"Mercedes Lackey - Brightly Burning" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

I donтАЩt care about today, he thought with a sigh, putting both arms up on his desk, closing his
eyes and resting his head on his crossed arms. My stomachтАЩs in knots anyway. Tomorrow IтАЩll bring
some bread in my book bag. There was always water to drink in an urn in the back of the classroom,
and although bread and water was supposed to be punishment fare, not even all LanтАЩs favorite dishes
lined up in a row in the Hall would be superior to plain bread in peace.
And if anyone asked why he stayed here-well, he could just plead an uneasy stomach and a
fascination with something he was reading. Illness combined with scholarship should be equal to any adult
objections.
As his head eased, he got himself a drink and then went back to his desk to pillow his head on
his arms. It was so peaceful in the quiet classroom that Lan actually dozed a little, and started awake at
the sounds of the others returning to class.
He sat up and opened his book as the rest of his class came in. And he noticed that his
classmates eyed him with curiosity. There was no doubt that his absence from the Hall had been noted.
As the next class proceeded, more ideas for escape came to him, for after all, there was still
dismissal time to worry about this afternoon, and arrival in the morning. I can wait as long as I have to
for them to leave, he decided. And IтАЩll really study, I wonтАЩt just pretend to. Although he still didnтАЩt
care much for his classes, studying was preferable to bullying. And there was one thing that he did like:
the reserved approval of his teachers for his progress. Reports were sent to parents at weekly intervals,
and LanтАЩs parents had been much better pleased with him of late.
If I do well enough, maybe theyтАЩll let me go back to Alderscroft for the summer. . . .
Better not to hope for that. It was enough if Tyron and the others would leave him alone. This
ploy might make him late for dinner, but that was no problem. As long as he was safely at school and not
running wild with friends (as if he had any), his parents wouldnтАЩt care where he was.
At the end of the last class, the third idea came to him, another flash of revelation that answered
his final problem. Sixth Form never gets here much earlier than anyone else. In fact, he had occasionally
gotten in past them because he had arrived before any of them did. No one at home is going to pay any
attention to how early I get up.
 It would be a sacrifice, because of all things he loved best, one of them was to lie abed in the
morning. Getting up early was torture.
But if he could avoid the far worse torture the Sixth Formers meted out, it would be worth it.
IтАЩll ask Cook to send one of the boys to wake me as soon as she starts work, he decided.
That would be a good time; Cook was up and at her duties a good two candlemarks before any of the
family. She might not like it, but he could mollify her by not demanding anything for breakfast that she
didnтАЩt have already done by the time he got downstairs. YesterdayтАЩs bread and butter and jam would be
good enough for him! She always cooked up more than anyone could eat; he could pocket the leftovers
to serve for his lunch. And if his parents wondered why he was going in early and staying late, his weekly
reports would be all the answer they needed.
The Sixth Formers would never get up early enough to catch him. Abusing the rest was an
amusement for them, and things cease to be amusing if you have to make a personal sacrifice in order to
attain them,
TheyтАЩre lazy; even if Tyron manages to bully the rest into promising to come early or stay
very late, theyтАЩll forget to have someone wake them, or theyтАЩll get cold and tired of waiting for
me. Tyron himself might stay, but Tyron by himself was just a single large, strong bully. HeтАЩd have to
catch Lan, and heтАЩd have to do it before Lan reached the street, while Lan was inside the school walls.
Lan, on the other hand, had the distinct advantage of a good look-out spot. He could wait until he saw
one of the Guard coming toward the school on his regular patrol. If the Guardsman heard a commotion,
heтАЩd seek out the source, whether or not it was behind a private wall. A Guardsman wouldnтАЩt care who
TyronтАЩs father was; heтАЩd see a bigger boy abusing a smaller one, and heтАЩd drag Tyron off and at the least
give him an ear-blistering lecture. At worst (so far as Tyron would be concerned), he might even haul
Tyron in front of a Justice!