Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 35 of a new online serial novel, Dance of the Puppet, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week. Click here for previous chapters. 

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Only at the last second did Malka grab the door and prevent it from slamming behind her. In the principal’s office, the vetting committee, which had gathered that morning to discuss the registration issues, remained silent.

At first, Malka hadn’t understood why they had done it in the school. Usually, one of the committee members offered his or her home, and the location of the meeting remained a guarded secret until it began, so that there would not be any outside disturbances. As it was, they were all working under a lot of constant pressure.

Now everything was clear to her. All of them were apparently aware that this would not be just another meeting, and none of them wanted his or her dining room to be the venue for the tense confrontation. Only she, naïve that she was, had come this morning with no prior knowledge, to hear some names that she perhaps was familiar with and maybe to offer some recommendations for Mimi’s friends.

She stalked into the main office, passing Chana, Faigy, and Sari without giving them a glance, and walked out into the yard. The fury and hurt roiled together in her stomach, forming a hard knot. Now she was standing outside here like a girl who’d gotten thrown out of class and had fled from the corridor so that the principal—or even worse, Mrs. Mann—wouldn’t discover her. Keep Reading…

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 34 of a new online serial novel, Dance of the Puppet, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week. Click here for previous chapters. 

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

“Ehud?”

“Yes?”

“I thought about the esrog box you saw. Don’t buy it. The old lady is asking much more money than it’s worth.”

“Even though it’s almost two hundred years old?”

“Even so. It’s not worth the money.”

“Whatever you say,” Elchanan said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. If he would have enough money, he would have gone to buy the esrog box from Mrs. Wolkovsky himself, and used it to form his own antiques collection. But he didn’t have enough money, surely not with the new car.

“Something else, Ehud.”

“Yes?” Elchanan asked. Menashe did not usually call before eleven in the morning, unless it was very urgent.

“We’re upgrading all our employees’ cell phones. I want you to come into the office today to get your new phone.”

Elchanan raised an eyebrow. “I have a trip to Tel Aviv scheduled for today.”

“Okay, so make a detour and come in anyway. Why shouldn’t you have the better model today already?” Keeep Reading…

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 33 of a new online serial novel, Dance of the Puppet, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week. Click here for previous chapters. 

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Elchanan stood behind the office door, patting his pocket. The thick envelope was there, of course. He wanted to see Menashe or Mati count the money and enter the figures into the computer. He had to find a way to see them do it, and then he would be able to see if their mistakes were part of their modus operandi.

If he wanted to go out on his own one day, he had to learn how to run a business. He didn’t think there was anything deceptive about recording higher prices than what they had actually received, because it just meant they were paying higher income tax. Was there another source of profit here that he didn’t know about? He was definitely curious, but at this point, he did not want to ask directly. First he would see what he could find out in a more roundabout fashion.

“It’s not like that, I’m telling you.”

“And I’m telling you it is, Bar-On.”

“Are you nuts? Here are your very nice receipts, clear and smooth. I’m printing them now. Read them and tell me if a single comma there is out of place.”

Elchanan’s hand froze midway to the knob. A heated exchange was taking place inside, and the voices were loud enough to be heard through the closed door. Was someone accusing Mati Bar-On of being dishonest? That someone also sounded familiar to him from somewhere, but it wasn’t Menashe. Keep Reading…

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 32 of a new online serial novel, Dance of the Puppet, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week. Click here for previous chapters. 

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

“Sounds nice,” Yael said reservedly the next day, “but from a chinuch perspective, I’m not so sure about it. I mean, this group of girls really deserves a dressing down, and instead, you invite them over for an evening of fun?”

“It wasn’t all fun,” Yaffa noted. “There were awkward silences and some unpleasant moments.”

“I don’t know, but I’m not sure it was in place,” her deputy insisted. “Such a thing can really cause jealousy. What will you tell the other girls on Ruach and Afar? That because they didn’t kick up a fuss, they weren’t invited to you? They don’t deserve compensation?”

Yaffa mulled this over. “If so,” she said, “then ask about the other two teams; their chagigah was also ruined. Don’t they deserve compensation, too?”

“Yes, and so?”

“I guess you’re right,” Yaffa said wearily. “I didn’t think of it.”

But when, during the first recess of the day, the teachers of those classes—every single one of them—reported that the atmosphere had significantly improved, Yael didn’t say a word. She just wrinkled her nose quietly. The recess itself was also much quieter in the corridors, and it seemed as though peace had finally been restored to the school, after weeks of tension and fighting.

During the twelve o’clock break, two girls entered Yaffa’s office. She recognized them as two of the girls who’d been at her home the night before; one was the accordion player, and one was the girl who’d lugged down the huge garbage bag at the end of the evening.

“Mrs. Levinsky,” they said, smiling. “We’re from Team Ruach, and no one saw our performance. Can we perform it one day for the other teams? And then we’ll find out who the winner is.”

“I don’t think we’re going to do that,” Yaffa said, studying their faces. “After all, you don’t deserve a prize.” Keep Reading…