In the backyard sat a wide plastic wash tub that had been left outside overnight.
Its surface had frozen into a thin sheet of jagged ice.
Angela kicked the ice aside and filled the tub halfway with water from the garden hose, which sputtered and groaned before releasing a stream cold enough to make the air sting.
Ava watched nervously.
“Miss Angela?”
“If you want to stop whining about walking,” Angela said coolly, “you need to learn what real toughness looks like.”
Before Ava could react, the woman lifted her and placed her into the tub.
The cold struck instantly.
The water reached nearly to her waist.
Her breath vanished from her lungs in a shocked gasp.
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