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Hanover。
？I might get a haircut； too；？ Rufus replied； sounding chipper。 His wiry salt…and…pepper hair was
pulled back into a straggly ponytail held by a rainbow…colored twist…tie that had e on a bag of
flaxseed bagels from the Whole Foods near their Upper West Side apartment building。 To go with
his fancy hairstyle； Rufus was wearing a red…and…white checked Western…style snap…up…the…front
short…sleeved shirt； heavy brown canvas Carhartt work shorts； and scuffed beige suede
Birkenstock clogs with black wool socks。
Nothing like the country to bring out one？s sense of fashion。
？Oh。 Good。？ Jenny tried not to get too excited。 The last time Rufus had gotten his hair
cut？sometime around her thirteenth birthday？he had gone to a Lower East Side salon popular with
drag queens and gotten bangs with purple streaks in them。 ？So； I？ll just go on my tour and meet
you at that place in town；？ she added； referring to the bookstore caf？ they？d passed on the way
through the town of Hanover。 The campus was a mile…and…a…half walk from town along a nice
tree…lined path。 It would be reassuring to have that distance between herself and Rufus； in case he
decided to start a political movement or something equally insane out of sheer anxiety at having to
leave the city。
？You got it！？ Rufus pecked her on the cheek with his grizzly mouth before striding down the path
with exaggerated jauntiness。 ？Don？t do anything I wouldn？t do！？ he called out behind him。
As if there were anything he wouldn？t do。
Jenny tugged on the pretty jade green cap…sleeved blouse she？d bought at Scoop in Soho on
Saturday。 It was Japanese and had little dragonflies stenciled all over it。 She？d buttoned it up all
the way to the collar； but now that her dad was on his way； she unbuttoned the top two buttons；
revealing her most surprising assets？her 34 double…Ds。
No reason the boys at Hanover shouldn？t know what they were in for。
She extracted her laminated campus map from her
bought…on…the…street…outside…of…Bloomingdales…but…looked…just…like…Serena？s imitation Louis
Vuitton Calla Lily bag。 The school？s ivy…covered old brick buildings were right out of an
Abercrombie & Fitch catalog； but Jenny was disappointed not to see any gorgeous； half…naked；
sun…dappled boys playing Frisbee out on the lawns。 Riley； the girls？ dormitory where she？d
arranged to meet her host； was on the other side of the parking lot； perched on top of a grassy
hillock。 It was a gorgeous summer day； and the air smelled like fresh…cut grass。
？I already love it here；？ Jenny whispered； her skin tingling with excitement。 Her whole life was
about to change。 No more uniforms。 No more bitchy； cliquey girls who would spend hours
dissecting a girl？s choice of mauve lip gloss over pink。 No more being known only for her
excellent calligraphy； her overhyped Internet scandal； or her supposedly pornographic photo
shoots。 No more rumors； no more scandal。
Well； maybe that was taking it a little too far。 There was nothing wrong with a little scandal。 It
was just that at a boarding school like Hanover； the bar for scandal would be considerably higher。
Jenny？s host； Fiona Castagnoli； was waiting for her outside the door to Riley。 Fiona looked like a
forty…five…year…old soccer mom？short and pudgy； in a coral…pink…and…white striped J。Crew oxford
shirt tucked into stone…colored L。L。 Bean Bermuda shorts。 Her white socks were folded neatly at
the ankle； and her white…on…white Reebok sneakers were brand…spanking…new。 ？Jennifer？？ she
asked eagerly； her supercurly； tight auburn ponytail bouncing between her shoulder blades。 ？We
have to hurry。 I？m taking you to study hall and we？re already five minutes late！？
Fiona was lugging a lime green Lands？ End backpack with every book she owned in it。 Jenny
blinked at her。 When she？d thought about ing to visit Hanover； she？d imagined hanging out in
a dorm room with chic skinny blond girls； drinking vodka gimlets and flirting with boys smoking
pipes； their school neckties flopping loosely against their tanned bare chests。 ？If you have lots of
work to do I could； like； hang out here and wait for you；？ she offered。
？Oh； could you？？ Fiona cried。 She seemed immensely relieved。 ？You see； it？s finals week next
week； and I have forty…seven Spanish irregulars to study and thirteen proofs to do for geometry。？
Jenny peered inside the open door。 A few girls lounged in leather armchairs in the
crystal…chandeliered mon room reading magazines and listening to their iPod minis。 Jenny
