Revolting | HORTENSIA'S POV

- CHAPTER 6: Mercy -

"Uh oh."
I muttered and looked up at the intercom.
I hadn't done anything.
But that's what I always said and I got no mercy.
Then again, you can't really think that you'll be let off here. She won't let herself be humiliated by us.

I sighed and left upstairs to the office, knowing it would be the worst. I quickly went up the stairs until Matilda and her little crew showed up out of nowhere and stopped me from going any more.
"No! You can't go! You won't!" She held her arms out and forbid me from taking one more step.
"Matilda.." I sighed. "I have to go. There's no point in trying to stop it."
"No! Please!" She frowned.
I shook my head and took her arms away from the doorway and left up to the office. I looked over my shoulder to see her looking upset watching me go. It couldn't be that bad..

I breathed heavily and knocked on Miss Trunchbull's door.
"Enter."
I opened the door and flinched as a dart flew right past me to the door. "Greetings, Buckets." She called and I just blinked. "..Uh. Hi." I mumbled. She spun around to face me on her chair and got up. "It has came to my attention that you were present at phys ed yesterday. Without my approval."
"Uhm.. yep." I nodded.
"So you agree? You were the one to put that lizard in the glass." She stepped forward towards me and I just cracked.

"What!? How does that even make sense? Just because I was secretly at phys ed doesn't mean I got to the jug! I don't carry around lizards!"

She stared at me in disgust.
"You.. you ruthless, despicable absolute NEWT." She screamed and I backed away. "How DARE you speak to me that way!?"
"I'm not wrong though." I shrugged and she turned red.
"THAT'S IT. I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOU, BUCKETS. YOU NEVER LEARN YOUR LESSON, DO YOU?" She grabbed my collar and I gasped as she shook me.
"YOURE GOING TO CHOKEY." She screamed harshly and grabbed my arm tightly. She pushed me out of her office and out of the school to Chokey while I kept screaming and yelling in protest.
"NO! STOP!" I screamed and she pulled my arm tighter. Once I saw Chokey my heart started racing. "NO! NONONO!" I tried run away but she was too strong. She opened Chokey and pushed me in.
"You're staying here for a NIGHT! MAYBE THAT WILL TEACH YOU DISCIPLINE." She screamed before shutting it and I had to dodge the spikes from the door.

I breathed heavily and I looked around. The space was so tight and I couldn't think straight. I must've zoned out for hours because I heard keys twisting hours after school. I swear she had said I was in there for a night...
until the door opened.

"BRUCE!?"

I looked at him in shock as he stood there with the Trunchbull's keys. He pulled me out before looking at me with his dull eyes.
"..I- I saw her take you out so..- I broke into her office and took the keys when we had assembly and wasn't there. I don't really know why she decided to leave them there with the door unlocked but—"
Suddenly I hugged him. I don't know what made me do it but I just hugged him. He hugged me back for a few minutes until we heard running. I looked up and grabbed his arm and took him behind a tree, staying quiet. I moved around and saw a girl in a red rain coat sprinting towards Chokey. She stared at it for a few seconds and I guided Bruce out from behind the tree to finally see who it was.

*BOOM*

Suddenly Chokey exploded. My eyes widened as it blew into pieces. The girl stepped back in fear and spun around, seeing us both looking at her in shock. I finally figured out who it was.
"Matilda..?" Bruce muttered.
We both stared at her in confusion until I spoke up.
"Matilda..- what did you—" I asked and she grabbed both of our arms and ran. The three of us legged it over across a field and to a bridge.
"What's going on!?" Bruce asked in fear. Matilda panted before finally explaining. "Look, I don't know what that was.. really. I just feel.. some sort of — fizzing." She explained.
"What? Well.. uh, can you tell us more?" I asked her and she took a deep breath.
"Okay.. uhm.. well..-"

"Have you ever wondered? Well I have — about how when I say, say red, for example there's no way of knowing if red meant the same thing in your head as red means in my head when someone says red? And how if we are travelling at almost the speed of light," She reached out her arm. "And we are holding a light. That light would still travel away from us, at the full speed of light — which seems right in a way? But I'm trying to say- I'm not sure.. but I wonder if inside my head,
I'm not just a bit different from some of my friends?"

She made eye contact towards us before turning to the water below the bridge.

"These answers that come into my mind unbidden, these stories delivered to me fully written. And when everyone shouts like they seem to like shouting — the noise in my head is incredibly loud. And I just wish they'd stop, my dad and my mum, and the telly, and stories would stop for just once,"
"And I'm sorry — I'm not quite explaining this right, but this noise becomes anger and the anger is light, and this burning inside me would usually fade; and it isn't today?
And the heat and the shouting,
And my heart is pounding,
And my eyes are burning,
And suddenly, everything, everything is—"

"Quiet."
She stopped and turned back to us. We both looked really confused. Bruce must of understood it more than I did because he just nodded.
"Oh, I get that feeling too." He nodded.
I looked at them both in confusion but just shrugged.
"You both wouldn't believe me if I told you about this.." She started.
"About what?" I asked and she sighed.
"Hortensia. Can you stay really still please?" She asked and I quickly nodded, staying still. Suddenly she stared up at my red beret and I tried look up until realising it was in the air. I looked up in shock before she dropped it on me.

"Woah! You can do that thing Eric talked about? Telekenipsis?" Bruce gasped.
"Well.. I'm not sure. It's telekinesis, by the way." She shrugged and I put back on my hat.

"Wait, you do realise that the Trunchbull will eventually find out about Chokey, right?" I asked her.
She flinched.
"Well, um, yeah. I'm glad it's gone.." She nodded and I knew she was hiding something. Something had definitely happened and she knew about it.
And I really wanted to know what.

"What if she punishes us more?"
Bruce flinched. I knew he was still traumatised from Chokey.
"Hey. She won't. I won't let her touch you two." I tried comfort him but he was still scared.

We continued talking until finally leaving home. I went up to my room by my window and looked at the sheet of paper.
And back at step one.
I finally had a plan for step two the day before until Matilda blew up Chokey so now we just had step three,
so I begun writing.

'STEP THREE:
TAKE HER DOWN'

There was nothing else she could really do now.. right?
I mean, thanks to Matilda, Chokey was gone for once and for all. But there was still that room..
so I had another plan.
I quickly scribbled out 'take her down and wrote.

'STEP THREE:
DESTROY THE DARK ROOM'