bedwetting Afternoon in the Chokey (Updated 5-10-24)

[CDfm]

Wonderful! 
 

This was another emotional chapter.  Can’t help but feel the pain Jennifer is feeling knowing the possibility of having a baby are very slim.  It seems to me that she has come to accept the physical pains and is really working on getting past the emotional pains. Just having Matilda in her life is a huge blessing and one that is greatly helpful in getting past those emotional pains.  It’s still going to be interesting to see how Jennifer handles Eve.  I loved the insight of this chapter in regards to Carol and what Carol did to try and help her. I think her relationship with Hortencia is going to be changing based on her new knowledge as well. She understands the shock that Hortencia experienced as a child Matilda’s age.  I am not sure how to react to the revelation that Matilda might be on the spectrum.  I guess as far as I am concerned it wouldn’t make any difference.  I still feel as though she is just a very intelligent and special little girl. You can’t help but loving her just as she is. 
 

Most of all right now,  I just want to read more.  This is an amazing story and definitely one of my favorites. 

[SashaButters]

21 hours ago, smilekat414 said:

Last few chapters have been amazingly dark and visceral, but this one is actually pretty heartwarming, even considering some pretty messed up subject matter. (the bit about Matilda being on the spectrum was also unexpected)I continue to read with interest to see where this goes. 

Thanks, I like to mix light and dark scenes. It gets too depressing if its dark all the time, but also unrealistic if everything is too cheery. Matilda being on the spectrum isn't very original tbh, it's a pretty popular head cannon. 

This was one of those chapters I'm going to look back on and go why did I write that haha But a lot of these scenes are written because I can't get them out of my head until they're out on paper. 

 

[AdultInnocence]

You have fleshed this story and given it a direction that I would not have expected. There is still a lot of development for us to discover. You have made it your own even though it is a fan-fic.

The characters are now connected in a way that they did not understand or remember until now (well some of them at least) and Carol doesn't have to be so quiet about the past now. I loved how she called Matilda "serotonin" when she brought her to Jennifer. I wonder if Eve also kept all the money and never used it.

[SashaButters]

 When Jennifer finally found the will to get up and get dressed, much thanks to her daughter (she loved saying that, especially today) begging her to come to the backyard with her. Carol had set up a tarp underneath the sprinklers and her and Hortensia had been sliding down it. 

 

So that was why she was all wet. 

 

“It sounds fun, but give me a few minutes. I need to help Mrs. Rodgers clean the kitchen. We, sort of, made a mess this afternoon.” But when she stepped inside, all the paper airplanes had already been disposed of. Only one now, the Horsetensia, sat on the kitchen table. 

 

“Your kid's little magic trick really comes in handy for clearing clutter.” Carol explained. “All I had to do was hold the bag. They all just flew right in.” 

 

“I don’t like her relying on them too much.” Miss Honey explained, although she had found the same to be very true. It made cleaning out her house, her therapist was trying to get her in the habit of referring to it as hers instead of her aunts, a tremendous amount easier. Despite their earlier altercations, Matilda had always been eager to use her powers, even if it was only to help Jennifer move some boxes or dust somewhere out of reach. 

 

“Why not? It’s bloody useful. I didn’t have to bend down once.” Carol went to the kitchen cabinet and pulled down a mug. “You want some tea? I need to tell you about today.” 

 

Jennifer poked her head out. Matilda was back outside and seemingly content. She could periodically hear the girls laughing and screaming. She smiled. It warmed her heart to see Matilda doing something that didn’t involve sitting alone in her room. A sudden thought occurred to her.

 

“You didn’t have anything to do with them being friends, did you?” Jennifer asked out of curiosity. 

 

“Not really.” Carol said. “I did call Eve that day Matilda was sick before you did to explain she was currently in your care. I know Eve asked Hortensia not to pick on her, she does like to give the younger students a hard time, but telling Hortensia anything...” She raised her shoulders in a shrug. “We’re all just as surprised as you are.” 

 

“Why did Eve send Hortensia to Crunchem Hall if she knew her literal kidnapper was the headmistress?” This was something that made little sense to her. 

 

“Because Hortensia got herself expelled from her last school and she had no choice. I was shocked to find her there myself. When I first started, I snuck into your aunt's office while she was out to see if what you told me was true about locking kids in a cell. Heard someone screaming, opened the Chokey door, and there she was. I looked up Eve’s phone number, and let her have it. Can’t say she hasn’t kept things interesting over the years. My favorite’s still the black cat in her office.” 

“I don’t know where she gets these ideas from. I think half the office drawer is just things we’ve confiscated from her. Bottle rockets, smoke bombs, itching powder, fart spray.” Jennifer listed off several other things. 

 

“You can order all those things through the mail.” Carol said, waving her concerns away. Jennifer narrowed her eyes.

 

“Yeah, but who was ordering them for her? It wasn’t Eve…” Jennifer's eyes went wide. “It was you!”

 

“No idea what you’re talking about.” Carol said with a guilty sounding laugh. “You make it sound like I let her pick something out of a brochure as a reward if she kept giving your aunt hell.” Jennifer had a feeling that was exactly what was happening. 

 

“How is Eve?” Jennifer asked, accepting the warm mug Carol offered her as they sat at the kitchen table. 

 

“Scared.” Carol answered. “She asks if you’d be willing to keep Hortensia for a few days while this gets sorted out.” 

 

“I suppose.” She had still been secretly hoping to send her off to the neighbors, but as the sounds of delighted squeals rose from outside, she warmed to the idea. She hadn’t seen Matilda look so carefree since they had moved. It was nice to see her just being a kid. 

 

“Maybe you should take them out of town.” Carol suggested. “Go somewhere she won’t have access to news about what’s going on. Maybe you could take them camping for a few days.” 

 

“Camping?” Did she forget she was practically homeless for two years?

 

“Yeah, you know, with a tent.” 

 

“Are there campgrounds nearby?” 

 

“That’s not camping.” Carol said with a dismissive wave. “Where was it that you went yesterday?” 

 

“The lake, well, more like a pond, but it’s such a far walk.” Although she imagined it would be easier if she wasn’t carrying a backpack of rocks. “I used to hike there quite often.”

 

“Is it secluded? It’s more relaxing if it’s secluded.” 

 

“For the most part.” She rarely ever saw other people there or on the trail. She wasn’t even sure if it was a real trail. “But I don’t own any camping supplies.”  She had mostly gotten rid of the things she had used in the hut. “Although my aunt was big into survival. I could always take a peek in the basement. I haven’t been down there much.” 

 

“Roger was an avid outdoorsman. He loved hunting. I’m sure I have plenty of things.” 

 

“Who’s Roger?” 

 

“My late husband.” Miss Honey winced. She had never talked about her husband before. 

 

“His name was Rodger? As in Rodger Rodger’s?” Jennifer asked. Carol chuckled and shook her head.

 

 “I didn’t take his last name. I already had my practice up and running when we got married.” 

 

Jennifer was thoughtful for a moment. It would be nice to go off grid for a couple days. She hadn’t wanted to leave yesterday and Carol had a point. Hortensia didn’t need to be around all this when everything was so up in the air.

 

“So, any flashbacks since…?” 

 

“No.” Jennifer said, surprised. “But I never want to do that again.” Carol chuckled again.

 

“No one does.” It had been one of the most awkward moments of her adult life. Worse than the time she got her bare butt frozen to the plastic outhouse seat in the winter and had to explain to her aunt why she was so late for work. She had had to take a page out of her childhood after that. If it was cold enough to see her breath, it was too cold to use the doorless outhouse. Once again, she found herself peeing in a bucket. 

 

“What kind of brainless idiot takes the outhouse door off in the middle of winter?” Her aunt had yelled so loud the neighboring classrooms could hear. 

 

“If you hadn’t locked me in the Chokey so many times, maybe I wouldn’t be afraid of small, dark spaces!” is what she had wanted to yell back, but instead she had mumbled something about the wood having been rotted, and she hadn’t gotten around to replacing it. 

 

“So, are you ready to amp up the difficulty?” Carol asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Jennifer didn’t like that look. “You left this here.” She slid across a small bottle she recognized.

 

“No.” Jennifer said. She had had enough ‘experiences’ today. 

 

“Did you only use it that one time?” Carol asked with a thoughtful frown.

 

“Once was enough.” She shuddered. Carol began to cackle.

 

“No wonder you had a bad reaction, you used enough for a whole orgy. You only needed to dab it on your finger tip.” 

 

“Well, I was so sure it wouldn’t do anything…” Jennifer could feel her face begin to burn. She hadn’t planned on using it at all, just squirted some in her hand out of curiosity. Next thing she knew, she had applied it without thinking. “Will it hurt?” She whispered. 

 

Jennifer had spent a lot of time in her youth daydreaming. She’d often dream of a distant, far off future while she polished the floors, washed the dishes, and massaged her aunt's yellow cracked feet. In her fantasies, she had a loving husband, a house, and a very large family, but she knew it would always be that. A fantasy. Something akin to dreaming of winning the lottery. But now she had a daughter, not in the way she had fantasized about, but one who made her feel more happy and fulfilled than she had dreamed of. And if she thought about it, her class, weren’t they all her children? If that part of her dream could come true, couldn’t the other one somehow? 

 

“Sex, I mean.” Jennifer mumbled. The last thing she wanted to hear was Carol going on a rant about the other thing. 

 

“It might.” Carol said. That meant yes, Jennifer thought. “It takes practice, communication, and for you, a fair amount of lubricant.” 

 

“It doesn’t matter; It’s not going to happen.” It was a dream best left buried and forgotten. “I was just curious.” 

 

“Why do you say that?” 

 

“I’m not interested. It sounds painful, and if I can’t have kids anyway, what’s the point?”

 

“Sex isn’t just about making babies.” Jennifer shrugged. To her, it was. 

 

Her head spun around at the sound of the sliding screen door leading to the backyard opened.

 

“Mom, c’mon.” Matilda said. She was dripping water all over the tiled kitchen floor, Jennifer noticed. 

 

“Out!” Jennifer pointed. 

 

“Come play with us!” Matilda begged. “Please.” 

 

“Go on.” Carol said. “Let’s see what they're up to.”  They went out back. Carol sat on the back patio, she had the phone book and a legal pad and was copying down phone numbers. Jennifer stood watching the girls run and slide across the tarp.

 

“Mom! Try it!” Matilda beckoned. “It’s fun!”  

 

“I’m sure it is, but I think I’ll just watch.” Jennifer said. Matilda pouted.

 

“No! Come play with us!” Matilda pleaded. Jennifer sighed. 

 

“Okay. Okay.” She said. “One time.” She stepped into the wet grass, glad she had only dressed in shorts and a t-shirt from yesterday's hike. She stood at the edge of the tarp, about to lower herself onto it when Matilda stopped her.

 

“No! You have to get a running start or you won’t go anywhere!” 

 

“If I do a running start I’ll slide right off. I’m too big!” Jennifer explained, but Matilda and Hortensia insisted. Well, If Hortensia could stay on, she figured. She took a few steps back, and then a few more before she charged.  With a panicked yell, she shot forward, sliding on her stomach straight off the edge of the tarp and face first into the flower bed. Jennifer lifted her face out of the dirt only to be met with roars of laughter. Carol held her notepad in the air where a large 10 had been scrawled on a page. 

 

…

 

After the car had been loaded with camping supplies, much to the girl's delight, Jennifer drove to Hortensia’s so she could pack a bag. Jennifer frowned as she stepped inside. The house looked like it had been robbed. The police had really gone through everything. All the drawers were open with their contents tossed around. Every couch cushion had been upended. Hortensia stood transfixed surveying the damage. 

 

“Matilda, go help her pack.” Jennifer urged as she bent down and fixed the couch. She tried to put the living room back together while she waited, but by the time they came back with a packed bag, Jennifer had hardly made a dent. 

 

“Hortensia! There you are!” A voice called out as they stepped out of the house.

 

“Bloody hell not now.” Hortensia mumbled under her breath. Cynthia hurried across the street. 

 

“We had no idea where you were! Where have you been?” the large woman demanded, her enormous son clutched by the wrist.

 

“Staying with friends.” Hortensia said. “I just came to get my stuff.” Cynthia looked to Jennifer, recognition dawning on her face. 

 

“Oh, it’s you.” Cynthia said. “Thank you for watching her.”

 

“It’s no problem.” Jennifer said. Cynthia turned her attention back to Hortensia.

“Why didn’t you go to my house? You were supposed to go there in case of an emergency!” She turned back to Jennifer. “I can take her from here.”

 

“What? No!” Hortensia said. 

 

“Go!” Cynthia pointed towards her house. 

 

“I don’t want to stay with you!” Hortensia argued. 

 

“Your mom told me to find you and bring you back. You know how many people I’ve been calling trying to find you?” 

 

Now was the perfect chance to hand her over to the neighbor, but as Jennifer stared at the ever growing horrified look on Hortensia’s face, she couldn’t do it. Even Matilda didn’t like this woman, and if there was anyone’s judgment of people she trusted, it was her daughters. 

 

“Oh, her mom knows she’s with me. It’s okay.” Jennifer said. “We were in touch today.” 

 

“Well, I’m sure she’d feel better if her daughter was with someone she trusts.” Cynthia grabbed Hortensia by the arm and began to drag her forward. 

 

“Let me go!” 

 

A loud bang rocked the quiet street.

 

“Isn’t that your mailbox?” Matilda asked. Cynthia looked up and dropped Hortensia’s arm in shock. Pieces of mail and wood scattered the street.

 

“No, no, no!” Cynthia cried. She hurried forward to collect the pieces of mail that were beginning to fly down the road. 

 

“Get in the car.” Jennifer whispered. “Hurry.” It wasn’t until they pulled up to the house did Jennifer turn to Hortensia and ask, “What was that about?” 

 

“She’s always like that. I hate her.” Hortensia said with a roll of her eyes. “She probably never even made a phone call.” She turned to Matilda. “Dude, did you blow up her mailbox?” Matilda flashed her a mischievous grin. 

 

“Matilda.” Jennifer sighed and shook her head.

 

“Well she just tried to practically kidnap her.” Matilda said. 

 

“That was weird.” Jennifer agreed. She didn’t like how the woman had tried to drag her away. They were both adults, they could have easily talked it over. 

“She lies all the time.” Hortensia explained. 

 

“About what?” Jennifer asked as she unlocked the front door.

 

“She’ll make it sound like having me over is such a sacrifice, when all she really does is make me clean or watch her brat. Then she’ll tell my mom we did all these ‘fun’ things.” 

 

A manipulator, Jennifer thought. She was familiar with the type. She had seen enough red flags from their last encounter. 

 

“Don’t worry, you can stay with us for the time being. Are you alright? You look a little out of sorts?”  Jennifer could see she looked pale and shaken. She had seen her face down her aunt on numerous occasions without a second thought to the consequences, but this neighbor had her nearly shaking. She supposed she couldn’t blame her given the last 24 hours. It was a good thing they’d be leaving tomorrow. Hortensia looked like she was about to crack. “Are you tired?” Hortensia nodded. “Matilda, why don’t you- ah nevermind, I’ll show you.” 

 

Jennifer ignored both girls puzzled glances and led the way upstairs. “You probably want to get out of those wet clothes. Here’s the upstairs bathroom, you can shower and get changed. Towels are under the sink.” Next she walked her down to a door a little further down the hallway. “Sorry, we’ve been using this room as storage so there’s stuff everywhere. Let me clear off the bed for you.” She opened the door to reveal a cluttered room full of boxes and an assorted array of things she hadn’t figured out if she’d toss or keep. 

 

Hortensia peeked her head in the room and looked around, a deep frown creasing her face. 

 

“Is this alright? I can always have Matilda switch with you.” Jennifer offered. “Or she can stay with me.” 

 

“What? No way!” Matilda called from down the hall.

 

“It’s fine.” Hortensia said. “It’s just stuff. I can move it. Anything is better than Cynthia’s. She has plastic over all her furniture. She’s a germaphobe.” Jennifer scooped up all the things off the bed in two trips and threw it into the closet. 

 

“I’ll let you get settled. Come down stairs after you’ve had a chance to shower and change. We still need to go to the store and pick out some things to bring.” Hortensia nodded and stared out the window.

 

“Does it open?” Hortensia asked. 

 

“Of course it does. Why wouldn’t a window open?” Jennifer said. She walked over to it and pried it up. “See?” Removing the lock and replacing the window had been one of her first projects she had tackled after moving in. Even with the improvements, Matilda had wanted nothing to do with this space. Jennifer looked behind her and found her daughter watching from the doorway. Jennifer put a finger to her lips. If Hortensia didn’t remember, it was for the best. She didn’t remember most of it herself. Dragging up past trauma could only hurt her more. She was going through enough right now. 

 

“Matilda, go use my shower and get ready.” She followed her into her bedroom and stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Bits of leaves and dirt still clung to her hair from her face plant into the flower garden. She grimaced. All three of them needed showers. 

 

Once they were all clean and dressed, they piled back into the car and headed to the local grocery store. Jennifer looked down into the cart and let out a held breath. This was a terrible idea, she thought with a small smile. 

 

“No more junk food.” She announced. “You girls are going to be bouncing off the walls for days.” She shook her head. Soda, cookies, candy. She was going to regret this, but when was the last time Jennifer had an Oreo? Well, she’d be outdoors at least, not cooped up in the house with two feral children. 

 

They had everything they needed for smores, hot dogs, pancakes, snacks, and an assortment of other odds and ends. She just needed to get a bag of ice.

 

“Ohh, can we get toys to bring? Like balls and stuff?” Matilda asked. Jennifer stared at her a moment before nodding with a smile. In the nearly nine months since they had become a family, Matilda had never once asked to go down the toy aisle. “What’s that look for?” Matilda asked. 

 

“Nothing,” Jennifer said with a grin. “It’s just nice to see you acting like a kid for once.” Matilda gave her a puzzled look. “C’mon, maybe we can find a frisbee.” 

 

Jennifer shook her head at herself as they stepped inside the house. She had let herself get carried away by their excitement. She looked over their haul and let out a silent laugh. She had gotten a frisbee…and a foam football, pool noodles, Super Soakers, and an inflatable alligator. She had never had ‘fun money’ before, and clearly she couldn’t be trusted with it. How on earth were they supposed to get all this to the lake?  

 

“I hope you're ready for a workout, you two. I can’t carry all this by myself tomorrow.” 

 

“That’s why you were carrying rocks yesterday, you were training for tomorrow!” Matilda exclaimed. “Oh, can we have a soda?” 

 

“Not the caffeinated ones! I need you two well rested and ready to go first thing in the morning. ”  

 

“Okay!” Matilda agreed. 

 

They sat in the kitchen eating Oreo’s while Hortensia animatedly told them all about the comic she was working on. Suddenly, she was on her feet sprinting up the stairs two at a time before crashing back down them, notebook in hand.

 

“See.” Hortensia slid a page across. 

 

“Oh wow, very nice.” Jennifer said. She leafed through the crudely drawn superhero sketches until she stopped on a page that made her pause. She took in the gruesome and disfigured monster face. “What’s this?” It was much more detailed than the others. A large boil covered one corner of its face while its eyes seemed to be leaking puss and blood. Hortensia mumbled something Jennifer couldn’t quite catch, something about a dream, before taking the notebook back. 

 

“Oh, can we play Scrabble?” Matilda asked. Jennifer grinned, but shook her head.

 

“I don’t think Hortensia wants to play Scrabble against you. Let’s play something a little more fair.”

 

“Huh?” Hortensia looked up. “That’s fine, whatever.” 

 

“She said it’s okay!” Matilda cheered before getting up and darting into the living room cabinet.

 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Jennifer asked with a grin. “This is her game.” Hortensia shrugged. 

 

“It’s not about the score in Scrabble.” Hortensia said. Jennifer raised a brow. 

 

“What it was about…” was spelling offensive words during her turn, Jennifer realized almost at once when she played ‘A-R-S-E,’ ‘F-A-R-T-’ and ‘P-O-O-P’.  She rolled her eyes, but held back the urge to tell her off. At least she was keeping herself amused while Matilda played words like ‘Q-U-E-T-Z-A-L-S’ for 178 points on a triple word score. 

 

“We didn’t stand a chance.” she lamented to Hortensia. 

 

“What’s the score?” Matilda asked. 

 

“Not worth repeating.” She slid the paper across the table to the girl, who eagerly snatched it up and grinned. “How about Sorry?” 

 

They were just through their third round when Jennifer noticed the time. 

 

“Bed! Both of you!” She called out. Jeez, when had it gotten so late? And she still needed to pack! “I’ll be up to tuck you in in a bit.” 

 

“You want to stay in my room with me?” Matilda asked.

 

“No, you’ll be up giggling all night, and I’m sure Hortensia would like her space.” Jennifer said putting a stop to that idea. “Goodnight girls.”

 

…

 

Matilda groggily opened her eyes. Someone was in her room. She forced herself onto her elbows and peered into the darkness.

