"M. Rickert - Traitor" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rickert Mary)

Quickmart.

“What flavors you got today?” says Alika’s mother. Sometimes, when
Mariel is working, they stand around and talk but this is some new girl
they’ve never seen before. She says, “Today’s flavors are vanilla,
chocolate, and ice cream.”

Alika’s mother says, “Oh.”

Alika says, “What’s she mean ice cream? Of course the ice cream is
flavored ice cream.”

But Alika’s mother doesn’t pay much attention to her. She looks right
at the girl and says, “So soon?” The girl says, “She’s already nine. She’s
going to start remembering.” Then she looks at Alika and says, “What flavor
you want?”

Alika says, “You said vanilla, chocolate, and ice cream.”

The girl smiles. Her teeth are extraordinarily white. Alika stares at
them. “Did I say that?” the girl says. “I don’t know what I was thinking.
Flavors today are Vanilla, Chocolate, and Hamburger.”

“Hamburger?” Alika looks at her mother. This girl is nuts. But her
mother is standing there just staring into space with this weird look on her
face. “I’ll have chocolate,” Alika says. “I always take chocolate.”

The girl nods. “Those sure are pretty braids,” she says as she
scoops chocolate ice cream into a cone.

“I only get one scoop,” says Alika.

“Well, today we’re giving you three,” says the girl with the brilliant
white teeth.

Alika glances at her mother.

“Don’t worry,” the tooth girl says, “she already said it would be all
right.”

Alika doesn’t remember that. She says, “I don’t remember—”

But her mother interrupts her in that mean voice. “Oh Alika, you never
remember anything. Take the ice cream. Just take it.”

Alika looks at the girl. “That’s not true,” she says. “I remember some
things.”

The girl’s eyes go wide.