liked it at Croton； then it was probably just the sort of school Jenny was looking for。
？Don？t be put off by how straitlaced everything seems here； Jennifer；？ Harry advised； his white
teeth flashing。 He shoved his hands in the pockets of his cool light blue linen Zegna trousers；
which he was wearing with straw flip…flops？very prep…school…boy…goes…to…the…beach。 ？We
basically party； like； eighty percent of the time； sleep fifteen percent of the time； eat five percent of
the time； and study whenever we have time left over； which is； like； never。？
Jenny grinned。 That sounded fine？just fine。
Harry Bass pressed his lips together and cocked his head as if he were sizing her up。 ？e on。
There are some people I？d like you to meet。？
Her heart racing with eager anticipation； Jenny followed him out of the building and down a long
sloping pebbled walkway that curved behind a row of pretty brick buildings with black wooden
shutters in the windows。 The walkway ended in a narrow dirt path that led along the banks of a
quaint little duck pond and into the heavily forested woods。 ？It？s just a little bit farther；？ Harry
explained； his flip…flops flapping against his heels。
Jenny hesitated； wondering what on earth the people he wanted her to meet were doing in the
middle of the woods。 Was she about to be a part of one of those peculiar boarding school traditions
she？d read so much about； like bonfires and midnight skinny…dipping？ In the middle of the pond a
mallard with a dark green head was quacking loudly at a demure brown duck； trying to get her
attention。 Jenny couldn？t help but marvel at how strange it was to have spent a whole day in the
country after spending her entire life until now on the island of Manhattan。
？Where are we going？？ she called to Harry as she hurried to keep up。
Before he could answer； a girl in a fire…engine red bikini stepped onto the path about fifty feet
ahead of them。 ？Hey； Bass！？ She shouted so loudly； the leaves seemed to shake in the trees
overhead。 ？You and your new girlfriend better get your asses over here before we finish all the
you…know…what！？
？ing！？ Harry shouted back。 He chuckled at Jenny。 ？e on。 You know you want to。？
He evensounded like his cousin。
Now that she was sure she and Harry weren？t going to be alone in the woods； Jenny felt more
confident about following him。 It was cooler in the shade of the trees and smelled of wet moss。 All
of a sudden they came upon a group of five guys and four girls； sitting in a circle； wearing bathing
suits or shorts and T…shirts； the rest of their clothes scattered at the base of a nearby tree。 Some of
them were drinking cans of Coors； some of them were smoking cigarettes； and all of them looked
extremely happy to be there。
The girl in the red bikini？skinny and pale； with long； shiny light brown hair and beautiful hazel
eyes？held out her palms to them。 ？One more minute and you…know…who was gonna e along
and nab these；？ she told them with a bright smile。 Jenny stared at the girl？s palms； which were
dotted with little white pills。
？April； you rock。？ Harry scooped a tab of Ecstasy out of the girl？s hands and popped it in his
mouth。 ？Go on； Jennifer；？ he urged Jenny； pointing at April？s outstretched palms。 ？The quicker
you eat one； the quicker you？ll fall in love with me。？ He grinned devilishly。 ？I mean； our school。？
Oh； really？
Jenny had been offered drugs before。 She？d even been stoned once； with Nate Archibald； the first
day they？d met； in Sheep Meadow in Central Park。 She？d fallen in love with him that day and had
stayed in love with him until he broke her heart on New Year？s Eve。 Probably if she hadn？t been
stoned； she？d have understood that she and Nate had only just met and that she needed to get to
know him a lot better before she kissed him。
She reached out to pinch one of the tabs of Ecstasy out of April？s hand with no intention of
actually ingesting it。 It was so tiny； no one would even notice。
？Yum；？ she cooed； pretending to be delighted as she cupped her hand over her mouth and let the
