第4部分(第3/7 頁)

e。

No　wonder　it　never　sold　out　back　in　October。

？Maybe　if　you　got　some　Japanese　foot　bindingdone　those　boots　wouldn？t　hurt　so　much；？　Isabel

continued。　？Or　if　you？d　letme　buy　them　instead　of　you；　sinceI？m　the　one　who　saw　them　first。？

？Chinese；？　Jenny　couldn？t　help　but　correct。　？The　Chinese　used　to　bind　women？s　feet。？

Kati　and　Isabel　stared　at　her　blankly。　？Shouldn？t　you　be　in　school？？　Isabel　demanded。

？They？re　smoking　with　us；？　Blair　said　protectively。　It　was　kind　of　fun　having　two　little

ninth…grade　sisters。　Not　that　she　ever　wanted　areal　little　sister　or　anything。

Kati　pretended　not　to　notice　that　Blair　was　actually　being　nice　to　these　two　little　snot…nosed

fourteen…year…olds　and　threw　her　arms　around　Blair？s　neck　instead；　kissing　her　on　each

Stila…powdered　cheek。

Mwah！　Mwah！

？I　can？t　believe　I　haven？t　said　anything；　but　your　hair　looks　totallygorg　。　I　just　love；　love；love　it！？

she　squealed。　？You　were　so　brave。　I　heard　you　got　gum　in　it。　Is　that　why　you　decided　to　go　so

short？？

？Can　I　touch　it？？　asked　Isabel。　She　put　down　her　hot　chocolate　and　reached　out　to　pat　the　back　of

Blair？s　head　with　a　tentative　hand。　？It　feels　so　weird！　Like　a　boy！？

Blair　suddenly　wished　she？d　worn　a　hat　or　some　sort　of　turban　to　school。　She　dropped　her

cigarette　on　the　step　below　her　and　squashed　it　with　the　pointy　toe　of　her　boot。　？e　on；　you

guys；？　she　beckoned；　rising　to　her　feet　and　holding　out　her　gloved　hands　to　Jenny　and　Elise　like

Mary　Poppins　collecting　the　children　at　the　playground。　？I？ll　walk　you　back　to　school。？

Jenny　and　Elise　tossed　their　cigarettes　into　the　shrubbery　in　front　of　the　brownstone　next　door

and　stood　up；　hitching