tracksuit with matching gray…and…white Puma sneakers； gray wraparound shades； and a fuzzy
black Kangol hat。
？Hey Mitchell！？ Nate called delightedly。 Damn； it was good to see him。 Mitchell raised his hand
in greeting as Nate walked over。 ？I thought you were in Amsterdam； man。？
Mitchell shook his head slowly。 ？Not yet。？
？I？ve been looking for you。 I was almost going to buy from one of those other dirtbags。 You？re
carrying； right？？ Nate asked。
Mitchell nodded and stood up。 They began walking down the pathway together； just two friends
taking a stroll in the park。 Nate pulled a folded…up hundred…dollar bill from his coat pocket and
held it in his fist； ready to slip it into Mitchell？s palm as soon as he passed over the goods。
？I got a new shipment in from Peru；？ Mitchell said； pulling a plastic baggie of pot out of his
pocket and handing it discreetly to Nate。
If you happened to be in the park watching them； you might have thought they were just sharing
a snack or something。 That is； if you were pletely na？ve。
？Thanks； man。？ Nate handed over the hundred and tucked the plastic baggie into his coat pocket；
breathing out a deep； relieved breath。 Too bad he didn？t have any rolling papers with him or he
would have rolled up a big fatty right then and there。 ？So；？ he said； figuring it was only polite to
make some casual conversation with Mitchell before taking off。 ？You still moving to Amsterdam
or what？？
Mitchell stopped walking and unzipped his Puma jacket。 ？Nah。 I？m stuck here for a while。？ He
pulled up his gray thermal shirt to reveal his bare； freckled chest。 There were wires taped to it。
Nate had seenLaw & Order enough times to know what those wires meant。 The bleak scenery
seemed to close in on him； and he stumbled backwards。 Had he blacked out or something？ Was
this all a bad dream？
Mitchell let his shirt drop and zipped his jacket up again。 He took a step toward Nate； as if he
was worried Nate would try to make a break for it。 ？Sorry； kid。 They got me。 I？m working for the
man now。？ He jerked his head at the benches behind them。 ？Those ？dirtbags？ on the bench are all
cops； okay； so don？t try to run。 You and I are going to wait here until I give the sign； and then one
of them is going to walk you down to the precinct on Amsterdam。Amsterdam ？pretty ironic； huh？？
Nate could tell Mitchell was trying to get him to smile so the dealer wouldn？t have to feel so bad
for busting him。 ？Okay；？ Nate said woodenly。 How had this happened？ He？d never been
double…crossed before； and it was a pretty crappy feeling。 He dropped the baggie of pot on the
ground and kicked it away from him。 ？Shit；？ he swore under his breath。
Mitchell picked up the baggie and put his hand on Nate？s shoulder。 He raised his free hand in the
air and waved to the cops on the benches。 Two guys stood up and hurried over。 They didn？t even
look like cops。 One of them was wearing black Club Monaco jeans and the other was wearing a
stupid red pom…pom hat。 They flashed their badges at Nate。
？We？re not going to cuff you；？ Club Monaco explained。 ？You？re a minor； right？？
Nate nodded sullenly； avoiding the cop？s gaze。 He didn？t turn eighteen until April。
？When we get to the precinct you can call your parents。？
I？m sure they？ll be thrilled；Nate thought bitterly。
Across the meadow the two guys playing football and the old lady and her fluffy white dog were
all huddled together； watching Nate getting busted like it was the first episode of some hot new
reality show。
？You？ll be out in a couple hours；？ the red pom…pom cop said； writing something in a notebook。
Nate noticed the cop was wearing gold hoop earrings and he realized she was a woman； despite
her broad shoulders and thick…fingered hands。 ？They？ll fine you and probably give you mandatory
rehab。？
Mitchell kept his hand on Nate？s shoulder as if to offer moral support。 ？You？re lucky；？ he added。
Nate kept his head down； hoping no one he knew would see him。 He didn？t feel very lucky。
introducing the newd
Tuesday afternoon； Vanessa stood outside Riverside Prep； filming the frozen remains of a dead
pigeon carcass and thinking about sex while she waited for Dan to appear。 Dan had left a message
for her at the reception desk at Constance Billard to e and meet him after school。Urgent。 Meet
me here at four； it said。What a freak； Vanessa thought lovingly。 What could possibly be so urgent？
He was probably just having an attack of paranoia because his poem had e out inThe New
Yorker today。 Either that or he was feeling extremely stimulated and couldn？twait to do it again。
Before even taking a shower that morning Vanessa had run downstairs and bought sixNew Yorker
s from the newsstand on the corner。 That way there would always be a spare copy to wave in
Dan？s face when he was feeling especially inadequate。
When she really thought about it；she was the one who should have been freaking out。 The poem
was all about a guy feeling insecure around women； particularly his dominating girlfriend。 People
who knew them were going to think Vanessa was a real ball…breaker。 But the last line was so sweet
and sexy； she couldn？t really plain。
Take care of me。 Take me。 Take care。 Take me。
Reading it made her want to rip off all her clothes and jump him。Gently ； of course。
Just then Dan burst through the black doors of Riverside Prep practically in midsentence。 He
waved his rumpled copy ofThe New Yorker at Vanessa and galloped up to her in his worn…out
white Pumas and navy blue cords； planting a sloppy； wet kiss on her mouth。 ？This has been the
