Matilda had been transfixed watching her new "pets" in their cage. Hortensia had been more excited about planting them, than watching them crawl about.
"This one's Charlotte." Matilda said, pointing to the less energetic one towards the bottom. It seemed content, cozying up on its new bed of cotton. "You know, like from Charlotte's Web."
"You're naming them?" Hortensia said with a shudder from her place on the bed, comic book held in hand in the air above her head.
"Hmm, I don't know any other famous spiders. What should we call this one?"
"Peter Porker."
"Peter…Porker?" Matilda asked. "Like Parker from Spider-Man?" She knew a lot about literature, but comic books were in short supply in their little town's library, although she had read what little they had.
"Kind of, it's a spin off. See?" Hortensia held up what she was reading. "Marvel Tales Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham." she read off.
Matilda grinned. "Is that a pig?"
"Yeah, see, it's about a spider that gets bit by a radio active pig. Except, it will be the other way, we'll be sending a spider to bite the pig."
"Perter Porker it is." Matilda said with a chuckle. "Hear that, you've got an important job to do." She said to the spider. "With great power comes great responsibility."
They went back and forth trying to figure out what to do with them. Should they go into her office or in her restroom? Hortensia wanted to use one for when the Trunchbull taught her class lessons, but they didn't think they would live that long. They settled on tomorrow, when Matilda would go back to school. She'd put one on the inside handle of the water jug, during morning assembly, and use her powers to make it chase her around the stage in front of the school. No one would think anything supernatural about a spider floating around in the air, since it could swing on a web.
"I don't care if I'm suspended, I'm sneaking in to watch." Hortensia said eagerly. "I'll sit in the back." She was so excited, she was practically squirming. "Hold that thought, I'll be right back." She got up from the bed, and bounded down the hall, only to return a few seconds later. "Ugh, moms been in there all weekend!"
"Been where?" Matilda asked while setting her pets back in her backpack.
"The bathroom!" Hortensia grumbled. "She even made me pee in the backyard this afternoon. Damn, country bumpkin."
Matilda gave her a sympathetic smile, "It was the sink for me when you were hogging it the other day. Your weird neighbor kept watching me in the backyard."
Hortensia scowled at the mention of him. "He left with his boat yesterday, thankfully."
"Are you really going to sneak in the school? If the Trunchbull catches you, she'll put you in the Chokey, then you'll wish you had a backyard to pee in." Matilda said.
"It doesn't stop me." Hortensia said with a mischievous grin. "I just pee on the floor." Matilda's jaw nearly dropped.
"You just go in your pants?" Matilda asked. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of doing it on purpose. On accident was bad enough.
"On the days she leaves you in there all day, it's going to happen eventually. She does it on purpose, so you'll squirm around and cut yourself up more. It's miserable. I found out the hard way my first few times in there, I came out so scratched up and bloody, and I was even miserable for days after until they all healed. It's not so bad if you don't fight it, though. And it's not like I go in my pants, why do you think I wear skirts to school? All I have to do is pull my underwear to the side."
That actually made sense, Matilda thought. Hortensia was much larger than she was, so if she tried to move around in there, she'd get scratched to bits.
"Doesn't she get mad though?" Matilda asked. "And wouldn't it get all over your legs and shoes?"
"Meh, it dries by the time she lets you out anyway. It's better than the alternative, plus you get the bonus of making her office smell like piss." Matilda chuckled at the thought. She had never thought of using that as a weapon.
"Ugh, could you imagine if one of us had been in there when we were sick?" Matilda asked. Just the thought of it made her stomach turn.
"She wouldn't be able to step foot in her office for like a week! Although, to be fair, I think I'll just stick to throwing stink bombs underneath her desk. I pity the kid who'd have to get stuck in there after." She got up again and went to her closet. "See, I wear the hard shoes, so I just wipe them and my legs off with a wet paper towel, but I guess in your case you could just wear a diaper."