 

“Scoot over.” Hortensia muttered as she climbed into the bed. 

 

“Huh?” Matilda mumbled as felt herself getting pushed over. She hurried over to make room. “What’s wrong? What time is it?” 

 

“Nothing. Go back to sleep.” 

 

“Then why are you in my bed?” Matilda asked. 

 

“You said you wanted me to sleep here.” Hortensia mumbled at the wall. “Why? Is there something wrong with that room? Do you have some kind of sixth sense or something? Is it haunted?”

 

“What?” Matilda asked as she rubbed her eyes and fought back a yawn. She wasn’t making any sense. 

 

“There’s something creepy about it. I can’t put my finger on it though. What’s that feeling called when you think you’ve been somewhere before?” 

 

“Deja-Vu.” Matilda mumbled into her pillow and closed her eyes. 

 

“I know I haven’t, but I swear it feels like- Matilda didn’t hear the rest. She was back to her dream. 

 

When she next opened her eyes, the sun was barely starting to shine light through the curtains, but that wasn’t what woke her up. She turned her head towards the sound and found a shaking lump next to her. 

 

“Tens?’” Matilda mumbled, before frowning. When had she gotten in her bed? The noise increased when she called her name. Wait, was she crying? She went to prop herself up and froze. No. No. No. No. She could feel her own eyes begin to well with panicked tears. She slowly moved her hand down. She winced at the feel of moisture. It had been months since she had last wet the bed, but now she had to go and wet herself with her best friend in the bed!? 

 

Matilda sprang out from under the blanket. 

 

“Please…don’t tell anyone.” she heard a pitiful voice moan from underneath the blanket. 

 

“What? Why would I-” She felt herself and frowned. She wasn’t that wet. “Oh.” she said in stunned silence. Hortensia had… “I used to. I-it’s not a big deal.” She lied. 

 

“You’re like fricken four! I’m eleven!” Hortensia cried. “You can’t tell anyone! I’ll beat your ass if you tell anyone!” 

 

“I wouldn’t tell anyone anyway, and I’m six.” Matilda said with a scowl. 

 

“Not Miss Honey either!” Hortensia said in a panic, ignoring the bit about her age.  “I need to hide the sheets somewhere-”

 

“Ew, I’ll just wash them. Get up and throw all the wet stuff in a pile and strip the bed.” With a final choked sob, Hortensia pulled herself up and out of the wet bedding. Her pajama pants clung to her left leg. “Those too.” Hortensia grunted before slowly trudging out the door and to her bag in the other room. A few minutes later she came back with her wet clothes and threw them on the bed. Matilda had changed as well and began pulling the sheet off. 

 

“Thanks.” Hortensia mumbled, still avoiding eye contact. “I can’t believe this happened. Please don’t tell Miss Honey.” She whispered. 

 

“She won’t be mad at you.” Matilda said matter of factly. 

 

“She might tell my mom and SHE will be.” Hortensia hissed. 

 

I think your moms got bigger problems, Matilda thought to herself as she stripped the bed. 

 

“Put a new sheet on while I throw this in the laundry, they’re in the hall cupboard.” Matilda said, scooping up the soiled bed sheets and clothes. She made it halfway down the stairs before her mom’s voice stopped her. 

 

“Matilda, you’re up early.” Miss Honey said, coming from the living room. Matilda bunched the sheets into a tighter ball as if she could make them invisible through sheer power of will. She had promised not to say anything. Maybe if she just didn’t act suspicious. “Is something wrong?” 

 

“No,” Matilda said, and resumed her trek to the kitchen’s pantry where the washer and dryer were. She could see her mom bent over a drawer. If she could just make it past without her looking too hard. She took a few steps, but Miss Honey turned around. Her smile faltered and she let out an exasperated sigh. 

 

“Oh, Matilda, again?” 

“What? No, I didn’t.” Matilda said, and hurried towards the laundry.

 

“Matilda, you don’t need to lie to me.” 

 

“I didn’t!” She said firmly and tossed the bedding in the washer. “I spilled something.” 

 

“Matilda, stop it, I saw your underwear.” The look of sympathy was gone from her eyes, and in its place was a stern scowl. Uh-oh, the mom stare. “I’m not upset with you for wetting the bed. I thought I’d made myself clear that I’d never be upset with you over this.” 

 

“I didn’t!” Matilda said again. Jennifer sighed. A sad look crossed her eyes. 

 

“But I am disappointed in you for lying.” Jennifer said.

 

“I’M NOT!” Matilda yelled. Miss Honey shook her head.

 

“Let’s not do this this morning, just drop it. I’m going to wake Hortensia up.” Matilda watched as she slowly made her way up the stairs. Ugh, why didn’t she just say she had bled on them? Some genius she was! She raced up the stairs and hoped it wasn’t too late to change her story, but stopped just outside when she heard her mom begin to talk to Hortensia. 

 

“Oh, sweetie, no you don’t have to do that, Matilda can do- Ten’s, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” 

 

“I’m not.” Hortensia croaked out, voice thick with emotion. Matilda peeked her head around the corner to find her mom gripping Hortensia’s shoulders. Hortensia looked up and spotted her. “I told you not to say anything!” Jennifer spun around and looked at Matilda questioningly. 

 

“I didn’t!” Matilda growled, fingers clenched into claws in front of her. Why was everyone upset with her this morning? 

 

“What happened? What’s going on?” 

 

Matilda mimed zipping her lips and locking it. Miss Honey looked from her to Hortensia, who was doing everything she could to avert her gaze, and then to the bed. Matilda saw a light shine in her eyes. 

 

Was it her? Jennifer mouthed. Matilda looked at Hortensia's tear streak face and sighed.

 

“No, it was me.” Matilda said audibly and hung her head. “I’m sorry for lying.” Jennifer gave her a solemn nod.

 

“Oh, was that all? Well, make sure you wash everything and take a shower. I’m going to make breakfast.” Jennifer said before turning to leave, but not before she gave Matilda’s arm a gentle pat on the way out. They stood quietly until they heard Miss Honey’s footsteps retreating down the stairs.

 

“I didn’t say anything, she was already downstairs and saw me.” Matilda blurted out. She didn’t want to be on her bad side. Mostly because she was the closest friend she had, and also because Hortensia wasn’t acting herself lately. Maybe the normal Hortensia wouldn’t rearrange her face, but this new one might. 

 

“Thanks.” Hortensia said with a sniffle. “She really acted like it wasn’t a big deal. You must wet the bed a lot.” 

 

“I do not!” Matilda bristled before mumbling, “anymore.” 

…

 

She owed Matilda an apology, Jennifer thought as she whisked some eggs in a bowl. She hoped Matilda understood she didn’t think it was her anymore. She tried to make it obvious without…well, making it obvious. She was smart. She’d understand. 

 

Her thoughts drifted to Hortensia. Poor kid. She didn’t look like she could take it if it was out in the open, so she had followed Matilda’s lead. She must be under a lot of stress. It was Matilda she had worried about staying in her bed, not Hortensia. She thought she was giving her a break by telling them to stay in their rooms. 

 

Jennifer looked behind her as she heard voices coming down the stairs. 

 

“Miss Honey’s really nice. I wish I had her as a teacher. She’s not like the other shit-brained adults.” Jennifer heard. 

 

“Language!” She yelled towards the hall, but she couldn’t help but smile. That was quite the compliment coming from Hortensia. She was touched. 

 

“I thought she didn’t like me.” Hortensia said in a lower voice, but it was no match for the large echoey house. Voices carried. 

 

“I don’t think any of the teachers like you.” Matilda said with a snicker. “I’ve seen your file. It’s like this big!” 

 

“No you have not.” Jennifer called out. 

 

“Yeah, it’s that giant folder you keep on your desk.” 

 

“Those are the contracts for the teachers.” Jennifer said, biting back a laugh.”Come and eat. We need to leave soon if we want to avoid hiking during the hottest part of the day.” 

 

“Have you seen it?” Hortensia asked.

 

“Seen what?”

 

“My file.” she said, making air quotes with her fingers. Of course Jennifer had. She had wanted to see what kind of kids Matilda was spending time with. It was indeed quite large. She could spot her file the moment the drawer opened. It was often the reason why the drawer wouldn’t close again. 

 

“I’m assuming since a certain someone is gone, certain behavioral patterns will improve?” Three fourths of that file were infractions against Miss Trunchbull.

 

“Hmm, I’ll probably find a new victim.” Hortensia said, before seeing the look on Jennifer’s face. “I’m kidding!” She doubted it. “Hey, since you're the new boss, think I can have all my confiscated stuff back?” 

 

“Not a chance.” Jennifer said with a grin. Her aunts, and now her, bottom left desk drawer was like a shrine to Hortensia’s shenanigans. If she gave all that stuff back she’d be walking into a warzone when school started again. There were enough smoke bombs in there to evacuate the school. “Go easy on me.” She turned to Matilda. “Did you get everything squared away?” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“I’d like to leave by the time the bedding is ready for the dryer. Hortensia, less drawing and more eating please.” Her nose was buried in her notebook as she sketched furiously with a pencil. She speared a piece of scrambled egg with her fork before shoving it on her mouth without looking up from her notebook. Close enough. 

 

Once they were all done eating, the girls each ran upstairs and put together the last of their things while Jennifer cleared the plates. While she was wiping down the table she stopped at Hortensia’s open notebook and took a peek at what she was working on. She scowled. It was that grotesque demon face again. She picked up the notebook and flipped through it. There were at least fifteen different depictions of this creature, mostly on the last few pages. It must be some kind of comic book villain, she figured before closing it. Creepy.

 

“You girls ready?”  

 

“Yeah!” Matilda said, backpack slung over her shoulders, muzzle of the water gun sticking out behind her head. 

 

“Hortensia, you have everything?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Alright, let’s get going.”

[CDfm]

I really liked that.  Seemed like such a long time since I had an opportunity to read any of this.  I missed it. 
Another awesome chapter for sure.  Matilda once again impressed with her maturity and intellect. even though she is still but a little girl. The way she handled Hortensia’s accident was better than most adults would have handled it.  Hortencia is having some serious problems. I think it’s nightmares that caused her accident and she is drawing the subject in the nightmare. I have a feeling that the lake isn’t going to be the only wet thing on this camping trip.  I wonder if Jennifer is going to be able to convince her to wear some protection.  I have a feeling that her problems are a combination of what she saw when Jennifer was hurt and what is happening with her family right now.  None of that will be easy for a child to cope with.  I expect Matilda will have at least a partial solution to the problem.  I can’t wait to see how this camping trip goes. 

[SashaButters]

Which of them was going to be the first to cave, Jennifer thought as she walked behind the two girls. 

 

“Is there really a lake out here?” Hortensia asked with a grimace as she turned around to face her. “There’s a lot of…nothing.” 

 

“A small one.” Jennifer said. They had been hiking for several hours and the sun was now high overhead. Her back was coated in sweat and she kept fighting with the pack over control of her shirt, which kept shimmying up her back. There were apparently worse things to carry than a bag of rocks. This tent. 

 

She shouldn’t have eaten so much junk food yesterday. It was sitting in her stomach like a rock. Now she felt bloated and miserable underneath the hot scorching sun. “How are you two holding up?” Hortensia shrugged. 

 

“Fine.” She said. 

 

“What about you, Matilda, you need a break?” Jennifer asked. She could tell she did. She was squirming, but she had promised she wouldn’t nag her about it in front of her friend. If she had an accident that was on her.  

 

“I’m o-okay.” Matilda huffed. Jennifer looked up. The floating deflated alligator had been sinking lower and lower over their heads. Matilda was too tired, or too preoccupied, to keep it up in the air. 

 

“No, we’re taking a break.” Jennifer announced. “You look like you’re going to drop.” She let the tent with the straps fall to the ground. Ahh, that felt good to get off her back. “Let it fall.” The empty alligator drifted to the ground. Hortensia went and found a rock to sit on before chugging a few mouthfuls of water. Jennifer took a few gulps of her own water as she watched Matilda struggle to drag the green rubber skin off the trail. “What are you doing? Just leave it there.” 

 

“I need it for something.” Matilda grunted as she pulled it along. She watched her try again and again to get it to lay on its side upright, only for it to collapse. She grunted in frustration. “Mom, can you help me?” Surprised, Jennifer got to her feet.

 

“What are you trying to do?” 

 

“Can you hold it up and cover me for a moment?” She said before looking nervously over at Hortensia, who seemed just as curious as Jennifer was, and whispered. “I need to pee.” 

 

“Oh okay, like this?” 

 

“Thanks.” Matilda said before disappearing behind the rubber material. 

 

“What about you, Tens?” Jennifer asked, craning her neck to glance her way. 

 

“Huh?” 

 

“Need to go potty?” Jennifer asked. Hortensia’s face soured in the way Matilda’s did when she used infantile language. “Sorry, habit.” 

 

“Uh, yeah, I just, umm, have a question.” Hortensia mumbled.

 

“What’s that?” Hortensia squirmed uncomfortably before waving her closer. “Can’t, I’m the wall.” Hortensia bit her lip before getting up and walking over. “What is it?” She leaned over and whispered in her ear. Jennifer frowned and looked at her. “I don’t know.” She said honestly. “I’ve never used them. Matilda might know.”

 

“Why would Matilda know?!” Hortensia asked horrified. “I doubt she uses them either!” 

 

“Why would I know what?” Matilda asked from behind the alligator. 

 

“She gets curious about things and looks it up. Maybe she read it somewhere.” 

 

“Read what? Why are you talking about me?”

 

“I’m not asking her!” Hortensia said, “Forget I said anything.” 

 

“Where did you get those? How do you even know how? You didn’t know what a period even was yesterday. Should you even be using them at your age?” Jennifer asked in rapid succession. She watched Hortensia’s face begin to turn a bright shade of red.

 

“Mrs. Rodgers.” she mumbled, before shuddering. “Too much information. Way too much information.” 

 

“You and me both.” Jennifer chuckled. “I understand, it’s very awkward.” Hortensia scrunched her face in confusion. 

 

“You got The Talk too?” 

 

“Yeah, you could say that.” 

 

“But you’re an adult, don’t you like, already know everything about that?” Jennifer let out a cynical sounding laugh. She didn’t even know if you had to take a tampon out or not before you peed.

 

 “I didn’t have anyone around to teach me these things.” She admitted. “I’m just figuring things out as I go.”  

 

“Oh.” Hortensia said.  

 

“You can always take it out if you’re not sure.” 

 

“It’s such a pain to put a new one in.” Hortensia grumbled.  She couldn’t argue with her there. She shuddered at the thought. 

 

“Don’t you have pads?”

 

“Yeah, but it feels like I'm wearing a diaper or something.” Hortensia’s face soured. “The thought of hiking in it…” The thought of walking in a pad bothered her more than sticking a giant Q-tip inside of herself? Jennifer thought puzzled. 

 

“If you’re talking about tampons, you don’t have to take them out.” Matilda called. A look of relief washed over Hortensia’s face before it scrunched in confusion.

 

“Why do you know that? That’s kinda… weird.” 

 

“Welcome to my world.” Jennifer said. “Sweetheart, are you done yet? My arms are getting tired and I think Hortensia would like a turn.” 

 

“I can’t go with you guys talking right there!” Matilda complained. Jennifer flashed Hortensia a sympathetic smile. “Well, how about you switch for the time being? She needs the privacy more.” 

 

“No!” Matilda complained. Jennifer sighed and rolled her eyes. 

 

“Sorry, give her a minute.” She could see Hortensia begin to shift her weight from foot to foot as she teeth sunk into her bottom lip. “Hun, just go over there if you really need to go, I’m preoccupied over here.” Hortensia turned her head where she was pointing before she vehemently shook her head.

 

“I can wait!”  she said. 

 

“Are you sure? I won’t look.” Hortensia looked as if Jennifer had suggested she dart across the highway blindfolded. “Can you do me a favor then? Can you go into my pack and hand me the wet wipes and plastic bag? I have my hands full here. They should be in the front pocket.” Hortensia dug around until she found them. “Thanks, take some for yourself and throw the pack over to Matilda.” 

 

“Hey! That landed on my head!” Matilda complained when Hortensia tossed it. The older girl snickered. 

 

“How about this? If Matilda finishes sometime this year, we’ll hike up a little farther and you can catch up when you’re ready.” 

 

Hortensia’s face relaxed. “Y-yeah that works.” 

 

“Hey! Why couldn’t you leave me behind?” Matilda complained as she came around from the other side. 

 

“I’m not leaving you to get snatched by a mountain lion or something. You’d make the perfect fun sized treat. ” Jennifer said, as she moved the alligator to one shoulder and shook out her trembling arms. Matilda scowled. 

 

“There’s no mountain lions here! They aren't native to this area!” 

 

“Leave it to you to get eaten by a non native animal.” Jennifer said. 

 

“A giraffe just comes out of nowhere and tramples you.” Hortensia said, making Jennifer snort.

 

“A shark falls from the sky and gobbles you up.” Jennifer said.  

 

“A gorilla charges in-”

 

“You should be more worried about a Gorilla than me, it might recognize you as its own kind and want to make you its bride.” Matilda said. Jennifer wasn’t positive, but she thought she saw a look of hurt crossover Hortensia’s face before disappearing. 

 

“Enough.” Jennifer said and gave her daughter a gentle nudge forward. “Let’s go.” she said before picking up her own pack. “Come find us when you’re done.” She called over her shoulder. She waited until they were a good distance away before she stopped and started in on Matilda. “That wasn’t very nice, you know.” 

 

“I was just joking.” Matilda said defensively. 

 

“Now isn’t the time to be joking like that. She’s very sensitive right now.” 

 

“What’s with her? She’s been all mopey and crying all the time.” 

 

“It’s called hormones. This is what you have to look forward to when you’re older.” Jennifer smiled as Matilda made a face. “You should enjoy being young while you can. One day you feel strong and independent, and the next, you’re crying because you stepped on an ant and can’t stop thinking about how devastated its ant family is going to be. Your emotions can change like this.” She snapped her fingers. Matilda laughed. “I’m serious. In another five or six years you won’t think it's so funny.”

 

“Who cries over an ant?” 

 

“You’ll be crying because there’s only one cloud in the sky and it doesn’t have any friends. Anything can set you off.” 

 

“Is that what happened this morning?” 

 

“Hmm, I think that might have been a combination of stress and giving you girls pop before bed.” Jennifer said. “Thank you for being so mature about that. I’m sure she appreciates it. I don’t think I need to remind you, but just in case, please keep it to yourself. ” Matilda shrugged.

 

“She said she’d beat my ass if I told anyone so…” Jennifer’s sympathy for her changed to seething anger in a blink of an eye.

 

“She said what?” Jennifer growled. “Wait here.” She stormed back down the trail and met Hortensia halfway back. “You!” Jennifer called out. Hortensia flinched and froze. “Look at me.” Jennifer ordered. Hortensia met her eyes and audibly gulped. “I don’t care if you have an accident, and I can put up with your foul mouth and attitude, but if I ever hear you’ve threatened my daughter again…” 

 

“I-I didn’t-” Hortensia stuttered out in shock. 

 

“Did you or did you not tell her you would ‘beat her ass’ if she told anyone you wet the bed?” Jennifer demanded. Hortensia’s face turned a deep scarlet. 

 

“I-I- I wasn’t really going to!” She protested.

 

“How many times have I told you not to threaten the younger children? I will not tolerate this behavior! Do it again, and I won’t hesitate to send you to your neighbors.” Hortensia’s eyes widened and began to water.

 

“No, please…I-I’m sorry!” 

 

“Do not threaten people who are weaker than you!” Jennifer said firmly. 

 

“She’s not weaker than me! She could beat me up without even touching me!” Hortensia protested. 

 

“She’s right, I could.” Matilda said. Jennifer spun around to find her standing behind her. 

 

“Matilda, I told you to wait over there!” Jennifer said, frustration evident in her voice. 

 

“What the heck, mom? Here you’re telling me to go easy on her, and then you go make her cry?”

 

“I’m not crying!” Hortensia lied as she wiped her face with the crook of her arm. Jennifer scowled. Maybe she had gone in a little stronger than necessary, but she had to get the point across.

 

“I will not tolerate bullying.” Jennifer said. 

 

“She wasn’t bullying me! She was just panicking.” Matilda said, staring at her with a look of disappointment. “She just says empty words.” Tell that to her seven classmates  who’ve run to her crying because they had their heads dunked in the toilet last school year alone. “Are you really showing her that threatening people is wrong…by threatening her?” 

 

“No! That’s not how it works. I am conveying I am serious about this matter and there will be consequences if she does it again!”

 

“Uh Matilda…” Hortensia said.

 

“And I’m saying that's exactly what she was doing.” Matilda said with a frown.

 

“Miss Honey…”

 

“The difference is physical violence!” 

 

“GUYS, THERE ARE PEOPLE COMING AND THE ALLIGATOR IS IN THE AIR!” Hortensia yelled.

