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第3部分（第2页）

bathroom　door　and　then　pulling　his　rolled…up　copy　ofThe　New　Yorker　out　from　under　his　hairy

arm　so　he　could　read　Dan？s　poem　again。

？The　deans　of　admissions　from　Brown　and　Columbia　just　called　to　tell　me　what　a　prodigy　you

are；？　Rufus　explained。　It　sounded　like　his　mouth　was　full　of　something；　and　Dan　could　hear　water

running。　Was　he　brushing　his　teeth？　？They　were　slobbering　all　over　themselves；　the　greedy

bastards。？

？Brown　and　Columbia？　Really？？　Dan　repeated　in　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　shit；　Daniel。　The　public　needs　a　serious　young　poet　to　make　them

feel　worthless　and　superficial。　And　now　that　we？ve　got　their　attention；　we？d　sure　as　hell　better

keep　the　momentum　going。　You？re　the　next　Keats；　and　we？re　going　to　make　you　so　famous　so　fast；

you？ll　think　you　were　born　that　way。　Looking　forward　to　it。　Ciao！？

Dan　wobbled　outside　the　door　of　the　chemistry　lab　as　he　listened　to　Rusty　Klein？s　loud；

breathless　message　for　a　second　time。　He？d　heard　of　Rusty　Klein。　She　was　the　agent　who？d

negotiated　the　million…dollar　book　deal　for　the　Scottish　jockey　who？d　claimed　to　be　Prince　Charles？

illegitimate　son。　Dan　had　read　about　it　in　theNew　York　Post　。　He　had　no　idea　what　the　Better　Than

Naked　show　was；　but　it　was　pretty　cool　of　Rusty　to　put　him　on　the　guest　list　for　it　when　they？d