Witherwood Reform School Read Free Page A

Charlotte to talk themselves out of something their dad could so clearly see.
    It’s funny how an act as normal as a father coming home early can change two children’s lives forever. Not “ha-ha” funny—more like “it is the end of any happiness in our lives” funny. Which, if you think about it, really isn’t that funny at all.

 
    CHAPTER 2
    H OW N OT TO P UNISH Y OUR C HILDREN
    Ralph Eggers had not had a particularly easy go at life. He had been born during a hurricane, gotten married during an earthquake, and lost his wife to a drowning accident. His own parents had died in a fire, his brother had been killed by a bear, and his sister had passed away in a strange country after drinking something foreign.
    Ralph was a tall man with thick brown hair and small feet. He had a smooth face and no need to shave more than once a week. His eyes were brown, and they sat over his nose like two rusted pennies. He walked with a slight hunch as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
    Ralph struggled with holding down a job. Ever since his wife had died, it was difficult for him to focus. He had worked at seven different jobs in the last two years, and he had been fired eight times. He was fired as a mailman for dropping an important package. He was fired as a librarian for whistling too loud. He was fired as a clerk in a convenience store for insisting that a rowdy customer not “come back again.” He was fired from being a waiter when he suggested the head chef should add more salt to the peas. He was fired from being a test subject in a science lab when he didn’t experience any side effects from the pills he was testing. Ralph had also been fired once as a bus driver, for driving too slow, and twice as a barber—first because he refused to give a man a mullet and second because he actually did.
    Life was not easy for Ralph, and things were getting worse. His two children were acting up more than ever. They had always been rather crafty kids, but lately they were acting extraordinarily spirited. Tobias constantly challenged Ralph. In the last few days alone, they had gotten into a dozen arguments over a number of dumb little things. It was as if both Tobias’s and Charlotte’s good-natured, pleasantly stubborn, highly mischievous, and brutally clever personalities were really exploding. And to make a bad situation even more rotten, Mr. Eggers had just been fired from being a house painter because he had mixed his primary colors all wrong.
    Ralph’s intentions had been to come home early and seek the solace of his children. Unfortunately, as he pulled up and saw Martha on the lawn with a full-body grass stain and his children laughing, he lost it. The veins on his forehead throbbed, and his entire body overheated. He jumped out of the car and ran across the lawn.
    Martha was screaming. “I’ve … send them away … Tobias!”
    Tobias opened his mouth in an attempt to explain, but his father cut him off.
    â€œInside!” Ralph ordered his children. “Inside!”
    â€œBut…,” Tobias tried again.
    â€œNow!”
    Tobias and Charlotte guiltily shuffled inside as their father tried to calm Martha down.
    â€œI’m so sorry,” Ralph pleaded. “We’ve been having a tough time. Tobias is just going through a phase.”
    â€œCharlotte!” Martha steamed.
    â€œCharlotte just follows his example,” Ralph reasoned.
    It didn’t matter what Ralph Eggers said, Martha wasn’t buying it. She drew in a huge breath and slapped him soundly across the cheek.
    â€œThat’s for having children,” Martha screamed hysterically. She slapped him again. “And that’s for having those children.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œOf course,” Martha bellowed. “A foul word from an unfit father.”
    Martha picked up her ripped apron, got into her car, and drove off in a cloud of