The Octopus Queen (A Little Mermaid Retelling)

5 - A Show of Power

"What did I tell you about wool-gathering?" Miss Templeton hisses, reaching down and grabbing me by the wrist. Although the teacher is tall and thin like a maypole, she's terribly strong. I wince as my bones grind beneath Miss Templeton's fingers. A sharp cry bursts from my lips and I lean back in an attempt to pull myself free. I wasn't doing anything wrong, just making notations on my pad.

"Oh, no," Miss Templeton warns, brown eyes hard like flint. "I've given you enough chances, young lady. If your father can't correct your behavior, then it's my duty to do it for him."

"Let me go!" I shout as the teacher begins to pull me away from my desk. I kick out with one foot, knocking over a chair. It falls to the floor with a bang as the other children stare in shock, their faces pale and eyes wide.

"You're only going to make this more difficult," Miss Templeton grounds out, dragging me towards the door.

"What's going on?" Miss Kesseler exclaims, gripping her classroom door with one hand. Her eyes widen when she notices me in Miss Templeton's clutches. "Jenna—"

I stumble and fall to one knee, jerking Miss Templeton off-balance. My wrist slips out of the teacher's, but Miss Templeton is too quick. With a face like murder, the teacher snatches me by the collar and hauls me to my feet.

"Don't stand there and gawk, Marta," Miss Templeton snarls. "Grab her feet."

"For what?" Miss Kesseler cries, covering her mouth as the blood drains from her face. "Jenna, you've gone too far!"

"Students must learn discipline," Miss Templeton says as she twists the fabric of my collar around her hand, tightening it like a noose. Tears stream down my face and I gasp for breath. Miss Templeton has gone absolutely mad!

Coughing and gagging, I spin my arms, desperate to grab onto something—anything. My classmates crowd the doorway, ashen-faced and silent. The older students in Miss Kesseler's class poke their heads around the teacher's waist and shoulders even as she attempts to push them back.

"I have tried to be reasonable, Melusine!" Miss Templeton growls, knotting her other hand in my long black braid. "But wild animals cannot be reasoned with. The only way to ensure tractability is through punishment."

Pain explodes across the back of my head as my scalp is stretched to the point of breaking. Tears and snot run down my face as my heart races in fear.

There's a flash of muted green as Miss Kesseler comes flying over Miss Templeton's shoulder. "Enough, Jenna!" Miss Kesseler grabs the hand that Miss Templeton has dug into my hair and tries to pry her fingers off. "STOP!"

"Mister Vost!" Miss Templeton shouts, calling for the school custodian. "I need your assistance!" She turns to Miss Kesseler and backhands the other woman across the face. Miss Kesseler staggers and falls into a pile of her students.

My feet slip and slide on the wooden floor, and my hands bang into the walls as I flail about helplessly. As I spin, I spy the elderly custodian emerging from his tiny office towards the back of the school, a broom in one hand.

"Mister Vost!" I choke out tearfully, reaching for him. He's always been kind to the students, slipping them sweets his wife makes. "Help!"

Miss Templeton's response is to jerk my hair harder. "If you value your job, Mister Vost, you will get the whip from my office!"

The elderly man's bushy white eyebrows shoot up towards his balding head. "W-whip?" he stammers as the broom trembles in his hand.

"Is no one listening to me?" Miss Templeton cries in frustration. "Fine!" She snatches the broom from Mister Vost's hand. Tugging her fingers free from my braid, Miss Templeton lifts the broom handle high in the air.