There was just no hope for Ben, clearly. He was so getting that pink drink from earlier.

"You don't have to be short to hit people with sticks," Karla argued. "Just old. Lady Wikus used to do that. She'd carry an ebony walking stick--that she didn't even need!--and use it to hit people who annoyed her."

Karla had been torn between hating the old woman and wanting to be just like her when she grew up.