Free Lockdown by Diane Tullson Page A

loser.”
    I glance toward the door. Where is Ms. Topett?
    Chase pushes Josh aside. To Natalie he says, “Don’t bother reaching through the door. Just take the top off the cage.” Chase releases the latches holding the cage to the tray and yanks off the cage top. Bits of cedar chips fly out onto the desk.
    Josh gapes. The nest lies exposed in front of us. It is a mass of white cotton balls spun into one fluff pile. Bits of cedar and chewed toilet-paper roll weave among the cotton. It amazes me how the hamster can build this house, snug, warm, quiet.
    Now, not so much. Chase pries the top from the cotton-ball nest. Natalie shoves in front of Chase and squeaks, “There they are!”
    From where I’m standing, I can just see Josh’s hamster coiled around four or five hairless pink babies. The mother hamsterlooks up at us with brown bead eyes. It scrambles to its feet. The babies wriggle in the sudden absence of their mother.
    Natalie wrinkles her nose. “They’re all naked.”
    Chase prods one of the babies with his finger. The mother hamster lunges at him. “Whoa!” Chase yanks his hand back. “She’s vicious.” He holds up his finger as if he’s amazed he still has it. “She would have bitten it right off!”
    Josh folds his arms over the tray. “W-we’re scaring her. W-we have to leave her alone.”
    Ms. Topett enters the classroom. In a thundering voice, she commands, “Students, take your seats.”
    Most people return to their desks. Josh sets the cotton nest back over the babies and replaces the cage top. Ms. Topett levels her glare at Josh. “That means you too, Josh.”
    Josh doesn’t seem to hear the teacher. He’s staring at the cage. His eyes get wide.
    Another student gets up and peers into the cage. He says, “Ew! She’s eating one.”
    That’s it. Everyone crowds around thecage. Josh puts his hands on his face and shakes his head. “No. L-leave her alone. She’s just m-moving them.”
    The mother hamster has carried one of the babies into a corner of the cage.
    Ms. Topett pushes through the crowd of students. “If the mother feels threatened, she may try to move the nest.” Ms. Topett scans our faces. Chase looks down. Natalie bats her eyes as if she doesn’t know anything.
    The mother hamster burrows into the nest and pulls out another of her young. She holds the baby in her mouth, her cheeks stretching around the wriggling pink mass. I wait for her to drop the baby with the other one.
    One time last week, Josh fed his hamster peanuts one by one, and she packed them into her cheeks. She crammed ten peanuts in her cheeks.
    Now she holds the baby the same way, her cheeks stretched so big that her eyes are slits. Then her eyes close and she tosses back her head.
    Ms. Topett groans. “Oh no.”
    There is a collective gasp from the classroom.
    Ms. Topett’s voice is shrill. “Back to your seats. Everyone. NOW!”
    We ignore her. The mother hamster takes the baby from the corner of the cage.
    Josh starts to cry.
    Half the class stands in stunned silence. The other half makes gagging noises.
    The mother hamster heads into the nest. Ms. Topett grabs a jacket from the back of someone’s chair and covers the cage. It’s one of the idiots’ jackets, apparently. He says, “Hey, you’ll get it dirty!” and makes a move to retrieve the jacket.
    Ms. Topett clamps her hand over his wrist. “Leave it.”
    With a scowl, he slumps into his seat.
    Josh’s face streams with tears. He’s sobbing without making a sound, his huge chest heaving.
    Ms. Topett turns to the class. Her voice shakes. “Sometimes this happens in nature. Sometimes, if conditions are harsh, like there isn’t enough food.”
    Josh looks up in disbelief. He stops crying.
    Ms. Topett continues, “Or if the mother feels the litter isn’t strong enough to