Taming the Beast Read Online Free PDF Page B

for a couple of minutes and cut off her pocket money or something. Instead everything had to be done according to how The Research said it had to be done. Every parenting decision was made in line with Expert Opinion. The book her mother was reading was probablycalled ‘Professional Parenting.’ It probably instructed her to
Empower your child by Negotiating rather than Demanding. Allow your child to
own
his or her behaviour
.
    It would go faster if she played along. ‘Okay, I would like to be allowed out until nine on week nights and twelve on weekends.’
    A laugh. ‘The first rule of negotiating: Always ask for more than you expect. Right, I refuse that offer and propose that you come straight home from school every day. Weekends will be negotiated on a case by case basis depending on where you are going and with whom.’
    ‘I can’t come straight home every day. My English teacher is tutoring me after class.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘I’m struggling a bit. I only got a B for my last assignment.’
    Her mother nodded. ‘Fine. Study with your teacher, but be home by six-thirty.’
    ‘Can I go to bed now?’
    ‘In a minute. We need to decide on your punishment. Something commensurate. What’s fair, do you think?’
    ‘I thought negotiating boundaries
was
my punishment.’
    ‘How droll.’ She sighed. ‘Fine, I’ll decide. You’re grounded for a month. You’ll go to school and you’ll come home. For one month. Okay?’
    ‘Marvellous. I don’t want to go anywhere but school anyway.’
    ‘Yes, Sarah, I’m sure. Good night.’
    Sarah began to move away, taking care to walk normally and to stay to the shadows. If her mother noticed her limping or, worse, the scratches on her throat, her life would be over. When she got to the doorway she snuck a peak at her mother, just to make sure she hadn’t noticed anything. She needn’t have worried; her mother was already reabsorbed in her book.

6
    Sarah smiled when Mr Carr walked into the classroom. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and the tiny hairs she often felt on his face at the end of the day were visible. She might ask if she could pluck a hair out with her teeth, or maybe he would let her shave him.
    She wasn’t only smiling at the stubble; his whole appearance was funny today. Usually he wore his hair spiked up with a little gel, but today it lay flat against his skull. His nose was red, as though he’d spent the previous day at the beach, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked old and like he would smell of cough medicine and mothballs if you got up close. She could hardly wait to tease him about looking like a bum. He would tease her back, because she too looked like hell. Their mutual raggedness was a consequence of what took place in the boy’s locker room last night, and knowing that made her hot all over. She was busting with joy just from looking at how changed he was. Look at what my love has done to him, she thought. My love is so strong you can see it.
    She made herself look away from him, gazing down at her book so it would appear she was smiling at something written there. Not that anyone would be watching her, except Jamie who would know who her smile was for anyway. She glanced up again, looking straight into Mr Carr’s eyes. Oh! How could eyes be so green? She had seen every inch of his body and been surprised and delighted by what certain parts of it could do, but his eyes were far and away her favourite part. His eyes stripped her completely; under his gaze she was naked in a way that had nothing to do with lacking clothes.
    He cleared his throat. ‘Before we start, I have an announcement to make.’
    Oh, she loved his voice, too. Maybe even more than she loved his eyes. It was so hard to look at him and not be able to touch him. She clenched her thighs and stared at the top of her desk.
    ‘As I’m sure you’re all aware, we have just under three weeks left of this term.’ He waited for the cheers to die down before