“The way home?”
“The way that Fargus came to see me.”
Ida was suddenly annoyed. “I don’t know how to get there. I thought you did.”
“No. It was an accident! I don’t even know what I did. I was trying to find Fargus and he told me—I mean he showed me—that he’d been hiding in the shed. . . .”
“That’s just swell,” Ida said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I can’t believe Fargus thought we should live with you.”
“He did?” Josephine couldn’t help but smile.
“But the plan was for us to come to you, not the other way around,” Ida criticized.
“I’d like that, really. But I don’t even know how to get outside.”
“Oh, you don’t want to go outside,” Ida said, then spit on the floor. Josephine felt a bit repulsed but didn’t say anything. “The Brothers would just catch you.”
“The Brothers? Who are the Brothers?”
Ida stared at Josephine and pushed her black hair away from her eyes. “You don’t know? You really are strange. The Brothers are—”
A sound at the top of the stairs made them both look up.
Someone was opening the door.
“Hide. Now!” Ida ordered.
Josephine dropped to the ground and scurried behind the sacks. She peered through a small opening and saw Kitchen Maggie enter with a scowl. “Don’t get happy, Ida. I just need more flour.” She was enormous, with flabby pale skin, stubby arms, and an apron as big as a sheet. The first thing that came to Josephine’s mind was sea cow.
And the sea cow was headed straight for Josephine’s hiding place!
Ida, determined to stop her, made a quick tear at the top of a flour sack and then hit it as hard as she could. A giant poof of white powder covered Ida from head to toe, making her look like a giant chicken about to be deep-fried. Josephine would have laughed if she wasn’t so terrified.
Kitchen Maggie spun around, eyes blazing. She walked toward Ida, her beefy fists clenched, and stopped only inches from Ida’s small frame. She glared down at her. “Do you know how much flour’s worth, you miserable piece of snot!?” She looked as if she was about to strike the girl, when a monstrous grin formed on her blubbery face. “This is your lucky day, Ida. You get to visit Stairway Ruth.” She grabbed Ida’s arm and pulled her up the staircase, leaving a trail of flour behind.
Josephine could see the dread on Ida’s face as Maggie shoved her toward the kitchen. Then the door slammed shut and Josephine was alone once more.
She had no idea what to do now. She had so many more questions for Ida. Why am I here? What happened to my house? Who are the Brothers? Who can I ask for help?
She decided that it was best to stay hidden for now, so she curled into a tight ball and lay among the flour sacks, her heart pounding, her mouth dry.
What would happen to Ida? Whatever her punishment, it would be Josephine’s fault.
She didn’t know how long she’d been in the cellar, but she knew that she would never get home before her father returned from work and he would be furious. Or maybe he wouldn’t even notice. Which would be worse? She put her head down and began to cry.
SIX
About an hour passed without any sign of Ida, Fargus, or Kitchen Maggie. Her tears had stopped but Josephine’s legs were starting to cramp. She decided to risk leaving her hiding place. The light coming through the slitted window was fading and Josephine feared she didn’t have long until the entire cellar was thrown into blackness.
She started to examine the walls, feeling every crack and irregularity, searching for a door or a hole. She didn’t really know what she was looking for. It was as if she had appeared in this cellar out of thin air.
She was hungry. She thought sadly of the lemon cake, but it was nowhere to be found. She needed water. As her stomach began to rumble, she couldn’t help but consider the kitchen at the top of the stairs. Surely Kitchen Maggie was in bed by now and Josephine could help herself to a glass of milk.
And she wanted to find Fargus and Ida. She was frightened on her own. She wondered how many children lived in this institute and if they were friendly. Anxiety churned in her chest. For the first time ever, she wished her father were with her. Even his silent presence would have been better than this.
A sound from the top of the stairs made her jump. She scampered over to the woodpile, but she knew she wouldn’t make it in time. The door opened, and a thick beam of light caught Josephine in midcrawl.
“I told you she was here.” It was Ida. Josephine felt herself begin to breathe again. Ida was at the top of the stairs, smugly standing next to Fargus. “Why are you crawling on the floor?”
Josephine stood up, embarrassed. “I thought you were Kitchen Maggie.”
“Oh, she went to bed ages ago. And Stairway Ruth doesn’t start patrolling until midnight.” Ida marched down the stairs, while Fargus stayed up at the top, as shy as ever. He looked exactly the same as when he had been at Josephine’s house. He wore the same pants and shirt and remained barefoot.
“Hi, Fargus.” Josephine smiled up at him. He grinned back, pleased, it seemed, that she remembered him. “Ida told me your name.” He stared at her for a moment, and then crept down the stairs.
Josephine remembered that she’d been crying and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Did you get in terrible trouble?” she asked Ida.
“Nah,” Ida answered, pride in her voice. She grabbed a pipe hanging from the ceiling and began to swing on it. “They took away my meals for tomorrow, but Fargus will sneak me his, won’t you, Fargus?”
Fargus nodded at her.
Josephine was bursting to ask her next question. “Fargus, how did you get into my shed?”
Fargus opened his mouth but said nothing. Like the first time he’d met her, he pushed out a bit of air that contained no sound—and that was it.
Instead, Ida answered. “He can’t tell you anything. Fargus can’t speak.” She jumped down, a pleased expression on her face.
Fargus suddenly ran for Ida and kicked her in the shin.
