Carol Ritten Smith Read Online Free PDF

can’t be ignored for long or he’s going to get into trouble.”
    Beth had just about all she could take from this man. She came around to the front of her desk and faced off with him as best she could since he was a good foot taller than her. “Really, Mr. Carver, I was not aware you knew so much about children.”
    Tom shrugged. “It’s just plain common sense. Don’t need to be an expert to figure that out. He’s kind of a cute little tyke, quite infatuated with my old dog.” Then eyeing her intently, he added, “Instead of trying to find your cat, maybe you should consider getting him a dog.”
    Beth forced a smile. “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” When Tom closed the door, she threw a piece of chalk at it. Arrogant jackass!
    • • •
    Beth found the strap on her desk the next morning and though she was dead set against any sort of physical punishment, before the day was out she was forced to use it. Apparently writing lines was no deterrent for Freddie. All day long he moved from one infuriating prank to another, most of the time victimizing the girls. To make matters worse, the other, normally well-behaved boys had begun to emulate Freddie’s behavior. Before things got any further out of hand, Beth needed to take control, so when Freddie dipped Inga’s beautiful blond pigtails in ink, she took immediate action.
    “Class is dismissed early today.”
    The children immediately cheered and books slammed shut.
    “But not you, Freddie. You are to stay behind.”
    Freddie groaned. “What, more lines?”
    “No,” Beth replied, displaying a calm demeanor, one she wished she possessed. She pulled open the center drawer of her desk, reached far to the back and retrieved the strap. She placed it with purposeful precision along the front edge of her desk.
    The strap might as well have been a corpse stretched across her desk. Students filed quietly past as if paying their last respects. At the cloakroom door, they gave Freddie a final glance, somehow sensing that from this moment on he would never be the same.
    Beth could hear the scuffle outside the school windows as students vied for the best viewing position. Why did it have to come to this? She was certain Freddie didn’t want to be on the receiving end of the strap any more than she wanted to be on the giving end. Regardless, the inevitable had arrived.
    “Come forward, Freddie,” she demanded, suddenly very angry to be forced to do something so against her grain. “Hold out your hand.”
    • • •
    Freddie left the school holding back tears. Beth slowly and weakly made her way around to her chair and dropped into it. Through her own tears, she stared at the flat brown strap still in her hand. It sickened her to think she was no better than her abusive aunt and uncle. In a blind rage, she yanked open her desk drawer, grabbed a pair of scissors and began hacking savagely at the strap. The scissors twisted and hurt her hands, but they did little harm to the vile piece of rubber. Finally, she flung them both and they skidded across the wooden floor, stopping against a desk.
    She dropped her head onto her folded arms and began to cry. Soon she was weeping great heaving sobs that squeezed her chest and wrung the breath from her. Why did she ever think she could teach?
    Outside, when the students saw Freddie’s red hands shaking and tears rolling down his face there was a new reverence for the teacher, albeit one earned by fear rather than respect. They followed on Freddie’s heels, barraging him with questions about the strapping.
    Davy made a bee-line to the smithy after leaving the rest of his classmates.
    Tom glanced up from his work. “School out early today?”
    “Guess what? Beth gave Freddie the strap!”
    Tom raised his eyebrows. Somehow he never thought she’d have the gumption to use it. “You look pleased.”
    “Yup,” Davy answered honestly. Tom smiled.
    “So, how’s your sister doing?”
    “I don’t know. If she’s in