 

They stopped arguing at once and spun around as the float fell to their feet. Sure enough, Jennifer could hear the sound of something, or more like many somethings coming. 

 

“ON YOUR LEFT!” a distant voice yelled. Jennifer spun around. There was a hoard of mountain bikes coming towards them. They all jumped to the side as a group of twenty or so people on bikes passed by them with a loud woosh.. “COOL KITE!” One voice shouted as he passed. 

 

Jennifer let out a shaky laugh as the last biker passed them by. This area wasn’t as secluded as she thought. 

 

“Looks like we better carry this thing from here on out.” She hoisted it up and winced. “How on earth were you making this float for so long? It’s heavier than it looks.” Matilda gave a mischievous laugh. “I take it you’ve been practicing.” 

 

“Yes, but that’s not it. The water is tied to it.” Matilda explained. Jennifer opened it up, and sure enough, there were several gallon water jugs strapped to the inside by bungee cords. 

 

“How?” She started to say, but stopped. She didn’t want to think about it right now. How had she not noticed when she was lifting it up earlier? Maybe it was because she had them so evenly spaced out. “Let’s take these off and put them in the cooler.” 

 

“There’s no room in the cooler. That’s why I tied them to the alligator.” 

 

“Well, we can’t have a giant alligator floating in the air with people around.” 

 

“Hmm, I have an idea. Bend down.” Matilda said. Jennifer did. She could feel her rummaging around in one of the bags strapped to her back. 

 

“Hey, don’t play around with that. We need that for the tent.” Jennifer said as she saw Matilda step away clutching one of the tent poles. 

 

“I’ll just hold this. If anyone passes by, they’ll think it’s a kite.” Matilda said. Jennifer gnawed on the inside of her cheek as she considered it. It wasn’t like she could carry three gallons of water and a giant inflatable lizard by herself. “Fine, but keep it off to the side and not over our heads. I don’t want the water falling off and hitting one of us.” Matilda grinned and sent the reptile back overhead. 

 

They walked on for another minute before Matilda spoke up.

 

“Hey, mom?” 

 

“Hmm?” 

 

“Are you on your period too?” Matilda asked innocently. Jennifer let out an annoyed breath of air and gave her a weary glance. 

 

“No, why do you ask?” 

 

“Cause you’re just as moody as she is.” Matilda said matter of factly. Jennifer shut her eyes and silently counted to ten.

 

“Dude, how can you be so smart, but like, so dumb at the same time?” Hortensia said. 

 

“What?” Matilda asked defensively. 

 

“You can’t ask people that, especially not your mom!” Hortensia explained. “If I asked my mom if she was on her period, I wouldn’t be sitting for like a week.” 

 

“Huh? I don’t get it. I was just curious.” She looked to Hortensia then to Jennifer. 

 

“It’s a rude question to ask.” Jennifer explained. 

 

“But you said I could ask you anything.” Matilda said with wide innocent looking eyes. She was feeling the irritation growing inside her, about to pop like a large bubble. 

 

“Both of you! Go! Keep walking. I need a minute alone.” She said, exasperated. This heat was doing a number on her. She needed to collect herself before she snapped. Jennifer looked up as Hortensia offered her something. The trash bag. Jennifer was about to say no, but it seemed like a good enough excuse. She took it and shooed them away. 

 

Jennifer waited until they were both out of sight before covering her mouth with her hand and let out a dampened, muffled scream of frustration. Being a parent was nothing like being a teacher. Teaching came natural to her, parenting, not so much. How did the other parents do it without wanting to strangle them? And it seemed like no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t do or say the right thing. 

 

Jennifer let out another exasperated sigh, before looking left and then right. Since she was alone, she might as well pee. She wiggled her butt towards the edge of the boulder she was sitting on and shimmied her shorts down, the heat from the rock toasting her bottom. She dug through her pack while she went, pulling out a wet wipe. She stood, and cleaned herself. She looked at the wipe in her hands and let out a frustrated groan. 

 

“You’ve got to be kidding…” She lamented. 

 

Matilda was right. She really was on her period. She stood and pulled everything back up, flinching in disgust as her soiled underwear touched her skin. She turned around and took in the damage. It looked like she had made a blood sacrifice on the side of the rock. Oops. Only thing she could do was run away from the scene of the crime before someone came looking for a body.

 

Now came the hard part. Asking the girl she had just made cry not five minutes ago for a favor. She caught back up to them quickly, her need to feel clean far outweighing any irritation she felt with the pair. 

 

“Hortensia, can I have a word?” She called out. The older girl spun around, before slowly making her way back to her as if she was being led to her execution. Jennifer could feel the heat of embarrassment radiating from her face as she asked, “Can I have a pad?” 

 

“Oh, uh, yeah.” She spun around. “They’re in the front pouch.” Jennifer opened the front pocket and frowned when all she could find was a box of tampons that looked older than Hortensia. 

 

“They’re not there.” Jennifer said, sounding worried. Hortensia shouldered her pack off and dropped to one knee as she began digging through all her pockets. Finally, she looked up with a wince and handed her a tampon. “Sorry, that's all I have. I must have forgotten them.” Jennifer stared at the wrapper in her hand incredulously. She couldn’t use a tampon! She had never used them, even before, when she was normal. 

 

“I-I can’t.” She whispered more to herself. 

 

“Why not? They’re annoying to get in, but you forget it’s there after a while. It’s better than nothing.” Jennifer sighed. She didn’t have a choice. She felt disgusting as she was. 

 

“Thanks.” she let out a dejected sigh. Hortensia handed her something else from the box. The instructions. She winced with embarrassment, but accepted them. She felt twelve again. She sent Hortensia back with instructions for them to hang out and have a snack before she dug in her own pack for a change of underwear. She opened up the instructions and grimaced. Oh geez, how was she going to do this? 

 

By the time she had managed to get everything situated twenty minutes had passed and she was walking with a noticeable difference. She didn’t like this. She didn’t like this at all. Her cheeks ached from all the faces she was making. She rubbed at her face and grimaced. She was glad she had been carrying the wet wipes. Her hands had looked like there had been a massacre, but no matter how many times she wiped them, they never felt clean enough. Being a woman was nasty business sometimes. 

 

When she found the girls, they were on the ground, cooler open besides them each drinking a soda pop. 

 

“Are you okay? You look pale.” Matilda said. 

 

“I’m okay.” She winced as she sat down on a nearby rock. This couldn’t have come at a worse time. It was her fault. Her periods had always been so sporadic she had never bothered to track them. When was the last time she had had one? Two months? Three months? 

 

“Oh, I found the pads.” Hortensia said. Good. She wouldn’t have to do this again. If this was what sex felt like she’d gladly die a virgin. 

 

“So you were on your period!” Matilda said. 

 

“Do you have a death wish?” Hortensia asked her. 

 

“What are you, a bloodhound?” Jennifer said with a shake of her head. Matilda grinned. “Hey, look at me.” She stood up and looked closely at Matilda’s face. “Why are your eyes all bloodshot? I didn’t make you cry too, did I?” Matilda shook her head and pointed to the alligator.

 

“They just burn.” Matilda said as she rubbed them. “I need a break.” 

 

“I hope you didn’t overdo it.”  She was surprised by just how much weight she had been able to lift and for so long. “Should we have lunch now, or wait until we get there?” 

 

“Now.” came their unanimous reply.

[CDfm]

Yes!  Another new chapter.  I know that much of the subject matter is serious but oh how I laughed reading this. I am ever grateful for being a boy. The comedy wasn’t related to that alone though either.  Matilda hauling the dragon with the water stashed inside had me going as well. This was just a great read and I am already looking forward to reading more. 

[SashaButters]

The ground was littered with poles and canvas material when Matilda came to see what was taking Jennifer so long to come swimming with them. It had been nearly an hour since they parted ways, but it looked like nothing had changed in their “camp”. She said she would come play with them once she had finished setting up the tent, but little progress had been made.

 

Jennifer was sitting cross legged on the ground, instructions in hand and mumbling what Matilda almost thought were curse words under her breath. 

 

“Do you want some help?” Matilda offered. Jennifer looked up from the instructions and gave her a look that almost made Matilda want to run back into the lake. Periods sure were scary, Matilda thought. She held up her palms in surrender. 

 

“Sorry, I’m just frustrated.” Jennifer said. “How are your eyes?” 

 

“Better.” Matilda lied. She had really over done it. She couldn’t be sure, but she might have popped a blood vessel. The left side of her head pounded. What she had really come for was headache medicine, but she doubted there was any. She hadn’t thought of bringing anything for pain. She had been so excited about coming here she had done a lousy job of packing. 

 

Realization of just how badly she had packed hadn’t dawned on her until she saw there were only two sleeping bags, and three of them. There was a large one for Jennifer and a smaller one for Hortensia. Her mom had been in such a bad mood all day, she was dreading bedtime. There was no way to hide the fact she had forgotten bedding when everyone else was nestled in their sleeping bags and she wasn’t. Jennifer was sure to throw a fit. 

 

It wasn’t just the bedding she had messed up. Before they had left, Jennifer had asked her to grab the bottle of hand sanitizer off the counter and pack it in her bag for her. Matilda had seen a bottle and packed it, but it hadn’t been hand sanitizer. It had ended up being some strange lotion. Her mom must have been furious because Matilda saw her face change many colors. Lots of pinks, and purples before it had finally settled on a shade of red that reminded her of a cherry tomato. 

 

“Can I see?” Matilda asked. She reached for the instructions, but Jennifer held it aloft.

 

“You’re wet.” 

 

She grabbed a beach towel out of the bag and wrapped herself in it before sitting down cross legged on the grass to watch. After ten minutes, Jennifer threw the instructions on the ground in frustration and stood up.

 

“I’m going for a walk.” Jennifer announced. “Maybe it’ll make more sense when I get back. At this rate, we might be sleeping outside.” She shielded her eyes and looked over the horizon. “Where’s Tens?” 

“She said she had to go ‘lay some pipe’” Matilda said. “Her words, not mine.” Jennifer crinkled her face in a mixture of amusement and disgust. 

 

“I hope she’s being careful, there’s more people out this way than I’m used to seeing.” She took one more look at the pile of tent parts before shaking her head. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. If you want to help me, you can start on that alligator of yours. If you start blowing it up now, we might have it full of air by the time we need to leave.” 

 

Matilda watched as she walked towards the edge of the water before following along the shore. She looked at the alligator and frowned. It didn’t seem necessary at the moment. She bent down and picked up the instructions. What was so hard to understand about this? Matilda looked left and right before she went to work. She tried to use her hands at first, but quickly gave up. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t get the poles into the slots, but when she used her powers, they slid right in place with a soft click. In less than ten minutes the tent was erected, oh but her eyes! The light burned terribly and her head pounded with an angry beat. 

 

Matilda layed down inside with her towel and closed her eyes. It was as if she had rubbed them with jalapeno juice on her fingers. She could feel tears streaming down the sides of her face. 

 

“Hey, the tents up!” Hortensia said from outside. She could hear the rustling of the tent flap before Hortensia stepped inside and dropped to her butt. “This is so cool!” Matilda groaned in response. “What’s wrong?” 

 

“My eyes!” Matilda whimpered. “I think I used my powers too much.” 

 

“Oh, shit.” Hortensia said. “Your eyes aren't gonna like, pop out and explode, are they?” 

 

“No, but everything above my nostrils feels like it’s on fire.” 

 

“You want me to get Miss Honey? I just saw her a couple minutes ago.” She was about to say, ‘no’ but Hortensia was already on her feet and out of the tent. She covered her face with her hand and laid in the comforting darkness. Her body stiffened as she heard footsteps approaching a few minutes later. Would her mom be mad at her? 

 

“Girls, how on earth did you get the tent up? I was only  gone a couple of minutes.” She heard Jennifer ask.

 

“It wasn’t me.” Hortensia said. “But I don’t think she’s doing so hot. Says her eyes hurt.” 

 

She could hear someone step inside before a gentle, cool hand was softly brushing her hair back.

 

“Are you feeling okay, sweetheart?” Matilda shook her head. “Can you look at me? What hurts?”

 

“My eyes and head.” Matilda complained. She squinted up at Jennifer. 

 

“Tens’ get me the first aid kit! It’s in my backpack.” Jennifer said. “Matilda, you should have left the tent to me.” 

 

“I wanted to help.” 

 

“Oh my god, what’s in this thing?” Hortensia yelled. “What do you want from it?” 

 

“Just bring the whole thing, and some water.” 

 

There was a soft thump as Hortensia set the box inside. There was some more rustling. 

 

“Did you bring the entire drug store with you?” Hortensia scoffed. 

 

“Just a few things in case of an emergency. I’ve learned you can never be too prepared with kids.” Jennifer said. Through her squinted eyes, Matilda could see Hortensia bend down and pick up a tube. 

 

“Hemorrhoids? Hemorrhoids are an emergency?” Hortensia asked. 

 

“I hear they’re very painful.” Jennifer said. “I brought a bit of everything and I’m glad I did. You wouldn’t think you’d need to bring eye drops camping, but here we are. Matilda, can you roll onto your back for me and open your eyes nice and big.” She had to physically hold her own eyes open with her fingers since she couldn’t get them to open on their own. She flinched as cool drops hit her eyeballs. All she could picture was the liquid bubbling against her irises, but after a few blinks, the burning began to slowly subside. “How’s that feel?”

 

“Better.” Matilda said softly. Her eyes were still shut tight, but it no longer felt like they were in danger of melting out of their sockets. She frowned as she felt something press against one eye and then the other. She tried to open them, but everything was still black. She felt her face. Bandages?

 

“I want you to keep these patches on.” Jennifer said. “Your eyes need a break.” 

 

“But now I can’t see.” Matilda complained. 

 

“You don’t need to see, you need to rest. We hiked for five hours, and then you immediately went swimming. Here, sit up a little, I’ve got some Tylenol you can take.” She felt a pill set into her palm. “There’s water here when you’re ready.” She put the pill in her mouth and Jennifer held her canteen to her lips. She swallowed the pill on her first try and laid back down. She felt her hand guided to the left of her. “Your water’s here. Make sure you stay hydrated. I’m going to finish unpacking.” 

 

…

 

“‘Tens, would you mind giving me a hand so Matilda can rest?” Jennifer asked. Hortensia sprung to her feet as fast as if she was burned with a cattle prod. They both exited the tent and surveyed the mess. “You can stick your personal belongings in the tent, but the toys can stay out here. After that, let's go for a walk and collect things we can burn for a fire tonight.” 

 

“I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier.” Jennifer said as they walked along the shore, arms full of dead cat tail stalks, sticks, and paper trash. Hortensia gave her a puzzled look as if she had just asked her a complicated math problem. “What?”

 

“Are you really an adult?” Hortensia asked with narrowed eyes. Jennifer gritted her teeth. She may not have her life together, and she may not always do or say the right thing, but this kid sure had some nerve… “Cause adults just don’t apologize to kids.” Oh.

 

“Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you’re perfect.” Jennifer said after a moment to collect her thoughts. 

 

“I know, but they never admit it.” Hortensia grumbled. “You’re like a double agent.” Now it was Jennifer’s turn to give her a blank stare, but she didn’t elaborate. “She gets hurt a lot.” Hortensia said after a few minutes of silence. 

 

“She’s delicate. She doesn’t think she is, but she has a weak constitution. It’s almost like everything went to her mind, and there wasn’t enough for the rest of her. It scares me seeing how much her powers have grown. Part of me is afraid it's sapping the strength from her body.” Jennifer admitted. 

 

“Nah,” Hortensia said. “She ain’t made of glass.” 

 

 “But do you understand why I was so upset? Almost every time she’d go to your house, i’d have to either take her to, or pick her up from, the hospital. Can you imagine what went through my mind when I heard you threatened to beat her? My imagination ran wild.” 

 

“I never hurt her!” Hortensia nearly yelled before dropping her voice and adding, “on purpose.” 

 

“You have a history of picking on the younger students, sometimes violently.” 

 

“Yeah, well, sometimes I need them to do things.” Hortensia grumbled. “It’s not like I do it for fun.” 

“What do you mean? What kinds of things?”

 

 Hortensia began to list a chain of events that made Jennifer’s head spin. What it boiled down to was she needed the younger children to act as a distraction. Every child was a moving cog in a machine and Hortensia was turning the wheel. 

 

“It’s not like I did it to steal their lunch money.” Hortensia said.  

 

“Then why?” 

 

“To get at the Trunchbull, obviously.” 

 

“Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?” Jennifer said with a disapproving frown. “She was capable of a lot more than just locking you in a closet you know.” 

 

“I know.” Hortensia said solemnly. “But it’s not like the adults would do anything.” She added bitterly. Jennifer didn’t like the look on her face. She couldn’t decide if she looked older or younger than her eleven year old self. Her features held the weary look of someone who had fought long and hard against an opponent she knew she stood no chance against, but her eyes were full of righteous indignation. 

 

“Can I ask you something important? Would you be honest with me?” Jennifer asked after a minute of silence. She was afraid to know, but at the same time, she needed to. 

 

“Uh, okay.” Hortensia said cautiously. 

 

“Did Miss Trunchbull ever touch you?” Jennifer asked in a low voice. Hortensia gave her a puzzled look. “Sexually, I mean, you, or anyone else you know of.” 

 

“No?” Hortensia said, staring at her as if she had grown a second head. Relief flooded through Jennifer's body. “Was she, like, secretly a man or something?”

 

“You don’t need to be a man to do bad things.” Jennifer said.  

 

“Oh. So, was she like a lesbo, or something?” 

 

“There’s only two things I know she liked for sure. Power and control.  I don’t know if anything else mattered.”

 

“Is there something wrong with the bedroom?” Hortensia asked, changing the subject. Jennifer's face fell. 

 

“No, it’s just a bedroom. Did something scare you last night? Is that why you went to Matilda’s room?” 

“No, I just couldn’t sleep. You said Matilda wanted nothing to do with it and it made me wonder.” 

 

“Honey, Matilda’s six, she also wants nothing to do with brussel sprouts and bell peppers, it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with them.” 

 

“Yeah, but she’s not a normal six year old.” Hortensia insisted. “She has, like, superpowers.” Jennifer sighed in defeat.

 

“It was my room growing up. There were some… modifications to it that I needed to change when we moved in. The window was stuck and there was a lock on the door.”

 

“That’s it?” Hortensia asked suspiciously. 

 

“That’s it.” Jennifer said. She left out the part about the nails and what side of the door the lock was on. “I think we have enough material for now, let’s head back. I don’t want to leave Matilda alone for too long.” 

 

In truth, her stomach was curdling and she wanted at the bottle of Midol in the first aid kit. Ugh, if she knew she was going to be on her period she would have packed much differently. Less shorts and more oversized t-shirts and sweatpants, but if she knew she was going to be on her period she wouldn’t have agreed to this at all. She patted her stomach. Oh how she longed for modern plumbing. She could have been in her upstairs bathroom with a crossword puzzle right now. 

 

Period poops. Out in the open field. She cringed. Could this day get any worse? If there was a God, He had truly forsaken her.

 

When they returned fifteen minutes later, they found Matilda sitting outside the tent waiting for them. So much for slipping away for a few minutes. If she had to do this she’d much prefer waiting for the cover of darkness anyway. She could wait. 

 

“You’re supposed to be sleeping.” Jennifer said softly. 

 

“Can I take the bandages off yet?” Matilda asked. 

 

“How about you wait a little longer. The sun will be setting soon.” Matilda scowled. “Was there something you needed?” 

 

“No, I just don’t want to waste the trip blindfolded.” she lamented. 

 

“It would be more of a waste if we have to pack up and leave because you’ve hurt yourself.” Jennifer said, making Matilda’s face sour. “Let’s wait a little while longer. I’ll put some more drops in your eyes and we’ll see how you're doing then, okay? I won’t even make you take a nap.” 

 

“You already made me take a nap.” Matilda said, arms crossed across her body. 

 

“Did you sleep?” Jennifer asked doubtfully. “We weren't gone very long.” She took Matilda’s silence as a ‘no’. 

 

They had been working together in therapy about being more honest with each other, no matter how small. No more little white lies. Her silence, while not outright coming clean, was still a step in the right direction. Jennifer could tell she was about to say ‘yes’ but stopped herself. She was proud of Matilda’s willingness to take therapy seriously and work on their issues. And there were issues. They hadn’t just jumped into each other's arms and lived happily ever after. Happily Ever After took work and communication, something neither of them were very good at. 

 

The outside help was needed. And now that their therapist actually believed her about Matilda’s abilities and intellect, she had helped them come up with rules and boundaries they could both live with. There had been compromises on both their parts. 

 

Matilda couldn’t be as independent as she wanted. She had helped Jennifer explain just because she was mature enough to be left home alone, and yes, Jennifer knew she was, the law prevented her from doing so. She’d either have to tag along or deal with the indignities of having a babysitter like all the other kids her age. That and she couldn’t go farther than the front yard by herself. This had infuriated Matilda. Before coming to live with her, she was used to going whenever and wherever she wanted. Now she understood Matilda felt like a caged animal at times. 

