小说园

第20部分（第2页）

Dan；　who　they　all　just　called　？the　new　kid？　or　？hey；　you；？　despite　the　fact　that　he？d　been　working

there　full　time　for　almost　a　month　and　wore　a　name　tag　everyday；　just　like　they　did。

How　glamorous。

Dan　burst　into　the　tiny　lounge；　accidentally　banging　the　door　against　the　wall；　startling　a　skinny

kid　with　short；　mussed…up　blond　hair　and　horn…rimmed　glasses　too　big　for　his　square；　wide…eyed

face。

？Sorry；？　Dan　muttered；　dashing　over　to　his　designated　locker？a　tiny；　one…foot…square　cubby　just

inches　above　the　dust…bunny…and…decades…old…cigarette…butt…littered　concrete　floor。　He　entered　his

nerdy　bination？82849；　the　birth…day　of　Goethe；　the　author　of　his　all…time　favorite　book；The

Sorrows　of　Young　Werther　？tossed　his　paper　inside；　and　grabbed　his　plastic　name　tag。

？New　York　Review　of　Books；huh？？　asked　the　blond　guy。

？What？　Yeah。？　Dan　pinned　the　cheap　red　tag　to　his　faded　black　T…shirt；　eyeing　the　stranger

suspiciously。　Dan　hadn？t　noticed　him　around　before。　Was　it　his　first　day？　Was　it　possible　that　Dan

was　no　longer　technically　？the　new　kid？？

？I？m　Greg。？　The　stranger　smiled。　？It？s　my　first　day。？

Fresh　meat　in　moldy…book　land。　Sounds　like　a　freaking　party。

？Cool。　Wele　to　hell；？　Dan　barked；　secretly　thrilled　that　he　now　had　seniority　over　someone。

？Actually；　I　can？t　believe　I？m　here；？　Greg　continued　eagerly；　glancing　around　the　room　as　if　it

were　the　Sistine　Chapel　instead　of　a　dirty；　windowless　room　in　a　rat…infested　basement。　He　was

wearing　a　short…sleeved　cowboyish　but…ton…down　shirt　and　cutoff　khaki　pants　that　reminded　Dan

of　Vanessa。　The　other　afternoon　when　the　AC　had　blown　out　in　the　living　room；　she？d

spontaneously　cut　the　legs　off　her　favorite　black　cargos　to　make　shorts。　God；　he　missed　her。

？I？ve　always　wanted　to　work　here；　you　know？？　Greg　went　on。

？Job？s　a　job；？　replied　Dan；　disinterestedly。　Of　course　he　knew　exactly　what　Greg　was　talking

about；　but　he　was　kind　of　enjoying　mimicking　the　attitude　copped　by　the　rest　of　the　senior　Strand

employees。　It　made　him　feel　tough；　like　he　might　put　out　his　next　cigarette　on　the　back　of　Greg？s

hand。　？I　saw　a　whole　cart　of　old　literary　journals　upstairs　by　the　elevator。　Guess　that？s　what　you？ll

be　dealing　with　till　lunchtime。？

？Sounds　great　to　me！？　gushed　Greg。　？Am　I　supposed　to　just　wait　down　here；　though？　This　guy

Clark　told　me　to　e　down　here　and　that　he？d　be　with　me　soon；　but　that　was；　like；　fifteen

minutes？？

？Well；　Clark　knows　what　he？s　doing；？　Dan　interrupted。　？I？ve　got　to　get　upstairs；　but　I？m　sure　I？ll

see　you　around；　Jeff。？

？It？s　Greg；？　the　guy　corrected　him。　？Did　anyone　ever　tell　you　that　you　look　exactly　like　that　guy

from　the　Raves；　Dan　Something？？

Dan　froze　in　midstep。　？Humphrey。　His　name？s　Dan　Humphrey；？　Dan　informed　him。　？Well；