gossip girl 7 英文-第5章
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thought she looked great bald; he wasn't about to say anything。
〃If this is about the apartment…share; I will be calling you once I've reviewed your online
application;〃 Vanessa said robotically when she picked up。
〃Hey; it's me; Dan;〃 Dan responded brightly。 〃What's up?〃
Vanessa didn't answer right away。 She wanted to give Dan space to grow and blossom into the
next Kurt Cobain or John Keats or whatever the fuck he weanted to be; but breaking up with her
and kicking him out of her apartment hadn't been exactly been easy for her。 The casual
lets…be…friends tone in Dan's voice made her heart feel like a deflated balloon。
〃I'm kind of busy actually。〃 She typed a bunch of nonsense into her puter to make it sound
like she was drastically preoccupied。 〃I have a lot of applications to go through… for the new
roommate… you know?〃
〃Oh。〃 Dan hadn't been aware that Vanessa was looking for a roommate。 Then again; with her older
sister Ruby gone on tour with her band; it would be kind of lonely and boring living all alone in
the apartment; especially without him to keep her pany。
For a fleeting moment Dan was so overe with regret he felt like grabbing a pen and writing a
tragic breakup poem using the words cut or shaved; but then his newly shorn neck began to burn
and prickle; and he remembered why he'd called Vanessa in the first place。
〃I just had a quick question。〃 He took several quick puffs of his cigarette and then absentmindedly
dropped it into a vase of daisies wilting on Jenny's desk。 〃You know when you shave your head?
Is there like; a certain kind of razor you use? Like a certain blade?〃
Vanessa's first impulse was to warn him that with a shaved head he'd look like a skinny
seven…year…old leukemia patient who'd just been through chemo; but she was tired of protecting
him from his own mistakes; especially now that they were 〃just friends。〃 〃Wahl blade number ten。
Look; I gotta go。〃
Dan picked up his beard trimmer。 It was from CVS and didn't have a blade size。 Maybe he'd be
better going to a barber。 〃Okay。 See you at my gig tomorrow night though; right?〃
〃Maybe;〃 Vanessa replied breezily。 〃If I get this roommate thing figured out。 Gotta go。 'Bye!〃
Dan hung up and picked up the beard trimmer once more。 〃Crack me like an egg!〃 he shouted;
holding it in front of his chin like a microphone。 He whipped off his t…shirt and struck out his pale;
skinny gut; trying to look saucily bored and rebellious; like a shorter; thinner; less…fucked…up Jim
Morrison。 〃Crack me like an egg!〃 he wailed; falling on his knees。
His dad; Rufus; suddenly appeared in the doorway; wearing a cigarette burned gray Old Navy
sweatshirt and the pink terrycloth headband that Jenny used to keep her hair back hen she washed
her face。 〃Good thing your sister's too busy to hang out with us after school anymore。 She might
not be too thrilled to find you stripping in her room;〃 he mented。
〃I'm rehearsing。〃 Dan rose to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster。 〃Do you mind?〃
〃Go right ahead。〃 Rufus stood in the doorway; scratching his chest fingering the unfiltered Camel
tucked behind his left ear。 He was a work…at…home single dad; the editor of lesser…known Beat
poets and esoteric writers no one had ever heard of。 〃I think if you put the emphasis on every other
word; it might be more effective/〃
Dan cocked his head and handed Rufus the beard trimmer。 〃Show me。〃
Rufus Grinned。 〃Okay but I'm not taking my shirt off。〃
Thank the Lord。
He held the beard trimmer away from his face as if worried that it might turn on by itself and buzz
off his famously unkempt beard。 〃Crack Me like an Egg!〃 he howled; his brown eyes gleaming。
He handed the trimmer。 〃Try it。〃
Of course Dan's dad had sounded just exactly the way Dan wanted to sound。 He tossed the
trimmer on to Jenny's bed and pulled his shirt back on。 〃I have homework to do;〃 he grumbled。
Rufus shrugged his shoulders。 〃Okay; I'll leave you alone。〃 He winked at his son。 〃Decide where
you want to go next year yet?〃
〃No;〃 Dan answered hollowly; then shuffled out of Jenny's roomand back into his own。 His dad
was so gung…ho about the whole college thing; it was seriously annoying。
〃Columbia's close!〃 Rufus called after him。 〃You could live at home!〃
As if he hadn't already mentioned that a thousand times。
Alone in his room; Dan found a rubber band in his desk drawer and tied his hair up into a stubbly
ponytail; leaving the shaved part exposed。 He picked up the beard trimmer again。 〃Crack Me like
