AN: Slightly revised because I forgot to add a very integral aspect to the story. Oops. And I also fixed a few grammatical errors. I still don't use a beta so please point out any more errors. Thanks!


Chapter Seven: Into the Wild: An Introduction and the first two days


"Childhood is the fiery furnace in which we are melted down to essentials and that essential shaped for good." - Katherine Anne Porter


Thursday, March 8, 2029

"As much as I know you all are excited for your spring break, I'm going to have to ruin your fantasies of frolicking around the beach by reminding you all that you have your next paper due the week after we get back from break."

The sounds of exasperated sighs filled the classroom, and I rolled my eyes. They act as if they hadn't known about the observation assignment.

"Remember, all you have to do is observe an adolescent, it can be more than one if you want, for a total of twenty four hours. And trust me, there are a variety of ways you can do this so don't give me that face, Riley." Dr. Lindemann said as he gave a pointed look to the idiot who sat in the front.

"The report should include your thorough observation notes and a comparison of your target adolescent's behaviors with the developmental theories we've studied so far. Now that I've said all that, class is dismissed."


"It's not fair, you know."

"We both know who you're going to observe, and you'll get an A because of them."

I stopped walking to look at my green-eyed friend, unable to keep the goofy-looking smile off of my face.

"I can't help that my family members are deeply entrenched in complicated and dramatic lives. It's a genetic predisposition that we have to live with."

Margot shook her head and nudged my shoulder with her own as we broke out into laughter and continued our way back home.

"Still, I'm jealous. The only person who fit's the criteria that I've got easy access to is boring and follows your niece around like a puppy."

"Margot, don't say that about your sister! She can't help but become Constance's side-kick. Those Waldorf-Basses just have personalities that scream, 'Serve me, plebe!'"

It wasn't that I was trying to insult my younger relatives, but what I said was honestly true. They had a habit of bossing people around while simultaneously charming them, which resulted in them getting their way with little to no protests.

"Nothing is going to be more fun than observing the daily lives of Tristan and Evangeline Bass." Margot said, getting a little wistful at the end.

"You say fun, I say exhausting."

"So when are you going to start?" She asked as I opened the door to our shared apartment on the Upper West Side.

"As soon as possible. I'm thinking of spending the break with them, so I can observe the two while they're at school." I replied before making my way to my bedroom.

I figured that I might as well pack since I knew Blair wouldn't object to me staying over. I rifled through my closet and pulled out enough outfits to last me a month, but I had a feeling that I would need as many options as I could give myself. Tristan and Evey were very prominent in the social scene, and I knew that a good part of my paper was going to come from whatever happened next weekend.

Whenever I thought about it, I always laughed. Two of Manhattan's most well known celebutantes weren't allowed to go out past seven in the evening on school nights. They only had Friday and Saturday to go out with their friends and do the debauched things rich kids did. It was a rule that Blair and Chuck had made and put into action whenever one of the kids hit junior high, and so far they've abided it completely.

After I finished packing I put the suitcase by the door and began to outline my project. I knew that one day's worth of observations couldn't capture the complex comportments of Tristan Étienne and Evangeline Cecilia Bass. Margot had made fun about my over-achieving personality, but it really was a two-for-one deal. The two were each other's best friend and were practically welded at the hip, always had been.

I remember when I first met my niece. It had been almost a year since Blair had taken Tristan and moved to France to live with her father in Reims, but when my parents and I got there, we stayed in the new penthouse in Paris. I hadn't known that Blair and Chuck were having marital problems back then, so I figured that they were just taking a long vacation.

Evangeline was the prettiest baby my five-year-old eyes had ever seen. She looked like a porcelain doll with her big blue eyes and her light brown corkscrew curls. Her hair had turned a shockingly bright blonde after a few weeks, and both Chuck and Blair had been more than a little surprised. Harold had said that little Evey was bound to stand out in her life, so it was only fitting that she stood out in a family of dark haired people.

Mother and Daddy had brought mountains of presents for the new baby, but she didn't seem interested at all. The only thing that could keep her attention was her big brother.

Tristan had grown a lot in the year he was in France. He was able to walk and talk, and he finally started to outgrow his whiney behavior. I remember being thoroughly put out by the fact that he didn't seem to want to play with me half as much as he wanted to play with his sister. He had always been my favorite toy to play with, but Daddy had told me that since I was much older than them I was now the big girl and that meant that I had to watch over them.

