random？especially when he was stoned？but neverthis random。 Gianni tapped his tortoise…shell
b against the back of her chair impatiently。 ？Well； good for you；？ she responded finally。 ？Look；
I have to go； okay？？
Blair sounded distracted； and Nate wasn？t even sure why he？d called her in the first place。 ？See
you；？ he mumbled； tucking his phone back into his coat pocket。
？Bye。？ Blair tossed her silvery pink Nokia phone into her red bowling bag and sat up straight in
the leather swivel chair。 ？I？m ready；？ she told Gianni； trying to sound confident。 ？Just remember； I
want it short butfeminine 。？
Amused creases appeared in Gianni？s tanned； intentionally stubbly cheeks。 He winked a
long…lashed； dark brown eye。 ？Jes lika Katerina Hepburn。 Right？？
Uh…oh。
Blair tightened the belt on her beige salon robe and glared at Gianni？s overly pomaded black hair
in the mirror； praying he wasn？t as stupid and inpetent as he sounded。 Maybe it was a just a
language thing。 ？No；not Katherine Hepburn。
AudreyHepburn。 You know； likeBreakfast at Tiffany？s ？My Fair Lady ？Funny Face ？？ Blair
searched her brain for a more current celebrity reference； someone with a decent short haircut。 ？Or
maybe like Selma Blair；？ she added desperately； even though Selma？s haircut was more
tomboyish than what she had in mind。
Gianni didn？t respond。 Instead； he ran his fingers through Blair？s damp brown tresses。 ？Sucha
bee…ootiful ？air；？ he said wistfully as he picked up his scissors and gathered her hair in his fist。
Then； without further ado； he lopped the entire pony…tail off with one brutal snip。
Blair closed her eyes as the rope of hair fell to the floor。Please make me look pretty； she prayed
silently；and sophisticated and poised and elegant 。 She opened her eyes and stared in horror at her
reflection。 Her wet； blunt； ear…length mop was sticking out in all directions。
？Don？t worry；？ Gianni reassured her as he exchanged his big scissors for a small pair of
shears。 ？Now we shape。？
Blair took a deep breath； steeling herself。 It was too late to back out of it anyway。 Most of her
hair was on the floor。 ？Okay；？ she gasped。 Then her cell phone rang again and she lunged at
it。 ？Wait；？ she told Gianni。 ？Hello？？
？Yes； is this Blair Waldorf？ Harold？s daughter？？
Blair studied herself in the mirror。 She wasn？t exactly surewho she was anymore。 She looked
more like a new inmate getting her preprison crop than the daughter of notorious corporate lawyer
Harold Waldorf； who？d divorced Blair？s mother two years ago and now lived in a chateau in
France； where he ran a vineyard with his ？life partner；？ who just happened to be a man。
Considering the turbulent state of her present existence； Blair really wouldn？t have minded being
someone pletely different； which was part of the reason she？d decided to submit herself to
Gianni in the first place。 She？d even settle for Katherine instead of Audrey as long as the look was
totally new。
？Yes；？ Blair answered feebly。
？Good；？ the guy on the phone replied。 His voice was deep and cajoling； making it hard to guess
how old he was。 Nineteen or thirty…five？ ？This is Owen Wells。 Your father mentored me at the
firm when I was first starting out。 We？re both Yalies； and I understand you？re interested in going
there yourself。？
Interested？Blair wasn？t justinterested in going to Yale？it was her sole purpose in life。 Why the
hell else would she be takingfive APs？
？Yes； I am；？ she squeaked。 She glanced up at Gianni； who was mouthing the words to a cheesy
Celine Dion song wafting out of the salon？s sound system。 ？I kind of messed up my interview；
though。？
Actually； she？d kind of told the interviewer her whole life？s sob story and then kind ofkissed him；
which was more than kind of a major ？whoops。？
？Well； that？s exactly why I？m calling；？ Owen Wells replied； his sexy voice resonating like the
bass notes of a cello。 ？Your father？s support means a lot to the school； and they want to give you a
second chance。 I？m volunteering my services as your alumnus interviewer； and the admissions
