shorts？clad　slut　Georgie　were　standing　near　the　door。　She　had　her

hands　on　Nate？s　shoulders　and　their　faces　were　only　inches　apart。

？I？ve　been　thinking　of　a　way　to　thank　you　for　the　roses；？　Blair　thought　she　heard　Short　Shorts

whisper。　？I　want　to　give　you　a　pony　ride。？

She　wasn？t　talking　to　her　demon；　Blair　realized。　She　was　talking　toNate　。

Blair　waited　for　Nate　to　express　his　horror　and　disgust　at　what　Short　Shorts　was　saying；　but　all　he

did　was　grin　at　her　with　his　tongue　lolling；　like　he　couldn？t　wait　to　hear　more。

？I？m　going　to　cover　you　with？？　Blair　didn？t　wait　to　hear　the　rest　of　Georgie？s　sentence。　It　was

pretty　obvious　why　Nate　liked　rehab　so　much　and　why　he　was　so　into　reforming　all　of　a　sudden。

She　backed　out　the　door　and　into　the　hall；　pulling　her　cell　phone　out　of　her　purse　to　call　her　mom。

A　car　was　supposed　to　e　and　get　her　in　two　hours　to　drive　her　back　to　the　city；　but　no　way　was

she　waiting　that　long。　Rehab　was　nothing　like　a　spa；　it　was　just　another　classroom　full　of　pathetic

losers　who　needed　to　get　a　life。

？You　can？t　use　that　in　here；　miss！？　an　aide　shouted　at　her　in　the　hallway。　Blair　glared　at　her　and

marched　down　the　hall　and　into　the　lobby。　One　of　the　receptionists　was　reading　a　newspaper　with

a　full…page　color　ad　for　Serena？s　Tears　on　the　back。

Suddenly　something　occurred　to　Blair。　She？d　never　really　thought　about　it　before　but　Serena　van

der　Woodsen？her　supposed　best　friend？was　the　absolute　queen　of　ebacks。　This　past　fall　Serena

had　been　kicked　out　of　boarding　school　and　had　e　home　to　the　city；　her　reputation　so　smeared

only　the　most　desperate　wanna…bes　would　talk　to　her。　But　in　a　series　of　show…stealing　cameos