I remember babysitting them with Dorota; we would put Evey, in her basket, on the floor and Tristan would dangle random toys over her, trying to make her laugh. The two of us would play peek-a-boo with her, and she would giggle with glee. She was a happy baby for the most part, and I knew even back then that nothing could have made my sister and her husband happier than that.


Sunday, March 11, 2029

"Good afternoon, Dorota." I said as she opened the door.

"Good afternoon, Miss --" She said before I walked passed her and into the lavish Bass home.

"Blair? Chuck?!" I called out as I walked down the hall, heading towards the living room.

No one responded, and I knew that they were probably having frantic rabbit sex in their bedroom. It was Sunday morning and that meant Tristan was hosting his weekly Sunday brunch. He always took his siblings with him, giving their parents the gift of a morning alone.

"Alright you two! You have a guest, so it's time to close the muffin shop!" I said as I knocked hard on their bedroom door.

It was silent for a few moments before I heard the shuffling of fabric. Two minutes later a very disheveled Blair opened the door, wearing only her dress robe to hide her bits and pieces.

"Damn it, Yale. What's so important that you've decided to interrupt our alone time? You know how much we need our alone time!" She said, looking me dead in the eye with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised expectantly.

Chuck suddenly appeared behind her, equally disheveled, but with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Yes, Yale? What's so important? We were in the middle of a very interesting exp--"

"Chuck!" My sister scolded as she elbowed him in the gut.

I never knew why she tried to censor him while I was around. I'm twenty-years-old for God's sake, and I'm pretty familiar with what went on behind closed doors. Granted, I didn't know what Chuck Bass was into, but I've heard stories. Evidently, my brother-in-law is a legend amongst the man-whores of high society.

"I was hoping I could live with you all for the next week. I have a project to do in my Human Behavior class and I need to observe an adolescent. I figured you two had some of the most interesting kids on the whole island, so here we are." I explained in on breath.

The two of them looked at me with a marginal amount of amusement.

"So you're going to be following around Tristan? Or Evey?" Blair asked.

"Both. I figured the more, the merrier." I replied with an enthusiastic nod.

They shared a quick glance, doing that silent conversation thing I've only ever seen in the movies.

"Alright. You can bring your stuff and put them in the guest room. A psychological analysis of our children should be fun, shouldn't it, Chuck?"

Chuck nodded in agreement before suddenly grabbing a hold of his wife's waist and kicking me out.

"Why don't you go and unpack? The kids won't be home until five." he said before closing the door on me.

I heard the moans start up from behind the door about five seconds later.


"Maman, we're home!" a young girl's voice called out as I heard little footsteps running around.

True to their word, the Chucklets were home by five. I had taken the five hours of free time to unpack, relax, and catch up with Dorota. It had felt like ages since I got to spend time with her, and my Polish was extremely rusty.

"Hi, sweetie. Did you have a good time?" I heard Blair asked as I neared the living room.

"Oui, Maman! We ate so much food downstairs, then we went to Coney Island!" Isaac exclaimed from his place in his mother's arms, all while waving around his newest stuffed toy.

Little Isaac definitely held the title of happiest baby in the 212; he always had a large smile on his face. He squealed into his mother's ear when he saw me from over her shoulder.

"Yalee!" He cried out.

"Hey, little man! How are you?" I asked as I took him from Blair.

"Good. We went to Coney Island and Bea won me my puppy."

He shoved the plush toy into my face and laughed when I tried to avoid getting synthetic fur in my mouth.

"Isaac be nice to Yalee." Bea said as she took the small boy from my arms.

I gave her a smile in thanks and took a seat in the living room.

"I'm always nice!" Isaac replied.

Bea rolled her eyes at her little brother's comment because everyone knew that Isaac Dorian Waldorf Bass was a little hell raiser. It was expected that Blair would get a call at least once every two weeks about how Isaac had pulled another prank on one of his classmates. She's lucky that his school was close to her office; the Lycée was located on 72nd between 5th and Madison, which was only a three minute limo drive from her 57th and Park Ave. office.

"What are you doing here, Yale?" Bea asked me after giving me a hug.

"It's Columbia's spring break and I have to do an observation on teenagers so I've decided that your brother and sister are going to be my lab rats." I said.

"So you're going to be staying the whole week?"

