Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon

Author:Robert R. McCammon
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Magic, Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror, Fiction - Horror, Bildungsromans, Fathers and sons, Fiction, Boys, Fantasy, Horror - General, General, Children
ISBN: 9780671743055
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 1992-05-01T07:37:19.979000+00:00

XVIII – The Magic Box

THE SATURDAY NIGHT OF THE ZEPHYR ARTS COUNCIL AWARDS ceremony arrived. We all put on our Sunday clothes, jammed into the pickup truck, and headed for the library. My fright level, which had been hovering around eight on a scale of ten, now moved past nine. During the week, my so-called buddies had been telling me what might happen when I got up to read my story. If their predictions came true, I would break out in hives, pee in my pants, and lose my dinner from both ends in one simultaneous rush of shame and agony. Davy Ray had told me that to be safe I ought to put a cork in my butt. Ben had said I’d better be careful walking up to the podium in front of all those people, because that’s when likely I’d have my accident. Johnny said he’d known a boy who got up to read something in front of people and he forgot how to read right then and there, had started babbling in what sounded like Greek or Zulu.

Well, I’d decided against the cork. But when I saw the lights on in the library and all the cars parked out front, I started regretting my decision. Mom put her arm around my shoulder. “You’re gonna do just fine,” she said.

“Yep,” Dad said. He was wearing his father’s face again, but he had dark hollows under his eyes and I’d heard Mom telling him he might need to start taking some Geritol. She knew something was wrong, of course, but she didn’t know how deep the troubled current ran. “Just fine,” he told me.

The library’s meeting room was full of chairs, and at the front there was a table and the dreaded podium. Worse yet, there was a microphone at that podium! About forty people occupied the chairs, and Mayor Swope, Mrs. Prathmore, Mr. Grover Dean, and some of the other contest judges were moving around hobnobbing. I wanted to shrivel up and squeeze into a corner when Mayor Swope saw us and started walking over, but Dad placed his hand on my shoulder and I stood my ground.

“Hi there, Cory!” Mayor Swope smiled, but his eyes were wary. I figured he thought I might go crazy at any second. “You ready to read your story tonight?”

No sir, I wanted to say. “Yes sir,” was what came out.

“Well, I think we’re gonna have a good turnout.” His attention went to my folks. “I suspect you two are awfully proud of your boy.”

“We sure are,” Mom said. “There’s never been a writer in the family.”

“He’s surely got the imagination for it.” Mayor Swope smiled again; it was a very tight smile. “By the way, Cory: I got my hat out of my closet to get it reshaped. You don’t happen to know what became of the-”

“Luther!” a voice interrupted. “Just the man I need to see!”

Mr. Dollar, all dressed up in a dark blue suit and smelling of Aqua Velva, pushed up beside the mayor.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.