Free The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer Page A

the last time I darkened a schoolroom door—but I know you’re a copy of him. It’s like the old vulture was being given a second chance.”
    Matt’s eyes opened wide at Tam Lin’s choice of words. No one ever criticized El Patrón.
    “I’ll tell you this: El Patrón has his good side and his bad side. Very dark indeed is his majesty when he wants to be. When he was young, he made a choice, like a tree does when it decides to grow one way or the other. He grew large and green until he shadowed over the whole forest, but most of his branches are twisted.”
    Tam Lin settled into Celia’s chair; Matt could hear the springs groan with his weight.
    “I’m probably talking over your head, laddie. What I mean to say is this: When you’re small, you can choose which way to grow. If you’re kind and decent, you grow into a kind and decent man. If you’re like El Patrón … Just think about it.” The bodyguard left the room. Matt heard him outside in the walled garden.
    Tam Lin had energy to spare, and he didn’t nearly use it up guarding Celia’s apartment. He kept a rack of weights by the wall. Matt heard him grunt as he lifted them.
    Matt didn’t understand much of what Tam Lin had said. He’d never thought about growing up. Matt knew—theoretically—it was going to happen, but he couldn’t imagine being bigger than he was now. The idea that if you were mean, you might stay mean forever had never occurred to him.
    Celia said if you scowled all the time, your face would freeze that way. You’d never be able to smile, and if you looked into a mirror, it would fly into a thousand pieces. She also said if you swallowed watermelon seeds, they’d grow out your ears.
    María was gone, along with Emilia. Soon Steven and Tom left for boarding school, and Matt found himself the only child in the Big House. If he was a child, that is. Tom said clones weren’t the same as children. They weren’t even close.
    Matt looked at the mirror in Celia’s bathroom. He couldn’t see much difference between himself and Tom, but perhaps he was different inside. The doctor once told Rosa that clones went to pieces when they got older. What did that mean? Did they actually fall apart?
    Matt hugged himself. His arms and legs might drop off his body. His head would roll around by itself, like in that monster movie he’d been watching before Celia ran in and turned off the TV. The idea filled him with terror.
    “Time for school, laddie,” called Tam Lin.
    Still hugging himself, Matt emerged from the bathroom. A strange woman stood in the living room. She was smiling at him, but the smile didn’t look right to Matt. It stopped at the edge of her mouth, as though there were a wall keeping it from getting any farther. “Hi! I’m your new teacher,” said the woman. “You can call me Teacher, ha-ha. That makes it easy to remember.” The laugh was weird too.
    Matt edged into the room. Tam Lin blocked the door leading to the rest of the house.
    “Learning is fun!” said Teacher. “I’ll bet you’re a smart boy. I’ll bet you learn all your lessons fast and make your mommy proud of you.”
    Matt exchanged a startled look with Tam Lin.
    “The lad’s an orphan,” Tam Lin said.
    Teacher paused as though she didn’t quite understand.
    “He doesn’t talk,” the bodyguard explained. “That’s why I have to answer for him. He can read a bit, though.”
    “Reading is fun!” Teacher said in a hearty voice.
    She took out paper, pencils, crayons, and a coloring book from a canvas bag. Matt spent the morning copying letters and coloring in pictures. Every time he finished a lesson, Teacher cried, “Very good!” and printed a smiley face on his paper. After a while Matt wanted to leave the table, and Teacher firmly sat him back down again.
    “No, no, no,” she cooed. “You won’t get a gold star if you do that.”
    “He needs a break,” growled Tam Lin. “So do I,” he said under his breath as he ferried Matt to the