I always liked how enthusiastic she was about me spending time with her. Constance Beatrice was a girl who loved spending time with her family. When she was younger, she would always write her English reports about either our last big family get together or the last family vacation.

"That's the plan."

"Miss Bea, Miss Yale, come, it's dinner time." Dorota announced as she popped into the living room before quickly walking back to the dining room.


Dinner with my sister and her family was always fun, everyone would tell funny anecdotes about their day all while teasing one another. It was a strange sight when you consider the fact that they were Manhattan's premiere society family, but I could never imagine them having dinner any other way. Even when the occasional fight broke out between them, they would always try to make dinner as pleasant as possible. Blair had once told me that she wanted her family to always enjoy the time they spent together, and dinner was the one thing that they always had.

"And then Bea beated the other girls playing!" Isaac said as he retold, for the fifth time, the story of how his sister won him his beloved stuffed puppy.

"Did you say thank you, little man?" Chuck asked.

"Yes, of course I did Papa." he replied, and we laughed at how scandalized he looked.

"So you never told me why you wanted to spend your precious spring break here with boring old us, Yale." Tristan said to me as he took a sip of his Cabernet.

"I'm gracing you with my presence because I need to observe you and Evey for my psychology class." I said before fully explaining my project.

"It is okay for me to follow you two around, right?"

The two exchanged a quick glance at one another before they nodded.

"Of course it's alright, Yale, but I don't think you'll get much out of us. As fascinating as everyone thinks we are, we really are quite boring." Evey said.

"Until the weekend hits, and Victrola opens its doors to the masses!" Tristan exclaimed as raised his glass of Cabernet, tapping it against his father's raised glass.

Chuck's sixteenth birthday present to his eldest child had been his precious night club. I had never seen Tristan so openly giddy about anything since he became a big, bad teenager. Almost immediately after receiving the club he closed it temporarily and began renovations. He had told us that he wanted to reinvent it's image, but that was it. This weekend's reopening was going to be the first time any of us would see the new Victrola.

"We all now how excited you are about this, darling, but please, don't risk spilling your drink on the table cloth… Dorota hates wine stains." Blair said.

Tristan rolled his eyes at his mother, but his smile told us that he understood her worry. If I were him, I would spill some of the red drink anyway. Dorota may be aging, but she enjoyed nothing more than getting rid of a tough stain.

After listening to Bea's story about her last Italian lesson and how Simon Davies, her classmate, was stalking her, Blair cleared her throat.

"Your father and I will be going to the Hanokoaope estate for our spring vacation." She said.

"Philip's finished refurnishing it already?" Eve asked as she cut into her lamb shank.

"Yes, he called a week ago and he said that all the furniture had been moved in." Blair answered with a sharp look directed at her first born.

Last month Tristan had thought it was a good idea to fly half of his class out to Hawaii and to throw a party on their property in the big island. Needless to say that the estate there ended up thoroughly trashed.

"I'm sure you'll have a fun time, Maman." Tristan said sweetly.

"But should we prepare the nursery, just in case?" We all know hat happened the last time you two spend you private vacation there." He teased as he gave a pointed look to the little boy who sat beside his mother, happily molding his mashed potatoes with his spoon.

"Haha, Tristan." Blair replied while rolling her eyes.

It was always nice watching my sister interact with her children. They had such an easy relationship.

"You know it's a legitimate question, Maman." Evey said, joining in the teasing.

"I don't plan on having any more children, you four are more than enough work." Blair said with an indignant huff.

"Well then you better glove up, Papa because we all know that the both of you hadn't exactly planned on any of us." Tristan said with a smirk.

Chuck replied with a smirk of his own until he caught the death glare Blair was sending him.

"All right you two, that's enough. Don't tease your mother." He said in what I'm sure he thought was a reprimanding tone.

The man had never really scolded his children for anything. He usually took the easy route and let Blair dole out the punishment.

"So are we going to shoot the new campaign before or after your vacation?" Evey asked.

"I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you! Your Uncle Aaron called me this afternoon and told me that he would have to move the shoot up to tomorrow after school because he's going to fly out to Dubai later this week. You two don't have anything planned, do you?"

Both Tristan and Evey shook their heads and told their mother that tomorrow would work.

