Page 398 - The Book Thief

THE THOUGHT OF RUDY NAKED

There had been a woman.

Standing in the corner.

She had the thickest braid hed ever seen. It roped down her back, and
occasionally, when she brought it over her shoulder, it lurked at her colossal
breast like an overfed pet. In fact, everything about her was magnified. Her lips,
her legs. Her paved teeth. She had a large, direct voice. No time to waste. Komm,
she instructed them. Come. Stand here.

The doctor, by comparison, was like a balding rodent. He was small and nimble,
pacing the school office with his manic yet business-like movements and
mannerisms. And he had a cold.

Out of the three boys, it was difficult to decide which was the more reluctant to
take off his clothes when ordered to do so. The first one looked from person to
person, from the aging teacher to the gargantuan nurse to the pint-sized doctor.
The one in the middle looked only at his feet, and the one on the far left counted
his blessings that he was in the school office and not a dark alley. The nurse,
Rudy decided, was a frightener.

Whos first? she asked.

It was the supervising teacher, Herr Heckenstaller, who answered. He was more
a black suit than a man. His face was a mustache. Examining the boys, his
choice came swiftly.

Schwarz.

The unfortunate Jrgen Schwarz undid his uniform with great discomfort. He was
left standing only in his shoes and underwear. A luckless plea was marooned on
his German face.

And? Herr Heckenstaller asked. The shoes?