embarrassing。
？What？s wrong with it？？ Elise cried； shoving Jenny in the leg just as the bus lurched over a
bump。 Jenny slipped off the seat and onto the floor； her butt landing hard on her neighbor？s shoes。
Jenny closed her eyes； too mortified to open them。 If her secret admirer were watching now； he
wouldn？t be writing her any more love notes。 The bus lurched over another bump as it roared
across the park and Jenny？s boobs bounced mercilessly； as if she hadn？t been through enough。
？Here。？ A hand gripped her arm。
？Fuck off；？ Jenny mumbled in total humiliation。 She batted the hand away and struggled to her
feet。 A blond head loomed above her。 Tall。 Nice nose。 Hazel eyes with blond…tipped lashes。 It
washim ？the Bendel？s boy！
？Are you all right？？ he asked。 ？There？s an empty seat back here。 Why don？t you sit down？？ He
took her hand and pushed backward through the crowd。
Jenny slid into the hard； narrow seat and looked up at the boy； her heart pounding。 He looked to
be about sixteen and he was perfect； just perfect。 ？Are you L？？ she asked breathlessly。
He smiled shyly。 One of his front teeth was chipped a little。 It was extremely cute。 ？Yes。 It？s Leo；？
he answered。
Leo。 Ofcourse 。
？I？m Jennifer！？ Jenny practically screamed； she was so excited。
？Jennifer；？ Leo repeated； as if it were the most uniquely beautiful name he？d ever heard。
Elise poked her head through the rush…hour crowd and narrowed her blue eyes at Jenny。 ？Hey；
I？m sorry I pushed you。 Are you okay？？
Leo smiled his adorable chip…toothed smile at her as if to say that any friend of Jenny？s was a
friend of his。 Jenny？s first instinct was to snarl at Elise to buzz off so she and Leo could get
acquainted in peace。 But she didn？t want Leo to think she was a total bitch。 The man seated next
to her stood up and Jenny patted the seat。 ？Sit down。？
Elise let go of the handrail and plunked herself down in the seat。 ？Hey；？ she said； looking up at
Leo。 She clacked her knee against Jenny？s leg when she recognized him。 ？Hey。？
？Elise； this is Leo。 Leo； this is Elise；？ Jenny introduced them sweetly。 The bus halted abruptly
and Leo reached for her shoulder to steady himself。Oh； God。 He touched me！ He touched me！
Jenny could feel Elise studying them as she tried to figure out what was going on。
？Do you go to Constance Billard； too？？ Leo asked Elise。
Elise nodded； looking totally confused。 All of a sudden； Jenny felt bad for her。 She put her arm
around her friend and smiled up at Leo。 ？We？re best friends。？
Elise giggled and let her head fall on Jenny？s shoulder。 ？I guess you found your hat；？ she
whispered quietly。
？Yup；？ Jenny giggled back； relieved that Elise was cool enough not to ask too many questions。
When they were alone； she would explain everything； just like best friends were supposed to。 She
gazed up at Leo？s perfectly structured； perfectly paintable face； swooning as he flashed his shy；
chipped…tooth smile again。 ？I knew your name couldn？t be Lance。？
vturns down chance to film deposing fish bodies！
？Glad you could make it；？ Ken Mogul said on Wednesday afternoon when Vanessa joined him at
a booth in Chippies； the new Williamsburg coffee shop down the street from where she lived。 He
pushed a steaming mug of cappuccino toward her。 ？I ordered for both of us。 Hope that？s cool by
you。？
Vanessa sat down with her black down parka on and clasped the mug with both hands； pursing
her lips as she blew on the hot； milky froth。 ？Thanks for hooking me up with that whole fashion
show gig；？ she said。 ？It was such a gas。？ She winced； hating the way she sounded when she talked
to Ken Mogul。 Like some brainless poser fool。
Ken pushed his tortoise…shell Persol sunglasses up on top of his jauntily cut red hair and leaned
across the table； ready to get down to business。 ？I？d like you to join me at Cannes this spring。 I？ll
introduce you to some other brilliant independent filmmakers。 We can trade energy； brainstorm
together。 Then I want you to hold off on college for a year or two to make some films with me。
