brother stood behind Serena and kissed her neck while the other
knelt in front of her and hugged her knees。 Around them； people
watched greedily； eager to catch a glimpse of the new “it” girl。
Everyone in New York wants to be famous。 Or at least see someone
who is so they can brag about it later。
The New York Times society reporter recognized Serena from
parties a year or so back； but he had to be sure it was her。 “Serena
van der Woodsen； right？” he said； looking up from his notepad。
Serena blushed and nodded。 She was used to being recognized。
“You must model for us；” one of the Remi brothers gasped； kissing
Serena’s hand。
“You must；” the other one agreed； feeding her an olive。
Serena laughed。 “Sure；” she said。 “Why not？” Although she had no
idea what she was agreeing to。
One of the Remi brothers pointed to a door marked Private across
the gallery。 “We’ll meet you in there；” he said。 “Don’t be nervous。
We’re both gay。”
Serena giggled and took a big gulp of her drink。 Were they kidding？
The other brother patted her on the bottom。 “It’s all right darling。
You’re absolutely stunning； so you’ve got nothing to worry about。
Go on。 We’ll be there in a minute。”
Serena hesitated； but only for a second。 She could keep up with the
likes of Christina Aguilera and Joaquin Phoenix。 No problem。 Chin
up； she headed for the door marked Private。
Just then； a guy from the Public Arts League and a woman from the
New York Transit Authority came over to talk to the Remi brothers
about a new avant…garde public art program。 They wanted to put a
Remi brothers’ photograph on the sides of buses； in subways； and in
the advertising boxes on top of taxis all over town。
“Yes； of course；” the Remis agreed。 “If you can wait a moment； we’ll
have a brand new one。 We can give it to you exclusively！”
“What’s this one called？” the Transit Authority woman asked
eagerly。
“Serena；” the Remi boys said in unison。
“I found a printer who will do it by tomorrow afternoon and hand
deliver each of the invitations so they get there by Friday morning；”
Isabel said； looking pleased with herself for being so efficient。
“But look how expensive it is。 If we use them； then we’re going to
have to cut costs on other things。 See how much Takashimaya is
charging us for the flowers？”
As soon as they were finished with their Wednesday after…school
activities； the Kiss on the Lips organizing mittee had convened
over French fries and hot chocolate in a booth at the 3 Guys Coffee
Shop—Blair； Isabel； Kati； and Tina Ford； from the Seaton Arms
School—to deal with the last…minute preparations for the party。
The crisis at hand was the fact that the party was only nine days
away； and no one had received an invitation yet。 The invitations
had been ordered weeks ago； but due to a mix…up the location of
the party had to be changed from The Park—a hot new restaurant in
lower Chelsea—to the old Barneys building on Seventeenth Street
and Seventh Avenue； rendering the invitations useless。 The girls
were in a tight spot。 They had to get a new set of invitations out；
and fast； or there wasn’t going to be a party at all。
“But Takashimaya is the only place to get flowers。 And it really
doesn’t cost much。 Oh； e on； Blair； think how cool they’ll be；”
Tina whined。
“Yes； it does；” Blair insisted。 “And there are plenty of other places to
get flowers。”
“Well； maybe we can ask the peregrine falcon people to pitch in；”
Isabel suggested。 She reached for a French fry； dunked it in
ketchup； and popped it into her mouth。 “They’ve barely done
anything。”
Blair rolled her eyes； and blew into her hot chocolate。 “That’s the
whole point。 We’re raising money for them。 It’s a cause。”
Kati wound a lock of her frizzy blond hair around her finger。 “What
is a peregrine falcon anyway？” she said。 “Is it like a woodpecker？”
“No； I think they’re bigger；” Tina said。 “And they eat other animals；
you know； like rabbits and mice and stuff。”
“Gross；” Kati said。
“I just read a definition of what one was the other day；” Isabel
mused。 “I can’t remember where I saw it。”
GossipGirl； perhaps？
“They’re almost extinct；” Blair added。 She thumbed through the list
of people they were inviting to the party。 There were three hundred
and sixteen all together。 All young people—no parents； thank God。
Blair’s eyes were automatically drawn to a name toward the bottom
of the list： Serena van der Woodsen。 The address given was her
dorm room at Hanover Academy； in New Hampshire。 Blair put the
list back down on the table without correcting Serena’s address。
“We’re going to have to spend the extra money on the printer and
cut corners where we can；” she said quickly。 “I can tell Takashimaya
to use lilies instead of orchids and forget about the peacock
feathers around the rims of the vases。”
“I can do the invitations；” a small； clear voice said from behind
them。 “For free。”
The four girls turned around to see who it was。
Oh look； it’s that little Ginny girl； Blair thought。 The ninth grader
who did the calligraphy in our school hymnals。
“I can do them all by hand tonight and put them in the mail。 The
materials are the only cost； but I know where to get good quality
paper cheap；” Jenny Humphrey said。
“She did all our hymnals at school；” Kati whispered to Tina。 “They
look really good。”
“Yeah；” Isabel agreed。 “They’re pretty cool。”
Jenny blushed and stared at the shiny linoleum floor of the coffee
shop； waiting for Blair to make up her mind。 She knew Blair was the
one who mattered。
“And you’ll do it all for free？” Blair said； suspiciously。
Jenny raised her eyes。 “I was kind of hoping that if I did the invites；
maybe I could e to the party？” she said。
Blair weighed the pros and cons in her mind。 Pros： The invitations
would be unique and best of all； free； so they wouldn’t have to
skimp on the flowers。 Cons： There really weren’t any。
Blair looked the Ginny girl up and down。 Their cute little ninth…grade
helper with the huge chest。 She was a total glutton for punishment；
and she’d be totally out of place at the party 。 。 。 but who cared？
“Sure； you can make yourself an invitation。 Make one for one of
your friends； too；” Blair said； handing the guest list over to Jenny。
How generous。
Blair gave Jenny all the necessary information； and Jenny dashed
out of the coffee shop breathlessly。 The stores would be closing
soon； and she didn’t have much time。 The guest list was longer than
she’d anticipated； and she’d have to stay up all night working on
the invitations； but she was going to the party； that was all that
mattered。
Just wait until she told Dan。 He was going to freak。 And she was
going to make him e with her to the party； whether he liked it
or not。
Two martinis and three rolls of Remi brothers’ film later； Serena
jumped out of a cab in front of Constance and ran up the stairs to
the auditorium； where the interschool play rehearsal had already
begun。 As always； she was half an hour late。
T