up so I can slide this under you. Yes, like that.” She slid a couple pads over the wet bedding. It would have to do for now until Evelyn came back and helped her change the sheets.

“Oh, that one.” Jenny mumbled. Carol looked up to find the little girl holding up a stuffed dog. “His name is Rover. Do you like him?” The little girl nodded. “Then he’s yours.”

Carol smiled and went back to digging in her bag. Her head shot up when she felt the bed shaking. Jenny whimpered as Hortensia pulled herself up with a jump. “Woah, get down from there.” Carol admonished.

“She’s okay.” Jenny panted out. The little girl had her good arm wrapped around her neck. “You're very sweet. How old are you?”

“Five. Almost.”

Good, maybe the kid could keep her mind off the pain. She doubted it, but anything helped at this point.

“You like kids?” Carol asked, resuming her frantic search.

“Yes.” Jenny answered. She waved a hand through the girl's blond curls. “I like their innocence.”

Carol’s hand touched something plastic. She pulled it out to reveal a crumpled up sick bag. Good, something waterproof. Maybe she could bend the mouth piece and make it form fitting.

“You doing okay? I’m almost done. If you can hold it a little while longer.” She pushed on the hard plastic rim. It was slow, but it was bending.

“Hold what?” Jenny groaned.

“Your bladder.”

“I’m fine.” Jenny whimpered.

“You’re wriggling.”

“Because it hurts.”

Carol breathed a sigh of relief. “So you don’t need to go?” She looked up to find the girl grimacing.

“I don’t want to. It’ll hurt.”

“It might.” Carol lied. “But do you need to?” Jenny looked away. “It will hurt a lot worse if you urinate on yourself again.” Jenny slowly nodded, fists clenched at her sides.

“Alright, I’ll help you in a minute. I’m trying to figure out a way so it doesn’t get in your sores.”

“How bad is it?”

Bad. “I’ve seen worse. You’ll be okay.” She resumed fiddling with the mouthpiece until she got it to bend inward. “This is as close as I can get it to making a seal.” Carol stood and placed it firmly against the girl's skin, eliciting another loud cry of pain. This was not going to be fun. She covered the exposed sores with the padding in case it leaked. “There, you can go on and have a nice wee before everyone gets back.”

“It’s going to hurt.” Jenny moaned.

“Evelyn will be back with pain meds soon, hopefully, and then we need to work on getting your fever down.”

“I can wait until the pain meds.” Jenny mumbled.

“I need to make sure you’re not pregnant first before I can give you any. I need your pee for that.”

“I’m not pregnant.” Jenny moaned. “Please.”

“Do as she says.” A voice growled from behind her. Carol turned to find the woman named Trunchbull standing in the doorway. “It would just be like the little whore to be pregnant, wouldn’t it!” she remarked.

“Ma’am, please,” Carol said.

“Do it, you good for nothing cow!” The Trunchbull spat. “UR-IN-ATE!” Both girls flinched.

“It’s okay, Jenny, it won’t be that bad. Give it a good push.” Carol lied. She pursed her lips as Jenny began to sob and liquid began to trickle into the bag. She held it tighter against her. Good, it wasn’t leaking. “That’s it, you’re doing good. Keep going. Let it all come out.” She waited a few seconds after the stream had stopped. “All done? Is it safe to pull the bag away?” Jenny continued to sob, but nodded. She lightly dabbed at her wet skin with the washcloth to clean her.

“Ohh, you’re not supposed to go potty in the bed.” Hortensia said.

“She didn’t go potty in the bed.” Carol said. “She did exactly what she was supposed to do.”

“Test it. I bet the whore’s pregnant, I know she is!” Miss Trunchbull growled. Carol glared at the woman. Her hand inched forward as if it wanted to fling the bag of urine at her. Carol stopped it. It would be a waste of urine.

“Fine.” Carol hissed. She took a few deep breathes. She had never been so angry before. Her hands were shaking. She reached into her bag, but stopped when she felt the side zipper. Carol felt the syringe. She debated whether or not to jab the woman with it, but once again, it would be wasted. Jenny needed it more. It might be overkill, but if Evelyn didn’t come back soon she’d use it.

Instead, she reached into another pocket and pulled out a plastic packet. She had put them on her list of items to bring back, but it turns out she had a couple after all. Carol ripped the package open with her teeth before dumping it out on the desk. Next she took the test strip and swirled it around in the bag of urine. She set the pee soaked strip on a washcloth before pushing her way past the giant.

“It takes a minute.” Carol said before going into the hall bathroom and dumping the contents of the bag in the toilet.

“Don’t lie to me! Those are supposed to be instantaneous!” The Trunchbull spat.

“It’s testing several things.” Carol said. “White blood cells, acidity, glucose, along with a slew of other things. And yes, HGC levels. I can already tell you just by looking, she has an infection. Your daughter’s very sick. Please reconsider transferring her to the hospital.”

“That thing is not mine!” The Trunchbull bellowed. “My sister and her good -for- nothing- husband dumped her on me.”

“Where are they?”

“Dead.” The Trunchbull hissed. “Just like that brat will be if you don’t fix the mess she made.”

“The mess she made? Those burns are from having liquid poured on her, not spilled.” Carol glared. “The moment whatever deal you made with Evelyn is over, your ass is going to prison.” In the blink of an eye, hot searing pain washed over her. She was doubled over on the ground, gasping for breath.

