Free B004QGYWKI EBOK by Mario Vargas Llosa Page A

idlers? I’ll crush your insolence….”
    He lowered and raised his voice. I saw him fight not to shout. Why don’t you explode once and for all, I thought. Coward!
    He had stood up. A gray smudge floated around his hands, which rested on his glass-topped desk. Suddenly his voice rose, grew harsh.
    “Get out! Whoever mentions exams again will be duly punished.”
    Before Javier or I could make a signal to him, the real Lou showed himself: the nighttime raider of filthy huts in Tablada, the fighter of the Wolves in the dunes.
    “Sir…”
    I didn’t turn to look at him. His slanting eyes must have been shooting sparks of fire and fury, as when we fought on the dry riverbed. Now, too, he must have had his mouth open, filled with spit, baring his yellow teeth.
    “Neither can we accept their flunking us all because you don’t want any schedules. Why do you want us all to get bad grades? Why?…”
    Ferrufino had come close. He nearly touched him with his body. Pale, terrified, Lou continued to speak:
    “We’re sick and tired of—”
    “Shut up!”
    The principal had raised his arms and his fists clenched something.
    “Shut up!” he repeated angrily. “Shut up, you animal! How dare you!”
    Lou was already silent, but he looked Ferrufino in the eyes as if he were suddenly going to lunge at his neck. They’re just alike, I thought: Two dogs.
    “So, you’ve learned from this one.”
    His finger was pointing at my forehead. I bit my lip: soon I felt a thin, hot thread coursing along my tongue and that calmed me.
    “Get out!” he shouted again. “Get out of here! You’ll regret this.”
    We left. A motionless and gasping crowd sprawled right up to the edge of the steps connecting San Miguel School to Merino Square. Our schoolmates had invaded the small gardens and the fountain: they were mute and anxious. Oddly, in the midst of the bright, static patch appeared small white rectangles that no one stepped on. The heads seemed identical, uniform, as in parade formation. We crossed the square. No one questioned us: they moved to one side, making way for us, with tight lips. Until we stepped out onto the street they held their place. Then, following a signal none of us had given, they walked behind us, out of step, just as they did when walking to class.
    The pavement was boiling: it looked like a mirror melting in the sunlight. Can it be true? I thought. One hot, deserted night they told me about it, on this same street, and I didn’t believe it. But the newspapers said that in some faraway places the sun drove men crazy and sometimes killed them.
    “Javier,” I asked, “you saw the egg fry all by itself on the street?”
    Surprised, he shook his head. “No. They told me about it.”
    “Can it be true?”
    “Maybe. We could test it now. The ground’s burning up; like hot coals.”
    Albert appeared in the doorway of the Queen. His blond hair shone wonderfully: it looked like gold. Friendly, he waved his right hand. His enormous green eyes were wide open and he smiled. He must have been wondering where this uniformed and silent crowd was marching to in the brutal heat.
    “Coming back later?” he called to me.
    “Can’t. See you tonight.”
    “He’s an idiot,” said Javier. “He’s a drunk.”
    “No,” I asserted. “He’s my friend. He’s a nice guy.”

4.
     
    “Let me talk, Lou,” I asked him, trying to keep cool.
    But nobody could contain him now. He was standing up on the railing, under the branches of the withered carob tree: he held his balance admirably and his skin and face reminded you of a lizard.
    “No!” he said aggressively. “ I’m going to talk.”
    I signaled to Javier. We went up to Lou and grabbed his legs. But he managed to grab hold of the tree in time and wriggle his right leg out of my arms. Driven back three steps by a strong kick in the shoulder, I saw Javier quickly seize Lou by the knees and raise his face defiantly with eyes scorched by the sun.
    “Don’t hit