(ITA - 2008)The hold-upThe gunman, is useless.I kn

(ITA - 2008)

The hold-up

The gunman, is useless. 

I know it. 

He knows it. 

The whole bank knows it. 

Even my best mate Marvin knows it and ¹he’s more useless than the gunman.

The worst part about the whole thing is that Marv’s car is standing outside in a fifteen-minute parking zone. We’re all face-down on the floor and ²the car’s only got a few minutes left on it.

³‘I wish this bloke’d hurry up,’ I mention.

‘I know,’ Marv whispers back. This is outrageous.’ His voice rises from the depths of the floor. ‘I’ll be getting a fine because of this useless bastard. I can’t afford another fine, Ed.’

⁴The car’s not even worth it.’ 

What?’ 

Marv looks over at me now. I can sense he’s getting uptight.

Offended. If there’s one thing Marv doesn’t tolerate, it’s someone putting shit on his car. He repeats the question.

‘What did you say, Ed?’

‘I said,’ I whisper, ‘it isn’t even worth the fine, Marv.’ 

‘Look,’ he says, I’ll take ⁸a lot of things, Ed, but...’

I tune out of what he’s saying, because quite frankly, once Marv gets going about his car, it’s downright pain in the arse material.

He goes on and on, like a kid, and ⁵he’s just turned twenty, for Jesus sake.

He goes on for another minute or so, until I have to cut him off.

‘Marv,’ I point out, ‘the car’s an embarrassment, okay? It doesn’t even have a handbrake - it’s sitting out there with two bricks behind the back wheels.’ 

l’m trying to keep my voice ⁷as quiet as possible. ‘Half the time you don’t even bother locking it. You’re probably hoping someone’ll ⁶flog it so you can collect the insurance.’

‘It isn’t insured.’ (...)

That’s when the gunman turns around and shouts, ‘Who’s talkin’ back there?!’

Marv doesn’t care. He’s worked up about the car. (...)

Zusak, M. The Messenger, Austrália: Ed. Picador, 2002 p. 3-4

 

Da leitura do texto, é possível inferir que Marvin e Ed