第28部分(第2/7 页)

　an　octave　higher　than

normal。　？And　that　chick　was　right；　too？there　are；　like；　paths；　right；　and　sometimes　they　just　。　。　。

diverge。　Right？？

Whoa。

？I　don？t　know　about　paths；？　Dan　replied；　even　though　the　whole　paths…diverging　thing　was

actually　borrowed　from　Robert　Frost？s　poem　？The　Road　Less　Traveled；？　which　he？d　actually

quoted　in　his　graduation　speech。　？I？m　kind　of　sick　of　all　this　New　Age　bullshit；　to　tell　you　the

truth。？

？Yeah？？　asked　Nate。　It　sounded　kind　of　cool　to　him。

Of　course　it　did。

n　exits　stage　left

Nate　pushed　past　a　couple　of　girls　in　fullon　shimmy　mode　and　scanned　the　room。　It　was　so

crowded　he　could　barely　find　a　familiar　face。

Or　maybe　he　was　just　too　baked。

He　hadn？t　expected　to　have　any　kind　of　epiphany　at　this　dumb　Hollywood　party。　This　was

supposed　to　be　the　summer　when　he　got　serious；　when　he　turned　his　back　on　parties　and　pot　and

chasing　girls　who　were　more　trouble　than　they　were　worth。　This　was　supposed　to　be　the　summer

he　worked　hard　and　used　his　hands　and　did　some　honest；　challenging　labor　and　got　to　know

himself　and　prepared　for　his　career　at　Yale。　Captain　Archibald　and　even　Coach　Michaels　were

determined　that　Nate　head　off　to　Yale　a　different　man；　a　new　man；　able　to　handle　responsibility。

And　now；　suddenly；　Nate　felt　like　he　alreadywas　that　new　guy。

That　was　fast。

Something　Dan　had　said　really　stuck　with　him：　his　life　was　right　here；　waiting　for　him；　inside　this

shitty；　overcrowded　apartment。　The　girl　he　was　meant　to　be　with　was　right　here；　and　the　only

honorable　thing　to　do　was　to　break　the　news　to　the　girl　hewasn？t　meant　to　be　with。

But　he　couldn？t　find　Tawny？s　famili