Gossip Girl: It Had To Be You

Epilogue

Erik's red Jeep bounced along the twisting local New Hampshire roads on the way to Hanover Academy, threatening to dislodge Serena's trunk from the roof. Serena sat in the passenger seat with her bare feet perched on the black dashboard, wearing a gigantic pair of tortoiseshell Gucci sunglasses. She hadn't spoken since they'd left Manhattan, and she remained silent now. Erik was listening to a Beatles compilation album playing very softly on the car stereo.

I don't know why you say goodbye

I say hello

"Dad's a freaking genius, getting you in the way he did. You didn't even have to write a freaking essay!" Erik declared. He glanced at his sister. "And when we get there you'll probably score the biggest single room on freaking campus, you lucky duck."Guess who's not feeling so lucky?Serena remained silent. Over and over in her head, she was writing e-mails. First there was the one to Blair in which she would confess everything and ask to be forgiven. Then there was the one to Nate, telling him that she couldn't live without him and so would he please ditch Blair and come to Hanover to be with her? Then there was the one in which she set Nate free, telling him that their hookup had been nice and all, but she had a whole future of hookups ahead of her. And then there was the chatty one she wrote to both of them sounding thrilled to be away, and full of funny little details about her fantastic new life at boarding school.

Great food, great friends, good times!

None of these e-mails would ever get sent. As her old nanny Agatha used to say when she was little and would cry at the sight of peas on her plate, "You get what you get and you don't get upset." Blair would have Nate forever, and she would have him for just that one, perfect night.Her new green metallic Treo was clutched in her white-knuckled hands, where it had been the whole ride up. She flipped it open and snapped a picture of her bare toes on the dashboard. Her toenails were chipped and weather-beaten, but they were still painted all different colors, the way they'd been that night with Nate. She pressed send and e-mailed the picture to him, hoping it would make him laugh. Then she flipped her phone closed and tossed it into her bag. Two big, glistening tears slid down her cheeks.

Hello, hello

I don't know why you say goodbye

I say hello

GOSSIPGIRL.NET

hey people!

Summer has finally come to an end and school's starting all over again. But our favorite, most fabulous classmate is missing. Everyone who's anyone is talking about why she decided to go to boarding school in the first place. Why would the most popular, beautiful, best-loved girl in the city leave? Of course, some of us know the truth—at least, we think we do. And if we don't know the truth, we have our opinions, and we're always willing to share them.

your e-mail

Q: Hey GG,

I was in a play this summer at a theater-acting workshop near Ridgefield, Connecticut, and there was this girl in it who was, like, a total mess. Like she would go home with every guy in the whole play, including the kind of old director, and I'm pretty sure she was on drugs. When I heard she was going to boarding school I was like, oh, no, bad idea. She needs parents! 

 —gdgrl

A: Dear gdgrl,

It's nice of you to worry, but you'd be surprised. Boarding schools have honor codes and rule books. They can be very strict. Of course we all know that rules are meant to be broken. . . .

—GG

Q: Dear GG,

All the girls at my boarding school are talking about this new girl, and basically, we've all decided she's bad news. If she's going to have any friends at all, they're gonna be boys.

—bordgrl

A: Dear bordgrl,

Are you quite sure this is the tactic you want to take? Do you really want the new girl to be best friends with your boyfriend? Wait, this is all starting to sound weirdly familiar.

—GG

sightings

N carrying B's brand-new nickel-plated Balenciaga book bag while he walked her to school—wearing a leash. Just kidding. V, D, and J shopping for new school clothes at vintage stores in Williamsburg. Looking forward to another year at the loner table? Sorry, that was mean, but most of the time vintage clothes just look . . . old. C handing out his glossy new headshot in front of L'École, where all the easy—I mean French—girls go. K and I getting to Constance Billard early on the first day and waiting outside with buttered bagels and cappuccinos for everyone, including the teachers. Guess they simply could not wait till school started! S at a table full of adorable boys hanging on her every word in the dining hall at Hanover Academy. She can't be suffering too much, right?

questions

Will B and N stay together? Will they ever seal the deal? And when they do, will she guess that he's been there, done that already?

Will J's chest stop growing? Will she ever meet a nice boy who likes her for her pretty smile? Or will her you-know-whats keep growing so we can't see her smile anymore? For her sake, I sure hope not

Will V ever admit to D that she thinks about what he looks like without his crappy old T-shirt on? Wait, what does he look like without his crappy old T-shirt on?

Will D ever get over S and admit that he already has a girlfriend?

Will S get over N? Will she survive boarding school? Will she thrive at boarding school? Will she ever come back?

Some of you already know the answers—at least, you think you do. If you don't, you know where to find them. I have no plans to stop talking about any of the above.

Until next time.

You know you love me,

gossip girl