The Lamb

All everyone at school wants to talk about is the rabbit murders. In Mr. Hill’s class, Abbie whispers to Margot that she thinks Marcus is the kid who killed the rabbits and splashed blood on the walls of the nursery. Even though Abbie is the one talking to Margot, Mr. Hill scolds Margot for distracting Abbie. 

Mr. Hill walks over to Margot and takes a look at the ratio problem she is attempting. Mr. Hill is frustrated that Margot struggles with the concept of ratios and tries to explain using the example of a mother badger and her children. The mother badger always eats three paws of food to the kit’s one. What Margot cannot tell Mr. Hill is that the example of the mother is all wrong. Some mothers eat more than their share, denying the child even scraps, while some even eat their own young. Mr. Hill notices a bruise on Margot’s neck, but finding it too cumbersome to explore its origin, he doesn’t broach the topic.

Eden peels potatoes for the stew Ruth is making for dinner. Potatoes used to be Margot’s job, but Ruth now ignores her. 

As Eden mixes dough in a bowl, she calls