SashaButters

1. On several occasions ? 2. Yes 3...yes...?

No child needed to play the "stop hitting yourself" game lmao ? I sort have always viewed it as having to share my body with a separate entity whose soul purpose is to embarrass me xD You just have to learn to laugh at yourself, but yeah, it was getting pretty dangerous there for a bit. I'm still afraid of knives because what if it suddenly want me to slash my throat or stab someone 0.0 It's bad enough I sometimes grope my mothers chest...with both hands ? ?? So the most embarrassing tics I have are the internal "pushing" tics, and those make me have accidents ?? Nothing like feeling like you have to pee, or worse, and then your bodies like, here let me help with that! *pushes it out into pants*

It takes all my concentration and willpower, and maybe SOMETIMES I can. I call it an impulse, but its actually the presesonsory tic that accompanies the actual tic. Like If I get a sudden strong impulse to raise my hand for no reason, it means I'm about to do it involuntarily. But when the tic is really strong, I don't get that warning, it just happens. I guess it's more like a build up of pressure in the affected part of the body.

Yes it helped in a lot of ways. I would often give myself black eyes from punching myself in the face. ( once I had really put myself in my place lol I had a really bad black eye, bruised face and nose and a lady stopped me in a bathroom and gave me a card for a domestic abuse help center. She thought I was in an abusive relationship and I had to tell her I did it to myself lmao) so I don't punch myself as often, or others, or walls. I'm not falling down as much. Involuntarily twerking in a check out line isn't a thing anymore THANK GOD ? If I got too close to people I would have to fight off the impulse to lick them. Some strangers weren't so lucky, mask mandate really helped with that, it acted like a muzzle lol I don't throw things as often, although I do still occasionally pour drinks over my head. I still need to drink things with a cover or lid because it seems to lesson the impulse. I can sit still and write and focus much better now. I had this bad impulse to throw myself into traffic, off bridges, high places etc. Not like I was suicidal, but it's called Call of the Void. That's much more controlled.

No it doesn't hurt. It's kind of funny because now I generate my own Bluetooth signal lol I have a little remote and a cellphone with an app on it where I can control the electricity a little bit. It's always on and constantly shocking me. What I do feel is when I change settings. 0.o Oh that is trippy! I feel like it's the closest thing to feeling what jumping into hyper space is like lol It's almost like everything is suddenly rushing forward and I need to hold on to something. I'm being used as a guini pig because it's not FDA approved for tourette's, I had to be approved by an entire medical board. I had to send them videos of how bad my tics were, prove how much it was impacting my life etc.

thanks, but it's not a big deal, at least not anymore ^^ I had brain surgery a few months ago for it and a Deep Brain Stimulator implant was put it, and oh man. It's amazing what some electrical voltage can do to your depression XD I haven't felt this good in yeeeaaaarrrssss. I still tic, but at least I'm happy about it XD

Ok, So there are Tourette support groups, except the closest one to me is about an hour and a half drive. They were posting about how they were going to have a booth at a disability fair and were looking for volunteers to come help out. So I was like cool! I'll do it, I don't often see other people like me, I'm a bit of an oddity in my area, even most of my doctors say I'm one of the worst cases in the area. So I drive down on a sunday morning, only to realize the disability fair...is in a Catholic Church... So religion a BIG trigger to my tics and Catholicism is BIG into symbology. We were only in a side building, but even that was covered in crucifixes and imagery etc. So I start ticcing like, "JESUS SUCK MY NIPPLES." "JESUS GAVE YOU CANCER" "JESUS, FUCK THAT LAMB" etc etc. other booths started to complain, and we just kept getting moved farther and farther away until our table was just practically outside. The mayor was there doing tv interviews with all the different booths (he skipped ours) Then Mass let out... All these people start pouring in, including nuns and a troop of boy scouts. Everytime they got close I started hissing, swearing, making animal noises, ticcing in nonsense words, like I looked legit possessed. When the nuns would walk up I was yelling "Stick your rosary up your ass!" "Stick that crucifix up your ass!" and the boyscouts it was "The boyscouts of america have a nice ass!" And yeah... Tics really liked ass that day lol It's hard to find support when you have this kind of TS, because it makes so many people uncomfortable, and even though it's completely involuntary, people still get you kicked out of places. Like umm, sorry I'm not the "right kind" of disabled? Even the 90% of people with TS who don't have coprolalia don't want to be associated with the 10% that do and don't like us coming to events because that's all people see.

I'm glad you enjoyed them xD I love making people laugh, it makes me feel less like a waste of space. The tics are repetitive and annoying to myself and others so it's hard to go out sometimes because I feel like that person no one wants around, unless I can make them laugh. Woo defense mechanism xD I didn't get the window up in time xD I oinked at the whole row of cops ? And sometimes oink at them if they're in front of me. It's nothing compared to what I say to nuns though ? I have so many stories! 0.o I almost got our Tourette booth kicked out of a disability fair because I kept yelling sexually explicit things at the nuns and boy scouts.

Hello! For those that don't know me, I'm Sasha (31F) and I have severe Tourette Syndrome. Although it's a disability, and can very much be a struggle to live with, I love using it to make people laugh. I have what's called Coprolalia, which is the obscene and socially inappropriate verbal tics 5-10% with TS have, as well as Copropraxia, obscene hand gestures. Just to give you a quick run down to make this thread make sense. I'm not REALLY an asshole, this doesn't mean I don't have a filter. These aren't my thoughts coming out of my mouth, all it takes is hearing or reading something once, and it's in your subconscious, whether you want it to be or not. When you have Coprolalia, your brain scans your surroundings, digs through your subconscious, and then sends an electrical signal to the part of the subconscious which holds the worst possible thing to say for that setting, and that's what makes you involuntarily yell. (A very simplified version) So take the phrase, "I have a bomb!" The chance of me yelling that in an open field, by myself where no one will hear, is practically zero. Now the chance of me yelling that while going through airport security is 100% I have never managed to get through an airport without yelling "I have a bomb!" and "I have drugs up my ass" Because your brain is constantly scanning the area, seeing all the "no explosives, no drug" signs, subconsciously aware of 9/11 etc. etc. It's a bit scary at the time, but I'm able to laugh about it after. This is something I often share for laughs IRL, but since I spend way too much time on here,(occasionally I post in the fiction section) I thought I'd share a few stories with you all. A few years ago I got stuck in a DUI checkpoint. The first things out of my mouth should have been "I have TS." I'm so used to ticcing and yelling bizarre things, it's just my normal, that I often forget it's not normal for other people. So anyway, the officer motioned for me to roll down my window, and I did. Then they asked for my license, etc. Everything was going fine until the moment they asked if I had any illegal substances on me or in my vehicle. There are cops all over the place in this intersection, and I end up yelling, "I HAVE DRUGS UP MY ASS!" I could see cops everywhere just stop and turn. I'm just like oh crap, and open my mouth to explain no, I don't have drugs, and what comes out is, "IT'S A GUN!" Officers are starting to walk over. I'm sweating bullets, I'm shaking my head, and trying to explain but everytime I open my mouth something worse comes out. I end up yelling "THERE'S A DEAD HOOKER IN MY TRUNK". They're all just staring at me. I finally manage to hand over a DRS note I keep in my car specifically for this. The officer starts laughing and sends me on my way, I'm very eager to get out of there, and I start driving off before I roll up my window, and as I drive past the line of officers I start making oinking noises 0.0 Last year My grandma died, my very religious white grandmother who was a bit on the racist side. We have her service outside at the grave site. Her ashes are upfront in an urn. I was really nervous and didn't want to go because I knew my tics were going to be disruptive, but my family kept saying, "we all know you and understand, don't worry about it, come anyway, it's just going to be family." so I do. ... It was not "just family" All of my grandma's church friends and out of state relatives were there. None of which knew I had TS. ..oh boy, The things that were coming out of my mouth should never be yelled at a religious woman's funeral...or anyone's funeral for that matter. I kept yelling, "GRANDMA, GET BACK IN THE JAR!" "LET'S DO LINES OF GRANDMA" "MY GRANDMA CHOKED TO DEATH ON A BIG BLACK DICK" ... and... oyy ... "I COULD BE AT HOME MASTURBATING RIGHT NOW..." My grandma's church friends are absolutely horrified, and my family is trying so hard (unsuccessfully) not to laugh. Apparently I put the "fun" in "funeral" Ok so this last one is pretty personal, but what the hell. This is the story of my very first pap. 0.0 So I have Kaiser as my health insurance, and for those unfamiliar with it, all the drs. and everyone share information, it's all connected. So I everytime I see a new dr. I don't have to explain my previous health conditions, it's all right there in my file. The down side of everyone seeing your information, is no matter what kind of dr. you go to, you can't escape any kind of preventative care. They will just keep nagging you and nagging you until you cave. So when I went in to see my therapist, I came out with a ob/gyn appointment. So for whatever reason I got sent to an out of network ob/gyn, which meant they did not previously know about my condition. I did not realize this at the time. I go in, everything's going fine, ...until the breast exam... She's doing her thing, and suddenly my hands shoot out, latch on to hers, push them down even harder and in the worst possible Irish accent you've ever heard, yell "FEEL ME TITTIES" I'm mortified. She's staring at me in shock. I apologize and the test moves on. Feet in Stirrups wishing I was anywhere else in the world. Cue worst possible verbal tics. Sexual moaning. LOUD sexual moaning, followed by "FUCK ME, DADDY". She's just glaring at me this whole time and I can't figure out why. She finishes, I sit up and then the little light in my head finally clicks. "You know I have Tourette, right?" I asked. She stares at me blankly for what feels like a full minute and says, "I do now." Please enjoy my unfortunate moments, and the next time you lie awake at night cringing from your past, you can rest assured you didn't tell a cop you had drugs up your ass

