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

another appointment for her to be hooked up. And we'll get your hair curled too,
she said. Topaz was proud of her mother for being so smart -- Topaz hadn't said
one word yet about getting her hair curled, but her mother knew anyway.

In the hall Topaz got into a conversation -- she didn't know how it happened --
with a boy. His name was Lance, and he was tall and had a deep, manly voice.
Lance had heard she wasn't hooked up. No kidding? he said, but in a friendly way
that meant she had done something remarkable, maybe admirable. He helped her
carry her satchel to class, and after school he walked with her to the upper
shuttle stop.

What do you think of Earth, Topaz? he asked. It's all right, she said. I've
never been to Nerol, he said, but it must be neat to see robots that you can't
tell from people. All you have to do, Topaz told him, is get close to one and
sniff. They don't smell like people, they smell like rubber and plastic. He
said, Why don't you come to the movies with me Saturday? There's The Beta King,
Part Three playing. What's The Beta King, Part Three? Topaz asked. It's the
latest war movie, said Lance. You see people being torn limb from limb and
impaled and you can't tell it's not real. She said, Who wants to see people
being torn apart? That's not fun. She didn't know what impaled was, but it was
probably nasty. It's just a movie, he said. I can't imagine paying to see a lot
of people die, she said. It sounds sick. You sure are corny, he said, but from
the look in his eyes you would have thought he wanted to give her a kiss. Topaz
had never had a boy give her a look like that before. She couldn't tell if she
liked it. She would think about it later.

That evening after supper, Topaz's mother and father took her to the top of the
famous Power Tower so she could see all the lights. The sky above them wasn't as
interesting as on Nerol, since there was only three-quarters of a moon and it
was only a plain ivory or bone white, but the lights on the ground were every
color of the rainbow and they twinkled and moved wonderfully, like magic jewels
dancing. It's enchanting, said her mother. Don't you love Earth? Yes, said
Topaz. You don't sound enthusiastic, remarked her father. I'm getting used to
it, said Topaz, and when she said that, both her mother and father bent down and
gave her a hug, together. Topaz imagined Lance hugging her too.

That night Topaz wondered what it would be like to have curls. She had never had
curls. She wondered if it would bother her if they bounced on her forehead and
cheeks when she ran, the way they did for Cherry and Anemone and many other
girls at the school. With curly hair, she wouldn't have pigtails anymore. She
thought about that for a while. She wondered if she would ever be rich enough to
own an antique Austrian doll, but she didn't think so. Her father was smarter
than most people, but he was always talking about their budget and shaking his
head.

She sighed, because her life was changing so much. She was changing, too. She
was already so different, and in only a few days. She closed her eyes and felt
that she was floating on her bed. It was because of the weak gravity here. She
wondered, as she floated, if she would swim on Earth too and what that would be
like. She wondered if the waves would be the same, because of the difference in