The ELI Event B007R5LTNS Read Online Free PDF Page B

this hand I got a dime, and in this hand I got a nickel. Now you can have either one of ’em, whichever one you like, but you can’t have ’em both. Okay, which one you want?” He winked again at Tom, who watched, wide-eyed.
    Robin’s eyes moved slowly from one hand to the other, then back to meet Mike’s. “C’mon, Bird, you can have whichever one you want. Go ahead—pick one!” Robin reached out and pointed to the hand holding the nickel. Hesitantly, he spoke.
    “I want that one.” Immediately, all the boys except Tom burst into hysterical laughter, as though they had never seen the joke before, when in fact they had seen it dozens of times. Before Robin could take the coin, Mike closed his hands and withdrew them.
    “All right, Bird, you got it!” He shouted. “Now tell Tom here why you picked the nickel.”
    Robin turned to Tom, who seemed flustered, embarrassed for him. “Well,” he looked at Mike, then back at Tom, “I picked it because it’s bigger.” Again the boys fell about themselves with laughter, except for Tom. Mike quickly put his arm around Tom, guiding him away. Most of the boys drifted off in small groups, still chuckling.
    “That was great, Bird, just great!” Mike called over his shoulder. “Oh, I almost forgot—here’s your nickel. You picked it fair and square!” Laughing, he tossed the nickel backwards over his head, where it landed with a small thud in the dirt at Robin’s feet. Robin carefully retrieved it, blew off the dust and clenched it in his fist. “Falls for it every time,” Mike loudly said to Tom. “What a bird-brain! Get it? Bird -brain!”
    “I don’t know,” the other boy said, stopping. “Maybe he’s not as dumb as he seems.”
    “You gotta be shittin’ me,” Mike chuckled. “He’s for real, all right—nobody could act that dumb on purpose!” Tom watched Mike walk away, still laughing. “C’mon, let’s hang.”
    As the other boys gathered into cliques, Tom drifted away. He approached Robin, looking back at Mrs. Faraday’s office on the way. Positioning himself to put Robin between him and the building, he pulled a half-smoked cigarette and an old, battered Zippo from his pants pocket.
    “So, Bird…” he began.
    “Robin,” the other boy corrected hesitantly. “My name is Robin.”
    Tom put the butt in his mouth, keeping his head down. “Oh yeah, right. Sorry, man,” he said through his teeth. “Anyways.” Tom flicked the lighter. It sparked, but didn’t light. “So, um, Robin, do you always fall for that lame crap?”
    “Yeah,” came the languid reply.
    Tom shrugged and spread his hands, mumbling around the cigarette. “But don’t you get it? Wise up; he’s jerkin’ your chain, man. Don’t you know the dime’s worth two nickels?”
    Again, slowly, “Yeah.”
    Tom flicked the lighter; still no flame. He shook it hard and looked quizzically at Robin again. “Okay, so why do you keep takin’ the nickel, then?”
    “Because,” Robin almost whispered, looking directly at the other boy, “if I ever take the dime, he’ll quit doing it.”
    Tom blinked hard at that, shook his head a couple of times, and flicked the lighter again. It finally came to life. He lit his cigarette and took a drag, absentmindedly letting the flame burn as the true nature of the gag dawned on him.
    Tom began to laugh, letting out the smoke in a great gray cloud. “Oh shit, I love it! Dude, that is messed up,” he smiled. “These nozzles think you’re a moron, and you’re playin’ ’em like a fiddle.” He snorted, the Zippo still alight in his hand. “Man, that’s classic.”
    Robin stared intensely at the lighter’s flame and seemed not to hear.
    Tom tried again. “Hey, I said, that’s classic. Dude, you’re bustin’ their chops at their own game. I love it!”
    No response. Then: “Ow!” Tom snapped the hot lighter shut and tossed it into his left hand, back to his right, and back to his left until it was cool enough to hold. He