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.

“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.”

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.”

Thanks ^^ I felt like working on something cute. I just have a tendency to umm... go off in my own direction ?

It's not quite over yet, but I did want to take it in a different direction than a remake of the school scene

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.

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.”

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."

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I haven't heard anything from the person who comissioned it. I hope they liked it *bites nails*

It had been six months since Mother had begun bringing other children to stay with her in her room, but Sarah had never felt so alone as she did now. She sat huddled alone in a corner while the other four sat amongst each other. Each new face that appeared seemed to resent her as much as they did Mother, and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why. One day, she had gotten up the courage to ask. “Why do you hate me?” she asked the silent room. A red-headed boy named Peter, around twelve or thirteen, lifted his head from his arms and glared at her. “Why do you think?” He snapped. Sarah shrugged. She really didn’t know. “You brought us here!” Sarah stared at him, feeling more confused than ever. “What? No, I didn’t.” She said. “Yes, you did!” Another girl said. “You led me down here because you said your cat had had kittens, and then that woman locked us in.” Sarah looked into Samantha’s eyes, once bright and cheerful, now sunken in. Black circles now surrounded everyone’s eyes, and morale was so low hardly anyone spoke. Sarah couldn’t understand it, her room wasn’t that bad. “I don’t even have a cat.” Sarah said. “Why would I tell you I had?” Her eyes searched desperately from face to face willing someone to believe her, but all she was met with were hardened glares. Except for one. The youngest. “She’s just as stuck down here as the rest of us.” Esther said. She was seven, with long curly brown hair, and the latest new person as of two weeks. “You’ve seen what that lady does to her when she plays that ticking box. Maybe she didn’t know what she was doing?” The others looked away or merely shrugged. “Is that what she’s trying to do to us too? Turn us into puppets like her?” Peter asked. Now Sarah was more confused than ever. What were they talking about? “How long have you been down here, Sarah?” Esther asked. “Always, this is my bedroom. This is where I live.” Sarah said. The others grimaced. “What? Isn’t your bedrooms like this?” They began telling her of fantastic lives, of clothes, food, television, school, and beds. They had to be lying! They had to be! Wasn’t this normal? If what they were saying was true, why would Mother take them from such magical sounding lives to be down here? “I’ll ask Mother to let you go.” Sarah said. Esther smiled weakly at her. “Thanks, but I don’t think it will help.” “Why not?” Sarah asked. Everytime she had asked Mother why she kept bringing more kids here, she told her it was because Sarah had said she wanted friends. Maybe if she told Mother she didn’t want them down here, she would let them go. “She’s trying to make us like you, a puppet.” Peter said. “I’m not a puppet!” Sarah said. “Yes, you are, whenever she breaks out that little box, you do whatever she says. We’ve seen you lick the floor, smash your hand with a hammer, punch Steven in the face.” Peter said. Sarah’s eyes went wide with horror. “My…my hand?” Sarah asked in almost a whisper. “And Stephen.” She looked at the boy with a black eye. “I did that?” They nodded. A knot began to form in Sarah’s stomach. Why would Mother tell her to hurt herself and others? Why was she obeying? Why couldn’t she remember? “No, that can’t be right. Mother wouldn’t...” “Is she really even your mom?” Peter asked. “What kind of mom locks their kid in a basement and orders them to smash their own hand with a hammer?” “Maybe you were kidnapped like us.” Esther said. Sarah’s heart began to pound. No! No! This was all a lie. “We can prove it to you.” Esther said. “I have an idea.” ……………………………. Darlene stirred awake to the sound of whimpering. She opened her eyes. She was sitting in the rocking chair in the spare room and-oh no! She saw Courtney sitting up and whimpering loudly. Darlene couldn’t believe she fell asleep on her shift. She strode over to Courtney and checked the time. 8 pm! She was supposed to walk Courtney to the bathroom three hours ago. She cringed as she pulled down the blanket. Her bladder looked distended. Gracie had made it clear they had to be regular about taking her to the restroom or damage could be done. She didn’t seem to be able to regulate bodily functions on her own. Courtney whimpered loudly again. Darlene grimaced. She was afraid having her move would hurt her more. Well, she was wearing a diaper for a reason. “Just go ahead and pee there.” Darlene whispered. The moment the words left Darlene’s lips, Courtney stopped whimpering and a look of serenity began to form on her face. “That’s it love, you don’t need to wait for us to tell you to pee, if you need to go, just go.” ……. Beatrice was surprised to find Courtney sitting in a wet diaper the next morning. Everything had been going surprisingly smooth all week. They’d each feed her during their shift by giving her verbal commands such as, “open your mouth” “close your mouth” “chew”, and “swallow,” followed by phrases of encouragement that, “food was good” and, “you like eating.” Water was given via Darlene’s massive baby bottle, she didn’t even want to know what she had done with it, and after each meal they’d tell her to “stand” “walk” “sit” “pee” “poop” “wipe” and“flush.” Beatrice had learned the hard way she had to hand her toilet paper first after instructing her to wipe for the first time. Beatrice was horrified to see Courtney reach down with her bare hand. Now for some reason, Coutney had seemed to develop urinary incontinence. Maybe it was a side effect of being in a trance for so long? She’d have to ask Gracie about it. She cleaned her up, but when she looked next to the bed, she found the diapers and baby powder there already waiting for her. Had this already started happening earlier? She finished up taping a new diaper, and went outside to find Gracie. “I noticed that too.” Gracie said, once Beatrice had told her. “I’m not sure why either. Having you been repeating the phrases?” Beatrice nodded. Gracie had given them a list of encouragements and suggestions to repeat throughout the week, and for the most part it seemed to be working, much to Beatrice's frustration. It had been much easier to feed and clean her when she did exactly as you said, but now she seemed to only obey half the time. “We could have had a maid, I’m just saying.” Beatrice joked. “What do you think made her like this anyway?” “Remember that case I mentioned?” Gracie said. “I did some research, and I keep going back and forth.” “I had no idea what you were talking about then either.” Beatrice admitted. “Are you familiar with something called Project MK Ultra?” Gracie asked. Beatrice shook her head. Another one of her conspiracy theories? “Back in the 50’s during the Cold War, the United States believed Russia was researching E.S.P, and mind control, so we started researching E.S.P and mind control.” Beatrice raised an eyebrow. “Some were willing and informed participants, others weren’t. Take Operation Paperclip, we teamed up with Nazi scientists and used various methods, L.s.d. Sensory deprivation, hypnosis, torture, verbal, physical and sexual abuse as a way to control patients minds. They tested this in hospitals, universities, prisoners of war. The list goes on.” “She’s not our age though, she wasn’t alive back then.” Beatrice said. “There was one called Operation Climax, the CIA hired prostitutes to lure our own men into a room with a two-way mirror and spike their drinks with L.S.D to study what would happen. There was a death, probably more than one, but they destroyed all the documents. They took a high ranking military official and made her the scapegoat. Everyone knew it, but the CIA wanted someone to pin it on.” “But what’s that have to do with-” Beatrice started to say, but was stopped. “Nine-ten years ago, a kid called 9-1-1, said their mother had hung themselves and had kids locked up in the basement. Police came, and found the kids, along with years of research on long term L.S.D usage and mind control. Turns out it was the lady who the government pinned it on. She had been kidnapping kids and continuing the experiments.” “That’s awful!” Beatrice said. “But why?” Gracie shrugged. “Some people think she lost it and thought she could earn her title back if she could prove mind control worked. Maybe she realized what she was doing and hung herself out of remorse?” “So you think Courtney is one of those kids that was trapped?” Beatrice asked. Gracie nodded. “It’s the only thing I can think of. It would explain her fear of the metronome, mother giving her drugs, the obedience.” “We can always ask.” And ask they did, but the ending was nothing like they expected. “She held me captive all my life.” Courtney said in her flat monotone drawl. “But she didn’t hang herself.” ………………….. Tick Tick Tick Sarah slumped forward and hung her head down, but her eyes were not devoid of life. She watched Peter for the cue. He snuck behind her and slipped the ticking box out of Mother’s pocket before flashing the thumbs up sign. She held her breath in anticipation. If Mother told her to hurt herself or others then everything they had told her was the truth, and everything she had known about herself was a lie. She could see the rope dangling from Mother’s hands. She swallowed nervously. “Sarah, look at me.” Mother said. Sarah looked up, trying to make her face as dead and expressionless as possible. “Today is a very important day. Your final test.” She handed Sarah the rope. Sarah took it, and inwardly cringed. Mother hadn’t told her to take it. Her heart began to hammer wildly in her chest, but Mother didn’t seem to notice. “Take that rope and strangle Esther.” Her heart began to pound. Her eyes filled with tears at the realization of what this meant. “Why, Mother?” Sarah asked, looking up. Tears streaked her face. “What the-” Mother said, reaching in her pocket, but the metronome was gone, only for Peter and Stephen to begin to hold her down, followed by the other kids. Sarah removed the rolled up wads of toilet paper from her ears. “What have you been doing to me all these years?” Sarah asked. “Let go of me!” Mother said, fighting against the arms that held her in place. “Let them go, Mother, let me go!” Sarah said. “No! My works almost complete! Once they learn what I’ve accomplished!” “What have you done?” Sarah asked. “What was all this for?” “I’ve created obedient soldiers! You follow orders without question, with no regard to your own or others well-being! Once I duplicate the results in the others-” “NO!” Sarah yelled, slipping behind Mother and positioning the rope around her neck. She needed to show her she was serious. “This is your last chance! Free us!” Mother began to laugh. “You can’t kill me! You depend on me! I raised you since you were a toddler.” “Do it!” the other kids chanted. “Kill her!” Sarah tried to pull the rope, but her hands were shaking. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t do it! “She’s a monster Sarah, do it!” Esther said. “She’s going to make you kill me if you don’t.” Sarah’s grip on the rope loosened. She couldn’t do it, she wasn’t a killer. Right before she was about to let her go, she heard the ticking. “Kill her!” Peter shouted. ………. Epilogue “Look at you!” Darlene squealed. “We’re so proud of you! Group hug!” The four of them squished into a pile and laughed. Courtney stood beaming standing in her cap and gown. “Thank you, if it wasn’t for you, I don’t think I’d ever turn my life around.” Courtney said. She frowned a bit though and turned on Darlene. “I still haven’t forgiven you for making me incontinent though!” She let out a sigh. You said I’d get it back, but it’s been four years!” “Be thankful it’s only urine.” Beatrice said. She thought back to when they’d woken Courtney up all those years ago when she no longer followed their orders. They had been spooked to the core to learn of her past, and they weren’t sure if Sarah, or “Courtney” as her name had been changed to when she had been rescued, was even conscious of what she had done. They hadn’t had time to ask, they were too busy ducking and scrambling away from Courtney’s rage. It was only when she had settled down did she realize the benefit to what they had done. She had gained a little weight, and was surprised to find she was no longer dragging from the effort of moving. They had had a long talk that night, and it hadn’t taken long for her anger to dissipate. At least until Courtney had frozen in shock mid-sentence at the realization she was peeing herself. Beatrice and Gracie had admitted they didn’t know what had caused that, but Darlene had spoken up and admitted what she had said. Gracie had offered to put her back under and fix it, but Courtney said she never wanted to be hypnotized again. “So what do you think you’ll do now?” Gracie asked. “Look for a job I guess, but I’m still looking for my family on the side.” Courtney said. Despite her rescue, she was the only one who never reported missing, but she kept looking. She liked to think her real mother was out there somewhere, wondering every day what happened to her. “Well whatever you do, you better stay in touch.” Beatrice said, who was the most surprised of all to find she really did like her, once she had come to her senses. They had all became friends, and looked after her as if she was their Granddaughter. “I’ll miss her.” Beatrice admitted as they watched Courtney drive off. “Who knows, maybe another drunk girl will come crashing into our garden.” Darlene said. “And if they do, you’re staying away from them.” Beatrice said. The End

