t out of the dining room；
down the hall； and into his office； slamming the door shut behind him。
Dan shrugged his shoulders and opened up another packet of duck sauce。 ？I really don？t know
what everyone？s problem is。？
Jenny was about to tell him what an ignorant； presumptuous asshole he was when her baby blue
Nokia began to jingle with the first few notes of ？Happy Birthday to You；？ the Raves recording
she？d sung backup for。 She bit her lip； still glaring at Dan with her big brown eyes。
？It？s your phone。 You better answer it；？ Dan told her with his mouth full。
？Fine。？ Jenny reached into her imitation？Louis Vuitton Calla Lily purse and pressed the yes
button on her phone。 It was probably Elise； calling her from Cape Cod to plain about how
bored she was of eating lobster with her parents。 ？Just to warn you； I？m in a really bad mood；？
Jenny said in greeting。
There was silence on the other end。
？Hello？？ Jenny demanded impatiently。
？Yes？ Is this Jennifer Humphrey？？ a polite male voice replied。
Oops。
She sat up straight in her chair。 ？Speaking。？
Jenny reminded Dan of someone just then； but he couldn？t quite place who。 Their mother； maybe？
Except the only real memory he had of his mother was of her trying to teach him how to tie a tie
when he was only five。 He？d kept messing up because her perfume was so pungent； it had made
him dizzy。
？This is Thaddeus Moore； director of admissions at Waverly Prep；？ the man introduced
himself。 ？Do you have a moment？？
Did she ever！
？Yes；？ she answered cautiously； her heart beating so hard； she could practically feel her ribs
cracking。 Dan？s pack of Camel filters was sitti