I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! I've been in writer's block for a while, but I've finally managed to write two more chapters, so I hope you enjoy!
She had no idea of what to do. What was the best thing to do; what would cause more suffering than the other.
Agatha Trunchbull paced through her narrow "cottage", or shack as she preferred to refer to it as. The woman had spent a countless amount of days watching over her enemies, learning each and every detail about them and being sure to take note of everything. Every routine, every friend of theirs; of course, only the ones that came over to their home. No, not their home: her home that she so rightfully deserved. If only she had retained her usual persona that day, rather than cowering down like a puppy. No one ever made the Trunchbull cower, appear pathetic. Just the word itself tasted foul to her. And to think that the pathetic schoolteacher and a child outsmarted her and ruined her reputation!
The two of them would obviously have to pay, but in what way? Jenny was easy to deal with; just taking control of the meek woman's life would break her all over again. But the little maggot… well, she deserved a special treatment. It was her who had stolen her dignity at every given opportunity, her who had taken Jenny out of her grasp. The girl needed to suffer more than anyone else, but what would break her? She was so strong-willed, so spirited from those silly books of hers that she would most certainly be the more difficult one of the two.
With a sigh, Agatha sprawled out all of her research that she had obtained from the library. She hated the library, though she did have to admit that it was a valuable source of information, revenge included.
The woman flipped through the pages, casting ideas out of the question aside. Physical pain? No, it wouldn't bother a child as stubborn as her. It would hurt her, but not cause enough suffering to destroy her. Control? No, only a woman as timid as Jenny would be deeply affected by it. Emotional pain? Perhaps, though she would have to play with a certain area of the girl's heart.
"How could I not think of that before?" The woman's expression brightened significantly, with a grimace morphed into a smirk as a substantial idea emerged in her thoughts: Jenny.
Months flew by in a flash with Matilda and Miss Honey failing to experience anything out of the ordinary. School went by with only the slightest of difficulty for Matilda, and no further questions regarding the Trunchbull were asked to Miss Honey. They had finally received the privilege of escaping from the past, as even the teacher's nightmares had seized to occur.
"Good morning class. I hope that you've all had a lovely weekend, and that you'll have just as lovely of a week. Firstly, we'll begin with some handwriting." Monday morning groans came from the class, though the shuffling of notebooks and pencils followed soon after. Miss Honey smiled, and then proceeded to neatly print a few words on the board for her students to copy down: the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. It was great practice for learning how to print the alphabet, and would also at the same time reveal which children did not practice over the weekend.
Most students seemed to be doing fine, though others struggled with copying the more difficult of the letters down. Without a word, Miss Honey went over to assist those who needed assistance and to thank others for practicing. Smiles began to fill the room as the students each received compliments on their particular handwriting. Positivity enveloped each and every person, and soon the classroom began to become the home of another thriving day.
"I still don't know what to do for Miss Honey's birthday tomorrow. I'll definitely make breakfast for her, but what else can I do without her finding out ahead of time?" Matilda asked Lavender before taking a bite of her turkey and cheese sandwich. It would be Miss Honey's first properly celebrated birthday since she was a little girl, so it had to be special.
"You should buy her lots and lots of lollies! And then share some with me too." Lavender grinned as she grimaced at the small salad she had been given for lunch, then tried her hardest to force it down her throat by pretending it was cake.
Matilda laughed as she tossed away her trash. Maybe she would just make her a card. She could pour her heart out into it, and then have some tea and cookies with her.
No, that's too simple. I need something more extravagant.
"Oh, I have an idea! Maybe you, Bruce, Alice, and I could all surprise her, and then we can all have tea and cookies, and of course, lollies." Lavender's eyes brightened up as she heard the idea, and she abruptly nodded.
"Yes, yes, yes! That's perfect! My mom will probably be fine with it, and she doesn't need to know about the sweets. I'll go tell everyone about it!" And with that, she went running off, calling out to all of them. Matilda only laughed, and then headed off to class while picturing Miss Honey's expression once she glanced upon her surprise.
The rest of the day flew by in a flash, and soon enough, it was the morning of Miss Honey's birthday. Matilda had rehearsed the first few words she would say to her at least one hundred times, though she knew that she would most likely go off-script at one point or another. A steamy warm breakfast sat on the table, along with two cups of breakfast tea. Matilda listened with excitement as she heard footsteps heading down the stairs, and then saw Miss Honey's head stick out from the other room with an amazed expression.
"M-Matilda? You've done all of this for me?" Miss Honey blinked back tears as she walked into the kitchen with awe clearly displayed in her expression.
"Happy birthday!" Matilda rushed over to her quickly, and then enveloped her in a huge hug. Miss Honey hugged her back tightly, unable to believe the sight before her eyes.
"So first we'll have tea and breakfast, and then I have a big surprise for you after school. You'll have to take your time though, because I'll need at least half an hour to set up." Matilda grinned and received a small giggle from Miss Honey, who was giddy with joy.
The two of them sat down at the table, though only of course after Matilda had served Miss Honey first. They then took their time while eating and spoke in between sips of tea and bites of cinnamon toast.
As expected, the morning went by rather quickly and soon enough, they found themselves parting ways as they headed to school and work.
"So we're going to surprise her when she gets home?" Alice asked Matilda, confirming their schedule.
"Yup. She's going to take her time after work, and then she'll come home and find a surprise party awaiting her. It's going to be the best birthday ever."
"Definitely," Lavender said, picturing the delicious sweets that were to come, and of course, her old teacher's reaction to her wonderful treat.
