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Aaron flinched； as if it hurt to see her looking so incredibly gorgeous。 He held out his
hand。 ？e on。 I heard on the radio the subways are a mess。 I？ll drive you。？
Aw。 How e boys get so much cuter after we break up with them？
V？s first love note of the day
To：vabrams@constancebillard。edu
From：aaron。rose@bronxdale。edu
Subject：idea of the day
Okay I know I just kissed you good…bye like an hour ago； but I had an awesome idea on the way
up to school？man that？s a long…ass subway ride！ Anyway； what if we just get done with our finals
and skip graduation because a） it？s going to be boring； b） our parents could care less； and c） you
said yourself you？re not really a white…dress kind of gal。 We could take off in the Saab； drive to
the Grand Canyon； watch the sun set； eat some one hundred percent organic wild mushrooms； and
dance naked with the coyotes out under the stars。 I want to spend the summer exploring the
country and holding you in the glorious moonlight。 Damn； there？s the bell。 Anyway； think about it。
You？re my girl。
Love you；
A
Who？s that girl？
？And that is why I？m standing here today in a pair of limited…edition Manolo Blahnik dancing
shoes and an Oscar de la Renta suit that was tailored just for me；？ Blair told her audience with an
indulgent smile as she wound up her speech。 ？Don？t ever let anyone tell you should be happy with
what you have。 There？s always more； and there？s no reason you shouldn？t have it all。？
Everyone in the church remained politely silent； as if they weren？t quite sure whether she？d
finished her speech or not。
Not that anyone was actually paying attention。
？Hey； is that who I think it is？？ Kati Farkas whispered to Isabel Coates。 The two girls craned
their necks to see over their classmates？ heads as Vanessa appeared in one of the church？s side
entrances。 Her face was a happy pink and her dress a stunning white。 Her wedge…heeled shoes
were awesome； and her little white fishnet gloves were outstanding。 She looked so different from
her normally black…clad； frowning self； she was barely recognizable。
？Yeah； and she actually looks kind of ？good ；？ Isabel remarked reluctantly。 ？Of course； Blair
picked out her dress。 Otherwise she probably would？ve e wrapped in a white sheet or
something。？
Actually； Vanessahad flirted with the sheet idea； but the Morgane Le Fay dress was so much
more flattering。
？Um； that？s all；？ Blair announced from her place at the podium。 She looked around for Mrs。 M；
and that？s when she noticed Vanessa。 First Blair narrowed her eyes to show that she was pissed as
hell at Vanessa for being so late。 Then she gave her friend and former roommate a thumbs…up for
looking so pletely amazing。 The audience broke out into weak applause as she made her way
back to her seat。
？Thank you； Blair。？ Mrs。 M said； taking her place at the podium。 ？And now； the moment you？ve
all been waiting for。 It is my pleasure to hand out the diplomas to the graduating class。 Vanessa
Marigold Abrams； don？t bother finding a seat。 You？re first。？ She flashed Vanessa one of her rare
and famous warm smiles； forgiving her most alternative graduating senior for missing half the
ceremony。
Marigold？！That？s what you get when you have hippie artist parents。
Vanessa strutted to the front of the room in her awesome shoes； ears burning at the sound of her
ridiculous middle name and eyes shiny with tears； full of love for everyone there； including Mrs。
M。 She couldn？t believe she？d almost missed this。 Clasping the burgundy…leather…bound diploma
case in her hand； her big brown eyes shiny with happy tears； she hugged the headmistress like she
was her long…lost grandma。
？I？m also extremely proud to bestow on you； Vanessa Marigold； the Georgia O？Keeffe Award for
creative excellence；？ Mrs。 M announced。 She placed a light blue satin ribbon around Vanessa？s
neck。 From it hung a gold…plated medal embossed with one of Georgia O？Keeffe？s vaginalike
poppies。 ？Congratulations。？
Vanessa hopped offstage and walked down the center aisle of the church to Blair？s third…row
pew。 ？Can I sit here？？
？Move over；？ Blair told Rain。 Rain was wearing a white tulle dress that looked like an oversized
tutu fromSwan Lake 。 ？Your dress doesn？t needthat much room。？
？Isabel Siobhan Coates；？ Mrs。 M called； holding up Isabel？s diploma。
Vanessa wedged herself in beside Blair and grabbed the graduation program out of her
hands。 ？Shit。 Sorry I missed your speech。？
No she？s not。
？That？s okay。？ Blair tugged on Vanessa？s dress。 ？Tell me you don？t love this and I？ll totally kill
