Chapter 11: Grounded

The short ride home from school in the Mitchell's minivan was silent and very uncomfortable for everyone. Sam and Gwendolyn were too embarrassed by what they'd heard in the principal's office to speak in front of each other. They were buried in thought, worrying about what to say to their sons once they got them home and behind closed doors. Still in a state of shock, Matt and Gerallt were feeling too betrayed and depressed by what had happened to talk. To everyone, the short drive seemed to last forever.

Sam parked in front of their houses, and the two boys and their parents silently stepped out into the cold November wind. The bare branches of the old oak trees standing beneath the gray cloud-covered sky mirrored the mood of the people below. The first few flakes of snow began to fall.

"I want to thank you, Sam, for stoppin' by on youah way tah school," Gwendolyn said, pulling her coat closer around her neck. "And for lettin' us ride with you. There are times when not ownin' a cah can be very inconvenient."

"You're quite welcome," Sam said, trying to ignore the wind and the steadily increasing snow. "I'm just sorry we had to meet under such circumstances."

After a short and awkward pause, Gwendolyn continued, "Well, Gerallt and I'd bettah go. I guess each of us will be havin' a long overdue talk with ah sons."

"Wait, Gwendolyn," Sam said, as she started to turn. "Since this involved both Matt and Gerallt, I think the two of us should get together and discuss it. That way, we can be consistent in how we deal with them and let each other know if we see something we think the other should know."

"Ayuh, you're probably right," Gwendolyn replied, her mind more on what she was going to say to Gerallt than on what Sam was saying.

"Then how about getting together for lunch tomorrow while the boys are at school?"

"What?" Gwendolyn replied. "I'm not sure I could have the house ready tah have anyone over so soon."

"That's okay," Sam continued. There's a little Chinese place I usually eat at that's fairly quiet. We should be able to talk there. I'll pick you up tomorrow around noon."

Before Gwendolyn could think of another excuse, Sam turned and marched Matt up the front walk and into their house.

"Well," Sam said, as he and Matt sat down at the kitchen table. "I must say I was shocked when Mr. Tanner called me at work today to tell me you had been in a fight. I'm very disappointed in you. And it certainly didn't help to hear your PE teacher say the boy you beat up was much smaller than you. How could you have lost your temper so much you had to be pulled off him?"

"But, Dad, that's not what really happened! I was just trying to protect myself."

"Matt, you don't protect yourself by continuing to hit someone when they're down. You could have seriously hurt the boy."

"But Colin, Clayton, and Dylan had me cornered in the locker room so they could beat me up. I only managed to hit Dylan once before Colin grabbed me and Clayton started punching me. I was the one who was attacked!"

"Are you trying to tell me you were beaten up by the boy you told me had a broken hand?" Sam asked incredulously. "Matt, how can you expect me to believe you when there were so many witnesses against you? You don't have a single mark on you, and you and Gerallt sent that poor Dylan kid to the nurse's office twice in just one hour. I know it's important to have friends and to stick up for them, but you can't let your friendship with Gerallt be an excuse to be a bully."

Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing. "We're not the bullies; they are!" he shouted in frustration and anger. Not able to remain sitting, Matt jumped up and continued. "Mom would have believed me; why won't you?" he demanded, looking down at his father.

Sam just sat there, his shoulders bowed as if he bore the weight of the whole world upon them. "Matt, enough," he replied softly. "It's time now to stop lying. I'm sorry, but the evidence against you is overwhelming." He paused, shaking his head with sorrow. "At first, I thought it was great that you'd found a friend. I ignored it when you started dressing all in black and began avoiding Tina and me. I guess it's really my fault. I've been way too busy with my new job to spend enough time with you and keep track of how you were doing. But that's going to stop right now."

"But, Dad..."

"Enough!" Sam shouted. "Things are going to change around here. To begin with, you're grounded for a week. The only time you can leave the house is to go to school. And you'll have no TV, video games, computer, music, or anything else until the week is up."

"But..."

"And you and Gerallt need a cooling off period until Mrs. Hawthorne and I can decide what's best for you. I don't want you talking to him on the bus or at school. Now, go to your room; you need to seriously think about what you've done."

Matt didn't know whether to scream or cry. Anger, frustration, and betrayal surged through him like storm waves crashing on a rocky shore. Before he knew it, he was standing in his room, the slam of his door still echoing in his ears.

Gerallt was hardly in the door when his mother demanded, "Magna Dea! How could you misuse youah gift from the Goddess? Do you want tah bring her wrath down on you, on all of us?" She shook her head in disbelief. "You know how critical it is for us tah nevah use or mention ah gifts in front of outsidahs! What if they learned who and what we are? And tah extort money from the othah kids at school? It had tah be Matt. He must have put you up tah this, seducin' you with all his electrical marvels. I should have known it was a mistake tah evah let you go ovah there."

"But Mothah," Gerallt countered when she paused briefly to take a breath.

"Don't you 'but Mothah' me," she continued. "Ahnt Vivianne has worked hard her entire life tah hide who she is from the outsidahs. And what happens the first month we're heah? First, you break one boy's nose and fingah, and now you're caught extortin' money, and almost break another boy's leg when he doesn't pay up. Magna Dea, are you possessed? I should nevah have stopped home-schoolin' you."

