"Laymon, Richard - The Traveling Vampire Show" - читать интересную книгу автора (Laymon Richard)

My T-shirt was off. When I saw Rusty and Slim coming toward me, I
suddenly felt a little embarrassed about being without it. Which was
sort of strange, considering how much time we'd spent together in our
swimming suits. I had an urge to run and snag it off the porch rail
and put it on. But I stayed put, instead, and waited for them in just
my jeans and sneakers.

"Hi, guys," I called.

"What's up?" Rusty greeted me. He meant it, of course, as a sexual
innuendo. It was the sort of lame stuff he cherished.

"Not much," I said.

"Are you working hard, or hardly working?"

Slim and I both wrinkled our noses.

Then Slim looked at my sweaty bare torso and said, "It's too hot to be
mowing your lawn."

"Tell that to my dad." "Let me at him." "He's at work."

"He's getting off lucky," Slim said.

We were all smiling, knowing she was kidding around. She liked my
dad--liked both my parents a whole lot, though she wasn't crazy about
my brothers.

"So how long'll it take you to finish the yard?" Rusty asked.

"I can quit for a while. I've just gotta have it done by the time Dad
gets home from work."

"Come on with us," Slim said.

I gave a quick nod and ran across the grass. Nobody rise was home: Dad
at work, Mom away on her weekly shopping trip to the grocery store and
my brothers (one single and one married) no longer living at our
house.

As I charged up the porch stairs, I called over my shoulder, "Right
back." I whipped my T-shirt off the railing, rushed into the house and
raced upstairs to my bedroom.

With the T-shirt, I wiped the sweat off my face and chest.

Then I stepped up to the mirror and grabbed my comb. Thanks to Dad, my
hair was too short. No son of mine's gonna go around looking like a