第26部分(第6/7 頁)

ress　and　Christian　Louboutin　over…the…knee　boots；　her　hair　pulled　into　a　high　bun。　She　was　utterly　oblivious　to　the　admiring　glances　shot　her　way；　lost　in　her　own　little　world。

The　Star　Lounge　had　never　carded；　so　she’d　been　ing　here　since　she　was　fifteen；　when　she　used　to　meet　Blair　for　a　drink　before　going　up　to　Chuck’s　suite。　The　lounge　looked　the　same　as　always：　black　leather　ottomans　and　couches　surrounded　the　perimeter；　and　the　walls　were　covered　with　shelves　of　flickering　candles。　It　was　only　Serena　who’d　changed。

Cue　the　Joni　Mitchell　sound　track…。

She’d　sat　on　her　bed　in　her　empty　apartment　last　night；　leafing　through　scripts　her　agent　had　sent　along。　She　could　be　a　young　woman　looking　for　love　in　the　city；　she　could　be　the　beautiful　former　golden　girl　who　gets　sucked　into　a　downward　spiral　of　coke　and　vodka；　she　could　be　the　love　interest；　a　beautiful　but　vacuous　blonde　who　was　only　the　end　goal；　or；　for　a　real　change　of　pace；　she　could　be　the　bitchy　villain　in　a　superhero　movie；　wearing　a　leather　catsuit　and　a　dark　wig。

Serena　didn’t　want　to　be　in　any　of　those　movies。　She　didn’t　want　to　be　in　any　movies；　period。　Sure；　the　press　junkets；　the　swag；　the　glitz　and　glamour　had　been　fun　at　first；　but　they’d　quickly　lost　their　appeal。　Instead；　she’d　thought　a　lot　about　what　Dan　Humphrey　had　said；　about　Columbia　giving　him　the　chance　to　think　and　learn　and　explore。　The　more　and　more　she　thought　about　it；　the　more　appealing　college　seemed。　Where　else　could　she　spend　her　time　reading　and　growing　up　and　figuring　out　what　she　wanted　to　do　with　the　rest　of　her　life？

Just　this　morning；　she’d　summoned　her　courage　and　made　a　call　to　the　Yale　admissions　office；　to　let　them　know　her　deferral　period　was　over。　Now　she　was　officially　in；　ready　t