e　and　less　stodgy　than　some　of　the　other　rooms　in　the　club。

The　lounge　was　the　perfect　place　to　escape　from　the　heat。　And　it　went　with　her　dress。　？Pretty　soon

we？ll　all　be　at　Yale；？　she　mused。

The　two　girls　stared　at　each　other；　their　blue　eyes　locked；　trying　to　decide　whether　that　was　a

good　thing　or　a　bad　thing。

Serena　giggled。　？And　we　can　take　the　train　back　to　the　city　and　stay　here；　and　our　parents　won？t

even　know　we？re　in　town！？

That　does　sound　like　fun。

？This　would　be　such　a　great　place　to　have　a　party；？　Blair　chimed　in；　deciding　to　be　nice。　She

blinked；　wondering　why　she　hadn？t　thought　of　it　before。　Of　course；　it　meant　there？d　be　a　lot　of

random　crashers？other　seniors　from　dopey　schools　that　she　didn？t　even　know；　and　random　juniors

who　thought　they　were　cool　now　because　they　were　going　to　be　seniors　next　year。　But　she　was

Constance　Billard？s　graduation　speaker。　It　made　perfect　sense　that　she　should　host　a　graduation

party？thegraduation　party。

She　gave　Serena　a　stiff　hug；　barely　keeping　her　cigarette　holder　aloft　to　avoid　setting　fire　to　her

hair。　？We　always　have　the　best　ideas；？　she　murmured；　half　to　herself　and　half　to　her　old　friend。

Serena　smiled　eagerly；　even　though　she　had　no　idea　which　ideas　Blair　was　referring　to。　？Don？t

we？？　she　agreed。

Nate　had　brought　a　couple　of　prerolled　joints　along　with　him。　He　and　Lord　Marcus　made

themselves　fortable　in　the　lord？s　gold…and…white…wallpapered　suite；　blasting　the　AC　as　they

lay　on　their　backs　on　the　king…size；　apricot…colored　bedspread；　puffing　away　and　trading　secrets

about　Blair。

See；　boys　really　are　worse　than　girls。

？She　acts　all　grumpy　when　you　e　on　to　h