The One and Only Ivan (Katherine Applegate) читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги (ч. 99)

nervous

All day long I knuckle walk circles around my cage.

I’m so nervous I can’t nap. I can’t even eat.

Well, not very much, anyway.

I’m ready to show Julia what I’ve made.

It has to be Julia. She’s an artist. Surely she’ll look, truly look, at my painting. She won’t notice the smudges and tears. She won’t care if the pieces don’t quite fit together. She’ll see past all of that.

Surely Julia will see what I’ve imagined.

I watch Ruby trudge sullenly through the four-o’clock show, and I wonder: What will happen if I fail? What if I can’t make Julia understand?

But of course I know the answer. Nothing. Nothing will happen.

Ruby will remain the main attraction at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, conveniently located off I-95, with shows at two, four, and seven, 365 days a year, year after year after year.