you。 You should wear white； like； every day。？
Vanessa blotted her tears with her thumbs and flipped open the burgundy leather case holding her
diploma。 ？Check it out；？ she breathed。 Both girls studied the gold…embossed piece of parchment
paper upon which was printed Vanessa？s name； followed by the date and the name of their school；
and then a whole bunch of stuff in Latin。 It was totally official looking and totally worthless
looking at the same time。 All those years of uniforms and too much homework forthis？
Vanessa flipped the case closed and held it tight to her chest。 She didn？t care？she？d made it！ And
her whole future lay ahead of her。 After taking every film course NYU offered； she？d bee a
famous indie filmmaker； except she？d stick to true indies？unlike her former mentor； Ken Mogul；
who was totally selling out with that teen movie he was making at Barneys。 It was a good thing
Aaron had broken up with her today； because now she was free to meet all sorts of interesting
people from around the globe； and she could experiment with different relationships。 After all；
wasn？t that what college was all about？
Yeah； maybe。 But again； isn？t she kind of forgetting about someone？？
Some would argue that her last name begins with w
？Serena Caroline van der Woodsen；？ Mrs。 M called out。
？Shit；？ Blair muttered under her breath。 Where the fuckwas Serena； anyway？ She glanced back at
the other van der Woodsens。 They looked perky and excited。 Unbelievably； they still hadn？t quite
grasped the fact that Serena was missing。
？Serena？ Are you present？？ asked the headmistress； scanning the church with her glassy brown
eyes。 ？Has anyone seen Serena？？ The pretty； never…quite…reaching…her…potential blonde was
forever late for morning assemblies； but one would have thought she could pull it together to be on
time for this particular event。
The other girls twittered。 No one offered the headmistress an answer。 Blair glanced back at
Serena？s family once more。 Now they looked confused； although the van der Woodsens never lost
their cool。 Erik jutted his chin at Blair； silently suggesting that she go up to accept Serena？s
diploma for her。
？Blair Cornelia Waldorf；？ Mrs。 M announced sternly。 No Constance girl had ever missed
graduation before； and she was cross now； very cross。 She？d allowed Serena to e back to
Constance after she？d been thrown out of boarding school； and now Serena couldn？t even be
bothered to turn up for mencement？
Thank goodness Blair？sW came right after Serena？sV 。 In fact； some would argue Serena？s last
name began withW and therefore came after Blair？s。 Not that it mattered or that anyone really
cared at this point。
Blair went up to the podium to receive her diploma。 ？I？ll take Serena？s for her；？ she whispered；
hoping her voice wouldn？t carry over the microphone。
Mrs。 M smiled tersely and shook her hand。 ？That won？t be necessary；？ she replied； nodding at
something over Blair？s shoulder。
Blair spun around to find Serena sprinting up the aisle inher suit？exactly the same white satin
Oscar de la Renta suit with the swishy pleated knee…length skirt that she herself was wearing。 And
because Serena was practically a foot taller than Blair and they both weighed the same； it looked
even better on Serena； despite the fact that she was barefoot； her hair was all over the place； and
she？d forgotten her gloves。
？Sorry； Mrs。 M！？ Serena panted； flashing their headmistress the famously charming smile that
had won over everyone from avant…garde artists to the admissions offices at Yale； Brown； Harvard；
and everywhere else she？d applied。 ？Just think？this is the last time I？ll ever be late！？
Blair wanted to slap her for being so charming when she should have been in serious trouble。 In
fact； Serena probably would？ve failed chemistry and not graduated if it hadn？t been for her。 She
hated they way they must look standing side by side in their matching suits。 People probably
thought they？d bought them together or something。 One thing was for sure？Blair was definitely
making Serena change her outfit before her big party at the Yale Club tonight。 No fucking way
was she allowing Marcus to see how much better Serena looked in that damned suit。
Mrs。 M had had enough。 Half an hour of shaking parents？ hands and offering a few lame
anecdotes about their sweet； intelligent daughters； and she was off to Woodstock for the summer
to watch Vonda weed their heirloom tomato collection wearing only the red embroidered halter
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