“If that’s what I can do to you with one hit, just think what I can do to them.” The Trunchbull sneered. She lifted her foot. There was another explosive wave of pain in her side. Carol groaned, rocking back and forth. “Now get back inside! And if I see a single one of you out of that room again before my whore of a niece walks out that door, I’ll break her other arm. Do I make myself clear?” Carol quickly nodded her head up and down. “Good, because next time, I won’t be so nice. Maybe next time I’ll pull off her neck.” The Trunchbull leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Just like Reye’s”

Chapter Text

By the time Evelyn made it back, she was startled to find Dr. Rodgers sitting by the window holding her stomach. She looked pale and shaken.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t come back.” Dr. Rodgers said in a low voice. She grimaced as she stood up and took a shaky step forward.

“Of course I came back. My daughter’s here!” Evelyn said, putting a box down.

“Is this everything?” Dr. Rodgers said with a frown as she peeked inside.

“No, I need to make a couple trips to the car.” She turned to leave the room, but stopped at the sound of approaching footsteps. The giant reappeared , arms full of all the things from her trunk. She let it fall to the ground with a loud crash before turning and slamming the door behind her. Evelyn paled as she heard the sound of a lock sliding into place. “Did she just lock us in?”

“Yes.” Dr. Rodgers said with a wince. She bent down and began picking up the Iv pole.

“HORTENSIA! GET OUT OF HER BED!” Evelyn yelled. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“But she was reading me a story!” Hortensia whined, clutching the stuffed dog to her chest with her good arm.

“You leave her alone! She is not there to entertain you! Get down now! Don't give me that attitude!”

“Fine.” Hortentensia huffed. She slid off the bed and took a seat by the window.

“Sorry.” Jenny said softly. “She was fine, really.”

“You can tell her ‘no’ if she’s bothering you.” Eveyln said.

“She wasn’t.” Jenny said. “I liked having her with me.”

Eveyln looked her up and down for a moment. “You’re sitting up. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, much better.” Jenny said, closing the book in her hands and setting it on the bedside.

“It’s temporary.” Dr. Rodgers reminded her.

“You had pain medicine?” Evelyn asked. She began scooping the supplies off the floor and setting them on the desk.

“I gave her an epidural about an hour ago. I need to get to work before it wears off. I only had the one.” She began setting up the stirrups at the foot of the bed. “Your daughter’s been helpful.” she added after a pause.

“Hortensia? Helpful?” Evelyn asked with raised eyebrows.

“She’s been keeping her mind elsewhere.” Dr. Rodgers whispered. “This isn’t a good situation. I might have to ask that you let her resume what they were doing while I work. It’s best she not think about it.”

“So she wasn’t driving everyone crazy?” Evelyn asked.

“I’m not a fan of kids.” Carol admitted. She found the child incredibly annoying in all honesty. “But my goal is to keep my patient calm and happy. If singing and making silly noises does the trick, then so be it.” She surveyed her set up for a moment before changing her gloves. “Can you start the foley?”

“Yes.” Eveyln said. She went to the box and pulled out the tubes before coming to a stop at the foot of the bed. Carol watched as her face drained of color.

“Is there a problem?”

“It's, well, there’s a lot of…” Eveyln said before swallowing.

“It’s fine.” Carol said. She remembered their earlier encounter. She couldn’t risk her getting sick in here. “I got it, how about you start the saline drip?”

“Th-thank you.” Evelyn said.

“Alright Jenny, can you scoot down for me?” Carol asked. The girl gave her panicked look. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t move my legs.” Jenny said.

“You’re just numb.” Carol said. “Alright, that’s okay. Mrs. Smith, can you help me get her onto the stirrups when you’re done with that?”

“Yes, and Eve is fine.” She hung the saline drip on the hook of the Iv pole. “Alright, Jenny, we’re going to move you down now. Are you ready? One, two, three.” She lifted her up under the arms while Carol pulled until she was nearly halfway off the bed.

“That’s better.” Carol said, placing the girl's feet in the stirrups. “Jenny, how about you keep reading now? I think your friend wants to hear the rest of the chapter.”

“Yeah!” Hortensia cheered, jumping up and retrieving the book.

“Make sure the little one stays over there.” Carol warned in a hushed tone. “This isn’t something she’s going to want to see.”

“Hortensia,” Eve said. “Make sure you stay seated at the window.”

“But I can’t hear!” the girl complained.

“She can sit with me,” Jenny said. “Like we were before. Sort of.”

“Can you read like that?” Eve asked as she handed her the book, “Flat on your back?” Jenny nodded and opened to where she last was as Evelyn hoisted her daughter back on the bed. “Stay up here.” she warned her before turning her attention back to the teen. “Do you like to read much?”

“Yes, I love it.” Jenny said. “I just wish I had more books to choose from.”

“I wish this one had an interest. I’ve been trying to teach her, but it’s like pulling teeth.”

“She was reading earlier. I heard her.” Carol said from the foot of the bed.

“She was?” Eve asked, a tone of skepticism in her voice.

“Yes, Jenny was helping her. Would you mind taking vitals?”

“She’s running a high fever. 39.6c” Eve said after a minute once the thermometer beeped.