My writing tends to fall in two categories, absolutely adorable and dark AF there's no inbetween xD

Tick. Tick. Tick. The woman stood over the frail girl scowling. “Eat it.” The woman hissed. “You know you’ll feel worse if you don’t take your medicine.” The frail girl looked down at the unappetizing looking lumpy oatmeal. She felt nervous and jittery as it was. She had been seeing dark shadows in her room in the basement ever since mother had increased her dose, but the thought of the shakes, vomiting and headaches made her pick up her spoon and begin shoveling the tasteless porridge into her mouth. Mother’s scowl quickly turned into a warm smile. “That’s it, Sarah. You’ll feel better soon.” Once the bowl had been scraped clean, the woman removed it from her lap and handed her a glass mason jar. Sarah slowly stood, wobbling a bit from side to side, before picking up the jar and heading towards the partition, where the toilet sat out of view of the rest of the room. “Stop.” The woman commanded. Sarah looked up questioningly. “Do it there, where I can see you.” Sarah knitted her eyebrows together. Mother had never demanded to watch before. She put a hand to her head. She was starting to get a bit lightheaded. “I-I’m not sure if I can, standing here. The medicine is starting to take effect. It would be easier to sit over the toilet like usual.” Sarah protested. “No” Mother said, writing something down on her clipboard, before looking up. “I want you to do it in full view, and I want you to make eye contact with me the entire time while you do it.” “I-if I do that, I might miss, and you won’t get the morning's sample. What if my levels are too high? You won’t know until it’s too late. You’ve always said that’s why it’s very important to check them right after I’ve eaten.” “I don’t need all of it, just wave the jar around until you hear it catching. This is a test to check your proprioceptive sense.” Sarah frowned. Mother often used large medical terms she didn’t understand. “What does that mean?” “It’s the sense of knowing where your body parts are without looking. I need to check the conversation between your brain and body and make sure they are still in sync. Now quit wasting time. Stand up straight and look in my eyes.” Sarah straightened her body and stared ahead. “Good, now spread your legs as far apart as you can, and without breaking eye contact, hold the jar under you.” Sarah whimpered, but did as she was told. She felt off balance, and now instead of one mother, there were three. The room was beginning to roll around beneath her. “I don’t feel well.” Sarah complained. “You can lay back down after you finish this test. Don’t look away, keep your eyes on me! Keep them open. Keep the jar down a foot beneath you, don’t move it up. There, now whenever you’re ready, you may begin.” Sarah stood there awkwardly for a second, hunched over with eyes straight up at Mother. She tried her best to relax and let it out naturally, but it refused. Come on, she urged herself. Mother's brown eyes bore into her, a look of impatience growing on her face. A sense of modesty was something she had never developed, but performance anxiety on the other hand she understood all too well. “What are you waiting for? Get on with it!” Mother snapped. Sarah whimpered. She didn’t want to make Mother angry, but her limbs were shaking from the effort of standing in such an awkward position, and she felt too ill from her medicine to relax. “It won’t come out.” “Do I need to get the paddle?” Mother threatened. With a renewed sense of fear of a beating, Sarah fought against her body’s hesitancy and pushed until she felt herself begin to urinate, but the lack of weight in the jar told her she was off. In a panic she began to move her arm around, fighting against the urge to look down. Mother’s sharp gaze watched her. When she felt warm liquid begin to splash her arm, she quickly moved her hand back until, to her relief, she could hear it trickling and collecting in the specimen jar. Sarah let out her held breath and relaxed. Now all that was left to do was finish. All at once, her sense of panic returned. She stared at Mother horrified as she felt the jar in her hand slip free. The urine soaking her hand along with the added weight of liquid, had made it too heavy to hold with one hand. She let out a whimper when she heard the jar smash and shatter on the floor. She remained quiet, eyes full of fear as the rest of her urine pattered onto the concrete floor below. Mother stood expressionless as she waited for her to finish. Once all sounds had ceased, Mother stared down at the mess between Sarah’s legs. “Pick up a large piece of glass.” Mother said. Sarah gulped and obeyed, tearing her eyes away and looking down for the first time. She selected a piece, holding it in its center as not to cut herself before straightening up. Her heart was hammering inside her chest. “Now take the glass, and stab yourself in the hand.” “No! Mother! I’m sorry! Please no!” Sarah cried. “Do it.” “Please!” Sarah begged, choking on her sobs. Sarah let out a whimper as Mother began to remove something from her lab coat. It began to tick rhythmically. Sarah’s shoulders slumped forward, all fight leaving her body as her tear filled eyes began to glaze over. “Now take the glass and stab your other hand.” Without any hesitation, Sarah held the glass up high before jamming it into her palm. A thin trickle of blood began to drip down onto the concrete below. A smirk began to form on Mother’s lips. Progress. …… The three women stared at each other anxiously. They had been asking Courtney routine questions under hypnosis, when Courtney had begun to let out more child like whimpers. Fearing she was going back into baby mode, Beatrice was about to tell Gracie to snap her out of it, when Courtney began speaking. “That wasn’t what I meant!” she moaned. “Mother, please!” “I thought you said you didn’t know your parents.” Beatrice said. “It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!” Tears were falling from Courtney’s face now. “I just wanted a friend, I never wanted this!” Beatrice gave Gracie a look, but Gracie shook her head. “She needs to work through this.” Gracie whispered, but when Courtney fell silent and relaxed, they all let out their collective breaths. “Courtney dear,” Darlene said. “You need to stop doing drugs; they’re bad for you.” Even nosey Darlene seemed uncomfortable with the way this was going, Beatrice thought. Instead of prying more, she had jumped into Gracie’s plan to give Coutney’s subconscious healthier suggestions. Beatrice couldn’t put her finger on it, but something didn’t seem right with this girl. “Mother says I need to take my medicine every day, but I don’t want to.” Coutney said, falling into a flat monotone. “But Mother will get angry if I don’t.” Courtney shivered. “What medicine? What happens if you don’t take it?” Darlene asked. “She puts it in my food; so I try to go without eating as long as I can. It makes me feel loopy, and sometimes the shadow men come.” Oh great, Beatrice thought. This girl was off her rocker. She was talking about anti-psychotics. “But if I don’t take it, the shaking and vomiting start.” Gracie frowned seemingly deep in thought. “Doesn’t that sound like withdrawals to you?” she whispered. Beatrice shrugged. Lots of regular medication, including anti-psychotics, made you feel ill if you stopped taking them. “It reminds me of something, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.” “Courtney,” Darlene went on. “Have you tried going to rehab?” “Three times, but it never works. I’ve lost my savings.” “Do you want to get off drugs?” Darlene asked. “More than anything.” Courtney said. “But if I don’t take my medicine, Mother will be angry.” The three locked eyes again. She couldn’t mean… Beatrice thought. That was absurd. Was her mother actually supplying her with drugs? At least that was what Courtney seemed to think. Beatrice still thought she was nuts, it was the only logical reasoning behind it. Courtney had partied hard one too many times and fried her brain like a piece of bacon. “I don’t want to lose my scholarship, I’m scared. It’s my only chance to turn my life around.” Courtney mumbled. “Courtney, have you ever been diagnosed with a mental disorder, like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder?” Beatrice asked. If she said yes, it would explain everything. “Yes.” Courtney answered. Beatrice sighed, she knew it! Now to get this crazy person out of their house and… “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Cibophobia.” Beatrice frowned. That wasn’t a schizoaffective disorder. “Was that what mother was treating you for?” Darlene asked. “No. Mother was studying me.” Courtney said. She wrapped herself in a ball and began whimpering again. Gracie pointed to the door and the two of them followed. “Ladies, if my hunch is right…” Gracie said. Beatrice noticed she looked much more pale and frailer than usual. “No, it can’t be.” Gracie shook her head. “What?” Beatrice asked. Gracie only shook her head again. “Well, all in favor of putting this nut job back where we found her.” Beatrice raised