anything.
Blair rolled her eyes, and blew into her hot chocolate. Thats the whole point. Were
raising money for them. Its a cause. Kati wound a lock of her frizzy blond hair around her
finger. What is a peregrine falcon anyway? she said. Is it like a woodpecker? No, I think
theyre bigger, Tina said. And they eat other animals, you know, like rabbits and mice and
stuff.
Gross, Kati said.
I just read a definition of what one was the other day, Isabel mused. I cant remember
where I saw it. GossipGirl.net, perhaps? Theyre almost extinct, Blair added. She thumbed
through the list of people they were inviting to the party. There were three hundred and
sixteen all together. All young peopleno parents, thank God. Blairs eyes were
automatically drawn to a name toward the bottom of the list: Serena van der Woodsen. The
address given was her dorm room at Hanover Academy, in New Hampshire. Blair put the list
back down on the table without correcting Serenas address. Were going to have to spend the
extra money on the printer and cut corners where we can, she said quickly. I can tell
Takashimaya to use lilies instead of orchids and forget about the peacock feathers around
the rims of the vases.
I can do the invitations, a small, clear voice said from behind them. For free. The four
girls turned around to see who it was. Oh look, its that little Ginny girl, Blair thought.
The ninth grader who did the calligraphy in our school hymnals.
I can do them all by hand tonight and put them in the mail. The materials are the only
cost, but I know where to get good quality paper cheap, Jenny Humphrey said. She did all
our hymnals at school, Kati whispered to Tina. They look really good.
Yeah, Isabel agreed. Theyre pretty cool. Jenny blushed and stared at the shiny linoleum
floor of the coffee shop, waiting for Blair to make up her mind. She knew Blair was the
one who mattered. And youll do it all for free? Blair said, suspiciously. Jenny raised her
eyes. I was kind of hoping that if I did the invites, maybe I could come to the party? she
said. Blair weighed the pros and cons in her mind. Pros: The invitations would be unique
and best of all, free, so they wouldnt have to skimp on the flowers. Cons: There really
werent any. Blair looked the Ginny girl up and down. Their cute little ninth-grade helper
with the huge chest. She was a total glutton for punishment, and shed be totally out of
place at the party . . . but who cared? Sure, you can make yourself an invitation. Make
one for one of your friends, too, Blair said, handing the guest list over to Jenny. How
generous. Blair gave Jenny all the necessary information, and Jenny dashed out of the
coffee shop breathlessly. The stores would be closing soon, and she didnt have much time.
The guest list was longer than shed anticipated, and shed have to stay up all night
working on
the invitations, but she was going to the party; that was all that mattered. Just wait
until she told Dan. He was going to freak. And she was going to make him come with her to
the party, whether he liked it or not.
Two martinis and three rolls of Remi brothers film later, Serena jumped out of a cab in
front of Constance and ran up the stairs to the auditorium, where the interschool play
rehearsal had already begun. As always, she was half an hour late.
The sound of a Talking Heads song being played jauntily on the piano drifted down the
hallway. Serena pushed open the auditorium door to find her old friend, Ralph Bottoms III,
singing Burning Down the South, to the tune of Burning Down the House, with a completely
straight face. He was dressed as Rhett Butler, complete with fake mustache and brass
buttons. Ralph had gained weight in the last two years, and his face was ruddy, as if hed
been eating too much rare steak. He was holding hands with a stocky girl with curly brown
hair and a heart-shaped
Blair rolled her eyes, and blew into her hot chocolate. Thats the whole point. Were
raising money for them. Its a cause. Kati wound a lock of her frizzy blond hair around her
finger. What is a peregrine falcon anyway? she said. Is it like a woodpecker? No, I think
theyre bigger, Tina said. And they eat other animals, you know, like rabbits and mice and
stuff.
Gross, Kati said.
I just read a definition of what one was the other day, Isabel mused. I cant remember
where I saw it. GossipGirl.net, perhaps? Theyre almost extinct, Blair added. She thumbed
through the list of people they were inviting to the party. There were three hundred and
sixteen all together. All young peopleno parents, thank God. Blairs eyes were
automatically drawn to a name toward the bottom of the list: Serena van der Woodsen. The
address given was her dorm room at Hanover Academy, in New Hampshire. Blair put the list
back down on the table without correcting Serenas address. Were going to have to spend the
extra money on the printer and cut corners where we can, she said quickly. I can tell
Takashimaya to use lilies instead of orchids and forget about the peacock feathers around
the rims of the vases.
I can do the invitations, a small, clear voice said from behind them. For free. The four
girls turned around to see who it was. Oh look, its that little Ginny girl, Blair thought.
The ninth grader who did the calligraphy in our school hymnals.
I can do them all by hand tonight and put them in the mail. The materials are the only
cost, but I know where to get good quality paper cheap, Jenny Humphrey said. She did all
our hymnals at school, Kati whispered to Tina. They look really good.
Yeah, Isabel agreed. Theyre pretty cool. Jenny blushed and stared at the shiny linoleum
floor of the coffee shop, waiting for Blair to make up her mind. She knew Blair was the
one who mattered. And youll do it all for free? Blair said, suspiciously. Jenny raised her
eyes. I was kind of hoping that if I did the invites, maybe I could come to the party? she
said. Blair weighed the pros and cons in her mind. Pros: The invitations would be unique
and best of all, free, so they wouldnt have to skimp on the flowers. Cons: There really
werent any. Blair looked the Ginny girl up and down. Their cute little ninth-grade helper
with the huge chest. She was a total glutton for punishment, and shed be totally out of
place at the party . . . but who cared? Sure, you can make yourself an invitation. Make
one for one of your friends, too, Blair said, handing the guest list over to Jenny. How
generous. Blair gave Jenny all the necessary information, and Jenny dashed out of the
coffee shop breathlessly. The stores would be closing soon, and she didnt have much time.
The guest list was longer than shed anticipated, and shed have to stay up all night
working on
the invitations, but she was going to the party; that was all that mattered. Just wait
until she told Dan. He was going to freak. And she was going to make him come with her to
the party, whether he liked it or not.
Two martinis and three rolls of Remi brothers film later, Serena jumped out of a cab in
front of Constance and ran up the stairs to the auditorium, where the interschool play
rehearsal had already begun. As always, she was half an hour late.
The sound of a Talking Heads song being played jauntily on the piano drifted down the
hallway. Serena pushed open the auditorium door to find her old friend, Ralph Bottoms III,
singing Burning Down the South, to the tune of Burning Down the House, with a completely
straight face. He was dressed as Rhett Butler, complete with fake mustache and brass
buttons. Ralph had gained weight in the last two years, and his face was ruddy, as if hed
been eating too much rare steak. He was holding hands with a stocky girl with curly brown
hair and a heart-shaped
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