"Replica07 - The Best of the Best - Kaye, Marilyn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kaye Marilyn)

"No, just a lucky guess." Amy looked at her watch again. "Wow, now it's four-forty-two! Time flies, huh? Only eighteen minutes till five o'clock."

Tasha frowned. "Do you really think it's okay for us to turn on the TV at five?"

"I think we can make an exception in this case," Amy reassured her. "After all, it's not every day that our very own school gets to be on the news."

"Besides," Eric added, "it's not like the TV police are going to show up and arrest us."

"But we did sign that no-TV contract," Tasha reminded them.

Tasha was very big on ethics. That was one of the many qualities Amy loved in her best friend. So she tried to think of a way to ease Tasha's mind.

"Wait," she said. "Didn't that contract say something like 'I will not watch TV for a week'? Watch TV. It didn't say anything about not listening to it."

Tasha brightened. "Good point!"

"You're both nuts," Eric stated, and left the dining room.

"Did you see him today?" Tasha asked Amy.

She didn't need to explain whom she was referring to. For weeks, Amy and everyone else had been talking about the new student who would be attending Parkside Middle School, and who had shown up for the first time that very day.

"No, but I saw the TV woman. Kids were going nuts. You know Alan Greenfield? He was following the reporter, and every time the camera lights went on he jumped in front of the camera and waved."

Tasha shuddered. "I hope that's not on TV. People will think we're a school for clowns. Did you get a lecture in homeroom?"

Amy nodded. "Yeah, I think everyone did. 'Don't stare, don't point, treat the new kid like everyone else.' . . . Personally, I don't think that's going to be possible. Everyone's too excited."

From the living room, they heard the click of the TV coming on. "Let's stay in the dining room so we won't be tempted to look," Tasha suggested. "Eric! Turn it up louder so we can hear it in here!"

Naturally, the situation at Parkside wasn't considered a big story. First they had to sit through a lot of other stuff Ч the mayor said this, the police chief said that. A shooting, a mugging, a drug bust Ч standard Los Angeles news. Amy's own suburban neighborhood was rarely mentioned, thank goodness.

Finally, twenty-five minutes into the newscast, the story they were waiting for was introduced.

"Ordinarily, the arrival of a new student at Parkside Middle School wouldn't be a media event," the newswoman said in a chirpy voice. "But the student arriving this morning isn't any ordinary student. Today Adrian Peele begins the ninth grade here at Parkside. What's so strange about that? you may ask. Well, Adrian Peele is just eight years old. He has been promoted from the second grade to the ninth grade. According to school officials, little Adrian is a child prodigy, a certified genius."

It was hard for Amy to stay in the dining room, knowing that by now a picture of the genius was probably on the screen. She was dying to see what he looked like.

"Adrian, how do you like your new school?" the chirpy woman was asking.

The voice that responded was definitely childlike. But the words weren't childish at all. "It's difficult to say at this point in time, and it would be premature to base my assessment on early impressions. Excuse me, I don't want to be late for my class."

"Well, it appears that Adrian is very serious about his education! Let's talk to some other students at Parkside and get their reactions to the presence of a real-life prodigy in their midst. What's your name?"

"Jeanine Bryant."

Amy and Tasha exchanged looks. Of course Jeanine would find some way to get herself on TV. She never passed up the chance for attention.

"Jeanine, how do you feel about having a genius attending school with you?"