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。 ？Okay；？ she said coolly。 ？Call me if you need anything or whatever。？
Dan flipped his collar up again and lit another cigarette； experimenting with his new look。 ？Oh；
wait。 I wanted to ask you something。 Rusty Klein invited me to this thing called Better Than
Naked。 ？The Better Than Naked show。？ That？s what she said。 Do you know if that？s a band or
something？？
Better Than Naked was the antifashion fashion label that Vanessa？s older sister； Ruby； blew all
her gig money on。 Most of their clothes looked like old thrift…store rags that had been run over by
a fleet of street…cleaning machines； which was pletely intentional。 Very downtown ？fuck the
trends？ fashion。
？It？s Fashion Week starting on Friday；？ Vanessa explained。 ？It sounds like she？s inviting you to
the Better Than Naked runway show； which I only know about because Ruby is totally crazy about
their clothes and always watches the shows on the Metro Channel。 I don？t know why Rusty Klein
thinksyou would want to go； though。 What do you care about clothes？ And it？ll be full of posers
and wanna…bes？you know； that whole vapid fashion scene。？
Dan looked thoughtful as he puffed on his cigarette。 ？I think I？m gonna check it out。？ He
wouldn？t have cared if Rusty Klein had asked to meet him at a pro wrestling match。 This was
about building his writing career。
Filming Dan at the Better Than Naked show would have been perfect material for her film； but
Vanessa didn？t want to butt in if Dan was meeting someone as important as Rusty Klein at the
show。 ？Okay； Mr。 Hot Shit Poet。 Don？t forget your old friends when you？re driving around in a
limo drinking champagne with naked models and whatnot。？ She reached up and mussed his neat
little haircut。 ？Congratulations。？
Dan grinned widely back at her。 ？It？s pretty amazing；？ he agreed happily。 Then； with one last
sweet kiss； he turned and walked up Riverside Drive toward home； the iridescent silver Puma
logos flashing on his heels as he went。
Vanessa smiled fondly at the spring in his step。 ？See you later； alligator。？
shas just what they？ve been looking for
？I？m looking for one of those groovy new men？s golfing jackets in a funky Day…Glo color like
bright green or yellow；？ Serena told the salesgirl in the Les Best boutique on Tuesday after school。
During French that day Serena had remembered admiring the new Les Best men？s golfing jacket
in the latest issue ofW magazine and decided it was the perfect gift for Aaron。 She never got tired
of giving Aaron gifts。 Everything she bought just looked so cute on him。 It was like dressing a doll；
her own adorable life…sized； dreadlocked； guitar…playing； Harvard…bound doll。
The boutique was on West Fourteenth Street in the meat…packing district； where the streets
actually smelled like carcasses and manure from all the old meat warehouses。 Leave it to Les Best；
creator of the most beautifully tailored leisure wear in the world； to think that the rawness of the
neighborhood was so cool； he just had to open up shop there。 The space was huge and decorated
all in white muslin with only one or two brightly colored tennis dresses or polo jackets hanging
from giant steel hooks sticking out of the walls。 The idea was that unless you really knew enough
about the clothes to ask to see more； you had no purpose shopping there。
？We？re all out of the golfing jackets； I？m afraid；？ the bleached…blond salesgirl answered in an
English accent。 She was dressed all in white； too。 Even her sneakers were made of white pony
fur。 ？My manager nicked the last one for himself。？
Serena examined a gorgeous red…and…white…striped silk tennis dress hanging on a hook
nearby。 ？Damn；？ she said under her breath。 ？I keep seeing that jacket in magazines and I thought it
would be the perfect thing。？ Les Best was her favorite new designer； but maybe the clothes were a
little too haute couture for Aaron anyway。 He was more of a skater…boy kind of dresser。 She
hitched her deep gold leather Longchamp bag onto her shoulder。 ？Thanks for your help；？ she
called； hoping to make it over to XLarge？a skate store on Lafayette Street？before it closed。
？Wait！？ someone called out。
Serena paused in the doorway and turned around。 Were they talking to her？
A tanned guy with a bleached…blond crew cut wearing the exact bright green golfing jacket she？d
been hoping to buy for Aaron was holding open a white door in the back of the store。 He smiled as
he walked toward her。 ？I hope you don？t mind my asking。？ He cocked his head and gave Serena
the once…over。 ？Les asked me to look for a ？real girl？ for his show in Bryant Park on Friday。 I only
caught a glimpse of you as you were leaving； but I justknow you？d be perfect。 I？ve seen your
picture in the society pages。 You？re Serena； right？？
Serena nodded； unfazed。 She was used to being recognized from photographs in gossip columns。
She？d even had an unnamed body part photographed by the famous Remi brothers in October。 The
photo had been picked up by a New York Transit Authority arts project