Misunderstood: Based on a True Story.

By Laura Rosek

Since early childhood, Laura was never allowed to express her feelings without being accused of backchatting. Her mother was suicidal, and her father liked his drink. To escape from all this, she would often daydream and go into a fantasy world of her own. Laura was often bullied at school until one day, she learnt to stick up for herself. As she grew up, she fell madly in love, only to be rejected when she was four and a half months pregnant and had to bring up her daughter on her own. She eventually made the biggest mistake of her life when she found herself trapped in a loveless marriage. Laura was divorced after three years, only to be trapped again when she met someone whom she believed could love her unconditionally.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Jan 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514448076

Laura Rosek

Laura Rosek was the youngest of eight children. A war baby born is Suffolk, England, in October 1942. She knew and experienced the hardships of life as she grew up.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Laura Rosek.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2015921389

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5144-4809-0

                Softcover        978-1-5144-4808-3

                 eBook            978-1-5144-4807-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 01/08/2016

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Contents

Preface

Chapter One Preschool

Chapter Two School Days

Chapter Three Juniors

Chapter Four Seniors

Chapter Five Facing Her Fears

Chapter Six Love, Passion, And Rejection

Chapter Seven Laura’s Biggest Mistake

Chapter Eight Going Back To The Past

Chapter Nine Last Man In Her Life?

Epilogue

I dedicate this book to my daughter Tomisha who gave me the inspiration to carry on writing; also, to my grandchildren, Leonie and Ramone, and my great grandchildren, Kharnae, Tayron, Taia, and Tahjae.

I also would like to thank Daniel Kenyon, my editor, for all the help and encouragement he provided.

God bless you all.

This book is a combination of facts about Laura’s life and certain embellishments. Names, dates, places, events, and details have been changed, invented, and altered for literary effect. The reader should not consider this book anything other than a work of literature.

Preface

She lay there in the darkness watching the light go on and off from a house across the road. Each time it came on, it lit up the picture of a dove on her bedroom wall.

‘I wish I could transport my spirit into that dove and fly over the ocean to face him and make him understand how much he has hurt me with all his lies! Why doesn’t he confess to his family that our love child is his? Doesn’t he realise what he has done to our daughter? Why didn’t he try to understand me more? Why couldn’t he see what I was going through with my parents? Why couldn’t he understand that my hormones were all over the place? Why did he push me away instead of accepting what I was going through and help me? Why? Why? Why!?’

She closed her eyes, wanting to sleep, wanting to forget the hurt she has carried within her all these years. She felt a heavy feeling within her chest.

‘Please, Lord, not again,’ she softly whispered as she felt the tears rise like a tempest inside her and trickle down her cheek onto her pillow. . .

Chapter One

Preschool

‘Just one more push, Mrs Kelsey,’ said the midwife and amidst the noise of the bombs landing. Laura was born into this world.

She let out an almighty scream then remained quiet, never crying again. Well, that is what her mother told her at least.

She was nearly 3 years old when World War II ended. Although times were hard, in her own little way, she was a happy child. She was never lonely as she was the youngest of seven and would have been the youngest of eight but one of her brothers was killed by a lorry before she was born.

During school period, she became bored as she was all on her own.

‘Why can’t I go to school?’ she used to ask her mother.

‘You will go when you reach school age!’ her mum used to tell her.

‘But I want to go now!‘ Laura would scream.

She thinks that was the first smack she received for answering back.

That was her first feeling of hatred; her mother had hurt her and she couldn’t understand why.

She took herself out into the garden and climbed into the chicken run. One of the chickens wouldn’t drink the water she offered it so she strangled it; that was her first feeling of fear. She hid the chicken behind an old sack and shouted out to her mum.

‘Mum, I want to come out now!’

Her mother reached over to pick her up and suddenly realised there was one chicken missing.

Of course she noticed as it happened to be the only ‘white’ chicken in the coop.

‘Laura, where is the white chicken?’

‘Asleep behind that sack,’ Laura replied; she now knew how to lie!

‘Go fetch it!’

Fearfully, Laura went over to the sack and gently removed it. As she did, the chicken fell down. It was silly of her to try and stand it up in the first place; after all, it was dead.

