"How dare you? How dare you defy my instructions and ignore your assinments?"
I was too stunned to cry. No one ever slapped me like that, not Mama, not Daddy, and not Grandmother Emma. I touched my burning cheek and held my breath.
"Not only won't you go out today, you will have no lunch and will remain in this room now until all the work I assigned you is completed. And if you don't finish it by dinnertime, you'll miss dinner as well."
"No. I won't," I said defiantly.
"Oh, yes, you will," she said with a cold smile, and held up the skeleton key to the bedroom door. "I know how to housebreak puppies. I'll return in three hours," she said.
She turned before I could get off the bed and she walked out, closing the door behind her. I heard her turn the key in the lock and then I heard her walk away.
I slipped off the bed and ran to the door, smashing it with my little fists and screaming at the top of my voice. 'Open the door! Let me out! Let me out! I want my mother!"
I waited, but heard only silence. My hands were red and hurt where I struck the door with them. I shuddered and sank to the floor, crying. I was sobbing so loudly. I didn't hear the tinkling sounds in the door lock when they first began, but when I heard them. I sucked in my tears and held my breath. After a few more moments, the lock snapped open. I rose and stood back quickly, terrified of what she would do next.
The door opened.
Ian was standing there with a screwdriver in his hands. And I was never so happy to see him.
"Why did she lock you in?" he asked me.
"Because I didn't do the schoolwork she wanted me to do. She said I wouldn't get any lunch until I did it and if I didn't, I might not get dinner either. I want to go outside. I want to go see Mama."
"Calm down, Jordan," he said, and stood there thinking. "You should have tried to do the work, but she shouldn't have locked you in here. It's dangerous. What if there had been a fire?"
I nodded, suddenly very frightened, too.
"IAN!" we heard her scream. "How dare you do such a thing? You have disobeyed your grandmother, too. You were told not to come here."
Ian turned slowly and looked at Miss Harper. He held his screwdriver pointed at her.
"You shouldn't have locked her in the room. If there had been a fire, she could have died," he said. "My grandmother will not like that. Our parents will be infuriated as well."
"You are truly an insubordinate young man. Your grandmother has placed you both in my hands for the time being and your parents can only be grateful for what I'm trying to do here."
Ian blew air through his lips and she stiffened, seeming to grow taller.
"Go to your room this instant. There will be no lunch for you either. Go on!" she said, pointing toward his room.
Ian looked at me and then at her and walked slowly down the hall. When he reached the stairway, he started down.
Miss Harper shook her head.
"I told you to go to your room!" she shouted, waited, but he didn't reappear. That boy is
incorrigible.' she said. "His misbehavior is much more serious than your grandmother assumed. Something very drastic has to be done immediately."
She looked at me. "Have you gone back to your desk and your work?"
I started to shake my head and stopped. I didn't want her to lock the door again.
"Yes," I said.
"Very well. I'll trust you this time. You can come down to lunch and then we'll work afterward together. If we make good progress, we'll go outside, too," she promised. "Come along."
I hesitated.
Somehow, being nice to her seemed like a terrible betrayal of Ian.