"James van Pelt - Nor a Lender Be" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pelt James Van)

"How’s that different? There’s only one of me."
Victoria smiled, and William realized she’d led him to this question. He
admired
the technique; it seemed so Socratic.
"That’s our new direction. We want you to be the franchise player, but not
like
those pro stars. You are a superstar teacher, the maestro of the blackboard.
No
one is any better. You’re the best. But there’s no profit in selling you
individually. We can’t make enough. We don’t want to buy you; we want to buy
your style. Then we can franchise it."
Isaac said, "And we’re willing to pay you really, really well."
***
"Do you know the story of Alice?" the old man asks. He leans close so his
voice
won’t carry.
The little girl scrunches her hands in her lap. She doesn’t appear
uncomfortable, just interested in how her skirt wrinkles when she plays with
it.
"I don’t know an Alice," she says.
The old man looks at the parents across the play area. They’re still animated
in
discussion, not paying attention to anything beyond their talk. He doesn’t
see
any police officers. A breeze rustles the willow behind them. He says, "Alice
is
a little girl, just about your age, and her story begins with a rabbit. Do
you
know what a rabbit is?"
"I’ve been to a zoo," she says. "I saw a cat and a porcupine there, too."
"Of course you have," says the old man. "I knew you were a bright little
girl."
"So, what about Alice?" she says.
"And inquisitive, too. Oh, you’re a bright one for sure." He settles back in
the
bench; he touches her shoulder gently. "Well, the rabbit is late to begin
with,
and he has a pocket watch. Why do you think he might have a pocket watch?"
"The rabbit has pockets?" The little girl covers her mouth and giggles at the
idea.
"He’s a special rabbit. Do you want to know all about him?"
"Oh, yes," she says. "My dad has a pocket watch, too. It’s on a big chain,
but
it’s a lot more than a watch. He says it’s his little assistant, and it’s
really
expensive. He downloads it all the time, and I can’t play with it. Tell me
why
the rabbit has one."
The old man checks the parents once again, slides toward her so their hips
nearly touch and begins the story. Within a minute, he’s forgotten about the