Punished

A break in the trees may mean her neck!  Ivy sighs before she scrambles on -  there is a date to go to and she doesn't want to be late!  Ivy climbs down from her high rung and moves to escape -  but a sharp pull turns her around.

"What's this?"  asks Pete.

"What?"   asks Ivy as she pulls hair behind her ear.  'Going out;"  she adds.

"Not at this hour;"  tells Pete as he shakes his head.  "Now get inside the house!"

Ivy turns her head -  in the dim there is a car with its headlights turned off; that is where she had been headed and she grows a frown as it disappears from view.


Inside the house Ivy moves to her room with sulk on every step.  She is depressed that she didn't get to go out and the way Pete trails her makes her feel imprisoned.  Ivy looks at the carpet as Pete tells her to stop.

"You will need to be punished;'  he says.

Ivy nods - last time she was punished it was for not doing the house-chores, she had been told to go to bed without dinner for two nights and she had caved.  She broke into the pantry at twelve, and nibbling on cake and crackers she was stopped by Pete.  He had dragged her back to her room with her hair being pulled might firm, and she had screamed all the way.

"What is the punishment?"  asks Ivy.

"I don't know yet;"  mutters Pete before he leaves to think.

Ivy sighs!  She is glad Pete is out of the room, she hates to have him linger and leer until she has ants crawling over her skin.  Ivy sits on a chair and begins to read a book -  but the words stick on her head as she looks out the window thinking that she could make it to the date if she ran.

"I had better not!"  she mutters as she hears shoes tapping on the wood outside of her room.  "He could come in at any second!"  she mutters.


Ivy reads her magazine and then she slips into bed.  The night has been long and it is past twelve -  it is morning.  Ivy closes her eyes and she begins to dream, in no time at all she is beyond the world.


Morning breaks and Ivy gets dressed and goes downstairs.  There are cold pancakes on the table -  a sure sign that Gail had to leave for work early.  Ivy begins to plate the food when Pete enters the room.

"Hi;"  he greets;

"Hi;"  she mutters before she offers a half-hearted smile.

"I thought of your punishment -  come to the wood chop store today;"  he tells.

"That gross store far away where you buy firewood?"  asks Ivy.

"Yes;"  tells Pete as he grins.

Ivy sighs -  driving for long hours is boring in Pete's car; he won't let her touch the radio and so all she can do is stare out the window to what is fields of brown grass.  She doesn't like to sit in the car and suffer -  she can't chew, she can't go to the toilet, she can't eat... it is draining. 

"Okay I'll take that as punishment;"  she tells after a clearing of the throat.

"Good;" mutters Pete before he gets the car keys.


In the car Ivy glares at the window and sees grass as it speeds past her eyes.  She feels lethargic, she has been staring at the dull brown plain for ages and she can't take it!  Ivy cools her brow on the cool glass before her face, she wants to die! 


A kick in the engine warns Pete that the car needs gas and he stops at the next station. It takes minutes for the car to be filled up, and then the drive continues on.

"Can I have some coffee?"  asks Ivy as she looks to Pete who grabbed a cup of cheap instant coffee when paying for the petrol.

"No;"  he mutters.  "You are being punished;"

That closes any additional pleas and Ivy rubs her lips together -  she feels cold, and by the end of the trip she is going to feel starved.


At the wood chop shop Pete takes forever to choose the right wood to put in the fireplace.  He asks direct questions like 'is this slow burning' etc, and the attendant tries their best to give him the most accurate answer.  In the end Pete chooses pine-tree wood, and he fills the back of the car with it.


The sun sinks down low and the stars slip out from their beds to shine.  Ivy looks at the stars and she blinks her tired eyes, she wishes to sleep.  Ivy thinks of her bed and she nestles on the pillow to be able to take five on her comfortable mattress.  The pillow provides a safe cushion and she is able to count sheep until she dozes off.  The white sheep turn into jumping clouds which are then flanked with fog.  Ivy blinks her eyes and sees she is staring at the cloud by the horizon through a foggy window and she turns away to look at Pete.

"You must be tired... how about dinner?"  she asks.

"Not for you;"  tells Pete with a sneer.

Ivy feels a twang of cross and she wrinkles her nose.  Her stomach grumbles and it begs for food.  Pete smiles before he concentrates on the road.  Ivy gives up -  she chews on her nails and she waits.  The run sinks and dark settles down.  There is no more grass to look at just dark blank.  Ivy is finally sick of the world and she leans back in her stiff-back chair to suffer the rest of the trip.


At home Pete confronts Ivy as she slips out of the car on weak legs.

"I hoe you have learned your lesson;"  he remarks.

"Oh I have!"  tells Ivy before she brushes past his shoulder and slips inside the house.