第2部分(第2/7 頁)

een　at　Constance　the　next　two　years。　She？d　been　up　at

Hanover　Academy；　in　New　Hampshire？until　she　kind　of　missed　the　first　few　weeks　of　senior　year

and　they　wouldn？t　take　her　back。　Why　would　Mr。　Beckham；　of　all　people；　nominate　her　for　senior

speaker？

Good　question。

？So；　are　you　going　to　do　it？？　Isabel　persisted。

Serena　tried　to　imagine　herself　standing　at　the　podium　in　Brick　Church　on　Park　Avenue；

addressing　her　class；　dressed　in　their　pristine　white　dresses　and　white　gloves。Oh；　the　places　you？ll

go。　Our　future？s　so　bright；　we？re　going　to　have　to　wear　shades　；　etc。　She　might　have　liked　acting

and　modeling；　but　inspirational　speaking　wasn？t　exactly　her　thing。　Surely　one　of　her　other

classmates　would　be　way　more　into　it。

？Maybe；？　she　replied；　nonmittally。

You　bitch；　Blair　thought；　her　ears　aching　from　eavesdropping。　Ever　since　the　infamous　bathtub

incident　at　Isabel？s　party；　Blair　had　been　obsessively　determined　to　surprise　everyone　by　rising

above　Serena　and　Nate？s　stupid；　hurtful　behavior；　making　it　look　like　she　really　couldn？t　give　a

damn；　and　end　the　school　year　as　the　girl　everyone　most　admired。

Not　that　she　wasn？t　already　the　girl　everyone　most　admired。　She？d　always　had　the　best　clothes；

best　bags；　best　fingernails；　coolest　hair；　and　by　far　the　best　shoes。　But　this　time　she　wanted　to　be

admired　for　her　courage；　independence；　and　intelligence。　And　being　senior　speaker　at　graduation

was　definitely　part　of　that　package。　Right　now　Vanessa　Abrams；　Blair？s　unlikely；　shaven…headed；

black…wearing　roommate；　was　back　at　Constance　nominating　Blair　for　senior　speaker。　But　as　usual；

that　sneaky　bitch　Serena　had　to　go　and　fucking　cop