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 shrugged her shoulders。
“Oops；” she said； feigning cluelessness。 “Sorry about that。”
“So tell me about the party；” Serena said。 “What’s it for again？”
Blair couldn’t talk about the cause without smiling self…consciously
because it sounded so lame and unsexy。 That’s why she’d named
the party Kiss on the Lips。 To give it some allure。 “It’s for those two
peregrine falcons that live in Central Park。 They’re an endangered
species； and everyone’s worried that they’re going to die or starve
or the squirrels will raid their nests or whatever。 So they set up a
foundation for them；” she explained。 “Don’t laugh。 I know it’s kind
of stupid。”
Serena blew out a puff of smoke and giggled。 “Well； it’s not like
there aren’t people that need saving。 I mean； what about the
homeless？”
“Well； it’s as good a cause as any。 We wanted something that
wasn’t too heavy to start the season off；” Blair huffed； annoyed。 It
was fine for her to laugh at the cause she’d chosen for the party；
but Serena had no right。
Serena steered the conversation back on course。 “So is the party
like； just for us； or is it for parents； too？” she asked。
Blair hesitated。 “Just 。 。 。 us；” she said finally。 She downed the rest of
her drink and looked at her watch。 “Um； I kind of have to take off；”
she said。 She slid her bag over her arm and picked her pack of
cigarettes up off the table。
Serena frowned。 She had taken her time getting dressed； psyching
herself up for a wild night out with her friends。 She’d expected a big
group—Blair and the other girls； Nate and his gang； Chuck and his
boys—all the people they always used to hang out with。
“But I thought we would stay here for a while。 Wait for everyone
else；” Serena said。 “Where are you going； anyway？”
“I have a practice SAT tomorrow morning；” Blair said； feeling
extremely superior； even though she was lying her ass off。 “I need
to prepare for it； and I want to go to bed early。”
“Oh；” Serena said。 She crossed her arms and sat back on he