"Michael Kandel - Hooking Up" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kandel Michael)

A man and a woman came in. Topaz P.? asked the man. Yes? said Topaz. Are my
mother and father all right? They didn't come home. The woman said: Topaz, dear,
pack a suitcase, I'll help you. Take a few days' worth of clothes and your
favorite toys. Where are we going? asked Topaz. There's a center, said the man,
for children who. He stopped on the word who and blinked, not knowing how to
continue. Topaz saw that he was clumsy. His hands were too big, and his tongue
got in the way of his words. The woman helped him out: There's been a big crash,
Topaz. I know, said Topaz, I saw the sign on the screen. But it says
momentarily, and this isn't momentarily, is it? You're right, said the woman,
it's been a very big problem and it will take a while to fix, I'm afraid.
Meanwhile we need to gather all the children together so we can make sure they
are taken care of and have enough to eat while everything is being fixed.

Topaz said: I can cook for myself. I cleaned my room, too. That's wonderful,
dear, said the woman, but we need to gather all the children, so please come
with us. I'll help you pack your suitcase. The woman repeated herself a lot,
Topaz saw. She asked: But what if my mother and father come home and I'm not
here? We'll leave a message for them, said the woman, after thinking a bit, a
message that tells them where you are.

So the woman and Topaz packed some clothes and toys. The woman said, Oh, what is
this? Topaz said, It's a mardeb, a fossil from Nerol. They lived sixty million
years ago, on the bottom of the ocean. They're not that valuable, because there
are so many of them, but I like this one. The planet Nerol? asked the woman.
Yes, we just moved here from there. I'm at the Franklin Child Center. I've been
traveling a lot myself, said the woman, to herself more than to Topaz, and her
voice sounded even sadder than the voice of Topaz's mother when she wanted you
to do something you didn't want to do.

They went with the man, and got into a green van that had a sign on it that said
Tandem Enterprises. There was no one else in the van but Topaz and the man and
the woman. The man drove them to a gray-white building that was opposite a
playing field. No one was on the playing field. Topaz saw that there weren't
people anymore lying in the streets and on the sidewalks. Someone had taken them
to the hospital. Topaz hoped they would be all right. Maybe the old plons had to
be taken out and new ones put in. It wouldn't hurt much. Her mother said that
all you needed was a local anesthetic, and maybe you'd be dizzy and have a
little fever afterward. But you could take some ambulins.

The next day, Topaz met some of the other children. They assembled in the
cafeteria. There was something wrong with most of them, she saw. A lot were Down
children. Some talked to themselves in odd voices and swung their arms. One boy
had his arm in a cast and didn't say anything. They were divided up. Topaz's
group was taken to a classroom and introduced to their new teacher, Ms. G. Ms.
G. was a lot like Ms. C., positive and cheerful, though she wasn't as pretty.
She was fatter and had a knob on her face. Also, she didn't always know what to
say. She had to keep looking at a card she held. And sometimes she swallowed
hard and had to wait. But Topaz liked her because she tried hard.

Children, said Ms. G., we're going to be giving you therapy sessions. Do you