Part 4

The bell rang and Miss Cuddle left.

Luna took her thick pink pencil and made a mark by her elbow, just about a foot from the edge of the desk on Vincent’s side. Then she took the ruler and drew a line across the desk.

“There. This is my side, and that is your side. And don’t you dare move your things over to my side.”

“But, but…” Vincent stammered.

“But what?” she barked at the boy.

“I can’t.”

“You can. You will.”

“I won’t.” Vincent stood up.

“Here,” Luna grabbed her pencil, and started smearing thick lines on the desk. “Here, this is my side, and that is yours.” She pointed toward Vincent’s sliver of the desk. “Understood?”

“No,” said Vincent. Luna’s eyes grew large. She climbed up on the desk, and started to stomp and shout, “This is my desk. This is my desk. This is my desk…” when Miss Ebenzer walked in, and the class grew silent. “This is my desk. This is my desk. Granddad is famous, and this is my desk,” Luna stomped.

“Luna!” Miss Ebenzer walked fast and steady. She grabbed Luna’s arm, and pulled her down to the ground. Luna kicked and screamed.

“That’s my desk. I’m the Tigress, I bite your head off.” She bit Miss Ebenzer’s hand, and Miss Ebenzer smacked her. “I will tell on you,” Luna shouted.

“Enough, young lady. You need a timeout,” said Miss Ebenzer.

Calling her “young lady” made Luna’s blood run cold. She went limp, and Miss Ebenzer barely caught her before she hit the ground like a stone.

“That’s it. Your grandpa is here to pick you up. I’m telling him how naughty you’ve been,” said Miss Ebenzer as Luna lay limp on the floor. Miss Ebenzer grabbed Luna’s wrist and dragged her over the floor toward the principal’s office.

***

Luna flew the Green Dragon in the front seat. Granddad climbed into the truck. She went quiet as he settled in.

“I saw you through the window in the class,” Granddad said slowly.

Luna’s jaw went stiff in defiance, and she readied herself to argue.

“I saw you pushing that boy, taking over the table, jumping up and down, and yelling. And I must say…” Granddad paused, and Luna went quiet. The pause went on for quite some time. Granddad exhaled and shook his head.

“I think you deserve a piece of apple pie.” He smiled from under the hat. Luna laughed. “That’s my girl. I will put some Stone in you, after all. You have the mettle, all right,” he gave her a gentle punch on the shoulder. “Let’s go,” he said, and Luna laughed out loud.

“Seatbelt, Granddad,” Luna said, and held the Green Dragon out the window.

“You sound like Tree.” Granddad smiled and ignored the suggestion.

***

After the pie, Granddad stopped in front of the car shop. “Now, I need you to wait for me here as always,” said Granddad. “Go and keep Tree company.”

“Yes, Granddad,” answered Luna and climbed down from the truck, and her little arm slammed the door hard. “Tree, Tree,” shouted Luna.

“Yes, little miss,” answered Evan Ironwood, whom Luna nicknamed Tree, and the nickname stuck. With a car up on the lift, he was removing an oil filter.

“How are the chickens?”

“Hungry. You better feed them,” he said, and continued to work.

Buster, the large, black dog chained against a post, was barking mad at the chickens in the coop.

“Quiet!” shouted Luna as she approached the beast. Tree watched closely. Buster looked surprised that the girl paid no heed to his bark. His snarl slowed. Tree squeezed a wrench in his hand, prepared to jump. Luna stood a few feet out of reach of the dog’s chain. “What do you think you are doing? You are a dog. You don’t bark at a little girl. And, by the way, the Green Dragon here will eat you if you don’t stop. You hear me?” she shouted pointing her little finger at the beast. The dog went quiet. She stepped forward and Tree stepped toward them. She smacked the dog’s nose, and pointed a finger at the beast. “What do you think you are doing? I’ll call Tree and he’ll show you what for,” she shouted, and the dog went down to his belly. She hit him again, and again. “You want to eat our chickens? Bad puppy, you are. Bad, bad puppy.” She argued with the beast. Then she went on to feed the chickens. The dog lay in the dirt with a puzzled look. Tree shook his head and smiled.