Heiress ∣ Nate Archibald

The Age of Dissonance

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On the Upper East Side, all the world's a stage and the men and women merely players. But once a year, Constance St. Jude's students shed their usual roles and take on new ones for the senior class play. This year's pick: The Age of Innocence. Before Gossip Girl, there was Edith Wharton and how little has changed. The same society snobs still reigned only in corsets and horse-drawn carriages. 

"When I saw The Age of Innocence, I always pictured myself as Winona. But playing the stronger, more emotionally complex female lead just feels so right. Dorota, hair pin." Blair mused as she sat in front of her own dressing table backstage, her hands running through her hair as Ophelia stood helping one of the nearby Constance students into her costume. "Besides, you're so much more suited to play May who's so... witty." The Waldorf girl gave a backhanded compliment to her blonde best friend causing the heiress to laugh softly at her cousin's lack of subtlety. "Uh... thanks." Serena questioned the appreciation, seeing straight through her friend's disguised insult. 

"At last my life is perfect. My only problem: how to relate to my character. Countess Olenska is a ruined woman with no prospects and let's face it, I have the world on a string. Of course, there is the odious task of playing opposite Dan Humphrey. Dorota, enough. How are you two doing, BTW?". Blair finally questioned her blonde friend as Ophelia continued the finishing touches on the costume in front of her. "I'm just trying not to think of him. Distracting myself with other distractions." Serena blushed slightly as the ravenette let out a small laugh. "You mean your crush on the director?". Ophelia pointed out before the blonde began to get defensive. "Julian is kind of amazing, isn't he? You know he directed--" "Bogosian Off-Broadway in his last year of Julliard? Blah, blah, blah. You can always depend on Constance to snare some wunderkind."

Blair interrupted her best friend causing Serena to turn her attention back into the mirror, quietly questioning just how much she spoke about the boy in question. "Seriously S, aren't you sick of brooding artists?". Ophelia elaborated, reminding her friend of her previous failed artist relationship with the boy who was now Blair's stepbrother. "Well, he broods in the sexiest way. That is, when he's not looking right through me." Serena deducted, narrowing her eyes momentarily at the thought of the rather aloof man. "Oh, my life is so bountiful I don't need a boyfriend to feel fulfilled." Blair gushed to herself before being interrupted by a high-pitched squeal coming from Nelly Yuki's mouth. 

"Ah! Oh, my God. Come look. Come look." "But I do need silence to emotionally prepare for the stage." Blair shunned her minion before getting up and walking in the direction of the squealing girl. "What are you clucking about?". The Waldorf girl questioned. "Nelly just got in early to Yale." Is informed excitedly as the girl in question sat on a nearby stool with her eyes glued on her phone. "Uh, that's impossible. Yale only accepts one Constance student early a year and that's me." Blair explained with confusion, wondering why they had decided to change up their long-standing tradition. "She just got an email directly from Dean Berube." Penelope sassed causing Ophelia to roll her eyes at the girl's out of place attitude whilst Nelly handed the phone towards the brunette.