A/N – Very short filler chapter. Next chapter, we'll see House and the team re-enter the picture.
Chapter 4
Punishment
Seven and a half hours of classes, three more trips to the principal's office, and one hour of detention later Ginger left the school. She walked the ten blocks to Shop very slowly, knowing that she was going to be in trouble.
Sure enough, as soon as she walked through the doors, Ginger could hear her mom shouting from the back room.
"We need to have a serious talk young lady!"
Ginger rolled her eyes, and muttered a curse under her breath. A minute later, her mom appeared.
Wiping her hands dry on a rag, she told Ginger to have a seat.
"Where? In case you haven't noticed, there's no chairs," was the girl's answer.
"Don't be smart with me. On the floor, now." They both sat. After taking a deep breath, her mom continued to speak.
"Your first day of school, and you get four trips to the principal's office and detention for two weeks! What was the first thing I told you? Hm? I told you to behave for at least the first week. You promised me that, remember?"
Ginger refused to meet her mother's gaze as she muttered, "I don't know…I guess."
"You broke your promise to me, Ginger. You're going to spend the next two weeks scraping the old wallpaper off the walls and painting them white. And if you can't stay out of trouble at school, then we can add to your list of duties."
Ariel stood up, and motioned for her daughter to do the same.
"Yes ma'am," was Ginger's reply as she saluted her mother.
She was about to leave when her mother added, "Starting today. Supplies are still in the kitchen."