"Thank you Miss Honey," the last child in the classroom said as he hoisted her tin lunchbox into her backpack, then followed her friends out into the halls. Someone had found out that it was her birthday, and her students had chosen to give her a complimentary "happy birthday" song, which completely warmed her heart. No one had even acknowledged her birthday in years, and to have so many people wish her a wonderful day was astounding.
She looked back upon her day so far with a cheerful smile. And to think that she still had another surprise in store! The blissfulness was almost overwhelming!
With delicate fingers, the teacher took her time organizing her desk and the entire classroom. It was nearly spotless, though she wanted to be sure to give Matilda all the time that she needed.
When at last there was nothing to do to improve her office or classroom, Miss Honey locked up the school and headed out. She was already happy enough, though she still couldn't hide the excitement she had for Matilda's "big surprise".
As she briskly walked home along the pavement, she noticed a small note taped to a tree. With a slightly perplexed expression, she approached it to find that it was from Matilda.
Miss Honey, meet me at your old cottage. A lovely tea and sweets party awaits you.
Sincerely,
Matilda
At her old cottage? That was certainly an odd place to choose for a party. But nevertheless, Miss Honey slightly altered her route to make her way back to what she once called her home.
Throughout the walk, she found herself imagining the party, a real party for her! It almost seemed too good to be true! Happy thoughts continued to swirl around her mind, making her more excited than ever.
She soon approached the cottage, finding the gate leading inside tangled with more weeds than before, and the flowers surrounding it almost all dead. It made for a sad sight, as it had looked so much nicer before, but she supposed that she should've expected to find it in that condition. After all, the farmer didn't seem to care much about the little home.
"Matilda?... Matilda?" Miss Honey asked as she headed through the gate, wondering where the girl could be. The place was nearly dead silent, except for the quiet tapping of a foot and the slight creaking of the floorboards inside. She couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive, though still made her way in anyway.
No cheers or "surprise's!" came; instead the teacher's first sight inside was of a crate with two hot tea cups on it, as she expected, but Matilda certainly wasn't there. Instead, her worst nightmare sat right at the makeshift table, dabbing her mouth with a handkerchief.
"Hello Jenny. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Where is she? School ended almost an hour and a half ago and I really want the lollies," Lavender whined from her hiding place behind a chair.
"And I really want the cake," Bruce said, feeling his stomach grumble.
"Yeah, Matilda, where is she?" Alice asked with a yawn as she leaned back against the wall.
"She'll be here any minute now, I guarantee you. Just hang in there," Matilda whispered to everyone, though still stole a glance at her watch. It read, 4:30. Why wasn't she back yet? Surely the walk home from school wasn't that long. With a deep breath, Matilda decided to be patient.
"I-I…I have to go," Miss Honey stuttered with widened eyes, not taking her eyes off of the large woman.
"Sit. Jenny, I insist." Agatha's tone told her that it wasn't a choice. She hesitated and placed a hand on the door, but once she saw her aunt begin to stand up, she rushed over to the "table" and sat down, too afraid to risk facing her wrath.
"Good girl. Now, have some tea and we'll talk about a particular event that occurred in your classroom last year." Agatha's wicked smile faded into a grimace as Miss Honey stared down at her trembling hands without even taking a glance at the cup before her.
"Have some tea," Agatha repeated, lifting her niece's chin up to adjust her gaze. Miss Honey didn't say anything in response, though she still did lift the tea cup up to her mouth and took a sip, barely managing to keep herself from spilling all over herself. Her fingers shook so terribly that it was an extreme difficulty to even pick up the cup, though she still continued to take small sips in order to please Agatha. She could only wonder what the evil woman wanted with her.
"Now that you're all situated, why don't you tell me how exactly that little maggot was able to write on the chalkboard without touching the chalk? I know it wasn't Magnus that wrote that, I'm not that stupid to fall for your little lies." Miss Honey's eyes widened as she heard Agatha's words and she nearly dropped her tea.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about. She did no such thing. It's impossible to lift up a piece of chalk with your min-"
"Don't you dare lie to me, Jenny. I know that you and that disgusting maggot were behind it all, and I need you to admit to me that she did indeed do that, and I need you to tell me how she did that." She looked at Miss Honey with a glare, and then continued on.
"Then you can go off and enjoy your little birthday," she said in a singsong voice, watching her niece with a stern expression as the woman finished her tea and placed the cup back onto the crate.
"I-I'm not going to put up with this any longer. I…I'm leaving," Miss Honey stated in a firm tone, standing up and turning away from her aunt. She wouldn't… couldn't be pathetic any longer. She didn't have to listen to Agatha any longer, so she would not tolerate being treated awfully ever again.
"I wouldn't say so. Did you, perhaps, notice a little bit of an odd taste in the tea?" Agatha asked with a smirk, watching as Miss Honey came to the realization of what was happening.
The teacher's eyes widened again, and she went running out the door, though already felt too weak to scream or shout. She couldn't leave Matilda behind all alone, so she had to make it back home.
A drowsiness came upon her as she pushed the gate, the oh-so heavy gate, open, and soon enough, blackness cloaked over her. She collapsed onto the dirt ground, not making it more than six feet out of the cottage.
With a calm expression, the Trunchbull stood up and headed outside to her niece, satisfied that her plan was going just as she had anticipated. Jenny was now with her, and she could finally begin her revenge on the little maggot that had ruined her life.
Agatha kneeled down beside Miss Honey for a moment, muttering a few angry words to her, and then lifted her thin body up and brought her inside. Yes, everything was going just as planned.