After examining the chicken, her mother went quietly indoors and came out with the copper stick that was used to push down the sheets that had to be boiled at high temperature. The copper was a big brick contraption with a massive hole in the centre where clothes were boiled. No such thing as a washing machine in those days. Everything was washed by hand or boiled in the copper. The copper stick was also used for punishing naughty children.

Laura still remembered cringing as her mother pulled her out of the coop and beat her backside with the copper stick.

She couldn’t remember how long she’d been sitting out in the garden whilst her mum continued to do her chores and cook dinner. Laura was hiding, dreading the time when Ronny, her third eldest brother, would come home because it was his chicken she had killed.

At last, the waiting was over. She could hear them conversing in the kitchen; she heard his footsteps, then a hand came out and pulled back the leaves on the hedge where she was hiding. He wasn’t angry at all but instead picked her up and gave her a cuddle. That day, she also learnt the meaning of forgiveness.

When her dad came home, her mother went outside to tell him about the antics of the day; guess she wanted to tell him whilst he was on his own so the rest of her family couldn’t hear, but Laura heard. They had an outside toilet then and she had hid herself in there, still ashamed to face what she had done.

‘Father!’ (that is what her mum used to call her dad) ‘I just don’t know what has got into Laura!’

Laura listened intently. . .

‘I swear that child is the Devil’s Daughter.’

Laura would live with those words for the rest of her life. . .

She had just turned 4 years old when she developed this dreadful cough. She remembered having to lift her knees up to her chest each time. Then her breathing became shallow. Laura had come down with whooping cough and bronchitis. She had been put into her mother’s bed with a steaming kettle on the go nonstop. The doctor was coming in two to three times a day to examine her. She would always remember Dr Peyton as a wonderful doctor who always looked after her, even in adulthood until he retired. Looking back, she still believed he was the only one who truly understood her. She was sad when she heard about his death.

Laura was confined to bed for quite a while and each time she wanted to cough she would cry out for her mother to come as she knew she would throw up; it was all the congestion in her lungs. Her mother looked after her real good while she was ill. She must have been really worn out with the housework, running up and down the stairs to attend to Laura and looking after her other children. After about a month, Dr Peyton suggested that she could be allowed to get up for half an hour and join her other siblings downstairs. Her mother wrapped her up in a blanket and carried her down. Even though she was feeling weak, she enjoyed all the attention she was receiving. It was Christmas time and her mum, who was also a brilliant cook, had made lots of cakes. Although most things were rationed, her mum had managed to save up her coupons so they could have a lovely Christmas. She remembered sitting on her mother’s lap watching the others eat their sandwiches, jelly, and finally, the cakes. She still hadn’t got much of an appetite but she decided she would nibble on one of the cakes anyway; she still remembered what they looked like; a bun with loads of chocolate on top. She had got halfway through one, then it happened; her stomach lurched and she threw up all over her mum. Why she thought she would get smacked she didn’t know; maybe it was the look on her mother’s face or maybe she had imagined it. One of her brothers got the tin bath out and put it in front of the fire while one of the others put the copper on to get hot water.

‘Ow!‘ Laura exclaimed as the side of the tin bath burnt her little leg; it had been put too close to the fire. Her mum didn’t seem to notice as she hurriedly washed her down and put her in a fresh nightie; it was time to go back to bed with more steaming kettles on the go. Her mother put her under the covers and pushed a rag doll into her arms.

‘See, Father Christmas didn’t forget you,’ she said softly.

She tucked Laura in and quietly left the bedroom. Laura eyed the doll up and down. Then, cuddling it tight, she fell into a deep sleep.

She wasn’t allowed up again until her chest was all clear and the throwing up ceased.

Chapter Two

School Days

Infants

Laura didn’t have to be called a second time to get out of bed. The first day of school had arrived and her heart was beating with excitement. Although she was only 4 years old, the school had accepted her.

‘Eat your cereal and toast all up Laura, you will need it today,’ her mother said.

After breakfast, her mother gave her a quick wash, brushed her hair, and dressed her in some new clothes she had made herself. Her mother was brilliant at needlework.

