City by Alessandro Baricco Page A

thought it was scandalous to allow a child to be so alone, and that at the very least he should have had a band of hussars behind him, or something of the sort, to escort him along the path and into his classes, a couple of dozen hussars, maybe more. But like this it was terrible.
    â€œIt’s terrible,” she said to two boys who were coming out, with books under their arms and comic-book shoes.
    â€œIs something wrong?”
    â€œEverything’s wrong.”
    â€œOh?”
    The boys sneered.
    â€œDo you know someone called Gould?”
    â€œGould?”
    â€œYes, Gould.”
    â€œThe kid?”
    They sneered.
    â€œYes, the kid.”
    â€œOf course we know him.”
    â€œWhat is there to sneer at?”
    â€œMr. Nobel, who doesn’t know him?”
    â€œWhat is there to sneer at?”
    â€œHey, cool it, sister.”
    â€œSo, do you know him or not?”
    â€œYes, we know him.”
    â€œAre you friends of his?”
    â€œWho, us?”
    â€œYou.”
    They sneered.
    â€œHe’s not friends with anyone.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œHe’s not friends with anyone, that’s what it means.”
    â€œDoesn’t he go to school with you?”
    â€œHe lives there, at school.”
    â€œSo?”
    â€œSo nothing.”
    â€œHe goes to class like everyone else, doesn’t he?”
    â€œWhat’s it to you? What are you, some kind of a journalist?”
    â€œI’m not a journalist.”
    â€œShe’s his mama.”
    They snorted.
    â€œI am not his mama. He has a mother.”
    â€œAnd who is she, Marie Curie?”
    â€œFuck you.”
    â€œHey sister, cool it.”
    â€œCool it yourself.”
    â€œYou’re out of your mind.”
    â€œFuck you.”
    â€œHey.”
    â€œLeave her alone. She’s nuts.”
    â€œWhat the fuck . . .”
    â€œCome on, forget it . . .”
    â€œShe’s nuts.”
    â€œLet’s go, come on.”
    They weren’t sneering any more.
    â€œYOU WON’T BE SO SMART WHEN THE HUSSARS ARRIVE,” Shatzy shouted after them.
    â€œJust listen to her.”
    â€œForget it, come on.”
    â€œTHEY’LL HANG YOU, AND PEOPLE LIKE YOU, BY THE BALLS, AND THEN THEY’LL USE YOU FOR TARGET PRACTICE.”
    â€œShe’s nuts.”
    â€œUnbelievable.”
    Shatzy turned back towards the school. They’ll hang you by the balls, she murmured softly. Then she blew her nose. It was very cold. She looked at the big lawn and the twisted trees. She had seen trees like that before, but she couldn’t remember where. In front of some museum, perhaps. It was very cold. She took out her gloves and put them on. Damn it all, she thought. She looked at the time. There were boys coming out and boys going in. The school was white. The lawn was turning yellow. Damn it all, she thought.
    Then she began to run.
    She turned onto the path and ran all the way to the steps, took the steps two at a time, and went into the school. She proceeded to the end of a long corridor, took the stairs to the second floor, went into a kind of cafeteria and out the other side, went down one floor, opened all the doors she could find, ended up outside the school again, crossed a playing field and a garden, entered a three-story yellow building, climbed the stairs, looked in a library and the bathrooms, stuck her head into offices, took an elevator, followed an arrow that said “Grabenhauer Foundation,” turned back, went along a green-painted corridor, opened the first door, looked inside the classroom, and saw a man standing behind a lectern and nobody at the desks but one boy, sitting in the third row, with a can of Coke in his hand.
    â€œShatzy.”
    â€œHi, Gould.”
    â€œWhat are you doing here?”
    â€œNothing, I just wanted to see if everything was going OK.”
    â€œEverything’s OK.”
    â€œAll in