looking genuinely pissed off。 ？This is a school； not a strip club。 Put your clothes back on；？ he
snapped at Jenny。
Gladly。
Jenny snatched up her pretty Japanese…style shirt； rising to her feet as she slipped her arms inside
the sleeves and buttoned it up to her chin。Who the hell is this guy； anyway？ she wondered with
frightened indignation。
？You can？t be serious about attending this institution；？ Mr。 Tortia observed； his thick brown
mustache slick with sweat and spittle。 ？Croton prides itself on its discretion。 Our students are the
cr？me de la cr？me！？
Jenny gazed down at the circle of Croton students； their bare navels and nipples blinking up at
her in the warm summer sun； their mouths working the Dentyne； blissed out from the Ecstasy； and
exhausted by a single round of Duck； Duck； Goose。 Discretion？ Cr？me de la cr？me？ The cr？me de
la cr？me of fuckups； maybe。 And what right did this dude with the mustache have to tell her
whether she could go there or not？
？Are you a teacher here or ？？？ she asked politely。
Mr。 Tortia squatted down and held his palm out to April； who handed him a piece of Dentyne。 He
stood up again。 ？As a matter of fact； I？m the headmaster；？ he replied flatly。 He pulled on his
mustache and offered her his first smile。 ？Discretion lesson number one： Let？s not mention this
little incident to anyone。 Got it？？
Jenny nodded mutely。
Mr。 Tortia held up both hands and waved with his palms facing backwards； like the Queen of
England。 ？Arrivederci； little prospective girl！？ he chimed； dismissing her。
Harry reached up and patted Jenny on the bottom。 ？Drive safely；？ he told her affectionately； even
though she was obviously not old enough to drive。
Arrivederci； fuckups！
Her whole body trembling with outrage； Jenny hurried down the path through the woods；
wishing with all her heart there was a subway stop right there by the duck pond。 She could swipe
her MetroCard and catch the 3 train down to Ninety…sixth Street and Broadway； and be home in
time forAmerican Idol 。 The green…headed mallard quacked at her mockingly as she hurried
by。 ？Cr？me de la cr？me！ Cr？me de la cr？me！ Cr？me de la cr？me！？ he seemed to be saying。
Jenny whipped out her cell phone and dialed information。 ？Taxi。 In Croton Falls； New York；？ she
instructed。
？We have no listings for Taxi；？ the operator responded blandly。 ？I？ll check Limousines。？
？Fine。？ Jenny typed the number for the Village of Croton？s only limousine service into her cell
phone。 With the money her father had given her bined with the money already in her wallet；
she could probably get the driver to take her all the way home。
Who said she wasn？t the cr？me de la cr？me？
V experiments with double happiness
When Aaron came home from band practice Vanessa was standing in front of the bathroom sink；
contemplating her hair？or lack thereof？in the round； toothpaste…spattered mirror； still wet from her
shower。 She？d ridded herself of Dan？s musty smell and was horrified to discover that she sort of
enjoyed the fact that Aaron had absolutely no clue。
When she？s bad； she？sbad 。
？Nice towel；？ Aaron observed； planting a kiss on the nape of her neck。
？Thanks。？ Vanessa batted her eyes and placed her hands on her hips； modeling the
lavender…and…black chintz floral bath towel； one of the many Blair had purchased for the
apartment during her short but sweet stay。
Aaron wrapped his arms around Vanessa？s waist。 ？Did you get my present？？
He looked cute in an orange T…shirt and baggy green army shorts； and he smelled like hay from
the herbal cigarettes he was always smoking。
？Blair moved out；？ Vanessa told him evenly； ignoring his question about the cheesy
love/friendship ring he？d left on the kitchen counter that morning。 ？She couldn？t stand living so
far away from Barneys in a walk…up with graffiti on the door。？
？Well； can you blame her？？ Aaron smiled at their reflection in the mirror？two dark shaved heads；
two pairs of brown eyes； two pairs of thin red lips。 ？Did you get my e…mail？？
We could almost be twins；Vanessa thought； creeping herself out。 She was suddenly reminded of
those freaky old V。C。 Andrews books she？d read when she was twelve； about a brother and sister
who were locked together in an attic and eventually gave birth to twins。 ？Blair wants to be our
senior speaker。 If I miss graduation； she？ll kill me。？
Aaron rolled his eyes； flipped the cracked white toilet seat lid down； and sat down on it。 He
sighed。 ？I don？t know how she does it。？
？What do you mean？？ Vanessa couldn？t help observing that this little bathroom chat was the
longest they？d ever talked without forgetting what they were talking about and ripping each
other？s clothes off。
？You？re like the most righteous person I know； but she even manages to get you to do her
bidding。？ Aaron explained； rubbing the back of his neck where the supershort shaved bits were
growing in。
？It？s not like that。 We？re friends。 Anyway；？ Vanessa quickly changed the subject。 ？I think driving
across the country and camping out and stuff sounds ？ cool。？ She put her hands in her pockets；
hoping that Aaron would forget all about the ring。 ？I mean； as long as there？s； like； a bathroom
and a shower we can use。？
Sounds like she doesn？t quite know the meaning of ？camping out。？
？Really？？ Aaron stood up； grinning as he turned her around to face him。 ？So； are you； like；
pletely naked underneath that towel？？ he asked； kissing her neck and shoulders。
Vanessa knew she ought to have been overwhelmed by her outrageous deception。 Dan had left
only an hour ago。 Now here she was with Aaron； her real boyfriend； pretending it was perfectly
natural to be taking a shower in the late afternoon； when she normally only took one in the
morning。 Maybe she was just losing her mind； but somehow it made being with Aaronand Dan all
the more exciting。
Aaron turned on the shower and pulled his shirt off over his head。 ？I say we both need to get
really； really clean。？ He tugged on Vanessa？s towel。 ？e on； I？ll wash your hair for you。？
The towel fell to the floor and Vanessa laughed out loud； amazed at how unguilty she felt。 The
truth was； in the very near future she wouldn？t be seeing much of these boys at all； so why not
enjoy them now； while they were standing right in front of her？naked？
After their steaming hot shower； Aaron busied himself cooking wheat gluten chicken nuggets
with sweet potato fries； while Vanessa edited her final film project； a series of interviews with
seniors from Constance and other private schools that she？d filmed over the course of the past few
months。
Some of the interviews were funny and insightful； but some of them could be interpreted in kind
of a bad way if you didn？t know the people。 She decided to start with Blair？s interview。 Blair
looked totally awesome sitting in front of Bethesda Fountain in Central Park wearing a black polo
shirt and her jade…and…Swarovski…crystal chandelier earrings。 A group of shirtless boys were
playing Frisbee in the background； girls in bikinis sprawled at their feet。
？For me it？s not just about having sex； though。 It？s about my whole future。 Yale and Nate： the
two things I？ve always wanted ？？ Blair declared； sounding unusually psychotic。 ？And if I don？t
get in ？ someone is going to fucking pay。 This is； like； my one chance to be happy； and I think I
deserve it； you know？？
Well； hello； crazy bitch。
Vanessa winced。 Of course it was good film； but considering how things had turned out with
Nate； it would hurt Blair？s feelings too much to use it。
Aaron came out of the kitchen to peer over her shoulder at the little screen on her digital video
camera； a carrot stick in his mouth。 ？When？s my part？？
Vanessa fast…forwarded until she got to Aaron？s interview； taken late one night in her
bedroom？which explained why he was wearing only a lavender…and…celery…green striped sheet。
The interview had been done before he cut his hair； and brown mini dreadlocks stuck out in all
directions from his head。
？I？ve been feeling really； really good about myself since I heard f