Chapter Six
All went well until lunch. All the Girls in the League walked a block or two to my house, and we chatted and laughed until we had reached my house.
We all lined up at the doorstep, and Gretchen knocked.
Frau Muller answered, and invited us in.
We all walked in neatly and silently.
We sat down.
Frau Muller set down tray after tray of delicious food, steaming lightly in our faces.
Everyone quietly chatted and ate, cleaning our plates.
Frau Muller served everyone little cookies with jam for dessert.
And then before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Did you make these cookies with the flour you stole from the Jewish farmers?”
Everyone went dead silent. Then-
“Excuse me?” Gretchen stood over me, glaring down at me. “How dare you say such a thing!” she shouted, drawing back her hand and slapping me hard on the cheek. “Do you have no loyalty to the Fuhrer? Are you not a Hitler Girl?” she cried, taking a step closer, so that her chin waved over my head. Sophie and the other Girls stared at me with odd expressions of terror, anger, and satisfaction.
Suddenly, I got a wave of courage.
“No! I am not a Hitler Girl, and I do not serve the Fuhrer! I will not serve the Fuhrer!” I shouted, getting to my feet. “And you, Gretchen, will not order me around, slapping me every chance you get!” I screamed, shoving Gretchen toward the door. The Girls followed, not knowing what to do. My mother stood aghast in the doorway, looking stricken with fear.
I shoved Gretchen down the stone steps of my house, not thinking as I kicked her hard on the underside of her knee. She stumbled, then fell, face first, toward the concrete. Sophie screamed, and Linda reached out a clumsy hand to catch Gretchen, but missed, and Gretchen dove toward the street. Her head hit the stone street below with a sickening crunch and then everything was still.
“She’s dead.” Sophie whispered, leaning over Gretchen’s still body.
I didn’t care if she was dead or not, all I was worried about was what these girls would tell to all the townsfolk later today. I would probably be dead by morning.
Suddenly, Sophie turned to me. “Aren’t you going to tie us up somewhere?” I frowned, very surprised that none of the other Girls looked very surprised at this suggestion. “Yeah,” a girl I believed was named Monika piped in. “Aren’t you against Hitler?”
Then I understood. Because of my outburst about Hitler during lunch, all the Girls figured that I wouldn’t just let them go. Surprising, if I was honest, because Hitler Girls tended to be rather dull.
But what was I supposed to do now? I couldn’t make myself do anything to help them. There was nothing I could do, besides… well… My grandma, just across the street, had an empty cellar separate from her house, and it locked from the outside. It would be perfect, except for the fact that I would have to ask her if I could use her cellar. And if she knew I was locking up Germans… I would just need a really good Jewish outfit for each and every Hitler Girl.