the reading at the Rivington Rover Poetry Club tomorrow night。 When Dan was finished reading
she？d pop up out of the crowd and surprise him with an enormous mug of Irish coffee； his favorite
drink。 Then they？d trade stories about all the feebleminded famous people they？d met in the past
week。 And then she？d bring him home and remind him of what he？d been missing。 She？d show
him how to lose his virginity again the way he？d written in that crazy poem。
As if he needed showing。
sreinvents the tear
？Want to take Mook out for a walk with me？？ Aaron asked Blair through her closed bedroom
door。 It was Wednesday afternoon and she？d been holed up in her room since Monday； only
opening the door to receive the brie…and…tomato baguettes and mugs of hot chocolate Myrtle
brought her at ten and five o？clock。 She？d even conned the family doctor into writing her a note
excusing her from school for the week。 She wasn？t sick exactly； the doctor assured her mother。
Schools like Constance just worked their girls too hard； especially the seniors； and then there was
all that additional pressure to get into one of the best colleges。 Blair simply needed a few days of
rest and she？d be herself again。
Well； not exactly。 Blair was using her few days of rest to reinvent herself all over again。 Like
Madonna。
Aaron pushed open the door and poked his head inside her room。 The air was pungent with the
chemical odor of cigarette smoke mixed with minty mouthwash。 Blair？s head was wrapped in a
black…and…pink Pucci scarf； and she was lounging on the bed with her bare ankles crossed；
wearing a white terrycloth robe and smoking a Merit Ultra Light through a long black cigarette
holder。 The look was very Greta…Garbo…in…hiding； which was exactly the effect she was going for。
Across the room；The Great Gatsby starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow played silently on
TV。 Blair puffed on her cigarette； staring dramatically into the near distance。 She couldn？t bear to
look at Aaron because he was wearing his Harvard sweatshirt again； as if he？d specifically dressed
to piss her off。 She？d already ripped her Yale pendant off the canopy over her bed and thrown it
out her bedroom window along with her father？s old Yale sweatshirt。 ？If you don？t mind； I？d like
you to please get the fuck out of my room。？
？I was just leaving；？ Aaron replied。 ？Hey； have you talked to Serena lately？？
Blair shook her head。 ？Why？？
？No reason；？ Aaron shrugged unfortably。 He？d been hanging out with his buddies in
Scarsdale since Friday night and hadn？t seen or talked to Serena since the Les Best show。 He
pulled a tin of herbal cigarettes out of his back pocket and tossed them onto Blair？s bed。 ？Try
those；？ he advised。 ？They？re 100 percent natural and they smell way better than that
mass…produced shit。？
Blair kicked the tin onto the floor。 ？Have a nice walk。？
Aaron pulled her bedroom door closed behind him and headed outside with Mookie。 He entered
the park at Seventy…second Street； taking the path that led to a little wooden footbridge over a
stream that fed into the lake。 Every now and then Mookie stopped to dig furiously in the snow
with his brown…and…white paws； as if he were looking for a doggie toy he？d dropped there last
summer。 Then eventually he？d give up and trot on again。
A petite blond in dark sunglasses and a blue Yankees cap jogged by wearing an I
LOVEAARONT…shirt over her red
velour tracksuit； the same I LOVEAARONT…shirt that Serena had worn at the Les Best show。
Aaron was pretty sure the blond was the actress Renee Zwingdinger； or whatever her name was；
but he couldn？t be sure。 It was pretty funny to think that famous actresses and models might be
wearing shirts with his name on them when he was just some dude who went out with a beautiful
girl who he guessed he wasn？t really going out with anymore。
When the wooden footbridge came into view； Aaron noticed that it was filled with people and
equipment； a crew of some sort。 As he came closer he saw that in the icy water opposite the
footbridge a cameraman was standing up in a small inflatable raft； adjusting his tripod。
Aaron let Mookie hunt for squirrels under a tree as he watched the proceedings。 The huddle of
people on the bridge parted to reveal a girl dressed in a skimpy sunflower yellow sundress and
blue sandals； her golden hair blowing in the icy wind。 It was Serena； of course。 She was
unmistakable。
All of a sudden Mookie hurtled across the snow in Serena？s direction； howling with delight and
wagging his stubby little boxer tail。
？Mookie； no！？ Aaron shouted。 Everyone on the bridge； including Serena； turned to look。
？Mookie！？ Serena squealed； crouching down to kiss the dog on his wet nose as he wriggled
excitedly between her legs。 ？How？s it going； handsome？？
Aaron ambled over to the footbridge； his hands shoved deep into his green army pants
pockets。 ？Sorry；？ he mumbled to the crew of makeup artists and stylists。
？That？s okay；？ Serena said； standing up。 She broke away from her entourage and kissed Aaron
lightly on the cheek。 Her yellow dress was stenciled with iridescent blue birds and her lip gloss
smelled like watermelon。 ？We？re just shooting a perfume ad。 You can watch if you want to。？
Aaron kept his hands in his pockets。 There were a million things she could have said to make
him feel guilty for hiding out in Scarsdale and never calling her； but Serena was too cool for that。
She was truly magnificent； which was part of the reason he had to let her go。 It was too much
effort to match someone who shone as brightly as she did。
？Don？t let me keep you；？ Aaron said。 He opened his tin of herbal cigarettes and offered her one。
She took it and held it between her coral…glossed lips as he lit it for her。 ？Oh； and thanks for the
roses。？
Serena exhaled； blowing sweet smoke into the chilly air。 ？We never got our tattoos。？
Aaron smiled tenderly。 ？That？s probably a good thing。？
A perfect tear began to form in the corner of Serena？s right eye and trembled on the edge of her
lower lid。
？Let？s get this done！？ the photographer shouted from his inflatable boat。
Serena turned to wave at him； her yellow dress fanning out around her knees and her blond hair
flying。 In that instant； the tear dropped onto her lovely cheek； a perfect illustration of every human
emotion Les Best wanted to encapsulate in his new perfume ad。 They？d have to airbrush out the
cigarette in Serena？s hand and the goosebumps dotting her arms and legs； but you？d be surprised
how easy that is to do。
rehab is the new spa
After watchingThe Great Gatsby twice in a row； Blair clicked off the TV and picked up her
phone。 She was eager to talk to someone； to let the world know she was still alive despite
everything。 The thing was； she absolutelydreaded speaking to every single person she knew；
including her gay； France…living dad； whom she had always counted on to cheer her up。 If only
there were someone else； someone new and different who？
Actually； there wasone person she could bear to speak to。 And why the fuck shouldn？t she call
him when he had called her pletely out of the blue last week while she was getting her hair
cut？
She speed…dialed Nate？s cell phone number； and； to her surprise； he answered it。
？Natie？？ Blair crooned into the phone。 ？I heard all about what happened。 Howare you？ Are you
okay？？
？Yeah； actually I？m really good；？ Nate responded； sounding suspiciously unstoned。 ？My dad？s
still pretty pissed off about what happened； and I don？t know how it？s going to affect my chances
at Brown； but I？m still good。？
Blair pointed her bare toes into the air and frowned at the day…old cotton…candy…pink polish that
she？d painted on herself out of plete boredom。 ？You poor baby；？ she sighed
sympathetically。 ？Rehab must totally suck。？
？Um； actually？and I know this sounds weird？I？m starting to kind oflike it；？ Nate admitted。 ？I
wish it wasn？t such a haul to get up there； but it？s a really cool； modern place； and it？s kind of； I
don？t know 。 。 。relaxing to do something totally unrelated to school。？
？Really？？ Blair