After the Better Than Naked fashion show, the candles lining the runway were removed and red and blue strobe lights began to zoom against the black velvet walls. DJ Sassy broke out the phat French house beats, and the Harrison Street Club was transformed into a seventies European disco full of half-naked ninety-pound models drinking Cristal champagne straight out of the bottle. Dan stood alone by the bar, sipping his Red Bull?and-who-knew-what-else cocktail. It tasted exactly like baby aspirin and he was only drinking it because the bartender had promised him it was loaded with caffeine and something called taurine, which was guaranteed to keep him hyperawake all night. All of a sudden he noticed a violently tall woman wearing a flaming red bouffant wig?ithad to be a wig?neon pink lipstick, andhuge tortoise-shell sunglasses standing in the middle of the packed room with her hands cupped around her mouth. ?Daniel Humphrey? Calling Daniel Humphrey!? she shrieked. It was Rusty Klein. Dan tilted his head back and downed his drink, blinking his eyes as the caffeine and whatever else was in his drink rushed to his brain all at once. He stumbled over to the woman, his heart thumping even faster than the music. ?I?m Dan,? he croaked. ?Lookatyou ! Our newpoet ! You?readorable !Perfect !? Rusty Klein pushed her enormous sunglasses up on top of her head and jangled the enormous gold bracelets covering her long bony wrists as she grabbed Dan and kissed each of his cheeks. Her perfume smelled oily and acidic, like tuna fish. ?I love you, honey,? she purred, squeezing Dan tight. Dan shrank away, unused to being manhandled by someone he?d only just met. He hadn?t expected Rusty Klein to be soscary . Her eyebrows had been dyed to match her wig and she was dressed like a sword fighter, in a form-fitting black velvet Better Than Naked puffy-sleeved jacket and matching black velvet bullfighting pants. A rope of black pearls clung to her pale, bony cleavage. ?I?ve been trying to write more poems,? Dan stammered. ?You know, for my book?? ?Wonderful!? Rusty Klein shouted, thrusting her lips at him again and probably smearing bright pink lipstick all over his face. ?Let?s make a lunch date sometime next week.? ?Um, I?ve got school all day every day next week, but I get out at three-thirty.? ?School!?Rusty screamed. ?You?re socute ! We can do tea then. Call my office and have Buckley, my assistant, set it up. Oh, fuck me!? She clasped Dan?s arm with a clawlike hand. Her fingernails were at least three inches long and painted orangey pink. ?There?s someone here you absolutelymust meet.? Rusty let go of Dan and held out her arms to receive a frail-looking girl with a long, sad face and dirty blond hair. The girl was wearing only a see-through light pink slip over her gaunt frame and her lank, waist-length hair was uncombed, as if she?d just gotten out of bed. ?Mystery Craze, this is Daniel Humphrey. Daniel, this is Mystery,? Rusty purred loudly. ?Mystery, honey, you remember that poem I gave you to read? The one you said . . . Oh, fuck me. I?ll letyou tell him what you said. Now if you?ll excuse me, I?m going to go lick my favorite designer?s ass so he?ll give me some new free clothes. Love you both. Ciao!? she added, before striding away in her five-inch black stilettos. Mystery blinked her huge, tired gray eyes. She looked like she?d been up all night clean............