 

Jennifer’s big compromise had been what Matilda called “babying her”, but Jennifer just called it “being a mother.” No more telling her to brush her teeth, or bathing her, or reminding her to go potty, or even calling it ‘potty’. It was a hard habit to break. She really was self sufficient enough to take care of herself without being reminded. 

 

As long as she wasn’t hurt or sick. That’s when the deal was off. Because Matilda was too stubborn to ask for help if she needed it, and maybe because Jennifer enjoyed it a little more than she should. It made her feel guilty for being even a tiny bit happy when she wasn’t well. It was the only time she really felt like her mother and not just a financial supporter, roommate and friend. Sometimes she worried Matilda only saw her as a close best friend. Especially when she asked Jennifer awkward personal questions you wouldn’t even want to know about your mother. 

 

“I forgot to bring bedding and I can’t sleep without something covering me” Matilda mumbled. 

 

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry. I brought sleeping bags. I thought you’d be too hot to want to crawl inside.” 

 

“But I only saw two.” Matilda said. 

 

“The big one is ours, I figured we could save space and share one.” She wasn’t sure if sharing a sleeping bag was a break of their earlier agreement, but Matilda looked relieved rather than perturbed. “Do you want to take a nap if I lay it out?”  

 

“No way.” Matilda said. Jennifer silently laughed in amusement. She usually took naps without being told. In her attempt to look older in front of Hortensia, she was only making herself look more her age. She’d give her two hours tops before she dropped for the night. 

 

“Well, I’ll lay it out anyway, in case you change your mind.” 

 

She was in the middle of unraveling the sleeping bag when Hortensia called from outside.

 

“Someone’s coming.” Curious, Jennifer stood and peeked outside. Sure enough, there was a man jogging towards them from a distance. 

 

“Oh, he’s just exercising. He’s only passing through.” 

 

“But he’s waving at you.” Hortensia said. Jennifer looked back up to find the stranger waving calmly towards her. She smiled and gave a polite wave in return. Jennifer stood and waited to see if he would keep running by, but she was surprised when he slowed and stopped for a chat. 

 

“Are you here camping as well?” he asked. He was wearing running shorts and tennis shoes and to Jennifers embarrassment, nothing else. “I’m here with my kids, down a little farther that way.” He pointed out towards the direction he had come from. “Last hoorah before school starts again.” 

 

“Same here.” Jennifer said with a smile. “How old are your kids?” 

 

“Six, nine, and twelve.” 

 

“Oh, it must have been quite the hike.” He looked at her puzzled for a moment.

 

“No, we drove.” 

 

“What?” Hortensia called. “We could have driven here?” she complained. 

 

“There’s a road, but it is a little ways back.” He said. “It is a bumpy ride. It’s not paved or anything.” Jennifer shut her eyes and grimaced. All the times she had hiked here and there had been a road. He looked at each of them in turn. “Did you three really hike here? With all this stuff?” 

 

“Yes.” Jennifer admitted with a pained expression. “We left first thing this morning and got here about two to three hours ago.” He gave her an appreciative glance. 

 

“You must be in great shape.” Jennifer let out a small sarcastic chuckle. There had been lots of breaks, moaning and complaining from all three of them.

 

“Don’t look at all the junk food in the cooler. We brought way too much for three people.” He grinned. 

 

“I think my monsters could help with that. Would you be interested in all of us having dinner together? I could start a fire and the kids could play together. Mine are already regretting choosing a remote campsite over the campgrounds with a pool and playground.” Jennifer had been so startled by the request she had agreed without thinking things through. “Great.” He smiled wide. “How about I bring them by in about twenty minutes?” Jennifer nodded. “I’m Brian by the way.” She shook his outstretched hand and introduced herself before she waved in shock as he took off the way he came. 

 

“Looks like we’re having company.” Jennifer said. Her eyes widened in panic as her earlier predicament made itself known. So much for waiting till dark. She had twenty minutes to take care of everything she needed to and make it back. She sprang to her feet and started grabbing necessary items. 

 

“Hortensia, can you stay with Matilda for me until I get back?” 

 

“Sure.” Hortensia said. She had already picked up her notebook and was sketching something. Hortensia’s indifference to Jennifer’s whereabouts was a relief. 

 

“Where are you going?” Matilda asked. 

 

“The field.” 

 

“Can I come?” Matilda asked. Jennifer pursed her lips. 

 

“Why don’t you stay here for now and get a nap in before the guests arrive.” 

 

“I don’t need to sleep, I need to pee.” Matilda said.  Jennifer grimaced. 

 

“Then maybe if you ask Hortensia she’ll walk you down to the water.” 

 

“No!” Matilda complained. “If I can take these patches off so I can see, no one will have to take me.” She said, a hopeful note in her voice.

 

“Nice try. If you really need to go, I'll take you when I get back.” She left before Matilda could argue further. She had a feeling she just wanted to see more than anything. She sprinted far into the field as she dared leave them, before digging a hole and getting to the task at hand. She shuddered. If she ever had to do this again it would be too soon. Visions of falling back into the mess haunted her, but she managed to get through it without any trouble. She pulled the wipes out of her pocket, cleaned herself, and buried everything before standing back up. She was halfway back to camp when she felt the unmistakable sensation of something or more like somethings crawling on her skin. She swiped at her bare legs as she walked, growing more and more uncomfortable with every passing second. That’s when the burning started. Something was wrong. She looked around before lowering her shorts. She was covered in little red ants. 

 

She let out a scream before batting her waist, but it was doing her little good. They were everywhere. There was only one option. She pulled her shorts off and made a half naked sprint  for the water. She put on a burst of speed, ignoring Hortensia’s yell of “STREAKER!” as she ran past camp and threw herself into the lake with as much grace as a golden retriever darting into the water for a stick. 

 

She shuddered with relief as she came up for air. She could see Hortensia making her way towards the water, laughing hysterically while Matilda begged to be clued in on what had just happened. 

 

“Would you mind bringing me a towel?” Jennifer asked. 

 

“You suddenly have the urge for an evening swim?” Hortensia said between gales of laughter. To make matters worse, she could see Brian and his kids making their way towards camp. Now it was her turn to be remarkably underdressed. 

 

“Please get me a towel.” Jennifer begged. “He’s coming.” Hortensia ran back and returned with a towel, a large grin on her face. 

 

“What happened?” Hortensia asked as she held up a towel as instructed so Jennifer could climb out of the water and quickly cover herself.

 

“I think I dug up a fire ant hill.” And she had done unspeakable acts to their home. She didn’t blame them for attacking. “Be careful where you pee.” This only seemed to reignite Hortensia’s laughter. No sympathy for her from this one. 

 

“Is everything okay?” She turned to find Brian and the kids staring at her. 

 

“Just went for a swim.” Jennifer said with a pained smile.

 

“In your trainers?” Brian asked. She looked down at her sopping wet shoes. 

 

“A very, um, spontaneous swim.” Jennifer said sheepishly. “I’m just going to, um, change real quick. Please, make yourself at home.”

[kerry]

12 hours ago, SashaButters said:

She was proud of Matilda’s willingness to take therapy seriously and work on their issues. And there were issues. They hadn’t just jumped into each other's arms and lived happily ever after. Happily Ever After took work and communication, something neither of them were very good at. 

And here we have the entire raison d'etre for this story. 🙂

It's nice to read chapters of this story that focus on primarily comical situations (sorry, Jennifer) instead of horror.

[CDfm]

Oh my what a chapter!  This was so awesome.  I know I wet myself laughing.  Starting with the “special lotion” and then throughout all the way to its conclusion and the impromptu swim.  You really outdid yourself with this one.  I absolutely loved it. Now we have some new bits to be considered.  Just who is Brian and how is he going to fit into this?  I can’t wait to find out. 

[SashaButters]

In less than ten minutes, the fire in front of their campsite was roaring to life. 

 

“Thank you for setting this up for us.” Jennifer said as she stepped out of the tent in dry clothes. 

 

“Oh, it wasn’t me.” Brian said, holding up his hands. “One of your girls had it handled already.” Jennifer immediately looked to her blind folded daughter, who sat cross legged on the ground a few feet away. “The older one, of course. I would have stopped the little one. Hazel gets into things she shouldn’t all the time, can’t take your eyes off them for a minute.” Her gaze flicked to Hortensia, who gave her a knowing smirk. Jennifer audibly gulped. 

 

“Oh, I can start a fire juuuuust fine.” Hortensia said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Maybe she would have preferred if it was Matilda. She wasn’t sure she liked the idea of the Queen of Mischief knowing how to set fires. A memory of the school office needing to be evacuated from smoke flashed through her mind. Jennifer narrowed her eyes. “What’s that look for?” 

 

“I think i’ve just discovered the identity of a certain school pyromaniac.” Jennifer said. 

 

“That wasn’t me!” Hortensia scoffed. “Like i’d let myself get caught. That was all Bogtrotter.” 

 

“Uh-huh, and Bruce was in the girls restroom because…?” 

 

“He’s a…crossdresser?” Hortensia offered up. Jennifer shook her head. She’d deal with her later. “Well he’s already got tits.” Hortensia patted her mosquito bite sized chest. “They're bigger than mine.” 

 

“So, both your girls are a handful?” Brian asked with a grin. Jennifer smiled back and shook her head.

 

“Only one of them is mine.” She forked her thumb over towards Matilda. “A handful and a half, really. Don’t let her size fool you.” 

 

“I see your girl and raise you two boys.” 

 

“Did their mother not want to come?” Jennifer asked. She saw a flicker of pain cross his face, and she wished she hadn’t said anything. He began to stroke his ring finger where there was an indentation on his skin of a previously worn ring. 

 

“She died last year.” He said softly. 

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Jennifer said. He waved her condolences away. 

 

“What about you? Where’s her father at?” 

 

“My biological parents aren't in my life anymore.” Matilda interjected. He gave Jennifer a puzzled look.

 

“I adopted her.” Jennifer explained. “It’s just her and I. Well, and Hortensia for the time being while we wait for her mom’s situation to calm down.” 

 

“Oh, so you’re like a foster mother.” He said with a grin. She smiled.

 

“Well, I never intended to foster this one.” She said with a nod towards Matilda. She wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her closer while Matilda let out a startled yelp. “I never intended to give her back, even if they came knocking.” 

 

“Can I take the eye patches off now?” Matilda whined. “I want to see the fire and cook my own hot dog.” 

 

“Hold that thought.” Jennifer said as she stood up from the ground, wincing as she did so. This would be such a nice evening if her butt wasn’t so itchy. “Eye drops first, and I’ll see how their looking. If they still look too irritated you’ll have to keep them on.”

 

“What? No!” Matilda complained, getting to her feet. 

 

“The smoke is only going to irritate them further.” 

 

“What happened to your eyes?” Hazel, Brian’s six-year-old daughter asked. Brian tried to chastise her for being nosey but Matilda spoke up.

 

“I strained them.” Matilda mumbled. “I got too photosensitive earlier and couldn’t keep them open.” Hazel gave her a look between pain and confusion. 

 

“What’s pho-to-sen-si-tive?” She asked Brian, sounding out every syllable as if that would make it make sense. 

 

“It means she’s sensitive to the light.” Brian said. “Sometimes people get headaches when it’s too bright. You remember how mommy used to get headaches and have to lie down in the dark?”

 

“Oh.” Hazel said. “You have cancer too?” She asked Matilda, who shook her head and frowned. Another pained look crossed Brian’s face. She had clearly divulged too much information. Jennifer chose that moment to come collect Matilda.

 

“Let me have a look before the sun goes down.” Jennifer peeled one of the patches up and had a look, before doing the same for the other. “They still look irritated.” 

 

“I’m fine, really!” Matilda explained. “A few more eye drops and i’ll be back to normal.” Jennifer sighed.

 

“Alright, but the moment they start to burn, you better put those patches back on. Can I trust you with that?”

 

“Yes, fine.” Matilda said, taking the bottle from Jennifer’s hand and administering the drops herself. She blinked her eyes rapidly before moving to the next eye and doing the same. She tried to hand the bottle back but Jennifer insisted she keep it with her. They returned to the fire but Jennifer could clearly see her struggling to keep her eyes open.

 

“Matilda, if the fire’s too bright for you, maybe you should sit somewhere else.” Jennifer said.

 

“We can play with the football instead.” Hortensia offered from her conversation with Nick and Zack, foam ball already in hand. 

 

Matilda and Hazel both stood up to join them, but Brian’s voice stopped them. 

 

“Hazel, not you. Please stay with me and let the big kids have their fun.” He said. Hazel pouted but sat. Matilda was halfway out of the camp before Jennifer decided to stop her as well. Would she look like a bad parent if she let Matilda join them? 

 

“You too, Matilda.” She spun on her heel and gave Jennifer a disbelieving look. 

 

“My little one always wants to join the big kids too.” Brian said, as if Matilda was just another little kid about to get in the way. “HEY, PLEASE BE GENTLE WITH HER! DON’T TACKLE HER!”

 

“Oh, I’m more worried about Hortensia hurting them.” Jennifer gave a dark chuckle. 

 

“Mom…” Matilda said. “You can’t be serious. It’s a foam football, it’s not even that hard synthetic leather.” 

 

“Why don’t you play with Hazel here?” Jennifer offered. 

 

“We can play with my Polly Pocket.” Hazel said, pulling a pink heart shaped box from her pocket and held it up. Matilda looked at Jennifer with a look that said “please, save me.” 

 

“Use your imagination, Matilda. You can act out a scene from one of those stories you like to write. You know, the ones you keep in your desk .” Matilda’s face turned a shade red and Jennifer winced. Perhaps she hadn’t been meant to read them, but she had found them quite good, and much sillier than what Matilda normally showed her of her work.

 

She had a series going about a six-year-old Pediatrician Jennifer had found rather amusing, especially in a particular scene when the main character in question diagnosed a certain teen boy named Michael with worms because he was, at thirteen, still “retarded enough to eat sand from his elementary school’s sandbox, which he had still not graduated from.” At which point his parents admitted they all ate sand. 

 

 She was clearly still harboring some resentment, but Jennifer was relieved to find she had found a more creative outlet than smearing fecal matter on the walls.

 

“How old are you, Matilda?” Brian asked with a frown. Jennifer noticed he suddenly looked worried.

 

“Six.” His frown deepened even more at this answer. He looked to Matilda, then to Hazel, and then gave a desperate glance to Jennifer. His look confused her. Was he pleading for them to play together or not?

 

“Sorry?” she asked. He dropped his eyes and gave a sad smile.

 

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t know what I’m doing half the time.” He said, waving a hand through his hair before stopping and pulling a pair of sunglasses off his head. “Matilda, would these help?” Jennifer saw her eyes go wide and a look of appreciation crossed her face.

 

“Yes! Please, thank you so much!” She accepted them eagerly and slid the oversized glasses on. Jennifer chuckled at the large aviator glasses on her small face. “I can see!” she cheered and raised her fists into the air. “We can play by the fire now if you want.” Matilda said to Hazel as they settled themselves across from their parents. They played contentedly until it was time for dinner, Jennifer only having to stop Matilda twice from giving Hazel’s dolls mortal, and oddly specific, wounds and illnesses. This family didn’t need to be reminded of death. 

 

When the older kids huddled in they took turns roasting hot dogs over the fire, passing prongs as Jennifer had only enough for three. Matilda told the boys about the comic Hortensia and her planned to write together, with Matilda authoring and Hortensia illustrating. The boys seemed interested, but Jennifer could see Brian slump out of the corner of her eye. In fact, his mood seemed to sink lower and lower throughout the evening. Jennifer frowned. She thought they were all getting along quite well for people who had just met. The evening was quite enjoyable, except for the nearly inescapable urge to stick her hand down her pants. She audibly chuckled before covering her mouth in embarrassment, face turning red. 

 

She couldn’t believe she had just thought that sentence into existence. 

 

“Something you want to share with the class?” Matilda asked. Jennifer adamantly shook her head and squirmed against the ground before bursting into giggles. 

 

She had to say something. “My butt itches.” she admitted to the laughter of the group. 

 

“You-you have to tell them why!” Hortensia said, nearly tipping over. “Go on, go on, do it or I will.” 

 

“Hey, what happened to female comradery?” Jennifer said, feigning heart ache before hanging her head. “Go on, tell them. I can’t do it.” 

 

“So I was sitting outside sketching for our comic. I hear this high pitched scream, I look up and see my school's headmistress bare arse come streaking by and she practically belly flops into the water.” Jennifer groaned into her closed fist as the group erupted into laughter. “It gets better! It gets better! The reason? She pissed on a fire ant hill! And they sought revenge!” 

 

“Yes, that’s quite the story telling, thank you for that.” she said with a wince between embarrassed chuckles. 

 

“Hortensia wet my bed last night with me in it.” Matilda said through gales of laughter. The chuckling subsided, except for Hazel, Zach and Nick. Jennifer was on her feet the moment Hortensia was. And there it was. There was that rage she had heard so much about. 

 

“Go! Walk it off! Walk it off!” She pushed against Hortensia’s shoulders.

 

“She… she just!” Hortensia screamed, red faced, spit flying a vein pulsing on the side of her head. She looked angrier than Jennifer had ever seen a child. 

 

“I know, I know she did. She doesn’t understand these things yet.” She said softly and held her hands up in surrender. 

 

“Stop making excuses for her! She knows fucking everything!” 

 

“Let me deal with her, please. Take a lap and try to calm down.”

 

“I’m gonna-”

 

“Don’t finish that sentence.” Jennifer warned. Hortensia let out an angry grunt and stormed away. 

 

Matilda sat still looking shell shocked and shaken. “But…but I thought we were telling funny stories?” She looked to Jennifer for confirmation, but she shook her head and sighed. 

 

“No Matilda, there’s a big difference between the story she told and the story you told.” Matilda creased her brow in confusion. It was an unfamiliar look for her. “Matilda, I told her she could tell that story. I gave her permission. You’ve really gone and embarrassed her in front of everyone.” She watched Matilda’s face fall. 

 

“I should apologize.” Matilda said, getting to her feet. 

 

“Not right now you're not. Do not go looking for her.” Jennifer said firmly. 

 

“Why not?” Matilda asked. 

 

“She’s either having, or about to have, one of her fits.” 

 

“What fits?” Jennifer shook her head. 

 

Hortensia had never been in Jennifer’s class, so she hadn’t witnessed them first hand, but she had heard stories from the other teachers. The last time this had happened it had taken three adults to hold her down, and one had walked away with a black eye and a bloody, swollen lip. She wasn’t notorious so much for her pranks, it was her rage attacks. According to her file, it was what had gotten her expelled from her last school. 

 

It was the reason Jennifer had been so hesitant to let Matilda around her and why she had jumped to conclusions when Matilda had gotten hurt. Here she had been starting to think it was all a bunch of nonsense, but that look on her face… She looked like she was about to tear Matilda to pieces if Jennifer hadn’t stepped in when she had. It was a good thing she had been paying close attention. 

 

A sudden thought struck her and she was reminded of Carol’s story of the out of control girl thrashing about and screaming in her closet. Tonight's episode had only further validated Mrs. Rodger’s version of events. 

 

“Just leave her be, she’ll come back when she’s ready and you can apologize then.” Jennifer said before eying her daughter. “And you better make it a good one.” Matilda sank lower into the ground. 

 

Sensing that the fun was over, the boys stood and went back to resuming their game of catch.

 

Jennifer turned her attention back to Brian and frowned at his lost expression.

 

“Is everything all right?” 

 

“I’ve never really spent much time with another girl Hazel’s age, playdates were my wife’s thing.” He said in hushed tones so the girl’s wouldn’t hear. Jennifer nodded her head to show she was listening. “I know this is off topic, but, is she…is she behind?” he asked, worry evident in his voice. Jennifer frowned and watched Hazel for a moment. “Not that I’ve seen, but I haven’t spent much time around her. Did something happen to make you worry?” 

 

“Well, it’s just, I’ve been watching Matilda and in comparison Hazel seems…” The light clicked on in Jennifer’s head. She was so used to Matilda, it didn’t feel unusual anymore to hear her larger vocabulary. Surely he must have suspected something when he heard Matilda diagnose one of his daughter's dolls with “encephalitis lethargica”. 

 

“No, no, no.” Jennifer said, waving her hands in a panic. “Matilda is the exception, not the rule. You really can’t use her as a baseline.” Brian seemed to mull this over in his mind.

 

“So it’s okay that she isn’t reading and writing fluently yet?”

 

“Yes, absolutely. I’m a year one teacher, well I was, but yes, my students aren't picking up novels or writing stories.” He seemed to let out his breath and relax at this. “Typically, children her age are learning to read, write and spell basic words.”

 

“Well, I mean I picked up that she might be a little ahead of her peers, but then she said that, and it seemed pretty on par with her age, so I was confused.” Jennifer gave him a tight lipped smile. Matilda was more than a little ahead.