“We need to get that down. It’s the infection. I’ll start her on antibiotics once I’m done with this.” Carol said.

“Are you still working on the foley?”

“No, that’s in. I’m trying to clean out some of the pus while she’s still numb. Some of the blisters have opened.”

“Oof.” Eve said, crossing her legs.

“Don’t come over here if you're squeamish. I’ve got the speculum in.”

“What’s that?” Jenny asked.

“It’s a tool to help me see what I’m doing. Do you feel any of this?”

“No.”

“Good. Keep reading. Just ignore me for the time being.”

“What are you doing?”

“Best you not know.” Carol said. “I’m almost done. Eve, I really hope that’s not what you brought for bandages.” She nodded her head towards a bag of diapers in the corner.

“No, I wasn’t sure how long we’d be here for.” Evelyn said. “There for Horte-”

“NO THEY AREN'T!” the girl yelled. Eve rolled her eyes.

“Fine, I just happened to grab a bag because I felt like it.” Eve said before whispering. “She’s 0 for 3 this week. I don’t want to worry about her falling asleep and making a mess.”

“For the best. We’re locked in.” Carol said.

“Not really.” Jenny said. “It’s easy to get out.”

“Does she often lock you in?” Eve asked softly.

“Just at night.” Jenny said.

“There’s no just, she shouldn’t be locking you in.” Eve said with a frown. “What if you need something?”

“Then I sneak out.” Jenny said before chuckling softly. “I like to hide the remotes. I can hear her yelling downstairs. It’s funny.”

“So that’s what you do for fun? Read and antagonize your aunt?” Carol asked.

“Mhm.” Jenny said as she closed her eyes.

“Hey! Finish the story!” Hortensia said.

“I’m tired.” Jenny whispered. “Why don’t you show your mommy how much you can read? Read the sentences we worked on.” She passed the book up to the little girl. “It’s on the first page.”

Eve stopped what she was doing and listened in surprise. How? “You taught her all that while I was gone?” Jenny shrugged. “You’d make a good teacher.”

“It’s starting to hurt again.” Jenny whimpered.

“Alright, I'm done here. I just need to bandage you up.” Carol said. “You did good staying still for me while I sewed you up.”

“You sowed me?” Jenny asked, horrified.

“A few spots needed closing. I gave you a couple of stitches.” Carol said.

“How many?”

“27.” Carol said.

“27!?”

“Don’t think about it. The good news is the worst is over and you didn’t feel a thing. You will need to apply silver sulfadiazine ointment several times a day and change the bandages. For now, we will help you with that.” She bent down and pulled out a yellow tube of ointment before looking back and letting out breath. “If only I could sit you in a saddle of the stuff.” Applying it was time consuming, but necessary.

“You look like a mummy.” Hortensia said once the last of the gauze was wrapped tightly around her from her knees to just below her belly button.

“Did you bring any more of these pads?” Carol asked, looking through the boxes. “Oh good, you did. We need to change her bedding. Should change her clothes too.” She looked around the room and frowned. “Jenny, do you have any clean sheets in here?”

“Check in the closet.” Jenny said.

“Just a few more things and we’ll let you rest, alright?” Eve said. “You’re doing so good.”

“Here they are.” She grabbed a fresh change of bedding and stood over her. “I’m not quite sure how to make this work. Eve, I’m going to need your help.” With lots of rolling, bending and adjusting, the two of them managed to get a clean sheet on. “I need to sit down.” Carol said. She held her side and with a grimace of pain took a seat on the bench by the window. “Let’s get some air in here.” She tugged on the window and frowned. “What the…”

“What is it?” Eve asked, wet washcloth in hand.

“It doesn’t open.” Jenny admitted.

“It’s nailed shut!” Carol said. She stared at the window dumbfounded before turning back to the girl in the bed. This child was a prisoner! Nails in the window, lock on the bedroom door! Carol swallowed. They were all prisoners now. She slumped down in the seat gripping her side.

“How are you feeling, hun?” Eve asked.

“My arm hurts!” Hortensia whined. “And I’m hungry.”

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Eve said with a shake of her head. “Kids.” she whispered. Jenny gave her a weak smile.

“She’s sweet.” Jenny said as she closed her eyes. “Her hair's so pretty.”

“Don’t let those bright blue eyes deceive you.” Eve said with a roll of her eyes. “The curls are just there to hide the horns. Now let’s get you out of those dirty clothes. I’ve got you something clean to wear here after I wipe you down. No, arms at your sides. I know there isn’t much privacy right now. That’s it. I’ll be done in a minute.”

“Privacy is the least of her concerns right now.” Carol said. “If she’s embarrassed, it means she’s not in pain.”

“Both.” Jenny mumbled.

“Is it starting to wear off?” Eve asked. Jenny nodded. “We’ll give you something soon. Almost done here. How old are you, sweetheart?”

“Sixteen.”

“Really? I mistook you for someone younger.” Eve admitted. So had she, Carol thought as she watched. She had guessed her to be thirteen at most. “Any plans after highschool?”

“No.” Jenny mumbled.

“Well, you’ve got a few years to decide. No hurry.”

“I graduate this year.” Jenny said.

“Really? You’re so young.”

“School is my escape.” she mumbled.

“You must be very smart.”

“My father started me a year early, that’s all.”

“No idea at all what you want to do? What about college?” Eve asked.

