Every night for the last week; Dan had lain awake in bed; wondering what Vanessa was doing in
the next room。 He?d hear her get up to go to the bathroom; and think about accidentally bumping
into her in the dark; familiar hall of the apartment。 They?d fall into each other?s arms; furiously
kissing all the way back to Dan?s bed。 He?d rub her shaven head; loving the feel of the familiar
soft stubble on his chest; the way her ears were always so hot when she got excited?
Dan suddenly started shaking his head as if his fantasy was water stuck in his ears。
?You okay?? Vanessa asked; eyeing him suspiciously。 She shifted from side to side on the
countertop; settling beside the microwave。
?Um; yeah;? Dan practically yelled; his pinkies now lodged in his ears。 ?I guess I better hit the
road。 Gotta get to work。 Make the donuts。You know how it is!?
?Why are you screaming?? she asked quietly; her eye…brows knitted in question。
?Oh; sorry。? Dan laughed。 He downed his coffee in one quick gulp; ignoring the burning
sensation in his throat; and reached past Vanessa to grab his folded…up copy of theNew York
Review of Books to read on the subway。 ?So。 ?Bye。 Have a good day;? he added; resisting the urge
to kiss her。
??Bye;? she called after him。
But hello; awkward?!
The rolled…upReview tucked safely in his damp armpit; Dan bounded down the musty granite
stairs toward the legendarily filthy employee lounge at the Strand。 The dark stairwell smelled like
moldy books; which should have been nasty but was actually one of Dan?s favorite smells。
He had thirty seconds to stash his paper; grab his name tag out of his locker; and report to the
floor for duty。 None of the bookstore?s managers had any sense of humor about things like
tardiness。 They were crusty; liberal pseudoacade…mics who resented young summer job kids like
Dan; who they all just called ?the new kid? or ?hey; you;? despite the fact that he?d been working
there full time for almost a month and wore a name tag everyday; just like they did。
How glamorous。
Dan burst into the tiny lounge; accidentally banging the door against the wall; startling a skinny
kid with short; mussed…up blond hair and horn…rimmed glasses too big for his square; wide…eyed
face。
?Sorry;? Dan muttered; dashing over to his designated locker?a tiny; one…foot…square cubby just
inches above the dust…bunny…and…decades…old…cigarette…butt…littered concrete floor。 He entered his
nerdy bination?8/28/49; the birth…day of Goethe; the author of his all…time favorite book;The
Sorrows of Young Werther ?tossed his paper inside; and grabbed his plastic name tag。
?New York Review of Books;huh?? asked the blond guy。
?What? Yeah。? Dan pinned the cheap red tag to his faded black T…shirt; eyeing the stranger
suspiciously。 Dan hadn?t noticed him around before。 Was it his first day? Was it possible that Dan
was no longer technically ?the new kid??
?I?m Greg。? The stranger smiled。 ?It?s my first day。?
Fresh meat in moldy…book land。 Sounds like a freaking party。
?Cool。 Wele to hell;? Dan barked; secretly thrilled that he now had seniority over someone。
?Actually; I can?t believe I?m here;? Greg continued eagerly; glancing around the room as if it
were the Sistine Chapel instead of a dirty; windowless room in a rat…infested basement。 He was
wearing a short…sleeved cowboyish but…ton…down shirt and cutoff khaki pants that reminded Dan
of Vanessa。 The other afternoon when the A/C had blown out in the living room; she?d
spontaneously cut the legs off her favorite black cargos to make shorts。 God; he missed her。
?I?ve always wanted to work here; you know?? Greg went on。
?Job?s a job;? replied Dan; disinterestedly。 Of course he knew exactly what Greg was talking
about; but he was kind of enjoying mimicking the attitude copped by the rest of the senior Strand
employees。 It made him feel tough; like he might put out his next cigarette on the back of Greg?s
hand。 ?I saw a whole cart of old literary journals upstairs by the elevator。 Guess that?s what you?ll
be dealing with till lunchtime。?
?Sounds great to me!? gushed Greg。 ?Am I supposed to just wait down here; though? This guy
Clark told me to e down here and that he?d be with me soon; but that was; like; fifteen
minutes??
?Well; Clark knows what he?s doing;? Dan interrupted。 ?I?ve got to get upstairs; but I?m sure I?ll
see you around; Jeff。?
?It?s Greg;? the guy corrected him。 ?Did anyone ever tell you that you look exactly like that guy
from the Raves; Dan Something??
Dan froze in midstep。 ?Humphrey。 His name?s Dan Humphrey;? Dan informed him。 ?Well;
actually my name?s Dan Humphrey。? Dan?s career with downtown rockers the Raves had lasted
for exactly one gig at Funktion on the Lower East Side。 He couldn?t believe anyone remembered
that night。 He certainly didn?t。
An entire bottle of Stoli can do that to you。
?Oh man; are you serious?? Greg crossed the small room and extended his hand。 ?You?re Dan
Humphrey? You?rethe Dan Humphrey; the poet? I can?t believe I?m meeting you! Of course; it
makes total sense?youwould work at the Strand。? He pushed his geeky horn…rims up on his
nose。 ?It?s perfect。 I can?t believe it。 I loved your poetry; man。 Got any new stuff I can read??