 

“She excels in almost everything, except for tact and dexterity.” Jennifer admitted.  “There’s just some things you can’t learn from a book. ” She watched Hazel for a few more minutes before leaning over. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. She seems on par with all my other students. I’m not trying to show off, but I think you need to understand something.” She stood up and fetched Hortensia’s notebook before tearing off a page. She picked up a pen and handed it to him. “Come up with a math problem and solve it, but don’t say what it is out loud.” 

 

Brian raised an eyebrow, but Jennifer urged him on. Finally, she watched as he wrote 27 times 13 and worked out the answer. 

 

“Now ask her.” 

 

“Seriously?” Jennifer nodded. “Uh, what’s 27 times 13?” 

 

“351.” Matilda responded without pausing or looking up from the dolls. He eyed Jennifer suspiciously. 

 

“You’re messing with me.” He said. 

 

“You can do something harder if you’d like.” He narrowed his eyes before dipping his head and began to scribble down numbers. Finally, after a minute he looked up.

 

“Turn around and face the tent first.” He said. “So I know you two aren’t pulling something on me here.” Matilda shrugged and turned around. “2,876 DIVIDED by 253.86.” 

 

“11.33, if we’re rounding up to the nearest 100th place, if not, 11.329079.” 

 

“I thought I was having a stroke when I first met her.” Jennifer admitted with a laugh as he saw the shock etched on his features. “Showed up to class with a copy of Wuthering Heights and threw a fit when I tried to confiscate it.” She cleared her throat. She was toeing the line between explaining and bragging. “Anyway, I just wanted to show you don’t have anything to worry about. Matilda isn’t a good baseline.” 

 

“I see. What grade is she in?” 

 

“Ah, that’s kind of complicated, really. She was technically in year one, but I was giving her work to do from the other classes. It’s how they wrangled me into this new position. I ran out of coursework. They’re in the process of adding a high school and they offered to let me keep tutoring her privately if I agreed to be the new headmistress for the primary school. The school has a bit of a negative reputation so I think they were struggling to fill it in time. I’m sure they’ll find someone more fitting by next year and I can go back to working with the little ones.”

 

“A bad reputation? What school are you teaching at?” 

 

“Crunchem Hall.”

 

“Isn’t that the school for all the bad kids? Ah, I see what you mean.”

 

“It really isn’t. I mean, yes, some of them have been expelled before. I only know of three off the top of my head, but their good kids. The reputation is because of the old headmistress. She was a vile woman who didn’t tolerate anything or anyone stepping a single toe out of line. I want to change that. School shouldn’t be a place of fear.” 

 

“Was she really that bad?”

 

“She’d strip search us and throw us in a box in her office with nails and glass sticking out.” A voice said. Everyone turned to find Hortensia standing a few feet away. Jennifer jumped to her feet and slowly approached her. 

 

“Are you feeling better?” She asked as calm as possible. Jennifer could see her bloodshot eyes from the light of the fire. Hortensia didn’t respond, but instead looked away and shrugged her shoulders. “Do I need to separate you two tonight?” Before she could respond, a blur ran past her and tackled Hortensia in a bear hug.

 

“I’m really really sorry I said that!” Matilda said into the front of her t-shirt. Jennifer let out a panicked yelp as Hortensia raised a fist. Jennifer sprung forward to yank Matilda away, but was surprised when it lowered and returned her embrace in a one armed hug. Jennifer was more than surprised. She was stunned. All those adults couldn’t stop Hortensia’s rampages… “Please say you’ll still be my friend. I can’t take any more Polly Pocket!” Matilda moaned. 

 

Jennifer tugged Matilda back by the arm. She had been trying to devise a suitable punishment. Hortensia was right, she couldn’t keep making excuses for her. She was never going to learn if Jennifer kept brushing off every mishap as, “It’s her condition.” She didn’t even know for sure if she had a condition. It was time to put her foot down and be a mother. 

 

“Brian, would you be interested in getting together again tomorrow?” Matilda raised an eyebrow as if to ask “When had you gotten so bold?”

 

“Uh, yes, please, that would be nice. With the kids, right?” 

 

“Yes, and would you mind calling the boys in? I’d like a word with everyone regarding my daughter’s behavior.” Matilda’s face faltered. 

 

“But I wasn’t trying to be mean, I really thought-” Matilda started to say but Jennifer held up a hand to stop her.

 

“Matilda, you want to be treated as an adult so I’m going to give you an adult lesson. In the real world, when you damage something, whether you intended to or not, there’s consequences. It’s called paying restitution. That’s what you’re going to have to do for Hortensia. You’ve broken her trust and hurt her, so now you’re going to have to pay her.” She could see the older girl's head pique in interest. 

 

“I don’t have any money.” Matilda said. “And I already apologized.”

 

“Saying ‘sorry’ doesn’t work in the adult world, and I’m not telling you to pay with money.” She could see Hortensia’s shoulders deflate at the news that she wouldn’t be getting a monetary payout. “You’ll be paying with your pride.” 

 

“I don’t understand.” Matilda said slowly. The boys came in and looked for the cause of their game's interruption. 

 

“You’re going to tell the group a story about a certain little girl who was too stubborn to ask for help before she ventured into a corn maze.” Jennifer said. Matilda’s eyes went wide with panic.

 

“No, please, not that!!” Matilda begged. 

 

“Everyone’s waiting…” Jennifer said. “I’ve gathered them just for you.” Matilda’s eyes began to well with tears and her voice cracked with emotion. 

 

“No!” She begged before letting out a choked sob. 

 

“Or…” Jennifer said. Matilda’s head shot up. “You’ll be grounded starting now until we get back home.”

 

“Grounded! Grounded! Please!” 

 

“Don’t you want to know the terms?” Jennifer asked. She turned to Brian. “This is where I’m going to need your help. Hazel’s help, really.” The little girl looked up with interest at hearing her name. “I need her as a baseline to help Matilda.” She looked back to her daughter. “Tell the story, or you’’ll be spending the rest of the trip acting, talking, and being treated as a six-year-old.” 

 

Matilda looked at her confused. “But I am a six year old?”

 

“Daddy, we’re the same age!” Hazel cheered. Jennifer saw the slump in Matilda’s shoulders and smiled. 

 

Mommy’s back in town.

[BabySofia]

54 minutes ago, SashaButters said:

“Tell the story, or you’’ll be spending the rest of the trip acting, talking, and being treated as a six-year-old.” 

Wow... dirty pool indeed, but fitting! It would do her some good actually though. I like the idea of her having more playdates to have to learn how to actually be a kid. 

[CDfm]

Wow what a special treat.  Another chapter so soon. This was another superb chapter.  Momma isn’t messing around anymore.  Force her to act and be treated as a six year old all weekend?  That’s harsh!  I can’t wait to see what she decides. 

[SashaButters]

The fire was dying out now, the last glowing embers giving their final bursts as Hortensia pushed their smoldering remains around with a stick. The girls hadn’t spoken to each other since Hortensia’s return, and while she didn’t seem in danger of internally combusting, Jennifer noticed she sat off by herself, hunched over and looking sullen. 

Jennifer stood from her spot on the ground and stretched before taking a seat next to her.

“You did well keeping yourself together, thank you.” she said softly, her gaze fixed towards their dwindling source of light. Hortensia didn’t respond. Instead she prodded harder, sending sparks and burnt chips of wood flying off in different directions. “What do people usually do when this happens?”

 

“Throw me in the Chokey.” Hortensia grumbled. Jennifer frowned. She was hardly the child expert , but it seemed poor judgment to place a rampaging kid in an environment where they could hurt themselves. Could? More like would!

 

“That doesn’t sound very safe.” Jennifer stated. “It isn’t easy standing still enough even on our good days.” Hortensia thrust a bare arm out as if to keep Jennifer from flying forward, but even in the dim light, Jennifer could see specs of shiny skin up and down her arm, so she rolled up her own sleeve and showed Hortensia her own collection of scars. She was quiet for a moment while she took in the sight as if now finally having permission to stare. They had been seen but not acknowledged. She never went around showing this much skin at school. 

“You’ve been in the Chokey too?” Hortensia asked surprised. 

 

“Yes, many times.” 

 

Hortensia screwed up her face in disbelief. 

 

“I don’t see you being a rule breaker.” 

 

“I didn’t need to be. I lived with her until I ran away at 19.” 

 

“It’s not ‘running away’ if you’re over 18.” Matilda called out. Jennifer pinched her eyes shut before putting on her “Miss Honey voice” “Sweetheart, play with your dolls, mommy’s busy.” 

 

Hortensia snickered at Matilda’s near open mouthed expression. 

 

“Yeah, the adults are talking.” Hortensia chuckled, laughing even harder as Matilda’s shocked face turned into a scowl. 

 

“What I’m trying to say is, I understand.” Jennifer said, steering her attention away. “And you’ll never have to go back in there. I promise. I already had it torn down.” She saw Hortensia’s smile falter for a moment as she gave a small nod. “I’ll meet with your new teacher and we can work something out. Maybe you can go for a run outside when you feel out of control.” 

 

“Even during class?” Hortensia asked doubtfully.

 

“If it helps, then yes.” Jennifer said. 

 

“They’ll never let me leave class to ‘go run’.” 

 

“Yes, she will.” Jennifer said firmly. “I’m sort of the boss now.” She whispered conspiratorially. “I told you, there’s going to be changes.” She could already picture Old Mrs. Marshall raising a fuss. 

 

“If I let her out to run amok, then I'd have to let everyone. No. It will be chaos.” Jennifer pictured her saying. She didn’t want to pull rank, but she would if she had to. They were just going to have to learn expectations did need to be made for certain students. Would Jennifer trust Hortensia to run off by herself during class? Absolutely not. One of the school prefects would have to go with her and make sure she didn’t light another trash can on fire. She glanced over at her daughter.

 

What would have happened to Matilda if she had followed school policy and not made exceptions for her? She’d certainly come to see school as a prison, not a place of learning, but of boredom. And speaking of Matilda…

 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jennifer asked as Matilda was about to make her way out of camp. 

 

“A walk.” Matilda said. 

 

“No, you’re not. You need to stay here.” Jennifer said. “You’re grounded, and even if you weren't, it’s too dangerous at night.” Matilda pursed her lips together in annoyance.

 

“I was just going to go over there, not that far.” Matilda said, pointing out to the field. Jennifer knew where she was headed. She could see the wipe clutched tightly in her fist. 

 

“Not by yourself you’re not.” 

 

Matilda flashed her a panicked look before eying all the people in camp. Her shoulders slumped.

 

“Fine.” She stood in place watching Jennifer expectantly. 

 

“You’ll have to wait, I'm busy.” 

 

“Hortensia?” 

“I don’t think she’s in the market for doing you any favors.” Jennifer said before hiding her grin behind her closed fist. A little teasing wouldn’t hurt. “Ask me.” 

 

“Will you come with me?” Matilda said between clenched teeth.

 

“Ask me properly.” Jennifer said, unable to hide her amused smirk. 

 

“Will you please come with me?” 

 

“Try again.” Jennifer said. Matilda gave an exaggerated slump forward and she groaned.

 

“I don’t know what you want.” Matilda complained. 

 

“Think. How did Hazel address Brian?” Matilda’s eyes narrowed. 

 

“Fine, Daddy.” Jennifer rolled her eyes. She could see Brian pop his head up in search of the voice.

 

“Hazel, did you need something?” He asked. The little girl shook her head. 

 

“Sorry, it’s mine. She’s just being a little smart alec.” Jennifer said before turning back to Matilda. “You want to try that again?” 

 

“Mooom, why can’t you ground me like a normal person?” Matilda grumbled. 

 

“What am I going to do? Stick you in your room? You hardly come out of there anyway. Punishment isn’t something you enjoy. It’s not supposed to feel good. Now ask me again what you want, but without the attitude.” 

 

“Mommy…” Matilda said after a five second pause, something else they had learned from therapy.

 

“Yes, darling?”

 

“Would you please come with me to the field?” 

 

“Hmm, but we’re having fun over here, why would you want to go to the field?” Jennifer teased. 

 

“Because I need to go to the restroom.” Matilda hissed. 

 

“‘Restroom’ sure is a big word for someone as young as you.” Jennifer said. Matilda’s mouth hung open. She knew she was pushing it, but this was too much fun. 

 

“No! I’m not saying it.” Matilda said.

 

“Then I guess you don’t want to go for a walk that badly.” 

 

“Mom, please stop.” Matilda said. 

 

“If you want me to stop, then all you have to do is tell one story.”

 

“Why does it have to be that one? Why can’t I just say I used to be a bed wetter?” Matilda pleaded.

 

“Because that was a medical condition and it wasn’t your fault.” Jennifer said. “You have no one to blame but yourself for what happened in the corn field maze.” 

 

“Ugh, forget it!” Matilda said, throwing up her hands in frustration before going back to sit with Hazel. 

 

“Wait, what happened in the corn field maze?” Hortensia asked. Jennifer shook her head.

 

“It’s not my story to tell.” 

 

Jennifer went back to chatting between Hortensia and Brian before Matilda approached again, looking much more contrite.

 

“Can I borrow that pen and paper?” Matilda asked Brian. She took the offered items and scribbled a note before handing it to Jennifer. She took it and had to bite back a laugh. 

 

“Matilda, just say it outloud and I’ll take you. Stop making this harder for yourself.” She watched as Matilda stood there, fighting with herself to get the words out. 

 

Finally, with her head hung in embarrassment she said so softly Jennifer wouldn’t have been able to make out what she was saying if she hadn’t been listening for it, “Mommy, will you please take to the field so I can go potty?” 

 

“Yes, I will take you potty.” Jennifer said, making Matilda wince. 

 

“You didn’t bring one?” Brian asked. Jennifer shook her head. “Not even for the little one?” Matilda scowled at being referred to as “the little one” but a quick warning glance from Jennifer kept her mouth shut. 

 

“She can manage fine without it. We only brought the essentials.” Jennifer said. He looked to the  giant, deflated alligator lying by his feet before giving her a sly smile.

 

“I can see that.” He said. “Hazel, what about you?” The little girl looked up in question. “The ladies are making a potty trip, do you need to go as well?” Hazel shook her head. “Would you mind taking her? She hasn’t gone since we left earlier this evening. Just have her take everything off first, I don’t think she can do it without making a mess on herself.”

 

“I don’t mind.” Jennifer said. Privacy wouldn’t be an issue for her, it was dark enough out there. Only their outlines were visible in the low moonlight. 

 

“Please no.” Matilda begged. 

 

“It’s dark, no one will see anything, you know that.” Jennifer said. 

 

“Hazel, please go with them.” Brian said to his daughter. “Thank you so much, she can-” she saw Brian’s face fall. “Hazel.” He groaned. “Why didn’t you say you needed to go potty?” Jennifer turned and saw what Brian was talking about.  Even in the low light of the moon she could see the front of her pink sweatpants were streaked with a dark, wet stain down the front. 

 

“You’re not going to make me do that too, are you?” Matilda whispered. 

 

“Umm, no…?” Jennifer said incredulously. “Do you really think I’d go that far?”

 

“You said I had to do everything she did. I didn’t know how far you were going to take this.” Matilda hissed back. 

 

“I was only teasing you.” Jennifer said. “Consider it part of your punishment.” 

 

“I knew you were enjoying this too much!” 

 

“Okay, a little.” Jennifer admitted. “I missed hearing you call me mommy.” 

 

“I never called you mommy.” Matilda insisted.

 

“Yes, you did, for a little while, anyway.” Jennifer said. Matilda frowned. “When you were sick.” 

 

“Does this mean you’ll stop?” Matilda asked hopefully. 

 

“Not a chance. I’m going to enjoy this.” She let out a low laugh at her daughter’s sullen face. 

 

“Well, I guess we should take this as our cue to head back to our side of the lake.” Brian said, taking his daughter by the hand. “Zack! Nick! We’re going! Will we see you tomorrow? Maybe you can come to our camp around lunch time?” 

 

“Sounds good.” Jennifer said.

 

“It’s a date.” 

 

She could feel her face burn at his words. Did he just say it was a date? Calm down, Jennifer. It’s just an expression. 

 

“Say bye, Hazel.” Brian said. The little girl waved.

 

“Say bye, Matilda.” Jennifer said with a grin.

 

“Stop it!” 

 

“Later!” One of the boys called from the darkness. Jennifer stood rooted to the spot silently waving to their backs as they walked away. She only glanced back when she heard Matilda moan and tug on her arm.

 

“Mom, seriously, I really have to go!” Matilda said, marching her feet in place. “I had to pee since before they got here, remember?” Jennifer winced. Matilda had wanted to come with her earlier, but Jennifer’s bowels were about to blow. She had meant to come back for her, but she had gotten distracted by the many creatures which had collectively taken a chomp from her backside. 

 

And now that he was gone… 

 

She stuck her hands in the back of her underwear and began to scratch while eliciting a loud moan. Finally. Sweet relief!

 

“I’ve been wanting to do this all night.” Jennifer said as she furiously scratched. “Ahh.”  A voice from right behind her made her heart drop. 

 

“Uh, sorry, I forgot my sunglasses.” Brian said. She spun around, hand still down the back of her pants and froze.  Brian stood behind her with a large amused grin on his face. 

 

“Here, thank you again.” Matilda said, handing them over. They both looked at each other before beginning to cackle. Jennifer stood, horrified as she watched him run away. 

 

“Any chance he found that attractive?” she mumbled. 

 

“Not one bit.” Hortensia said through gasps of air. 

 

Jennifer groaned. 

 

“Girls, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for this day to be over.”

[AdultInnocence]

I enjoyed that chapter, thanks. 

[CDfm]

You are secretly a comedy writer right? I guess we have Matilda’s answer and oh is the result funny. I could have actually gotten into some hot water over this chapter.  I am at work and during a period of reduced activity I took the opportunity to read it.  I had to stop myself from laughing to loud. I am truly enjoying this story immensely.  You are doing an awesome job writing it. 

[SashaButters]

Brian was waiting for them by his tent with a large welcoming smile. Jennifer tried her best to seem upbeat despite the morning she was having. The girls had been bickering with each other non-stop, and Matilda refused to speak to Jennifer at all. Her heart gave a pang of sadness. She thought Matilda was more mature than that. This was supposed to be a fun trip, but it had been nothing but miserable since the moment they had woken up yesterday, before they had even left the house.

 

Jennifer turned to tell the girls to behave themselves, but there was no one there. She spun around in a panic. Where were the girls? They had been right beside her a minute ago.

 

“Matilda? Hortensia?” She called. She scanned the horizon, but there was no one and nothing for miles. 

 

“I sent them off to play.” Brian said. Jennifer was startled. He had been wearing a green t-shirt and blue jeans a moment ago, but now he was decked in nothing but his running shoes and itty bitty bicycle shorts. Jennifer’s face felt flush. “Look, they’re over there.” He pointed toward the water where the girls were riding atop of the inflatable alligator clad in their bathing suits. But wait, they hadn’t been wearing their bathing suits, had they? And they certainly hadn’t brought, or inflated, that beast of a water toy. Did Brian’s kids have one as well?

 

“Come with me.” Brian urged. He beckoned her forward towards the tent, but now he was fully dressed in a Tux. “I’ve been thinking about you all night.” He whispered in her ear before pulling her by the hand to the front of the tent and opening the flap. “After you.” 

 

Jennifer stepped inside, but instead of canvas and mesh lining, it was a fully furnished hotel room with a king sized canopy bed, chandelier, television, lush white carpeting, and a mini fridge. 

 

Seemed legit.

 

Jennifer turned to ask how he had electricity without a generator only to let out a startled shriek. He was naked! She stepped away from him until she felt herself back up against a wall. She looked down at herself. She was naked! Panicked, she tried to cover her lower half with her hands, only for him to press his mouth against hers.

 

“Don’t look at me!” Jennifer gasped. “It’s…It’s not right anymore.” 

 

“Oh, I don’t mind it.” He whispered before going in for another kiss. “I don’t mind at all.” Her breath caught in her throat. He was kissing her neck. And her throat. And her shoulders. “In fact, let me show you how much I don’t mind.” He was on his knees in front of her, spreading her legs apart and…

 

….

Matilda groaned softly as something shook her awake. She slowly opened her eyes to find Hortensia kneeling over her. Oh great, now she wanted to talk to her. 

 

“Wha?” Matilda asked groggily.

 

“Dude, something’s wrong with Miss Honey.” Hortensia whispered. “She’s making a lot of weird noises.”  

 

Matilda lifted her head before lowering it and closed her eyes.

 

“She talks in her sleep.” Matilda mumbled. “She’s fine.” She was about to tell her off for waking her, but a sudden unrecognizable noise coming from her mother made her stop. She propped herself up on her elbows and had a look. She did appear to be in distress. See, just another bad dream. She watched Jennifer bite the corner of her lip and let out another one of those strange noises. Well that was certainly an odd expression for a bad dream. 