Her sister Ida waited to walk her to school. Ida was only a year and half older than her but beings she was already attending the school, she was told to make sure Laura got there safely. On arriving, Laura noticed that most of the children were accompanied by their parents and couldn’t understand why her mum hadn’t brought her. That thought soon went out of her mind as the whistle blew and they all had to stand in line. Laura was jostled back and forth because most of the beginners were bigger than her. Excitement gave way to irritation. Their names were all called out and they were marched into the big hall for assembly. Although she didn’t know most of the songs they were singing, she tried to sing along anyway.

The little first years were then told what class they would be going into and Laura was placed in Mrs Cutting’s class. Mrs Cutting was a big woman with a booming voice who wouldn’t take any nonsense, as Laura was soon to find out.

She smiled when she remembered the time when Mrs Cutting made them stand in line because of a stink. She actually smelt all the children and when it came to her turn, Mrs Cutting said out loud:

‘Ah! we have the culprit!’

Poor Laura didn’t know where to put herself as the other children began to snigger; she knew very well what Mrs Cutting had smelt. The day before, she had wanted to go to the toilet bad and was too frightened to ask. That mean teacher always told the other children to wait until their break time. Laura couldn’t hold herself any longer so she did it there and then.

‘Miss!’ one of the children called out. ‘Laura is wetting herself!’

Mrs Cutting had made her take off her knickers in the classroom and hang them over the radiator.

When class had finished, she dawdled home as she knew her mum would be cross with her.

‘Why are you late?’ her mum asked angrily.

Laura had to admit what had happened at school. Oh yes, she was a very truthful child. If she had done something wrong, she would own up in spite of the consequences; she knew what would happen if she told another lie.

Next day, her mum had sent her to school in the same knickers to teach her a lesson. Another lesson she would never forget.

The months went by very slowly until Laura had been in Mrs Cutting’s class a year. All the other children were excited as they were going up to another class, but not Laura. She was still only 5 years old and was too young; only the 6-year-olds were allowed up. She had to face another year with new faces and Mrs Cutting.

She soon became bored as she had already learnt the lessons that Mrs Cutting was still teaching. She would sit there sighing and daydreaming.

‘Laura!’ boomed Mrs Cutting. ‘Do you know the answer to the question I just asked?’

‘What question?’

The other children began to laugh, which pleased Laura; they thought she was funny even though Mrs Cutting didn’t, as she soon realised.

‘Come out here girl!’

She slowly walked to the front of the class awaiting her punishment.

‘You are the eldest in this class and you should be setting an example!’ said Mrs Cutting shaking her head. ‘Now go and stand in the corner facing the wall and don’t move until I tell you to do so!’

Laura was dying to turn round and it took all her will power not to. The bell went for break time but she wasn’t allowed to move out of the corner. She was thinking of her sandwiches and one little cake that her mum had prepared for her and her mouth was watering:

‘Please miss,’ she said humbly, ‘can I have my lunch now?’

Mrs Cutting looked at her sternly.

‘You should have thought of that before disrupting the class with your daydreaming.’

‘I will not cry,’ she told herself.

When break time was over, the other children sidled back into the classroom and Laura was allowed to go back to her seat. Every time Mrs Cutting turned her back to chalk on the blackboard, Laura would quickly lift up her desk top and nibble a piece of her sandwich, trying hard not to get caught. At last, the dinner bell went. Laura raced out of the classroom, to the cloakroom, before Mrs Cutting could catch her, grabbed her coat, and ran all the way home.

She always went home for dinner as she couldn’t bear to stay at school all day.

The rest of that year passed by rather quickly and smoothly. After the summer break, she would be going up one class.

‘Hooray!’ she shouted, as the last bell for that term rang out.

She wanted to shout ‘NO MORE NASTY MRS CUTTING!’ but restrained herself from doing so.

Laura had begun to discover herself. She was becoming good at arithmetic, times table, English, and spelling. This was not down to what she was learning at school but her dad who taught her how to add up; but she still had to master ‘mental arithmetic.’ Some of her siblings taught her how to read and she soon became interested in books. She tried to compose her own stories by copying out of books what she couldn’t spell; for a 6-year-old, she was becoming quite good but she kept this a secret from her school. She didn’t have any school friends at that age; I guess one could say she was a loner. To her mind, some of the children were silly or bullies.

