按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
in a high ponytail on top of her head and she was wearing pale blue
eye shadow and creamy pink lipstick。 She smiled and waved at Blair
from across the room； weaving her way through the crowd。 Blair
watched the heads turn as she passed； and her stomach churned。
She was already sick of Serena； and she hadn’t even spoken to her
yet。
“Hi；” Serena said； plunking herself down on a square ottoman
beside Blair’s chair。
Immediately； the cocktail waitress appeared。
“Hey Serena； long time no see。 How’s your brother？” the waitress
said。
“Hey Missy。 Erik’s good。 He’s too busy to call me ever。 I think he
must have like； eight different girlfriends up there；” Serena laughed。
“How are you doing？”
“I’m great；” Missy said。 “Hey listen； my sister works for a caterer；
you know； and she said she saw you a few days ago at a party she
was working at a gallery in Chelsea。 She said that’s you in that
picture on all the buses。 Is that true？”
“Yeah；” Serena said。 “Pretty crazy； huh？”
“You are so rad！” Missy squealed。 She glanced at Blair who was
glaring at her。 “Anyway； what can I get you girls？”
“Ketel One and tonic；” Blair told her； looking her straight in the eye；
daring her to card them。 “Extra limes。”
But Missy would rather lose her job than hassle Serena van der
Woodsen for being underage。
That’s the whole reason for going to hotel bars in the first place： no
one ever cards。
“And for you； sweetie？” Missy asked Serena。
“Oh； I better start with a Cosmo；” Serena said； and laughed。 “I need
something pink to go with my dress。”
Missy hurried away to fetch the drinks； eager to tell the bartender
that the girl in the Remi brothers’ photo that was all over town was
sitting in their bar and they were pals！
“Sorry I’m late；” Serena told Blair； looking around。 “I thought
everyone else would be here with you。”
Blair shrugged her shoulders and took a long drag on her dwindling
cigarette。 “I thought we could hang out by ourselves for a while；”
she said。 “No one really es out until later； anyway。”
“Okay；” Serena said。 She smoothed out her dress and dug around in
her little red purse for her own pack of cigarettes。 Gauloises； from
France。 She tapped one out and stuck it in her mouth。 “Want one？”
she offered Blair。
Blair shook her head no。
“They’re kind of strong； but the box is too cool； I don’t care。” Serena
laughed。 She was about to light up with a pack of bar matches；
when the bartender swooped in with a lighter。
“Thanks；” she said； raising her eyes to look at him。 The bartender
winked at her and swiftly stepped back behind the bar。 Missy
brought them their drinks。
“To old times；” Serena said； clinking her glass against Blair’s and
taking a long sip on her pink Cosmopolitan。 She sat back on her
stool and sighed with pleasure。 “Don’t you just love hotels？” she
said。 “They’re so full of secrets。”
Blair raised her eyebrows at Serena in silent response； sure that
Serena was about to tell her all the wild and crazy things that had
happened to her in hotels while she was in Europe or wherever； as if
Blair cared。
“I mean； don’t you always think about what everyone’s doing in
their rooms？ Like； they could be watching pornos and eating cheese
doodles； or they could be having kinky sex in the bathroom。 Or
maybe they’re just asleep。”
“Uh…huh；” said Blair disinterestedly； gulping her drink。 She would
have to get a little drunk if she were going to make it through the
night； especially the naked part。 “So what’s this about your picture
being all over buses and stuff？” Blair said。 “I haven’t seen it。”
Serena giggled and leaned toward Blair confidentially。 “Even if you
saw it； you probably wouldn’t recognize me。 It has my name on it；
but it’s not a picture of my face。”
Blair frowned。 “I don’t get it；” she said。
“It’s art；” Serena said mysteriously； and giggled again。 She took a
sip of her drink。
The two girls’ faces were only inches apart； and Blair could smell
the musky essential…oil mixture Serena had started wearing。
“I still don’t get it。 Is it something dirty？” Blair said； confused。
“Not really；” Serena answered with a sly smile。 “Lots of people have
had theirs done too。 You know—celebrities。”
“Like who？” Blair said。
“Like Madonna； and Eminem； and Christina Aguilera。”
“Oh；” Blair said； sounding unimpressed。
Serena’s eyes narrowed。 “What’s that supposed to mean？” she
demanded。
Blair lifted her chin and tucked her straight brown hair behind her
