"Jeff Verona - Field Day" - читать интересную книгу автора (Verona Jeff)

I loped over to him. "Nice work," I said.
The kid spun toward me and goggled. I hopped into the air, caught a falling
bag on my ankle, and lifted it skyward. The kid recovered himself and kneed
the next bag, finding his rhythm again. "IтАЩm Doug Hammond," I said.
"Jefferson Partridge." His blue eyes darted between me and the bags. "You
one
of those ECO people?"
"Yes." I watched him kick a bag. "You like school, Jefferson?"
"ItтАЩs okay." He pursed his lips. "IтАЩm not cutting, weтАЩre done for the day."
"IтАЩm not here to scold anybody." By now IтАЩd caught the rhythm of the bags,
and
as Jefferson drove the falling bags upward I made my move. Launching myself
skyward, I caught the rising bags at the top of the arc and forced them
even
higher with my elbows. I tucked and tumbled, opening myself enough to catch
the falling bags with my knees and loft them up before tucking again and
dropping to the ground. The kid stared, open- mouthed. I bowed. "I used to
do
the lunar pentathlon," I said. "Not any more, though."
Jefferson found his voice. "Wow. What happened?"
"Messed up my knee." I pointed up. "The bags?"
"What? Oh!" In a flurry of elbows and knees, Jefferson set the pattern
again.
"You from the moon?"
"IтАЩm a loonie, yeah," I said, smiling. "You know, the best I could manage
when
I was a kid was three bags."
"ThereтАЩs less gravity here," Jefferson said.
I nodded, watching the bags, not looking at him. "Do the kids around here
play
football or tumble tag? Anything like that?"
"Sure, we got a couple of football teams."
"I coach in a league back on Luna," I said. "IтАЩd like to see your team
sometime."
"Hello, Doug?" Tevi came up beside me. "Patrick Henry is putting our gear
away. You will introduce me to the young man?"
"Tevi, this is Jefferson Partridge," I said. "Jefferson, meet Tevi, my
partner."
Tevi bowed over steepled hands. "A pleasure, Jefferson Partridge." She
swept
 her gaze over the boy. "A fine young man, I am sure."
Jefferson blushed. The bags dropped to the earth around him, and he
scrabbled
to pick them up. "Thank you, maтАЩam. I gotta go. Chores." He bobbed his head
at
me and loped off.
"Such politeness," Tevi said.
"I wish he wasnтАЩt so polite," I said.
She cocked her head at me. "I am not understanding."
I sighed. "Tevi, if you act like an authority figure, the kids will treat