across the table and lowered his voice。 ？Are you really as bright as your dad claims？？
Blair sat up even straighter； twirling her little ruby ring around and around on her ring finger
beneath the tablecloth。 ？I think I？m smart enough to go to Yale；？ she replied evenly； remembering
her speech。 ？I？m in all the APs at school。 I？m at the top of the class。 I？m the chair of the social
services board and the French club。 I？m a peer group leader。 I？m nationally ranked in tennis。 And I
ran the organizing mittee for five charity events this past year。？
Their drinks arrived and Owen raised his glass。 ？And why Yale？？ He took a sip。 ？What can Yale
do for you？？
It seemed odd that Owen wasn？t taking notes or anything； but maybe he was testing her； trying to
get her to let down her guard and admit that she really was just a flake who？d been born with a
silver spoon up her well…bred ass and only wanted to go to Yale to party with frat boys。
？As you know； Yale has an excellent prelaw program；？ she stated； determined to give intelligent；
straight…to…the…point answers。 ？I？m thinking of going into entertainment law。？
？Excellent。？ Owen nodded approvingly。 He scooted his chair forward and winked at her。 ？Look；
Blair。 You？re an intelligent； ambitious girl。 I already know you？re perfect for Yale and I promise
I？ll do everything I can to convince them to let you in。？
He looked so handsomely earnest while he was saying this that Blair felt her cheeks heat up。 She
took a sip of wine to cool herself off。 ？Thank you；？ she responded gratefully。 She took another sip
of wine and let out an enormous sigh of gratitude and relief。 ？Thank you。 Thank you； thank you；
thank you。？
Just then a pair of cool hands covered her eyes and she smelled the distinctive
patchouli…and…sandalwood scent of a certain someone？s favorite essential oil mixture。
？Guess who！？ Serena whispered in Blair？s ear； then pulled her hands away from Blair？s eyes； her
long blond hair brushing Blair？s shoulder as she kissed her cheek。 ？What？s going on？？
Behind her； Aaron stood grinning goofily； wearing a maroon Harvard sweatshirt like the
annoying asshole he was。
Blair blinked。 Could they not see she was in the middle of the most important meeting of her
life？
？I？m Serena。？ Serena held out her hand for Owen to shake。
Owen stood up and took her hand。 ？Charmed。？ He bowed his dark head； looking more like Cary
Grant than ever。
？So you？re ing to see me in the Les Best show tomorrow； right？？ Serena asked Blair。
？Youhave to e；？ Aaron chimed in。 ？I ain？t going to no fashion show by myself； girlfrien？。？
He？d agreed to go； but he wasn？t exactly looking forward to it。 Fashion meant fur and animal
testing。 It was against everything he stood for。
？Your name is on the list；？ Serena added。
Owen looked pletely bemused by the whole conversation。 Blair let out an exasperated breath
and stood up； turning away from Owen so he couldn？t hear what she said。 ？Do you guys mind
leaving us alone？？ she hissed in a low whisper。 ？We？re talking about Yale； and it？s pretty
fuckingimportant 。？
Aaron put his arm around Serena？s slim waist； pulling her away。 ？Excuse us；？ he responded in a
patronizing whisper； still looking smug in his retarded Harvard sweatshirt。 ？We？re headed down to
that new club on Harrison； in case you want to catch us later。？ They waltzed out of the bar； his
dreadlocks bouncing and her pale gold hair fanned out over her shoulders； both looking so
carefree and careless； it was infuriating。
？Sorry；？ Blair apologized； crossing her ankles daintily as she sat down again。 ？My friends can be
pretty self…absorbed sometimes。？
？That？s all right。？ Owen stared down into his bourbon； looking pensive as he stirred the ice
cubes around in his glass。 He looked up again。 ？Do you mind my asking what you did in your first
Yale interview that was so awful you think they？re not going to let you in？？
Blair took another sip of her wine； and then another。 As soon as she explained what had
happened； Owen was going to change his mind about her for sure。 ？I was having a bad day；？ she
confessed； the words tumbling out of her mouth as she frantically spun her ruby ring around and
around on her finger。 She didn？t want to go into the gory details of her botched interview； but if
Owen was going to help her； he？d best know the truth。 ？I hadn？t gotten enough sleep。 I was tired
and nervous and I had to pee really badly。 The interviewer said； ？Tell me about yourself；？ and
before I could really think about what I was saying； I told him all about how my dad was gay and
my mom was going to marry this gross； fat； red…faced guy with an annoying teenage son with
dreadlocks who you just had the pleasure of meeting。 I told him my boyfriend； Nate； was ignoring
me。 Then he asked me what books I？d been reading lately and I couldn？t think of the title of a
single book。 I started to cry； and then； at the end of the interview； I kissed him。？ Blair sighed
dramatically； snatched her cocktail napkin off the table； and began to shred it in her lap。 ？It was
only on the cheek； but it was still totally inappropriate。 I just wanted him to remember me。 You
know； you only get a few minutes to make an impression； but I guess I went a little overboard。？
She looked up into Owen？s sympathetic blue eyes。 ？I don？t know what I was thinking。？
Owen sipped his drink silently as he considered the information。 ？I？ll see what I can do；？ he
responded finally； but his voice sounded detached and skeptical now。
