there would be times ( mostly during her eleventh and twelfth years , when she called that voice miss petrie , after her secondgrade teacher ) when she would actually raise her hands to her ears to try and blot out that quacking , reasonable voice-useless , of course , since it originated on the side of her ears she could n't get to-but in that moment of dawning dismay while the eclipse darkened the skies over western maine and reflected stars burned in the depths of dark score lake , that moment when she realized ( sort of ) what the hand between her legs was up to , she heard only kindness and practicality , and she seized upon what the voice was saying with panicky relief .