Hey! My third chapter! I want to day that I know there isn't anything diferent about this scene, but its a great Wendla builder, which is important to the beating scene. So, her it is, my third chapter:

Parenting

The wind was blowing fiercely as Wendla, Martha, Thea, and Anna walked arm in arm in the afternoon sun.

"Shall we take the short way home?" Anna asked her friends.

"No no-by the bridge." Thea said excitedly.

"After two hours marching with that medicine ball?!" Wendla said, shocked. Her arms still hurting from the weight of it.

"Come on!" Thea said, starting off, but stopping when she noticed no one was following her. She turned around and saw all of the girls smirking at her.

"Someone wants to see: has Melchi Gabor taken a raft out?" Anna said teasingly. Everyone knew Thea had a slight obsession with Melchior.

"Last one there has to hold hands with Hanschen!" She screamed, breaking into a run for the bridge. Everyone followed her this time.

"Martha, careful-your braid's coming loose." Anna said, stopping herself, Martha and Wendla. Thea noticed her friends had stopped following her once again. She went back to ask why but from one look at Martha's loosening braid there was no point; this subject came up quite often.

"Just let it." She said. "Isn't it a nuisance for you-day and night. You may not cut it short, you may not wear it down…"

"Tomorrow, I'm bringing scissors." Wendla muttered, sick of the subject.

"For God's sake, Wendla, no! Papa beats me enough as it is." Martha exclaimed.

"Really?" Wendla asked, shocked. She had never heard of children from this day and age being beaten by their parents. The only time she had ever felt anything from her parents or anyone really, was only a few weeks before, when her mother had told her how a woman receives a child. She only remembered the feeling vaguely now: it was a sense of awareness and knowledge; she loved it and would do anything to get any new feeling, even if it was painful.

"No, no, I-It's nothing." Martha said, looking away from her friends.

"Martha…?" Thea said, putting a hand on Martha's shoulder.

"Martha, we're your friends…" Anna said, joining Thea's side. Everything was silent then, even the wind blowing through the tree branches seemed to stand still to hear Martha's reply.

"Well, when I don't do as he likes…" Martha finally started to say.

"What?" Anna said anxiously.

"Some nights…Papa yanks out his belt." Martha managed to say.

"But where is your mama?" Thea asked, shocked at the news.

"'We have rules in his house. Your father will not be disobeyed.'" Martha said, putting on a rather good mock of her mother. She paused for a moment to look at her friends. They all were silent as the dead, so she continued to say, "The other night, I ran for the door. 'Out the door" All right, I like that. That's where you'll spend the night-out on the street.'"

"No!" Thea said in disbelief.

"My God." Anna said under her breath. No one knew what to say after that, but Wendla had to know more. She needed to have an inkling of how it must feel.

"He beats you with a belt?" She asked, attempting to be nonchalant.

"Anything." Martha replied, not looking up at Wendla.

"With a buckle?" Wendla asked, hungry for more.

"Right here…" Martha said, rolling up her sleeve to how her friends. They all gasped at the red welts on her arm. You could still clearly see the buckle indents in her skin.

"Oh my God!" Anna shouted.

"Martha, the welts-they're terrible." Wendla said, just trying to imagine it. She couldn't.

"We must tell someone." Anna said, starting away from the group, but Martha put her other hand on Anna's shoulder.

"Anna, no!" Martha said as she tried to pull her friend back.

"But we must."Anna said, fighting against Martha's arm.

"No, no, please. They'd throw me out for good." Martha said, still holding on the Anna's shoulder.

"Like what happened to Ilse, you mean." Thea said, remembering the missing member of their group.

"Remember!" Wendla said, taking Martha's side.

"But still…" Anna said, not fighting anymore.

"Anna, no. Just look what's become of Ilse now! Living who knows where-with who knows who?!"

"I just wish I could somehow go through it for you…" Wendla said, wanting to know the feeling of the welts on her arms, of the pain in her heart. It was quiet as Wendla tried to imagine a scenario with an outcome that would lead to her being beaten.

"My Uncle Klaus says, 'If you don't discipline a child, you don't love it.'" Thea said, braking Wendla's train of thought.

"That must be." Martha said to herself.

Another silent moment past before Anna turned to them and said, "When I have children, I'll let them be free. And they'll grow strong and tall." Anna puffed out her chest, proud of her conclusion of how to raise a child.

"Free? But how will we know what to do if our parents don't tell us?" Thea asked. Anna answered the question but Wendla didn't hear it. She only stared at Martha, who was looking at her feet, lost in thought as well. Wendla would do anything to know how Martha felt. Anything…

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Hey again! Just wanted to say that if you didn't like this chapter, you can flare me if you want to. I'm just not very comfortable with the subject matter, which is another reason why I told it from Wendla's POV. Please don't hate me. Reviews are Ernst to my Hanschen!