“She’d never let me.” Jenny whispered.

“What does she expect you to do after high school then?”

“The housework.”

“No, that can’t be right. No guardian would waste your potential like that.” Eve frowned as Jennifer let out a barely audible snort. “Well if you could pick, what would you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” Jennifer answered honestly.

“Well, I stand by what I said before. I think you’d make a great teacher.”

…

“Are you alright? You don’t look so good.” Eve asked. Carol opened her eyes to find the woman staring down at her. “Does your stomach hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Carol lied. “We had a bit of a disagreement in the hall earlier.”

“What?” Eve asked with pursed lips. Her eyes were scanning over her. “What happened?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“Dr. Rodgers, lift up your shirt.”

“No, I'm fine.”

“You’re not fine. You’ve been holding your side since I got back. What happened?”

“Keep your voice down.” Carol hissed. The last thing they needed were the children upset.

“Lift. Your. Shirt.” Eve demanded in a low hushed tone. Carol sighed and unbuttoned her blouse. “Dr. Rodgers.” Eve said. She took in a sharp intake of breath.

“It’s just a bruise.”

“That’s not just a bruise!” Eve admonished. “We need to wrap that! You could have a broken rib.”

“Don’t waste the supplies on me.” Carol said as she refastened her shirt. “Nothing’s broken.”

“You don’t know that.” Eve said. “Jenny said it’s easy to get out, you should-”

“No.” Carol said through clenched teeth. “Even if the lock wasn’t there, we can’t leave. Not yet.”

“We’ll have to leave soon.” Eve said. “Hortensia needs to go potty. She’s been squirming for the last couple minutes.”

“No, you can’t. Don’t risk it.”

“Dr, she’s only four. She can’t hold it.”

“No.” Carol said more forcefully. “If she’s going to have an accident, then put her in one of the diapers you brought.”

“They're just for sleep.” Eve argued.

“And now they're not.”

“I can’t hold it.” Eve hissed.

“Welcome to the medical field.” Carol said.

“Tell me. Why can’t we leave this room?” Eve demanded. Her voice was no longer hushed.

“Because it’s not safe.” Carol admitted.

“We’re just going to the bathroom and back.”

“You don’t understand the danger we’re in. That she’s in.” Carol pointed to the squirming child. “That woman,” she dropped her voice to a whisper, “killed Billy Reyes.” She watched the color drain out of Eve’s face. “What do you think happened to Jenny?”

“Sh-she said she spilled-”

“Poured.” Carol said through clenched teeth. “She poured boiling water on her, and for what?!”

“For being a whore.” they heard a soft voice whisper. They turned to find Jenny awake and sitting up in bed.

“No, Jenny, no matter what happened, you didn’t deserve that. No one does.” Carol said. She stood and took a seat by her bedside. “Why don’t you tell me what happened? Do you remember?”

“She caught me…” A pained expression came over her face before a single tear slid down the side of her face.

“It doesn’t matter what she caught you doing or with whom.” Carol said. “You’re hardly the first teenager to get caught with a boy in their room. Is this why she assumed you were pregnant? You’re not by the way.”

“No! I was just, uhh. I was. I was just, umm,” her eyes darted to the child and back to Carol, “uncomfortable.”

“I see.” Carol said. “And your aunt caught you making yourself… more comfortable?” Jenny nodded with a sniffle. Carol closed her eyes and chanted the doctor's mantra. Do no harm. Do no harm. “Jenny, you didn’t deserve this. You did nothing wrong.”

“I’m a whore.” Jenny choked out with a sob.

“No, you’re not.” Carol said. “I do it. Eve,” The woman looked up from the diaper bag and gave her a questioning look. “Do you masterbate?”

“Excuse me?” Eve choked out. Carol gave her a look that said just go with it. Her face turned a shade of crimson. “Sometimes.”

“See, nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, the only whore in this room is me.” Carol said with a wink. Eve snorted and Jenny gave her a painful sad smile. “Now that we’re on this topic, are you sexually active, Jenny?”

“Mommy, what’s a whore?” Hortensia asked. Eve groaned. Carol had to bite back a laugh.

”It’s…It’s someone who plays with a lot of people.” Eve said.

“So, you have a lot of friends?” Hortensia asked, looking at the doctor with wide eyes.

“Hortensia!” Eve groaned.

“Yes,” Carol chuckled. “I’ve had a lot of friends over the years.”

“Is that why my name’s Whore-tensia?” she asked, eliciting another snort from Carol.

“No! You were named after your grandmother!” Eve said.

“Does grandma have a lot of friends too?”

“Depends on if she has plastic over her furniture or not.” Carol chuckled.

“She does!” Hortensia volunteered.

“Oh, grandma’s a squirter.”

“Dr. Rodgers!” Eve groaned into her hand.

“She doesn’t understand.” Carol said with a smirk.

“But I do, and I don’t want to think of my mother like that.” Eve mumbled before shuddering. “What happened to being professional?”

“Sorry, sorry.” Carol said. “Just trying to lighten the mood for her.” She spun in her chair and faced the teen again before clearing her throat. “Right, where were we? Are you sexually active?”

“Does it matter?” Jenny mumbled.

