The day that followed felt eerily similar to the day before. Matilda rode in the wagon in silence feeling just as sullen about her undergarments as yesterday, except now, she was wrapped in the thickest winter coat she had thought to pack from Harry and Zinnia's house. The chill of the crisp winter morning crept into her bones no matter how tightly she hugged herself. Their breath left visible puffs of air that reminded Matilda of cigar smoke. She watched her mom and frowned as she pulled the wagon. When Matilda had asked why she wasn't wearing a coat, Miss Honey had shaken her head and smiled.
"I don't need one. I like the cold; it makes me feel awake and energized."
Matilda let out a discouraged sigh. She wished her new mother would be more honest with her. Matilda had been tempted to remind her she could feel what she did, but she knew it made Miss Honey even more uncomfortable than her telekinesis for some reason. When she had tried to ask her why, Miss Honey had gone red in the face and mumbled something about adults needing their privacy.
"Because of sex stuff, right?" Matilda had asked innocently. Jenny had nearly dropped her mug of
coffee to the floor. She had never seen the woman's face change so many colors in such a short amount of time. "What?"
"Matilda!" Miss Honey hissed, looking a combination of horrified, embarrassed, and shocked. She had begun muttering a slew of unintelligible syllables before she had managed to calm down enough to utter a clear sentence. "That's not an appropriate topic for someone your age." Matilda had frowned, looking confused.
"Why not? It's just basic human biology. Almost every species mates in order to reproduce, aside from those that use parthenogenesis, it's only obvious humans would too." Miss Honey had hid her face in her hands for almost a solid minute before lowering them and staring at Matilda.
"What is parthenogenesis?"
"The ability to self fertilize without male involvement. Chickens, turkeys, some insects, reptiles, and even certain species of sharks have been known to do it when the population dips." Matilda had answered staring puzzled at the frazzled woman from across the table.
"An-and, how," Miss Honey swallowed nervously, "do you know what 'sex stuff is?'"
"Biology books from the library." Matilda shrugged. "I wanted to know where babies came from." Miss Honey blew out her held breath, seemed to visibly relax, and chuckled nervously.
"Sorry, I guess I should have figured. My mind jumped to the worst case scenario, and I forgot you're not like other kids your age." Matilda frowned.
"Worst case scenario?" Matilda asked. Miss Honey began to fidget nervously.
"It's never usually a good sign when children are knowledgeable on this subject. They either looked at something they weren't supposed to, which is bad, or an adult taught them, which is much worse." Miss Honey said, looking serious. Matilda frowned again and began feeling guilty.
"Was I not supposed to read what I did?" Matilda asked after a few minutes of silence. Had she done something wrong? Miss Honey smiled and shook her head.
"No dear, you're fine. Your mind works differently than most people, and I think it's something I still need to get used to. If there's anything you ever want to ask me, you can, but it's still very important not to share this information with the other children."
"Why is it okay for me to look at it and not other kids?" Matilda asked. Everyone always called her "different" and, "special" but she looked just like any other kid in her class.
"Because the other kids aren't mature enough to handle it, their parents probably still tell them babies come from storks."
"Storks?" Matilda was very confused now. "But we're mammals! We don't hatch from eggs! Who in their right mind would believe such a silly thing?" Miss Honey chuckled.
"I bet you the last packet of hot chocolate, if you ask Lavender, she won't even know what a mammal is. My point is, we need to let your classmates, and the older children, keep their innocence as long as possible. Once you learn you exist because your parents had sex, there's no going back."
"But it's the truth." Matilda said. "Why would you want to believe a lie?" Miss Honey had seemed to find her answer very amusing.
"No one wants to think of their parents that way. I'm an adult and I certainly don't want to think about the woman who raised me doing it. Personally, I'd prefer a stork bringing me a baby over having sex." Miss Honey said before clamping a hand over her face. "Forget I said that." Matilda frowned again.
"You don't like it?" Matilda asked. Miss Honey's face went very red, but she remained silent. Matilda finally understood. "You've never had sex? I thought all adults had sex." Miss Honey hid her face behind her hands again. "What? You said I could ask you anything."
"Yeah, but, I didn't mean about my sex life!" Miss Honey muttered from behind her hands.
"So you have? I'm confused." Matilda answered looking up at her with wide innocent eyes.
"I'm not talking about this with you! This is very inappropriate."
"But don't you want kids of your own someday?"