 

“You think she’s in pain?” Hortensia asked. “My mom makes that same noise from the bathroom when she knicks herself with the electric shaver. I wish she wouldn’t drink wine while she shaves.” Matilda made a face at her. 

 

“And does that shaver go ‘BZZZ’?”

 

“It’s electric, duh. Aren’t you supposed to be a genius?” Hortensia asked sarcastically. Matilda frowned as she stared. So if that was what was going on then… She looked down at Jennifer and let out an involuntary flinch back. 

 

“Mom, wake up.” Matilda said, lightly shaking her shoulders. “You’re having a bad dream,” before whispering “I hope.” Jennifer let out a startled yell as she opened her eyes. 

 

“Is everything okay?” Jennifer mumbled groggily. “What is it?”

 

“It’s fine, you were having a nightmare.” Matilda said. Jennifer screwed up her face seemingly deep in thought.

 

“I can’t remember what I was dreaming about, no wait, you two were in it. You were riding that inflatable alligator, except you were flying in the air and I was trying to knock you down with a broom.” 

 

“Dude, do you think you could actually make it fly with your powers if I was riding it? That would be so cool!” Hortensia said. 

 

“Don’t.” Jennifer mumbled before she fell back asleep.

 

…

 

When Jennifer opened her eyes again the sun was shining down through the tent. She grimaced in pain as her senses came back to her. Her butt! She winced as snuck her hand back and began to scratch. The regret was near instantaneous. Jennifer jumped and let out a whimper. Hortensia lifted her head up and gave her a bleary look. 

 

“What’s wrong?” Hortensia asked half asleep. 

 

“The bites are a little tender.” She said with a grimace. Hortensia mumbled something Jennifer couldn’t quite understand and lowered her head back down. “Where’s Matilda?” she asked when she noticed her side of the sleeping bag was empty. 

 

“Dunno.” Hortensia mumbled without opening her eyes. Jennifer groaned as she rolled onto her stomach. She should get up and look for her, but she felt like she had been run over. Her body ached. The temptation to close her eyes was winning. She mentally chastised herself, but remained in her sleeping bag. 

 

A few minutes later, the tent flap opened and she saw Matilda return.

 

“Where were you?” Jennifer mumbled. 

 

“Went out to pee.” 

 

“You should have woken me up.” Jennifer said.

 

“I can manage by myself.” Matilda said with a frown. “What’s with you?” 

 

“I don’t feel well.” she admitted. She didn’t have the energy to argue with her. She let her head fall back down and closed her eyes. 

 

“Mom?” she felt a cool hand gently press against her forehead. “You’re hot.” She heard Matilda exit the tent before coming back before something heavy fell to the ground next to her head. She opened her eyes to find Matilda digging through the first aid kit. 

 

“Hey, stay out of there.” she mumbled half-heartedly. 

 

“Then I guess you don’t want anything for your fever.” Matilda said. 

 

“Tylenol, in the red bottle.” She could hear her struggle with the bottle. “Press down and turn.” Matilda grunted and strained to get the lid off.

 

“Why do they have to… make these… so hard to open?” Matilda grunted. 

 

“To keep kids like you out of it.” Jennifer said. She stuck a hand out. With a defeated sigh from Matilda, the bottle was placed in her outstretched hand. Jennifer opened it and shook out two capsules for herself. “Can you bring-” she started to ask but Matilda was already holding her canteen out to her. “Thank you, honey.” She took the pills and handed the bottle back. “Can you put these back in the first aid kit?”

 

“How’s your butt?” Matilda asked with a snicker. 

 

“It burns.” Jennifer admitted. “Are ant bites supposed to hurt this much?” she groaned into her crossed arms, hiding her face into the dark. She could hear Matilda rummaging around in the first aid kit. Too much noise to just be putting the Tylenol away. “Leave it. Come back to bed.” 

 

The sleeping bag began to unzip, but instead of Matilda climbing inside, the half covering her was pulled away. What was she up to? She lifted her head up when she suddenly felt her nightgown get pushed up before her underwear began to slide down. 

 

“Hey! Don’t just pull my clothes off! There’s other people in the tent!” Jennifer said, only a small fraction of concerned as she would have normally been. 

 

“The other people are asleep.” Matilda said. “Stay here, don’t move.” She got to her feet and started to make her way out. 

 

“With my butt hanging out?” Jennifer asked incredulously.

 

“Yes.” Matilda said firmly before she left. 

 

Jennifer let out a sigh and looked over at Hortensia, who had curled into a ball and buried herself down in her sleeping bag. She wondered what other parents had to do to amuse their six-year-olds. When she imagined having a daughter, she had thought of tea parties, dress up and dolls, yet here her daughter was wanting to play Proctologist with her. She buried her head back into her crossed arms. 

 

“What are you doing?” Jennifer asked as Matilda came back carrying their pack of wet wipes.

 

“It needs to be cleaned.” Matilda said. Jennifer frowned.

 

“You’re not washing my butt.” Jennifer said pointedly. “I’ll wash up in the lake later once the Tylenol kicks in.” 

 

“Stay out of the water.” Matilda said, ignoring her concerns. She watched Matilda pull out a few wipes before Jennifer let out a cry of pain. 

 

“Stop! Stop! That hurts!” Jennifer said. She was about to push herself up, but Matilda put a hand on her back and forced her in place. 

“Did you clean this at all last night?” 

 

“I rinsed off in the lake.” Jennifer mumbled. Was she really getting scolded about hygiene from a six-year-old? 

 

“I think you’re having an allergic reaction. Either that or it’s all infected. It's not as bad as the spider bite, but I don’t think ant bites are supposed to look like this.”

 

“Terrific.” Jennifer mumbled sarcastically. 

 

“Well, it’s a good thing you brought half the drug store.” She had brought all that for Matilda, not herself. She heard a box getting ripped open, but her head hurt too much to keep craning her neck around. 

 

“What are you getting into?” She asked without opening her eyes. 

 

“Benadryl, the box says it helps with bug bites.” 

 

“No, it’s going to make me sleepy.” 

 

“Would you rather stay awake like this?” Matilda asked doubtfully. 

 

“No, but someone needs to watch you two. I can’t just sleep all day and let you two run amok.” 

 

“You’re no good as is.” Matilda said. Jennifer knew she was right, but she couldn’t sleep now. What if they got kidnapped? Or drowned? How could she ever live with herself if something happened because she was sleeping instead of being vigilant? 

 

“I’ll be okay, Matilda, really.” She pushed herself up enough to pull her underwear back up, her eyes tearing up as the cotton material came in contact with her raw skin. Maybe going commando would be better. She pulled them back down and slid them as far as she could before Matilda pulled them off the rest of the way. 

 

“Do you want a clean pair from your bag?” 

 

“No, i’ll keep them off for now.” Jennifer said before covering herself back up with her nightgown. She pushed herself up, ignoring the dizziness and Matilda’s protests. She pushed the tent flap open and made her way outside, Matilda scrambling after her. 

 

“Hey, where are you going?” Matilda demanded. 

 

“The field.” Jennifer mumbled. She squinted and shielded her eyes. It was so bright. The sunlight made her headache pound even worse. Her mouth began to salivate. She froze, swallowing down the nausea and braced herself, taking slow deep breaths until the feeling passed. “I’m okay.” She said to Matilda, who watched her with a look of deep concern etched on her face. 

 

“Mom, you should lay back down, you look terrible.” 

 

“I’m okay.” She repeated more to herself. “I’m fine, I just need to pee and then I'll lay back down.” She looked towards the field and frowned. Had it always been so far away? The trail seemed to stretch on for miles. Or was that her vision tunneling? Oh no, she was going to fall. Her skin broke out in a cold sweat as her legs began to tremble. Yep, she was going down. She threw her arms out in front to break her fall and braced for impact, but it never came. Instead, she seemed to fall in slow motion until she was gently set down by a pair of invisible hands. 

 

She could hear Matilda cry out in pain. Jennifer grunted her frustration into the dirt. She was supposed to be looking out for Matilda, not the other way around! She wasn’t supposed to be using her powers, she was supposed to be resting! She rolled over and sat up before letting out a gasp. 

 

“Your eyes!” 

 

“It’s fine. They're still just sore from yesterday.” Matilda said, rubbing them furiously. 

 

“You should have let me fall!” Jennifer said, slowly sitting up and dusting her face off with the crook of her arm. 

 

“Are you okay? Do you want some water? Don’t get up! Just sit there for a minute.” Jennifer sighed as Matilda fussed over her. This wasn’t normal six-year-old-behavior. 

 

“You’re grounded, Matilda.” Jennifer said half-heartedly. “Stop worrying about me and go play. You have to act your age, remember?” she said with a wince as she tried to move. She just needed a minute to rest. Once the world righted itself, she’d get up, pee, and go back to bed.

 

“Okay.” Matilda said flatly. Okay? Was she really going to listen? Now of all times? She was staring at her with narrowed eyes as if studying her. Then, without a word, she turned and left. Jennifer let out a defeated sigh. She must have really made her angry last night. There’s no way the Matilda she knew would have left her side. Good, she thought, letting her head fall into her hands. 

 

What was she going to do? Everyone expected them back tomorrow. As she sat there thinking, the realization that she wasn’t fine was quickly dawning on her. It was the same symptoms as last time, but milder. Matilda was right, she was having an allergic reaction. She could feel her throat closing up. Stop it, she chastised herself, you’re panicking and that’s why you can’t breathe. There was no way she could hike back like this. 

 

Jennifer looked up as she heard footsteps approaching. Matilda was hurrying back with the first aid kit. She gave a weak smile. She knew Matilda wouldn’t leave her like this. 

 

“Mommy, will you play with me?” Matilda asked. Jennifer blinked in surprise. What? Right now? Under normal circumstances she would have found that adorable. 

 

“Umm, wh-what do you want to play?” Jennifer asked in a shaky voice. She was breaking out in another sweat. She needed to lay down for a second. 

 

“I want to play pretend.” Matilda said. “I want to act out those stories on my desk like you said I should last night.” 

 

Jennifer let out a shaky, yet relieved laugh. The stories about the six-year-old doctor. Matilda had found a loophole. Of course she would. Jennifer had told her to go play like a six-year-old, so she was.

 

“Doctor, I don’t feel so good.” she said as she closed her eyes.  

 

“Hmm, it says in your chart you're sixteen, with a history of adverse reactions to insects. Is that correct?” Matilda said, pretending to hold a chart.

 

She wondered why sixteen, but then she remembered Matilda’s character was a pediatrician. 

 

“Yes.”

 

“And what are your symptoms?” 

 

“Headache, nausea, sweating, weakness, fever and a really really itchy arse.” Even amidst all her other symptoms she couldn’t help but scratch. “I got bit by a lot of fucking fire ants yesterday.” she could see Matilda trying not to crack a smile. She could swear this once. She was a sixteen year old after all. Matilda had set the rules. There were things she couldn’t normally say, or even allow herself to think about these last two days that she could in character, so you know what? “FUCK NATURE!” she yelled before letting out a breath. That was surprisingly cathartic. No wonder kids cussed so much. 

 

It was all just a game of make believe. 

 

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Matilda asked, gasping against her clenched fist as she tried unsuccessfully not to laugh. It took her a second to get back into character. “Any shortness of breath? Chest pain? Loss of consciousness? Recent falls.” she said, putting emphasis on the latter.

 

“I’m not sure. I’m not sure if I’m having shortness of breath because I’m in the beginning stages of anaphylaxis shock, or because I’m panicking at the thought of it and giving myself an anxiety attack.” Jennifer admitted, breath starting to quicken.

 

Matilda froze for a moment. 

 

“Do-does the patient have their Epi-pen?” 

 

“D-do you have one in that kit, doctor?” There was the sound of frantic rummaging before silence. “Did the patient go camping, while knowingly severely allergic to certain, if not all bugs, and not pack her EPIPEN?” Matilda asked with clenched teeth. 

 

Jennifer let out a sad sounding laugh before saying, “Oops.” The moment she had filled that prescription, it had sat in her nightstand and never thought of again. 

 

“The patient packed a PREGNANCY TEST, BUT NOT AN EPIPEN?” Matilda asked before digging into the first aid kit. “Benadryl. Now. Doctors orders! It’s chewable.” Jennifer accepted them without a fight this time. “The good news is, umm, in my professional opinion, if you were going to go into anaphylactic shock, it would have happened last night, but I implore you to get a second opinion from a specialist.” 

 

Jennifer figured that  was code for packing up and heading home to a real doctor as soon as possible. Except how? She’d never make the hike. She doubted she was even going to make it to the field. Her shortness of breath came back again. 

 

“It’s only an anxiety attack,” Jennifer said with a wince. Matilda knelt down next to her and began to stroke her head.

 

“They feel bad enough even when you aren't sick.” Matilda said breaking character. “Hortensia can get Brian. He has his car, remember? It’s okay.” 

 

Brian! She had forgotten about Brian! She wouldn’t have to hike back! If he was willing to drop them off at her car. She sighed in relief. At least one of them was thinking clearly. 

 

“I want to wait and see if Benadryl and Tylenol help. He’s expecting us later anyway. Whether it's all of us or just Hortensia flagging him down.” 

 

“Fifteen minutes. That’s all i’m willing to wait. Then I will be sending my assistant to catch my coworker for a second opinion on whether you will remain here or be transferred to another, more modern facility for your treatment.” Matilda said resuming the game. 

 

“Fifteen minutes?” Jennifer looked down at herself.

 

“I would suggest the patient relieve themselves and come back to the tent and be made decent.” Jennifer agreed. She slowly and shakily got to her feet holding Matilda’s hand and began to make her way back towards the field when Matilda stopped her. “Do it here and come back to the tent and lay down.” 

 

Jennifer frowned. The thought of trying to make it to the field was daunting, but they were so close to the tent…

 

Another wave of dizziness threatened to topple her and she clung onto Matilda for support. 

 

Here it was. 

 

“Don’t squat all the way down.” Matilda warned.  “You’re shaking.” She was feeling too weak to swear, so she just nodded.  

 

“What shapes do you see in the clouds?”  Jennifer asked as she turned and hiked up her nightgown. 

 

“There aren't any clouds.” Matilda said, craning her neck and looking up in the sky. 

 

“Well, just keep looking.” Jennifer mumbled, feeling too sick to be bothered by the splattering  beneath her. After she finished and cleaned herself. Matilda helped her back to the tent where she laid out on her stomach. She frowned as she felt her nightgown get raised again. 

 

“This will help with the itching.” She watched Matilda unscrew a lid and begin to squirt an ointment on her fingers. 

 

“N-no, let me, you don’t ha-” the words died on her lips the moment the ointment made contact with her skin. Her body went limp. She let Matilda finish. 

 

“What’s going on?” Hortensia asked slowly. Jennifer made an unintelligible noise into her arms. 

 

“Mom’s sick.” 

 

“Uh-huh… and you’re rubbing lotion on her ass…why?” 

 

“It’s medicine.” 

 

“Uh-huh, again, why?”

 

“Because she’s in pain.” Hortensia gave her a strange look. “Wouldn’t you do this for your mom if she was in pain?” Hortensia looked like she’d rather eat dog shit. 

 

“We’re playing doctor.” Jennifer mumbled.

“Do you have any idea how wrong that sounds with what I’m seeing?” Hortensia said with a snort.

 

“We need you to go find the guy from last night and tell him to bring his car. Tell him it’s an emergency. She needs to go to the hospital, she’s having a bad allergic reaction.” 

 

“It looks like you sat on a wasp nest.” Hortensia said. 

“Will everyone please stop looking at my ass?” Jennifer groaned.

 

“Miss Honey…” Hortensia said in shock. “Did Miss Honey just swear?” 

 

“Do I look like I’m ‘Miss Honey’ right now?” Jennifer said. “Please, get…help.” she said before closing her eyes. 

 

“What would be easiest for you to wear?” Matilda asked as she shimmied Jennifer’s nightgown up over her head, leaving her naked. The air felt good on her overheated skin. She wished she could just stay like this. 

 

“Too hot for clothes.” she grumbled. “Give me a minute.” 

 

“Do you want Brian seeing you like this?” Matilda asked skeptically. 

 

She did not.

 

“There’s a dress in my bag.” Matilda scrambled to fetch it, and with some difficulty, managed to get it over Jennifer’s head and down her body. She wasn’t feeling very co-operative at the moment. “Would you lay down with me until they come?” 

 

“Sure, mom.” 

 

Jennifer wrapped her arms around Matilda and held her close. 

 

“What would I do without you?” 

[BabySofia]

No simple days for them unfortunately! Might work out for her and Brian this way though!

[CDfm]

Loved it!!  Another just splendid piece of work.  Again I laughed so hard and so much I hurt. I am so looking forward to reading more. 

[Jayme]

Poor Jennifer, can't seem to catch a decent break at times...

[SashaButters]

Matilda couldn’t believe it. She was finally at uni. She looked up at the exquisite architecture in wonder. Oxford University was even more impressive in person. It was ranked the top college in the world and it wanted her. She gripped her backpack straps tight in her clenched fists as she prepared to take her first step onto campus, but suddenly she was surrounded by adults. Hundreds, no thousands of them swarmed around her, pushing and jostling her. 

 

“Get out of the way!” 

 

“Go back to preschool!” 

 

Matilda looked around. Where was Jenny? She looked behind her to find her mother throwing her bags on the sidewalk before climbing back into the passenger side of the car. Matilda bolted back. What was she doing? Where was she going? She was supposed to stay here with her. 

 

“Mom, you’re not leaving, are you?” Matilda asked.

 

“Of course I am. It’s a long ride back to Buckinghamshire.” Jennifer said without looking up as she slid her seatbelt back on. Matilda’s mouth hung open.

 

“But you can’t go! We were supposed to find an apartment here together!” Matilda said. 

 

“Matilda,” Jennifer said with a frown. “This was our agreement, remember? You’d stay with me until it was time to go off to college.” 

 

“But…but i’m only six! You can’t just leave me here!” Matilda’s eyes began to well with tears. 

 

“Matilda,” Jennifer said, now sounding annoyed. “You can’t just expect us all to pack up and move for you. You were the one who wanted to be an adult, now's your chance.”

 

“Us?” Matilda asked. She noticed all the other people in the car now. There was a man behind the wheel and three kids in the back seat. Where had she been sitting?

 

“I have a family.” Jennifer said. Matilda’s eyes began to sting as her cheeks dampened with tears.

 

“But…I’m your family.” Matilda croaked. Jennifer sighed. 

 

“Honey, we need to leave if we’re going to beat traffic.” the unknown man said. 

 

“Look, we had our fun. It was good practice, but it’s time we went our separate ways. I can’t raise a baby here. My husband's job is in Aylesbury; we can’t stay with you. ” 

 

“A baby!” Matilda shouted. Her eyes went wide. Jennifer was pregnant! And what was that about a husband? 

“Goodbye, Matilda!” Jennifer yelled out the window as the car pulled away, leaving Matilda behind. 

 

Forever.

 

…

 

“Oy, what are you sleeping for? You’re not the sick one!” Hortensia said. Matilda jumped. 

 

“Did you have a nice nap, sweetheart?” Jennifer asked. Matilda blinked, confused. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Jennifer was already on her feet and looking a bit better than she had earlier that morning. Her face was still pale and her eyes were glassy, but she didn’t look like she was in danger of collapsing. 

 

“Sorry it took so long. I found their camp, but they weren't there. They had gone for a hike.” Hortensia explained. So that’s how it was already the afternoon, Matilda thought. 

 

“How long have you been up?” Matilda asked. 

 

“About twenty minutes.” Jennifer said. “I gathered up what I could of our stuff, but we’ll have to come back for the rest.”

 

“You should have woken me up.” Matilda scowled. Here she was sleeping while her sick mother was doing all the work. “How are you feeling?” Jennifer flashed her a pained smile.

 

“Better than earlier, thanks to you.” Jennifer said, but Matilda could tell she still felt pretty miserable. “Honey, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying.” 

 

“No?” Matilda said, sounding more like a question than an answer. She touched the side of her cheek. She could feel moisture trailing down her face. Then she began to remember the horrid dream she had been having. She swallowed the lump in her throat as fresh tears threatened to spill. 

 

“Matilda, what’s the matter?” Jennifer asked with a frown. “Are you sad because the trip is getting cut short? I’m real sorry it didn’t work out, but we can do something just the two of us before school starts again.” 

 

“No, I’m not upset.” Matilda said, wiping her eyes. “It’s just bright.” she lied.

 

“It’s fine. Camping’s lame anyway.” Hortensia chimed in. Matilda knew she had been having a blast last night, especially when the glow sticks had come out. Matilda was just glad to be going back to civilization, modern medicine, and away from single men.

 

“Matilda, can you fix my dress? It feels like it’s caught on something. Can you even it out? It shouldn't be this tight.” Jennifer asked as she spun around. Hortensia began to snicker. “What? What is it?” 

