Диана Дуэйн: Wizards Holiday

What s the matter with him I don t know, Nita said. He s been doing that every now and then since I got home. Where is he I don t know. I looked for him before, but I couldn t see him. Dairine can probably tell us when she gets back. So, Daddy, about the shopping… Okay, her father said. Your mom was such an expert at judging what we needed right down to Friday afternoon. Maybe I didn t pay enough attention. You probably did, though. Uh, no, Nita said, but I saw her do it often enough that I can imitate what she did until I start understanding the rules myself. Fine, her dad said. That s your job now, then. Let me get out of my work clothes and we ll go out as soon as Dairine gets back. Uh-oh, said that small voice again. Uh-oh. Uh-oh! What is it with him Nita s father said, looking around in confusion. He sounds like he s having a guilt attack. Wherever he is… The uh-oh-ing stopped short. Nita s dad looked into the dining room and spied something. Hey, wait, I see where he is, he said, and went to the corner behind the dining room table. There was a little cupboard and pantry area there, set into the wall, and one of the lower cupboard s doors was partly open. Nita s dad looked into it. What s the matter with you, fella Uh-oh, said Spot s voice, much smaller still. Come on, Nita s dad said, let s have a look at you. He reached down into the bottom of the cupboard, in among the unpolished silver and the big serving plates, and brought out the little laptop computer. It had been undergoing some changes recently, what Dairine referred to as an upgrade. In this case, upgrading seemed to involve getting smaller and cooler looking, so that a computer that had once been fairly big and heavy was now not much bigger than a large paperback book in a dark silvery case. Spot, however, had equipment that no other laptop had, as far as Nita knew not just sentience but (at least sometimes) legs. These all ten of them, silvery and with two ball-and-socket joints each now popped out and wiggled and rowed and made helpless circles in the air while Nita s dad held Spot up, blowing a little dislodged cupboard dust off the top of him. Some of that stuff in there needs to be polished, her dad said. It s all brown. Never mind. You got a problem, big guy It was surprising how much expression a closed computer case could seem to have, at least as far as Spot was concerned. He managed to look not only nervous but embarrassed. Not me, Spot said. Well, who then Uh-oh, Spot said again. Nita could immediately think of one reason why Spot might not want to go into detail. She was reluctant to say anything: It wasn t her style to go out of her way to get her little sister into trouble. Besides, since when does she need my help for that All right, Nita s father said, sounding resigned. What s Dairine done now Despite her best intentions, Nita had to grin, though she turned away a little so that it wouldn t be too obvious. Come on, buddy, Nita s father said. You know we re on her side. Give. Spot s little legs revolved faster and faster in their ball-and-socket joints, as if he were trying to rev up to takeoff speed. Spot, her dad said, come on, it s all right. Don t get all With a pop! and a little implosion of air that made the dining room window curtains swing inward, Spot vanished. Nita s dad looked at his empty hands, then looked over at Nita and dusted his palms. Now where d he go Nita shook her head. No idea. I haven t seen him do that before. Usually I don t see him coming or going, either, Nita said. But he can do that kind of stuff if he wants to. He s got a lot of the manual in him; wizardry is his operating system, and Spot can probably use it for function calls I ve never even thought about. She went into the kitchen and got her backpack off the counter, bringing it into the dining room and dropping it on the table. He and Dairine aren t usually far apart for long, though. When she comes back, he will, too. Did she have a late day today Nita s dad said. Choir practice, I think, Nita said. No, wait, that was yesterday. She should be home any minute. Nita s dad nodded. Any coffee left from this morning I threw it out when I left for school, Nita said. You know what it tastes like when you leave it all day. I just made you some fresh. Thanks. Her dad headed into the kitchen. As he did, the front doorbell rang. It s probably the newspaper guy, Nita s dad said. He collects around now. Get that, will you, honey Sure, Daddy. Nita went to the front door and opened it. Instead of the Newsday guy, Nita found Tom Swale standing there a tall man in his mid-thirties, dark-haired, good-looking, and one of the Senior Wizards for the New York metropolitan area. He was bundled up in a bright red ski parka and dripping slightly from the rain. Hi, Nita. I saw the car in the driveway. Is your dad around Uh, yeah, come on in. You need money, Nita said her dad from the kitchen. Not for Tom, Daddy, Nita said. He s free. She led Tom into the dining room and took his coat as he slipped out of it, hanging it over the back of one of the chairs. Her dad looked around the kitchen door, slightly surprised. Harry, Tom said, I m sorry to turn up unannounced like this. Is Dairine around Uh, not at the moment. Nita s dad suddenly looked a little pale and Nita wondered whether her dad was thinking back to the last time the local Senior Wizard had turned up on their doorstep asking for Dairine. It s whatever Dairine s done, isn t it Tom s rueful expression suggested that he understood what was going through Nita s dad s head. Well, yes. I wouldn t say it was on the scale of previous transgressions. But there s something she needs to take some correction on. At that, Nita s dad looked somewhat relieved. A daily occurrence, he said, if not hourly. Tom, come on in, have a cup of something, and tell me about it. Thanks. They headed past Nita into the kitchen. By the way, you any good with vanishing computers Nita s dad said. Please. I have enough trouble with them when they re visible, Tom said, giving Nita a wink in passing. Nita took this as a signal that she was meant to be elsewhere, so she went into the living room, picked up the extension phone, and dialed. When Kit picked up the phone this time, the noise in the background was more muted. Talked to the TV, huh Nita said. At length, Kit said. It seems to have worked for the moment. Yeah, Nita said, I had to sweet-talk the fridge a little myself just now. You re getting good at that, Kit said. Used to be you had more trouble with machines. Nita shrugged. Experience she said. Maybe I m changing specialties. Or maybe yours is rubbing off. Look, don t ask me. She lowered her voice. I was going to say that if the noise is still too much for you over there, maybe you want to find an excuse to come over here for a while. It may not be any quieter, but it s gonna be more interesting. Why What s happening I don t know, but Nita heard something then: a voice, higher than hers, younger than hers, coming up the driveway and singing, more or less to the tune of the chorus of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, Two weeks! Two weeks! I get two weeks off now, hurray, hurray Oh, boy, Nita said. Here it comes! The back door opened. Two weeks! Two Uh. There was a soft bang! as something materialized in the kitchen without being too careful about air displacement. Uh-oh, Spot s voice said, sounding panic-stricken. Both of you stay right where you are, Nita s dad said. Nita choked down her laughter. Can t miss this, gotta go! she whispered, and hung up. Dealing with Unforeseen Circumstances CAREFULLY, INTENDING TO SEEM neither too sneaky nor too enthusiastic about it, Nita made her way into the dining room and sat down very quietly at the end of the dining room table, where she could just see into the kitchen. Her dad and Tom were leaning against the kitchen counter, coffee cups in hand, looking at a suddenly very subdued Dairine. I ll give you three guesses, Tom said, why I m here. Читать дальше