of　her　pocket。　She？d　started　smoking　them　when　she　and　Aaron　had　gotten　together；　because　they

were　supposed　to　be　all　natural　and　additive…free。

As　if　there？s　such　a　big　difference　between　all…natural　carbon　monoxide　and　fake　carbon

monoxide。　Get　real。

？I　still　can？t　believe　how　cool　you　look；？　Serena　breathed；　admiring　Blair？s　hairdo　as　she　lit　her

cigarette。　？Who　knew　you？d　look　sohot　with　short　hair。？

Blair　touched　her　head　self…consciously。　She？d　thought　she　was　supposed　to　be　mad　at　Serena　but

now　she　couldn？t　even　remember　why。　Her　haircutwas　hot；　if　she　did　say　so　herself。

Flattery　can　work　wonders。

？So；　I？ve　been　trying　to　think　of　a　good　present　to　get　for　Aaron；　you　know；　to　congratulate　him

on　getting　into　Harvard？　Can　you　think　of　anything　he　really　wants；　or　maybe　something　he

needs？？

Now　Blair　remembered　why　she　was　mad　at　Serena。Aaron；　Aaron；　Aaron。　It　was　boring　to　the

point　of　utter　nausea。　？Not　really；？　she　yawned　in　response。　？A　makeover？？

？Very　funny；？　Serena　replied。　？Hey；　don？t　we　know　those　girls？？

Across　the　street；　Jenny　and　Elise　were　walking　in　that　self…conscious；　bumping…into…each…other

way　fourteen…year…old　girls　have　of　approaching　people　they？re　embarrassed　to　talk　to。

Eventually　the　two　girls　bumbled　across　the　street。　？We　brought　our　own　cigarettes；？　Jenny

announced　as　nonchalantly　as　she　could；　still　a　little　freaked　out　that　she？d　just　sneaked　out　of

school。

Elise　pulled　a　pack　of　Marlboros　out　of　her　bag；　but　before　she　could　offer　one　to　Jenny；　Serena

tossed　over　her　pack　of　American　Spirits。　？Put　those　away。　These　are　so　much　better　for　you。？

Elise　nodded　her　head　seriously。