 

“Well, it is caught on something.” Matilda said, trying her best not to laugh as well. “Your backside is a little swollen…” 

 

“A little?” Hortensia laughed. It was huge. Comically so. “It’s like I R Baboon.” 

 

“I don’t know what that is, but I don’t like the sound of it.” Jennifer said before sighing. “I couldn’t get my underwear back on.” 

 

“There’s no way it would fit.” Matilda said. Jennifer cringed as they stepped out and met Brian, who was waiting for them in his minivan. 

 

“Are you alright?” Brian asked. Matilda watched with an uneasy feeling as what little color began to drain from Jennifer’s face as her eyes bugged out. 

 

There were two things Matilda knew for sure. It was Brian Jennifer had been dreaming about last night. 

 

And Matilda hated him.   

 

…

 

“You don’t have to stay.” Matilda said icily. “I’ve got it from here.” 

 

“No, I-I can’t just leave.” Brian said. “You’ll need a ride home after.” 

 

“We can take the bus.” Matilda said flatly. “I’m sure Hazel doesn’t want to stay here.” They looked over at Jennifer, who was lying on her stomach on the couch in the E.R waiting room reading a children’s book to Hazel, who sat next to her listening with rapt attention. The scene infuriated Matilda. 

 

“Mom, don’t touch that. Put it back. It’s full of germs.” she scolded Jennifer. 

 

“I’ll live.” Jennifer said before going back to the story. Anger coursed through her. She ripped the book out of Jennifer’s hands and threw it in the basket of magazines. “Matilda? What was that for?”

 

“Your immune system is compromised!” Matilda said with a scowl. “Do you have any idea how many germs are on the children’s toys in a hospital?” 

 

“Don’t just take things out of my hand! That was very rude!” Jennifer said. “I get that you’re worried, but it isn’t anything like last time.” Her eyes began to droop as she talked, before finally putting her head down. “If you’re so concerned, then you finish reading the story.” 

 

“You can read?” Hazel asked. 

 

“You can’t?” Matilda scoffed. 

 

“Matilda!” Jennifer said, pushing herself up. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you better knock it off! She’s six!” 

 

“So am I.” Matilda grumbled. Jennifer glared at her. 

 

“Sit down. I don’t want to hear another word out of your mouth.” Jennifer said. 

 

Matilda let herself fall into a chair as she crossed her arms and seethed. Why wouldn’t they leave already? Hortensia had to have packed up the camp by now. She sighed.

 

“Do you want me to go find a payphone and call Mrs. Rodgers about getting a ride home later?” Matilda asked.  

 

“No, I do not. I want you to sit there and be quiet.” Jennifer said sternly. 

 

“Then how are we getting home? You can’t drive, you can’t even sit.” 

 

“Matilda!” Jennifer snapped. “If I hear another word out of your mouth…Where do you think you’re going?!” 

 

“The restroom! Or can I not even do that right?” Matilda shot back. Jennifer was about to reply, but Brian’s approach stopped her. 

 

“I’ll take you home after. It’s okay.” he said. “Then i’ll double back and get Hortensia. Her and the boys should be done packing by the time you’re done.” Matilda’s hands clenched into fists by her side when she saw the look of gratitude cross Jennifer’s face. Oh, so she gets scolded for offering a way home, but he gets sappy googly eyes. 

 

“I appreciate that. Thank you so much for everything, even though we’ve only just met.” Jennifer said before making eye contact with Matilda. “Sit. Down. Now.” 

 

“I. Need. The. Restroom.” 

 

Jennifer let out an exasperated sigh before giving her a dismissive wave. Matilda was about to storm away, but Brian cut her off. 

 

“Would you mind taking Hazel with you? Please?” Matilda eyed the girl, who was sitting on the floor holding her crotch, with distaste. She wanted to say no, but one look from Jennifer told her she wouldn’t be sitting comfortably for the rest of the day if she ignored him. She wasn’t in the mood to put her “no spanking policy” to the test. She was sure she had already stretched it to its limit. 

 

“Fine.” 

 

Matilda marched to the bathroom, Hazel trailing along beside her at Brian’s request, and locked herself in the furthest stall. She really had just wanted to be alone. She sat on the toilet, ripped off some paper, and let it float in the air. Her powers had become like an extra bodily function, but instead of waste needing to be expelled, it was energy. Like other bodily functions she found if she didn’t let it out in regular intervals, accidents tended to happen. Accidents that took the form of broken glass and property damage. 

 

 She didn’t know what was more unbearable to her, the pressure behind her eyes from the power needing to be expelled, the burning pain when she released it, or watching Jennifer attempt to flirt. 

 

Jennifer had lied to her. She had said she had no libido, no desire whatsoever to date, or get married. She had said it would always be the two of them. Tears began to stream down Matilda’s face as she realized which of the three hurt the worst. All she could see when she closed her eyes was the car driving away and leaving her behind.

 

“I’m done.” 

 

“Go on ahead of me. I’ll be out later.” Matilda croaked out.  She let out a relieved breath as she heard the heavy door open and then close. She snatched the floating toilet paper out of the air and held it to her eyes.

 

 Now she could finally fall apart.

 

…

 

Jennifer awoke in the night with another pounding headache. Her body hurt, her butt was still swollen and itchy and for some unknown reason, Matilda was refusing to speak to her. She was in too much distress to figure out her daughter’s mood swings at the moment. She cursed herself for leaving her medication on the kitchen counter.

 

 No matter how she positioned herself, she couldn’t get comfortable. She could feel her nightgown wrapped tightly around her backside, and with an annoyed huff, she wriggled out of it and tossed it onto the floor. After another few minutes of tossing and turning, she cursed herself again for doing that. There was no going back to sleep like this. She was too miserable. She needed to get up and go downstairs for the bottle of Tylenol. 

 

Reaching blindly in the darkness, she felt for the switch on the lamp on her nightstand and flicked it on, eliciting another moan when the dim light hit her eyes. She pushed herself up and froze. There on her nightstand was her medication, the bottle of Tylenol and a glass of water. Had she brought it up with her without remembering? No, she didn’t think so.

 

 She struggled to remember the events of yesterday. She could remember laying on her stomach in the back of Brian’s minivan, as the uneven dirt road jostled and bounced her every which way. She could remember the hospital, where she definitely remembered getting a shot in the butt. That had been a less than thrilling experience. 

 

She had also remembered Brian handing her a scrap of paper with his phone number on it when he had dropped Hortensia off. She smiled at the memory. Jennifer had also given him hers. She frowned as she remembered the rest of the evening's events, like when a large crack had suddenly spider webbed across his windshield. She had sent Matilda to bed without dinner as punishment. 

 

It was one thing if she had just admitted she had lost control, but she hadn’t. She swore up and down it wasn’t her, but Jennifer wasn’t buying it. She had been throwing a tantrum all afternoon since they had left the campsite. She had even gone as far as to lock herself in the handicapped stall and refused to come out until Jennifer had had to march in and drag her out so a old lady with a walker could get in there. 

 

She reached for her medicine and swallowed it down with a long drink. No, she hadn’t brought it up with her, it was still cold. Had someone been in her room while she was asleep? She’d ask the girls about it in the morning. Right now, she just wanted to go back to sleep. She was about to reach over and turn the lamp off when a sniffling sound made her snap to attention. She looked to the foot of her bed and found the culprit. A small lump was curled up at the foot of her bed.

 

“Matilda?” Jennifer asked. A small face poked it’s head out from underneath a towel she had been using as a blanket. She had so many questions. “What are y-” she stopped as she noticed her tear streaked face. Jennifer sighed. “You’re not still upset about the camping trip?” Matilda glared her before flinging the towel away and lowered herself off the bed. She was halfway towards the door when Jennifer called out to her. “Matilda, stop. Come back, please. Let’s talk about this.” 

 

Matilda stood rooted to the spot, looking between the door and the bed. Jennifer flipped the covers over next to her and patted the spot beside her, but Matilda continued to back away looking a mixture of furious and hurt. 

 

“Matilda?” Jennifer called, but the girl had taken off. Jennifer sighed. She had clearly said the wrong thing. She looked at the alarm clock on her bedside table. No wonder her brain wasn’t working, it was two in the morning. She briefly considered going back to sleep, but she couldn’t leave things as they were. This wasn’t normal behavior for Matilda, Jennifer should have known better. She looked at her nightstand, with the medicine and half drunk glass of water and felt a pang of guilt. THAT was her normal behavior, not acting out because they had to cut the trip short. She had even gone so far as to rub ointment on her butt. She didn’t understand. Matilda hadn’t started acting out until they had left, so if it wasn’t about the trip, then what was it? 

 

Jennifer let out an exasperated sigh and climbed out of bed. Only one way to find out. She bent down and picked up her discarded nightgown, slid it back on, and made her way to Matilda’s room. She flicked on the light, before quickly shutting it back off again with a hastened apology. Wrong kid. Had they switched rooms? She went to the other bedroom, but when she turned on the light, she found an empty bare mattress stripped of its sheets. 

 

Jennifer pinched the bridge of her nose as she turned off the light. Again Hortensia? 

 

If she wasn’t in any of the rooms, it only left downstairs. She slowly eased herself down each step until she reached the landing. She scanned the room, and there, on the sofa, she could just make out a lump curled up on the sofa in the darkness. 

 

“Matilda, come back to bed. I didn’t mean to upset you.” No answer. “Matilda?” No answer. She patted the lump on the sofa and frowned. She had been talking to a blazer. 

 

“Go away.” A small voice sobbed. Jennifer turned and saw another lump in the armchair. 

 

“Matilda? Or are you another article of clothing?” She came closer and could just make out the child sized shape. “What’s got you so worked up, sweetheart?” 

 

“Nothing.” The lump rolled over so her back was now facing her. “Go back to bed.” 

 

“Not until you tell me what’s got you so upset lately.” 

 

“It’s nothing.” she repeated with a sniffle.

 

“It’s not nothing.” She tried to stroke Matilda’s hair, but when she placed a hand on her head, her hand was batted away. Jennifer winced. She must have really messed up. “Matilda, please, talk to me.” 

 

“Do you really…think i’m so… petty…to be upset… over a camping trip…when you were …so sick?” Matilda sobbed, still facing away from her. 

 

“No, I don’t. I'm sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” Jennifer said softly. “Please, tell me. Something had to have happened when we left.” 

 

“You…lied to me.” Matilda said. 

 

“What? When? Matilda? Please turn around.” 

 

“You-you said it would always just be us!” 

 

“Matilda, I don’t understand. I thought you wanted Hortensia to stay.” 

 

“N-n-not Hor-hor-hortensia.” 

 

“Then who are you talking about? It’s just the three of us.” Now there was nothing but silence. “Matilda, you’re really going to have to explain, because I really don’t understand.” 

 

“Brian.” she heard Matilda mumble. 

 

Brian? What did Brian have to do with this? Was that why Matilda was being so rude to them? Because she didn’t like Brian? 

 

“What about Brian?” Jennifer asked. Only, Matilda once again dissolved into sobs. “Can we talk about this in bed?” No response. “Matilda?” No response. “Please don’t make me carry you.” No response. “Okay.” She bent down and hoisted Matilda up from behind her knees and arms. “I saw that your bed is currently occupied.” She huffed as she inched up the stairs. “You can sleep with me tonight, how does that sound?” Matilda didn’t respond, only sniffled.

 

Jennifer’s legs were shaking by the time she set Matilda down and tucked her in. Before climbing in on the other side, she grabbed the glass of water and downed it before panting. 

 

“Was that you who left this for me?” Jennifer asked, motioning towards the pill bottles. Matilda nodded. “Thank you, that was very thoughtful.” 

 

“I saw them… when I was…washing the sheets.” Matilda said softly in between gasps for breath. Jennifer gingerly got into bed beside her, wincing as her backside came into contact with the bed. 

 

“It’s still too tight.” Jennifer lamented before sighing and stripping off her nightgown. “What was it ‘Tens called me? A baboon?” Matilda didn’t even crack a smile. Jennifer frowned. She hadn’t seen Matilda this inconsolable since she had pushed her away in the bathroom. “Come here.” Jennifer scooted closer before Matilda could run away and wrapped her arms around her and held her against her chest. “It’s alright, Matilda, whatever it is, it’s alright.” she said softly as one hand stroked her head and the other rubbed her back.

 

“Now tell me, what is it about Brian that’s got you in such a state?” Jennifer asked once Matilda’s sobs had finally turned into sniffles. 

 

“A dream.” Matilda mumbled into her chest. 

 

A dream? Was that all this was about? Jennifer had been afraid it was something she had done to her. 

 

“What did you dream about?” 

 

“I got into Oxford.” 

 

“That sounds like a good dream though.” Matilda shook her head.

 

“You married him, and all his kids were there, and you were pregnant, and you told me since I had gotten into college our relationship was over and we…we weren't a family anymore because you had one of your own now.” 

 

“Oh, Matilda, no.” Jennifer said. She tightened her grip around her as Matilda began to bawl again. 

 

“Y-you said I was only practice! Then you- then you threw all my stuff on the curb and drove away with him!” 

 

“Oh, that’s a terrible dream.” Jennifer said, rocking her back and forth. “But it's only a dream, sweetheart. I promise. The only thing plausible about any of that is you getting into Oxford someday. I adopted you. You know what that means, don’t you? It means we’re a family. Forever. No matter what happens, or who comes into our lives. Nothing is going to change that.” 

 

“You said it would just be us.” Matilda whimpered. 

 

“Probably.” Jennifer said. “But I don’t know what the future holds. I can’t say for sure or make any promises. All I do know is there isn’t going to be a baby.” She brushed Matilda’s hair back. “Did you dream about this tonight?”

 

“This morning.”

 

Ah, so that explained it. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Brian or that he offended her. She felt threatened by him, so she had lashed out. 

 

“I can’t do it!” Matilda sniffled. 

 

“You can’t do what?” 

 

“Be a normal kid, like Hazel. You looked so happy playing with her and I can’t do it!” 

 

“Who says I want you to be like Hazel?” Jennifer asked with a frown. “I like small children, yes.” Jennifer explained. “But it’s you I love, you understand? That’s what I like about teaching. I can play with all the children I want, but at the end of the day, I get to send them all home. At the end of every day, you’re the only one I want to come home with. ” 

 

[CDfm]

As much as I have laughed at the last few chapters, this one almost had me in tears. Even though it was only a horrible dream I felt so bad for Matilda. It’s easy to forget that she is only a little girl even though she rarely acts it.  
You are still doing an amazing job with this story. 

[BabySofia]

Awww... good moment, and a very realistic fear for her. Great chapter, and I do hope Brian can be a future for her. She deserves to find some happiness too.

[AdultInnocence]

Came here to make sure I'm following it here. The "other" site seems to be having some problems. I didn't want to miss the next release.

[SashaButters]

Jennifer sat with a wince on one of the hard chairs in  Dr. Renfields waiting room. It had already been a week since the disastrous camping trip and she still couldn’t sit comfortably. 

 

“You see a shrink? Isn’t that for, like, crazy people?” Hortensia asked Matilda.

 

“We see a family psychologist.” Jennifer said, emphasizing the we. “And no, they aren't. She’s more like a mediator.”  

 

“Huh?” Hortensia asked. 

 

“We just talk.” Matilda said with a shrug. “Sometimes we play with marbles.” 

 

“You go to the doctor to play with marbles?” Hortensia said. “Everytime I go to the doctor I get a shot.” she grumbled.

 

“Different kind of doctor.” Jennifer explained. “She works as more of a go between. Sometimes we don’t always see eye to eye on certain things and it's helpful to have a neutral party to ask for advice. Therapists can help you see things in a different way and explain things you couldn’t normally put into words.” 

 

Hortensia made an uninterested sounding noise as she cracked open her notebook. Jennifer frowned as she took a peek at what she was drawing. It was that horrible face again. She must have seen her drawing it ten different times in the last week. 

 

“Is that all you ever draw?” Jennifer couldn’t help but ask. Hortensia mumbled something unintelligible before closing her note book. Before Jennifer could inquire further, Dr. Reinfield came out to collect them. Matilda was about to stand up, but Jennifer stopped her. “Do you mind if I go first this time?” Matilda shrugged and remained in her seat.

 

“Is something the matter? You look like you’re in pain.” Dr. Reinfield asked as Jennifer slowly lowered herself down on the couch inside her office with a wince.

 

“We went camping last week and I got bit by a bunch of fire ants and had an allergic reaction.” Jennifer explained. “It’s still a bit difficult to sit.” 

 

“Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. Did you sit next to an anthill?”

 

“Something like that.” Jennifer said sheepishly. She felt no desire to explain her desecrating their home. 

 

“So is there something in particular you wanted to talk about today? What’s on your mind?” 

 

“Yes,” Jennifer said with an exasperated sigh. “It’s Matilda, she’s done a complete 180 and I'm concerned. All summer she’s wanted almost nothing to do with me, and now she won’t leave my side. I can’t even get her to sleep in her own bed. I tuck her in every night, but she won’t stay put. I wake up in the night and there she is in my bed. I don’t know what’s going on with her.” 

 

Dr. Reinfield seemed to ponder this for a moment. 

 

“Did something happen?” 

 

“She says she keeps having bad dreams about me not wanting her anymore. I don't know where this is suddenly coming from. I’ve never done or said anything to make her think I would ever abandon her. Now she’s saying she doesn’t want to go to college anymore.” 

 

“Hmm, unfortunately, this isn’t a new fear of hers.” Dr Reinfield said. “She has expressed these concerns to me before.” 

 

“She has? But why? I’ve never…I would never…” 

 

“I doubt it has anything to do with what you have or haven’t said, and much more to do with her biological family. While you may see her as special and wonderful, she doesn’t see herself that way. She feels abnormal and different from the other children. Her biological family often treated her with contempt, and it has greatly altered her perception of herself. She sees her mind as a flaw rather than a gift.” 

 

Jennifer’s heart sank at this. She had been steadily growing more concerned throughout the week, but after last night, she had gotten on the phone first thing in the morning and arranged to have an earlier appointment. 

 

“So what did happen last night?” Dr. Reinfield asked. “You sounded upset on the phone.” 

 

Jennifer sighed and recounted the nights events.

 

…

 

Jennifer awoke out of a dead sleep. She frowned, bleary eyed as she lifted her head off the pillow. It was one in the morning. She thought she had heard something. She listened intently, but the night was quiet. She put her head back down. Just when she was convinced she had only dreamt it, there it was again. A knocking on her bedroom door.

 

“Matilda? Is that you?” She asked, confused. She had been waking to find Matilda in her bed more nights now than not, but Matilda had never knocked. She just came in and climbed into bed.

 

“Umm, Miss Honey.” the voice said. Hortensia? Why was she knocking on her door at one in the morning? “Matilda’s calling for you.” 

 

Jennifer immediately pushed herself up and opened her door. Hortensia stood awkwardly in the hallway and pointed down the hall. Now Jennifer could hear sobbing coming from Matilda’s room. She hurried down the hall, worried she had taken ill in the night. 

 

“Matilda?” she asked softly, standing in her doorway. There was no reply. “I’m going to turn your light on, okay?” She flipped the switch, relieved to find she wasn’t coated in throw up. 

 

“Mommy.” she cried. Jennifer stiffened. Matilda never called her mommy. She froze for a moment at the obvious red flag before coming over to sit on the edge of her bed. 

 

“Honey, what’s wrong? Did you have another bad dream?” Jennifer asked. Matilda nodded her head. She could hardly breathe from crying so hard. “Oh, sweetheart. It’s okay, shh, it’s okay.” Jennifer scooted closer, but Matilda pulled away and curled herself into a ball. “What is it?” The other two times this week she had nearly thrown herself into Jennifer’s arms. Red flag number two, she thought. She gently rubbed circles on her back for a few minutes. 

 

“Why don’t you roll over and talk to me?” Matilda shook her head before throwing the covers up over her head. Jennifer sighed as the smell of urine greeted her. She gently pulled the blanket away to reveal Matilda’s wet pajamas. “It’s nothing some laundry can’t fix, honey, you know that.” Jennifer whispered, gently stroking her head. To prove her point, she picked Matilda up and hoisted her into her lap. She wrapped her arms tightly around her and began to gently rock back and forth.  “Was it the same dream as last time?” 

 

“Yes.” Matilda sobbed, her head now resting in the crook of Jennifer’s neck. 

 

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here. Mommy’s here. I’ll always be here for you.” Jennifer whispered in her ear, before kissing the top of her head. “I’ll take care of the sheets. Why don’t you go hop in the shower?” Jennifer suggested once she had finally gotten Matilda to calm down enough to breathe evenly again. She lightly brushed her hair back with the palm of her hand, but Matilda showed no signs of moving. “C’mon, honey, you can’t stay in those wet clothes. Go get cleaned up, and you can come back to bed with me.” Again she wouldn’t budge. Finally, she offered, “Would you like me to give you a bath?” Slowly, Matilda nodded. 

 

Red flag number three. 

