青帝小说

第5部分（第4页）

was　mostly　his　fault；　and　he　felt　bad　about　it。　？Hey　Zeke；？　he　called　over。

Zeke　stopped　walking；　his　heavy　body　looking　even　more　massive　than　usual　inside　his　new

parka。　？Hey　Dan；？　he　replied　with　a　careful　smile；　bouncing　the　blue　ball　in　place　on　the　frozen

sidewalk。　？Hey　Vanessa。？

？What　do　you　think　of　Dan？s　new　haircut？？　Vanessa　asked　with　a　wry　smile。　？It？s　part　of　his

new　Mr。　Published　Poet　image。？

？Oh　yeah？？　Zeke　didn？t　seem　to　know　what　Vanessa　was　talking　about。　He　glanced　down　the

street；　giving　the　basketball　a　good　hard　bounce　before　holding　up　his　hand。　？See　you　guys。？

？See　ya；？　Dan　called；　watching　his　old　friend　dribble　the　ball　down　to　the　end　of　the　street。

？So；　what？s　the　big　news？？　Vanessa　asked　as　they　started　to　walk　west　on　Seventy…eighth　Street。

Cold　air　blasted　the　clouds　across　the　pale　gray　sky。　Down　the　block；　through　the　leafless

branches　of　the　trees　in　Riverside　Park；　Dan　caught　a　silvery　glimpse　of　the　Hudson。　？Well；？　he

began　suspensefully。　？This　morning　this　big…deal　literary　agent　named　Rusty　Klein　called　my　cell

phone　and　left　me　this　crazy　message。　She　thinks　I？m　the　next　Keats　and　she　said　we　have　to　keep

the　momentum　going　now　that　we　have　the　public？s　attention。？

？Wow。　EvenI？ve　heard　of　her！？　Vanessa　responded；　impressed。　？What　does　that　mean；　though？？

Dan　blew　a　puff　of　smoke　into　the　air。　？I　guess　it　means　she　wants　to　represent　me。？

Vanessa　stopped　walking。　She　wasn？t　sure　where　they　were　going　anyway。　？But　you　only　wrote

one　poem。　What？s　she　going　to　do？　I　don？t　mean　to　be　a　downer　Dan；　but　you　have　to　be　careful

of　people　like　that；　you　know？　She　could　be　trying　to　take　advantage　of　you。？

Dan　stopped　walking；　too。　He　flipped　up　the　collar　of　his　black　wool　army…navy　coat　and　then

flipped　it　down　again。　Why　was　Vanessa　being　so　negative？　All　of　this　was　totally　unexpected；　but

it　was　also　extremely　fucking　cool。　And　it　wasn？t　like　he　was　going　to　sell　out　and　start　writing

clich？d

Gap　ads　just　because　he　had　an　agent；　if　that　was　what　she　was　worried　about。　？I　don？t　know。　I

think　she　can　help　me　with　my　career。　Maybe　I　can　put　a　book　together　and　she　can　try　to　get　it

published　or　something。？

Vanessa　blew　on　her　hands　and　then　rubbed　her　cold；　bare　ears。　？Can　we　go　over　to　your　house？

I？m　freezing　my　ass　off。　We？d　better　work　on　the　film；　too。？

Dan　threw　his　cigarette　on　the　ground。　？Um；　actually；　I　was　thinking　I　might　go　back　and　read

through　all　my　note…books。　You　know；　see　if　there？s　a　thematic　link　to　some　of　the　poems。

Something　I　could　work　into　a　book。？

Vanessa　had　been　about　to　offer　her　services　as　a　reader；　but　it　didn？t　sound　like　Dan　wanted　any

help。　？