`` i failed to mention your starting date . my foster mother never asked why i was sat huddled in a closet with the door locked from the outside . `` well , i doubled up my fists and glared up at him-he was a tall , scrawny fellow , maybe twenty , i suppose , though he looked quite old to me-and i said 'i 'm not afraid o ' you , and ye ca n't make me cry , no matter how hard you hit me ! ' 'i have n't met anyone like you before . ' 