小说园

第17部分（第4页）

What？s　wrong　with　you；　boy？？

？I？m　sorry；？　Nate　mumbled　almost　inaudibly。　He　was　already　crying。　Coach　couldn？t　make　him

feel　much　worse。

？I　had　a　long　talk　with　Dr。　Nesbitt　and　your　dad　after　the　ceremony；？　Coach　continued；　？and

you？re　one　lucky　kid。？

Lucky？It　wasn？t　exactly　the　first　word　that　came　to　Nate？s　mind。

？Withholding　your　diploma　was　just　a　little　slap　on　the　wrist　to　let　you　know　you　can？t　get　away

with　stealing　my　stuff；　especially　my　medication。　Your　real　punishment　es　this　summer。　I？ve

got　a　place　out　in　the　Hamptons　that　could　use　some　fixing　up。　So　if　you　want　to　play　lacrosse　for

Yale　next　year；　you　gotta　be　my　boy　this　summer。　Live　over　the　garage；　work　for　me；　and　in　your

spare　time；　you？ll　be　going　to　the　local　church　for　AA　meetings。？

Nate　swallowed　hard。　He？d　imagined　a　lazy　summer　up　in　Maine　getting　tan　and　helping　his　dad

with　the　boats；　but　he　had　no　choice。　He　had　to　be　the　coach？s　Hamptons　bitch　for　the

summer。　？Sorry　for　being　such　a　dick；　Coach；？　he　said　earnestly。　？I　promise　to　make　it　up　to　you。？

Coach　Michaels　chuckled。　？Then　at　least　you？ll　be　a　dick　with　a　diploma！？

Nate　forced　himself　to　chuckle　along　with　the　old　man。　Things　were　going　to　be　okay；　he　told

himself。　He？d　have　his　diploma　by　the　end　of　the　summer。

？Thanks；　Coach。？　He　hung　up　and　opened　his　damp　hand　to　look　at　the　gold　heart　pendant。

Well；some　things　were　going　to　be　okay。

He　sighed　the　sort　of　shuddering；　exhausted　sigh　that　es　after　a　long　cry　and　tossed　the　heart

onto　his　neatly　made　bed。　Then　he　went　back　to　rummaging　through　his　closet。　He　was　supposed

to　meet　Serena　at　Blair？s　Yale　Club　party　at　seven　o？clock。　Maybe　she？d　e　up　with　a　way　to

makeeverything　okay。

Without　any　Viagra。

Will　j　resort　to　homeschooling？

？I　guess　I　failed　to　raise　you　properly。？　Rufus　sighed　heavily　as　he　stared　into　a　troughlike　glass

of　red　wine。　The　way　he　saw　it；　you　had　two　choices　in　this　city。　Either　you　spent　an　arm　and　a　leg

to　send　your　kids　to　private　school；　where　they　learned　to　shop　for　insanely　expensive　clothes　and

to　be　snobbish　to　their　father；　but　also　to　converse　in　Latin；　memorize　Keats；　and　do　algorithms　in

their　heads；　or；　you　sent　them　to　public　school；　where　they　might　not　learn　to　read；　might　not

graduate；　and　risked　getting　shot。　He？d　thought　he？d　done　the　right　thing。　But　now　it　looked　like

neither　of　his　kids　was　going　to　any　school　of　any　kind　next　year。

？You　didn？t　fail；　Dad；？　Dan　corrected　as　he　scarfed　down　a　forkful　of　sesame　noodles。　Rufus　and

Jenny　had　waited　outside　Hunan　92　on　Ninety…second　and　A