"Matilda, please come out." Jennifer Honey said, trying to coax the small child out from under the blankets. The lump ever so slowly began to move forward until a small face emerged sporting a look of pure guilt. "It's not your fault."
"I'm so-" she tried to say, but was cut off by a gentle finger pressing against her lips.
"You don't have to apologize every time this happens. It's okay, I promise. Why don't you hop in the bath and let me take care of this? Leave your wet things in the hallway." Matilda nodded her head and unpeeled herself from the covers before she made her way to the bathroom, head hung in defeat. At least the house didn't shake this time, Jennifer thought to herself as she stripped the bed.
Maybe she should schedule her a doctor's appointment. In the week that Matilda had come to live with her, this was the third time she had wet the bed. With Matilda swearing up and down this never usually happens, Jennifer was worried. Perhaps Algebra two was a little too advanced for the six year old. Or maybe it was their other training that was too much for her little body to handle. What would she tell the doctor? I think my newly adopted daughter, whose parents I convinced was worth less than a car dealership, is wetting the bed because of the physical strain of having telekinetic powers? Oh yeah, that'll go over real well. They'd think I was nuts. Great job, Jenny, lose custody over her before the paperwork is even finalized.
It wasn't like Matilda could use her powers on demand yet; although they had been having fun trying. The first night started with her attempting to levitate a piece of popcorn. Jennifer would throw it in the air and Matilda would try to manipulate it into her mouth. After a handful of failed attempts, they spent most of the evening just throwing popcorn at each other. It was great. They giggled, lost in an all out free for all, the purpose of the exercise completely forgotten. It wasn't until Jennifer had launched a handful at Matilda's face did they remember why they had started this in the first place. Instead of showering the young child in bits of popped kernels, they froze midair, suspended in place by invisible hands.
It was then they discovered emotions to be the driving force behind it. The lights had flickered on and off because she was afraid. The popcorn kernels hung in the air because she was happy, and the worst of all, the night Jennifer had taken Matilda from her home. She had been hurt. The way her parents had given her up without a fight, even if that's what she had wanted, hurt her to the point of being able to manipulate a household full of objects. It was as clear as day to Jennifer now. Matilda had lied. She wasn't acting that night, and if she was, it was only to reassure Jennifer she was ok with it. Maybe the reason for her bedwetting now was because she was hiding that hurt deep within herself. The thought tore Jennifer up inside; to the point she was tempted to see if she could move objects as well.
She wondered what she could do to help her. What could someone like plain and simple Jennifer Honey have to offer someone extraordinary like Matilda? An education? Jennifer spent more time learning from Matilda than Matilda learned from Jennifer. Money? Even with the money from her parents they would still be scraping to get by. Love? Yes, that was the one thing she could give her. Matilda had already stolen her heart long ago on that very first day. She'd shower her in the love and affection she had so obviously been lacking in. It was all she had to give her.
"Miss Honey! I forgot a towel!" Matilda's voice rang from the bathroom, snapping her from her thoughts. She went to the cupboard to look for the biggest, and fluffiest one she could find, but all that was there were thin, old ratty things she had picked up from a garage sale more than ten years ago. Hmm, that was something they could do today. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and the swap meet would be in full swing.
"Here you go." Jennifer said handing over the least torn up towel she had to the dripping wet and shivering child. "You know, it's the weekend. You don't have to call me Miss Honey at home."
Matilda looked at her puzzled for a moment seemingly lost in thought. "What should I call you then?"
Deep down she wanted to hear the word, mom, but stopped when it was on the tip of her tongue. Too much too soon. "Jennifer's fine."
"I can't call you by your first name." Matilda said. "You're my teacher!"
"Not at home I'm not, silly. Hmm, how about, Jenny?" She said, taking the towel from her and throwing it over her head.
Matilda giggled as her head popped out. "I guess that's okay, but only here. It's impolite to call a lady by her first name."
"Whatever you're comfortable with, but you still have to call me Miss Honey at school. Now what would you say to going over to the swap meet after breakfast? It's a nice day out after all." Jennifer suggested rubbing the towel over the girl's head.
"That sounds fun!"
After a quick bite to eat of toast and tea, Jennifer pulled a mason jar of change out of the cupboard and examined it. She had maybe about ten pounds at the most saved up. She frowned slightly as she pulled out the highest denominations and put them her pocket. They'd have to be careful and only buy what they absolutely needed.
