hey people!

College interviews are over, the Christmas gifts are
broken in and our New Year's Eve hangovers are almost
cured. So what's a girl to do? Well, if you're S, not
much of anything. What is up with that girl lately?
She's hardly left her flat at all since New Year's.
J's new mall goth look personifies the mood around
here now that our favorite party girl has gone AWOL.

sights

Not much of anything. Hopefully the White Stripes concert
tonight will liven up our scandal-free environment.

You know you love me,

Gossip Girl

P.S. Don't fret- a gossip hiatus this extreme can only
mean that something truly scandalous is about to happen!

Second period had barely begun, but Serena was already bored. Twirling her pencil and leaning on her desk in a way that was so Britney, circa her "... Baby One More Time" video, the blonde schoolgirl tried to catch a few words of her history teacher's lecture before letting her thoughts slip away.

New Year's Eve was just a few nights before, and Serena was mildly surprised at how eventful the year had been. She had been expelled from private school, ostracized by her best friends, and accepted back into their group. Of course, the scandals didn't stop there. She had made news as a celebrity's alleged fiancé. She had gone through a slew of boyfriends that was impressive, even for her. She had even purposely sabotaged her one chance of getting into an Ivy League college.

Serena flipped through a Harper's Bazaar underneath her desk and glanced a Chanel Chance ad, smiling because it used the picture that she had seen so many times before.
She had caused quite a scandal when she modeled for that picture. There was so much gossip about the close-ups and what they might be of that she never told a soul that the photographs were of nothing naughtier than the center of her pursed lips. It would have ruined all her fun.
She had enjoyed watching the scandal unfold quite a bit.
Serena loved it when people gossiped about her, the more outrageous the comments the better. It wasn't that she was a fame whore- though she had to admit that she still got a bit excited whenever she saw her face in Vogue or Us- she just enjoyed the drama of gossip, the process of spreading rumors, the outrageous and often funny way that the truth turned into bizarre lies. Hell, she had learned so much about the human psyche by studying the rumor mill that she could be a psychiatrist if she could pay more attention during science class.

It was her fascination with gossip that had drawn her to and now she was addicted. She got a thrill every time she saw that italicized "S", which was, she thought to herself, just about every day that the mysterious web mistress updated.

She felt a sharp, quick pain in her side and looked down to see that her best friend, Blair, had jabbed a folded-up note at her. An expert in the art of in-school gossip, Serena took the folded up paper and prepared to read a lengthy description of whatever it was that was bothering the girl today.
"Are you going to the concert tonight? Nate was thinking about renting a limo for all of us."

Seeing that the note was nothing more than an invite, Serena felt a twinge of guilt for thinking badly of her friend. It certainly wasn't the first time that she had grown annoyed at Blair lately. She had lived away from New York for so long that it seemed like she had changed so much while her circle of friends had stayed exactly the same.

You're no better than them, she thought to herself. You know that. But lately she was just feeling so intensely bored with the world. Something was missing in her life, but she couldn't understand what it was.

(Well, it isn't beauty, fashion sense, wealth or a
gorgeous boyfriend.)

Daniel inhaled deeply on his cigarettel, leaning on the school wall and trying to finish at least one stick of nicotine before his next period. He peered down at his gold Rolex- a Christmas gift from Jenny- and saw that he had less than a minute until class. Well, there was only one thing he could do to solve that problem. He set off to the park, glad for an excuse to skip Math.
(It's great to see that some kids still have their priorities straight.)

Dan sat down on a park bench and breathed in the crisp, cold air. He hated being trapped inside his high school all day with the same snobby drones, and he skipped as often as he could afford. He knew that wasn't the only reason he had skipped today, though. He had math class with Aaron, the boyfriend of his ex, Serena.

Dan, always an observer, thought of Aaron as just another rich stoner. He was just like every other snob at his school, and a bit of a wigger to boot. He was the last guy that Daniel would have expected Serena to go for.

But then again, he never really knew her at all. He had loved Serena wildly and blindly since the first time he had laid eyes on her. He had fallen in love with a fantasy and had paid the price for it when she broke up with him for being too serious about their relationship. He felt the crush of reality every time he saw Aaron.

When emotions boiled in him like this he wrote his best poetry. But when he pulled out his pen and notebook, the words didn't come.

Everyone thought that Blair Waldorf had the perfect life. Blair treasured this reputation and never gave anyone a reason to think it was untrue. Her bulimia, her obsession with getting into Yale, the love-hate affair she had with being in the spotlight constantly... she didn't even want to think about these things, let alone make somebody else aware of them. And with best friends like Katie and Isabel, she wasn't even tempted to.

She had always felt a slight annoyance towards those two. They seemed more like props than actual friends- like they were accessories that she took to parties in order to maintain her reputation of being a budding socialite. Blair knew that that was how the two girls thought of her as well. The superficiality sickened her, but she knew that that was how a New York debutante was supposed to think of her friends.

"Associate with the best families, make as many friends as you can, and never get too close to anyone. Follow these three rules, Blair, and you'll be a successful socialite one day." That was the advice that Blair's mother had given to her before her first party with her parents- her "coming out".
Blair remembered that moment perfectly. Her mom had been putting on lipstick, making eye contact with Blair in the bathroom mirror. Blair had felt grown-up and elegant in her first Gucci dress, a chocolate colored silk number with a knee-length skirt and long sleeves. She rarely got the chance to talk to her busy mother, let alone receive advice from her, so from that day forward Blair had treasured her words and followed them.

But now that Serena, her best and oldest friend, was back in New York, Blair wanted to tell her everything that was going on in her life, even the bad things. Still, she needed to restrain herself. Their friendship was based on fun and parties, not shoulders to cry on. Even if Blair wasn't obsessed with maintaining her reputation as someone who led a charmed life, Serena wasn't the kind of girl you went to when you were feeling down. She was a party girl, someone to have fun with. It wasn't that she wouldn't listen to Blair... it was just that she wouldn't understand. How could she? She didn't seem to have a care in the world.