protect the innocent。 Namely； me。
hey people！
The premature male midlife crisis
What？s withC ？shighlights ？ Sure； they sort of match his stretchy pastel shirts and orange Prada
sneakers； but since when was he so 。 。 。 outr？？ I also heard he was seen on Monday night dancing
at a new red…rope； guest…list…only club in Greenwich Village calledBubble ； a very boys…only kind
of scene； if you know what I mean。 Could it be that since he？s already hit on every female in the
city； he？s moved on to the males？
The other boy I？m a little concerned about isN ； my personal favorite。 Yes； he？s still as hot as
ever； and yes； I would give up my Herm？s Birkin bag to be his fairy princess。 I just wish he？d stop
lurking around upper Fifth Avenue taking surreptitious slurps from that silver flask he keeps in his
pocket and looking like a nervous wreck。 If he needs a hand to hold； he knows where to find me。
But the greatest transformation of all is in skinny； scruffyD 。 If you haven？t seen him since this
morning； this is breaking news： he got a haircut！ It？s definitely the work of the old man barber on
Broadway and West Eighty…eighth； but his sweet brown eyes are actually visible now； which is
definitely an improvement； and there seems to be some sexy…literary…dude sideburn action
happening； too。 He？s got it going on！
Hanging out with the big girls
It？s extremely flattering to be taken under the wing of an older girl and given a glimpse of the
we？re…so…cool…we…don？t…even…have…to…think…about…trying side of life。 But don？t get carried away；
thinking said older girl is going to start asking you out to the movies。 She？s not。 And as soon as
she gets too busy with APs and parties and shopping for sandals； or whatever it is older girls do in
their spare time； she？s going to forget about all those groovy times you had together。 She might
even forget your name。 Of course； I could be totally wrong。 Maybe you？ll wind up friends for life
and sponsor each other at the Connecticut country club you both join when you？re married with
kids。 Or not。 Don？t say I didn？t warn you。
Your e…mail
Q：？ ？ Dear GG；
So I may have misread what was going on； but I？m pretty sure I saw A from Bronxdale with this
other girl in our class； and he was all； ？I？m the man； I？m into Harvard；？ and she was all； ？You？re
so hot。 I want you。？ Um； doesn？t he have a girlfriend？
？S。I。B。
A：？ ？ Dear S。I。B。；
What does S。I。B。 stand for； anyway？ Seeing is believing？ Sad in Biloxi？ Small is beautiful？ If
what you say is true； I？m S。F。A。C。B。？sad for a certain blond。
？GG
Q：？ ？ Dear Ggirl；
I heard B got caught doing drugs in school and now she secretly has to do munity service。
She？s going to rehab； too； which is why she cut all her hair off。 They make you do that； like； in
prison。
？Daisy
A：？ ？ Dear Daisy；
It sounds like a bad made…for…Lifetime special。 You don？t really believe all that； do you？
？GG
Oops。I？m late for my fake…tan rubdown at Bliss？it？s theonly way to stay smiling till summer！
You know you love me。
gossip girl
nbuys a dime bag
On Tuesday after school； Nate wandered into Central Park to check out the dealers in Sheep
Meadow。 He？d gone a full twenty…four hours without getting high； and instead of feeling healthy
and energized； he was bored out of his drug…free mind。 His classes at school seemed twice as long；
and even Jeremy Scott Tompkinson？s lame…ass fart jokes barely made him crack a smile。
The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky； casting an eerie golden glow on the frozen brown
grass in the meadow。 Two heavyset guys dressed in black sweatshirts with the wordStaff printed
on the back were passing a football back and forth； and a tiny old woman wearing a red Chanel
suit and a fox fur stole was walking her freshly groomed bichon frise。 As usual； the dealers were
all sitting on benches around the perimeter of the meadow； listening to WFAN on their Discmans
or reading theDaily News 。 Nate spotted a familiar redheaded guy dressed in a light gray Puma
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。 Wa