第3部分(第3/7 頁)

disbelief。　Ahead　of　him　the　sidewalk；

shopfronts；　and　pedestrians　suddenly　all　blurred　together　into　a　slow…moving；　oceanic　mass。　？Are

you　sure　it　was　them？　Columbia　and　Brown？？

？As　sure　as　my　piss　is　still　yellow；？　Rufus　answered　blithely。

Usually　Dan　blanched　at　his　father？s　crudeness；　but　right　now　he　was　too　preoccupied　with　his

own　success。　Maybe　being　a　published　poet　wouldn？t　be　such　a　bad　thing　after　all。　Ahead　of　him

the　black　metal　doors　of　Riverside　Prep？s　upper…school　entrance　loomed　before　him。　？Hey　Dad；　I

have　to　get　to　class；　but　thanks　for　calling。　Thank　you　foreverything　；？　he　gushed　with　a　rush　of

affection　for　his　belligerent　old　dad。

？That？s　all　right；　kid。　Don？t　let　this　go　to　your　head；　though；？　Rufus　joked；　unable　to　hide　the

pride　in　his　gruff　voice。　？Remember；　poets　are　a　humble　bunch。？

？I？ll　remember；？　Dan　promised　earnestly。　？Thanks　again；　Dad。？

He　clicked　off　and　pushed　open　the　school　doors；　waving　to　Aggie；　the　ancient　front…desk

receptionist　who　wore　a　different　wig　every　day　of　the　week；　as　he　signed　in。　His　cell　phone

beeped　and　he　realized　he？d　missed　a　call　while　he？d　been　talking　to　his　father。　Cell　phones　were

forbidden　during　school　hours；　but　first　period　had　already　begun　and　the　halls　were　empty。

Trudging　up　the　concrete　stairs　on　the　way　to　the　chemistry　lab；　he　called　his　voice…mail。

？Daniel　Humphrey；　this　is　Rusty　Klein　from　Klein；　Lowenstein　&　Schutt。　I　read　your　poem

inThe　New　Yorker　and；　assuming　you　don？t　have　an　agent　yet；　I？m　going　to　represent　you。　I？ve

got　you　on　the　guest　list　for　the　Better　Than　Naked　show　Friday　night。　Let？s　talk　then。　You　may

not　know　it　yet；　but　you？re　hot　shi