第6部分(第5/7 頁)

y　Constance　Billard；　the　New　York　City　all…girls　private　school　she？d

attended　since　kindergarten；　had　been　kind　enough　to　take　her　back。

？I？d　sort　of　thought　I　was　bound　for　munity　college　and　living　with　my　parents　for　the　rest　of

my　life；？　she　admitted。　？Now　here　I　am　acting　in　this　movie；　living　on　my　own；　and　going　to　Yale

in　the　fall。？　She　grinned　drunkenly　and　a　little　seductively　at　Thaddeus。　？I　guess　you　just　never

knowwhat？s　going　to　happen。？　Secretly；　it　was　an　invitation　to　kiss　her。　But　they　were　in　a

crowded　restaurant　full　of　starers　and　gossips？it　was　probably　best　that　he　didn？t。

？Should　we　go？？　Thaddeus　asked；　as　if　he　couldn？t　wait　to　take　her　somewhere　more　private。

As　the　pair　stepped　outside　onto　the　crowded；　steaming　street　corner；　they　were　startled　by　a

sudden；　insistent　cry。

？Thad！　Thad！？　A　bulky；　bearded　figure　emerged　from　the　shadows　wielding　a　camera。　He

snapped　pictures　as　he　hurried　toward　them；　the　bright　flash　illuminating　the　otherwise　dark

stretch　of　street。

Thaddeus　put　his　arm　protectively　around　Serena？s　waist；　a　phony　but　still　charming　smile

plastered　to　his　handsome　face。

Serena　smiled；　too。　She　was　used　to　having　her　photo　taken　for　newspaper　society　columns。

She？d　even　modeled　a　few　times；　but　it　felt　a　little　scary　to　be　hounded　like　this。

？Let？s　go；？　sighed　Thaddeus。　He　waved　at　the　photographer。　？Okay；　man；　that？s　cool；　that？s

enough。　We？re　going。？

But　the　guy　trailed　them；　weaving　and　bobbing　like　a　boxer；　snapping　and　clicking　the　camera？s

shutter　so　quickly　it　sounded　like　machine　gun　fire。　He　finished　a　roll；　deftly　reloaded　the　camera

in　a　matter　of　seconds；　and　kept　shootin