Над пропастью во ржи

           "Andhowdoyouthinkthey’lltakethenews?" 

           "Well...they’llbeprettyirritatedaboutit,"Isaid. "Theyreallywill. ThisisaboutthefourthschoolI’vegoneto." Ishookmyhead. Ishakemyheadquitealot. "Boy!"Isaid.Ialsosay"Boy!"quitealot. PartlybecauseIhavealousyvocabulary andpartlybecauseIactquiteyoungformyagesometimes. Iwassixteenthen,andI’mseventeennow, andsometimesIactlikeI’maboutthirteen. It’sreallyironical,becauseI’msixfoottwoandahalfandIhavegrayhair. Ireallydo. Theonesideofmyhead—therightside—isfullofmillionsofgrayhairs. I’vehadthemeversinceIwasakid. 

           AndyetIstillactsometimeslikeIwasonlyabouttwelve. Everybodysaysthat,especiallymyfather. It’spartlytrue,too,butitisn’talltrue. Peoplealwaysthinksomething’salltrue. Idon’tgiveadamn,exceptthatIgetboredsometimeswhenpeopletellmetoactmyage. SometimesIactalotolderthanIam-Ireallydo-butpeoplenevernoticeit. Peoplenevernoticeanything. 

           OldSpencerstartednoddingagain. Healsostartedpickinghisnose. Hemadeoutlikehewasonlypinchingit, buthewasreallygettingtheoldthumbrightinthere. Iguesshethoughtitwasallrighttodobecauseitwasonlymethatwasintheroom. Ididn’tcare,exceptthatit’sprettydisgustingtowatchsomebodypicktheirnose. 

           Thenhesaid,"Ihadtheprivilegeofmeetingyourmotheranddad whentheyhadtheirlittlechatwithDr.Thurmersomeweeksago. They’regrandpeople." 

           "Yes,theyare.They’reverynice." 

           Grand.There’sawordIreallyhate.It’saphony.