through his fashionably tousled hair。 By total coincidence he and Mystery had arrived at the
Rivington Rover Poetry club at the same time； and for the last fifteen minutes they？d been
smoking unfiltered Camels and groping each other in a stall in the graffiti…ridden ladies？ room；
trying to get psyched up for their reading。 ？I？m kind of nervous。？
？Don？t be；？ Mystery loosened his narrow black tie and clasped his hand。 ？e on。 Let？s see
what we？ve got。？
They emerged from the ladies？ room hand in hand； Mystery in a transparent canary yellow silk
sheath through which her black cotton underwear was pletely visible； and Dan in his new
black suit： the Bonnie and Clyde of poetry。
The small； dark basement club was already crowded with people sipping coffee and lounging on
the tattered old sofas haphazardly dotting the room。 A random disco ball spun from the black
ceiling and over the sound system Morrissey whined a depressing song from his latest album。
The lights blinked on and off twice and a tiny Japanese girl wearing a black leotard and pink
ballet tights took the stage。 ？Wele all to open mike at Rivington Rover。 It is so special to have
you here；？ she whispered into the microphone。 ？Tonight two of New York？s most special poets
will recite for us simultaneously。 I？m honored to give the stage to Mystery Craze and Daniel
Humphrey！？
The dark； crowded room erupted in applause。
？I heard they stayed up all night on E and wrote a book together；？ somebody whispered。
？I heard they were husband and wife。？
？I heard they？re fraternal twins； separated at birth；？ remarked someone else。
Vanessa slipped into the back of the club unnoticed。 ？What kind of name is Mystery Craze？？ she
wondered as she put her camera to her eye and zoomed in on the stage。
Dan？s entire body was covered in a cold； freaked…out sweat。 Everything was happening so fast。
He hadn？t even had a chance to contemplate how he？d gone from writing strange； morose poetry
in notebooks no one ever read to performing onstage with an almost…famous girl in a cool club；
wearing a fancy designer suit。 But there was no time to doubt himself。 He？d acted in plays；
performed in Vanessa？s movies。 He was the new Rilke。 He peeled off his jacket； and rolled up his
sleeves。 He could do this。
Mystery was already waiting for him onstage； her bony fingers clenching the microphone in
white…knuckled anticipation。 Dan could see now that there were two mikes； one for him and one
for her。
？What？s your favorite noun？？ Mystery asked the audience in her low； husky voice。
？Pie！？ an obviously shitfaced ponytailed guy in the front row shouted back。
？You？re the antithesis of pie；？ Mystery hissed at Dan as he took the stage。 ？I want to eat you
alive。？
Dan cleared his throat and reached for the microphone stand to steady himself。 ？What？s your
favorite verb？？ he asked in response； surprised by how sure of himself he sounded。
？Sex；？ Mystery answered coolly。 She dropped to her hands and knees； slithering toward him with
the microphone between her teeth。 ？Sex；？ she repeated； crawling between his legs and clawing her
way up his body until their faces were only a centimeter apart。 The yellow dress made her teeth
look even yellower。
The camera wobbled in Vanessa？s hands。 Sothis was why she hadn？t heard a peep out of Dan
lately； not even to work onMaking Poetry 。 Dan had been making poetry with Mystery Craze。 And
as much as it hurt to watch the boy she？d been in love with for almost three years fall under the
spell of a girl whose real name was probably something totally boring and unpoetic like Jane
James； Vanessa couldn？t bring herself to stop filming。 Something was happening to Dan that she
had to get on film。 He seemed to be discovering himself； right before her eyes。
？Feed me；？ Dan growled into the mike as Mystery writhed beneath him。 ？Bare your naked body
on my plate。？
The crowded whooped and shrieked in delight。 Dan couldn？t believe what a total blast he was
having。 He was a rock？n？roll poet； a sex god！ Forget Rilke； he was Jim Morrison！ He dragged
Mystery off the floor and dove at her mouth in a hard and hungry rock…god kiss。
Vanessa kept filming； hot tears streaming down her pale cheeks。 She couldn？t stop； and she
wasn？t doing it to torture herself。 She was doing it for the sake of her art。
Onstage； Dan unbuttoned his shirt and Mystery licked his chest。
？Oh； Daddy；？ she whispered huskily。
Oh；brother 。
diva makes her entrance
？Wele； everyone；？ Jackie Davis greeted Breakaway？s Friday afternoon teen therapy
group。 ？I？m so pleased to wele back our old friend Georgina Spark。？ She tapped her pencil
against her clipboard。 ？We？re also expecting a new friend today。 But while we？re waiting for her
I？d like to recognize two members of the group for their courage and for demonstrating what I like
to calllife…building for the rest of us。？ She beamed an encouraging smile at Nate。 ？Nate； would
you like to tell us about what happened last Friday now that Georgie is back？？
Nate tipped his chair back and then righted it again。 Across the circle from him Georgie was
sitting with her legs crossed； wearing orange satin short shorts and orange leather sandals； which
was kind of a strange choice for the middle of February； but it wasn？t like she went outside very
much these days。 Her luxurious dark hair clung to her Snow White face as she looked up at him
with a coy smile on her dark red lips。
Nate rubbed his hands against his olive green Ralph Lauren cords。 God； he wished he could kiss
her。 The other members of the group were waiting eagerly。 They knew some serious shit had gone
down but they still hadn？t heard the whole story。
？Go on； Nate；？ Jackie prompted。
？Friday night I was over at Georgie？s house and we were having a good time； um； getting to
know each other；？ he began to explain。 ？Then I figured out that Georgie was kind of having her
own separate little party in the medicine cabinet。 When she conked out I got kind of worried。 So I
called Jackie。？
？It was a cry for help；？ Georgie intoned with mock enthusiasm。
Nate chuckled to himself。 She was still a mess； but so fucking irresistible。 And he was glad he
had to go to rehab for six whole months； because he actually wanted to help her the way she had
helped him。
？We got her to the clinic just in time。 She？s going to live here for a while； and she？s been doing
wonderfully so far； haven？t you Georgie？？ Jackie gushed。
Georgie nodded and hugged herself； a placid smile plastered to her face。 ？The meatloaf at dinner
last night was not to be believed。？
？Let？s put our hands together and give them both props for their courage！？ Jackie cried。 Every
member of the group stood up and applauded； including Georgie and Nate。
？Hey；？ Georgie mouthed to Nate and licked her bloodred lips。
？Hey；？ Nate mouthed back。
？Right this way； miss。？
Blair smoothed down her freshly plucked eyebrows and rubbed her pink…glossed lips together as
she followed one of Breakaway？s linen…clad staff members to the room where the teen group
therapy session was alrea