第6部分(第6/7 頁)

　her　attention。

See　how　difficult　it　is　to　be　so　beautiful？

vrocks　people？s　worlds

Ruby　was　on　another　Martha　Stewart　spree；　and　the　tantalizing　scent　of　freshly　baked　brownies

wafted　into　Vanessa？s　bedroom　as　she　sorted　through　submissions　forRancor　；　the　Constance

Billard　student…run　arts　magazine　of　which　she　was　editor…in…chief。　Heat　blasted　from　the　steaming

radiators；　and　the　sounds　of　ambulance　sirens　and　car　horns　wailed　through　the　two　open　windows。

Vanessa？s　bare　wooden　floor　was　scattered　with　the　usualRancor　submissions：　twenty

black…and…white　photographs　of　clouds；　feet；　eyes；　or　the　family　dog；　three　short　stories　about

learning　to　drive　and　feeling　the　tug　of　independence　despite　the　writer？s　appreciation　for　her

parents　and　all　they？d　done　for　her；　and　seven　poems　discussing　the　meaning　of　friendship。

Boring。

After　the　third　short　story；　Vanessa　retrieved　Ruby？s　sugaring　kit　from　the　bathroom。　Sugaring

was　an　extremely　messy；　all…natural；　and　？virtually　painless？　way　of　removing　the　hair　on　your

legs。　You　covered　your　legs　with　sticky　brown　goo；　applied　a　strip　of　white　cloth；　and　then　ripped

the　strip　of　cloth　away　from　your　leg；　taking　the　hair　with　it。

Painless？Yeah；　right。

Vanessa　kicked　her　black　leggings　onto　the　floor；　laid　a　black　bath　towel　over　her　black…and…gray

patchwork　bedspread；　and　sat　down　on　top　of　it。　She　basted　her　pale；　stocky　calves　with　the　sugary

stuff；　feeling　like　a　giant　glazed　donut。　Usually　she　was　extremely　low…maintenance；　but　if　Dan

was　going　to　be　hanging　out　with　supermodels　and　agents　and　fashion　designers；　she　thought　she

should　at　least　try　to　make　an　effort　and　do　somethin