The shoot was for Blair's newest collection for her men's and women's line. They were her newest fashion line, but they were quickly becoming her most popular. She had started off with BWBaby, her line for infants and young children, using Tristan and Evangeline as her inspiration. After Constance was born Blair added Queen B, which was her junior's line. It was only three years ago that Blair created EnVy and Monsieur. As with all of her other lines, she used her children as inspiration. Isaac's BWBaby photos were currently circulating in W magazine, and Bea had pictures in both Elle Girl and Teen Vogue.

Tristan was the face of all of his mother's fashion campaigns, and as much as Chuck complained about Blair 'whoring off their children', I knew that they wouldn't voluntarily stop modeling. They were Basses after all, Waldorf Basses at that, and they thrived on attention. That's not to say that they sought the spotlight, but they certainly didn't shun it. It was another thing Chuck and Blair had taught their children: never shy away from the limelight, instead use your inherent charisma and good looks to make a positive name for yourself.

"Please tell Viola about it, honey." Blair said to Evey.

Viola Giovanna Safra was Evey's closest friend ouside of the family. The two had known each other for nine years, having gone to Lycée Francais de New York together. Instead of continuing through high school at Lycée, Viola had enrolled to Constance so she could continue to go to the same school as Evey. I had never spent too much time with her, so I only really knew her from the stories the family told. I knew that she was a Brazilian heiress who would occasionally fly back to Rio for a few weeks, despite the fact that it was the middle of the semester. I also knew that she was practically a third daughter to Blair, and that she had been another muse for the EnVy line.

Evey would say that Viola was the Yin to her Yang, and Blair played that up in their shoots. It worked out well, too. Evey's features couldn't support a heavy amount of makeup, and her personality radiated too much to really do anything too moody. It was mostly Viola who had the dark and edgy editorials while Evangeline had the more whimsical photo spreads. It worked out perfectly, and both girls managed to not tread on the other's ego when it came to who got more shots printed.


After dinner the offspring went to the watch a movie in the home theatre and Blair and Chuck went to the living room to spend some time together. I couldn't help but realize that as far as UES parents went, my sister and brother-in-law were pretty close to The ideal. They were well informed about what was happening in the lives of their children, and they tried to always be there for them to talk to. Of course there were times where they would go off into overprotective-parent mode, but they tried to keep the flare-ups to a minimum.

I remember when I was in high school and the incoming freshmen would talk about Tristan and Evey. They would talk about how cool they were, and how lucky they were for having such relatable parents. Agnes Townsend had summarized it with the phrase, "Fabulous people have fabulous kids."

After their movie was over, Tristan, Evey, and Bea embraced their parents goodnight before going to their individual bedrooms. Blair and Chuck took the sleepy Isaac to his nursery to tuck him in and I watched from the doorway as she sang Dodo, l'enfant do to the little boy. He was still pretty coherent when she finished singing the lullaby so she and Chuck took turns reading Le Roi Babar.

It was funny to hear how much Chuck had improved in his French over the years. While he never perfected the 'R's, he was now moderately fluent in the language. I kissed Isaac goodnight after Blair and Chuck did, and I couldn't help but smile at the adorable little boy who looked so much like his father.

"Goodnight, Yale." Chuck said to me as he ascended the stairs to his home office.

Chuck was a workaholic, and before going to bed he would go up to his office to work on whatever else he needed to do. My mother had said that the Bass business genes had finally kicked in and that was why he always worked, but I was convinced that he pulled in the late hours at his home office because he didn't leave as early as he should in the mornings. Whenever I slept over here I could almost always hear something going on in the master bedroom in the early morning hours.

"Goodnight, Chuck. Goodnight, Blair." I said to the both of them.

Blair greeted me goodnight in return and it wasn't thirty seconds later when I heard her gossiping with Serena on the phone from down the hall.


As I walked down the hall that connected to each of the Chucklets' rooms, I glanced at Bea's opened door. She was tossing different types of white blouses onto her bed while debating with Dorota as to which she should wear in Polish. Little Bea was the family polyglot, so much so that I think she could get a job at the UN if she applied next week.

Tristan's door was closed and I could hear him playing his guitar. I didn't bother to knock on his door because he was always much too focused whenever he was playing an instrument.

"Evey?" I called out as I knocked on her door.

"Come in, it's open!"

When I entered her bedroom she was laying on her bed, leaning back against the headboard with her laptop resting on her thighs.

"I just wanted to say goodnight, even though I'm sure that you aren't going to sleep anytime soon."

