Carrot and Stick

"Do you know what you did wrong?"

Yesha, Yelan and Molly knelt on the floor with their hands raised up. Their faces were pale and the three of them were facing the wall. They were being punished by Harriet.

"Answer me," Harriet said sternly from behind them.

“W-we were wrong!”

“R-right, we were wrong…”

“We were wrong…”

The three teenagers knew they were wrong.

“Because we were not coming home by the time we said we're going to come home…”

“…because we made trouble in the market…”

“…and… ummm…”

The three of them weren't sure what their fault was that made Harriet angry.

"And?" asked Harriet again.

The three fell silent.

"I'm sure you know your mistake," said Harriet in a low, flat voice.

Seeing that no one dared to speak, Yelan finally swallowed her saliva and took a bold breath. “We were wrong because we didn't immediately call for help and send messages home. We were also at fault because we weren't more careful and vigilant!”