Nate sucked hard on the burning roach and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket。 The problem
was; his other stoner St。 Jude?s buddies?Jeremy Scott Tompkinson; Charlie Dern; and Anthony
Avuldsen?all bought from Mitchell; too。 Mitchell was the best。 But it was worth calling just to
find out if any of them had managed to score a big stash before their dealer had disappeared。
Jeremy was in a cab on his way to an interschool squash club game at the Ninety…second Street
Y。 ?Sorry; dude;? his voice crackled over the line。 ?I?ve been doing mom?s Zoloft all day。 Why
don?t you just buy a dime bag from one of those dealers in the park or something??
Nate shrugged。 Something about buying a dime bag in the park seemed so 。 。 。lame 。 ?Whatever;
man;? he told Jeremy。 ?See you tomorrow。?
Charlie was in the Virgin megastore; buying DVDs with his little brother。 ?Bummer;? he said
when Nate told him about the situation。 ?But you?re right near the park; right? Just buy a dime
bag。?
?Yeah; whatever;? Nate replied。 ?See you tomorrow。?
Anthony was having a driving lesson in the new BMW M3 sports car his parents had given him
for his eighteenth birthday last weekend。 ?Check your mom?s medicine cabinet;? he
advised。 ?Parents are the ultimate resource。?
?I?ll look into it;? Nate answered。 ?Later。? He clicked off and sucked the last drag off his puny
little roach。 ?Damn!? he cursed; flicking the charred remnants into the dirty snow beneath his feet。
This semester was supposed to have been a twenty…four…hour party。 He?d had an awesome
interview at Brown in November; and he was pretty sure his application rocked hard enough to get
him in。 Plus he was no longer hanging out with little Jenny Humphrey; who was very sweet and
had a great rack; but who?d taken up a shitload of his free time。 For the rest of senior year Nate
had been planning to smoke up; kick back; and just stay mellow until graduation; but without his
trusty dealer; that plan was basically moot。
Nate sat back on the green wooden bench and gazed up at the sumptuous limestone apartment
buildings lining Fifth Avenue。 To his right; he could just see the corner of Blair?s Seventy…second
Street apartment building。 Up in the penthouse; Blair?s Russian Blue cat; Kitty Minky; was
probably lying stretched out on Blair?s rose…colored bedspread; eagerly waiting for Blair to e
home and scratch him under the chin with her coral…pink nails。 Impulsively; Nate pushed the
buttons on his phone to speed…dial Blair?s cell phone。 It rang six times before she finally picked
up。
?Hello?? Blair answered in a clipped voice。 She was seated in Garren?s new East Fifty…seventh
Street salon; which was decorated like a Turkish harem?s lair。 Gauzy pink…and…yellow silk scarves
hung from the ceiling; and huge pink…and…yellow…upholstered pillows were tossed at random
around the salon for clients to lounge on and sip Turkish coffee while they waited for their