n。 She？d
hooked up with Charlie Dern when their parents had parked next to each other at a drive…in movie
theater out on the Cape last weekend。 They？d been talking on the phone every night since； so she
was very up…to…date on her Nate information。
Nate was grateful for his role as Serena？s mute piece of arm candy。 He felt like he？d been
encased in six inches of clear plastic。 Everyone？s voice sounded muffled and distant。 It didn？t
help that Blair looked radiant on Marcus？s knee； or that Serena clearly didn？t need a boyfriend
right now； or that he was incredibly stoned。
？Blair？！ Did you hear？ I got the part！？ Serena threw herself at Blair and Lord Marcus； dragging
Nate along with her。 She squeezed Blair？s shoulders exuberantly。 ？You？re not mad； are you？？
Me； mad？Blair smiled tensely； still intent on impressing Marcus with her sweet； forgiving nature。
Ha！
？You？re such an excellent actress；？ she finally told her ex…friend politely。 ？You totally deserve
it。？
Serena？s ear…to…ear smile faded slightly。 She knew Blair too well not to be able to gauge that she
was less than pleased and more than pissed。 Blair was plicated： It was best to flee when she
was acting volatile。 ？Is Vanessa around？ I can？t wait to tell her？I？m totally talking to Ken Mogul
about hiring her to film the movie！？
Her face resolutely blank； Blair pointed to where Vanessa was sitting in the corner with her own
personal bottle of Stoli； happily signing the yearbooks of all the nonseniors at the party who
thought she was beyond cool。
？Vanessa Marigold Abrams！？ Serena cried and dashed across the room； leaving Nate behind。
Nate stood in front of Blair and Lord M