"David Eddings - Losers, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

"You know," the driver said, wheeling out of the lot, "if I'd been smart, I'd have called in sick this morning, but I can't afford to lose the time. I wish to hell the bastard who invented skateboards had one shoved up his ass."

Raphael laughed. He still felt good.

They pulled up in front of the apartment house, and the driver looked around. "There's one," he said, looking in the rearview mirror.

The boy was about fourteen, and he wore a ragged denim vest gaudy with embroidery and metal studs. He had long, greasy hair and a smart-sullen sneer on his face. They waited until he had swaggered along the sidewalk to where the cab sat.

"Hey, kid," the driver called to him.

"What?" the boy asked insolently.

"You wanna make a buck?"

"Doin' what?"

"Haul a couple sacks of groceries upstairs."

"Maybe I'm busy."

"Sure you are. Skip it then. There's another kid just up the street."

The boy looked quickly over his shoulder and saw another boy on a bicycle. "Okay. Gimme the dollar."

"After the groceries are upstairs."

The boy glowered at him.

Raphael paid the driver and got out of the cab. The boy got the groceries. "These are heavy, man," he complained.

"It's just up those stairs." Raphael pointed.

The cab drove off, and the boy looked at Raphael, his eyes narrowing.

"I'll go up first," Raphael told him. "I'll have to unlock the door at the top."

"Let's go, man. I ain't got all day."

Raphael went to the stairs and started up. Halfway to the top, he realized that the boy was not behind him. He turned and went back down as quickly as he could.

The boy was already across the street, walking fast, with the two bags of groceries hugged in his arms.

"Hey!" Raphael shouted at him.

The boy looked back and cackled a high-pitched laugh.

"Come back here!" Raphael shouted, suddenly consumed with an overwhelming fury as he realized how completely helpless he was.

The boy laughed again and kept on going.