小说园

第16部分（第1页）

something。

Jenny　had　thought　Dan？s　graduation　would　be　relatively　painless　and　boring。　She　hadn？t　even

minded　when　her　dad　had　changed　her　ticket　to　Prague　to　leave　tomorrow　morning　instead　of

yesterday　so　she　wouldn？t　miss　it。　He？d　get　his　diploma　while　she　and　Rufus　whispered　to　each

other　and　heckled　his　nerdy　classmates。　Then　they？d　go　eat　Chinese　at　Dan？s　favorite　place　on

Broadway；　and　later　she？d　drag　Dan　out　to　that　party　Blair　Waldorf　was　rumored　to　be　hosting　at

the　Yale　Club？a　party　that　she　was　absolutely　determined　not　to　miss。

Instead；　their　whole　family　was　falling　apart；　and　she　was　freaking　out。

She　and　Dan　had　basically　stopped　being　nice　to　each　other　when　Jenny　had　spent　the　night　in　a

Plaza　Hotel　room　with　the　members　of　the　Raves　and　then　proceeded　to　record　a　song　with　them

on　the　same　day　they　fired　Dan。　At　home　it　seemed　like　Dan　could　do　no　wrong。　He　was　a

published　author　and　an　A　student。　He？d　had　his　pick　of　colleges　to　go　to；　including　Brown；　Colby；

NYU；　and　Evergreen。　Their　dad　boasted　about　his　achievements　all　the　time。　Jenny　was　an　even

better　student；　but　ever　since　Mrs。　McLean　had　requested　that　she　not　return　to　Constance　next

year；　she？d　felt　like　Dan？s　naughty　little　sister。　The　fact　that　overprotective　Rufus　had　actually

agreed　to　let　her　go　to　boarding　school　made　it　even　more　clear：　Dan　was　the　good　one；　and　she

was　the　bad　one。

But　now　here　she　was；　holding　her　dad？s　hand　and　pretending　to　be　totally　calm　and　mentally

stable　while　she　was　really　wondering　what　was　going　to　bee　ofher　next　year。　If　only　she

could　take　Dan？s　place　at　Evergreen。　It　was　supposed　to　be　arty？she？d　probably　do　fine。

Too　bad　they　don？t　have　a　tenth　grade。

A　reads　v　like　a　book

Even　though　she？d　been　totally　two…timing　him　and　a　cross…country　road　trip　really　wasn？t　her

idea　of　a　good　time；　Vanessa　was　ready　for　Aaron　when　he　pulled　up　in　his　red　Saab；　right　on　time。

She　just　couldn？t　let　him　down；　because　if　she　did；　she？d　have　to　explain　her　outrageously　heinous

behavior；　which　she　wasn？t　prepared　to　do；　because　she　honestly　didn？t　know　why　she？d　behaved

so　heinously。　Maybe　she　was　just　？

Psycho？

？I？ll　be　down　in　a　sec！？　she　called　when　he　buzzed　from　downstairs。

？Nah；　buzz　me　in；　I？m　ing　up；？　he　responded。

Vanessa　should　have　known　that　something　was　up　when　he　walked　in　and　didn？t　kiss　her。

Downstairs；　Mookie；　Aaron？s　huge　brown…and…white　boxer；　barked　eagerly　out　of　the　Saab？s　open

sunroof。

There　were　green　beads　in　Aaron？s　coarse　brown　hair。　All　of　a　sudden　Vanessa　noticed　that　he？d

grown　it　out　into　inch…long　little　dreads　all　over　his　head。　When　had　that　happened？

？Thank　God　Blair？s　graduating　today　too；？　he　remarked。　？My　dad　was　totally　fine　with　going　to

her　thing　instead　of　mine。？　He　patted　his　green　army…issue…shorts　pockets。　？Um　？？　he　began；　his

dark　eyes　darting　nervously　around　the　room。　？Hey；　nice　dress！？