her hand, but Gracie and Darlene just glared at her. “She needs our help.” Gracie said. “No, no she doesn’t.” Beatrice said. “How long does it take to flush your system of drugs?” Darlene asked. “I think she could be clean in two weeks, but it depends on what she’s addicted to.” “It looked like painkillers and acid, she had.” Beatrice said. “That was Cocaine that broke in her, not acid, but judging by her reaction to it, I don’t think it's her drug of choice. I’ll have to ask.” Beatrice frowned. “She said it was LSD.” “She was high, are you really going to take her word for it? LSD doesn’t come in a powder.” “Well, sorry Miss Woodstock, I never did drugs.” Gracie shot her a glare before retreating to the bedroom and returning a few minutes later. “Her, ‘medicine’,” Gracie said putting up air quotes, “sounds like acid and Oxycontin, but.” She trailed off with a frown. “I thought she was someone else.” She shrugged. “It could be a psychological addiction.” “What are you going on about?” Beatrice asked. “There was a strange case in the news about eight years ago, I thought she might have been one of the victims, but it doesn’t make sense. You don’t get withdrawal symptoms from LSD. The only thing I can think of was if someone else convinced her if she doesn’t take it, she’ll be ill, but it’s been so long, you’d think she would know better by now.” “It’s probably not her then.” Beatrice said. “You’re probably right.” Gracie said. “I was thinking though, what if we kept her like that for a couple of weeks. Let her stay here, let the drugs work their way out of her system?” “No! We can’t just lock her in a room for two weeks! It’s false imprisonment.” Beatrice said. “Not if we record her volunteering to stay.” Gracie said. “Is it really volunteering if she agrees in that state? She said she wanted to go home.” Beatrice said with a frown. “I know,” Gracie said biting her lip. “There’s something bothering me though about her situation and I just can’t let it go.” “What?” “You know how she went to an infantile state when I suggested she go back to a time before she was introduced to drugs?” Gracie asked. Beatrice nodded. How could anyone forget? “What if that wasn’t a fluke? What if that really was the only time she wasn’t on drugs?” “So her mom was a crackhead, and she watched her shoot up.” Beatrice suggested. “It doesn’t mean her mom was literally giving her drugs. Gracie, seriously, she’s not our problem.” “Hey guys! You need to see this!” Darlene called from the bedroom. Beatrice scowled. When had she snuck back in? They went back in to see Darlene looking excited. “Watch this. Courtney, raise your right hand.” They watched as the girl on the bed silently raised her right hand. “Now rub your tummy to the left with your left hand” Courtney rubbed her stomach, her right hand still raised in the air. “Now rotate your right hand to the right.” “What are you doing?” Beatrice asked. “Do you know how hard that is?” Darlene asked. “You try!” Beatrice sighed before doing it with no trouble. She raised her eyebrow. “Oh,” Darlene said sounding dejected. “Maybe it's the other way. Courtney, switch directions.” “No way.” Gracie whispered, wide-eyed. “This isn’t how hypnosis works! Courtney, stop.” The girl stopped and returned to her previous position, still as wide-eyed and blank faced as ever, almost as if waiting for further instruction. Gracie looked to Darlene and Beatrice, half horrified and half ecstatic. “Would you mind if I looked her over for a bit by myself? I’m worried if too many people are in here at once talking, it will interfere.” Darlene scowled, but Beatrice just shrugged. She was over this and was happy to camp out in front of the television with a cup of coffee. The less she was involved with this the better. Beatrice left the room, made herself a cup of coffee, and collapsed into her favorite armchair. Darlene still hadn’t emerged from the back bedroom, but no matter. If she wanted to get in Gracie’s way what did she care. She turned on the television and watched an episode of her favorite show, and then another. She was vaguely aware of Darlene emerging, heading straight for the kitchen, and returning with a bowl of something. By the fifth episode she was starting to doze off. When Beatrice had awoken from her nap, the room was now dark except for the glowing light of the tv. She got up and searched around the house for the others. It had been hours since she had seen them. Were they really still in the back bedroom? She peeked her head in the back to find them sitting in chairs by Coutney’s side, spoon-feeding her with the large plastic utensils. “Seriously?” Beatrice asked, looking at Courtney, who was wearing a bib that said, “Groovy Baby” and was back in one of the large adult sized baby diapers with stars and teddy bears. Beatrice pinched her nose. “What are you guys doing?” Gracie got up and joined Beatrice outside. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Gracie admitted. “I tested a few things out, and this is far beyond the power of suggestion, Bea, this is complete obedience. I’ve never even heard of this before.” “Okay, but why is she still here?” “You don’t get it! If anyone was to learn about this.” Gracie said dropping her voice. “She could be in danger. I need to undue this.” “Yes, you do.” Beatrice said with a scowl. “This isn’t something I did, and honestly, I don’t think she’s even aware this is happening. This is the result of years of… I’m honestly not even sure what. Brainwashing? Conditioning?” Gracie said, waving a hand through her hair. She looked into Beatrice’s skeptical gaze and said, “Imagine if someone told you to kill someone, and you were powerless to stop yourself.” “Oh,” Beatrice said. “It could still just be power of suggestion.” Gracie shook her head. “It’s deeper in the brain than that. I know you’re not happy about this, but I’m keeping her here.” Gracie said sounding forceful. Beatrice was taken aback. Gone was her wistful attitude. Beatrice didn’t comprehend what was going on, but Gracie seemed shaken up. “I already had her email her professors that she would be out of class for two weeks due to covid. She’s going to need around the clock care, and I’ll do my best to break whatever it is that’s causing this blind obedience. This is where your power of suggestion comes in. The idea is to break her addiction, cancel out her fear of food, and promote independent thought and action. I’ll need your help too.” Beatrice sighed. There was no avoiding this it seemed. “What do I have to do?” “Changing diapers won’t be necessary. I don’t think so anyway, as long as you take her to the bathroom every few hours. You might need to tell her what to do though, like sit on the toilet, urinate, defecate, that sort of thing. We’ll also need to feed her, make sure she drinks water, and wipe her down. Just be very careful, if you say the wrong thing in this state there could be consequences later when we pull her out. I think it’s best if we take shifts.” …… Sarah sat huddled in the corner, crying and nursing her injured hand. She didn’t understand how she had hurt it. She didn’t remember picking up any glass, but Mother said she must have. Mother had bandaged it for her after soaking it and removing any bits of glass. Sarah whimpered. It hurt so much! Sarah looked up when she heard her heavy metal bedroom door begin to unlatch. Mother was there, holding a dress. Puzzled, Sarah forgot about the pain in her hand and stood at attention in the corner as Mother commanded. “We’re going out today. Put these on, I’m taking you to the park to play.” Sarah’s heart leaped with joy. She could count all the times she had been outside on her fingers. Mother said she wasn’t well enough to mingle with other children and had to be kept indoors for her own good. She quickly accepted the clothes, struggling a bit to put them on. She was usually naked so Mother could keep track of her measurements. She didn’t mind, although it did get cold sometimes. She could hardly walk in a straight line once they were out on the street. Sarah had never been allowed to play. Her eyes grew large with excitement when the playground came into view. There was a tall piece of metal with stairs children were climbing up. She observed when they reached the top, they sat on their bottom and let themselves glide down to the bottom. She wanted to try that first, but oh! There was another strange piece of equipment children sat on and were pushed by adults. Sarah watched them rock back and forth, going higher in the air. She wanted to run there, but she felt Mother grab her hand and give it a firm squeeze. Sarah turned to look up at her. Mother smiled at her. “Would you like to make friends to play with at home?” Mother asked. Sarah nodded eagerly. Mother bent down to eye level with her and gave her a hug. Sarah froze, unsure of what to do, suddenly aware of a strange ticking sound. Her body went limp in Mother’s arms. “In thirty minutes, invite someone who is here without a guardian home with us to see our cat, t’s just had kittens.” Sarah heard a snap and stood up straight. She looked at Mother, who smiled again. “Go play.”

