"Timothy Zahn - A Coming of Age" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

quietly stole across her chest, confirming what she suspected but had forbidden her eyes to learn.

Fourteen years old, and still flat as a board.

Sighing with a mixture of relief and guilt, she straightened her gown and returned to her room,
forcing herself to walk this time. Flat-chested or not, the end of her preteen life was far too close to
ignore. Most of her friends already had their breast buds. Several of them had the first bits of pubic
hair, as well... and in those preteens the loss of their teekay was already beginning. She'd better get
used to staying on the ground.

Unbidden, tears filled Lisa's eyes; angrily, she rubbed them away. Stop it! she told herself harshly.
You're acting like a little girl. You think you're the only preteen in the world who doesn't want to
grow up? Act your age!

The pep talk didn't help. Closing the door behind her, she crossed the cold floor and climbed back
into bed. Dejectedly, she stared at the ceiling, watching the shifting pattern of light as the conetree
outside the window swayed in the breeze, her mind churning with resentment and bitterness. The
wake-up buzzer, when it sounded, was almost a relief.

"Sgnorf!" Sheelah said suddenly, a sort of enunciated grunt that punctuated her return to
consciousness. "Grack, it's cold in here. Did you sneak the window open last night, Lisa?"

"Just a crack." Lisa slid out from under the blankets and stood up. "Come on, get upтАФit's not that
cold."

"Tell that to my blood," Sheelah's muffled response came as she pulled the blankets up over her
nose. Her single visible eye rotated, and the curtains drew back, letting in a dazzling blast of
sunlight. Squinting in the sudden glare, Lisa watched as she teeked the window closed.

"Looks like a nice day," Sheelah commented, climbing out of bed and stretching like a cat. Her own
emerging breasts were little lumps under her nightgown, and Lisa felt a flash of jealousy. Sheelah's
teekay would begin to fade any time nowтАФwould be gone by the end of the yearтАФand yet she
remained invariably cheerful. Maturing gracefully... Feeling worse than ever, Lisa turned her back
on her roommate and began to dress.

By the time the two preteens emerged together from their room, the hallway outside was alive with
chattering ten and eleven-year-old girls. Some, still in night dress, were heading for the bathroom;
but most were going the other direction, toward the stairway and breakfast. Halfway down the hall,
there was a sudden outbreak of giggles, and a head rose above the general level of the crowd.
Another followed immediately, and the aerial game of tag was on.

"Back on the floor!" Lisa snapped, with more heat than was really called for. "You know the rules!"


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A Coming of Age

Guilty faces glanced around and disappeared as the two girls hastily dropped back to their feet. Lisa
lengthened her stride, intending to catch up with them, but had only taken two steps when Sheelah
caught her arm. "Hey, take it easy," she said in a low tone.