and Egg!〃 he whispered; imitating his father as best as he could。 He grimaced。 There just wasn't
ebough gristle in his voice to sound convincing。
Trading the trimmer for the pile of college catalogs he'd been thumbing through for the past three
months; he flopped don on his bed。 Only one more week to choose between NYU; Brown; Colby
or Evergreen。 He flipped to a picture of a tweedy; intellectual…looking Brown student; his back
propped against the trunk of agiant elm tree; scribbling away in a notebook like a young Keats。 He
looked exactly as Dan had envisioned he'd look himself next year… before he'd been discovered by
the Raves and before he'd just shaved the back of his head。
He ran his finger over the shaved part of his head and glanced down at his outfit。 He'd have to go
shopping; because none of his clothes went with his hair anymore。
And you thought that was something only girls worry about。
If only Jenny were there to help out; Dan thought grimly。 But his little sister was too busy being a
supermodel to go through his closet with him and tell him what was lame and what was acceptable。
Dan picked up a cup of Folgers instant coffee that had been cooling on the floor since that
morning and took a sip。 He grimaced at his reflection in the mirror; and for an instant he could
almost envision himself up on stage; giving the audience the same annoyed; pissed…off grimace。
Maybe; just maybe he could pull this off; without his sister's help。
Or maybe not。
V TAKES THE ROOM OUT OF ROOMATE
Fireeater: I keep a pretty sick schedule; like I sleep all day and work at night
Hairlessskat: What do you do?
Fireeater: duh; I'm a performer
Hairlessskat: you really eat fire?
Fireeater: I'm working on it。 Mostly I dance with my snakes。
Hairlessskat: snakes?
Fireeater: yea I have four snakes
Fireeater: you're okay with pets right?
Fireeater: you still there?
Fireeater: yo; hello?
〃Nice try; loser!〃 Vanessa Abrams logged off her puter and went over to her closet; She'd
taken off her hot and hideous maroon wool Constance Billard School winter uniform… the only
uniform she owned… two hours ago and hadn't bothered to change into anything else。 Even though
the girl Vanessa was supposed to interview in three minutes had sounded cool in her e…mail that
morning; she probably wouldn't be psyched if Vanessa greeted her at the door in her black cotton
Hanes underwear。 Vanessa pulled a folded pair of pants off the top shelf in her bedroom closet
without even looking。 Everything in her closet was black; and she was a strong believer in
shopping in duplicate。 If you owned six pairs of straight…legged black stretch Levis; you never
really had to think about what you were going to wear; and you only had to do laundry once a
week。 She pulled the jeans up around her pale and slightly pudgy hips; yanked her black
long…sleeved V…neck tee down over them and ran her hands over her shaved; dark head。 She might
have looked odd to all the so…called 〃normal〃 girls she went to school with; but the girl she was
about to meet sounded more interesting than they could ever hope to be… well; at least she had
online。
The downstairs buzzer rang; just as she'd anticipated。 Vanessa went over to the window and pulled
aside the curtain; which was really just a black poly…blend Martha Stewart Everyday bed sheet she
and her sister Ruby had bought at K…mart last Halloween。 On the street two floors below; a drunk
homeless guy was shouting at empty parked cars。 A little boy with green spiked hair and no shirt
on sped down the sidewalk on a mountain bike that was way too big for him。 The crumbling
cement block that served as Vanessa's front stoop was empty。 The Prospective roommate was
already on her way up。
〃Please be normal;〃 Vanessa murmured; not that she actually like normal girls。 Normal girls; ; like
the girls in her class at Constance; wore pink lip gloss and different versions of the exact same pair
of shoes and were religious about things like highlights and pedicures。 In her e…mail application
this girl Beverly had said she was an art student at Pratt; so she was older; for one thing; and was
probably kind of alternative。 Hopefully she'd be as cool as she sounded。
Vanessa opened the door to the apartment just as Beverly mounted the top of the stairs。 And to
Vanessa's plete surprise; Beverly wasn't a she; she was a he。
Vanessa had sort of forgotten to specify that she was looking for a girl roommate in her web
posting。
A deliberate mistake?
〃Bet you thought I was fema