Gossip Girl: A Novel

Messages

"Hey Nate. It's Serena. I'm just calling to see what you're up to. I thought maybe we could go out tonight, but you know what? I'm tired. It's only ten, but I think I'm going to bed. I'll see you this weekend though, okay? I can't wait. Love you. Nighty-night."

Serena hung up. Her room felt very quiet. Even Fifth Avenue was still, except for the occasional passing taxi.

From where she sat on her big canopy bed, she could see the silver-framed photograph of her family, taken in Greece when she was twelve. The captain of the sailboat they'd chartered had taken the picture. They were all in bathing suits, and her brother, Erik, who was fourteen at the time, was making a big fart kiss on Serena's cheek while their parents looked on, laughing. Serena had gotten her period for the first time on that trip. She'd been so embarrassed, she couldn't bear to tell her parents, but what was she supposed to do, trapped on a boat? They were anchored off the island of Rhodes, and while their parents were snorkeling and Serena and Erik were supposed to be having windsurfing lessons, Erik had swum ashore, stolen a Vespa, and bought her some maxi pads. He came back with them in a little plastic bag, tied on top of his head, her hero.

Serena had thrown her ruined underwear overboard. They were probably still there, stuck on a reef somewhere.

Now Erik was a freshman at Brown, and Serena never got to see him. He had been in France with her that summer, but they'd both spent the whole time chasing or being chased by boys and girls, so they'd never really had time to talk.

Serena picked up the phone again and pressed the speed-dial button for her brother's off-campus apartment. The phone rang and rang until finally the voicemail system picked up.

"If you would like to leave a message for Dillon, press one. If you would like to leave a message for Tim, press two. If you would like to leave a message for Drew, press three. If you would like to leave a message for Erik, press four."

Serena pressed four and then hesitated. " . . . Hey . . . it's Serena. Sorry I haven't called in a while. But you could have called me too, you big jerk. I was stuck up in Ridgefield, bored out of my mind, until this weekend, and now I'm back in the city. I had my first day of school today. It was kind of strange. Actually it sucked. Everyone is . . . everything is . . . I don't know . . . it's weird. . . . Anyway, call me. I miss your hairy ass. I'll send you a care-package as soon as I get a chance. Love you. Bye."