recognized a red…and…white rose…patterned Marc Jacobs top on one of them。 And one girl was
wearing the pair of gold Belle by Sigerson Morrison flats she？d coveted all spring but had never
saved up enough to buy。 They looked exactly like the types of girls she would have wanted to be
friends with。 All that was missing were the boys with the pipes and the vodka。
？I？ll stay here；？ she told Fiona firmly。
？Okay。？ Fiona hitched her ugly green backpack up on her shoulder。 ？I？ll e back and get you
in； like； an hour and ten。 We can get bagels in the caf？ and I？ll show you my room。？
Whoa； sounds like a party。
Jenny was already sure she was never going to see Fiona again because Fiona was going to get so
caught up in her irregular verbs or whatever； she？d forget all about how she？d left Jenny with the
coolest； worst…behaved girls at Hanover。 She pulled a tube of Chanel Stroppy lip gloss out of her
bag and smeared some on。 Then she stepped inside the mon room。 ？Hi；？ she announced
shyly。 ？I？m Jennifer。 I？m visiting from the city？ I go to Constance Billard？you know； where
Serena van der Woodsen went？？ She knew it was lame to mention Serena right away； but she
wanted these girls to know that she was cool； that she was one of them。
One girl with short black hair and beautifully painted Chanel Vamp toenails glanced her way but
then looked quickly away again。 Other than that； no one seemed to hear what she？d said。 The
wood paneling in the mon room gave off an amber glow； and the oriental carpet beneath
Jenny？s feet was in perfect condition。 She felt like she was in the den of some old mansion rather
than in a school。
？So； I hear Hanover can get pretty crazy sometimes。 At least； that？s what Serena told me；？ Jenny
babbled on； still standing in the doorway like an idiot。 She wanted to make it very clear that she
didn？t just knowof Serena。 They were pals。
？Shush；？ whispered a beautiful blond girl with legs so long and so tan； they looked fake。 ？You？re
going to get us in trouble。？
Hello？Since when were Hanover girls worried about getting into trouble？
？Sorry；？ Jenny muttered meekly。 She sat down in an empty leather chair； wincing at the noisy
farting sound it made when her bare legs rubbed against it。 She placed her faux Louis Vuitton bag
primly on her lap； wishing she？d at least thought to bring a book。 Out of the corner of her eye； she
caught the girl with short black hair checking her out once more。 Jenny pulled an old receipt from
Duane Reade out of the side pocket of her bag and then hunted for the stubby Hello Kitty pencil
she？d had since fifth grade。
What？s the deal？ I thought Hanover was supposed to be totally WILD； she scribbled on the back
of the receipt。 Then she folded up the receipt and daringly tossed it in the short…haired girl？s lap。
Less than a minute later the receipt came back with blue pen all over it。Well； basically； the little
episode with your friend Serena （who used to be my neighbor here in Riley？when she was actually
around） ruined everything。 After getting rid of her； they instituted the disciplinary code； which
basically says that if you tell on your friends； you get privileges。 There？s so much incentive to tell
on your friends that no one ever does anything worth talking about anymore。 This place is totally
dry； quiet； and B。O。R。I。N。G！！！ I？m a senior； though； so I？m outta here？YAY！
Jenny looked up from the note and studied the other girls in the room more carefully。 One of the
iPod listeners was muttering to herself； and Jenny realized she wasn？t listening to the latest
downloads but rather memorizing Spanish conjugations。 A petite Asian girl with thick pigtails who
Jenny had thought was reading a fashion magazine was actually pletely engrossed inScience
Digest 。
Uh…oh。
I probably wouldn？t get in anyway； Jenny scribbled back。 She tossed the note to the girl； then
stood up。 Applications for boarding school were supposed to have been done in the fall； so she
was pushing it timewise wherever she decided to go； never mind who would have her。 But surely
there were other schools that weren？t quite as strict as Hanover clearly was now。
She went outside and wound her way back to the school gates； wishing that she hadn？t sent her
father away in such a hurry。 Heading down the path toward town she came upon a blond boy in a
red Ralph Lauren baseball cap； a white V…neck T…shirt； and floppy aqua…colored J。Crew linen pants；
smoking a Marlboro as he shuffled slowly back toward campus。 He was pletely adorable。
Jenny smiled shyly at him as he approached； mustering up the courage to ask hi