had never really gone to sleep last night？thanks to the little bottle of pills he kept popping？？and
she？d still been awake at fiveA。M 。 She？d just grabbed a double latte at the deli and headed over；
lugging her French textbook with her； as if she？d really get any studying done。
Blairwas first in line。 And； surprise； surprise； shewas Audrey Hepburn。 Same black vintage
Givenchy dress； same pearl choker； same French…twist hairstyle？with the help of a little faux
hair？same oversize Chanel sunglasses； same black elbow…length gloves。 Lord Marcus； being the
sweet and charming hunk that he was； had helped her get dressed and even had e up with the
idea of spending the night in a hired town car； parked right in front of Barneys； so she？d be sure to
be first in line for the open call。 Of course； they hadn？t been able to do much for fear of messing
up her costume； but it was still fun to hold hands in the backseat and talk about the very near
future； when Blair would be a famous Hollywood star。
？I？ll be your pool lad；？ Lord Marcus offered in his adorable English accent。 ？I？ll fan you with
palm fronds and pour your cocktails。？ Of course he wouldn？t mind giving up his spot in the
graduate business program at the London School of Economics； where he was starting in the fall。
He？d do anything for Blair？anything！
？And I？ll have the best designers making clothes for me in every city in the world；？ Blair
fantasized over her stomach？s nervous rumblings。 She wanted this part so badly； she hadn？t eaten
all day； but it was nearly midnight and she was famished。 ？Or maybe I？ll ask Uncle Oscar to make
all my clothes。？
A hot dog vendor was packing up for the night on the corner of Sixty…first and Madison。 Would
Lord Marcus be perfectly horrified if she ate one； standing on the curb in front of Barneys？
It would be no worse than Audrey Hepburn eating a Danish out of a paper bag in front of
Tiffany？s。
？Look； darling； dinner！？ Lord Marcus cried； noticing the vendor and literally reading Blair？s
mind。 ？You sit tight and I？ll go fetch us some。？
Darling。 She was his darling； and he fetched things for her！
So they？d eaten Sabrett hot dogs with mustard and relish and sipped A&W root beer； holding
hands and dozing off until Blair？s eyelids had fluttered open to find Serena looming out of the
early morning mist in her perfectly distressed jeans and no makeup。 She？d bolted out of the car
and slapped her black Chanel sunglasses over her eyes。 No way was that blond bitch going to steal
her part in this show。
Never mind the other hundreds of actress…wannabes who were beginning to turn up for the
audition。
Now it was nearly eight o？clock and the audition was about to begin。 It was an unusually hot and
humid May morning and the two girls stood front…to…back at the head of the line； fanning
themselves with the page of lines Ken Mogul？s helpers had handed out and which they？d already
memorized。
Finally Serena could stand it no longer。 ？God； it？s hot。？ Blair didn？t respond； so Serena reached
out and touched Blair？s bare arm。 ？So； that guy you？ve been hanging out with？he seems really
nice；？ she ventured awkwardly。
Blair wished she were taller so she could gaze down at Serena with such hawklike severity that
Serena would never attempt to speak to her again。 Alas； she was nearly six inches shorter than
Serena； especially since she was wearing the required Holly Golightly？esque superflat flats。
She was about to give a short and extremely nasty reply when she realized something startling。
She didn？t even mind anymore that Serena had Nate。 She had the hotter； taller； more refined；
better…bred； British version of Nate； and she was perfectly happy with him； thank you very much。
In fact； just to prove how fine she was with everything； they could all be friends？the four of them。
She pushed her enormous Chanel sunglasses on top of her head and smiled brightly up at her
former friend。 ？How about after this the four of us all get a drink down at the Yale Club together？
They have a great lounge。 It？s like a hotel bar out of an old movie or something。 You？d love it。？
？Really？？Serena gasped； wondering if she might be dreaming。 Had Blair really just invited her
and Nate to have a drink with her and her new boyfriend？
？Sorry for the wait； ladies。 All right； Blair Waldorf； you？re up；？ announced a skinny guy in his
twenties with a hipster…mullet haircut and faded Diesel jeans rolled up to his knees。
Blair flipped her sunglasses back onto her nose。
？Good luck；？ Serena said faintly； still unsure of whether they were really talking to each other or
not。
Mullet guy led Blair inside the store？thank goodness for air…conditioning！？and across the
cosmetics floor to the elevators。 Barneys didn？t open until ten on Saturdays； so it was weirdly
quiet。 Of course； Blair spent so much time there； she could have found her way to Fred？s
blindfolded； but that wasn？t enough to get her the part。
Fred？s； the store？s notorious restaurant； was up on the ninth floor。 Long and narrow； with
windows along one wall overlooking Madison； and a small； modern bar； it was the type of
restaurant that was surprisingly unspectacular looking given its popularity。 What made it
spectacular was its usual clientele？the Holly Golightlys of the present day and their
Park…Avenue…dwelling mothers or publicists； all dressed in Chanel and Prada； sipping white wine
spritzers and picking at their salads while they worried about whether someone else was going to
buy the last pair of faun…colored Costume National knee…high stiletto boots they had spotted on
their way up to the restaurant。
Right now； though； the restaurant was empty； except for Ken Mogul and his crew。 The director
was standing by the bar giving lighting direction to a gaggle of Swedish…looking blond female
crewpeople in matching black tunics； his notorious bulging blue eyes bloodshot with fatigue。 He
sported a short； prickly； reddish beard with no mustache？never a good look？and shoulder…length
curly red hair。 His 1980s…style leather jacket had huge rounded shoulders； and his Levi？s were
way too tight？also not a good look。 Blair had never seen him before and thought he might be one
of the crew until he addressed her。
？Well； you certainlylook the part。？ He pointed to one of the chrome…and…black…leather bar stools；
gesturing for her to sit down。 ？But this isn？t a plete remake； you know。 I？m taking some
liberties。 For instance； Holly might not have brown hair。 And she could be tall。？
Way to rub a brunette who？s always been on the shorter side the wrong way！
It had taken Blair three hours to get dressed； so she decided to ignore his insult。 She folded up the
sheet of paper she？d been given to read from and tucked it into her purse； partly to impress Ken
Mogul with the fact that she？d already memorized her lines； and partly to show that her feathers
weren？t easily ruffled。 Then she sat down on a bar stool and crossed her legs with Audrey
Hepburn？like balletic grace。
？I？m not going to give you any direction；？ Ken Mogul remarked。 ？You just do your thing； okay？
So ？ action！？
Blair had Googled Ken Mogul and found a ton of articles about how he called himself
the ？undirector；？ and how actors hated working with him because he just stared at them without
giving them any direction at all。 He probably thought he was terribly avant…garde or whatever。
Well； that was fine with her； because she didn？t need any direction？shewas Audrey Hepburn
playing Holly Golightly twenty…four hours a day。
She pulled a cigarette and the long ebony…and…mother…of…pearl cigarette holder she？d found in an
antique shop in Rhode Island two summers ago out of her slim black satin vintage Chanel
pocketbook。
？Howdo youdo ？？ she purred； sounding exactly like Audrey at her most charming。 She lit her
cigarette and blew a delicate stream of smoke over Ken Mogul？s head。 Then she delivered that
dreamy； faraway smile that was Audrey？s trademark。 ？Don？t you justlove it here？ Isn？t
itwonderful waking up and knowing this place isright here ； every day？ It？s my
absoluteparadi