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

 Several of the kids in JeffersonтАЩs line glanced up as I approached. "Uh,
hi,
Mister Hammond, sir," he said.
"Pretty good footwork," I said.
"Thanks," he muttered, ducking his head.
I stepped up to the front of the line and signaled for the ball. Then I
motioned for the kids to draw closer, and they formed a loose circle around
me. "I know your teacher told you IтАЩm with the EC," I said. "But I also
coach
league football on Luna, and I wanted to show you some set plays. IтАЩll need
some helpers, though." I pointed to Jefferson, then to two boys and two
girls
at random. "WeтАЩll go three on three. Everybody watch us go downfield a
couple
of times, then split yourselves into groups and follow our lead. Okay?"
"Yes, sir," they said. If nothing else, they were obedient and respectful
of
authority.
I led Jefferson and a girl down the field, running a give-and-go against
the
other three kids. Soon everyone joined in. A buzz of conversation arose,
and
under its cover I chatted with Jefferson. "Where are the older kids?" I
asked.
"The teenagers?"
"Working," he said. "You get out of school when you turn fifteen."
I remembered the young teacher IтАЩd seen earlier, who didnтАЩt look much older
than fifteen herself. "Do the adults have football leagues?"
He shook his head. "They stay busy with the militia."
"What about the women?"
"Football isnтАЩt for ladies," the boy said.
A flash of distant color caught my eye. Over by the schoolhouse, I saw Tevi
standing with several of the teachers. "Gotta go," I said. I corralled one
of
the kids and had him take my place, then loped over to my partner.
Two of the teachers were very young indeed, hardly more than girls, and as
I
drew near I could see that their cheeks were blotchy and their noses red.
One
of them snuffled loudly as I approached, and the other wiped tears from her
eyes. The other two teachers stared at me frostily as I approached. "Is
there
a problem?" I asked.
Big mistake. Tevi, who was puffed up like an angry robin, turned on me.
"These
women have no qualifications to teach," she said. "They have no training.
Several of them know not the subject matter." She glared at the crying
girl,
who swallowed and took a shaky breath.
I turned to one of the ice maidens. "You are using an approved curriculum,