"Tanya Huff - When The Student Is Ready" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

to his left. "Twonie or not twonie. That is the question."

The coin disappeared.

She'd been watching the coin. Had almost seen it slide sideways into nothing. Had almost recognized the
movement. She thought she heard something growl. A quick look aroundтАФno dogs. When she turned
back to her streeter, he was in exactly the same position he'd been in when she'd turned away. "So, do
you want the rest of this money or not?"

He shrugged and held out his hand.

Isabel dropped the change in his palm, careful not to touch anything, and hurried away. Maybe Dad's
right. Maybe I should start taking taxis home from school.

"Dad? You home?" She didn't expect him to be home, not at four thirty on a Tuesday, not on a day that
Mrs. Gerfinleo was in, but it never hurt to ask.

Shrugging out of backpack and blazer, she dropped them on the floor, kicked off her sensible black
school shoes, picked up her backpack, and headed for her bedroom. By the time she got out of the
shower, her blazer was hanging brushed and pressed on the door to the walk-in closet and her newly
shined shoes were aligned neatly in their cubby.

Grinning, she threw on jeans and a T-shirt and made her way to the kitchen for her biweekly lecture on
how clothing didn't pick itself up.

The kitchen was as empty as the rest of the condo.

"Mrs. G.?"

A noise on the terrace, the sound of furniture being moved, caught her attention.

Well, duh. Mrs. G. was out watering the plants.

"MrsтАж" Her greeting trailed off, leaving her standing silently in the open doorway staring at the biggest
crow she'd ever seen. Perched on the back of a rattan chair, head cocked, it stared intently at her out of a
brilliant yellow eye. And it was staring at herтАФnot just in her general direction the way most birds did.

"What?"

In reply, it dropped the biggest streak of bird shit she'd ever seen down the back of the chair.


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'Too gross! Go on, get out of here!" Flapping a hand at it, she added an emphatic, "Scram!"

Instead of flying away, it dropped down onto the terrace and hopped toward her.