第4部分(第4/7 頁)

their　bags　up　on　their　shoulders。　Now　that　they？d　tried　smoking　cigarettes

with　the　seniors　on　a　freezing…cold　stoop；　they　weren？t　exactly　sure　what　the　attraction　was。

？Do　you　think　my　hair　would　look　good　that　short？？　Elise　asked；　hurrying　to　keep　up　with　Blair。

Anything　would　have　been　an　improvement　on　the　my…first…haircut　bob　Elise　was　presently

sporting；　but　Blair　didn？t　have　the　heart　or　the　energy　to　tell　her。　？I？ll　give　you　my　stylist？s

number；？　she　offered　generously。

As　they　turned　down　East　Ninety…third　Street；　Mary；　Vicky；　and　Cassie　burst　through　the　doors

and　waved　to　them。

？We　saw　you　leave　at　recess！？

？We　came　out　to　get　you！？

？We　didn？t　want　you　to　get　in　trouble！？

Blair　put　her　arms　around　Jenny　and　Elise　and　herded　them　toward　the　school　doors；　wise　to　the

fact　that　the　three　girls　were　just　being　obnoxiously　nosy。　？We？re　fine；？　she　told　them

coolly。　？Shouldn？t　you　be　in　class？？

Mary；　Vicky；　and　Cassie　stared　after　them　in　hurt　disbelief。　They　wereso　much　cooler　than　Jenny

and　Elise。　What　did　they　have　to　do　to　prove　it？

Serena　remained　on　the　chilly　stoop；　not　exactly　thrilled　that　she？d　been　left　alone　with　Kati　and

Isabel。　She　examined　her　split　ends；　trying　to　e　up　with　the　perfect　you…got…into…college！　gift

for　Aaron　while　Kati　and　Isabel　waited　eagerly　for　the　real　scoop　on　Blair？s　hair。

？Did　she　have　lice　or　something？？

？I　heard　she　had　this　manic　depressive　fit　and　hacked　it　off　with　a　nail　scissors。　She　had　to　go　to

the　salon　to　fix　it。？

？I　think　it　looks　cool；？　Serena　answered　dreamily　in　reply。

Kati　and　Isabel　glared　at　her；　disappointed。　If　Serena　wasn？t　going　to　dish　anything　out