Dan felt himself blushing。 Before his unlikely stint as a rock star; he?d published a poem
called ?Sluts? inThe New Yorker。 He?d been the buzz of the literary world for exactly five minutes;
and though his memories of that time were warm and fuzzy; he couldn?t believe there was
someone besides his dad who remembered his brush with poetic fame。
?Well; poets have to keep working;? Dan lied energetically。 ?I?m putting together some ideas for
a novella。 That?s why I?ve been laying kind of low lately。?
?Dude; this is such an honor; I almost can?t believe it。 I?m meeting aNew Yorker poet。 This is
incredible。?
?It?s really not such a big deal。? Dan waved his hand like he was batting away the praise。
Mister Modesty。
?This is perfect;? Greg continued; shoving his hands in the pockets of his just…below…the…knee
cutoffs。 ?Look; I can?t believe I?m going to ask you this; but I?ve been trying to get a salon going;
you know; kind of an informal thing; lots of people who care about books; getting together every
so often to just shoot the shit; talk about literature and poetry and films and music。 And blogs。 But
only sometimes。 I?m sure you?re probably really busy; but maybe you?d like to join up? Or I
mean; if you?re too busy it?s cool; but??
?A salon;? Dan interrupted Greg?s rambling。 It actually sounded kind of 。 。 。 awesome。 He?d
e to work at the Strand expecting lots of stimulating break…room discussions about the classics
and foreign films; but so far the most in…depth conversation he?d participated in had involved two
coworkers asking to bum cigarettes。 ?That sounds cool。?
?Oh man; that?s great!? Greg cried excitedly; his voice cracking。 ?I?m still working on all the
details; you know; drafting a mission statement; thinking about how to recruit members。?
?A mission statement。? Dan nodded thoughtfully。 ?Maybe I could help you out with that。?
?Really?? Greg asked。 ?Fucking fantastic。? He pulled a rainbow swirly pen out of his breast
pocket and grabbed Dan?s hand。 ?I?ll give you my e…mail。? He scrawled his address across Dan?s
palm。 ?Just send me any random ideas and I?ll plug them in。 Also; we need a name。 I was thinking
we could mix up the names of some dead poets; like Wadsworth Whitman or Emerson Thoreau。
They wouldn?t mind。?
No; but they?ll be rolling in their graves。
?Cool。? Dan pulled his hand out of Greg?s grasp and glanced at the address he?d written
there。 ?I?ll be in touch;? he added; trying not to sound too eager; even though he definitely was。
He needed some new friends now that Vanessa was rightfully tired of him。
One word: sad。 But also 。 。 。 slightly cute。 In a seriously sad way。
==================================
ABC Amber LIT Converter v2。02
==================================
Disclaimer: All the real names of places; people; and events have been altered or abbreviated to
protect the innocent。 Namely; me。
hey people!
Ever have that totally freakish feeling that someone is listening in on your conversations; spying
on you and your friends; following you to parties; and generally stalking you? Well; they are。 Or
actually; I am。 The truth is; I?ve been here all along; because I?m one of you。
Feeling totally lost? Don?t get out much? Don?t know who ?we? are? Allow me to explain。
We?re an exclusive group of indescribably beautiful people who happen to live in those majestic;
green…awninged; white…glove…doorman buildings near Central Park。 We attend Manhattan?s most
elite single…sex private schools。 Our families own yachts and estates in various exotic locations
throughout the world。 We frequent all the best beaches and the most exclusive ski resorts。 We?re
seated immediately at the nicest restaurants in the chicest neighborhoods with…out a reservation。
We turn heads。 But don?t confuse us with Hollywood actors or models or rock stars?those people
you feel like you know because you hear so much about them; but who are actually pletely
boring pared to the parts they play or the songs they sing。 There?s nothing boring about me or
my friends; and the more I tell you about us; the more you?re going to want to know。 I?ve kept
quiet until now; but something has happened and I just can?t stay quiet about it。 。 。 。
the greatest story ever told
We learned in our first eleventh…grade creative writing class this week that most great stories
begin in one of the following fashions: someone mysteriously disappears or a stranger es to
town。 The story I?m about to tell is of the ?someone mysteriously disappears? variety。
To be specific;S isgone。
In order to unravel the mystery of why she?s left and where she?s gone; I?m going to have to
backtrack to last winter?the winter of our sophomore year?when the La Mer skin cream hit the fan
and our pretty pink rose…scented bubble burst。 It all started with three insep
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