jeopardize　her　control　over　the　group。　？Next？？

？I？m　Jodia　and　I？m　an　alcoholic；　too；？　said　the　chubby　girl　sitting　next　to　Blair。　？I　even　drank

perfume　once。？

？Me　too；？　Blair　cut　in；　eager　to　top　Georgie？s　performance。　She　uncrossed　and　recrossed　her　legs；

giving　the　room　a　glimpse　of　her　sexy　black　fishnets　through　the　slit　in　her　dress。　？I？m　Blair

and　。　。　。？　She　hesitated。　Where　to　begin？　She　took　a　deep；　dramatic　breath。

？My　parents　got　divorced　last　year。　It　turns　out　my　father　was　gay　and　he　was　fooling　around

with　my　mom？s　personal　assistant；　who　was　only　twenty…one。　They？re　still　together；　and　now　they

live　in　a　chateau　in　a　vineyard　in　France。　My　mother　just　married　this　gross　fat　freak　real　estate

developer　and　now　they？re　having　a　baby；　even　though　she？s；　like；　a　hundred　years　old。　It？s　a　girl；

they　just　found　out。　I　was　supposed　to　apply　early　to　Yale；　but　my　interview　sucked。　So　this　old

friend　of　my　father？s　said　he？d　give　me　an　alumni　interview。　He　was　really　attractive　and　I？d

never　been　with　an　older　guy　before　so　I　kind　of　hooked　up　with　him；？　she　glanced　apologetically

at　Nate。　He？d　forgive　her　for　philandering；　just　as　she？d　forgive　him　for　straying　from　her。

Jackie　listened　with　her　mouth　agape。　She　was　used　to　the　kids　in　teen　group　giving　a　little　more

detail　than　was　necessary；　but　she？d　never　run　across　anyone　who　seemed　to　enjoy　talking　about

herself　so　much。

？I　think　part　of　the　reason　I　cut　all　my　hair　off　was　I　was　trying　to　make　myself　ugly；　even　though

I　didn？t　realize　it　at　the　time。　I　thought　short　hair　might　look　cool　on　me。　But　I　think　I　was　maybe；

you　know；　bringing　all　the　ugliness　inside　to　the　surf