Miss Honey stared at her for a moment before taking a deep breath and chanting something that sounded like, "Her mind works differently. Her mind works differently," before composing herself and smiling. "Why would I need a child of my own? I have you now. This is all I need to be happy." But Matilda could sense a deep sadness coming from her.
"You're lying." Matilda said blankly. They stared at each other for a moment before Miss Honey admitted the truth.
"I can't have children of my own from an old injury." Matilda thought of that letter again and clenched her fists. The anger was beginning to reemerge, and if she wasn't careful, she'd lose control of her powers.
"I'm sorry, you probably want a normal child, not someone-" She suddenly felt Miss Honey's hands around hers.
"I want you. Just the way you are, got that? Nosey questions and all."
Matilda shivered as she thought about their conversation on the way to school. She had a feeling Miss Honey was merely settling with her, since she couldn't have a baby of her own, but she had hid her suspicions behind a smile. Now she examined their relationship more closely. There was Miss Honey's insistence of her wearing diapers to school, as well as the weird incident with the pacifier in the hospital, which she knew for a fact Miss Honey had taken home with them. She had even tried to put it in Matilda's mouth the first night back when she had been in so much pain she was making things levitate around the room. Then of course, Matilda had started thinking of the issue of bed-wetting itself. She had almost never wet the bed until she had gotten close to Jenny. What if, in Matilda's sleeping unconscious mind, she had picked up on Miss Honey's desire for a baby and her body had decided to respond? What if they slept separately? Would she stop wetting the bed?
Matilda's heart began to ache at the thought. That would mean no more cuddling together, or reading together before bedtime. Was she really willing to give it up just to stop wearing pull-ups to bed? She let out a long sigh and shook her head. What had happened to her? She used to be so independent, and now the thought of even sleeping apart from her new mom scared her.
When they entered the school they found Hortensia waiting for them by the classroom door.
"She's not here again." Hortensia announced. Matilda felt relieved, but she was surprised when she felt the worry coming from Miss Honey. She scowled, was Miss Honey worried about the Trunchbull? Matilda focused, but she could never make out the cause for Miss Honey's feelings, only the emotions themselves.
"Here's my keys, would you mind staying in the classroom with Matilda till I get back? I want to go talk to Mr. Trilby." Miss Honey said, and without waiting for an answer, left them in the hall. Matilda was both annoyed that Miss Honey thought she needed a babysitter at school and relieved now that she could talk to Hortensia in private."
"Did you give Charlotte her cotton ball? She seemed attached to it." Matilda said. Hortensia rolled her eyes before picking up the wagon's handle and heading toward the year one classroom.
"Yes, I made sure to dump out the cotton ball too." Hortensia said. "I even caught her a few extra friends."
"Really? When? How? What did you do with them?" Matilda asked. Although her voice was still raspy, she was glad to notice today she didn't need to stop for breath every couple words.
"As soon as I got home the night when we were in the Emergency Room, I got in a fight with Ma, so I took the bottle and went for a walk. I eventually ended up in front of the Trunchbull's house. The car doors were locked, but the sunroof wasn't! I opened it, dumped Peter Porker in the front seat, and Charlotte with her cotton ball in the back. Then I decided to start looking around to see if there was anything else I could add." Hortensia said before shrugging. "It was just a few little garden spiders, if anything the other two will eat them, but it was something."
Matilda felt impressed. Hortensia had been scared of spiders, yet she had gone and planted them and even went looking for more.
"Yeah, she told me there were spiders in her car." Matilda said with a laugh. Hortensia stared at her with a look of confusion.
"When did you see the Trunchbull? She called out the day after, yesterday, and now she's a no show today as well." Her eyes lit up. "Do you think she got bit?"
Matilda sat in silence for a moment. She hadn't known the Trunchbull hadn't been back in school since attacking her. She reluctantly let her mind wander to the night she was attacked. The headmistress was standing over her, just as angry, red-faced, and foul as always, and yet… Was it her imagination playing tricks on her, or had she been drooling? Did the left side of her face always sag that much? And the real question, why attack her when she knew she couldn't get away with it?
"No," Matilda said. "I think… I think she might have a brain tumor." Hortensia scrunched up her face. "
"Who has a brain tumor?" Miss Honey asked, standing in the doorway. Hortensia shrugged.
"No one, I'm just thinking out loud." Matilda said. Miss Honey smiled.
"I want to hear." Miss Honey said.