office has already agreed to use my write…up when they review your application； instead of the
interview you did back in November。？
Blair was dumbstruck。 A second chance？it was almost too good to be true。 Tired of waiting；
Gianni dropped his scissors on the wheeled cart next to Blair？s chair； snatched the latest issue
ofVogue out of Blair？s lap； and minced away to plain about her to his colleagues。
？So when are you available？？ Owen Wells persisted。
Now； Blair wanted to say。 But she couldn？t very well ask Owen to sit and watch Gianni cut her
hair while he asked her all those boring stereotypical interview questions like； Who are the most
influential people in your life？
？Anytime；？ she chirped。 Then she realized she shouldn？t soundtoo desperate； not when she was
supposed to be a total whiz kid with an insane schedule。 ？Actually； today is kind of busy for me
and tomorrow might be a little crazy； too。 Wednesday or Thursday after school would be better。？
？I tend to work pretty late； and I？ve got meetings up the wazoo this week； but how about
Thursday night？ Around eight…thirty？？
？Fine；？ Blair responded eagerly。 ？Do you want me to e to your office？？
Owen paused。 Blair could hear his office chair creak and she imagined him surveying his
Philippe Starck？designed Tribeca office with its view of New York Harbor； wondering if it was an
appropriate place to meet。 She imagined him tall and blond； with a tennis tan； like her father。 But
Owen Wells would be at least ten years younger than her dad； and so much better looking。 She
wondered if he knew how cool it was that there was aw in each of his names。 ？Why don？t we
meet at the pton Hotel？ They？ve got a nice little bar that should be pretty quiet。？ He
laughed。 ？I can buy you a Coke； although your father tells me you prefer Dom Perignon。？
Blair？s face burned。 Her stupid…ass father？what else had he said？ ？Oh； no； Coke is fine；？ she
stammered。
？Good。 I？ll see you Thursday night。 I？ll be wearing my Yale tie。？
？I？m looking forward to it。？ Blair tried to maintain a businesslike tone despite her vivid
Owen…at…the…office fantasy。 ？Thank you so much for calling。？ She clicked off the phone and
looked directly into the gilt mirror in front of her。 Her blue eyes already seemed larger and more
intense now that she had less hair。
If she were really an actress starring in the movie of her life？which was what she always liked to
imagine？thiswould be the turning point： the day she transformed her look and began rehearsing for
the biggest role of her career。 She glanced at her watch。 There was only half an hour left before
she was due back at Constance for gym。 There was no reason to rush back； though； especially not
when Bendel？s was only three blocks away and a new dress for meeting Owen Wells on Thursday
night was calling her name。 It was absolutely worth getting in trouble for cutting gym if her new
haircut and new dress were going to help get her into Yale。
Gianni was drinking coffee and flirting with the shampoo boys。 Blair shot him a menacing look；
daring him to fuck up her hair。
？Whenever you？re ready； miss；？ he called over in a bored tone； as if he couldn？t have cared less
if he cut her hair or not。
Blair took a deep breath。 She was erasing the past？her failed relationship with Nate； her mother？s
revolting new husband and embarrassing pregnancy； her botched Yale interview？and recreating
herself in a new image。 Yale was giving her a second chance； and from now on she would be the
master of her own destiny； writing； directing； and starring in the movie that was her life。 She could
already see the headline in the Styles section of theNew York Times ； featuring her haircut。A
headof the Times： Gorgeous Brunette Goes Short for Yale Debut！
Her face broke into the winning smile she was already practicing for her interview with Owen
Wells on Thursday night。 ？I？m ready。？
apathy vs。 poetry
？Happy Valentine？s Day； loverboy；？ Zeke Freedman greeted Dan as fourth…period U。S。 history
was about to