Novels by Cecily von Ziegesar: Gossip Girl You Know You ... - Weebly

It was a chilly moment. Not the kind of moment you’d expect to
have with your oldest, closest friends.
Serena’s eyes darted from one face to another. Clearly she had said
something wrong, and she quickly guessed what it was. I’m such an
asshole, she scolded herself.
“I mean, I’m sorry I didn’t call you last night. I literally just got back
from Ridgefield. My parents have been hiding me there until they
figured out what to do with me. I have been so bored.”
Nice save.
She waited for Blair to smile gratefully for covering for her, but all
Blair did was glance at Kati and Isabel to see if they’d noticed the
slip. Blair was acting strange, and Serena fought down a rising
panic. Maybe Nate was wrong, maybe Blair really was mad at her.
Serena had missed out on so much. The divorce, for instance. Poor
Blair.
“It must really stink without your dad around,” Serena said. “But
your mom looks so good, and Cyrus is kind of sweet, once you get
used to him.” She giggled.
But Blair still wasn’t smiling. “Maybe,” she said, staring out the
window at the hot-dog stand. “I guess I’m still not used to him.”
All six of them were silent for a long, tense moment.
What they needed was one more good, stiff drink.
Nate rattled the ice cubes in his glass. “Who wants another?” he
offered. “I’ll make them.”
Serena held out her glass. “Thanks, Nate,” she said. “I’m so fucking
thirsty. They locked the damned booze cabinet up in Ridgefield. Can
you believe it?”
Blair shook her head. “No, thanks,” she said.
“If I have another, I’ll be hungover at school tomorrow,” Kati said.
Isabel laughed. “You’re always hungover at school,” she said. She
handed Nate her glass. “Here, I’ll split mine with Kati.”
“Let me give you a hand,” Chuck offered. But before he could get
very far, Mrs. van der Woodsen joined them, touching her
daughter’s arm.
“Serena,” her mother said. “Eleanor would like us all to sit down.
She made an extra place next to Blair for you, so you two girls can
catch up.”
Serena cast an anxious glance at Blair, but Blair had already turned
away and was headed for the table, sitting down next to her elevenyear-old
brother, Tyler, who had been at his place for over an hour,
reading Rolling Stone magazine. Tyler’s idol was that movie director,
Cameron Crowe, who had toured with Led Zeppelin when he was
only fifteen. Tyler refused to listen to CDs, insisting that real vinyl
records were the only way to go. Blair worried her brother was