Rite Of Passage by Alexei Panshin

Author:Alexei Panshin [Panshin, Alexei]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction
Published: 2011-01-13T06:00:00+00:00

"It's not that," I said.

"Well, what is it?"

"Nothing," I said. Then, "They got the suits about half an hour ago. Venie waved at me. You two had your heads down over the table."

"I hope they got the smallest there were," Jimmy said.

Suddenly, I put my hand on his elbow and stopped. "Hold on there. We'd better go back and go around." I gestured at the hail ahead. "I don't want to get bawled out by that old witch again."

Jimmy looked at me with an impish expression. It's the sort of expression his face, topped by red hair and set between prominent ears, is really fitted for.

"Let's take a chance," he said. "Let's just run for it, and if she comes out we won't stop at all."

Maybe it was my moment to be impulsive. The hall stretched before us like a gauntlet. The door to old Mrs. Keithley's office was open and we were far enough out of her line of sight to allow us a running start. We had to go about thirty yards beyond it, turn a corner left, and then we'd be out of sight and out of practical reach.

"All right," I said. Feeling like little blonde-haired Susy Dangerfield running between the lines of hostile Iroquois braves, I took off. Jimmy was right with me, on my left, and we pounded along. As we passed the old lady's office, I shot a glance right, but didn't see her.

Jimmy out-accelerated me, and as we made for the corner, he was a step or two ahead.

"Hey, slow down," I said. "She isn't even there."

He turned his head to look back as he reached the corner, and still moving at considerable speed crashed blindly into someone. Jimmy bounced off and into the wall, but didn't fall down. I skidded to a stop at the corner and looked down. It was Mrs. Keithley, white hair and all, sitting flat on her bottom with an expression of affronted dignity on her face. She looked up at me.

"Hello," I said. "Nice day, isn't it?" I stepped over her and walked at a very sedate pace down the hail.

Jimmy was stunned momentarily, but then he made the best of things. "It was nice to see you again,"

he said politely to the dear old lady, and then walked after me. I shot a glance back at her and then Jimmy caught up with me and we both broke into a run and left her looking speechlessly after us.

When we were out of breath and out of sight, we stopped running and flung ourselves down panting on a flight of stairs. Then we started laughing, partly because it seemed terribly funny and partly from sheer relief.

When I'd caught my breath and stopped laughing, I looked soberly at Jimmy and said, "I don't know about you, but I'm going to take the long way around from now on."

"That's a pretty obvious thing to say," Jimmy said.

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