The Smell of Rebellion

Chapter Three

The entire class turned to stare at Miss Honey, Matilda, and Lavender. Lavender was out-of-breath and Matilda was shying away from those staring eyes.

Miss Honey stood there, in front of the door, trying to breathe for a few seconds. She was a rather dainty woman, but very tall. Her skin was a rich, dark brown colour and her almost black hair was in curls resting neatly on her shoulders. She looked very kind, and the pink-and-blue clothing she was wearing added to that effect. 

Matilda liked her.

With a shaky breath, Miss Honey said quietly, "Hm.." She stammered out, "Yes, uh, Miss Trunchbull is... keen on punctuality. Best not to be late." She laughed a mirthless laugh before saying, "Now, come and meet your new friends."

To the class, she said, "This is Lavender and Matilda," as she led the two girls to two empty desks on the right side of the classroom. To them, in a quieter tone, Miss Honey walked as she said, "And if there's anything too difficult," She knelt down in front of them as they took a seat, "Just ask a classmate– they'll help you. All right?"

Matilda took her book bag off and rested it against the leg of her desk, and Lavender put her hat inside her desk.She took a seat next to Lavender, both of them nodding as Miss Honey walked away.

Lavender seemed less-shaken up, but before Matilda could ask if she was okay, a boy in the front row said in panic, "Miss!"

"Hm?" Miss Honey asked, turning to him.

"It's hurting my head!" He cried, pointing at the complicated-looking equations written on the blackboard. The girl next to him, a pale little girl with her brown hair tied into a neat ponytail resting on her shoulder, looked concerned as she watched the panicked young boy.

"Oh, no, Nigel, that's not for you," She made a half-hearted hand gesture as she added, "They use this classroom for grown-up lessons at night. They must've left it up there." She was looking at the board, and Matilda looked at Nigel with her own expression of concern.

The boy, who sported warm brown skin and curly black hair atop his head, was whimpering, his expression stressed and panicked. The girl behind him, wearing a red headband, looked rather scared as well.

"Nigel. Nigel. Nigel," Miss Honey repeated his name and slowly came closer to his desk, kneeling down and saying quietly, "Relax." She helped him breathe, and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His shaking halted and his whimpering evened out, his terrified expression slowly turning placid as he nodded at her.

She stood up, and with a smile, she asked, "Now, who would like to polish off what's on the board?"

Basically everyone in the class raised their hands, gasping or widening their eyes in enthusiasm.

"Oh, me!"

"Miss Honey, me!"

Wow, Matilda thought, Kids that go to school-school really are smart! She studied the equation on the board. It didn't seem too complicated, now that she really looked at it, but since the other kids were so eager to polish the equation she didn't want to lower anyone's chances further of getting picked. After all, a 1/18 chance was better than a 1/19 chance. Perhaps these kids were excited to prove to Miss Honey they could do maths well, and they were doing a good job of that. At least, for Matilda.

So, she didn't raise her hand.

Miss Honey smiled, watching the kids for a moment, before saying, "Matilda. How about you?"

Me? She thought incredulously, Why me?

Hands went down, but no one's faces were particularly crestfallen, which made Matilda feel a little bit better.