Beatrice stared wide-eyed. It wasn’t possible! It couldn’t be possible, and yet, there she was. The 19-year-old with drugs up her cooter was sitting in the bed, eyes vacant and looking content sucking on her fingers. Maybe she hadn’t given Gracie enough credit? Maybe she was on to something? Maybe she knew what she was doing with all this crystal and hypnosis shit? Beatrice glanced over at Gracie, who seemed just as perplexed as she was. Or not… Darlene let out a squeal snapping the other two from their shock. She rushed over to the bed and sat down. “Aren’t you just the cutest thing?” Darlene said. She began waving her hands animatedly, making Courtney giggle. “Such a sweet, baby!” “What happened?” Beatrice asked once she caught Gracie’s attention. “Well, I-I’m not sure.” Gracie answered. She seemed shaken up. “None of my other patients have ever been quite this susceptible to hypnosis before. I only suggested she go back to being innocent.” “Looks like she lost her innocence at a very young age then.” Beatrice said. Gracie bit her lip. “Can you fix her?” “Fix her?” Darlene called from the bed. She had the girl pinned down in a fit of giggles, Darlene's fingers racing up and down her sides. “Can’t we keep her like this?” “No!” Both Beatrice and Gracie answered in unison. “Can you put her back?” Beatrice asked. “I think so, but the doctor in me is curious.” Gracie admitted. Beatrice didn’t like where this was going. “Why did she go back so young? I don’t think I should snap her out of it until I address whatever it was that caused this in the first place.” “Drugs!” Beatrice said sounding exasperated. “Drugs caused this! Have you ever hypnotized someone who was high out of their mind?” “Can’t say I have.” Gracie admitted. “Then we should definitely wait until they're out of her system. If her subconscious is this susceptible, we could really end up doing more harm than good.” Beatrice groaned. “She could snap out of it on her own in time as well. Let’s just wait and see.” “Oh, you hear that!” Darlene said. “You get to be my baby a while longer! Yes, you do! Yes, you do! Oh, I have the perfect dress for you to wear!” She turned her attention back to Beatrice. “Can one of you take me to my storage unit? I have the perfect things for this kind of situation.” Beatrice narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean by that?” “I have a few baby things lying around.” Darlene said, a little less enthusiastically. “Don’t you think she’s a little too big for baby things? It’s nice of you to offer your children's or grandchildren’s old baby things, but…” Gracie was saying, but was cut off. “She didn’t have any children.” Beatrice volunteered. She really really didn’t like where this was going. Please don’t bring up the franchise owner. Please don’t bring up the franchise owner. “One of my late husbands was, umm, well, he liked this kind of thing.” “He liked…babies?” Gracie asked confused. Beatrice pinched the bridge of her nose. “Not exactly.” “Oh! I know! We should take her with us! Courtney! You want to go for a ride in the car?” Darlene asked, getting to her feet. “Absolutely not!” Beatrice said. “There is no way we are taking her out of the house like this!” …. “This is a terrible idea.” Beatrice groaned from behind the wheel of her white and blue 2002 Cadillac. She eyed the girl in the back seat anxiously. Courtney seemed to be as excited riding in the car as if it was her first time. She kept moving her head left and right as Darlene sat next to her holding her hand and pointing things out to her. Beatrice couldn’t tell who was enjoying this more, Darlene or Courtney, who was now drooling like a St. Bernard. Gracie sat in the front passenger seat. She hadn’t said a word since they had left the house. She looked to still be in shock from the change that had come over her. While they hadn’t met the real Courtney, they had snooped through her social media pages and had learned quite enough. Part-time drug dealer, part-time exotic dancer and part-time student. Did her parents even know what their daughter was up to while they most likely paid for her college tuition? Did she even bother going to classes? When they pulled up to the storage unit and got out of the car, Darlene pushed Courtney along in a wheelchair. When she opened the door to the unit, Beatrice moaned. It was piled high floor to ceiling with boxes. They were going to be here forever! How did she expect them to find anything like this? “Be right back.” Darlene called. She walked in and around a few stacks. Beatrice worried they’d fall down and crush her, but a few minutes later she came back out with a large box, both Beatrice and Gracie were shocked she could carry by herself. “Open. The. Trunk.” She gasped, wobbling towards the car. Beatrice popped the trunk and Darlene dropped the contents in with a loud crash. “Woops.” she said. The box had opened, spilling the contents out. Beatrice wrinkled her nose. It seemed infantilism wasn’t the only thing the franchise owner had been interested in. There were animal ears, tails attached to silver bulbs, large baby bottles, mittens, adult sized pajamas, bibs, adult diapers with baby print designs, large colorful plastic silverware. “Care to explain?” Gracie asked, picking up a pair of fuzzy, pink handcuffs. “Forget the handcuffs, did you see the raccoon tail?” Beatrice said before turning to Gracie, “I’d wash my hands if I were you.” “Go wait in the car, both of you!” Darlene said, picking through what she didn’t need and putting it back in the box. After a few minutes, the other ladies watched her wheel away Courtney, who had a variety of things on her lap. The two exchanged worried glances. Just as they were beginning to worry Darlene had taken her and had made a run for the southern border, they made a reappearance. “Oh my God.” Gracie said. “Who threw that poor child into the 70’s?” Courtney now had on black stretchy pants that flared widely toward the cuffs with black ruffles down the legs, and a pink no sleeve dress. “Bell bottoms? How old are those?” Beatrice asked. “Not that old.” Darlene said. “How long has it been since Carter’s been in the White House?” “Ancient then.” Beatrice said. “Practically antiques.” Once they were on the road again, Darlene insisted they stop for ice cream. The others had tried to protest, but once again had failed. “It’s just ice cream. Let her run in and get it, and we’ll eat it in the car.” Gracie said. “The kid could do with a few extra pounds in all honesty.” Beatrice shot her a look that said, “I thought you were on my side,” but reluctantly turned into the Baskin-Robbins parking lot. Twenty minutes later, one glance in the rearview mirror made Beatrice regret it. The kid was coated in it. It was in her hair, all over her face, on her hands which had left sticky ice cream hand prints all down