"Eww, no, I'm not wearing a diaper to school." Matilda said. "I hate having accidents, and doing it on purpose." she scrunched up her face. "It rubs against your skin and makes it all raw. Show me how you do that thing with your skirt."
Hortensia scrunched her face up before sighing. "Fine, since it looks like I'm stuck going in the backyard anyway, come on." She kicked off her shorts and picked up a school skirt off the floor.
Matilda was about to protest. She had only meant for her to go through the motions, but was Hortensia actually going to SHOW HER show her? Matilda silently followed her outback. She'd probably just do the motions and tell her to go back inside, so she could squat.
"I'm only going to do this once, got it?" Hortensia said, coming to a stop in the grass. Matilda nodded and watched. "Let's say this space is The Chokey," she took her foot and dragged it along marking the perimeter. You've got maybe a foot to spread your legs apart, more for you since you're small." She stood in position. "Then you just reach up your skirt or dress, pull the fabric aside and just…"
Matilda's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Hortensia was actually… she was actually… peeing. How brazen! This girl had serious nerves of steel! Matilda wanted to look away out of politeness, but she was too transfixed and curious. It really wasn't getting on her skirt at all as far as she could tell. She watched in stun silence as it trickled between her feet and into the grass.
"Obviously, your shoes will get a bit wet with it bouncing off the concrete instead of the grass, but yeah." Hortensia explained, once she had finished.
"R-right." Matilda muttered.
"Now you do it." Hortensia said stepping back on the concrete.
"What!? Uh, no i'm fine!" Matilda said quickly. "I-I don't have too." she lied. She had been just as disappointed as Hortensia was to learn Eve was still in the bathroom.
"You're the one who wanted a demonstration, and now you have to try it." Hortensia insisted. She was smirking down at Matilda, whose face was turning a shade darker with every passing second.
"I didn't mean to actually do it in front of me!" Matilda argued back.
"But you certainly weren't opposed to watching." Matilda felt a hand push her towards the grass. "Go on, do it already, you were squirming more than I was upstairs." Matilda scowled. Was she really that obvious?
"Practice makes perfect, and what better place to practice than in the grass." Hortensia said.
"Umm, being alone?" Matilda said, walking towards the lawn. She stood in the grass, shifting from foot to foot. Her heart was hammering. She wanted to laugh at how ridiculous this was. Why was she even contemplating doing this? In front of someone no less! But the thought also gave her a little thrill, just like when she poured peroxide in her fathers' hair tonic. It felt a bit naughty She locked eyes with Hortensia who was trying, quite poorly, to hide the large smirk on her face. Matilda gulped, and spread her feet apart.
"Not that wide, there isn't that much room." Hortensia said. "Yeah, like that." She said, once Matilda had brought her legs closer together. Matilda frowned, she was sure Hortensia's legs were more spread out than this. She looked down at the half foot she had to work with. The urge was growing too strong to keep procrastinating. She reached up underneath her dress and pulled her underwear to the side with a feeling of resignment. She knew she wasn't getting out of this. Matilda tried in vain to block out the fact that eyes were on her and gave in.
No! No! Why was it running down her leg? She could hear Hortensia beginning to snicker.
"Move your hips forward." She tried, but still no luck. Hortensia's laughter began to grow, until they both heard the patio door slide open.
"What are you girls up to?" a very tired looking Eve asked. Matilda jumped and released her underwear, while her legs and arms sprang back into position. Only, she couldn't stop peeing, no matter how tightly she tried to clamp down. Warm urine flooded her underwear and began to streak down both sides of her legs now. She tried to hide the look of panic on her face and appear nonchalant, hoping Eve wouldn't know what was happening.
"Nothing, Ma." Hortensia said, but she was nearly rolling on the concrete from laughing. Matilda couldn't hide the look of guilt that plagued her features. She could feel her face begin to burn and watched in horror as Eve's eyes went from her face, before slowly making their way down her legs.