"I don't know." Matilda said. "What if there was a reason the Trunchbull was so vile? It's the third day she's called out with headaches, and the last time I saw her, she wasn't making much sense. And when she…" She eyed Hortensia and rephrased. "She hadn't really thought that through."
Miss Honey stared blankly at her for a moment. "You think the headmistress has a brain tumor?"
Matilda shrugged. "There's something called a glioblastoma multiforme. It's an aggressive tumor, and causes headaches, personality changes and aggressive behavior. You said her behavior's been getting worse over time."
"Well, yes, but she's always been aggressive and foul tempered."
"I guess I'm just looking for an explanation." Matilda said. "I like when things make sense."
"You weren't looking through any medical text books when you were in the hospital, were you?" Miss Honey asked.
"I, umm, might have been." Matilda admitted. "One of the doctors was very nice and let me skim through the books in his office."
Miss Honey sighed and shook her head. "I hope you didn't see anything in those that scared you."
"What did Mr. Trilby have to say?" Matilda asked, hoping to change the subject.
"She never called out this morning; she just didn't show. He said he's thinking of going over and checking in on her."
"He's brave." Hortensia said.
"Well, after what you've told me, I think it might be a good idea." Miss Honey said. "I mean, I doubt she has a brain tumor, but I'm starting to learn to trust your hunches. They're frighteningly accurate."
"A girl can hope." Hortensia said. Miss Honey looked like she was going to tell her off for wishing harm come to a person, even if that person happened to be a demon sent to earth to wreak havoc, but Matilda could see a slight smile begin to tug at the corners of her mouth.
Despite Lavender's pleas, Matilda had insisted on staying in the back of the class today. She was behind on her school work from missing so many days, and she found being so close to Miss Honey was a distraction she didn't need. To be fair, she also didn't feel like being watched so closely. She found it a bit unnerving. If she had to wet herself, she wanted at least a little privacy. If she wasn't embarrassed, maybe her powers wouldn't go out of control.
Matilda had been right about that. She had been deep into her world history text book when she felt the first urge. Instead of making the mistake of looking around, or trying to hold it until she couldn't, she kept her nose buried in her book and just let it happen. She shuddered involuntarily and tried to focus on the text. It was easier than it had been yesterday, but still unpleasant overall. She tried to picture the sudden warmth was coming from a heating pad wrapped around her waist instead of bodily fluids. If she did that it wasn't so gross; the warmth almost felt kind of good compared to the chilly air of the classroom, if she didn't think too hard about what had caused it. Then as if she hadn't just purposefully gone against one of the most basic natural orders of the universe, she went back to studying.
Matilda had been so engrossed in her studies she hadn't even noticed the lunch bell. It wasn't until Miss Honey was standing over her did she even snap back into reality.
"How's it going back here? I haven't seen anything move by itself today." Miss Honey said. Matilda looked around surprised she would mention it, until she noticed all the other kids had been dismissed already.
"It's better back here." Matilda admitted, before mumbling, "easier." Miss Honey look relieved.
"I'm glad you're not so uncomfortable as you were yesterday. I'm sure you're eager for something drier." Matilda nodded, a bit of a blush creeping into her cheeks. She had been miserable when it had gotten cold, so she had used it again despite knowing she could have easily held it until lunch, just to warm herself up. She hadn't realized it had been this close to lunch though.
"Oh shoot." Miss Honey said once they were alone in the bathroom in the nurse's office. "You're soaked." Matilda felt around with her hands once she had been freed from the diaper and set on the toilet. No wonder she had been so cold, she had leaked into her pants. Looks like she really should have held it until lunch after all. "Maybe there's a blanket we could drape over your lap for the rest of the day. Well, go on and kick them off, and I'll see if Mrs. Rodgers can help. Matilda frowned, but obliged. She didn't like how often she had to ask Mrs. Rodgers for clothes.
"Can I get off now?" Matilda asked. She didn't dare try and hop off just yet. The toilet in the nurse's office wasn't small like the others, and she was good couple feet off the ground. Her body wasn't ready for such an impact. Even the small ones still weren't an option yet.
"Have you gone?" Matilda shook her head. She hadn't even been able to pee.
"Well try for a bit longer while I go talk to Mrs. Rodgers." Miss Honey said while she slipped out the door. Matilda sat for a bit, swinging her legs back and forth before eyeing the faucet on the sink. Maybe that would help. She focused on the faucet until it turned on. Much better. A few moments later she heard a knock coming from somewhere. She frowned in confusion. It wasn't coming from the door. It was coming from behind her from the window. She turned her body as much as she could and stared at the blinds. There it was again! Someone was wrapping their knuckles on the glass. What in the world? The nurses' office was a few feet off the ground. The school wasn't quite what she would call level, sitting at one and half stories. Whoever was knocking on the window would have to be a giant.
