onfining。 She’d taken a couple of acting classes at a downtown studio that Thad had raved about； but they’d mostly consisted of pantomiming dreams from the night before。 No； thank you。
Especially not when most of her dreams involve a certain someone。
“Is it because of the reviews？” Laura took a swig of her cranberry vodka。
Serena stiffened and suddenly wished she’d made herself a drink before she sat down with her old friends。 The reviews for Coffee at the Palace had been less than stellar； though the New York Times had called Serena a breath of fresh air。 But it was conversations like this that made Serena hate acting。 She loved being in front of the camera； but she hated all the drama that went on when the cameras weren’t rolling。 She never set foot in anywhere trendy； because she hated getting followed by paparazzi and having her picture taken with camera phones。 It was so silly to get that kind of attention when she wasn’t doing anything。
“I’ve been reading a lot of Thomas Mann lately；” Serena said； changing the subject。 “I just finished The Magic Mountain。 With everyone else in school； I don’t want to fall behind；” she added。 She was greeted by silence。
“Well； what classes do you guys take？” Serena prodded。 It had never been hard for her to make conversation； but now； among the girls she’d known since kindergarten； she had no idea what to say。 She awkwardly crossed one leg over the other。
“I don’t even know；” Isabel giggled。 “I spend all my time with my boyfriend。 I do his Influential Movies of the ’80s homework sometimes。 His football schedule is really demanding；” she explained； brushing her long dark hair off her shoulder self…importantly。
“Oh。” Serena didn’t know what else to say。 Since when did Isabel do someone