"For heaven's sake, Matilda! Do I need to get more diapers for you? I'm getting sick of this, you had the whole backyard, and you still went in your pants! Every time I turn my back you've either pissed or shit yourself. I thought you were five!" Hortensia had stopped laughing now. She stared at her mom, a crease now present in her forehead.
"Jeez, Ma, layoff." Hortensia said, shooting a worried glance towards Matilda, who now instead of embarrassed, looked furious.
"Do you pull this kind of shit at school? Does Jenny have to stop class and wipe your bottom after every lesson!"
"Ma!" Hortensia yelled, now looking panicked. Cracks were beginning to form on the sliding glass door. Matilda's eyes were burning, not with tears, but with power.
"Honestly, you've been nothing but trouble since you got here. I don't know how Jenny puts up with you." She turned to go back in the house, but froze when she noticed the door. "What the hell happened to my door?
"Ma! Get down!" Hortensia charged and knocked Eve down to the ground with Hortensia on top of her. "What the hell did you do that for, get off of m-"just then, the glass door exploded with a loud bang as shards of glass torpedoed inside and out. Matilda winced as shards of glass began to serrate her arms, legs and face. She felt one come dangerously close to her eye before she came to her senses and raised her arms to protect herself.
"I think someone's shooting at us! Get inside, both of you!" Matilda silently followed Eve and Hortensia, her accident now forgotten, and as tried to tiptoe around the glass on her bare feet. "Oh, I bet it's that creep from next door!" Matilda saw Hortensia turn around and put a finger to her lips.
"Yeah," Hortensia said. "That's why I told Matilda to pee around her underwear in case he was watching, but you came out and surprised her, so she let go. She didn't do it on purpose! Why'd you go and yell at her like that! Just because you're sick, doesn't mean you can take it out on us and-" Hortensia winced as she learned against the wall. "Oww, my back."
"Lift your shirt, let me see." Eve said, ignoring her speech. Matilda felt relieved Hortensia had stuck up for her, even if she had fudged the truth to get herself out of trouble too. Then there was the issue with the door. Matilda couldn't believe she had lost control of her powers like that! Eve could have died if Hortensia hadn't reacted in time. She was grateful Hortensia wasn't accusing her of trying to kill her mom. Despite the sharp incessant stinging pain all over her, she remained still and quiet, trying not to draw attention to herself despite dripping more blood than urine on the carpet. This was her punishment for losing control of her powers.
"You've got a nice size shard in your back, I'm calling the cops this time, this is the last straw! It's probably those kids with a BB gun again. What about you, Matilda, did any glass get yo-" Her words fell on her lips as she looked at Matilda for the first time.
"Sorry for making a mess." Matilda said through clenched teeth. She was trying as hard as she could not to cry, but the pain of the lacerations was making it too difficult. Once the first tear slid down her face and into an opened wound, any self-control she had was lost.
"Get in the car, girls. We're going to the emergency room."
..
Miss Honey sat in bed, squirming from restlessness. She felt much better now that they had given her various I.v. fluids, some kind of medicine, she couldn't remember which, and was eager to leave. She hated feeling confined against her will, and without a book to read or papers to grade she felt rather bored now. She inwardly groaned when there was a knock at the door. She was a private person, and for private people, hospitals were a special kind of hell.
Miss Honey did her best to give a welcoming smile, although she assumed it looked rather forced by now, as the day nurse popped in.
"Hello, Jennifer," she said. Miss Honey nodded her head in acknowledgement. "I was curious about something and wanted to run it by you, that girl who was in here before. Who is she to you?" Miss Honey frowned. Why did they want to know now? Was Matilda here trying to see her? Her heart leapt with excitement, despite Miss Honey telling her to stay at Hortensia's and not to worry about her.
"My daughter." Miss Honey answered. Not quite true, but she felt more like hers every day. "Why?"
"Can you verify her name for me real quick ma'am?"
"Matilda Wormwood." Miss Honey answered. They hadn't asked this of her last time Matilda had visited.
"I wasn't sure you were aware or not, but she's just been admitted downstairs in the emergency room."