teeny pill fall past her chin and cascade down into her ample double…D…sized cleavage。
We always knew it would e in handy！
？We were about to play Duck； Duck； Goose；？ one of the Coors…drinking guys announced with a
pletely straight face； as if he were trying to organize a friendly touch…football scrimmage。 He
was wearing nothing but a pair of electric blue bike shorts； and he looked like a Tour de France
bicycle racer； with ropy muscles； a shaved head； and intense blue eyes。 ？Wanna play？？
？Sure！？ Harry Bass responded enthusiastically。 He wrapped his arm around Jenny？s waist and
kissed the top of her head。 ？My little cucumber；？ he murmured affectionately。
Jenny had the feeling the tab of E Harry had just taken was not his first of the afternoon。 She was
about to shrug him away when she realized that she was going to have to at leastpretend she was
on Ecstasy； otherwise； it would be obvious she hadn？t taken it。 Problem was； she didn？t even
know how long it was supposed to take to start working。 ？Yay！？ she squeaked。 ？Let？s play！？
They joined the circle and sat down between a chubby Japanese boy sporting Madras plaid
Bermuda shorts and a cute rocker haircut and the muscular boy in the blue bike shorts。 Everyone
was grinning so hard； it looked like their teeth hurt。 ？I？ll go first；？ April volunteered。 ？But first I
think we？re going to need some of this。？ She passed around a few packets of cinnamon Dentyne
gum。
？You？re a goddess；？ blue bike shorts boy told her appreciatively。 He shoved three pieces of gum
into his mouth and began to chew them voraciously。 ？Mwa； mwa； mwa！？
April cracked tiny pink bubbles with her gum and then clapped her hands together。 ？Okay；
people； let？s go！？ She wound her way around to the outside of the circle and began to walk
counterclockwise； tapping each person on the head as she passed。 ？Duck； duck； duck； duck； duck；
duck；goose！ ？ she shouted as she tapped the Japanese guy with the cool haircut on the head and
then sprinted away。 He jumped to his feet and gave chase； catching her in his arms and wrestling
her to the ground。 They lay like that for a while； panting and sort of petting each other。
Jenny noticed that none of the other kids were even watching them。 They were too focused on
their gum…chewing； or they were rubbing their hands up and down each other？s backs and giggling。
Then she felt a hand on her back； too； underneath her shirt。
？Let？s take our shirts off；？ Harry suggested eagerly。
？Okay；？ Jenny agreed； not wanting to be a prude。 She only had three buttons left buttoned；
anyway。 The guidebooks were definitely right about Croton。 It was wild； and maybe？once she got
used to it？exactly what she needed。
？Wow；？ he murmured as she folded her shirt neatly and placed it on the grass beside her。 The
look on his face was the absolute definition of the phraseto gawk 。
？Now you；？ Jenny said； feeling confident in the knowledge that she was the only sober one in the
forest。 Well；almost 。
？What the hell are you kids doing back here？！？ a deep voice boomed。 An athletic…looking man
with curly brown hair and a brown mustache strode down the path； barefoot； wearing faded Levi？s
and a threadbare light blue oxford shirt； unbuttoned to midchest。
April sat up and wiped her mouth； her brown eyes shining。 ？Hi； Mr。 Tortia。？
Mr。 Tortia didn？t look as angry as he？d sounded。 He almost looked like he wanted to hang
out。 ？So； what did I miss？？ he demanded eagerly。 Then he noticed Jenny。 ？And who； may I ask；
are you？？
Harry rubbed the spot between Jenny？s bare shoulder blades。 ？She？s a prospective。 And I think
maybe she took your share。？
Jenny crossed her hands over her chest。 Actually； his share of the E was somewhere inside her
nude…colored Bali extra…support bra with double…duty underwire and chafe…free superwide straps；
but she wasn？t about to volunteer that information。
Mr。 Tortia picked something out of his tobacco…stained teeth and flicked it angrily into the grass；
looking genuinely pissed off。 ？This is a schoo