Second Night by Gabriel J Klein Read Free Book Online Page A

document: The Northern Pantheon Institute of Academic Research, The Skaldic Poets, Paper Twelve. As he turned the page, she noticed the peculiar white scar slashed across the palm of his left hand. It was deeply knotted at either end and completely smooth in the centre. His fingers were long and tapered, the tips slightly worn. Both hands were heavily calloused. His wrists looked abnormally strong and he had an unusual way of flexing his fingers when he was concentrating. She wondered what it would be like to be touched by hands like that.
    â€˜I could help you,’ she said brightly.
    He did not look up. ‘Why?’
    â€˜So you’d get better marks.’
    â€˜Why would I want that?’
    â€˜Because it would make math more fun.’
    â€˜For you or for me?’
    She looked at him from under her lashes. ‘For both of us. How about my place after school?’
    â€˜I don’t do maths after school.’
    â€˜So what about lunch then?’
    He didn’t reply.
    That was such a dumb thing to say , she told herself. ‘I guess you don’t do lunch either.’
    He turned and looked her levelly. ‘You’re picking me up, right?’
    â€˜Yes. So when do we start?’
    â€˜Monday, ten minutes to three in the coffee shop.’
    â€˜That’s very precise.’
    â€˜It is.’
    â€˜And it means we miss last class, right?’
    â€˜We do.’
    â€˜So what’s wrong with today?’
    â€˜You need time to think about picking me up.’
    She looked at the clock on the wall. ‘I’ve already thought about it for nineteen hours and twenty-six minutes. Isn’t that time enough?’
    â€˜Monday, ten minutes to three in the coffee shop,’ he repeated. ‘And as you’re doing the picking up, you can buy the coffee.’
    â€˜And you drink a lot.’
    â€˜I do.’
    â€˜That’s okay, my dad does too.’ She calculated rapidly. ‘So I’ve got another seventy-four and a half thinking hours then.’
    â€˜If you say so.’
    â€˜Can we talk before Monday? I mean, can I call you? Or do you want to call me?’
    â€˜No one talks when they’re thinking.’
    â€˜So that means no then.’
    â€˜That’s the general idea.’
    Caz carried on reading. The teacher returned. Lauren answered most of his questions.
    â€˜I’ll see that you are transferred to a more mathematically capable group, Lauren,’ he remarked irritably, glaring once more at the pack of insufferable idiots it was his misfortune to have to endure at the end of a long and undistinguished career.
    The lesson ended. Caz ignored Lauren and waited for Melanie to pick up her books.
    â€˜Band practice,’ she said solemnly, but her eyes were twinkling.
    He nodded. ‘Red alert.’

CHAPTER 8
    Jasper started work on the office that same afternoon, as soon as John had given him the news about the job. He looked around the room, scratching his head nervously, his usual confidence for once decidedly on the ebb.
    ‘How am I supposed to go about this, Al?’ he asked.
    ‘We’d best get the place cleared out first,’ Alan answered. He heaved one of the empty filing cabinets away from the wall, surprised at how heavy it was. ‘That’s a tidy old weight.’
    ‘That was made in the days when wood was wood,’ said John mournfully.
    ‘What are we supposed to do with it?’ asked Jasper.
    John shook his head. ‘Sir Jonas wants the whole lot broken up and burnt. He wants everything new and a.s.a.p. he told me.’
    Jasper looked around the cracked and peeling walls. ‘Did he say anything about paying professional rates?’
    ‘I expect that’ll depend on how much of a professional job gets done,’ said John, bending down to lift a corner of the worn linoleum. The floor beneath was a mosaic of coloured stone.
    ‘That’s not bad!’ exclaimed Jasper. ‘Why did they cover it up?’
    ‘Maybe because it was too