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teachers never bothered parents outside parent- teacher nights once a term. But she was attending Jennifer Walton’s posh school, and who knew what teachers did in these sorts of schools?
    â€œAbout your behaviour this afternoon,” continued the grave voice.
    Maddy’s heart sank. Surely Miss Dewitt hadn’t rung to repeat Bronwin’s accusation of her cheating at draughts?
    â€œEveryone carried on like absolute pills, and it wasn’t my fault,” Maddy said sulkily.
    â€œShe spoke to Mr. Brown before she rang me.”
    Maddy waited. Miss Dewitt had actually checked on Bronwin’s accusation! She hadn’t realized how busybody and sneaky Miss Dewitt was. Another description of Miss Dewitt occurred to her. She was a troublemaker and by the look on Mrs. Walton’s face, Maddy was the one in trouble!
    The next morning Maddy woke to the sound of rain. It splattered against the window in fitful gusts and gurgled steadily down the pipes. Her first and most thankful thought was she had dodged the visit to Grandma’s place. It was dreadful enough when it was fine, but when rain forced Grandpa’s unwilling and irritable presence inside, it was even worse.
    Then the memory of the previous evening of solid lectures, grave concern, and disappointment returned. She scowled. For a while, the lecture had moved on to really weird things.
    â€œMaking everyone else feel bad because you feel bad is childish and unladylike.”
    â€œI am a child.” Maddy had pointed out at that point, but Mrs. Walton had kept on and on.
    â€œYou represent our family, and you are expected to behave properly all the time, not just when you feel in the mood for it.”
    â€œSelina and Linda and Bronwin were being beastly,” Maddy protested. “I’m allowed to stick up for myself.”
    â€œIt’s how you talk and act that sets off the way other people treat you. You must be more thoughtful, and try to put yourself in their shoes. Look at how nice that little Jennifer Matson is. She deserves to be the most popular girl in the district with that happy nature.”
    â€œWhat?” Maddy stammered, but Mrs. Walton kept on going.
    Maddy had lost track for a while. What topsy-turvy thing was happening that Jennifer now-Matson was still the most popular girl in the district? Maddy scowled again as she remembered her dreadful evening. It had been totally wasted on endlessly rewriting apology notes.
    Moving those pieces around was no big deal, but Mrs. Walton had carried on as if it was the equal of starting World War Three, smashing windows, or burning down high schools.
    â€œI’m disappointed in you, Maddy,” the lecture finished at long last, while Maddy had tried to keep her face solemn and nod at the right intervals. “You not only let yourself down by such petty-minded and despicable actions, but you also cast a slur on us because we are your parents. You will write an apology to Mr. Brown, and hope that he is generous enough to overlook and forgive what you did.”
    She had missed out on all of the evening’s television, cooped up in the bedroom as she had struggled to compose her note of apology. And she wasn’t even allowed to work out what she wanted to write on the computer.
    She had to sit at the desk, and hand write and endlessly rewrite, until Mrs. Walton was satisfied that the letter contained the right note of grovelling, sucking up and putting herself down.
    It took all evening before Mrs. Walton was satisfied, and then Maddy had to write it out again in her best handwriting and sign it. After that, she had to go straight to bed.
    She kept protesting that on Friday nights her favourite late show “Tales from the Crypt” was showing, but Mrs. Walton ignored her protests. She had been bundled off to bed and given a foul mixture to swallow to make her sleep.
    â€œYou get yourself over-tired and you end up cranky, unreasonable, and fighting with