Discounts for students.”
“Wait,” she said, grabbing his arm. “I’m…in high school.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m only seventeen,” she whispered. “I don’t think I’m legal.”
“You’re American. You’ll be fine. Just act like you belong and no one will say a word.”
“Are you sure?”
“I started getting into pubs when I was thirteen,” he said. “I’m m sure.”
“But you’re legal now?”
“I’m nineteen.”
“And that’s legal here, right?”
“It’s not just legal,” he said. “It’s mandatory. Come on.”
Ginny couldn’t even see the bar from where they were. There was a solid wall of people guarding it and a haze of smoke hanging over it, as if it had its very own weather.
“What are you having?” Keith asked. “I’ll go and get it. You try to find somewhere to stand.”
She ordered the only thing she knew—something that was conveniently written on a huge mirror on the wall.
“Guinness?”
“Right.”
Keith threw himself into the crowd and was absorbed. Ginny squeezed in between a clump of guys in brightly colored soccer shirts who were standing along a little ledge. They kept punching one another. Ginny backed as far into the wall as she could go, but she was sure they would still manage to hit her. There was nowhere else to stand, though. She pressed herself in close and examined the sticky rings on the wood shelf and the ashy remnants in the ashtrays. An old Spice Girls song started playing, and the hitting guys began to do a hit dance that brought them even closer to Ginny.
Keith found her there a few minutes later. He carried a pint glass full of a very dark liquid that was coughing up tiny brass-colored bubbles. There was a thin layer of cloudy foam on top. He passed her the glass. It was heavy. She had a brief flash of the thick, warm Ribena and shuddered. For himself, Keith had gotten a Coke. He glanced behind him and placed himself between the dancing guys and Ginny.
“Don’t drink,” he explained, seeing her staring at the soda. “I fulfilled my quota when I was sixteen. The government issued me a special card.” He fixed her again with his unwavering stare. His eyes were very green, with a kind of gold starburst at the center that was just a little off-putting and intense.
“So, are you going to tell me why you did this strange thing or not?” he asked.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
