"Ben Jeapes - Pages Out Of Order" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jeapes Ben)

up and made him an obnoxious bully.
Hockey was the sport for the Spring term, and whenever Gale found himself
near Tom on the field his stick always managed to catch itself around
Tom's ankle and send him flying. On this day he was spotted by the umpire
and given a ticking off in public, which only made him worse.
We got back from games and showered. Gale turned Tom's hot tap off when
Tom wasn't looking and tripped him up when he tried to leave. I came out
of the showers a few minutes later to find Tom sitting by his locker with
his towel still round his waist. His face was buried in his hands and his
shoulders were shaking.
"Tom?" I said. He jerked his head up and the vicious hatred in his look
make me take a step back.
"Fuck off!" he hissed.
"Hey, Tom, it's me," I said. I noticed the tears in his eyes and heard the
rattle in his throat. He was trying very, very hard not to cry.
"This isn't like you, Tom," I said.
"I don't give a fuck." Two fucks in ten seconds was definitely not like
Tom. He hugged his knees and his voice still shook.
"I've had enough. I hate this place, I hate this life, I ..." He broke off
with a choke. "I'm going to flip, Will. I really am. I am going to flip."
I towelled myself dry quietly, got dressed and went to lounge in the third
form dayroom, waiting for afternoon lessons to start.
Tom came in shortly after me. He seemed to have got himself under control.
"It's the queer boy!" Tom ignored Gale. He went to his locker, took out a
book, sat down and started reading. His ears were burning despite the show
he put on.
"Hey, did you hear? Melton thought he had a pubic hair, until he peed
through it."
Cue general hilarity and mirth. Tom's ears burnt brighter and he studied
the book even more fixedly. To my surprise, I found myself flushing and I
buried my nose further in the work I was doing. There was going to be a
fight and that wanker Gale was going to bully my friend again. Oh shit oh
shit oh shit.
Shut up, Gale, just shut up! Not Oscar Wilde, but it would serve. It
probably would shut him up, too, if only out of surprise. And I would be
his next target. No thanks.
"Is it a nice book, Tommy? Ooh, I do hope Mummy would approve." Gale
grabbed the book and held it up above him.
"Give it back, please," Tom groaned. Gale danced away with the book held
up in the air. Tom jumped up, shouting, "Don't--"
He froze. I could see his face: his expression went blank for a moment and
he staggered forward into Gale.
"Get off me, queer boy!" Gale shouted, knocking Tom away. Tom fell over
backwards and landed in a sprawl. He shook his head and slowly climbed to
his feet again.
"You all right, Melton?" one of the braver boys asked. Gale glared at him.
Tom smiled: it was the creepiest thing I had ever seen because there was a
most un-Tomlike glint in his eye.
"Ah, yes, Gale. The original cock-sucker."
Gale stood stunned and his cheeks reddened at the burst of laughter. This