best day of my life！？ he trumpeted。 ？I love you！？
？You don？t have to be romantic to get in my pants again；？ Vanessa giggled and kissed him
again。 ？I？m always available。 And by the way； I love you； too。？
？Cool。？ Dan smiled goofily back at her。
Vanessa couldn？t believe this was the same old Dan she？d seen only yesterday。 He was still pale；
thin； and overcaffeinated； but his brown eyes were shining and there were traces of smiley…face
dimples in his usually sallow cheeks。 Wait a minute。 Since when could she actually see his
eyes？ ？Whoa； you got a haircut；？ she observed； standing back to check it out。
Dan had asked the barber to cut his hair short with long sideburns； figuring the sideburns would
keep him from looking like all the preppy assholes in his class。 He swept his hand over his head
self…consciously。 It felt odd； but somehow cleaner than before； more 。 。 。homogenous 。 And that
was exactly what he wanted？to be judged by his work； not his hair。
Whatever you say； Sideburn Man。
Vanessa put her hands on the hips of her black parka coat。 Something about Dan？s haircut was so
deliberate； like he was actually going for a certain artsy； bohemian look instead of just stumbling
upon one by mistake。 ？It？s different；？ she mused； already feeling a little nostalgic for the old
scruffy…haired Dan。 ？I guess I？ll get used to it。？
Behind them a group of eighth…grade boys spilled out the school doors singing ？Hello Dolly？ at
the top of their lungs。 They？d just been released from music class and were still too young and
innocent to realize how gay they sounded。
Hello； Dolly！ Well hel…loo； Dolly！
It？s so nice to have you back where you belong！
Dan pulled a pack of unfiltered Camels out of his black messenger bag； tipped one out； and stuck
it between his lips。 His fingers trembled wildly as he lit it。 Well； at leastthat hadn？t changed。 He
offered the pack to Vanessa。 ？Want one？？
Vanessa stared at him and chuckled in disbelief。 ？Since when do I smoke？？
Dan exhaled into the air above her head and rolled his eyes。 ？Sorry。 I don？t know why I just did
that。？ He shoved the pack back into his bag and grabbed Vanessa？s frozen fingers。 ？e on。
Let？s walk somewhere。 I have something major to tell you。？
As they were taking off； Zeke Freedman walked out of school bouncing a neon blue basketball。
Zeke was big and lumbering； but he was Riverside Prep？s star basketball player。 He？d grown out
his curly black hair so it hung down to his shoulders； and he was sporting a new slate gray
snowboarding jacket。 Zeke and Dan had been best friends since second grade； but they hadn？t
really hung out in the last few months because Dan had been preoccupied with other things。
Namely； women and poetry。
Dan realized he didn？t even know where Zeke had applied to college。 The distance between them
was mostly his fault； and he felt bad about it。 ？Hey Zeke；？ he called over。
Zeke stopped walking； his heavy body looking even more massive than usual inside his new
parka。 ？Hey Dan；？ he replied with a careful smile； bouncing the blue ball in place on the frozen
sidewalk。 ？Hey Vanessa。？
？What do you think of Dan？s new haircut？？ Vanessa asked with a wry smile。 ？It？s part of his
new Mr。 Published Poet image。？
？Oh yeah？？ Zeke didn？t seem to know what Vanessa was talking about。 He glanced down the
street； giving the basketball a good hard bounce before holding up his hand。 ？See you guys。？
？See ya；？ Dan called； watching his old friend dribble the ball down to the end of the street。
？So； what？s the big news？？ Vanessa asked as they started to walk west on Seventy…eighth Street。
Cold air blasted the clouds across the pale gray sky。 Down the block； through the leafless
branches of the trees in Riverside Park； Dan caught a silvery glimpse of the Hudson。 ？Well；？ he
began suspensefully。 ？This morning this big…deal literary agent named Rusty Klein called my cell
phone and left me this crazy message。 She thinks I？m the next Keats and she said we have to keep
the momentum going now that we have the public？s attention。？
？Wow。 EvenI？ve heard of her！？ Vanessa responded； impressed。 ？What does that mean； though？？
Dan blew a puff of smoke into the air。 ？I guess it means she wants to represent me。？
Vanessa stopped walking。 She wasn？t sure where they were going anyway。 ？But you only wrote
one poem。 What？s she going to do？ I don？t mean to be a downer Dan； but you have to be careful
of people like that； you know？ She could be trying to take advantage of you。？
Dan stopped walking； too。 He flipped up the collar of his black wool army…navy coat and then
flipped it down again。 Why was Vanessa being so negative？ All of this was totally unexpected； but
it was also extremely fucking cool。 And it wasn？t like he was going to sell out and start writing
clich？d
Gap ads just because he had an agent； if that was what she was worried about。 ？I don？t know。 I
think she can help me with my career。 Maybe I can put a book together and she can try to get it
published or something。？
Vanessa blew on her hands and then rubbed her cold； bare ears。 ？Can we go over to your house？
I？m freezing my ass off。 We？d better work on the film； too。？
Dan threw his cigarette on the ground。 ？Um； actually； I was thinking I might go back and read
through all my note…books。 You know； see if there？s a thematic link to some of the poems。
Something I could work into a book。？
Vanessa had been about to offer her services as a reader； but it didn？t sound like Dan wanted any
help。 ？