The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

she started eating Miss Smith had put hers on her lap, so we had too. Now
Jamie took his cloth and used it to cover his head. “I want ham,” he said,
through the cloth.
“You may have more ham after you’ve tried a bite of everything,” Miss
Smith said. “You’re allowed to dislike food, but not before you’ve tasted it.
And get that napkin off your head.”
Jamie hurled his plate against the wall. It shattered. Miss Smith screamed.
I tackled Jamie. I grabbed a piece of tomato off the floor and mashed it
between his lips. He spat it at me. “Eat it!” I roared. I grabbed peas and
shoved those down his gullet. He choked and gagged. Miss Smith yanked me
loose.
“Ada!” she said. “Ada, stop it! You’ll hurt him!”
Hurt him, when it was him disobeying.
“Bedtime, Jamie!” Miss Smith grabbed his flailing arm. “Bath, then bed!”
She pulled him off the floor and carried him kicking and screaming up the
stairs.
I’ll kill him, I thought. I’ll murder him for acting this way.
I found my crutches and got to my feet. I picked up the broken pieces of
plate, and the food scattered across the floor. I wiped up the water I’d spilled
when I knocked over my glass. I could hear Jamie screaming upstairs. Miss
Smith was either bathing him or slaughtering him; either was fine by me.
When I finished cleaning the kitchen I climbed the stairs. Dead easy with
the crutches. The screaming had stopped. “I put clean water in the bath for
you,” Miss Smith said. “Did you finish your supper?”
I nodded. I was still hungry, but my stomach was turning circles and I
couldn’t eat.
There was hot water, soap, a towel. I already felt clean, but the water was
soothing. Afterward I put on new clothes called pajamas, that were supposed
to be just to sleep in. Tops and bottoms, both blue. The fabric was so soft that
for a moment I held it against my face. It was all soft, this place. Soft and
good and frightening. At home I knew who I was.
When I went into the bedroom Jamie was curled into a little ball, snoring,
and Miss Smith was dozing in the chair beside the bed. She’s not a nice
person, I reminded myself, and went to sleep.
In the middle of the night I jumped awake, the way I did when Mam brought