her windows. She didn’t want to know what the back seat looked like. “What are you doing back there?” Beatrice asked, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. She knew she wasn’t doing a very good job. Darlene ignored her in favor of cleaning her up. Beatrice quietly seethed and started the car. They were fixing this as soon as they got home! “Just twenty more minutes. Just twenty more minutes.” She chanted to herself. Courtney had begun to whimper, which had begun to increase in volume with every passing minute. “Hey, Courtney. Look over here, Courtney.” Darlene flipped the switch and her chest began to glow and flash. “You’re still wearing those?” Gracie asked. Courtney was transfixed by the lights, she stared at them, blinked a few times and looked up. “Aren’t those mine?” All three women sucked in their breath. They hadn’t expected her to suddenly snap out of it like that. They had expected a gradual process. Courtney’s innocent expression went from confusion to anger. “What’s going on? Where am I? Who are you? Where are we-” She froze mid-sentence and doubled over holding her stomach. She let out a moan of pain. “Sweat Pea? Are you alright?” Darlene asked, rubbing her back.”What’s the matter?” Courtney was grimacing, her hands clenched into fists. “My stomach.” She whimpered. She slowly raised her head and spotted the empty cup of ice cream. “Did I eat that?” “Eat it?” Darlene asked with a chuckle. “You inhaled in.” A grim expression fell over Courtney’s face. “No, no, no!” Courtney moaned. “I’m lactose intolerant!” “Oh.” Darlene asked. “A-are you going to be okay? Do you think you’ll be ill?” In fear of what was left of her interior, Beatrice pulled the car over on the side of the highway and rolled the windows down in case she was going to be sick. “I-I don’t kn-” Courtney grimaced again and bent double. Even Beatrice could tell she was sweating from the front seat. “If you're going to be sick, please, I beg you, do it out the window.” Beatrice asked. Her car had been through enough from this girl! Courtney’s eyes suddenly went wide. “Bathroom! Please.” “We’ll be back at the house in fifteen minutes.” Beatrice said, pulling the car back onto the highway, now that an established exit route had been declared. Courtney groaned again and began taking rapid shallow breaths through the pain. “Is there a gas station or something where you can pull over?” “It’s best we just take you back to the house.” Beatrice said. “We had to change your clothes, and I don’t think you want to go out like that, and no one lets you use their bathroom anymore since Covid.” Beatrice could see the sheen of sweat on her skin and, oh god, was she crying? She rolled the windows back down just in case. Darlene was rubbing her back, before she leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Courtney flashed her a panicked look and vehemently shook her head. “Just letting you know it’s an emergency option, and you look like you’re in an emergency.” “You’re in charge of any mess she makes, you’re the one who insisted we stop for ice cream.” Beatrice said. Just ten more minutes. Just ten more minutes. Another peak in the rearview mirror. Courtney had removed her seat belt to take the pressure off her stomach. “Lay down if you’re going to go without a seat belt, I’m not getting a ticket over this.” Darlene patted her lap and Courtney reluctantly laid down. Five more minutes. “Shh, there there, don’t cry. It’s okay.” Darlene said, running her fingers through her hair. Beatrice checked the mirror again. She was now curled tight into a ball, and by the way her shoulders shook, Beatrice could tell she was crying. It wasn’t until the smell hit did Beatrice realize she hadn’t made it, but she was still clutching her stomach in pain. Beatrice sighed. “No real point in holding it anymore.” She turned up the radio and stuck her head out the window as much as she could as Courtney gave in to the pain. She didn’t care as long as she didn’t puke back there, and it had been clear Darlene had stuck her in one of those silly thick cartoonish diapers. As long as she didn’t have to be the one to deal with the aftermath. “That’s it, you’ll feel better soon, love.” Darlene coo’ed. An hour and a half later, Courtney sat on the bed in the back room seething in nothing but one of Darlene’s nightgowns. “You haven’t answered any of my questions!” she growled. “Who the fuck dressed me up like that?” “Clothes are the least of your problems right now.” Beatrice said. “You’re the one who needs to start answering questions! How about you start by telling us what you were doing last night with a cooter full of drugs?” “You touched me without permission, that’s sexual assault!” Courtney said. “I saved your life!” Beatrice said. “Ungrateful little…” Darlene threw her hands up and stepped between them. She turned to Courtney. “We’re just worried about you, that’s all. We found you passed out in the front yard nearly naked, and brought you inside to rest. Given what we found, I think you’d appreciate us not turning you in.” Courtney glared, before reluctantly nodding her head in agreement. “What would your parents think of your behavior?” Beatrice asked. “I wouldn’t know, I’ve never met them.” Courtney said through gritted teeth. “Oh?” Darlene asked. “Then who did you live with? Who raised you?” “I don’t know.” Courtney growled again. “How do you not know? That’s the dumbest lie I’ve ever heard!” Beatrice said. “I was in twenty-seven different foster homes since I was 12, how was I supposed to keep track?” “Quit exaggerating!” “Who did you live with before, dear?” Darlene asked. “What is this, an interrogation?” Courtney said, rising from the bed. “Where are my clothes, I want to go home.” “Still need to be washed.” Gracie answered. Courtney stared towards the new voice and went absolutely pale. She sat back down on the bed and retreated as far back as she could. “Get that thing away from me!” she yelled in a panic. The two other woman stared towards the corner of the room, but couldn’t see anything. “What? This?” Gracie asked pointing at the metronome. “It’s just a-” “I know what it is! She used to use it on us! She-” Courtney stopped as if realizing what she was saying and turned away. “What are you talking about?” Darlene asked, her face full of concern. “Did something happen?” “J-just leave me alone! I’ll leave like this! I don’t care!” She tried to get up, but Darlene held her in place. “Woah there! Hold on, we need to make sure you’re safe first, then we’ll drop you off wherever you want just-” “No, don’t touch me! I’m leaving! I’ll just take the bus an-” Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Courtney slumped forward. The two other woman shot Gracie a look. Gracie just shrugged and let the metronome keep ticking. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

