girls go gaga over secret admirers

Vanessa felt a little ridiculous hanging out with the desperate girls in the packed, overheated Constance Billard computer lab, all checking their e-mail for the hundredth time to see who?d sent them a pathetic e-card for Valentine?s Day or posted a message on their Secret Admirer page, the alarmingly uncreative new tradition the school had started last Valentine?s Day. But Dan usually logged on at least once a day, and since he?d been so busy this weekend meeting Rusty² Klein at the Better Than Naked show and hadn?t had a chance to call her back all weekend, she figured he might try to e-mail her today, especially since it was Valentine?s Day? not that either of them really bought into that commercial holiday bullshit. Of course not. ?Hey,? she heard someone say. It was Dan?s little sister, checking out her Secret Admirer page at the next terminal.  ?Hey Jennifer.? Jenny rolled herself backwards³ on her black swivel chair and then pulled herself forward again. Her curly brown hair was blow-dried straight and she looked older and more sophisticated than usual. ?So you and Dan must have had fun at that fashion show. He didn?t get home until like, Saturday afternoon. My dad was grumbling⁴ about how spoiled and irresponsible we both are, but then he completely forgot to yell at Dan. As usual.? Vanessa smoothed her hand over her practically shaved head. ?Actually, I didn?t go to the same show he went to. I got invited to another one.? Jenny looked confused. ?Oh.? In the back of her mind Vanessa sensed that something was wrong. What had Dan been doing out all that time anyway? But then again, everything had gotten screwed up in the snow. Maybe he?d spent the night at Zeke?s house or something. Zeke lived downtown. She logged on as hairlesscat, passwordmeow , and clicked on her inbox. Sure enough, there was a message from Dan, and?big surprise?it was a poem. Vanessa read the poem eagerly, grimacing⁵ when she recognized that Dan had put absolutely no effort into it at all.Hot stuff? What was that all about? And what was up with?I lost my virginity again? ? Who was he fucking kidding? She hit reply and wrote back:Ha ha. I laughed. I cried. What?s your deal anyway? We?re supposed to be making a film together, remember? As she waited for Dan to respond, she logged onto her Secret Admirer page. To her surprise there were four messages: I can?t stop raving⁶ about you to all my boyfriends. No one mixes form with meaning the way you do, milady. ?prettyboy You give this fucked-up world a new kind of beauty. Keep your freak on. ?d. Happy Valentine?s Day to my very special sister on a special day. ?Ruby⁷ Tuesday Can you make it to Cannes? Let?s talk over coffee in Brooklyn Thurs. eve? ?the film-maker who discovered you ? Vanessa rolled her eyes as she read the last one. She appreciated everything Ken¹ Mogul had done for her, but he hadn?t exactly discovered her. She?d been there all along. She clicked on her inbox again but there was no response from Dan so she logged off. ?See you later,? she whispered to Jenny, whose big brown eyes were glued to her computer. ?See you,? Jenny replied without looking up. There were three whole messages on her Secret Admirer page. sorry i didn?t get you any candy but i wasn?t sure which kind you like. let?s get some after school. don?t really feel like going home right away anyway. ?sadgirl btw, when do you want to finish that painting?? ?me again ? Those two were very definitely from Elise, but the third one sounded like it might very well be from a genuine, real-lifeboy . Sorry it took me so long, but I didn?t have the guts⁸ to write to you before. If you want to meet me, I take the Seventy-ninth Street crosstown bus home after school. I?m not sure what you look like, but if you see a really tall skinny guy with blond hair looking at you on the bus, smile because it?s probably me. Happy Valentine?s Day, JHumphrey. Can?t wait to meet you. Love, L ? Jenny reread the message over and over. A tall skinny guy with blond hair? He sounded exactly like the boy she?d seen in Bendel?s! But what didL stand for? Lester? Lance? Louis? No, those names sounded too geeky, and his message didn?t sound geeky at all, just sweet. But how had he gotten her e-mail address? Oh, who cared?she couldn?t believe it:he wanted to meet her!! Jenny immediately deleted Elise?s messages and ran to the printer to retrieve⁹ the one from L. Of course, she planned to ride the Seventy-ninth Street crosstown bus all afternoon and all night if that was what it took. But, God forbid, if they never found each other, Jenny would have his love note to cherish and keep forever and ever. And she?d thought she was through with love. See how magical Valentine?s Day can be?

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

3 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

4 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

5 grimacing   

v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• But then Boozer drove past Gasol for a rattling, grimacing slam dunk. 可布泽尔单吃家嫂，以一记强有力的扣篮将比分超出。 来自互联网
• The martyrdom of Archbishop Cranmer, said the don at last, grimacing with embarrassment. 最后那位老师尴尬地做个鬼脸，说，这是大主教克莱默的殉道士。 来自互联网

6 raving   

adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地

参考例句：

• The man's a raving lunatic. 那个男子是个语无伦次的疯子。
• When I told her I'd crashed her car, she went stark raving bonkers. 我告诉她我把她的车撞坏了时，她暴跳如雷。

7 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

8 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。