“Yes, it does. I’m a gynecologist. I specialize in women’s reproductive and sexual health among other things. These are just routine questions. Trust me, nothing you say will shock me and everything you say is confidential and pri-” she looked around at the room of people. She cleared her throat. “Your aunt won’t know, how about that?”

“I…I don’t really know.” Jennifer said.

“Let me put it this way. Have you done anything with anyone other than yourself?” Jenny nodded. “And how many partners would you say you’ve had?”

“One.”

“And is this relationship in the past, or is it ongoing?” Jenny shrugged and looked away. “I’m going to take that as ongoing. Hey, there’s no need to cry.” Carol sighed as the girl hid her face behind her hands. “Does your aunt know about this relationship?” Jenny nodded. “Is this why she’s locked you in this room?” Jenny shook her head. “So she’s angry with you for masturbating, but not about having a sexual partner?” Carol asked out loud. Jenny began to cry harder.

“It’s her.” Jenny sobbed.

“I’m sorry, I-I don’t follow.” Carol said. She swallowed the lump rising in her throat.

Do no harm.

Do no harm.

“She’s the sexual partner.”

Do harm.

Chapter Text

“The lungs on that one.” Dr. Rodgers said with a grimace. Jennifer and Carol both stared at the closed closet door. Jennifer’s confession had sent Evelyn scrambling to remove her daughter from the room so they could talk in private. Unfortunately, the only place to go had been her closet. Dr. Rodgers had noticed the diaper in Evelyn’s hand as she closed the door. It had been the final straw for the child. Now it sounded as if all hell was breaking loose. They could both hear the sounds of screaming, thrashing and objects crashing to the ground.

“I hope there’s nothing valuable there.” Carol said before dropping her voice. “She needs to get control of her brat.” She was afraid of what Jenny’s aunt would do if she heard her tantrum.

“She’s just a kid.” Jennifer mumbled. But Carol could see the panic and fear etched in her face. They were both thinking the same thing. Her meltdown was putting them all in danger. If someone didn’t quiet her soon, who knows what the Trunchbull would do. There’s no way she couldn’t hear it.

Carol stood and knocked on the door.

“Evelyn, you need to quiet her!” Carol said. There was another loud crash. Her eyes flicked to the bedroom door and back. She couldn’t tell if the Trunchbull was coming or not. Every bang and scream put her on edge.

“What do you think I’m trying to do here!” Eve yelled back.

“It sounds like you’re breaking every bone in her body! What are you doing?”

“Trying to put a diaper on her, but she's not cooperating!” Eve yelled back, sounding just as alarmed. “HORTENSIA! CALM DOWN, RIGHT NOW!”

“She’s going to bring that monster back!” Carol shouted. “Forget this.” she hurried to her bag and pulled out an empty syringe.

“What are you going to do?” Jennifer asked.

“Sedate her.” Carol said. She pulled a vial out of the box and jabbed the needle inside before pulling up the plunger. “Open the door. Let her out!” Carol shouted.

“No! Don’t do that!” Jennifer said. “She’s just upset!”

“I don’t have a choice. She’s putting herself in danger.”

Carol froze, syringe in hand. She could hear the pounding footsteps even over the screaming child. Oh no. She braced herself. They could hear the pin unlatching, and with a violent pull of the door, the Trunchbull stood in the doorway looking every bit enraged as Carol imagined her to be.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?” She shrieked. The wailing child inside the closet went quiet. She glared at them. “Where’s the other bitch at?”

“In there.” Carol said, pointing to the closet. She tried her best to stand tall despite her trembling legs. She swallowed. “The child is in pain, please allow them to leave. I can handle things here myself.” The Trunchbull gawked at her. Carol stood between her and the closet door. “At least leave us full access upstairs. We can’t care for your niece like this. We need food, water, and access to the restroom.” Agatha scowled.

“You’re a demanding old hag.” she sneered. She noticed the syringe in Carol’s hand. “What do you think you’re doing with that? Get rid of it!”

“It’s for the child.” Carol said before adding. “I wouldn’t waste it on you.”

“You’re supposed to be working on the whore!” She shoved a fat finger towards Jennifer.

“Stop it!” Carol growled, hands clenched into fists. She wished she had pulled more into the syringe. It wouldn’t make a dent in this damn behemoth. “She’s just a child! I know what you’ve been doing to her. She’s your niece, you sick fuck!”

“Don’t.” Jennifer whimpered. Agatha’s lips twisted into a smile that made the hairs on Carol’s arms raise.

“She told you that, did she?” Carol watched uneasily as the beast walked towards Jenny’s bed before coming to stop. She stood besides the girl who now sat cowering on the bed clutching her blanket. She put a hand on top of the teens head before slowly sliding her fingers down Jenny’s face. “Did she leave out the part where she begs me for it?” Jenny let out a choked sob.

“Get. Out.” Carol hissed.

“I guess you don’t want that food then. What’s another few bodies in the attic?”

“P-please stop, A-aunt T-trunchbull.” Jenny whimpered. “Wh-what’s the p-point of all th-those rations if you do-don’t use them?”

“You! Who said you could talk?” She faked a hit, making Jenny cower. She let out a snicker before turning back to Carol and sneered. “Fine, but you’ll be getting the worst ones.” She strode out the door before stopping in the hallway outside. “Why don’t you show them where the bathroom is, Jenny? They must be uncomfortable.” She slammed the door before the lock slid back into place.