"Miss Honey, here." Matilda said reaching out her fist. Jennifer opened her palm as Matilda deposited a wad of bills in her hand. Where in the world had she gotten this? There had to be at least 100 pounds if not more. "I saved my allowance." Matilda said with a shrug.
"No, sweetie, this is yours." Jennifer said trying to give it back, but Matilda just shook her head.
"Hold it for me then." Jennifer sighed, but agreed. She should be supporting her, not the other way around! She couldn't spend a little girl's allowance! She'd sell all her books if she had to!
They walked out the front door and chatted about the book they had been reading together- an old warn out copy of a Charles Dickens novel Jennifer had picked up years ago at a second hand bookshop for fifty pence. Maybe if they still had the energy- and money- she could take Matilda there. She'd probably find it a lovely place to spend an afternoon browsing.
When they got onto the main road ten minutes after 9 am, the little town was in full swing with the nearby farmers market as bustling as ever. After they finished with the swap meet, she figured she should stop by on the way back and pick up a few groceries. She'd have to ask Matilda what she liked to eat.
Once they arrived, they got lost looking at all the little odds and ends people were selling in their stalls. Different kinds of music blared from various large boom boxes. A stall to their left sold every type of flower she could think of: lilies, tulips, roses, and daisy's lined the white plastic table in ten gallon buckets. A tent to their right had dresses and blouses swinging from hooks in the gentle breeze. Food vendors were out setting up their sugary snacks on display sending scents of cinnamon wafting into the air.
She was curious about what kind of things Matilda was interested in. All she knew of was her love of academics. Even her packed suitcase and bags-which she said she had packed days prior- was nothing but necessities. Not a single toy. Did she even have interests outside of reading? Jennifer kept a close eye on her as they walked through the stalls. The little girl browsed around, but nothing appeared to really keep her interest for long- until she came upon a beat up looking chess set. Her eyes shone as she opened it up and examined the pieces.
"Do you know how to play?" Jennifer asked.
"I've read about it, but I've never had any one to play with before." Matilda admitted. "I had hoped there would be one in the classroom, but-" She trailed off looking it over.
"Well, chess is a little advanced for a kindergarten class." Jennifer said with a laugh.
"Would you play it with me?"
"Of course! I'd love to." Matilda smiled wide and pulled a five-pound note out of her pocket. Just how much money did this girl have? If she hadn't known her to be such a sweet and honest girl, Jennifer would have assumed she cleaned her parents out before she left. The elderly man smiled and handed her her change, as he looked her up and down.
"She yours?" He asked as Jennifer proudly nodded.
"Make sure she doesn't eat the pieces." He said. Jennifer frowned and looked to Matilda to gauge her reaction. She had almost expected her to be angry at being talked down to, but she just smiled and shook her head.
"I'm not very fond of the taste of wood, sir." She replied before turning and searching through the other games he had. Jennifer stood at a distance glad to have found something she was interested in other than just books and schoolwork. Board games did seem like something she would be interested in. She wondered if he had any jigsaw puzzles they could do together in the kitchen, but a look to her left revealed Matilda was already one step ahead of her as usual.
"Margaret!" The old man shouted into his trailer. "If I sold all the games here for two pounds each, and subtracted the seven percent the lot gets, what would my profit be?"
"I don't know! I'm not a calculator!" A woman's voice shouted back. The man grumbled under his breath and reached for a pen from his pocket along with a dirty napkin. He sat hunched over scribbling number down.
"We'd make fifty nine pounds and 34 pence if we sold everything!" He shouted back a few minutes later.
"Your math is off." Matilda said without looking up from the instructions on the back of the game. "You need to take your number of board games, multiply it by two, which gives you 72 pounds, and then multiply that by .07. That gives you five pounds and four pence. Now subtract that from your 72 pounds and you end up with a total of 66. 96 pounds." The man blinked in surprise for a moment before a wide grin spread across his face.
"Cute." He said, before yelling inside for a calculator. A few moments later, the woman named Margaret appeared with calculator in hand and passed it off to him, before she returned to the sanctuary of the trailer. Miss Honey watched him curiously for a moment as he punched in numbers from his napkin. He remained still staring at it, before erasing it and starting over. "What did she say her answer was?" He asked after a moment of silence.
"66.96 I believe." Jennifer said, a smile spreading across her lips at his shocked expression. She knew that look. It was the exact same look she had worn the first time she had experienced Matilda's calculations.
"Here you go, six pounds for these." Matilda said, handing him the money as she held up the puzzles she had picked out. He stared at her blankly for a moment, before thanking her and accepting the money.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't eat those pieces either." Jennifer said as they continued on.