e　calling　you　over；　but　Blair　has　been　positivelyunreachable　；　and　I　thought　that

since　you　two　have　known　each　other　since　you　were　toddlers；　you？d　be　the　perfect　person　to　help

plan　this　event　I　have　scheduled　at　the　Met。　We　have　more　than　a　few　milestones　to

celebrate？Blair　and　Aaron　going　off　to　college；　for　one。　And　then　there？s　also？？

Just　then　Davita？s　gold　Motorola　Slvr　cell　phone　began　to　ring　frantically；　beeping　and　burping

in　the　most　annoying　way　possible。　Davita　jumped　up；　holding　her　bony；　manicured　index　finger

out　in　the　air；　and　walked　quickly　out　of　the　living　room；　her　pewter　Jimmy　Choo　slingbacks

sparkling　like　firecrackers　in　the　light　that　streamed　through　the　south…facing　windows。　Serena

returned　to　picking　at　the　frayed　threads　on　her　cutoff　skirt　again。　She　could　barely　concentrate

anyway。　As　of　today；　Blair　and　Nate　had　spent　exactly　one　month　together；　alone　on　a　boat　with　no

one　around　for　miles。　They　were　probably；　right　at　this　very　minute；　eating　steamed　lobsters　with

clarified　butter　and　gazing　dreamily　into　each　other？s　eyes。　Serena　blinked　back　hot　tears　as　she

pictured　it。

？So；？　Eleanor　said　brightly；　inching　closer　to　her　on　the　couch　and　resting　one　tanned　hand　on

Serena？s　forearm。　？How　has　your　summer　been？　With　Blair　gone　I？ve　hardly　seen　you　at　all；　and

it？s　only　a　matter　of　days　before　you　kids　are　off　to　New　Haven！？

？It？s　been　okay。？　Serena　forced　a　smile　as　she　squirmed　on　the　couch。　She？d　spent　the　last　four

weeks　wandering　around　the　city　under　the　pretense　of　getting　her　fill　of　New　York　in　before

leaving　it　behind。　In　truth；　she　was　just　trying　to　distract　herself。　Unfortunately；　everywhere　she