Matilda reached a hand out, curiosity outweighing caution, and tentatively lifted a blind. Huge black eyes greeted her. She dropped the blind in a panic and let out a scream. A moment later Miss Honey rushed back in without closing the door behind her.
"What? What is it? Are you okay?" Miss Honey asked in a panic.
"There's something out there!" Matilda cried. She lifted her arms. "Get me off! Get me off! Get me off!" Miss Honey picked her up as Matilda clung to her, heart racing. "There it is again!" Matilda nearly yelled as the rapping against the window continued. "No, don't open the blinds! It's a mon-" the words stopped in her throat as Miss Honey pulled the blinds up. "Woah!" Matilda gasped. It wasn't a monster now that she could see the rest of it.
Miss Honey let out a gasp as well. "How beautiful." It was a large barn owl sitting on the edge of the building and tapping the window with its beak.
"Everything okay in here?" Mrs. Rodgers asked, poking her head in. "I heard screaming."
"Look." Miss Honey said stepping aside. "It's an owl. I've never seen one up this close, or during the day."
"Umm, mom." Matilda whispered, pulling on Miss Honey's sleeve. "I need clothes." Miss Honey snapped out of her trance.
"Sorry, right." Miss Honey carried her out quickly and set her down on the cot before pulling the curtain around them. "Well that was unexpected." Miss Honey said, before grabbing her bag she had set by the bathroom door.
"Olivia, can you come here in the bathroom!" they heard Mrs. Rodger's shout.
"Whose Olivia?" Matilda whispered, trying to distract herself from the awkward situation going on below her waist.
"Mrs. Rodger's granddaughter from the states, she's in town for the holidays visiting from some kind of boarding school. She's very excited to have her here, she hasn't seen her since she was a baby."
Matilda heard footsteps enter the bathroom, before some kind of commotion. She frowned. Were they opening the window? She strained to hear more. They were having some kind of argument. She knew it was rude to eaves drop, but she couldn't help it.
"It wasn't me. I swear!" a girl's voice said Matilda assumed could only be Olivia.
"Why else would an owl be here carrying a letter addressed to you? Are you sure you didn't do it on accident?" Mrs. Rodger's said. An owl? Carrying a letter? What in the world were they talking about?"
Suddenly she heard loud swearing, before a mumbled apology.
"It's alright, I just don't want you getting in trouble with your new school."
"I swear, I didn't do…anything." Matilda heard footsteps coming out of the bathroom before someone crumpling up a piece of paper and threw it into the nearby waste paper basket. Matilda wondered what it was. She must have heard wrong. She hadn't seen the owl carrying a letter, at least not in its beak. Matilda had read about owls carrying messages, but it was hardly the 1800s. She heard more swearing, followed by another apology.
"You don't have to apologize every time, dear."
"Right, sorry. No, wait, I mean-" Olivia started to say, but heard Mrs. Rodger's begin to laugh.
"Calm down."
"She has a bit of a condition." Miss Honey whispered. Matilda looked confused. There was more swearing, followed by a bunch of words that almost sounded made up.
"Are you sure it wasn't that they picked up on?" Miss Rodger's asked.
"I don't think so. It's not like the words themselves do anything." Olivia said. "I don't think. BLOODY HELL YOU CALL THAT A BISCUIT!?"
Matilda jumped in surprise. So that's what Miss Honey had meant.
"Tourette's?" Matilda silently mouthed. Miss Honey nodded.
"You're all done." Miss Honey said, "I'm just not sure what to do about your pants." She pulled the curtain back and the figure standing by the curtain let out a surprised yelp. She spun around and Matilda came face to face with a black haired girl about Hortensia's age.
"I'm sorry! Fuck. Cocksucker. Biscuit muncher! I didn't know anyone was here. I'M A WITCH!" Olivia hid her face behind a palm. "Sorry."
"You look a bit young for a witch. You don't even have any boils." Matilda said. Hortensia would like her.
"You read too many stories." Olivia said with a small smile.
"If you only knew." Miss Honey muttered. "Is your grandma around? We're having a bit of a wardrobe malfunction."
"Yeah, she's IN THE OVEN BAKING AT 350 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT! Umm, in the back." Olivia said. "Still feels weird. I didn't even know she was alive until my headmaster sent me to stay with her over the holidays."
