第17部分(第5/7 頁)

r　was　a　little　longer　than　he

last　remembered　it；　and　streaked　with　strands　of　gold。　He　blinked；　wondering　if　the　chlorine　had

done　something　to　his　eyes。　She　was　standing　by　a　desk　that　advertised　custom…made　closets；

arguing　with　a　harried…looking　salesgirl　in　a　dark　blue　apron　that　read　CONTAIN　YOURSELF！　A

long　line　of　people　stood　behind　her；　shuffling　their　feet　impatiently　and　checking　their　watches。

Of　course；　Blair　could　have　cared　less。

Of　course。

Her　little　brother　Tyler　and　stepbrother；　Aaron；　were　with　her；　piles　of　oddly　shaped　bins　stacked

at　their　feet　as　they　waited　for　Blair；　their　faces　slack　with　boredom。　Tyler　pulled　a　set　of　plastic

clips　out　of　the　packaging　and　stuck　them　all　over　his　clothing；　clipping　the　last　one　over　the

bridge　of　his　nose。　Aaron　was　reading　a　book　covered　in　ribbed　cardboard；　one　of　the　display

books　that　stores　used　to　make　the　living　room　displays　look　lived…in。　Nate　had　always　assumed

those　books　were　blank　inside。　Given　the　glazed　look　in　Aaron？s　eyes；　maybe　they　were。

？Hey　guys；？　Nate　called　over　to　them。　Aaron　and　Tyler　looked　up　and　smiled　relieved　smiles。

Now　that　Nate　was　there；　they　could　be　excused　from　Her　Highness？s　service。

？Oh；　good；　you？re　here；？　Blair　observed。　？One　sec。？　She　turned　back　to　the　salesgirl。　？Thanks

for　yourhelp　；？　she　snapped　icily；　stepping　away　from　the　desk。

？They？re　all　morons；？　she　announced　loudly　when　she　got　closer　to　Nate。　？They　won？t　design　a

special　storage　system　for　my　dorm？s　closet　just　because　I　don？t　have　the　exact　dimensions。　Isn？t

that；　like；　what　they　get　paid　for？？　She　rolled　her　eyes　and　turned　to　Aaron　and　Tyler。　？Well；　what

are　you　tw