‘Best to keep away from them,’ she often thought.

She spent her summer holiday writing, drawing, colouring, and playing in the garden with her rabbit. Sometimes, her sister Ida would bring a friend round and allow her to play with them. Ida had lots of friends and so did her sister Molly who was about six and a half years older than her. Sometimes, her brothers would bring their friends round as well; of course, they were much older than Laura so she used to stay out of their way. She didn’t know how many friends her oldest brother Harry had as he was already in the army and had been married for some time.

The summer holidays soon passed and it was time to go back to school. She was put in Miss Wright’s class and liked her from the first time she had set eyes on her. Miss Wright was more softly spoken with a lot more patience. She had sat Laura at the front of the class to keep a more watchful eye on her; Laura supposed Mrs Cutting had told her about her antics.

The first day they had a reading lesson. Miss Wright was quite impressed with the way Laura had mastered it; she was about to find out that being praised in front of the class was not a good thing. First, someone threw something and it hit her on the head. Someone else kicked her in the leg from behind, then came a soft whisper of ‘Teacher’s Pet!’

‘Beryl,’ Miss Wright said with a stern voice. ‘Come out here!’

Beryl was a boisterous girl. She was big built for her age and a bully. Laura hadn’t had trouble with her before as she had kept out of her way. She knew after this escapade she was in for a lot of trouble. How she wished Miss Wright hadn’t called her out; this had ruined her first day in the second year.

Laura dreaded going out for break. She usually stood on her own, leaning against the wall eating her lunch and watching the others play. She was quite content in doing this but she knew this day was going to be different, and it was.

The bell finally rang out for break time. Laura just sat there watching the others run out to play. ‘If only she could have friends of her own,’ she thought; today she needed one like never before.

‘Laura,’ said a gentle voice beside her which made her jump. It was Miss Wright. ‘You know you are not allowed to stay in the classroom during break time. Now get your lunch and off you go.’

Laura could see Miss Wright sadly shaking her head through the reflection of the glass door. ‘She feels sorry for me,’ she thought; this made her feel a little bit angry. She didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for her. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone and let her get on with what she wanted to do? She strode out to play, filled with the determination that she wouldn’t let the bullies win.

As she stood in her usual spot, protected from the wind, she gazed about her; yes, something was different today. Beryl and her so-called gang were huddled in a circle and some of the other children were looking towards Laura. Slowly, they disengaged themselves and walked towards her.

‘What have you got in your lunch bag, teacher’s pet?’ said Beryl.

The others stood there and sniggered.

Laura looked behind her, hoping with all her little heart that someone would come to rescue her.

‘You looking for your big sister?’ laughed Beryl. ‘She can’t help you, she’s in the junior playground!’

‘No,’ Laura replied softly.

She was trying to think what she could do to get out of this horrible situation she found herself in.

‘We want your sandwiches! Don’t we girls?’ and with that, she hit Laura in the head.

As you might have guessed, Laura went without her packed lunch that day.

The bullies sauntered off, laughing as they went. ‘I will get you back one day,’ thought Laura determinedly.

To her, it seemed like years before a teacher came out and blew the whistle for them to go back to their classroom. As they all jostled through the door, Beryl and her mates started shoving Laura out of the way. ‘Oh yes,’ she thought, ‘I will get them back one day!’

As she laid in bed that night, she was going through all the children’s names that were in her class. ‘Maybe one of them will be my friend, I just have to pick out the right one and ask them,’ she thought to herself. Then another thought came into her head. ‘How do I stop them bullies from eating my lunch again?’ Then a smile came on her lips and she drifted into a deep sleep.

‘Laura!’ her mother shouted up the stairs. ‘Get your backside out of bed and come and eat your breakfast!’

Laura quickly jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs; she was extra hungry this morning. She watched her mum preparing their little packed lunches. ‘You will not have my lunch today, bully Beryl!’ she thought. She hadn’t told her mum about Beryl as her mother believed in sticking up for yourself. She remembered when a girl in the street had smacked her face, she had run home to tell her mum.

‘Then you should smack her back!’ she had shouted. ‘If you can’t fight your own battles, then you will get another smack from me.’

She didn’t want to fight; she just wanted to be left alone. She also wanted to learn at school.