And it's NOT about disabled children?!? WITCH!

Chapter 1: 1979 The gavel came down. Her blood ran cold. She was only following orders! Her country's orders! How could her own government do this to her? After all the years of loyal service! Dishonorably discharged? The shock was quickly being replaced by anger. All her medals, accommodations, even her fucking pension! Gone in the blink of an eye. Why? She felt a gentle hand on her back. She shook it off. "I'm sorry," The man said. He collected the papers strewn across the desk, and placed them in his briefcase. "The wars over now. The governments trying to sweep their dirty secrets under the rug and save face." "Why was I the scapegoat? I wasn't even the head of Midnight Climax! That was Gottlieb, the bastard!" The woman hissed. Her lawyer raised his head, his eyes full of sympathy. Another wave of rage. She didn't want his good for nothing sympathy! "You know why." He said. She gritted her teeth. "The bodies were starting to pile up, and you were an easy target to pin it on. You're lucky you weren't given serious jail time! Take the slap on the wrist I got for you and start the next chapter of your life." 40 years later The sun was beginning to rise over Sunny Acres Retirement Village located near Berkley University. Beatrice was already up and shuffling around in her blue striped pajamas and pink bunny eared slippers. She had just started a pot of coffee in Ol’ Reliable, an old Mr. Coffee she had picked up in a yard sale. Forget that fancy Keurig thing Darlene, her old washed up Southern Debutant roommate, kept trying to push on her. Beatrice took a long sip and smacked her lips. Ahh, today was the day. She could feel it. She patted her stomach. Nothing like a hot cup of coffee to wake up the bowels. This is your final eviction notice. She was about to grab for the newspapers' crossword puzzle but froze. There was a sound outside her front door. Something that sounded like jangling keys. She hoped Darlene hadn’t been sleepwalking again. Last time they had found her out by the guard house in nothing but her Depends, sashaying back and forth as if she was on a runway, in front of a very traumatized security guard. Gracie and Beatrice had had to come and collect her, wake her up, and not so gently remind her, “No one wants to see you in your skivvies when your tata’s swing down past your belly button.” Gracie, or Dr. Ambrose as she liked to be called, had slipped the poor security boy her business card. “If you need help forgetting.” Gracie had said with a wink. The only way that poor lad’s mind would ever be purged of Darlene’s, wrinkly old pendulums of Disease and Despair would be the sweet relief of death. Beatrice rolled her eyes. “Dr. Ambrose” the retired hypnotist/ tarot card reader/ resident nut job. Their housing unit was full of her, “healing crystals” and, essential oils for every ailment. The only thing they had ever done for Beatrice was make her smell like peppermint, and she hated peppermint. There it was again! The sound of keys rattling in the lock, followed by the sound of, Beatrice frowned, splashing water? She crept to the peephole and peered into it. Her eyes widened. Instead of a half-naked Darlene, there was a young black haired woman teetering and swaying on the walkway. “Kaaattieeee,” the young woman moaned. She appeared to be on a cellphone, but she was holding it backwards to her ear, case first. “Let me innn, Kathie, I have to pee! Pleeeassseeee.” She wailed. This woman was drunk off her rocker! “If you don’t let me in I’m peeing on the lawn!” Ohh, don’t you dare! George worked so hard on that lawn! “That’s it!” The woman said. “I’m-aww shit!” Beatrice could make out a dark circle forming underneath her on the concrete. Beatrice pinched her nose. Maybe if she called George, he could turn on the sprinklers and maybe that would chase her away. “What are you doing, Bea?” a voice said behind her. She spun around to find Darlene in her bathrobe, and about 20 pink curlers in her hair, making her appear like an eldritch monster out of Greek mythology. She was almost sure if she cut off one curler, two more would grow in its place. “There’s a crazy person on our front lawn.” Beatrice said. “Let me see,” Darlene scooted over and peeped through the hole. “I don’t see anyone.” She nudged Darlene out of the way, and looked through the hole. She was right. The mystery woman was gone. Nothing but the wet circle on the pavement. “She peed on our walkway.” Beatrice said. “Seriously? Is she okay? Shouldn’t we check on her?” Darlene ripped the door open before Beatrice could protest and stepped outside. “Eww, what did I just step in?” Urine wasn’t the only gift the woman had left it seemed, and Darlene had just stepped in it. Barefoot. Darlene let out a horrified screech confirming Beatrice's suspicions of an Eldritch bloodline. Vomit coated the welcome mat and front door, and a pair of keys that didn’t even come close to fitting in the lock had been forced in and were dangling. Beatrice watched in amusement as Darlene hurried over to the grass and began dragging her feet while muttering under her breath words that were unbecoming of a southern bell. “Eww eww eww ew-” Darlene froze mid chant. “Bea, I think I found the culprit, come here.” Beatrice scowled, before taking a large step over the pile of sick and stood beside Darlene. She looked where she was pointing. There, by the guest window, was an unconscious woman, face first, and ass up in the flower bed, mooning the neighborhood. “Where’s her panties?” Darlene asked. Beatrice shrugged. “She might have taken them off after getting them wet.” They stood beside her, trying to decide what to do. “Well we can’t leave her like this exposed!” Darlene said. “The poor thing, let's bring her inside.” “Are you crazy? We can’t just bring a stranger into our home.” “Where’s your sense of hospitality?” “You’re not in Georgia anymore, Darlene. We don’t show southern hospitality, we show Californian hospitality. If anyone shows up unannounced on our doorstep, we don’t invite them in, or in your case, invite them in and sleep with them. We blast them with the garden hose until they leave.” “I do not sleep with random strangers that show up on my doorstep!” Darlene insisted, but in a much lower voice added, “anymore.” “Wasn’t that how you met husband number, hmm what was it, number three or number four?” “He was a door-to-door salesman.” Darlene said. “My second husband, Richard, may he rest in peace.” Beatrice watched as Darlene kneeled down in the grass and rested her hand on the woman’s back. “Sweet Pea, are you okay?” The woman let out a muffled groan into the dirt. “Bea, help me get her sitting up.” Between the two of them, they managed to get her into a sitting position, with her back against the house. Beatrice was surprised to discover this wasn’t some woman, it was a girl! She doubted she was even old enough to drink. She couldn’t be positively sure with a face full of dirt, but she was almost sure she was a university student. “Maybe we should bring her in.” Beatrice admitted. “Someone might have spiked her drink. We shouldn’t leave her alone.” It was difficult, but between the two of them, they managed to hoist her up by the armpits, and drag her inside. By then, Gracie was in the kitchen and nearly dropped her spatula when they dragged the girl inside past her. “What on earth!” Gracie said. “Help us get her into the spare room!” Beatrice said. Gracie rushed ahead and opened the bedroom door, and the three of them managed to get her into bed with great difficulty, almost dropping her in the process. “My back.” Gracie groaned. “My knees!” Beatrice said. “My hair!” The other two glared at Darlene for a moment before turning their attention back to the girl. “We should get her undressed.” Darlene said. “You’ve already had six husbands, are you trying for a wife now?” Beatrice asked. She left the room for a moment and came back out with a damp wash cloth. “Let me put her under, I can find out what happened to her.” Gracie volunteered. Both Beatrice and Darlene rolled their eyes. “Put her under? She’s out cold!” Beatrice said. She gently wiped the dirt off the girl's face, revealing a gash by her left eyebrow. Next she unbuttoned the girl's white top. “What in the world?” The three of them bent over and stared, each with a puzzled expression. There were wires running throughout her bra. Darlene picked up a small white remote and turned a knob. “Oooh.” The three of them chanted, now transfixed. LED lights began to flash in different colored patterns on her skin. “Oh my God!” Gracie said. “She’s loaded!” She held up a massive wad of cash she had fished out of a black purse. “Where did you get that?” Beatrice asked, looking at the bag. “The front yard, I figured it was hers.” “Hello, wife number one. Oww! I was kidding!” Darlene said, rubbing the back of her head. Gracie dug through the bag some more before pulling out a wallet. She opened it to reveal a University I.D. as well as a Driver's license for a Courtney Flower’s, age nineteen. “Huh, a goat.” “A goat?” Darlene asked. “Chinese Zodiac sign based on the year you were born. It’s supposed to say a lot about your personality. Goats tend to be more