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“I planted herbs in a box, and we keep them on a windowsill in the mudroom so they won’t get frozen.” When we were making dinner or dessert, I felt like a different boy than the one who had stared at the spelling test with blurred vision.
“I have homework for you this weekend.” Mrs. Marley got up and went to her desk, returning with a sheet of paper. A quick glance told me it was a recipe for oatmeal cookies. “I want you to make these and bring them in on Monday to share with the class. Additionally, I’d like you to tell the class all the steps you took to make them.”
“Why?”
“Because we thrive when we do things we love, and that should be celebrated.” She pulled an envelope out from the folder and handed it to me. “Would you please give this to your mother?”
A lump formed in the back of my throat. It was a letter telling her I was failing. We’d gotten several of them last year too. Dad had given me two lashings with his belt and sent me to bed without dinner.
Now, sobs overtook me. I couldn’t stop.
“Hey now, it’s all right,” Mrs. Marley said. “There’s nothing bad in the note. I just have some ideas of a few things that might help you.”
“My dad won’t like a note.” I hiccupped back a last sob. “Last year I got in a lot of trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
The kind where Dad took me out to the barn and whipped me.Most of the time it was me, but occasionally Rafferty and Atticus received the same punishment if they dared to try to defend me.
Dad had made me promise I wouldn’t tell Mama about the lashings or I’d get more of them. The horse whip, even over pants, left welts that lasted for days. It had taken some effort, but I managed to keep Mama from seeing them.
If I could, I avoided the barn. Just walking in there made me start to breathe heavily, as if I’d been sprinting.
“Caspian, what kind of punishment did you receive?”
“I can’t tell you,” I mumbled.
She didn’t say anything, getting up and walking to the row of windows that looked out on the playing field. Colorful fall leaves fluttered from the trees on the far side of the grass. A layer of frost sparkled under the sunlight. Halloween had come and gone last week. I’d dressed as a pirate. Atticus has said he was too old to dress up. Rafferty had gone as a doctor. Mama had sewn him a white coat for his costume. Soren and Thad had worn the same costumes as the year before—a cowboy and Superman, respectively.
I sat at my desk, small and scared. If Mrs. Marley found out about the whip, I knew it would be bad for me. My dad hated me. Any excuse to hurt me, he would gladly take.
Mrs. Marley turned slowly from the window. "I'm always here if you want to talk about what's happening at home, okay?"
I nodded, too miserable to answer with words.
Outside, I heard the rumble of the buses leaving. How was I going to get home?
“I was supposed to take the bus,” I said.
“I'll take you home. Maybe I can talk to your mother instead of the letter?”
I brightened. Dad wasn’t home most days when I got back from school. I’d overheard Mama say to Iris that she had no idea what he did all day, because he sure wasn’t home helping with the ranch.
Plus, there would be no letter for him to read.
On the way home, we passed the school bus at Arabella Collins’s stop just two driveways before our ranch. I craned my neck to look in the bus windows as we went by but didn't see either of my brothers. Would they notice I wasn’t there? Atticus might get worried. He looked out for me as best he could.
By the time we reached Crescent Moon Ranch and turned down our long driveway, Mrs. Marley and I had talked about our favorite cookies, what dessert we liked for our birthday, and a few ideas I had for homemade ice cream flavors. The conversation was so interesting that I'd almost forgotten how much trouble I’d be in when I arrived at my house with my teacher. Dad would know I’d done something wrong.
Mama came out to the front porch the minute we exited from the car. Her face fell when she saw it was me getting a ride home from Mrs. Marley.
Mama rushed toward us. "Is everything all right? Is he sick?"
"Hi, Stella," Mrs. Marley said. "He's just fine. We had a little chat after school, and I'm afraid I made him miss his bus."
“Thank goodness. You scared me." Mama gave me a quick squeeze.
“Since I’m here, could we could talk?” Mrs. Marley asked Mama.
