Emily shifted her weight to her other foot. She wasn't sure how long it had been since she'd been made to stand on the front porch, looking out at all the other kids playing in the yards around her, but she kept facing forward. Every time she looked back at her mother, sitting on the porch swing her father had built and reading a book, her mother told her to turn her face back to the front yard. The last time, she'd said she was going to add another half-hour to her punishment.
A couple of years earlier, when she was in second grade, she came home and told her parents about the new words other students had taught her at school that day. As her mother gasped, her father went to a kitchen drawer and came back with a roll of duct tape. As her mother held Emily's head still, her father applied a long strip of the tape across her mouth, then two more across her cheeks in an X. When she reached up to take the tape off, her mother pinioned her arms behind her back as her father wrapped the tape around her wrists. She'd had to stay like that, sitting at the dinner table, for a half an hour, her chicken and mashed potatoes getting cold in front of her.
As she saw some her of classmates playing tag down the street, she wondered if they had their mouths and wrists taped like she did. She'd never said those words in front of her parents again, but when she said them at school and her teacher overheard, she came home to find her mother waiting for her, the roll of duct tape in her hands. That time she'd been taped up for a full hour, made to sit in one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs in the hallway. Even her ankles had been taped up.
Since then, her parents had used duct tape on her on a regular basis, whenever she said words she wasn't supposed to, when she was too noisy, when she wouldn't stop talking when someone was on the phone. Sometimes she was just taped up for half an hour, sometimes an hour, sometimes two. Her ankles weren't taped up every time, but her wrists and mouth were. That morning her mother had caught her in a lie about doing her chores, and in the tantrum that followed she'd said a lot of the words she wasn't supposed to say.
After wrestling with her, her mother got her wrists taped behind her back, the familiar three strips of tape over her mouth. "You've been very bad this time, Emily," her mother said, wagging her finger in her face, "and this time I'm going to make sure you learn your lesson." Before Emily could wonder what her mother had planned, she marched her out the front door, onto the front porch. "Now stay there and don't turn your head," her mother said. Behind her she could hear her mother go back into the house and come back out, the creaking of the porch swing starting soon after.
Having her wrists and mouth taped always felt bad, but at least no one had seen her like that. Until now. Across the street she saw kids staring at her, making her blush. Some of them went back to their play, but others stared at her longer and longer. She wanted to tell them to knock it off, but of course the tape on her mouth prevented that.
The sun came out from behind the clouds it had been behind all morning, and the air got warmer instantaneously. Emily could feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead, but she had no way to brush them off. She was already thirsty, wanting a soda or even water, but after the way her mother acted when Emily just turned to look at her, she figured there was no chance of her getting water. This was punishment, she realized, and she needed to take it as best as she could.
Three boys from across the street began walking into their yard, grinning at her. She recognized the short one, Dave, from school. The other two looked a little older, and she'd only seen them in the neighborhood, hadn't talked to them. The taller one called out, "Hello, Mrs. Oatman!"
"Hi Randy."
"What's Emily doing with that tape on her face?"
"She's being punished."
All the boys widened their grins at once. Emily wanted more than anything to tell them to go away. "What'd she do?"
"She lied and said naughty words."
They all laughed. Emily closed her eyes.
Dave said, "Well, maybe this will teach her."
"I hope so."
"Hey look, her wrists are taped behind her back!"
"Oh wow!"
Her mother cleared her throat. "That's so she can't take the tape off her mouth."
As Emily opened her eyes, her face burning with shame, the taller one walked towards her. "Got something to say, Emily?"
"MMMMMMMMMMM!"
They all laughed. "Sorry, couldn't hear you. Say again?"
"MMMMMMMMMMM!"
"Speak clearly."
"MMMMMM MMMMMMMMM!"
"Ha ha! You're silly, Emily!"
Emily sighed, perspiration trickling down her face.
"Aww, why so sad? Tell me what's wrong. Oh, you can't because of the tape on your face!"
"MMMMMMMM!" Emily couldn't help yelling at them, even if the tape made all she said unintelligible. She kicked her right foot out, but the boys were all out of range. They leapt back a little, giggling even more.
"No kicking, Emily," her mother said, "or I'll tape your feet."
The third boy came towards her. "I know what'll cheer her up." He grinned as he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a Sharpie.
Emily turned to her mother reflexively, then faced forward right away. She didn't want more time added to her punishment.
Grinning widely, the boy uncapped the Sharpie and held it up to her gag. She could feel the tip of the sharpie through the tape as it drew a curved line on the tape, then another. A smile. She closed her eyes as she felt him "decorate" the smile with lips, dimples, lines for teeth, blacking one of them out.
The other boys laughed so loud Emily couldn't help opening her eyes. Across the street more kids had walked up to the edge of their front lawn. All of them were smiling, some giggling. A few pointed fingers at Emily as the boy put the cap back on his marker, put it back in his pocket.
"There, now she's happy!" He held a hand up to his handiwork and the giggling and laughing got louder.
"MMMMMMMMMMMM!" Emily's throat was starting to feel hoarse from all the screaming she'd done into the tape on her mouth, but she kept screaming, trying to get them all to stop, but they wouldn't.
Her mother stepped in front of her, stooped down to look at the newly-decorated tape on her mouth. She smiled a tight, mean smile. "Very nice, Trevor." A few of the kids applauded as the boy took a bow.
As Emily pulled on the tape on her wrists, her mother whispered in her ear, "Do you feel ashamed of yourself now?" Emily nodded.
"Are you going to lie or shout or say bad words again?" Emily shook her head.
"That's good, but just to make sure you behave, I'm going to keep you like this until your father gets home."
Emily's eyes widened. Her punishment felt like it had already gone on longer than any before it, and it wasn't even lunch yet. She realized she had at least five hours of being taped up to endure still, maybe longer.
Even more kids were lining up in front of their lawn, staring at her, giggling and laughing openly. It was going to be a long afternoon.