Free The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer Page B

behind her.
    Matt sat on the floor with tears pouring down his face. He made snuffling noises like a pig and hated himself for doing it, but he couldn’t stop. Celia would have comforted him if she’d been there. Tam Lin only shrugged and went back to his sports newspaper. Later, when Matt had recovered, he searched for the bear’s ear, but it was gone.
    Tom was a master of the near miss. He punched the air near Matt’s head, practicing—he said—karate exercises. He whispered insults too low for anyone else to hear. “You’re a clone,” he murmured. “Know what that is? A kind of puke. You were puked up by a cow.”
    Around important people, Tom was courteous. He asked how they were and listened politely to the answers. He brought drinks to his mother and opened doors for his grandfather. He was thoughtful and yet—
    There was something a little off about everything Tom did. He brought his mother drinks, but the glass didn’t always seem clean. He opened the door for his grandfather, but he let it swing shut on the old man’s heel. It wasn’t quite enough to make him fall and it could have been an accident. Everyone trusted Tom because he had such an open, innocent face, and yet—“He’s an unnatural little weevil,” growled Tam Lin. Matt was relieved to find that the bodyguard didn’t like Tom either.
    Tam Lin.
    Matt spent the first weeks tiptoeing around him. The man was so large and dangerous looking. It was like having a tamegrizzly bear in your house. Tam Lin planted himself in Celia’s easy chair and watched silently as María and Celia tried to tempt Matt to read or do a puzzle or eat. Matt enjoyed these activities, but it pleased him to be coaxed. He could make María almost scream with frustration. Celia would only stroke his hair and sigh. The bodyguard seemed to be reading, but his eyes flicked up and back again as he took in the scene before him.
    Matt thought he looked irritated, although it was hard to tell. Tam Lin’s normal expression wasn’t very pleasant.
    The doctor visited often because of a cough Matt had developed. At first it didn’t seem important, but one night he woke with his throat full of liquid. He couldn’t get any air. He stumbled to Celia’s room and doubled up on the floor. Celia screamed for Tam Lin.
    Bursting through the door, the bodyguard upended Matt and gave him a whack on the back. Matt spat out a mass of thick slime. Tam Lin matter-of-factly ran his finger around the inside of Matt’s mouth to clear it out. “Done that with lambs on me da’s farm,” he said, handing the boy back to Celia.
    When Willum came later, Tam Lin watched everything the doctor did. The bodyguard said nothing, but his presence made Willum’s hands slick with sweat. Matt didn’t know why the doctor was so afraid of Tam Lin, but it pleased him deeply that it was so.
    After that, all Matt had to do was cough and Celia or María would fall into a satisfying panic. Sometimes Matt really did have trouble breathing, but sometimes he only wanted to reassure himself that someone cared for him.
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    â€œI have to go to school, you eejit,” said María. “The holidays are over.” Matt stared out the window, punishing her for abandoninghim. “I don’t live here, you know. Sometime, maybe, they’ll let you visit my house—you’d love it. I have a dog and a tortoise and a parakeet. The parakeet talks, but it doesn’t mean anything.”
    Matt shifted his position to make his rejection more obvious. If María didn’t notice she was being snubbed, the whole thing was pointless.
    â€œI think you can talk if you want to,” she went on. “Everyone says you’re too stupid, but I don’t believe it. Please, Matt,” she wheedled. “Say you’ll miss me. Or hug me. I’ll understand that.