第5部分(第1/7 頁)

Dan　shrugged。　He　was　beyond　Chuck？s　nasty　wisecracks；　and　beyond　Ms。　Solomon？s　insolent

crush。　Way　beyond。　In　fact；　right　now　he　was　so　consumed　with　love　for　Vanessa；　he　wasn？t　sure

what　to　do　with　himself。

Uh…oh。

On　the　subway　he？d　started　writing　his　graduation　speech；　modeling　it　after　all　the　stupid

graduation　speeches　he？d　heard　in　movies。We　are　the　future。　The　ticket　to　a　successful　life　is　a

good　education。　The　world　awaits　us　with　all　it　has　to　teach　。　But　that　had　been　before　he　and

Vanessa　had　sex　on　her　roof。　Now　he　was　pretty　sure　he　was　changing　the　topic。　For　how　could　he

not　write　aboutlove？

Double　uh…oh。

He　glanced　down　at　the　letter　again；　picked　up　his　chewed…on　black　Paper　Mate　pen；　and　turned

to　a　clean　sheet　of　paper　in　his　loose…leaf　binder。

Dear　Professor　Papadametriou；

Thank　you　for　offering　me　the　opportunity　to　work　with　you　this　summer。　However；　something

has　e　up　and　I　will　not　be　able　to　accept　the　position。　I　would　very　much　like　to　meet　you　and

your　dogs　and　your　son　sometime。　Until　then；　good　luck；　and　good　luck　with　your　book。

All　the　best；

Daniel　Humphrey

P。　S。　I？ve　enclosed　a　poem　you　might　want　to　include　in　your　book。

He　turned　to　another　fresh　page。

view　from　the　roof

The　view　is　better　from　up　here。

See　her　factories；　her　rivers。

If　her　hills　weren？t　in　the　way

I　could　see　into　the　windows　of　the　apartment　across　the　street。

See　a　woman　pouring　milk　as　she　sets　the　table　for　dinner。

Oh　there。　There？s　the　table。　There。

I　can　see　everything　from　here。

There。　Yes。　Right　there。

Dan　wasn？t　sure　if　he　really　had　the　guts　to　send　such