They sat in silence for a few seconds before the closet door opened with a creak.

“Is it safe?” Eve asked, sticking her head out.
“If you can call this safe.” Carol said with a sigh. She looked at the trembling girl in the bed. “Are you alright?” Jenny nodded her head as she wiped at her tear streak face.

“I-I don’t beg her for it.” She mumbled before looking away.

“Of course you don’t. I didn’t believe her for a second.”

“She just wouldn’t stop teasing me.” Jenny said, barely above a whisper. Carol gave the girl's hand what she hoped was a reassuring squeeze.

“It’s not your fault. None of this is.”

“Umm, sorry, did she say something about a restroom?” Eve asked as she stepped out, followed by a diapered and grumpy looking toddler.

“Under the bed.” Jenny whispered to the blanket. With a look of confusion, Eve got on her hands and knees and peeked underneath. She reached her arm out before tossing a pair of soiled pajama pants into the middle of the floor, making Jenny groan and stretched again.

“This is a bucket.” Eve said incredulously before standing up. Jenny nodded, avoiding everyone's gaze.

“No. No. No. No. No.” Carol said. She snatched the object out of Eve’s hand before scooping up the soiled pajamas and threw them both in the closet before shutting the door. “The room needs to stay as sterile as possible.” Eve bit her lip and stared at the closet door. “NO!” Carol said again. “We are in a patient's room!”

“But I-”

“Hold it.” Carol demanded. “You are not a child.”

Eve nodded glumly, a pained expression on her face.

“It’s better than nothing.” Jenny mumbled. “You can use it if you need to. It’s why it’s here.”

“That’s, umm, nice of you to offer, but no.” Carol said. “That’s very unsanitary.”

“You had me wee in a bag.”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“It was an emergency.” Jennifer looked to Eve, who was shifting from foot to foot, then back to Carol.

“You’re sick. No one expects you to be able to hold it.”

“What if I have to wee again?”

“You won’t.”

“Why not?”

“You have a catheter.” Jennifer gave her a puzzled look. “Your bladder’s draining by itself. See.” She held up a clear quarter full bag of urine sitting by the foot of the bed. Jennifer's face darkened. “It’s a good thing. No more painful urination, for the time being.”

“What if I have to…?” Jennifer gave her a look

“Do you?” Jennifer quickly shook her head. “Good.” Carol sighed. “We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes. Just give me enough warning.” She thought of the soiled pajamas. “If you can.” Jennifer scowled, but nodded.

They all went silent as footsteps began pounding up the stairs. The sound of metal clanged before the door opened a crack. In flew one box, followed by another and then a third. Finally a large jug of water crashed to the ground before the door slammed shut again.

“Enjoy.” Agatha cackled, before retreating back down the stairs.

Carol picked up a box and examined it. “What are these?” she asked.

“War rations.” Jennifer said with a sour face. “What did she give you?”

“So, there, what, MRE’s? Let’s see, there’s Veggie Omelet, Chicken A la King and Veggie Burger. The chicken one doesn’t look too bad.”

“That’s because you haven’t tasted it.”

“Can’t be any worse than the hospital food. Eve, have you had the pleasure of dining in the cafeteria yet? You haven’t lived until you’ve had the chicken masala.”

“Never again.” Eve groaned. “Why do you think you found me with my head in the trash can?”

Carol chuckled and opened the box before dumping the contents out onto the desk. “Anyone?”

Eve raised her hand. “I’m starving. Hortensia, will you eat some?” Hortensia grunted. It looked like she still wasn’t on speaking terms.” Carol threw her a bag which she caught with both hands.

“Jenny?”

“No, I don’t think my stomach can handle it.” Jenny said with a wince. Carol checked her watch. It was already nearly 9 pm.

“How’s your pain level?”

“A six.”

“Okay, it’s close enough.” She put the MRE’s down and filled a syringe with a clear liquid. “This might make you feel a little loopy, but it’ll help you get some rest. Are you sure you don’t want to eat first?”

“I'm sure.” Jennifer said. Carol pushed the plunger down into the IV line, and within a minute, she could see the teen's eyes begin to droop until they closed.

“Sorry, last thing, open your mouth. Let me take your temperature.” Without lifting her eyelids, Jennifer opened her mouth and Carol took the opportunity to shovel in a forkful of the mush.

“Liar!” Jennifer said sitting and coughing.

“Swallow it.” Carol said. She watched the girl make a sour face before swallowing it down. “Three more bites. Then you can sleep.” Jennifer shook her head. “You need to eat. You’ll feel worse if you don’t.” Jennifer shook her head again. “It’s not that bad.” It was, but it was food. “Jenny, open your mouth. Little eyes are watching you.” Jennifer turned her head to find Hortensia staring at her. She gave Carol a dirty look before reluctantly opening her mouth for another bite. “Good girl.”

…

“So,” Carol asked from her spot on the floor. “Are you going to tell me how you got into this mess?”

“She put an ad in the paper looking for a caregiver. Here.” Eve reached into her coat pocket Hortensia was using for a blanket and pulled out a crumbled page of a newspaper. Carol read it over.

“Young mother preferred.” She read out loud. “Will pay cash.”

“I thought she wanted someone who could work with kids.” Eve admitted. “Thought I’d be caring for a child.”

