第22部分(第3/7 頁)

o　steal　some　pot　from　his　older　brother　who　was　home　visiting　from

college；　and　now　the　four　boys　were　huddled　on　a　remote　stoop　on　East　End　Avenue；　taking　a

break　before　gym　class。

Nate　blew　on　his　bare　hands　and　stuffed　them　into　his　cashmere…lined　coat　pockets。　？I　don？t

know。？　He　still　felt　pretty　confused　about　it　himself。　？I　guess　I　just　wanted　to　call　someone　who

knew　us　both。　Someone　I　could　trust。？

Jeremy　shook　his　head。　？Dude；　that？s　exactly　what　those　rehab　headshrinkerswant　you　to　do。

They？ve　got　you　programmed　already。？

Nate　thought　about　the　way　Georgie　imitated　Jackie？s　corny　psychobabble？all　that　stuff　about

healing　wounds　and　negative　friendships。　It　didn？t　seem　like　Georgie　had　been　programmed。　All

of　a　sudden　he　wondered　if　she　was　angry　that　he？d　called　Jackie；　but　it　wasn？t　like　he　could　call

her　and　ask　her。　She　was　now　staying　at　Breakaway　full　time　and　wasn？t　allowed　to　take　any

phone　calls；　just　in　case　one　of　her　dealers　called　or　something。　Hopefully　Nate　would　still　see　her

in　group。

？How　long　do　you　have　to　deal　with　that　rehab　bullshit　anyway？？　Charlie　asked。　He　reached　for

the　burning　joint　and　took　a　hit。

？Six　months；？　Nate　answered。　？But　at　least　I　don？t　have　to　live　there。？　The　other　boys　intoned

bored　and　sympathetic　sighs　of　disgust。　Nate　didn？t　say　anything。　Although　he？d　never　have

admitted　it；　he　kind　of　liked　going　to　rehab　and　meeting　the　different　kids　in　group；　especially

Georgie。　He？d　be　sort　of　sad　when　it　was　over。

？？Ere；？　Charlie　said；　passing　Nate　the　joint。

Nate　looked　at　it　and　shook　his　head。　？No　thanks；？　he　murmured　under　his　breath。　There　was　a

crushed　red　paper　heart