小说园

第15部分（第3页）

Oh；　boy。

Directly　behind　old　Father　Mark　was　the　black　metal　door　with　the　words

PHYSICALEDUCATIONDEPARTMENTstenciled　on　it　in　white。　Nate　stared　at　the　door；　his

glittering　green　eyes　blinking　in　consternation。　Did　the　asterisk　have　something　to　do　with

Coach？s　Viagra？

Finally；　he？s　catching　on！

D　could　use　a　little　more　love

？So　in　conclusion；　who　needs　college？at　least；　right　now？　I？ve　got　my　whole　life　to　get　educated。

Just　like　John　Lennon　of　the　Beatles　once　wrote；　？Love　is　all　you　need。　Love　is　all　you　need。　Love

is　all　you　need。？？

Dan　surveyed　the　audience　as　he　finished　his　speech；　standing　behind　the　wooden　podium　at　the

front　of　the　stage。　Riverside　Prep？s　informal　graduation　ceremony　was　held　in　the　school

auditorium　and　felt　very　much　like　one　of　the　off…kilter　plays　the　drama　department　put　on　twice　a

year。　Behind　him；　Dan？s　forty…one　other　classmates　were　seated　on　folding　chairs；　their　mouths

hanging　open　in　shocked　surprise。　Even　Larry；　their　desperate…to…be…down…with…the…boys　senior

homeroom　teacher；　kept　chuckling　nervously　and　glancing　down　at　the　thirty　rows　of　faculty；

parents；　and　relatives　seated　in　the　gray　velvet　movie…theater…style　seats　below　them；　as　if　he　were

wondering　if　he　should　explain　that　Dan？s　speech　was　just　another　one　of　those　goofy　senior

pranks　he　and　his　boyz　were　always　pullin？。

In　the　last　row　of　seats；　Rufus？s　head　was　bowed；　his　fuzzy　salt…and…pepper　hair　tied　with　the

festive　orange　ribbon　that　had　e　tied　around　the　neck　of　the　bottle　of　Veuve　Clicquot

champagne　he？d　bought　for　them　to　drink　later。　Jenny　was　holding　his　hand。　She　looked　up；

meeting　Dan？s　gaze　across　the　rows　of　heads　with　her　soulful　brown　eyes。You　asshole；　how　could

you　do　this　to　our　sweet；　well…meaning　Dad？　her　expression　seemed　to　say。In　case　you　didn？t

remember；　education　is　everything　to　him。

Dan　remained　onstage　to　receive　the　E。　B。　White　Writing　Award；　Riverside　Prep？s　award　for

outstanding　creative　writing　achievement。　？Congratulations；　son。？　Their　lisping；　tall；　young；

Russian…figure…skater…handsome　principal；　Dr。　Nesbitt；　handed　him　the　rolled…up　piece　of

parchment　paper　and　shook　his　hand　while　a　photographer　snapped　pictures。　Dr。　Nesbitt　was　a

lower…school　dad　who？d　been　acting　principal　for　a　year　and　a　half？ever　since　Mr。　Coobie；　the

previous　principal；　had　gotten　ousted　after　attempting　to　teach　human　development　to　the　fifth

graders　himself　instead　of　hiring　a　professional。

The　applause　was　thin　and　sporadic　as　Dan　accepted　the　award　and　returned　to　his　seat。　It　was

bound　to　be　after　a　speech　like　that。Don？t　listen　to　your　teachers？　Let　love　be　your　teacher　and

follow　your　heart？　Love　is　all　you　need；　love　is　all　you　need；　love　is　all　you　need？

Hello？？！