"Thomas E. Sniegoski - The Fallen" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sniegoski Thomas E)

Aaron poked his head back in.

тАЬI almost forgot,тАЭ she said, the dogтАЩs bowl in one hand and a cup of dry food in the other. Gabriel stood
attentively at her side, drool streaming from his mouth to form a shiny puddle at his paws.
тАЬWhat is it?тАЭ he asked, a touch of impatience beginning to find its way into his tone.

She smiled. тАЬHappy birthday,тАЭ she said, and pursed her lips in a long distance kiss. тАЬHave a great day.тАЭ

My birthday,he thought closing the door behind him and running to his car.

With all the rushing about this morning, heтАЩd forgotten.



Aaron squeaked into homeroom just as the dayтАЩs announcements were being read over the schoolтАЩs
ancient PA system.

Mrs. Mihos, the elderly head of the math department mere months away from retirement, looked up
from her copy ofFamily Circle and gave him an icy stare.

He mouthed the words тАЬIтАЩm sorryтАЭ and quickly found his seat. He had learned that the less said to Mrs.
Mihos the better. Her edicts were simple: Be on time to homeroom, turn in notes to explain absences in a
timely fashion, and whatever you do, donтАЩt be a wiseass. Aaron chillingly recalled how Tommy Philips,
now seated at the back of the classroom intently keeping his mouth shut, had attempted to be the funny
guy. HeтАЩd written a joke letter to explain an absence, and found himself with a weekтАЩs worth of
detentions. There was nothing the math teacher hated more than a wiseass.

Aaron chanced a look at the old woman and saw that she was flipping through the attendance sheets to
change his status from absent to present. He breathed a sigh of relief as the first period bell began to ring.
Maybe today wouldnтАЩt be a total disaster after all.

First period American Literature went fine, but halfway through second period, while taking Mr.
ArslanianтАЩs test, Aaron decided that he couldnтАЩt have been more wrong about the day. Not only was he
blanking on some of the information he had studied, but he also had one of the worst headaches he could
ever remember. His head felt as if it were vibrating, buzzing like someone had left an electric shaver
running inside his skull. He rubbed at his brow furiously and tried to focus on an essay question about the
social and political ramifications of the Richmond Bread Riot. ArslanianтАЩs fascination with obscure events
of the Civil War was going to give him an aneurysm.

The remainder of the class passed in the blink of an eye, and Aaron wondered if he had passed out or
maybe even been taken by space aliens. He had barely finished the last of the essay questions when the
end-of-period bell clanged, a real plus for the pain in his head. He quickly glanced over the pages of his
test. It wasnтАЩt the best heтАЩd ever done, but considering how he felt, he didnтАЩt think it was too bad.

тАЬIтАЩd like to give you another couple of hours to wrap the test up in a pretty pink bow, Mr. CorbetтАжтАЭ

Aaron had zoned out again. He looked up to see the heavyset form of Mr. Arslanian standing beside his
desk, hand beckoning.

тАЬBut my wife made a killer turkey for dinner last night and I have leftovers waiting for me in the teachersтАЩ