She was happiest alone in her own little dream world and now she had been forced out of it. Now she had to stand up for herself in spite of the consequences.

‘Why do you keep grinning?’ asked her sister as they were walking to school.

Laura didn’t answer; she was scheming something. She was becoming quite good at scheming. She knew what she was going to do at break time so them bullies wouldn’t eat her lunch. She stayed in the junior playground until the last minute then went and got into line ready for the walk into the hall, making sure she didn’t stand too close to the bullies. After assembly, they were told to leave quietly and go to their classrooms.

The first half of the morning passed peacefully, then the bell rang for break. Laura took her time getting her things together then dawdled out of the classroom last, purposely leaving her packed lunch in her desk. She walked towards the nearby cloakroom and hid by the coats. She watched as Miss Wright came out and continued to watch until she was out of sight. Feeling a bit panicky, she quickly ran and got into the classroom before anyone saw her. Hurriedly, she fetched her packed lunch; pushed back the cupboard door, and slid inside. Her little heart was beating fast as she knew she was being very naughty but she didn’t care. She also knew that she had to finish eating and be out of the classroom before Miss Wright came back. She was being very vigilant as she eyed the clock through the crack of the door. After ten minutes was up, she slipped out of the cupboard, looked to see if there was anyone around and made it to the playground in time for the whistle.

Then something happened that changed Laura’s way of life. She had heard rumours that Beryl and her gang had been looking for her on their break. ‘Let them look,’ she thought and continued to hide in the classroom cupboard. Then a few days later, she crept out of the classroom, and waiting for her near the cloak room were the bullies.

‘We’re going to tell!’ they kept chanting.

With that, Laura turned and ran the other way with them in pursuit still chanting. She found herself in the junior’s playground. She didn’t care. She ran like the wind, turned around to see where they were, and realised she could outrun them. Whoops! Too late! She found herself in the corner of the play field and there was no way out. She turned to face them. They were still charging towards her. Laura put her right hand behind her back and clenched her fist; she was not going to go down easily. The bullies stopped but Beryl kept on coming. As Beryl drew close, Laura brought her fist forward and with all her might punched Beryl smack in the face. Beryl went backwards and landed hard. One of the teachers came running towards them and picked her up.

‘We weren’t doing nothing and she punched me!’ cried Beryl.

Laura was taken to the headmaster, Mr Birtwhistle. She liked him and this was the first time she had seen him angry. He told her to apologise but Laura wouldn’t. She stood her ground just staring at him.

‘Well if you won’t apologise I will have to write your mother a letter! You can come to my office and collect it before going home for dinner.’

‘I will be staying here for school dinner today sir. My mum had to go into town so she will be late home.’

Looking at Laura, the headmaster realised that her sister had already brought in a note to confirm this.

‘Come and collect the letter before you go home this afternoon,’ he said.

And with that, he began to write. Laura didn’t care. She had this feeling inside her that the bullies wouldn’t trouble her again. This was the happiest she had felt for a very long time. Small as she was, she had put down the biggest bully in the infants.

With the letter clenched tightly in her hand, she made her way home. ‘My mum will be proud that I stuck up for myself,’ she thought. With that, she began to skip, run, and hop down the road.

‘Why are you home early?’ asked her mum.

It would soon be teatime and her mother was busy preparing something to eat for all of them.

Without saying a word, Laura handed the letter over. Hastily washing and drying her hands, her mother ripped open the envelope and began to read. Laura watched her face intently.

‘Why do you have to be so naughty?’ her mother said sternly. ‘Well?’

Without waiting for Laura to explain, her mother flew into a rant.

Laura was determined to get her word in.

‘You told me to!’ she blurted out.

‘Don’t you dare backchat me? For that you can get to bed with no tea and if you backchat again you will get a slap!’

Laura had opened her mouth to say something else but stopped herself and thundered up the stairs as noisily as she could. Her mother ran to the bottom of the stairs and called after her:

‘If you don’t start behaving yourself, the devil will come and take you away! Do you hear me?’

‘I won’t cry,’ Laura thought as she got her pj’s on and climbed into bed. She really believed her mother would be proud of her for sticking up for herself but instead she was being punished.