“Evelyn, this has red flags all over it. Why did you bring your daughter anyway? Why didn’t you leave her with your husband? I see your ring.”

“He left.” Eve whispered. “I was desperate and she told me to bring her. Next thing I knew she was holding her hostage.” Carol sighed.

“She had this planned from the start.”

“Looks like it.” Eve said. The room was quiet for a few minutes before Eve spoke again. “It’s been hell since he left.”

“Hmm?”

“She’s always been such a daddy’s girl, and now that he’s gone, she’s been throwing these monster tantrums and getting herself kicked out of all the daycares in town. Then her little friend went missing, and…” She went quiet. “Did she really hurt him?”

“Who?”

“Billy Reyes. He was Hortensia’s friend.”

Carol felt her stomach flop. It could have been the stress. It could also have been the MRE, she wasn’t sure.

“That’s what she told me after she sucker punched me. Said she snapped his neck.”

“Do you think she was just trying to scare you?”

“I don’t know. She’s certainly strong enough. Either way, mission accomplished.” Carol muttered. She felt her swollen side and hissed. Her mind went to the Vicodin bottle on the desk. Just one would be enough. “It had to be on the right side.”

“Huh?” Eve asked. “What’s on the right side?”

“Where she kicked me. I’m still recovering from surgery.”

“She kicked you? I thought you said she punched you? And what surgery?” Eve asked, alarmed.

“She did both.” Carol admitted. “I was being stupid and threatened her.” She sighed. “And I had a hysterectomy. God, these hot flashes. I want to kick down that stupid window.” Not to mention the mood swings. She had never felt so enraged before. She looked up at the sleeping girl in the bed. She had worked with victims of sexual abuse before, some even younger than Jenny. She had seen the damage first hand, but she had never felt such a desire to avenge them. She had always kept a professional distance from her patients, but everytime she changed the bandages, the anger in her reared its ugly head.

“I’m sorry, I can’t take it anymore.” Eve said. Carol watched as she stood up and shuffled her way awkwardly to the closet. She sighed. They really were prisoners here.

“Go ahead.” Carol said. It was one thing if they were only going to be here for an afternoon, but her watch told her it had been nearly 15 hours. They may not be children, but they were still human. She sat up gingerly and got to her feet. “My turn.” she mumbled as Eve came out. At least they had a little privacy. A pee bucket was better than no bucket at all. She needed to empty Jenny’s catheter bag anyway.

Once she was done she sanatized her hands and tossed Eve the bottle. That’s when she heard a moan coming from the bed.

“Ready for more medicine?” She asked the writhing teen. She looked at her watch and checked her notes. No, it was too soon. “Are you in pain?” It felt like such a stupid question to ask. The girl had third degree burns on her privates, of course she was in pain.

“I need to…” Jenny whimpered. Her eyes were wide with panic and what little color her face had regained was now gone.

“You need to what?” Carol asked. She had to fight back a yawn. She was so tired. She felt like she had been in a fog all day. The girl groaned and gave her a pleading look. The light flicked on in Carol’s head. “Oh.”

“Bucket. I need the bucket. Please hurry.” Jenny begged.

“No bucket for you.” Carol said firmly. She dug in her bag and searched for a solution. She should have thought this through sooner. It was bound to happen eventually. “Are you going to throw up?” She asked. She could deal with vomit easily. Jenny shook her head. Damn. She flicked on the main light and tore through the supplies. Nothing. She gritted her teeth and faked a calm demeanor. “Let's get these bandages off you first. She unwound the gauze in the line of fire before searching again. She had to come up with something.

“Eve, I need your help.” Carol said. The woman stood and came over. “She needs to go number two.” she whispered. “I can’t think of anything.”

“What about the diapers? Or a emit bag?” Eve asked.

“I can’t get her in a position to make the bag work. She CAN NOT get fecal matter in her burns, diapers are out too.”

“The bucket?”

“We’ve already contaminated it.” Carol said.

“Please, hurry.” Jenny begged, holding her stomach.

“Honey, why didn’t you tell me sooner you needed to go?”

“No warning.” she said through gritted teeth.

“Do you think you have diarrhea?” Jenny nodded.

“Do you think she can hold herself up long enough?” Eve asked. “Or one of us can hold her legs. We can just pull the pad.”

“No choice, it’s going to have to work.” Carol whispered. She slipped on a fresh pair of gloves and gave the girl a sympathetic smile. She pulled her blanket and set it aside. “Ready?” Jennifer nodded but frowned at their lack of well, anything.

“Where?” she whimpered.

“Can you push yourself up or do you need one of us to hold you?”

“What if you put her in the stirrups? It would at least give her front more clearance.”

“It could make a bigger mess though.”

“You could use another pad as a shield.”

“That’s true. Alright. Help me move her down.” Jenny let out a soft mewl as they adjusted her until her feet were up in the air. “The good news is your anal cavity only has some minor burns. There’s only one spot that concerns me, do you think you could lean a little to your left. Perfect, hold that position.” Jennifer let out another cry as Carol held up another pad and placed Jennifer's feet over it to hold it in place.

“Hurry. I can’t…”

“Everything’s set on our end, sweetheart.” Eve whispered.

“But…but…” Jenny stammered. “There’s nothing…”

“It’s alright, Jenny,” Carol whispered. “Just go on the bed.”

“What?” Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “No!”

