青帝小说

第23部分（第4页）

？I　had。　But　Sunday　night　I　fell　off　the　plateau　and　kept　gathering　momentum；　and　I　just　couldn？t

stop　writing　until　I　finished。　I　e…mailed　it　to　Rusty　at　dawn　this　morning；　just　as　the　street　cleaners

were　arriving。　She？s　already　read　the　whole　thing。　She　says　I？m　the　next　Virginia　Woolf！？

？I　thought　you　were　the　next　Sylvia　Plath；？　Dan　accused　grumpily。

Moth　princess　helps　herself　to　stolen　meat。

Mystery　shrugged　her　thin　shoulders　and　poured　a　heaping　spoonful　of　sugar　into　her　martini；

stirring　it　pensively　before　picking　up　the　glass　with　both　hands　and　taking　a　gulp。

？Anyhoo；　let？s　talk　aboutyou　Dannyboy；？　Rusty　practically　shouted。　？Oh；　fuck　me。？　She　pulled

her　hot　pink　cell　phone　out　of　her　purse；　pushed　a　few　buttons　and　held　it　up　to　her　ear。　？Hold　on；

loves。　I　have　to　call　my　messages。？

Dan　waited；　watching　Mystery　dunk　so　many　spoonfuls　of　sugar　into　her　drink　that　it　looked　less

like　a　martini　and　more　like　a　slushy　from　7…Eleven。　He　hadn？t　noticed　before；　but　her　gnarly；

gnawed…on　fingernails　were　as　yellow　as　her　teeth。

Rusty　tossed　her　cell　phone　into　the　middle　of　the　table。　？I　think　you　should　write　a　memoir；？　she

told　Dan；　reaching　for　another　scone　and　breaking　it　in　half。　？Memoir　of　a　Young　Poet。　I　love　it！？

she　shouted。　？You？re　the　next　Rilke！？

The　queen　of　clowns　pulls　a　pink　rabbit　out　of　her　hair。

Dan　tugged　on　the　gravity　pen。　He　wanted　to　write　down　something　about　Mystery？s　yellow

fingernails　in　his　observation　book　and　how　surprising　it　was　that　he　wasn？t　turned　off　by　them。　In

fact；　they　turned　himon　。

？But　how　can　I　write　a　memoir　when　all　I　do　is　go　to　high　school？？　he　argued

miserably。　？Nothing　big　has　ever　happened　to　me。？　He　reached　for　the　teapot　with　trembling

hands　and　poured　warm；　fragrant　Earl　Grey　tea　into　his　white　teacup。　Ah；caffeine　。

Rusty　tapped　the　cover　of　his　observation　book　with　her　long；　orangey…pink　fingernails。　？Small

things；　darling。　Small　things。　And　you　might　want　to　think　about　putting　off　college　and　writing

for　a　year　or　two；　just　like　Mystery。？　She　wiped　her　mouth　with　a　white　cloth　napkin；　smearing　it

with　lipstick。　？I？ve　got　you　signed　up　with　Mystery　for　a　poetry　reading　at　the　Rivington　Rover

Poetry　Club　tomorrow　night。　Buckley　is　already　distributing　the　flyers。　It？s　very　now。　All　the　old

poetry　clubs　are　ing　back。　You？ve　got　to　be　able　to　perform。　I？m　telling　you；　poetry　is　the　next

rock？n？roll！？

Mystery　giggled　and　kicked　Dan？s　shin　under　the　table　like　drunken　donkey。　Dan　was　tempted　to

kick　her　back　because　it　kind　of　hurt；　but　he　didn？t　want　to　be　immature。

Rusty　snapped　her　foot…long　fingers　and　the　waiter　instantly　appeared。　？Give　these　kids　anything

their　little　hearts　desire；？　she　directed。　？I　have　to　run；　darlings。　Mama　has　a　meeting。？　She　blew

kisses　at　them　and　then　click…clacked　across　the　room　in　her　geisha　dress；　turning　heads　with　her

flaming　braids　and　immense　stature。

Mother　bird　flees　the　nest；　leaving　the　princess　and　the　pauper　with　open　beaks。

Mystery　downed　the　dregs　of　Rusty？s　marti