She laughed and nodded her head in agreement before she put her computer on the bed and motioned for me to sit next to her.

"It's still early, Yale. No need to say goodnight yet." She said while picking up one of the magazines that were stacked on her nightstand.

The Bass children were four of the most magazine obsessed people I had ever known. Each had at least five subscriptions, and they all varied in topic. I spied Evey's magazine rack and saw issues of WWD, Vogue, Q, Harvard Design, Empire, and American Artist.

If a person were to look at my blonde niece, no one would think that she was an architecture junkie. She had a few framed drafts hanging on her wall (one of which is the renovated design of the penthouse), but in Truth Evey was a lover of all things art. The wall that led to her personal bathroom and walk-in closet was covered with photos of musicals and operas, concerts, fashion shows, and buildings. She even had some of Blair's past season EnVy sketches on her wall.

"According to this article, the nineteen-twenties flapper look is coming back in style." She said as she flopped onto her stomach, completely engrossed in the magazine.

I didn't say anything, and I highly doubt that she saw my mindless nod of agreement while I continued to take in the details of her room.

A person's room was a direct reflection of their personality.

Aside from her massive wall of photos, her passion for art was clearly stated with the easel that was standing next to the doors leading to her balcony. On it was a half finished Rococo movement styled oil painting of her bedroom view of Central Park.

Next to the easel she had her giant bookshelf crammed with hardback classics, some of which were first edition. Evey was an avid reader, but it was no surprise considering her first word was "Livre."

I moved her laptop back so I could lay back, and I noticed that she had Photoshop up.

"When did you take these pictures?" I asked as I looked through the images.

"Last weekend during Bea's shoot with Uncle Aaron. We went to Catskill." She replied casually.

It never stopped amazing me how talented they all were, and I couldn't' help but feel jealous. My nieces and nephews were like a breed of super-people.

"I wanted to test the new camera Papa bought me." She continued, glancing at the expensive Nikon that sat on her desk.

We continued to lounge in her room, going through her various magazines until Bea came in.

"Hey, Evey. I just wanted to give you back your book." She said as she put Les Liaisons Dangereuses back in its proper place on the massive redwood bookcase.

"What did you think about it? Did you enjoy the story?" Evey asked.

Bea took a moment to think. Out of all the Chucklets, she was definitely the philosopher.

"I enjoyed it. It was tragic but beautiful, and it depicted the consequences of the characters' actions well. It also kind of reminded me of the UES." She answered with a soft giggle at the end.

We laughed at the last comment; we all knew how Upper East Side society could be like an overwrought dramatic play.


"Finished jamming already?" I asked as I walked into Tristan's room.

He rolled his eyes at me from his place on his couch.

"Please don't ever call it that again." He said while casually turning the page of his magazine.

He was reading the latest issue of The Economist, and I couldn't help but giggle at how much of a nerd he really was. As much as others talked about him, they didn't know how he liked to read The Economist, Forbes, and Fortune. They also didn't know how he was practically obsessed with fashion, how he would pore over every issue of GQ and Esquire. I used to tease him about it, but I figured that he couldn't help himself. After all, the apple didn't fall far from the tree, and Chuck Bass was one of the most stylish men out there.

"I know it would be redundant to ask, but are you nervous for the grand reopening?" I asked as I took a seat beside him on the black leather couch.

He gave a nonchalant shrug before tossing the magazine onto his desk.

"I think that by Friday, my nerves will be too frazzled to even work anymore, so I should be fine." He joked.

"See, that's what I don't understand. Why are you even nervous? Don't tell me that you actually care about what your lame little classmates think."

"It's not them I care about…"

Suddenly the light bulb turned on.

"You're scared about what your dad will think!" I exclaimed with a short giggle.

He shot me a dirty look before getting off the couch and pacing in front of his bed.

"I'm not scared! I'm just worried. What if he thinks I changed the club too much? Victrola was the first investment that he ever made, and I don't want him to think that I'll run it to the ground."

He continued to practically march back and forth across the span of his room, and after five minutes of hearing him rant and pace, I stopped him.

"For the love of God, Tristan, relax! You're dad isn't going to think that you've ruined Victrola. He isn't going to care."

"Oh, thanks. You're so understanding." He said, giving me an annoyed sneer.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. I'm just saying that your dad isn't going to doubt your judgment, and he's not going to anticipate the club's failure. He knows how much of a business nut you are. Hell, anyone would know how much of a business nut you are if they ever saw your room!"

