Скачать книгу

He had announced just days before Christmas that he no longer believed in Santa, that according to his friends it was just a thing parents made up to make sure their kids were good, especially around the hectic holidays. Eliza had made her older son swear to secrecy involving Santa so Austin wouldn’t find out.

      Cameron had also reached the bottom of his pile of gifts, and he opened his big box, pulling out a huge Matchbox race set with double looped tracks and at least two dozen race cars. He had often watched the Nascar races on TV with his dad, and Eliza had thought it would be the perfect gift for him. But she watched in dismay as her son, looking downcast, sadly put the set back in the box, not bothering to even pretend he wasn’t disappointed.

      “What’s wrong, Cameron? I thought…I mean, I’m sure Santa knew you loved race cars,” Eliza said.

      “I kind of wanted a drum set,” he replied softly. Eliza looked hopelessly at her husband.

      “Ah…that’s right, you did mention it once a while back.” Alex sat his spiked eggnog down on the end table and leaned forward in his chair. “Well, son, maybe you’ll get one next year for your birthday or Christmas. Santa probably didn’t have enough money to give a whole drum set out to all the kids who wanted one.”

      Cameron hunched over cross-legged on the floor by the tree, his elbows resting on his knees, and put his face in his hands, pouting and sullen, not looking at any of them. Eliza realized he was trying not to cry.

      Austin walked over and tapped his older brother on the shoulder, extending the guitar toward him. “Hey, Cameron, I’ll let you play my guitar,” he said cheerfully.

      Cameron swatted at the guitar, sending it banging to the floor. “I don’t want your stinking guitar, stupid.” He uncrossed his legs, stood up, and started to stomp out of the room.

      “Cameron, get back here.” Alex rose from his chair and grabbed his son by the arm, spinning him around. He looked down at his son and shook him angrily. “You need to apologize to your brother, and to your mother and me. You’re being an ungrateful brat, and you should know better than that.”

      Cameron flinched and looked down, unable to meet his father’s gaze. “Sorry, Austin,” he mumbled, his voice trembling. “Sorry, Mom and Dad. Can I go now?” His lower lip quivered.

      “Sure, honey,” she said, noticing with agitation that her husband still looked angry. But she held back from saying anymore, wanting to protect her son from further humiliation.

      Alex let go of his arm, and Cameron fled from the room.

      CHAPTER 6

      THE SLIGHT MARKS on Cameron’s arm—impressions from his father’s anger that Christmas morning—healed quickly, but the bruises to the ten-year-old boy’s ego didn’t. Cameron stayed silent for a week, not bothering to talk to the rest of his family.

      Several months later, Eliza was called into Mr. Dunleavy’s office again, but this time not for good news. Her fear from the first time, that Cameron was in trouble, was now being realized.

      She sat once again across the desk from the lanky principal as he relayed the episode.

