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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