Matilda raised an eyebrow. How did she not know her grandma was alive? She was so intrigued by this stranger, it wasn't until her legs began to feel cold did it remind her of her situation. She let out an eep and tried to cover herself, but it was clear Olivia had already seen what she was wearing. She gave Matilda a sympathetic smile and shrugged.
"Don't worry about it. I've got my own embarrassing problems."
"It's Tourette's, right?" Matilda asked, trying to pull her shirt down as much as possible with little success.
"I'm surprised you know what it is." Olivia said, then looked to Miss Honey. "Is my grandma telling everyone?"
"Matilda is… intelligent for her age." Miss Honey said. "Don't let her size fool you." Olivia shrugged before walking towards the back. Miss Rodger's came out a few moments later and Miss Honey followed her, leaving Matilda alone.
Matilda eyed the wastepaper basket. Now was her chance. She focused the power in her eyes and pulled it towards her. It slid loudly across the tile, until it stopped by the cot. Matilda bent down and picked up the crumpled letter before opening it. She stared at it puzzled. It was a very fancy and official looking card addressed to Olivia but… She scrunched her face in confusion. What in the world was The Ministry of Magic? Underage Sorcery? Decree for underage wizards? She threw the note back in the wastepaper basket before hearing Olivia scream from the back of the room.
"AGAIN? IT'S NOT ME! UGH!"
Matilda quickly sent the wastepaper basket back to where it was before she heard a gasp. She looked up and found Olivia staring at her wide-eyed. Oh, crud. She saw. Matilda swallowed nervously, but Olivia said something that caught her off guard.
"It's you. You're the one casting magic! GRANDMA! I FOUND THE CULPRIT!" Matilda saw another envelope clenched in her fist. Mrs. Rodger's and Miss Honey came out of the back room looking puzzled. Mrs. Rodger's looked at the envelope in Olivia's hand, then at a very guilty looking Matilda.
"That's not possible." Mrs. Rodger's said in a hushed tone.
"I saw her move the trashcan! And-" Another loud rapping sound. "Bloody hell, again!?" Olivia stormed into the bathroom and came back with another identical envelope. "See, they think it's me, but it's not! I saw her!"
"It's not Matilda. We'll talk about this later." Mrs. Rodger's hissed. Olivia gritted her teeth before eyeing Matilda and heading back towards Mrs. Rodger's office.
"Ignore her." Mrs. Rodger's laughed nervously. "She has delusions sometime's and thinks she sees things." Matilda felt a pang of guilt. Had she gotten Olivia in trouble somehow by using her powers? For some reason she couldn't just let it go. She couldn't let Mrs. Rodger's think her granddaughter was crazy so, against her better judgement, she pointed to the trashcan by Mrs. Rodger's feet and made it rise. Miss Honey sighed as Mrs. Rodgers jumped back.
"She's not delusional." Matilda said.
"Have I ever told you Matilda has telekinesis?" Miss Honey said with a nervous laugh. There was another round of rapping on the window.
"FOR FUCK's SAKE, IT'S NOT ME!"
"I believe you now." Mrs. Rodger's said staring dumbfounded. Matilda let the trashcan drop to the floor as the adults stared at it. A wave of exhaustion swept over Matilda. She hadn't recovered her strength yet and had tried to do too much too soon.
She laid back down on the cot and closed her eyes. "Can I stay here and sleep for a bit?" she mumbled, but before she got an answer a new voice emerged. She forced her eyes open.
"Miss Honey! There you are! I've been looking for you!" Mr. Trilby said. "I just got back from the headmistresses house. She's gone!"
"Gone?" Miss Honey asked. "What do you mean? Like out shopping or to the doctors?"
"No! I mean gone gone! All her clothes, everything. She's just disappeared!" Mr. Trilby said, before calming down. "This was on the door. It's for you." He handed Miss Honey the note. With trembling fingers, she opened the letter and read.
Drop the charges and it's all yours. The House, the money, the brat, everything.
Miss Honey's eyes widened. She was scared! She couldn't believe it. The Trunchbull had gone on the run! She was tempted to accept. She was so tempted, but… What if she ran and started over? What if she restarted the cycle of abuse? Found a new school, injured more children? More people? She tore the note in half. Matilda had given her the courage to fight, and she was going to see this to the bitter end. Now wasn't the time to hide back in her shell.
"Not a chance." Miss Honey said.