      “I’m afraid Cameron was bullying another student, Mrs. Trellis,” he said in his authoritative, nasal tone. “The students were on the playground, and Cameron and another fifth grader, Donny Slade, approached a younger boy who’s in fourth grade, Bobby Montrose, and asked him if he had any money to lend them. When Bobby said he did but refused to give it to them, they shoved him into the rock-climbing wall, and his glasses fell to the ground and broke. They pushed him hard enough that he has bruises on his face and shoulder, according to his mother. They also emptied his pockets and took the dollar’s worth of change he had. I am suspending both Donny and your son for one week for assault and petty theft. Cameron will have to make up the schoolwork on his own time.”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4RkpRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAA agEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAhAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAk4dpAAQAAAABAAAAqAAAANQACvyA AAAnEAAK/IAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDIxLjEgKE1hY2ludG9zaCkAMjAyMDowMzoxOCAx NzoyNTowMwAAAAOgAQADAAAAAQABAACgAgAEAAAAAQAAAcOgAwAEAAAAAQAAArwAAAAAAAAABgED AAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABIgEbAAUAAAABAAABKgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQAAAABAAAB MgICAAQAAAABAAAX7wAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9i ZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwPFRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwM DAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQODg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwR DAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEIAKAAZwMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAf/xAE/ AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkK CxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMicYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWS U/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpam tsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcGBTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGx QiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kSTVKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSV xNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/APPDMpaqcJbSk2+A sYKUHxUtqfakngYa+KWqnsVnp+DXl2Wssv8As4qqfdu9N1kisepbpWW7dlbd25JBjWrT1TrXq+r1 lgwCL2j9ovYxoLf5s2V+vNv6T6P9f0fZ+n/m1n5FBoyLKSSfTcW7i0sJ/lbHe5u5K1RAOxQ6p4Kl tT7Ul/Cjgpii7UxZpPZK0GCHWf8AXwSRAzX7/wAiSSOB/9DgoCJWWNsa6xnqMBBdXuLdw/c9RvuZ /ZUYKPgtxnZ2M3MMYrrWDIMlsVlwFnvH0fb+cmSkBEk2aB2+b/BdMQPZt4FfS8qw0W4hqiq203Mv sJmmt9+1lTmuZtfs+h9P/hVF2P0/GwMC/IpsutzKn2vLb/SALLHVbRX6Fvtczb+crvT+n5mBnZOT fS6nExqskes+WscHssqx241x9mQ+1zq/T2eqpn9qN6V0o4dL7Geg8PLaG3gOFtmkvpucz2+5VJZB xjgncCY3eWfDxcGaXD7nr4f8n6WQQHb8A43ofacplOJWaze9ldVbn+oQ55bX/OObXu9/uReqY1eB lvGHcbMV7d+NeDq+p26qz6OzfttZdV/wmxXenVPw35OdkVPZ9kr2ta4Guz1sn9FR6XqtLWWMqdbk fQ/4T01J1eNf0qs0Ne39l3M3Nte159C9zS4+yupraqsmv/waxSHKRkFa4o1jl+kOLJtr83+Z/wDD lHGGn1jFrwep34uNbaaqHNFYe525ssa72vadvt3fmp7qMHCx8V+VVZl5OXWMq0eqagyp5d6VbHNb Y+2+3b6j7bFo9e6Xn3day3U4lz2WPb6ZZW4tI2Vt9rmt9P8AkoOfgZmbTg24tT8gsx24djGNLnV3 UFzH03Bn839Nvpvf+YmQyxlDBxZPmiDkPFwni9v9KcflUcQBNCt6YW9Fxq29QeLHuqqpxsjBtPJr yHf9qK2/Te2v9H/X/SKtj4NF3TxkPs9Gx2bVjeo76Da7GOse9zY9z2uC18hvr/bOl0RbkMw8ShjA R73YrvVyKqv9Je1rv5tv7lqpHFsp6WMe8ehZl5db667j6cVsrsrfkWCz+apdZcxnqP8A3EMeWZj6 pniMsfD+97ftw4p8P/hivbHbv+aPNp6ZjZORgvw76jSXNqvNp9UxPp220WtbjPou/wCB9P8AR/Qe s57dax4Az81v4eBmNccPqeO4dMobY+yy4ENpEbvVwsv6O6yz09ldTra7f9GsLa4vYw/Sj8YUmKYP pEuLh4SZ8XuRlxcWvq4uH+tjW5I6DxlEf85gGifv/IkrAxnTPx/IkrHEO6OA9n//0eMgTqE4rBOg lSvtDabHsEOa0lp80ShwfSx527nNaSJAMkfuqvZq3fAjxcF61xfTZtdO6TiuxMnqmfvbg4RbW2qm G23X2z6ONTZY11VDG/z2Tftfsq/mqkf7R9WctzaX4FnRw4w3NpyLMlrSfa12ZjZLW+pS3/Cvxn02 LZ+q2T0TM6bmfVzrdoxGZNzcnFy

Скачать книгу