reserved and shy, not the type to light up their titties at a party.” “Ohh, what’s mine?” Darlene asked. “Sorry, raging whore isn’t one of the listed symbols.” Beatrice answered. “Neither is an alcoholic!” Darlene said. “I’m not an alcoholic, I’m a drunk, there’s a difference.” Beatrice said, sliding off Courtney’s skirt in order to clean the urine off her legs. “Alcoholics go to meetings.” She gently wiped down her thighs, but when she got to her more intimate area she stopped. “There’s something inside her.” “What do you mean?” Gracie asked. “Like a tampon?” “No, I don’t think so.” She pressed down lightly on her pelvis. She could feel a bulge. She put a finger down and traced the opening. Beatrice could feel plastic sticking out. “Let’s see what’s behind door number one. “ She pulled on it and out came a cord of individually wrapped powders and pills, resembling a small version of a Leigh people wore to graduations with candy and money inside. “Oh boy.” “That would explain the money.” Gracie said, a disgusted look on her face. “And to think I was worried about a drug dealer!” “Ohh, is that Oxycodone? My prescriptions almost out and I-” Beatrice held it away from Darlene. “She’s not out of the clear yet.” Beatrice said, examining one of the bags. “Looks like one of them broke open. That’s why she’s out cold. It doesn’t look like much though. I think she’s just high right now. These look like individual doses.” “So if she’s a drug dealer, should we call the police?” Darlene asked. “I’m sorry, I was wrong about you.” Beatrice said. “There is a Zodiac symbol for you after all.” “Oh yeah?” Darlene asked, intrigued. “What’s that?” “A rat.” ………. Beatrice looked up from her chair as Courtney began to groan. “How are you feeling?” Beatrice asked, her voice gentle and soft. “My head.” The girl groaned, putting a hand up on her forehead. Beatrice couldn’t blame her. Between whatever had been in her system, and “Dr. Ambrose” burning incense, sage, and lighting aromatherapy candles, even Beatrice had a headache. She couldn’t sympathize much though. She held up the link of drugs. “Why don’t you start by explaining these?” Beatrice watched Courtney’s face go white, followed by red. She wondered if she’d try denying they were hers, kind of hard to do considering where she had found them. “Did you pull those out of me?! What the hell? What gave you the right to inva-” Beatrice held up a hand. “This one broke inside you.” She pointed to a half empty link with a hole in it. “What was it?” “L.S.D.” Courtney admitted after a moment. “Where are my clothes? What am I wearing?” “You soiled yourself.” Beatrice watched with some amusement as Courtney’s face turned a shade of red. “So you were dressed appropriately.” “Is this a diaper?” She asked. “Yes. Now stay here while I speak to the others.” Beatrice got up and left the room. Now that she knew Courtney was fine, physically anyway, she didn’t care anymore. They had looked at her, what’s-it-called page to learn more than enough about her. She wasn’t a victim of a trafficking crime, she was a troubled young lady. She met with the other two in the living room and explained the situation. “Can I? Please? We can reform her!” Gracie said. Doctor Placebo was begging to get to work. “She’s just a baby!” “Do what you want.” Beatrice shrugged, before stopping in her tracks. “How do I look?” Darlene asked, a large grin on her face. Underneath her tank top was glowing and flashing string of lights. “You’re not fooling anyone. We all know your nipples are about 3 feet lower than that.” When Beatrice went back into the room, she was greeted by a very disoriented looking Courtney, who kept staring at her hands. “You ever notice how strange fingers look?” She said wiggling them around in front of her face. Beatrice would have been more concerned about being naked in a stranger's house while caught with drugs on her person, but sure, let's go with fingers. Clearly she wasn’t quite sober yet. It would sure make getting consent a hell of a lot easier, and it's not like anything would happen. It was just a formality for Dr. Placebo, so she could feel more official in her old age. Beatrice cleared her throat. “Umm, Courtney,” “Is that me?” the girl asked. Beatrice sighed and nodded her head as the young woman began to chant her name in different ways, putting more emphasis on different syllables each time. Beatrice opened the old video camera, set it on the tripod and began to record. “Courtney, do we have your consent to place you under hypnosis?” Courtney looked up, a blank expression on her face. “Can I eat it?” It was then that Gracie entered, followed by Darlene. Yes, let her explain her crackhead idea. All Beatrice could chalk it up to was Gracie having lost a few too many brain cells during Woodstock. She still couldn’t believe people actually used to pay her for this. Enough people in fact, that she had made an entire career out of it. Beatrice had her doubts about Gracie having a doctorate, she honestly thought it was all just a stage name. “We’re just going to give your subconsciousness a few suggestions, that’s all. Just to help you relax and ride out the high in a safe place. Is that okay?” Gracie asked, after she had gone on a long-winded version of what she did and the “benefits” of sleeping next to a chunk of amethyst while Mercury was in retrograde this week. Beatrice had a habit of spacing out during her ramblings, only coming to when Courtney had given her consent. How Gracie had gotten the young lady to look into the camera, state her name, age, and have her give her consent, when Courtney a minute ago looked like she believed the creases in her fingers held tomorrow night's winning power ball numbers was beyond Beatrice’s understanding. That woman was on all a whole other wave length. Maybe if she herself was on drugs, Gracie would also make sense to her too. The Bailey’s she had added to her coffee clearly wasn’t enough. Tick tick tick went the metronome. The room had gone silent. The curtains had been drawn to give the room a more serious yet relaxing ambiance. Gracie’s voice had gotten much softer. No longer shrill and keyed up, it dropped to a steady and monotonous tone. Beatrice wished she’d always talk like that. It was kind of nice. Tick. Tick. Tick. The steady rhythm was making Beatrice herself feel drowsy just from watching. A tingling was beginning to run from her head to her hands and down her torso, and she found it rather pleasant. She shook her head to stay alert. “Courtney,” Gracie said. “Relax and listen to the steady rhythm. That’s it. Good girl. Keep relaxing.” Beatrice watched as she sat down on the bed next to the young woman. “Now I’m going to count from five down to zero, and when I reach zero I want you to consciously relax every muscle in your shoulders and neck.” Beatrice listened as Gracie began. Once she hit zero she went on. “Feel the tension drain. The muscles are loosening. All the stress you’ve been carrying around is ebbing away, leaving you feeling light and relaxed.” Beatrice rolled her own shoulders around as Gracie instructed Courtney to do the same. She watched her give similar instructions and talk downs to her face, stomach, back and legs. Even Darlene was beginning to wobble on her feet. “Your head wants to fall forward. Let it.” Beatrice was surprised to see Courtney’s head fall forward as if it was dead weight. “Now, I am no longer speaking to the Courtney of the present sitting here in this bed. I am speaking to the Courtney of the past, the purest form of Courtney full of innocence and light. The Courtney deep inside. I would like for that Courtney to come forward now.” Beatrice watched shell shocked as a high-pitched giggle escaped the girls lips. “Yes, that’s it. I want to spend time with that Courtney, at the age before the corruption, when you still held hope for your life and future. You’re so tired of the life you’ve been living. It’s so hard and stressful. You feel your desire to lead that life slip away just like the tension in your body.” The room was quiet. They all held their breaths as the metronome kept on ticking. “Once I count down from five, this other Courtney, this innocent Courtney full of light and love will be in control and no one else. Keep her in the forefront of your mind. Here we go…five…four…” Beatrice wasn’t expecting much. Maybe she’d have a little less attitude for a few days. “Three…two…” Placebo was a powerful thing after all, but it only worked if you believed it would. “One.” She wondered what age Courtney was when she had all her innocence, before she knew about drugs, alcohol, and sex. 14? 15? “Zero.” Gracie snapped her fingers. The girl looked up. Beatrice, Darlene, and even Gracie were left speechless. A wide, dopey grin was on Courtney’s face and…not much else. Her green eyes were wide with wonder as she took them all in. A trail of drool made its way out of the corner of her mouth. She stuck out her tongue and blew a very wet raspberry, before giggling, clapping her hands and sticking a few of her fingers into her mouth. The women stared in shock. “I think you may have gone back a little too far.” Beatrice said, barely above a whisper.

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…