His room, like his sister's, had framed drafts and photos of several Bass Industries buildings interspersed with pictures of his family. He even had a five foot tall file cabinet next to his desk that contained every document that had to do with his recently inherited business.

"You've worked on it's renovation nonstop, and he knows that. You are Tristan Bass. Your grandfather was a self-made billionaire, and your father turned those billions into trillions. You've inherited enough of both of their physical features, so I'm sure you've also inherited their business savvy." I said, and I was glad to see that my words of positive reinforcement seemed to help build up his self confidence.

"God, I regret bringing the topic up. Of all the stupid things to worry about, your father's support really isn't one of them. Now I'm going to go so you can get your beauty sleep. Tomorrow's a big day for you, Mini Mogul!" I teased as I pinched his cheeks and darted out of the room, not waiting for him to retaliate.


Everyone was up and ready for breakfast by seven the next morning. This was one of the things that irked me about the Basses: they were damn morning people. I slowly crawled out of bed and trudged my way to the en suite bathroom. After I made myself some-what presentable, I went downstairs and into the kitchen. Breakfast was always eaten in the kitchen's breakfast nook, and every morning they had a buffet-style breakfast of assorted breads, juices, pastries, cheeses, and cold cuts.

"Look who's up. Finally decided to grace us with your presence?" Tristan asked as he took a bite out of his pain au chocolat.

"No one appreciates being made fun of in the morning, Steve." I said, smiling as he blanched at his hated nickname.

I grabbed my plate and filled it with danishes and freshly sliced ham before I took my seat in between Evey and Bea. All four of the Bass children were already dressed in their school uniform. Tristan was wearing the familiar St. Jude's uniform of a light yellow shirt, red striped tie, navy blue blazer, and khaki trousers. It was eerie to see how much he looked like Chuck when he was dressed for school.

Evey was wearing something that did not at all resemble the Constance Billard uniform, aside from the navy cross tie. It really amazed me at how lenient the school was with their uniforms; I myself never wore the complete school uniform. I don't think I even knew what it was… maybe it was just the cross tie that was mandatory. Aside from the ubiquitous accessory, she had on a pretty ruffle collared, white button blouse with an indigo plaid skirt that hit mid thigh. Her hair was set in its classic curls, which mirrored her mother's brunette locks. Evey had on her newest pair of designer mary-jane style heels in mustard yellow. I didn't know why she wore them, she was already tall, and she looked like an Amazon when you added the three inch heels. To finish it all of she had a mustard yellow trench coat slung carelessly on the back of her seat.

Like her big sister, Bea chose to deviate from her school uniform, but not by much. She attended the British International School of New York, and they were strict about their uniform policy. But like a true Bass she broke the rules if she didn't like them. Her white blouse didn't look too different from the plain button down that was mandatory. It was frillier and more fitted, but it still had the peter pan collar. She wore the obligatory red plaid skirt with white knee high socks and black mary-jane flats. Her grey blazer was draped carefully on the back of her chair, and a matching red plaid headband peaked from her dark brown curls.

Little Isaac was wearing the standard boys uniform of the Lycée Fracais de New York: plain white button down, grey trousers, and a dark blue blazer.

"Good morning, Bass family!" A female voice called out from down the hall.

"Vi!" Evey said as she greeted her friend at the doorway

"Good morning, Viola." Chuck said as the two girl's made their way back to the table.

Viola laid the doughnut box that she brought with her on the table.

"Good morning Uncle Chuck, Aunt Blair."

"What did you bring today?" Evey asked as she eagerly opened the cardboard box.

"The classics: crème brüleé, tres leches, strawberry glaze, blackout."

"Oh, yum!" Evey exclaimed before she grabbed a doughnut with each hand.

"Which to do I eat first?" She pondered out loud as she stared at her two options.

"Alternate." Viola answered with a small smirk.

"Always the thinker, Vi."

With that, Evangeline took a large bit out of the crème brüleé doughnut in her right hand.

Watching Evey eat doughnuts was like watching a lion take down a gazelle. She was quick and she ate her enthusiastically. Chuck and Tristan had identical looks of amusement on their face as they watched her eat her favorite food. No one in the family could explain why she loved them so much, but Evangeline had a deep and unfailing addiction to the fatty food. Blair looked slightly disgusted at how quickly her daughter packed away doughnut after doughnut, but she didn't say anything. After years of watching the two girl's gorge themselves with the deep fried ticket-to-a-heart-attack, she knew that her disapproving look wouldn't stop them.