ears。 “I don’t know； it’s like you’re willing to do anything just to
shock people。 Don’t you have any pride？”
Serena shook her head； still staring at Blair。 “Like what？ What have I
done？” she said； frantically gnawing on her fingernails。
“Like getting kicked out of boarding school；” Blair said vaguely。
Serena snorted。 “What’s so bad about that？ Tons of people get
kicked out every year。 They have so many stupid rules； it’s almost
impossible not to get kicked out。”
Blair pressed her lips together； measuring her words carefully。 “I
don’t mean that； I mean why you got kicked out。” There。 She had
done it。 She had mitted herself now。 She was going to have to
sit and listen to Serena tell her all about the cults she had joined；
and the boys she’d had sex with； and the drugs she had done。 Shit。
Don’t believe for a minute that she wasn’t curious； though。
Blair fiddled with the ruby ring on her finger； turning it round and
round。 Serena raised her glass at Missy； asking for another drink。
“Blair；” Serena said。 “The only reason I got kicked out was because I
didn’t show up at the beginning of school。 I stayed in France。 My
parents didn’t even know。 I was supposed to fly back at the end of
August； but I stayed until the third week in September。 I was living
in this amazing chateau outside of Cannes； and it was like； a
constant party。 I don’t think I slept a whole night the entire time I
was there。 It was like those parties in that house in The Great
Gatsby。
“There were these two boys； an older brother and a younger one；
and I was totally in love with both of them。 Actually；” she laughed；
“I was even more in love with their father； but he was married。”
The Star Lounge DJ switched vibes and began to play a funky acid
jazz song with a cool beat。 The lights dimmed and the candles
flickered。 Serena jiggled her foot to the music and glanced at Blair；
whose eyes were glazing over。
Serena lit another cigarette and inhaled deeply。
“Anyway； of course I partied a lot at school； but so did everyone
else。 What the school couldn’t deal with was that I didn’t even
bother to show up at the beginning of the year。 I don’t blame them；
I guess。 But to tell you the truth； I really didn’t care about going
back to school。 I was having way too much fun。”
Blair rolled her eyes again。 She honestly didn’t care what the truth
was。
“Did you ever think about the fact that these are like； the most
important years of our lives？ Like； for getting into college and
everything？” she said。
Missy brought Serena’s drink； and this time Serena only nodded her
thanks。 She looked down at the floor； her pinky nail between her
teeth。 “Yeah； I’m just realizing that now；” she admitted。 “I hadn’t
thought about it before—how I should have been joining teams and
clubs。 You know； getting really into the school thing。”
Blair shook her head。 “I feel sorry for your parents；” she said quietly。
Serena’s eyes were getting big； and her lip was trembling。 But she
was determined not to let Blair make her cry。 Blair was just being a
bitch； that’s all。 Maybe she was getting her period。
Serena took a huge gulp of her drink and wiped her mouth with her
cocktail napkin。 “So； you never told me what you and Nate did all
summer。 Did you ever go up to Maine and see that boat he built？”
she asked； pletely changing the subject。
Blair shook her head。 “I had tennis camp。 It sucked。”
“Oh；” Serena said。
They drank their drinks in awkward silence。
Serena sat up suddenly； remembering something。 “Hey；” she said。
“You know； some girl actually signed up to help me with my movie？
A ninth grader。 Her name is Jenny。 And she gave me an invitation to
that party next week。 You know； the one you’ve been planning？”
Touché； girlfriend。 Touché。
Blair pulled another cigarette out of the pack and stuck it in her
mouth。 She reached for a match； pausing before she struck it to see
if the bartender would leap across the room with a lighter。 He didn’t。
Blair lit the cigarette herself and blew a big cloud of smoke directly
into Serena’s face。
So Serena knew about the party。 She had an invitation。 Well； she
was bound to find out anyway。
“The calligrapher；” Blair said； smiling sweetly。 “She’s good； isn’t
she？”
“Yeah； she did a great job；” Serena said。 “And it was really nice of
her to notice that mine had the wrong address on it。 She said the
address you gave her was my dorm room at Hanover。”
Blair tucked her hair behind her ears and shrugg