Night. Part 1. Anna Fox
Читать онлайн книгу.
who was talking to her. “Are you not feeling well? Maybe you want to go out?
“Yes,” she said in a choked voice, thanking the teacher in her mind. And, jumping out of the table, Francesca quickly left the classroom, slamming the door behind her.
Her eyes were dull, and she felt sick, and her legs carried her not to a medical center, but straight to a toilet room. Crouching almost in half, she finally reached the toilet, pushed the door with her hand and ran inside. Fortunately, there was no one there.
At first, Francesca rushed to a sink and coughed uncontrollably into it. A saliva mixed with blood flowed along the brilliant ceramic edge to a hole. In fright, she made a grunting sound and, turning, jumped to the toilet. When she felt another push from below, she immediately vomited heavily.
But all she got rid of in such an unpleasant way was only water with a strange pink tinge. Just water, which she, without even noticing, managed to drink before noon. And, apparently, there was either some blood present. However, from this she wasn’t as disgusted as expected. Yes, and the pain immediately gone.
She wiped her lips with her hand, washed off the water, straightened up and returned to the sink. Leaning on it, Francesca looked in a mirror. Her face turned pale, but otherwise she felt much better. And yet it would be better to go to a doctor for an examination.
Rinsing her mouth and washing her hands, she turned to the door. She can return to the class. There are still three lessons left, and she so wanted to talk about all this with Tammy. But I can wait. And with this thought, she left the toilet and, slightly swaying, walked along the corridor back to the lesson.
The waiting was becoming unbearable. Every break she went to the dining room and bought another portion of water. She had never been so thirsty. But for some reason Francesca still didn’t seem to care about it. The only thing she wanted right now was to talk to Tammy.
When, finally, the last lesson ended, Francesca stormed out of the classroom and, not forgetting to drop into the dining room for a bag of juice, hurried to the park.
After walking a little among the trees of a shady alley, she came to her and her friend’s favorite bench near the fountain, hidden in the depths of the park. They both loved this place because it had a simple, low-key beauty: crystal water calmed thoughts, gave rest to the eyes and emotions, all around smelled freshly cut grass and sounded the chirping of birds. There they like to chat about some unimportant matters or, conversely, about global issues, share news and secrets. This place has been humbly keeping their secrets for a long time.
Tammy wasn’t there yet. Francesca sat down and slowly began to sip a scarlet cherry juice through a straw, drawing out patterns on the grass with a boot cape. Five minutes later, in the distance, a familiar figure loomed. Francesca was approached by a pretty girl of medium height with tanned skin and large waves of brown hair, gracefully lying on thin shoulders. Tammy smiled warmly from afar, hurried to her friend and flopped down next to her on the bench.
“Long wait?” she has begun to babbling in a cheerful voice.
“No.”
“Well, what did you want to talk to me about?” she asked.
And at that moment Francesca suddenly realized that the desire to talk about what had happened left her without a trace. The serene atmosphere cooled her ardor, and all she wanted to do was sit and be quiet. She slowly drank the juice and looked puzzled at her friend. But under the watchful gaze of Tammy, she still pulled away from the straw.
“You know, nothing special. I panicked in vain,” Francesca smiled tightly.
Tammy squinted in disbelief. There was a pause.
“Hmm… I know. Have you got a boyfriend?!” cheering, asked a friend.
“No,” Francesca said lazily.
“But is this clearly related to the guy?”
“No.”
“You’re not lying?”
“No,” the third time, the answer was firmer.
“But I met…”
And Tammy started her regular long story about a new boyfriend. Francesca has long ceased to count these guys because her friend has never been stayed long with them. She charmed them, dated them for a while, and then became interested in someone else. And so, it was repeated endlessly.
In fact, Tammy wasn’t a heart breaker. No one was hurt by her love. She was just very funny, but a flighty person. Francesca loved and valued her as a friend. She was at peace with Tammy, even if she chatted incessantly. Tammy, of course, knew that Francesca was listening to her halfheartedly, but she wasn’t offended: they understood each other well, as if they were sisters. And when her friend looked especially happy, Francesca even tried to pretend that she was listening very carefully, although at this time involuntarily hovered somewhere in clouds.
She didn’t even really understand, why she was so suddenly unwilling to talk about what had happened. This is probably intuition. Francesca felt that she had better say nothing. So, relaxing, she continued to slowly drink the juice and look at carefree shining Tammy.
Suddenly, after some time, Francesca felt the growing pain somewhere in the solar plexus. Her eyes widened involuntarily, as soon as she realized what it threatened.
The pain intensified and became unbearable, as if her organs, all cells and tissues were torn apart. In the eyes darkened. She bent, her head buried in her knees. From afar was coming the troubled voice of Tammy, but her words were muffled by the ringing noise in her ears.
Somewhere in the depths of her body there was a dull crunch, and the first push hit the throat. Francesca slid off the bench and fell on all fours. Nearby, her scared to death girlfriend was shaking her shoulder. And inside, as if a bloody battle unfolded, not for life, but for death. The ribs seemed to be cracked now. Then invisible knives pierced the lower abdomen – it seemed as if the meat grinder was working. Another push and she vomited on the smooth emerald grass near the bench.
The ringing in her ears stopped, and Francesca heard her friend’s exclamation:
“… did you get drunk yesterday?!”
And she felt better again. Francesca saw the same water in front of her, only now with a more pronounced red tinge. Tammy lifted her up, put her arms around her shoulders, and quickly dragged her along. Almost running, the friend pulled Francesca out of the park, still supporting her waist, thinking that she could fall at any moment.
“I’m better. Better!” Francesca slightly raised her voice so that Tammy would let her go. They stopped.
“Sure? Bring you home? How’re you feeling?” Tammy’s voice trembled. She was seriously scared. And there were reasons for this.
“Yes. For sure. I’m fine.”
Francesca didn’t dare to say that this had already happened in school.
“Can you walk?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll take you home after all. And don’t you dare argue!”
She wasn’t going to. Contradict the friend? No, the consequences of this even an enemy doesn’t wish. And in her company, in any case, it was much calmer and better. Tammy threw her arm around and looked at Francesca with a worried look. Girl was taken aback.
“What? I’m alright.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing you want to tell me?”
“Yes, of course. I probably got poisoned in the school cafeteria,” if you lie, then lie to the last.
“But you wanted to talk to me about something this morning. Didn’t you?”
Francesca lost in thought. She didn’t like to deceive, and, in fact, didn’t know how. What