cameras； squaring her shoulders。 ？No ment。？ Ditto。
TO： bwaldorf@constancebillard。edu
FROM： caligirl90210@gmail。
Subject： We？re roomies！
Dear Blair；
I wasso excited when I got my roommate assignment in the mail this morning！ Aren？t you
justdying to get to Yale？ I？ve been shopping all week （make that all summer！）； since it？ll be a pain
once we？re on campus？doesn？t it totally suck that freshmen aren？t allowed to have cars
anymore？！
I guess I better back up and tell you a little about myself： I live in Beverly Hills and my dad？s a
cosmetic dentist。 Which means my whole family has perfect teeth。 Anyway； I？m not sure what
I？m going to miss most about Cali？my parents； my convertible； my swimming pool； or the malls。
But I guess Macy？s is only a train ride away。
I？ve been skating all my life。 I went to nationals in pairs skating with Ashton； my partner； who
was also my boyfriend until I broke up with him last week。 My favorite store is the Build…A…Bear
Workshop。 I have ahuge teddy bear collection。 My favorite color is white； which technically isn？t
a color； but it？s the color of my ice skates and ice when it？s been skated on； plus my birthstone is a
pearl； which is also white。 When Ashton and I won regionals； I wore the most beautiful peal tiara。
So； you？re from New York？ That？s all the housing slip said。 Do you live in Manhattan？ I？ve
never been there。 What was your high school like？ Do you have a boyfriend？ I was going out with
Ashton for almost two years； but I thought it would be better to break up before college。 Long
distance relationships just don？t last。 。 。 。
Anyway； I？m beyond excited to meet you！ Please write back soon and tell me all about yourself。
We？re going to have the best time this fall； and I hope we？ll bee lifelong friends。 Oh and my
stuffed French bulldog CeeCee says hello too！
xoxoxo；
Alana
TO： caligirl90210@gmail。
FROM： Bwaldorf@constancebillard。edu
Subject： re： We？re roomies！
Dear Alana；
That？s so weird？my family is actually moving from New York to L。A。 really soon。 It will be cool
to know someone if I？m forced to spend breaks there。
So 。 。 。 about me： I grew up in Manhattan on the Upper East Side and attended an all…girls school
called Constance Billard。 My mom married a moron and had a baby even though they？re like
ninety years old。 I named her Yale。 My parents are divorced and my dad lives in a chateau on a
vineyard in France。 He and his boyfriend just adopted Cambodian twins。 I can？t even talk about it。
Yes； I have a boyfriend？his name is Nate； and we？ve been togetherforever 。 This past summer we
borrowed his father？s yacht and sailed around for a month and fell totally in love all over again；
and lucky for you he？s ing to Yale； too。 Why so lucky？ Because you？ll get the room all to
yourself once Natie and I find a house together off…campus。 It？s all working out so perfectly I
could just scream with happiness。
See you soon！
Sincerely；
Blair
P。S。 But seriously； we can？t have cars oncampus？
to err is human； to forgive is against b？s rules
Blair surveyed the various Louis Vuitton trunks that surrounded her； the endless LV monograms
multiplying and making her feel dizzy。 She grabbed a stack of Fair Isle sweaters and held the soft
material to her cheek for a minute before throwing them into an empty trunk。 Looking around at
the half…packed trunks and suitcases； at Aaron？s old； smelly room in a state of total disarray； she
still couldn？t quite believe her family was really moving to California？or that she had to bring
every single piece of winter clothing she owned to Yale with her； since she？d never be able to
wear it in L。A。 anyway。 The whole process of packing some things for college and some things for
California was made all the more obnoxious by the fact that she had toship the trunks to Yale since
she wouldn？t be driving her beautiful bisque…colored BMW to school。 Why the fuck did Yale have
to change the rules about bringing a car the very yearshe was going there？ Blair sighed； flopping
down on the ugly hemp bedspread。 She couldn？t imagine anything more depressing than having to
take the freakingtrain to school。
Well； she could hitchhike。 That might be fun。
Blair closed her eyes and tried to picture what Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks would be like
in Los Angeles。 There would be no sledding in Central Park or walking up Fifth Avenue at
Christmastime with Serena； making fun of the tourists gawking at the Saks windows。 No more
ice…skating at Rockefeller Center with Nate under the enormous tree； a cloudy December sky
threatening snow overhead。 It was painfully sunny almost every day of the year in Los Angeles；
and there was practically no ozone layer； for God？s sake。 She？d have to slather herself in SPF 40
just to open a fucking window。
She sat up； grabbed a trunk； and began filling it with armloads of silk underwear。 If she and Nate
couldn？t share New York anymore； at least they？d have the perfect home together in New
Haven？maybe a little stone cottage close to campus with ivy climbing gaily up the gray stone
walls。 They would sit facing each other in front of a roaring fire； drinking gin and tonics and
studying。 She？d make flash cards to help him study for his economics exams； and they？d cook
dinner together every night； moving carefully around each other in the cozy kitchen。 Nate would
stop in the middle of carving the venison from the deer he？d shot himself on last weekend？s
hunting trip and take her in his arms； covering her with kisses until； dinner forgotten； he would lay
her down on the bearskin rug？from a bear he had killed and skinned？slowly peeling her clothes
from her body。 。 。 。
Blair dropped the pair of black cropped Gucci jodhpurs she was holding and grabbed her cell；
hitting speed dial number 3。 Nate？s phone went straight to voice mail 。 。 。 again。 She threw the
phone onto the cat…pee…stained； sea…grass…mat…covered floor and it went skittering into the
corner。Wherewas he？
Then the door opened and Nate walked in； as if on cue。 Blair jumped to her feet and threw
herself into his arms； purring against his chest。 ？I just called you！？ She wrapped her arms around
him and squeezed tight； breathing in the scent of summer and his slightly sweaty armpits。 But
Nate didn？t seem to be hugging her back。 She pulled back ever so slightly and looked up into his
face。 He looked serious？and Nate never looked serious。
Uh…oh。
？What？s wrong？？ Blair demanded； her brow furrowing。 Without waiting for an answer she
turned around and began folding pairs of jeans； working methodically。 If she kept busy； maybe she
wouldn？t have an aneurysm。 What the fuck was going on？
？I have to tell you something； Blair。？ Nate？s voice was shaking。 ？There？s something important
I？ve been keeping from you。？ Blair？s heart bumped crazily in her chest。 He looked so totallywhite
under his tan。 Seeing him so obviously upset made her even more nervous。 She sat down on a
closed trunk and waited。 Had Serena finally told Nate she was in love with him？ Did he love
Serena back？ Werethey goin