Blair swallowed。 It was pretty obvious he thought she was hopelessly stupid and insane。 Oh； God。
She wasruined 。
Suddenly he broke into a devilish white…toothed grin。 ？I？m only joking； Blair。 That doesn？t
sound so bad。 It was probably the most memorable； entertaining interview Jason Anderson III has
ever had。 Face it； he？s not the most exciting guy in the world； and his job has got to be a little
monotonous。 I？m sure you were the highlight of the fall interview season。？
？So you don？t think it？s hopeless after all？？ Blair asked in her most tragic
Audrey…needs…your…help voice。
Owen took her small； ruby…ringed hand in his large tanned one。 ？Not at all。？ He cleared his
throat。 ？Has anyone ever told you you look a bit like Audrey Hepburn？？
Blair blushed from the roots of her hair down to her toe…nail cuticles。 Owen seemed to know
exactly the right things to say； and he looked so much like Cary Grant； it made her dizzy。 His thick
gold wedding ring pressed into the bones on the back of her hand。 She frowned down at it。 If he
was so married； what was he doing holding her hand？
Owen withdrew his hands and shifted in his seat； reading her mind。 ？Yes； I？m married； but we？re
not together anymore。？
Blair nodded hesitantly。 It was really none of her business。 Although if Cary？Owen？wanted to
ask her out again； she wouldn？t exactly say no。
Ask her out again？Was she forgetting this wasn？t exactly a date？
？So； I？m sure you have to get back to your AP homework and all that。？ Owen reached for her
hand again as if he couldn？t bear to let her go。 ？But do you mind if I call you again sometime？？
Blair hoped she lookedexactly like Audrey at this very moment。 Yes； Owen was nearly her
father？s age； a lawyer； aman ； but she？d never felt so strongly attracted to anyone in her life。 Why
fight it？ It was her second semester of senior year。 She？d worked hard throughout high school and
was hopefully getting into Yale soon。 Yes； seeing an older man was crazy and irresponsible； but it
was about time she had a little fun。
？Sure。？ She smiled and cocked her neatly plucked right eyebrow theatrically。 ？I？d like that。？
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ABC Amber LIT Converter v2。02
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Disclaimer： All the real names of places； people； and events have been altered or abbreviated to
protect the innocent。 Namely； me。
hey people！
Teen heiress sells horses for drugs！
Last night I was out at that new club on Harrison； and between sips of the club？s signature ？adult？
version of the Shirley Temple I got the latest scoop on one of my nursery…school classmates。
Although she？s heir to the largest lumber fortune in the entire world； she was recently caught
selling her show horses for drug money。 Apparently she doesn？t e into her inheritance until
she？s eighteen and only gets a ？small？ monthly allowance。 She was short on cash； so she took
Guns？n？Roses； her prized show jumper； down to auction and used the money to buy some speed
or whatever she does。 How tacky is that？ Apparently her eighty…year…old nanny？or whoever looks
after her now that her father has passed away and her mother has moved to Sandy Lane in
Barbados？found out about the horse and sent my old friend straight to rehab。
Sounds like rehab is the place to be this winter！
Fashion Week： the lowdown
Expect to freeze your ass off while trying to hail a cab。 Expect to wait an hour for a show to start
only to be told that the show is runninganother hour late。 Expect to see lots of Botoxed；
fake…tanned； anorexic girls trying not notice that they all wore the same thing to the same show；
and lots of gay men wearing more perfume than the girls。 Expect to find out that those ugly…ass
cargo pants with tapered legs are back in styleagain 。 Expect to be envious of the pouty…lipped；
giraffe…legged models who actually look good in them。 Expect to be annoyed by heavily made…up；
fur…wearing women who bring their little Louis Vuitton collar？wearing French bulldogs to the
show in matching Louis Vuitton handbags。 Expect to be dying for the after…party to start so you
can smoke。 Expect the after…parties to be truly mind…blowing。 Expect not to remember what
happened the morning after。
Your e…mail
Q：？ ？ Dear GG；
I was walking by the bar in the pton Hotel last night and I saw B with this man who I
recognize from my building。 He has a daughter who？s like in ninth or tenth grade at my school。
What？s that all about？
？Tom
A：？ ？ Hey Tom；
Who knows what she was up to； but can？t you totally see B as some poor girl？s evil stepmom？
？GG
Q：？ ？ Dear G…Dawg；
Can I just say that you kick ass！ Also； I heard N is going to that fancy rehab up in Greenwich。
My cousin went there and came back more messed up than before。
？F。B。
A：？ ？ Dear F。B。；
Thanks for the pliment； although I don？t know if I dig the whole ？G…Dawg？ thing。 And
whatever happens to N in rehab； they can？t take away his soul or his divine beauty！
？GG
Sightings
Nand his parents having a tour of that stylin？ new rehab clinic inGreenwich 。C having his nails
done atCoin ； an all…male spa in Chelsea。 No kidding。S picking up a custom…made baby tee at one
of those customized T…shirt places inChinatown 。B standing in front ofTiffany ； drinking out of a
paper cup and eating a Danish； just like
Audrey HepburninBreakfast at Tiffany？s； exceptB was wearing her gray school uniform instead
of a blackChristian Dior evening gown。K andI putting up NOLOITERINGsigns around theLes
Best tent。 It looks like they actuallyvolunteered their se