青帝小说

第5部分（第3页）

？You　don？t　have　to　be　romantic　to　get　in　my　pants　again；？　Vanessa　giggled　and　kissed　him

again。　？I？m　always　available。　And　by　the　way；　I　love　you；　too。？

？Cool。？　Dan　smiled　goofily　back　at　her。

Vanessa　couldn？t　believe　this　was　the　same　old　Dan　she？d　seen　only　yesterday。　He　was　still　pale；

thin；　and　overcaffeinated；　but　his　brown　eyes　were　shining　and　there　were　traces　of　smiley…face

dimples　in　his　usually　sallow　cheeks。　Wait　a　minute。　Since　when　could　she　actually　see　his

eyes？　？Whoa；　you　got　a　haircut；？　she　observed；　standing　back　to　check　it　out。

Dan　had　asked　the　barber　to　cut　his　hair　short　with　long　sideburns；　figuring　the　sideburns　would

keep　him　from　looking　like　all　the　preppy　assholes　in　his　class。　He　swept　his　hand　over　his　head

self…consciously。　It　felt　odd；　but　somehow　cleaner　than　before；　more　。　。　。homogenous　。　And　that

was　exactly　what　he　wanted？to　be　judged　by　his　work；　not　his　hair。

Whatever　you　say；　Sideburn　Man。

Vanessa　put　her　hands　on　the　hips　of　her　black　parka　coat。　Something　about　Dan？s　haircut　was　so

deliberate；　like　he　was　actually　going　for　a　certain　artsy；　bohemian　look　instead　of　just　stumbling

upon　one　by　mistake。　？It？s　different；？　she　mused；　already　feeling　a　little　nostalgic　for　the　old

scruffy…haired　Dan。　？I　guess　I？ll　get　used　to　it。？

Behind　them　a　group　of　eighth…grade　boys　spilled　out　the　school　doors　singing　？Hello　Dolly？　at

the　top　of　their　lungs。　They？d　just　been　released　from　music　class　and　were　still　too　young　and

innocent　to　realize　how　gay　they　sounded。

Hello；　Dolly！　Well　hel…loo；　Dolly！

It？s　so　nice　to　have　you　back　where　you　belong！

Dan　pulled　a　pack　of　unfiltered　Camels　out　of　his　black　messenger　bag；　tipped　one　out；　and　stuck

it　between　his　lips。　His　fingers　trembled　wildly　as　he　lit　it。　Well；　at　leastthat　hadn？t　changed。　He

offered　the　pack　to　Vanessa。　？Want　one？？

Vanessa　stared　at　him　and　chuckled　in　disbelief。　？Since　when　do　I　smoke？？

Dan　exhaled　into　the　air　above　her　head　and　rolled　his　eyes。　？Sorry。　I　don？t　know　why　I　just　did

that。？　He　shoved　the　pack　back　into　his　bag　and　grabbed　Vanessa？s　frozen　fingers。　？e　on。

Let？s　walk　somewhere。　I　have　something　major　to　tell　you。？

As　they　were　taking　off；　Zeke　Freedman　walked　out　of　school　bouncing　a　neon　blue　basketball。

Zeke　was　big　and　lumbering；　but　he　was　Riverside　Prep？s　star　basketball　player。　He？d　grown　out

his　curly　black　hair　so　it　hung　down　to　his　shoulders；　and　he　was　sporting　a　new　slate　gray

snowboarding　jacket。　Zeke　and　Dan　had　been　best　friends　since　second　grade；　but　they　hadn？t

really　hung　out　in　the　last　few　months　because　Dan　had　been　preoccupied　with　other　things。

Namely；　women　and　poetry。

Dan　realized　he　didn？t　even　know　where　Zeke　had　applied　to　college。　The　distance　between　them