 

She stripped Matilda down, leaving her wet pajama bottoms and underwear with the sheets and picked her up. Jennifer carried her back to her room, passing Hortensia in the hall.

 

“Thank you for waking me.” Jennifer said as she passed by. “She’s okay, you can go back to bed.”  

 

She was almost to her room when she heard the sound of Hortensia sprinting behind her. Jennifer spun around and let out a defeated sigh as she heard the bathroom door slam followed  by the sound of the older girl vomiting. And here she had been worried Matilda was sick.

“Go wait for me in my room.” She said, setting Matilda down on her feet and making her way towards Matilda’s bathroom. She knocked gently on the bathroom door before opening it to find Hortensia on her knees in front of the toilet. 

 

“I don’t feel so good.” Hortensia mumbled letting her face rest against the toilet seat. Jennifer pinched the bridge of her nose. 

 

“Is it your stomach?” Hortensia nodded before retching again. 

 

“And my head.” 

 

Jennifer wanted to curse. Instead, she went down stairs and fetched something to help settle her stomach and a glass of water before walking her back to bed. She didn’t like how unsteady she seemed on her feet. 

 

“Ten’s, what happened to your sheets?” 

 

“In the wash.” she mumbled. 

 

“Did you get sick earlier?”

 

“Uh, sure.” she sat on the bare mattress and put her head in her hands. “I’m dizzy.” 

 

“Both of you in one night? What on earth is going on?” Jennifer said. “Hortensia, this is the third time!”

 

“Sorry.” she mumbled. 

 

“You don’t have to apologize, it’s just, I am going to have to talk to your mom about this. Once was a fluke. Three times is a pattern. ”

 

“No! Please! Don’t do that!” Hortensia begged. Jennifer could see the color drain from her face. She wasn’t sure if she was about to be sick again or just scared of her mom finding out. She handed over her old bucket just in case before fixing the bed with another change of sheets. “You told Matilda it was nothing a load of laundry couldn’t fix. I heard you!” 

 

“Matilda is six, Hortensia, you’re eleven. Matilda just had a bad dream.” 

 

“So did I.” she scoffed. “And I’m sick!” Jennifer sighed. 

 

“Okay, Ten’s, what did you dream about?” Hortensia wordlessly pointed a finger. Jennifer followed it till her eyes fell on the notebook sitting on the nightstand. “I don’t understand.”

 

“Forget it, I’m tired.” she plopped down on the bed and threw the blanket over herself. Jennifer stood and made her way towards the hallway but stopped when Hortensia said, “Please don’t tell her.” 

 

“Fine.” Jennifer said with a defeated sigh. “I’ll let this one slide since you’re obviously not feeling well, but if it happens one more time, I don’t have a choice.” 

 

…

 

“...And then by the time I made it back to my room, Matilda was throwing up too!” Jennifer shook her head. “Come morning, they were both fine. I think they had food poisoning, but I’m taking them both to the doctor after this just to be sure. They don’t know though, I’m not worried about Matilda, she’s the only kid I know who likes going to the doctor, Hortensia though…” 

 

“That sounds like quite the night.”

 

“I don’t know, maybe it was just because Matilda wasn’t feeling well. She just seems so out of it all week, like she’s been in a fog. She’s so sharp and on top of things usually. Now she has no energy, and just wants to lie down all the time.” 

 

“Maybe she is sick, especially if the other one was sick as well.” 

 

“Yeah, but I don’t know. All these nightmares and waking up crying in the night. She’s so scared I’m going to abandon her, all because we met another family while camping. It doesn’t make sense to me.” 

 

“Did something happen with this other family? Did one of them say something to her that would give her this idea?” 

 

“No, It’s…” Jennifer sighed. “He was a single dad with his three kids. We had him over for dinner, and he was nice enough to drive me to the hospital. Now she thinks I’m going to marry him or something.” She shook her head. “He gave me his phone number and she broke his windshield. We all went to the Roald Dahl Children’s Muesum in Ayelsbery yesteryday. I thought it went really well, but it just made her have another nightmare.”

 

“So do you think she was jealous?”

 

“I don’t know if jealous is the right word. She definitley doesn’t like his daughter. They’re the same age, but she’s a little…behind. Her mom died last year and it set her back. She’s very shy.”

 

“Well, it sounds like there’s a lot going on here. Is she not used to you dating?” 

 

“Dating? Woah, no no, we’re not dating!” Jennifer said in a panic. “It’s not that kind of situation.” 

 

“Do you want to?” Dr. Rienfield asked. Jennifer opened her mouth to speak. Closed it. Opened it and cleared her throat.

 

“T-this isn’t about me. It’s about Matilda.” 

 

“This is your time to talk as well, Jennifer. Not everything has to revolve around the kids. You’re an adult, it’s okay to want that kind of relationship.” 

 

“N-no, I-I don’t. I don’t!” Jennifer said quickly before looking away. Dr. Rienfield stared at her a moment in silence. 

 

“Are you trying to convince me? Or yourself?” Jennifer bit her lip.

 

“It doesn’t matter, it’s not going to happen.” 

 

“Why are you so sure?” 

 

“I don’t want to talk about this.” Jennifer said before she could stop herself. “Sorry, I-” she started to say, wringing her hands together in a tight grip. 

 

“You don’t have to apologize, but I think it’s something we should talk about eventually.”

 

 “Not now.” she mumbled, eyes down at her lap. 

 

“Okay, well before I ask Matilda to come in, I do have one question. Is the girl staying with you the friend you didn’t want her assosiating with?” 

 

“Yes, it is.” 

 

“What made you change your mind? A few weeks ago you wouldn’t even let them talk to each other and now she’s living with you?” 

 

“Yes, it’s…complicated. She called us from my friends house. Her mom got arrested and she’s refusing to stay with her neighbor. We’re still waiting on the arraignment. I don’t know why it’s taking so long, but I’m not familiar with this sort of thing. Matilda really wanted her to stay over.” 

 

“Is her dad not in the picture?” 

 

“No, he ran out a long time ago I guess. I don’t really know.” 

 

“And how’s it going?” 

 

“Not as bad as I thought it would be. The hardest part is getting her to stop swearing, but I guess that’s the teacher in me. And of course there’s…”Jennifer furrowed her eyebrows. “How common is bed wetting in older children?” 

 

“I would definitley check with the doctor about that if you’re taking her in, especially since it’s happened so many times in a short period. It’s probably stress, but the doctor will  want to check other things.” 

 

“Oh, one other question.” Jennifer said. “Do you think Matilda might be autistic?” 

 

“I think it would be best if you asked her doctor privately.” Dr. Renfield said, emphasizing the privatley. “She feels different enough as it is. I think labeling her as such would do more harm than good for her self esteem.” 

 

“I see, thank you.” Jennifer said as she stood from the couch. 

 

“Next week, I’d like to see you open up more about yourself.” Jennifer grimaced. “ I know your worried about you daughter, but these appointments are for both of you.” 

 

“Th-there’s really nothing to talk about.” 

 

“Then why are you trying so hard to avoid the subject?” 

 

“I was abused. My abuser is dead.” Jennifer said with a shrug. “Problem solved.” 

 

“If only it were that easy.” 

 

Jennifer gave her a pained, forced smile before walking out in the waiting room and taking a seat. 

 

“Matilda? Are you ready?”

 

…

 

“Are you mad at me?” Matilda asked for the hundreth time as they walked back to the car. Jennifer sighed.

 

“Of course I’m not mad at you. Why would I be mad at you?” 

 

“Because I got you in trouble.” Matilda mumbled. Jennifer gave her a sad smile before wrapping an arm around her.

 

“You didn’t get me in trouble. I got me in trouble.” Jennifer said. She had certainly gotten scolded over her improvised punishment. “You did exactly what you were supposed to do, alright? That’s what these appointments are for. To talk about these sorts of things that are bothering you. I’m glad you were honest with her.” Matilda didn’t look convinced. “I don’t want you to be like Hazel, or anyone else. I love you, Matilda. I want you to be you and I want you to be comfortable being you.” 

 

“Why am I different?” Matilda asked in a quiet voice before opening the back seat. 

 

“I won’t lie to you, Matilda; you are different, but being different doesn’t mean bad. You have a gift, even if it doesn’t always feel like that sometimes.” 

 

“I guess.” Matilda said slumping into the back seat. “Being smart is borning.” 

 

“How so? If you wern’t so smart, you wouldn’t have all those books to read. You’d be stuck in this world all the time. Now that sounds boring.” Jennifer said. She could see the corners of Matilda’s mouth twitch into a smile before falling again.

 

“Because once you know how everything works, there’s no magic left in the world.” 

 

“Fine, smarty pants.” Hortensia said. “How do you move things with your mind?” 

 

Jennifer laughed as the two came up with suggestions of how Matilda could do what she did, each one sillier than the next. 

 

“The real Matilda was abducted by aliens as a baby and was swapped with you. You’re here to enslave the human race.” Hortensia said. 

 

“Can I start with my brother?” Matilda asked. 

 

“Is he super smart too?” 

 

Matilda scoffed. Hortensia was about to say something, but her face fell when she noticed where she was. 

 

“You okay? You got really quiet all of a sudden?” Matilda asked.

 

“No, please no!” Hortensia begged. “I’m sorry about the bed, please don’t do this!” Matilda looked out the window.

 

“Oh, we’re at your house.” 

 

“Do what?” Jennifer asked puzzled as she pulled her car in the driveway.. Surely she couldn’t know she was taking her to the doctor just because they were at her house. 

“You’re making me go to Cynthia’s!” Hortensia said. “No, please, I’ll do anything!” 

 

“I… wasn’t.” Jennifer said. “I need you to find your insurance card. Do you know what that is?” 

 

“Uh, no.” 

 

“It’s a card that has your medical insurance information. Does your mom have a drawer she keeps important stuff in?’

 

“Oh, yeah, I think so. I’ll go check.” They watched Hortensia dart out and retrieve a a key underneath the flower pot and let herself in.

 

“I’ll bet you pizza for dinner she comes back with her birth certiificate.” Matilda said. 

 

“And if she comes back with her medical I.D?” Jennifer asked. 

 

“I’ll cook?” 

 

“You like cooking. No, oh, you know what sounds good for dinner? Brussel sprouts.” Jennifer teased. She laughed as Matilda made a face. “And you have to eat everything I put on your plate.”

 

“I’ll lick one of them.”

 

“Five.”

 

“Three.”

 

“Deal. Oh, here she comes! And she’s carrying…Ack! No! My waistline…”

 

“Woohoo!” 

 

“Wait, she’s got more than one thing…” Jennifer rolled down her window as Hortensia showed her what she brought. 

 

“I don’t know which it is, so I grabbed everything with my name on it.” 

 

“This is a library card.” Jennifer said with a shake of her head.

 

“Oh, it looked like a hospital.” 

 

“...Movie Palace, Dominoe’s discount card…”

 

“We’re going to need that.” Matilda snickered.

“Not so fast, this is it.” Jennifer said holding up a small white card and waving it at Matilda. 

 

“Uh-huh, and what’s that paper in your other hand?”  

 

“Umm, nothing,” Jennifer said, handing the other things back to Hortensia. “You can put these back.” Jennifer said with a sigh. “Except for that one.” she held on to the Dominoe’s card as Matilda laughed triumphantly. “It’s a draw.” she said, turning to look in the back seat. “Pizza AND brussel sprouts for dinner.” 

 

“Eww.” Hortensia said.

 

“Just for her.” Jennifer said.

 

“What? No fair!”

 

“A deal’s a deal.” Jennifer said with a laugh before frowning. Oh no. She’s coming. The neighbor. She thought of making a break for it, but she was already blocking her path. 

 

“Run her over.” Hortensia said once she had seen her coming.

 

“I’m not running her over.” Jennifer said before rolling down her window.

 

“Sick of her already?” Cynthia asked. Jennifer gave a weak polite smile.

 

“No, just came by to get her insurance card.” Cynthia frowned.

 

“What do you need that for?”

 

“In case something happens and she needs the doctor.” Jennifer explained. She wasn’t about to admit she already needed to take her. Cynthia made a dismissive gesture.

 

“What would she need the doctor for?” 

 

“Kids get sick and hurt.” 

 

“The only time I’ve ever seen her sick is from being around your kid. ” Jennifer gave another forced smile. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about this woman rubbed her the wrong way. She wanted to pull out and leave, but doing so would be rude. Maybe it was the way the woman towered over her that reminded her of growing up with aunt Trunchbull. 

 

“I was throwing up last night.” Hortensia piped up from the back seat. “We all were.” Jennifer watched Cynthia’s face begin to lose color before she jumped away from the car as if it had burned her. Jennifer gave a polite nod before rolling the window up and pulled out of the driveway while Hortensia snickered. 

 

“She’s a germaphobe.” Hortensia explained. 

 

“How can you be a germaphobe with a toddler?” Jennifer asked as she cruised out of the neighborhood. 

 

“She doesn’t let him be around other kids, not like any other kid would want to be around that little arse.” Jennifer rolled her eyes.

 

“Language.” she warned. Not like it would do any good. What was she going to do? Make Hortensia stand in the corner? It’s what Dr. Reinfield wanted her to do with Matilda from now on. She had been scolded about sending mixed messages. She sighed as she drove to the hospital. She hadn’t meant to confuse her, but she had taken it so personally. 

 

Time was her weapon, Dr. Rienfield explained, not being someone else, even if it was only pretend. No matter how smart Matilda was, she was still only 6 and ten minutes could feel like an hour to her. 

 

“Where are we going?” Matilda asked. 

 

“I made you a doctor appointment this morning.” Jennifer said.

 

“Sucks to be you.” Hortensia said. 

 

“I like going to the doctor.” Matilda said with a shrug. Jennifer had to stifle a laugh at the look on Hortensia’s face. 

 

“You’ll probably get a shot, you know.” Hortensia said. 

 

“So?” Matilda asked. “Trust me, once you get a tube of saline up your butt, shots are easy.”

 

“What are you?” Hortensia scoffed. “And why’d they stick a tube up your arse?” 

 

“Cause I was wetting the bed…just like you.” Matilda stage whispered. 

 

She saw Hortensia’s face lose color. 

 

“You’re not taking me to get a tube up my arse, are you Miss Honey?” Hortensia asked in a panic. Matilda chuckled. 

 

“No one is getting tubes up their butts.” Jennifer said. “What she had done was called an enima because she was impacted.” 

 

“That’s what she told me too.” Matilda said. 

 

“What’s impacted mean?” 

 

“Couldn’t poop, so it built up in my intestines and was pressing on my bladder.” Matilda explained. “Remember when you had to go get my mom for me cause I couldn’t bend over?” 

 

“Oh yeah.” Hortensia said. “You know you could have just used your powers.” 

 

“I did realize that.” Matilda said before adding. “The next day.” 

 

“I pooped this morning, so no one’s coming near my arse, right?” 

 

“Good for you.” Jennifer said, shaking her head as she pulled into the parking lot. 

 

“Now you just have to worry about the horse traquilizer.” Matilda snickered. 

 

“What?!” 

 

“She is not getting a horse tranquilizer.” Jennifer said, rolling her eyes. “Stop trying to scare her.” Hortensia breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s getting a Horsetensia tranquilizer.” 

 

“Hey!” 

 

“Sorry, it was right there.” Jennifer laughed.

 

“I thought you were supposed to be nice.” Hortensia scowled. 

 

“I’m off the clock.” Jennifer said opening the back door so the girls could climb out. “That’s what you get for saying my butt looked like a baboon.” 

 

“It did.” Both Hortensia and Matilda said in unison before laughing. 

 

Both the good and bad thing about living in a tiny village was there was only a small number of doctors, and only three pediatricians. She had a thirty three percent chance Hortensia was already in their system and as Jennifer whispered a hurried explanation of their situation to the front desk, it turned out luck was on her side today. The girls saw the same doctor afterall. 

 

“If you wouldn’t mind only calling Matilda’s name…” Jennifer whispered. “The other one doesn’t know she’s being seen as well.” 

 

“How old is she?” 

 

“Eleven.”

 

“She will have to have a gaurdian present during the examination since she’s under 13. Do you want them to be seen together or seperatly?”

 

“Together’s fine. It’s mostly for the same thing.” She didn’t trust Hortensia to be left alone. She maybe older, but something told Jennifer she didn’t do well at the doctor’s. If she left her alone, she might make a break for it.

 

She took a seat with the girls. Matilda seemed relaxed and at ease. Hortensia was jostling her leg up and down. She must suspect something was up. 

 

The door to the back opened, making the girl jump into the air. Jennifer was reminded of a cat, hackles up and hissing as the the man looked at his clipboard and read, “Matilda?” 

Jennifer and Matilda stood.

 

“You too, Ten’s.” Jennifer said. “They don’t let kids wait by themselves; you’ll have to come in with us.” Hortensia narrowed her eyes suspiciously and followed them back. 

 

…

 

Jennifer climbed into the front seat and let out an exasperated sigh. Four nurses, Hortensia? Really? It took four nurses to hold her down over a simple series of boosters. 

 

Hortensia climbed in behind her, arms crossed and glowering. Matilda was still snickering. 

 

“It was just a shot.” Matilda said before giggling. 

 

“It was three! You could have told them ‘no’.” Hortensia grumbled.

 

“No, I couldn’t, you couldn’t go back to school without it.” Jennifer explained for what felt like the millionth time. “I don’t know how you were even allowed to get this far in the first place. You were years behind in your vaccinations.” 

 

“Cause I bit them everytime they tried.” Hortensia mumbled before turning to Matilda. “Spill.” 

 

Jennifer was sure Ten’s was going to start biting if it hadn’t been for Matilda’s quick thinking. She was curious if Matilda would hold up her end of the bargain though. She wasn’t sure if she had just blurted it out or if she had thought it through. Matilda groaned. Well that answered that question.

 

Matilda mumbled something Jennifer couldn’t quite hear only for Hortensia to scoff.

 

“That’s it?! THAT’S the big secret? You piss yourself all the time!”

 

“I do not!” Matilda said.

“In my backyard, in class, in the chokee, in bed…” Hortensia began to list off multiple places. “Not to mention you shat all over our front porch!” 

 

“I was sick.” Matilda mummbled. 

 

“And on me! And on our carpet. Seriously, why arn’t you in diapers?” 

 

“Hey!” Matilda scowled. “I don’t do it anymore.” 

 

“You wet the bed just last night!”

 

“So did you.” Matilda said. Hortensia went quiet for a moment. 

 

“Are you really going to make me go to that Dr. too?” Hortensia mumbled. 

 

“You won’t get a shot.” Jennifer offered. “Not today, but it might help.” 

 

Their pediatrician had diagnosed them with mild food poisoning, and for Hortensia, stress. He suggested Jennifer make her an appointment with Dr. Rienfield, but they had just come back from there. She had a feeling Eve wouldn’t send Hortensia to therapy. She hadn’t even been on top of Hortensia’s vaccinations. She couldn’t imagine her being anti-vax given her history in the medical field. Jennifer imagained she didn’t think the effort was worth it. It had taken their whole office team to hold her down. 

 

Whatever the matter was, Hortensia seemed terrified of her mom finding out. 

 

“I’ll make you a deal.” Jennifer said turning around to face her. “You go to therapy and make an effort, and whatever happens at my house will stay at my house. Does that sound reasonable?” 

 

“You won’t tell my mom about…?” Hortensia asked, letting her words fall in the air. 

 

“Not unless she specifically asks me if you are, which I don’t see why she would…unless this is a problem at home?” Hortensia shook her head.

 

“I mean, when I was little, I guess.” she said. 

 

“Then I won’t bring it up unless she does.” Jennifer said. “But you can’t just sit there and refuse to answer her questions, even if the topic is uncomfortable.” 

 

…Even though that was exactly what she had done this morning… 

 

“Okay…” Hortensia said. “All I have to do is talk? No needles?”

 

“No needles.” Jennifer assured her. “You’re going to bring up three things. You’re going to tell her about the bedwetting, your rage attacks…and those drawings.” Hortensia averted her gaze. 

 

“Why?” she mumbled. 

 

“You’re obsessed with that face.” Jennifer said. “If she says it’s nothing to be concerned about, and you like to draw it, then fine, draw away, but I want her to be aware of it. Deal?” 

 

Hortensia considered it for a moment before nodding. 

 

“Are you going to make me wear…those?” Hortensia asked quietly. Matilda giggled.

 

“Wear what?” Jennifer asked.

 

“You know…”

 

“She wants to know if you’re going to make her wear diapers.” Matilda laughed. 

 

“Oh.” Jennifer chuckled. “No, I’m not going to make you wear diapers, just clean up after yourself if it happens. I won’t make a big deal of it.” Matilda scowled.

 

“Hey, why’d you make me?” Matilda asked.

 

“Because 1,” she held up a finger, “we didn’t have laundry in the apartment, I had to go to the communal laundry room. Two,” she held up another finger. “We were sharing a bed.” Matilda frowned. “Let’s go. I believe I lost a bet and owe you a pizza.”