第22部分(第2/7 頁)

se；　but　the　third　one　sounded　like　it　might　very　well　be

from　a　genuine；　real…lifeboy　。

Sorry　it　took　me　so　long；　but　I　didn？t　have　the　guts　to　write　to　you　before。　If　you　want　to　meet　me；

I　take　the　Seventy…ninth　Street　crosstown　bus　home　after　school。　I？m　not　sure　what　you　look　like；

but　if　you　see　a　really　tall　skinny　guy　with　blond　hair　looking　at　you　on　the　bus；　smile　because　it？s

probably　me。　Happy　Valentine？s　Day；　JHumphrey。　Can？t　wait　to　meet　you。　Love；　L

？

Jenny　reread　the　message　over　and　over。　A　tall　skinny　guy　with　blond　hair？　He　sounded　exactly

like　the　boy　she？d　seen　in　Bendel？s！　But　what　didL　stand　for？　Lester？　Lance？　Louis？　No；　those

names　sounded　too　geeky；　and　his　message　didn？t　sound　geeky　at　all；　just　sweet。　But　how　had　he

gotten　her　e…mail　address？　Oh；　who　cared？she　couldn？t　believe　it：he　wanted　to　meet　her！！

Jenny　immediately　deleted　Elise？s　messages　and　ran　to　the　printer　to　retrieve　the　one　from　L。　Of

course；　she　planned　to　ride　the　Seventy…ninth　Street　crosstown　bus　all　afternoon　and　all　night　if

that　was　what　it　took。　But；　God　forbid；　if　they　never　found　each　other；　Jenny　would　have　his　love

note　to　cherish　and　keep　forever　and　ever。　And　she？d　thought　she　was　through　with　love。　See　how

magical　Valentine？s　Day　can　be？

hugs；　not　drugs

？So　how　e　you　didn？t　call　911？？　Jeremy　Scott　Tompkinson　asked　Nate　as　he　crumbled　pot

into　the　EZ　Wider　rolling　paper　spread　out　on　his　right　knee。

？Give　the　dude　a　break；？　noted　Charlie　Dern。　？He　was　stoned；　remember？？

？I　would？ve　been　like；　？See　ya　later；　you　crazy　fucking　chick！　I　don？t　care　if　you？re　putting　out！？？

quipped　Anthony　Avuldsen。

Jeremy　had　managed　t