Gerallt was tempted to try once more to explain what happened. However, looking into the fury of his mother's face, he realized it was hopeless. Arguing would only increase her anger and his punishment. He hung his head and waited for her to hand down his sentence.

"First, hand over youah amulet," she demanded. "There will be no moah gift from the Goddess foah you until you prove you can be trusted."

Gerallt quietly unbuttoned the top of his shirt and pulled out the round golden amulet hanging from its sturdy silver chain. The large green gemstone in its center glowed briefly as the amulet changed hands and recognized its new master.

"Now, Gerallt, go up tah your room and stay there. I'm groundin' you tah your room for a full month. And don't you dare let me see you outside of it except foah school, youah chores, the bathroom, and meals. In fact, you can go without dinner tonight. Maybe that will help you realize just how dangerous the situation is that you've put us all in."

Gerallt was left with no choice but to turn and slowly climb the narrow stairs to his bedroom. He walked sadly over to Nightwing. Seeming to sense Gerallt's dismal mood, the crow cawed a mournful greeting.

It wasn't long afterward that the school bus arrived with Tina, Gwyneth, and Gareth. Tina rushed up to Matt's room. "I heard you were in a fight in gym class with Colin O'Connell and Clayton Cartwright," she said, looking at her brother with a mixture of concern and sympathy. "Then when you weren't on the bus, I was afraid they'd really hurt you. Are you okay? What happened?"

Matt told Tina how Colin, Clayton, and Dylan had set up Gerallt and him. "And worst of all, Dad doesn't believe me. He grounded me for a week.

"Wow! Everyone knows they're the school's worst bullies, but this is evil, even for them. You must have done something big to piss them off like this."

"I've tried to stand up to them, but I don't think I was their real target. I think they were mostly angry at Gerallt, and since I'm Gerallt's only friend, they decided to get me, too."

"Well, I'll go talk to Dad and tell him what I know about Colin, Clayton, and Dylan. Hopefully, he'll listen to me."

"Thanks, Tina. It's good to have at least you believe me."

"Don't worry, Baby Brother. The kids at school know Colin and his gang are liars. Meanwhile, I know how to cheer you up. I think I'll fix your favorite dinner tonight: spaghetti with meat sauce."

At the Hawthorne House, Gareth burst into Gerallt's room.

"I was worried when I didn't see you and Matt on the bus home," Gareth said, looking up at his big brother. "Then, I overheard that stupid Clayton kid tell some other kids that you'd been expelled for stealin' kid's money and threatenin' tah put a spell on them. And now Mothah's down in the study whisperin' with Gwyneth, but she won't tell me anythin'. So, what happened?"

Gerallt sat down and told his brother everything.

"That's not right!" Gareth exclaimed when Gerallt had finished his story. "That Dylan's evil, and I'm glad Matt hit him. He deserved it."

Gareth and Gerallt talked and played cards until Gareth had to go downstairs for dinner. Four hours later, Gerallt was bored and beginning to get really hungry. There was a quiet knock on his door.

"May I come in, dear?" Vivianne asked through the closed door.

"Sure," Gerallt replied, glad for the company.

"I thought you might like a little somethin'," Vivianne said, bringing in a covered tray holding leftover fried fish and potatoes from dinner. "I think youah mothah may be overreacting a dite tah what happened today. So, let's just let this be our little secret, shall we?"

"Thank you!"

"Gareth and I had a little talk, and he told me what you said about Colin, Clayton, and Dylan. I haven't trusted those juvenile delinquents evah since they started damagin' my property and spreadin' lies about me."

"What did they damage?" Gerallt asked with concern.

"Oh, nothing much, really," Vivianne replied. "Just the usual kinds of things you might expect from such kids. They soaped my windows one Samhain, and they left a burnin' paper bag of dog...," she hesitated. "Well, you know, dog droppin's, on my porch. Then, they graduated tah peltin' the house with rotten eggs and throwin' stones at the greenhouse windows. So I prayed to the Goddess for a little plague of flies, and they left me alone for quite a while. I thought they'd decided there were easier and safer targets until Gwyneth told me they came back on Samhain tah egg the house."

"So, can you talk tah Mothah for me?" Gerallt asked hopefully.

"I already did, but she's not yet in the mood tah listen. You'll just have tah live with being grounded until she cools down. Then, I'll see if I can talk her intah reducin' your sentence to somethin' a little more reasonable."

"But I didn't do anythin'!"

"Maybe you did, and maybe you didn't," Vivianne answered skeptically. "Or perhaps you only did some of what your mother said she heard from youah teachers and principal. And if you did do somethin', maybe Dylan deserved it. Anyway, I wasn't there. I have tah listen tah both you and your mothah and then make up my own mind about what actually happened."

"I guess that's fair," Gerallt grudgingly replied, looking over at his great-aunt with growing respect. "But I didn't do anythin' this time, I swear."

Vivianne nodded and stood up. "Just put the tray under youah bed when you're done with it, Gerallt, and I'll take care of it tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night, Ahnt Vivianne. And thanks."