taken off her halter top and was dancing by herself in the
corner； smoking a joint and strumming a guitar； a sun； moon； and stars tattoo standing out on her
shoulder blade。
？This party is weird；？ Vanessa observed。
？Have you seen Nate？？ Serena asked。 She vaguely remembered arriving with him； but she hadn？t
seen him since。 She squinted； half expecting to find Nate weeping at the bar； but she couldn？t see
him anywhere。
Blair stepped away from the bar； a fresh flute of bubbling champagne in her hand and a fresh
cigarette dangling from the antique ebony…and…mother…of…pearl cigarette holder between her
glossed lips； looking like a character out of an old movie。 Serena pushed herself away from the
wall and went over to her。
？I love your pearls。？
Blair decided not to spit in Serena？s face or scratch her dark blue eyes out。 ？They？re from
Marcus。？
Serena nodded； about to say something about what an amazing guy Marcus was； but she was
distracted。 ？You haven？t seen Nate； have you？？
Blair took a long sip of champagne and blew smoke into the air。 She？d been busy accepting gifts
from her mysterious royal beau。 She didn？t have time to keep track of Nate？s erratic
whereabouts。 ？Not really。？
Serena scanned the room with her eyes。 ？He？s been acting strange；？ she remarked； chewing on
her thumbnail。 ？Don？t you think so？？
Again； Blair really didn？t have an opinion on the subject。 The moss green sweater was where
she？d left it； folded on a chair nearby。 ？I guess；？ she allowed。
That tiny big…chested ninth grader Jenny Humphrey stepped out of the alcove where the men？s
room was； her curly dark hair slightly askew and her mouth re