both　hands。Blair　knew　about　her　and　Nate？

？Of　course　I　do。？　Blair　squinted；　irritated　that　Serena　would　think　for　a　second　that　Nate　would

not　tellher　；　his　girlfriend。　？I　cannot　fucking　believe　he？s　not　going　to　Yale。　Repeating　senior　year。

He？s　totally　retarded；？　she　spat。

？Oh。？　Serena　looked　at　Blair；　her　navy　blue　eyes　wide。　That　was　a　close　call。　？Oh！　I　mean

that？s　。　。　。　that　is　awful。　But　that？s　not　what　I　was　going　to　say。　。　。　。？　Her　voice　trailed　off；　her　heart

thumping　hard　against　her　rib　cage。

Blair　pulled　a　Lauren　Moffatt　houndstooth…print　tunic　over　her　head　and　looked　at　her　reflection

in　the　mirror。　Serena　stood　behind　her；　standing　almost　a　full　head　taller　and　looking　nervous。　She

twirled　a　long　blond　lock　around　her　finger。　Blair　wondered　if　Serena　was　finally　going　to　confess

to　her　about　her　love　letter　to　Nate。　Well；　it　was　about　time。　Then　Blair　could　forgive　her　and　they

could　go　off　to　Yale；　best　friends　forever；　and　put　all　this　behind　them。　Even　if　Nate　had　to　stay　in

the　city；　at　least　she？d　have　Serena？and　at　least　Serena　would　be　far；　far　away　from　him。　Blair　took

a　deep　breath　and　prepared　herself　to　try　and　forgive　her　best　friend。

？What　is　it　then？？　She　moved　on　to　the　Diane　von　Furstenberg　dresses　Serena　was　practically

hiding　behind。

？I？m　not　going　to　Yale　either；？　Serena　admitted　sheepishly　as　she　fingered　a　wildly　patterned

wrap　dress；　avoiding　Blair？s　eyes。　？I？m　going　to　defer　for　a　year　so　I　can　do　some　more

acting。？Excuse　me？　Blair　felt　like　her　brain　was　on　fire。Not　going　to　Yale；　not　going　to　Yale　？the

words　spun　around　and　around　in　her　head　until　she　thought　she　might　pass　out。　First　Nate；　now