‘Why doesn’t anyone understand me?’ Her gaze fell on the picture on the wall of an angel in the sea clinging to a cross with one hand and reaching out with the other. She loved that picture. Laura always imagined the angel was reaching out for her. She whispered softly, ‘I do try not to be naughty.’

With that, she turned over and put the pillow over her head.

She must have dozed off as she woke up to her mum telling one of her brothers to leave her alone. She lay there listening and heard her brother Ray’s voice. She loved her brother Ray; he always stuck up for her but sadly she didn’t see him that often as he was training to be a jockey.

‘Alright, alright!’ said her mum impatiently, ‘go and give her something to eat if you must!’

Laura quickly sat up in the bed watching the door. Then she saw his cheeky face peer around it with a big grin; he always managed to make her smile.

‘Brought you up something to eat.’

Ray gave her a cuddle.

He had also managed to sneak up a piece of sausage pie that her mother had made. She felt a lot happier with a full tummy and her brother by her side, telling stories about the horses. When he had finished his storytelling, he said in a serious voice, ‘What really happened at school, Maggots?’

That was his pet name for her.

Laura told him all that had happened, not missing anything out.

‘Good for you. I will have a word with mum. It’s not fair that you should be punished for sticking up for yourself.’

With that, he disappeared down the stairs. Laura was straining her ears to hear what was being said. They spoke quietly so she couldn’t hear. Feeling a lot better, she drifted off to sleep.

Next thing she knew, her mother was calling her up for breakfast. Neither of them spoke. After breakfast, she quickly had a wash and dressed herself with the help of her brother Ronny. She had to watch him as he always put odd socks on her. Her mum brushed her blond hair and handed her the packed lunch. As she began to head for the door, her mother also handed Laura a letter that she had written.

‘You take this straight to Mr Birtwhistle when you get to school. It’s alright, you won’t get into trouble. I’ve explained exactly what happened and that you were punished for nothing,’ said her mum who seemed to have noticed the sad look in Laura’s eyes.

It looked like her mum wanted to give her a cuddle, but instead, she turned away and cleared the breakfast dishes. Laura was used to that so it didn’t really bother her. As she opened the front door to leave, her mother was by her side.

‘Hurry up now or you will be late!’

She waved her goodbye then closed the front door.

Ida had gone on ahead so she ran to catch up to her. Ida kept chatting away but Laura wasn’t really listening. When they arrived at school, she made her way to the infants’ playground. She felt brave enough today and didn’t want to stay in the juniors’ playground until the whistle went. She peeped around the corner but couldn’t see Beryl. She was happy about that as she didn’t want to get into any more trouble! She then looked around for a teacher and saw Mrs Bell.

‘Please Mrs Bell,’ she said timidly. ‘I have to give this letter to the headmaster.’

Mrs Bell removed her whistle from her mouth which she was now going to blow for assembly.

‘Hand it here, Laura, I will see that he gets it.’

She held out her hand and Laura slipped her the letter. Mrs Bell blew her whistle and they all automatically got into line.

A running figure caught Laura’s eye. She turned to look and noticed it was Beryl. They stared at each other for a moment, then Beryl put her head down and joined the back of the queue. Mrs Bell walked them to the hall and stood by the door until they were all safely inside. Instead of following the class in, Mrs Bell made a U-turn and headed towards the headmaster’s room. Within a few minutes, Mr Birtwhistle came into the hall and made himself comfortable on the stage. They all said the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ and began to sing at the top of their voices. When assembly was over, they usually kept in their lines and waited for their class teacher to lead them out but something was different today. Mr Birtwhistle walked to the front of the stage and looked sternly around him. His voice rang out and echoed all around the hall.

‘It has come to my attention that we have some bullies in the infants. When I call out their names, I want each of them to come to the front.’

He pointed to the front of the stage.

‘Beryl Cocker!’

Beryl hung her head as she walked to the front. The headmaster continued to call out all the gang individually. They were then led out of the hall to his office. Each of them got two strokes of the cane across the palm of their hands and a stiff warning.

Laura sat very still in her chair waiting for them to come back to class. She had made this happen. Her stomach churned from not knowing what was going to happen when they came back. The class began to whisper and Laura looked towards the large windows where she saw them all trouping