第21部分(第3/7 頁)

s　erasing　the　past？her　failed　relationship　with　Nate；　her　mother？s

revolting　new　husband　and　embarrassing　pregnancy；　her　botched　Yale　interview？and　recreating

herself　in　a　new　image。　Yale　was　giving　her　a　second　chance；　and　from　now　on　she　would　be　the

master　of　her　own　destiny；　writing；　directing；　and　starring　in　the　movie　that　was　her　life。　She　could

already　see　the　headline　in　the　Styles　section　of　theNew　York　Times　；　featuring　her　haircut。A

headof　the　Times：　Gorgeous　Brunette　Goes　Short　for　Yale　Debut！

Her　face　broke　into　the　winning　smile　she　was　already　practicing　for　her　interview　with　Owen

Wells　on　Thursday　night。　？I？m　ready。？

apathy　vs。　poetry

？Happy　Valentine？s　Day；　loverboy；？　Zeke　Freedman　greeted　Dan　as　fourth…period　U。S。　history

was　about　to　begin。　He　handed　Dan　a　pink　paper　shopping　bag。　？Aggie　asked　me　to　give　this　to

you。　A　messenger　just　brought　it　to　the　front　desk。？

The　handles　of　the　bag　were　tied　with　red　satin　ribbon。　Dan　tugged　on　the　bow　and　emptied　the

contents　of　the　bag　out　onto　his　desk：　a　small　white　box　and　a　slim　red　leather　book。　Inside　the

white　box　was　a　stubby　silver　pen　on　a　silver　chain。　A　card　inside　the　box　described　it　as　an

antigravity　pen；　the　kind　used　by　astronauts　in　space。　Dan　put　the　chain　around　his　neck　and

opened　the　leather　book　up　to　the　first　page　where　someone　had　scrawled　a　note：Kick　gravity？s

ass；　you　charmer。　Dig？

Dan　reread　the　note；　pletely　dumbfounded。　It　was　too　bizarre　for　Vanessa；　which　meant　it

was　definitely　from　Mystery。　The　final　bell　rang　and　Mr。　Dube　strode　into　the　room　and　started

erasing　the　blackboard。　Dan　tucked　the　bag　of　presents　under　his　seat　and　opened　hi