It？s going to be magical； I can feel it。？
Enya was playing over the sound system。 Vanessa unzipped her coat and then zipped it up again。
She hated Enya。
？I？ve started working on a new project down in South
America；？ Ken Mogul continued。 ？It opens with sea gulls feeding their young the flesh from
deposing fish bodies and then moves to gorillas in the rainforest abandoning their young。
Then I？m going to cut to the streets of Rio； where kids are prostituting themselves for drugs。 I
haven？t begun filming yet； but I was thinking you could get in there and meet some of the
kids；befriend them； get theirstories 。 You don？t happen to know Portuguese； do you？？
Vanessa shook her head。 Who was he kidding？
？Spanish？？
She shook her head again。
？It doesn？t matter。 We？ll get a translator； or find some kids who speak English。 All your expenses
will be paid for by Duke Productions。 You remember Duke from the Better Than Naked party？？
Vanessa nodded with an amused smile。 How could she forget Duke； the dumbest guy on the
planet？
？You？d have your own car； your own apartment； free equipment； and whatever else you need；？
Ken added。 ？Are you with me？？
Vanessa noticed for the first time that Ken Mogul had very little definition in the chin area。 In
fact； he was practically chinless。 ？I？ve always wanted to go to Cannes；？ she replied； thoughtfully
slurping her cappuccino。 ？And your new project sounds really 。 。 。 awesome。 But I got accepted
early to NYU。 I？ve wanted to go there since I was eleven years old。 There？s no way I？m
deferring。？
？But what about my film？ Child prostitution！ Animals abandoning their young！ This is
groundbreaking stuff！？ Ken Mogul spluttered； spitting all over the counter。 Vanessa thought that if
he？d had more of a chin； the spit might not have gone so far。
Over Ken？s shoulder Vanessa noticed a light blue flyer pinned to a bulletin board。
Rivington Rover Poetry Club Open Mike
featuring readings by
Daniel Humphrey and Mystery Craze
Thursday； 8P。M。
No wonder Dan had been blowing her off all week。 He was busy being famous。
？Vanessa？ Are you still with me？？ Ken demanded。 ？First lesson you learn in this business is the
clock never stops ticking。？
Vanessa smiled her half…amused； half…pissed…off Mona Lisa smile。 As flattered as she was that
Ken had asked her to work with him； she had no intention of being a mini…Mogul。 She wanted
to develop herown voice and herown career； not put all her energy into someone else？s work；
however brilliant。 She shook her closely shaved dark head。 ？I？m sorry。？
Ken Mogul？s barely there chin disappeared altogether as he lost his cool pletely。 ？I？ve never
offered to partner with anyone；？ he said grimly。 ？This is the opportunity of a lifetime。 I？m giving
you the chance to make a feature film before you turn twenty。 It？s unheard of！？
That old guy at the Culture of Humanity show had advised her not to take her talent too seriously。
Ken obviously took his way；way too seriously。 She stood up and yanked the light blue flyer off the
bulletin board behind Ken？s head。 She and Dan were supposed to be working on a filmtogether ；
but if she could slip into the club and film him reading without him even knowing she was there；
that would be even better。 Dan was always better when he didn？t know she was watching。
？Thank you；？ she told Ken。 ？I？m honored； I really am。
But I？m working on something new； of my own。 I think I？d like to finish it。？
Ken Mogul pushed his sunglasses down on his nose and glared out the window。 ？It？s your loss。？
？Thanks for the coffee；？ Vanessa said； even though he was no longer looking at her。 She folded
up the blue flyer and tucked it into her pocket。 ？Good luck at Cannes。？
Ken Mogul zipped up his fur…trimmed Prada parka and pulled the hood up over his head as if to
block her out pletely。 ？？Bye。？
Vanessa headed home to sort through her camera gear and figure out what she needed to bring to
the reading at the Rivington Rover Poetry Club tomorrow night。 When Dan was finishe