"Nancy Kress - Oaths and Miracles" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kress Nancy)

In the line of showgirls on the right side of the staircase, Jeanne
Cas-sidy watched, smiled, waved her arms like an angel, and took the
next step down. She knew that Sue Ann wasn't using. Sue Ann was
Jeanne's best friend. Sue Ann had been like this-shaky, glassy-eyed-for
twenty-four hours now. She hadn't slept. She wouldn't eat. She
wouldn't tell Jeanne what was wrong.

The fallen angels picked themselves up and backed up the left side of
the stairway, lining up with those on the right. Only Sue Ann stayed
where she was, sitting in a heap on the stage, staring at nothing. The line
descended slowly, smiling, and walked around her. Dawn had lost one
earring. Tiffany's stocking had torn and her knee bled. The jeers in the
audience died slowly away as the customers, in suits and cowboy
jackets and evening clothes and polo shirts with shorts, grew uncertain.

The famous singer finished his song and started another. The girls
sashayed behind him, arms on each other's shoulders, a line of
half-naked pelvises and long legs that blocked Sue Ann from audience
view. Jeanne saw the stage manager rush out, grab the girl under the
armpits, and drag her off stage left. Kemper's fat bulging face was
purple.

The song finished. The audience laughed and applauded. The famous
singer bowed extravagantly, his moussed hair bouncing. The curtain
swept closed.

Jeanne pushed her way through the chattering gleaming bodies. When
the wall of flesh proved too solid, she used her elbows. "Owww! Bitch
..."

"Where is she? Fred, where did she go?"

"Outta here!" Kemper yelled. "A million dollars sitting in the audience
and you bitches think you can go on using-"

"Taffy doesn't use," Jeanne said coldly. "Where is she?"

"In the can. You get her outta here, Amber, I'm telling you, outta here
before Bobby gets back here, he'll have her tits in a jar-"

Bobby was the famous singer. Jeanne pushed her way to the backstage
ladies' room.

Sue Ann sat on a toilet, her body stocking in place, the stall door open.
Two girls dressed like mostly hairless tigers stood at the sinks. They
bustled out, striped tails twitching, without glancing at the stalls.

Jeanne knelt in the narrow space. "Sue Ann? What is it? What
happened, honey?"