ng cross…legged on the floor near the coffee table。 Her head was half…shaven and she was
sporting a tattoo of a cockroach on her skull。 She seemed to have a very toned body； but her face
looked weirdly misshapen。
The misshapen…faced girl nodded back。 ？Yo； what？s going on； my name？s Penny；？ she
barked。 ？Favorite book； totally got to beSexing the Cherry； you know how it goes。 I just finished
school； heading out to Smith in the fall； but I？m so psyched to be here right now； meeting some
cool book…lovers； you know？？ She turned to glance at the strawberry redhead to her left； who was
hugging her knees and sipping shyly at a cup of cheap white wine。
？H…h…hey；？ strawberry…head whispered。 ？I？m Susanna。 My favorite book isThe Awakening。 I？m
from the East Village； I？m thinking of going to Bennington when I finish school next year； and I
love Tori Amos。？
？You totally look like her；？ interjected Penny。
Susanna blushed； looking down at the ground。
？I guess I？ll go next；？ blurted out a gaunt guy who looked about fourteen； dressed in a gray suit
plete with bright maroon bow tie and sitting in a rocking chair across from Dan。
？Yes； please do；？ replied Greg； slipping Dan a bottle of water。
Mister Considerate！
？I？m Peter； I？m about to start my sophomore year at NYU； and my favorite writer is definitely J。
D。 Salinger。 In fact； as my honors thesis； I？m thinking of memorizingRaise High the Roofbeam；
Carpenters in its entirety。？
Dan sipped the bottle of tepid water。 That sounded vaguely familiar？he sort of remembered
having read an e…mail from a devoted Salinger fan； but for some reason he was having trouble
remembering things。
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