The Meldings (4) Revenge

Once upon a time Gertrude Waller was loved… No, that's not strictly true; even her family cared very little for her. Being the only girl in a family of MEN she was called Gert as a joke. Even her mother was so ashamed of giving birth to a girl she died afterwards (or so Gert had been told from an early age).

So Gert wasn't loved. But respected? No.. as a girl she was the brunt of all the taunts and torments of the family. She did all the chores and would do almost anything to earn their respect but nothing worked.

So.. she wasn't loved.. or respected… But feared? Oh, yes; being the brunt of her family she learned quickly to move through and become the aggressor to those who were weaker than her and, as she had grown to be a hulk of a girl (or Gulk as her brothers nicknamed her),that meant almost everyone.

Or at least it did until one Sarah Midgen joined the school. Just a sewer rat of a girl but she managed to humiliate Gert. How she managed it baffled her for days afterwards; it should have been so simple: Gert was going to throw herself at the Smudge Rat but one minute she was in the barn, the next she had landed in the middle of the pigsty! When she looked back there was the wall in-between them again, so what had happened? How had Smidge done that? This wasn't Star Trek, people couldn't beam from one place to another…

Three days later Gert was approached by someone. Someone who had the answers to those questions and far more. She was also willing to help Gert get her own back, so they came up with a plan. A plan that would get Gert back into her family's good books…

Next week; it was finally time for the moment that Sarah Midgen -now known to everyone as Smidge- had been dreading the most. It was Mrs Norn's idea, as her new mentor, to tell her mum all about the magic door handle and how it transported her from place to place (well, not so much the how because Smidge still didn't have a clue how it worked!)

It was after school and Smidge had lied to her mum that she was having trouble with her R.E. homework -which wasn't a lie in itself- and that Mrs Norn wanted to go through it with them both.

It was 6.30 and most of the staff had left, but it was still before the adult education classes had started, so there weren't too many people around. They had just finished the pleasantries when four people suddenly burst into the classroom all wearing balaclava's and carrying baseball bats.

“Don't you move, otherwise you'll get beaten.” The first one shouted. “We don't care that you're women; give us what we want and you won't be hurt.”

“What do you want?” Mrs Norn asked, totally calm and in control.

“HER.” The second one pointed to Smidge. Smidge took a step back but Mrs Norn held her firm.

“What for?” Her mum demanded.

“Her door handle.” The third one snided. Mrs Norn and Smidge looked at each other with barely concealed surprise.

“Yeah, we know all about the door handle and the possibilities it can open for us!” The first one said again and, walking over to Smidge, pulled her away from her mum.

Her mum lunged for Smidge but, again, Mrs Norn stopped her. “Why do you want the door handle?” Mrs Norn asked. “What can it possibly do for you?”

“Open doors.” said the second one. “Like maybe to the bank vaults where all the money is?” And the four of them laughed.

Smidge was backed into a corner but still remained resolute despite the fear, despite them towering over her.

“Why should I give you the handle?” She said, trying to remain calm.

“Well, we won't hurt you.” The second replied. “But your mum? I don't think you could bear watching us hurt your mum, could you?”

Smidge could see her mum, see the fear in her eyes. She then looked at Mrs Norn who nodded to her.

Smidge did as she was told and gave the handle to the fourth person and, as she did so, there was something about them that seemed familiar.

“How does this work then?” Asked the third person.

“You never used a door handle before?” Smidge mocked, her fear getting the better of her.

“You wanna be careful you don't outlive your usefulness, girlie.” The first one said. “We got the door handle now, maybe we don't need you.” He was just about to swing the bat when Mrs Norn interjected.

“Place the handle against the wall, picture where you want to go and then pull.”

“How do you know that?” The third one asked.

“Does it really matter?” Mrs Norn snapped. “Remember, it's all about intent. Right, Sarah?”

Mrs Norn rarely called Smidge by her proper name, only when she was making a point in class, so this was important. Intent… and then Smidge understood and nodded.

“Just picture and pull.” She agreed.

“Picture and pull.” Mocked the first man. “I like that!! Picture and pull.” They all laughed as the first man placed the handle on the wall.

Smidge closed her eyes and focused harder than she had ever done before, picturing the handle in her own hand just as the door opened.

As the four stepped through the door Mrs Norn shouted for them all to push! They all ran forward and, before the four could react, pushed them through the door way and let go.

The door slammed shut, the handle now in Smidges hand where it belonged.

“Where did you send them?” Smidges mum asked.

“Haywards Heath Police Station.” Smidge replied, smiling with relief now. “Not sure how they'll explain the balaclava's and baseball bats!”

They all laughed, pleased it was over. Smidge hugged her mum.

“I was going to teach you how to do that next week.” Mrs Norn said, breaking the ice. “But it seems that you're a natural… Just like your mother was.”

Smidge was stunned.

“Wait a minute...” She said, looking at her mum. “You knew all along?!”