“We just have to swap out the pad when you’re done. I know you’re in an awkward position, but it’s the only way to keep everything clean.”

“We’ll just sit over at the window and talk amongst ourselves.” Eve reassured her. “Just call us over when you’re ready.” She gave her head a pat before they both took a seat by the window.

Jennifer let out another horrified cry and covered her face with her hands.

…

“Shh, don’t cry, dear.” Eve whispered as she ran the washcloth over Jennifer’s skin. “At least Hortensia slept through everything.”

“Please, don’t make me do that again.” the girl choked out.

“Sorry, hun, it was the only choice we had. Does your tummy feel better at least?” Jennifer made a so-so motion with her hand. “You’ll feel better once the infection’s all cleared up.” She balled up the dirty pads and stuck them in the closet with the other soiled things before stripping off her gloves.

“Here,” Carol said, handing her a face mask before securing one of her own. The smell in the room was beginning to make her eyes water. “Try not to gag in front of her next time.”

Eve took the mask and flashed her an apologetic wince. “Sorry, it was everywhere.” she whispered. “I’m not used to it yet.”

Carol nodded in understanding. It had sounded bad. It was why she had volunteered Eve in the name of ‘practice’. Her speciality was the front end. She stood and stared out the window. The sun was just coming up. She wondered how long it would take her office to report her missing. They’d know something was amiss when she didn’t show up to work this morning, right? She checked her watch. Her morning alarm would be going off in a few minutes.

“Breakfast anyone?” Eve asked, holding up the veggie omelet box. She opened the box and pulled out a bag and tossed one to Carol. “Jenny?” The teen shook her head again before giving Carol a dirty look.

“Don’t you dare.” She mouthed. Carol smirked and opened her bag. Her face paled. What was this supposed to be? She looked at the picture then back to the contents inside. “I call it the vomelet.”

“How appropriate.” Carol muttered. She took a tentative bite and forced herself to swallow. “Well, I’m stuffed.” She put the bag down and watched Eve’s reaction.

“Yeah, no.” Eve said, looking at the contents. “Pretty sure this is what I just cleaned up.”

“Aren’t you at least going to try it?” Carol teased. “Go on, take a bite.”

“I-I’m not that hungry after all.” Eve mumbled. “She hadn’t been kidding about giving us the worst ones.”

“The veggie burgers are a bit better.” Jennifer said. “At least it doesn’t look like your eating gelatinous poo.”

They were better, not by much Carol thought, but at least they didn’t have her on the verge of gagging. Even Hortensia had taken more bites than she had last night.

“Mommy, will you read me more of the story?” Hortensia begged, holding up the book from yesterday. If it would keep her quiet even Carol was willing to read to her. Eve took the book and opened it. Carol watched as a piece of torn notebook paper fluttered to the ground. Hortensia snatched it up and stared at it. “Mommy, what does this say?”

“Why don’t you try reading it out loud?” Eve suggested. “You did so good reading yesterday. I’m so proud of you.” Hortensia stared at the note until it looked like she might explode as she struggled to sound out the first word.

“F-F-F-uhh..hhh..” Eve snatched it away and set it aside. “What does it say?” Hortensia asked again.

“Umm, it said, ‘fudge is delicious’.” Eve said before clearing her throat. “Where did you leave off?”

Carol picked up the piece of paper and stared at the note that read, Fuck you Aunt Trunchbull, and smirked at Eve. “Fudge is delicious, huh?”

“Very.” Eve said before turning back to the book. Carol stared at the note again and sighed. Poor kid. She looked at the sleeping girl. Must be her way of venting. She stood and made her way to the bookcase before pulling a copy of Anne of Green Gables. She stared at it in confusion. The weight felt off. She opened it and let out a chuckle. The center had been cut out to make a little hidden pocket.

“Ohh, Eve check this out.” She had been hoping for more notes, but this was even better. She held up the little white object.

“Is that…?” Eve asked. Carol nodded and put it back where she found it. Too bad they didn’t have a lighter. It would probably improve the smell in the room. She picked up another book and flipped through the pages. No contraband, but she did find more angry notes. “Let’s take a break, honey.” Eve said and placed the note from earlier back inside as a bookmark. “I’m sure you’re more than ready to get out of that wet diaper.” Carol softly chuckled at the girl's horrified expression. “C’mon, let's go back in the closet and get you cleaned up.”

“Can I have my panties back?”

“Yes, you can, but I want you to try going potty first.” She opened the closet door.

“Eww, it stinks.” Hortensia complained as Eve pushed her in and closed the door behind them.

“It hurts really bad again.” Jenny whimpered. “Can I have pain medicine yet?” Carol checked her watch.

“Yes,” Carol said, getting to her feet and readying the syringe. “Did you get any sleep after…?” She let her words trail off. After that blowout, she thought.

“A little.”

“Mommy, why are you going potty in a bucket?” They heard coming from the closet followed by panicked shushing sounds.

“At least she was asleep.” Carol said with an apologetic smile. The last thing they needed was the little one going, “eww” at the teens expense and making things even more awkward for her. Jennifer covered her face with her hands. “We’ll have her wait in the closet next time you need to go.” Jennifer scowled at the sound of a next time.

“Hortensia, don’t leave yet. Go potty.”

“Why do I have to go potty in a bucket?” the child whined.