第26部分(第5/7 頁)

ession；　the　kind　where　he　locked　himself　in　his　room　and　wrote　poems　about　dying　in　a　car

accident　or　something。　？Thanks　for　letting　me　know；？　she　told　Ruby　quickly。　？I？ll　see　you　later；

okay？？

Dan　was　still　staring　up　at　her　expectantly　as　she　clicked　off　the　phone　and　dropped　it　on　the

bed。　？You　got　into　NYU；？　he　said；　trying　but　failing　to　hide　the　note　of　accusation　in　his　voice。　Oh；

how　skinny　and　stupid　and　inadequate　he　was！　Not　that　he　wasn？t　happy　for　her；　but　Vanessa　was

already　into　college；　and　he　was　just　this　scrawny　guy　who　liked　to　write　poems　and　who　might

never　get　into　college　at　all。　？Wow；？　he　added　hoarsely。　？That？s　great。？

Vanessa　flopped　back　on　the　bed　and　pulled　the　sheet　up　around　them。　The　room　felt　colder　now

that　the　sweat　of　passion　had　cooled　on　their　bodies。　？It？s　really　no　big　deal；？　she　argued；　trying　to

play　down　the　excitement　she？d　exuded　when　she？d　heard　the　news。　？You？re　the　one　with　a　poem

about　to　e　out　inThe　New　Yorker　。？

Over　Christmas　break；　Vanessa　had　submitted　Dan？s　poem　？Sluts？　toThe　New　Yorker　without

his　knowing；　and　it　had　been　accepted　for　publication　in　the　Valentine？s　Day　double　issue；　which

would　be　out　later　that　week。　？I　guess；？　Dan　agreed；　shrugging　his　shoulders　dubiously。　？But　I　still

don？t　know　anything　。　。　。　I　mean；　about　myfuture　。？

Vanessa　encircled　Dan？s　waist　with　her　arms　and　pressed　her　cheek　into　his　pale；　ribby　chest。

She　still　couldn？t　believe　she　was　going　to　NYU　in　the　fall。　It　was　a　sure　thing；　her　destiny。　Still

trembling　with　excitement；　she　tried　to　focus　on　consoling　Dan。　？How　many　other

seventeen…year…old　kids　have　you　heard　of　with　poems　published　inThe　New　Yor