"Slow down and chew your food, Princess. It's not going to run away from you." Chuck said as Evey reached for another strawberry glaze.

"I try, Papa, but you know how I get when it comes to doughnuts." Evey replied with an impish smile.

"Well you better take the rest of those with you because you five need to head out to school before you're all late." Blair said as she wiped the remaining croissant crumbs off of Isaac's face.

I looked at my watch and realized that she was right. We only had forty minutes to drop off Bea at her school down at the Waterside plaza before driving back up to Constance/St. Jude's.

"Oh damn it, I forgot my phone." Evey said before sprinting up the stairs to retrieve her cell phone.

"Hurry up, Evey! I'm going to be late!" Bea yelled impatiently.

The four of us stood in the gallery waiting for Evangeline to come downstairs.

"You wouldn't be late if you went to Lycée!" Evey teased as she put on her trench and grabbed her bag.

Bea's decision to go to school at BISNY was something Tristan and Evangeline always teased her about. It really didn't matter much now anyway, Bea was in Year 9 and she would be attending Constance in the fall.

As we were saying our goodbyes to Chuck, Blair, and Isaac, the sound of three phones all chiming at once got our attention.

"It's a video message," Evey said as she opened the message and hit play.

"Good morning, boys and girls." A generic sounding female voice greeted while the video showed the speaker walking down the ever familiar Park Ave.

"Today marks the beginning of a new, or rather revisited, era for Constance and St. Jude's. Why, you may ask? Because today is the day that Gossip Girl returns to the Upper East Side. Who is Gossip Girl? Ask Mommy and Daddy, kiddies, and don't forget to take notes."

We all watched in silence as the video ended with a shot of the entranceway to Constance/St. Jude's, and after Evey closed the message Blair let out of a huff of anger.

"Gossip girl 2.0? Seriously?!" She exclaimed as Chuck laid a calming hand on her shoulder.

"We'll explain to you all about her later." He said with finality before rushing us off to the awaiting limo.

Aside from some minor patches of traffic, we made it to the Waterside Plaza in record time.

"Don't forget that you have your piano lesson with Isabel today after school." Tristan reminded her as he gave her a kiss goodbye.

I spotted Margot from the corner of my eye and quickly got out of the car to flag her down.

"Hey, I'm so glad you're here!" She said.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Nothing much, aside from the fact that I may end up with a single sheet of notes for the whole week. Kitty is so damn boring." She complained, glancing at her younger sister who was now listening to every word that came out of Bea's mouth with rapt attention.

"Why don't you study the both of them? I mean, you can get twenty four hours worth of observation time from Bea at school, and you can compare Kitty's behavior when they're together and when they're separate." I suggested.

"That's a great idea! I don't know why I---" Margot was interrupted by the honking of the limousine.

"Let's go, Yale! We're going to be late!" Evey yelled.

Both Margot and I rolled our eyes at how bossy my niece was.

"You guys remember my best friend Margot, right?" I asked when the two of us walked up to the car.

Eve gave a curt nod before yanking me into the vehicle. Viola introduced herself with a handshake, and Tristan gave my friend a crooked smile in recognition.

"Sorry to cut the chit chat, but we have to leave. I'm sure Yale will call you later today." Evangeline said before barking at the driver to get back up to 93rd.


"God, Eve, how can you eat all that?" Clarice asked, her face scrunched up in disgust.

Once the limo had stopped at the iron gates of the Prep schools, Evey had calmed down enough to once again enjoy the rest of the box of doughnuts. She and Viola had each finished one tres leches before Evey's pack of minions descended upon us. They sat in the stone benches around us in the school courtyard, and they all watched as the undisputed Queen of Constance Billiard took bite after bite of the breakfast food.

"Soon you won't be able to fit into your mom's designs."

Evey quirked a brow as she popped the last bit of the Valrhona Chocolate donut into her mouth.

"It's so sweet that you're concerned, but you really don't need to be. Basses do what no one else can, and that includes eating donuts and not gaining weight." She replied in the same snide tone I hear her mother use frequently.

With that, Evey stood from her seat on the stone table and entwined her arm with Viola's before strutting up the few steps of the main entrance way and disappearing in the hallways of the school.