小说园

第11部分（第1页）

her　dramatic　departure　from　Marcus？s　hometown。　Had　he　even　noticed　she　was　gone？

？？this　is　the　perfect　opportunity　for　you　to　find　some　work　for　the　summer。　A　job。？

Awhat　？　No　prende；　se？ora。

The　room　was　spinning。　？What　did　you　just　say；　Mom？　Ajob　？？

？Yes；　dear。　A　job。？

Blair　fell　back　onto　the　pillows　and　threw　her　arm　over　her　eyes。　？But　I？lldie　if　I　have　to　work。？

？Don？t　overreact；？　Eleanor　insisted。　？It？ll　be　a　terrific　experience　before　starting　school。？

？Haveyou　ever　worked？？　Blair　demanded。　She　began　to　flip　through　the　magazine　angrily；

almost　tearing　the　pages　as　she　turned　them。　She？d　just　fled　a　country；　having　been　spurned　by　the

love　of　her　life。　A　lecture　from　her　never…worked…a…day…in…her…life　mother　on　the　merits　of

employment　and　pulling　herself　up　by　her　bootstraps　was　the　absolutelast　thing　she　needed。

？That？s　beside　the　point；？　Eleanor　replied　evenly。　？We？re　not　talking　about　me；　we？re　talking

about　you　helping　to　pay　some　of　these　exorbitant　bills。　If　you？re　going　to　spend　this　much；

you？re　going　to　have　to　earn　something。？

Workfor　the　summer？　Blair　closed　her　eyes？no　one　she　knew　was　working　during　this；　their　last

summer　vacation　ever。　No　one！　Well；　except　for　Nate；　but　that　was　a　punishment。　There　was

Serena；　too；　but　that　wasn？t　really　a　job？it　was　a　dream　e　true。

Blair？s　eyes　suddenly　came　to　rest　on　the　page　in　front　of　her。Speak　of　the　fucking　devil　。　There；

smack…dab　in　the　middle　of　Suzy？s　latest　reports　on　all　the　society　gossip；　was　a　photograph　of

Serena　van　der　Woodsen　arm　in　arm　with　the　designer　Bailey　Winter。　Blair　remembered　when　that

photograph　had　been　taken；　at　Winter？s　runway　presentation　the　previous　season。　She　and　Serena

had　been　seated　in　the　front　row？naturally？and　when　the　designer　had　e　out　to　take　his　final

bow；　he？d　noticed　Serena　in　the　audience　and　pulled　her　up　onto　the　runway　with　him。

Tuning　out　her　mother？s　relentless　drone；　Blair　scanned　the　page　to　see　whether　there　was　some

news　about　Serena。　And　indeed　there　was：　Suzy？s　column　was　all　about　how　Bailey　Winter　had

signed　on　with　Ken　Mogul　to　provide　the　costumes　for　Mogul？s　new　film　project；Breakfast　at

Fred？s。　It　wasn？t　enough　that　Serena　got　to　star　in　a　movie　with　Thaddeus　Smith；　she　also　got　to

wear　custom　designs　by　one　of　the　best　living　American　designers？

？I　just　think　it？s　a　matter　of　responsibility；　Blair；？　her　mother　declared。　？You　know；　when　you

turn　twenty…one　you？ll　get　access　to　your　trust　fund；　and　your　father　and　Cyrus　and　I　need　to　know

that　you？ll　handle　the　money　responsibly。　We　feel　very　strongly　that　a　job　is　the　perfect　way　for

you　to　learn　to　manage　money　and　carry　out　other　people？s　wishes；　not　just　your　own。？

Blair　glared　at　the　ugly　eggplant…colored　bedspread。　Fine；　she？d　get　a　summer　job。　But　she　was

not　going　to　settle　for　anything　less　than　the　most　glamorous　summer　job　imaginable。

？You　know；？　she　mused；　？maybe　you？re　right。　Maybe　a　job　is　just　what　I　need　to　keep　myself

busy　this　summer。？