小说园

第15部分（第4页）

？And　now　for　the　diplomas；？　Dr。　Nesbitt　announced；　and　the　audience　shifted　eagerly　in　their

seats。

None　of　the　boys？　last　names　began　withA　；　so　Chuck　Bass　was　first。　For　the　occasion；　Chuck

had　dressed　entirely　in　cream…colored　linen；　including　his　shoes；　which　were　made　by　Hogan　and

even　had　cream…colored　crepe　soles。　With　his　sleek；　dark　hair　and　tanned　handsome　face；　he

actually　looked　pretty　sharp；　like　a　Hollywood　star　from　the　1940s。　Chuck　tucked　the

brown…leather…bound　diploma　case　under　his　arm；　pulled　a　Cuban　cigar　out　of　his　jacket　pocket；

and　put　it　between　his　lips。

He　was　about　to　turn　and　walk　offstage　when　Dr。　Nesbitt　snatched　the　cigar　out　of　his　mouth；

wiped　it　on　his　trousers；　and　stuck　it　in　his　own　mouth。　？I？m　going　to　need　something　to　chew　on

to　get　through　all　these　names；？　he　quipped　into　the　microphone；　and　the　audience　of　parents

responded　with　a　roar　of　laughter。　Dr。　Nesbitt　had　been　so　popular　since　stepping　in　as　principal；

he？d　had　to　temporarily　shut　down　his　psychiatric　practice　because　the　school　had　yet　to　find　a

new　principal　they　liked　nearly　as　much。

？Nice　speech；　dickhead；？　Chuck　hissed　as　he　lumbered　over　Dan？s　feet　on　his　way　back　to　his

seat。　？？Follow　your　heart？？　Does　that　mean　we？re　eloping　to　Vegas　together　after　the　ceremony？？

Dan　resisted　the　urge　to　grind　his　Wallabees　into　Chuck？s　nuts。　He　hadn？t　thought　about　how　his

speech　might　sound　to　everyone　else。　All　he　knew　was　that　he？d　written　it　from　the　heart；　with　one

person　in　mind：　Vanessa。

？Nice　work；？　Zeke　Freedman　sneered　at　Dan　as　he　passed　by　on　his　way　up　to　the　stage。　Zeke

and　Dan　had　been　best　buddies　until　Vanessa　became　Dan？s　girlfriend　and　Dan　sort　of　forgot

about　everything　and　everybody　else。　Zeke　was　kind　of　a　puter　geek　and　was　extremely　proud

of　the　fact　that　he　was　going　to　MIT　in　the　fall；　so　it　wasn？t　a　stretch　to　guess　that　Dan？s　speech

had　rubbed　him　the　wrong　way。

Dan　glanced　back　at　his　family　again。　Jenny　had　her　arm　around　their　dad　now；　and　Rufus？s

shoulders　were　shaking　with　grief。　The　other　parents　probably　thought　Rufus　was　weeping　with

pride；　but　Dan　knew　better。　Maybe　he　should　have　given　his　dad　some　warning　and　told　him　about

not　going　to　Evergreen　next　year。

Yeah；　maybe。

？Daniel　Jonah　Humphrey；？　Dr。　Nesbitt　called　out。

Dan　squirmed　in　his　seat。　Hadn？t　he　used　up　enough　front…of…stage　time　already？　He　dashed　out

of　his　third…row　seat；　grabbed　the　brown　leather　folder　out　of　Dr。　Nesbitt？s　hand；　and　dashed　back

to　his　seat　again；　as　if　he　were　afraid　his　classmates　were　going　to　pelt　him　with　raw　tomatoes　or

something。

Jenny　had　thought　Dan？s　graduation　would　be　relatively　painless　and　boring。　She　ha