e。　？I　can？t　wait　to　get　to　Yale　and　just　start　over　again。　Can？t　you　just　picture　it？？　She

closed　her　eyes；　smiling　happily　as　she　conjured　up　the　freshly…mowed　green　grass　strewn　with

fall　leaves　and　ivy…covered　brick　walls。　Ah；Yale。　She　and　Nate　were　going　to　move　into　a　cozy

colonial　house　and　live　happily　ever　after。　They　could　even　have　Serena　over　for　dinner　sometimes。

She？d　regale　them　with　stories　about　the　single　life；　crazy　frat　parties；　and　silly　hookups　followed

by　morning　walks　of　shame；　and　Blair　and　Nate　would　chuckle　and　smile　at　each　other　across　the

table；　smugly　happy　that　they？d　found　theone　and　weren？t　out　there　getting　drunk　and　sloppy。

Serena　closed　her　eyes　too；　and　tried　her　best　to　put　herself　there；　beside　Blair　and　Nate　at　Yale　in

the　fall。　But　behind　her　closed　eyelids　lay　a　mass　of　empty；　undefined　darkness。　She　frowned。　She

couldn？t　ignore　the　fact　that　every　time　she　tried　to　imagine　her　life　at　college；　she　wound　up

drawing　a　plete　blank。　She　snapped　her　eyes　open　and　instantly　felt　forted　by　the　sight　of

Fifth　Avenue；　its　sea　of　yellow　taxis　heading　downtown；　the　stately　green…awninged　buildings　with

their　impeccably　dressed　doormen　who　wore　suits　and　white　gloves　no　matter　how　hot　it　was。

Blair　took　a　drag　from　her　Galoise。　？So；　when　I　was　saying　I　wanted　to　kill　my　family　before　。　。　。

I？m　kind　of　serious　this　time。　They？re　moving　to　L。A。　because　Cyrus　is　building　some　golf　course

or　mall　or　something　putrid　that　the　people　out　there　like。　Of　course　theywould　leave　the　city　for

the　fucking　natural…disaster　capital　of　the　world。？　She　rolled　her　eyes；　her　bitterness　starting　to

creep　back　in。

？What？？Serena　angled