Chapter 25

“No. My brother Dan was supposed to come with me, but he didn't really want to, so I just let him drop me off. Actually, I do know one person,” Jenny said. “Oh,” said Blair. “And who is that?” “Serena van der Woodsen,” Jenny chirped¹. “We're making a movie together. Did she tell you?” Just then, a waitress brandished² a platter of sushi under Blair's nose. Blair grabbed a chunky tuna roll and shoved it into her mouth. “Serena's not here yet,” she said, chewing hungrily. “But I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you.” “Okay. I guess I'll just wait for her here, then,” Jenny said, snagging two flutes⁴ of champagne⁵ from a waiter's tray. She handed one to Blair. “Will you wait with me?” Blair took the champagne, tilted⁶ her head back, and poured it down the hatch. The sickly sweet fizziness of it didn't exactly jive with the raw fish and seaweed she'd just eaten. Blair burped queasily⁷. “I'll be right back,” she told Jenny, practically running for the powder room. Jenny took a sip⁸ of her champagne and gazed up at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, congratulating herself on making it in there. This was exactly what she'd always wanted. She closed her eyes and finished off her flute³ of champagne. When she opened her eyes again, she saw stars, but still no Serena. Another waiter walked by with more champagne, and Jenny took two more glasses. She'd drunk a little beer and wine at home with her dad, but she'd never had champagne before. It tasted wonderful. Careful, it doesn't taste so wonderful when you're on your knees in the bathroom, throwing it up. Jenny looked around for Blair again, but couldn't find her. The party was so crowded, and although she recognized a lot of faces, there was no one she'd actually feel comfortable going up and talking to. But Serena would be there soon, she had to be. Jenny walked over to the bottom step of a marble staircase and sat down. She could see everything from there, including the door. She waited, drinking both glasses of champagne and wishing her dress wasn't so tight. It was starting to make her feel nauseous. “Well, hello,” a deep voice said, hovering¹⁰ above her. Jenny looked up. Her eyes settled on Chuck Bass¹¹'s aftershave-commercial face and she sucked in her breath. He was the best-looking boy she'd ever seen, and he was looking right at her. “Aren't you going to introduce me?” Chuck said, staring at Jenny's chest. “To who?” Jenny said, frowning. Chuck just laughed and held out his hand. Blair had sent him over there to talk to some chick, and he'd been skeptical¹². But not anymore. The cleavage on her! It was definitely his lucky night. “I'm Chuck. Would you like to dance?” Jenny hesitated and glanced at the door. Still no Serena. Then she shifted her gaze back to Chuck. She couldn't believe a handsome and self-assured boy like him would want to dance with her. But she wasn't wearing a sexy black dress just to sit on the steps all night. She stood up, a little wobblier than she'd been before, after so much champagne. “Sure, let's dance,” she slurred¹³, falling against Chuck's chest. He slipped his arm around her waist and squeezed her tight. “Good girl,” he said, like he was talking to a dog. As she stumbled out onto the dance floor with him Jenny realized Chuck hadn't even asked her her name. But he was so handsome, and the party was so amazing. This would definitely go down as one of the most memorable¹⁴ nights of her life. Yes. It would. the five and dime¹⁵ “I always drink rum and Coke,” Vanessa told Serena. “Unless I'm doing shots. But you have whatever you want. They have everything here.” Ruby¹⁶ was taking their drink order. Because she was in the band, she got them for free. “I feel like something different,” Serena mused¹⁷. “Can I just get a shot of Stoli and a Coke on the side?” she asked Ruby. “Nice choice,” Ruby said approvingly. Ruby had a cool black bob with short bangs and was wearing dark green leather pants. She looked like the kind of girl who could take care of herself anywhere, anytime. Her band was called SugarDaddy, and she was the only girl in it. She played bass. “And don't forget my cherry!” Vanessa yelled after her as Ruby left to get the drinks. “Your sister's awesome,” Serena said. Vanessa shrugged¹⁸. “Yeah,” she said. “It's a pain in my ass⁹, though. I mean, everyone's always like, 'Ruby's so cool' and I'm like, 'Hello?' ” Serena laughed. “I know what you mean. My older brother–he goes to Brown, and everybody loves him. My parents are always so into everything he does, and now that I'm back from boarding school it's like, 'Oh, we have a daughter?' ” “Totally,” Vanessa agreed. She couldn't believe she was having such a ridiculously normal conversation with Serena van der Woodsen. Ruby brought them their drinks. “Sorry guys, I gotta go set up,” she said. “Good luck,” Serena told her. “Thanks, sweetie,” Ruby said. She picked up her guitar case and went to find her bandmates.Vanessa couldn't believe it. Ruby never called anyone sweetie except for Tofu, her parakeet. Serena certainly had a way of melting people's hearts. Vanessa was even starting to like her a little herself. She picked up her drink and clinked glasses with Serena. “To cool-ass chicks,” she said, knowing it sounded seriously gay, but not really giving a shit.Serena laughed and tossed back her shot of Stoli. She wiped her eyes and blinked a few times. A scruffy-looking guy wearing an oversized tuxedo¹⁹ was walking into the bar. He stopped in the doorway²⁰ and stared at Serena as if he'd seen a ghost. “Hey, isn't that your friend Dan?” Serena asked Vanessa, pointing at him. Dan was wearing a tuxedo for the first time in his life. He'd felt pretty sharp when he first put it on, but he still couldn't deal with the Kiss on the Lips party. So when Jenny let him blow the party off, he'd come to The Five and Dime to apologize to Vanessa for being such a dick over the Marjorie thing. He'd tried to convince himself it didn't matter that he'd probably never see Serena van der Woodsen again in his life. After all, he told himself, life was fragile and absurd.Life was absurd all right. Because there Serena was. In Williamsburg, of all places. His dream girl. Dan felt like Cinderella. He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them from shaking, and tried to plan his next move. He would walk over and suavely²¹ offer to buy Serena a drink. Too bad the only suave²² thing about him was his outfit²³. Even it was only half as suave as it could have been if he'd kept the Armani from Barneys. “Hey,” Dan said when he reached their table, his voice cracking. “What're you doing here?” Vanessa said. She couldn't believe her luck. Did it have to be quite this bad? Was she going to have to sit there for the rest of the night watching Dan drool over Serena? Sorry, honey. “I blew off that Kiss on the Lips party. It really wasn't my thing,” Dan said. “Me too,” Serena said, smiling at Dan like he'd never been smiled at before.Dan clutched the back of Vanessa's chair for balance. “Hey,” he said shyly. “You remember Serena,” Vanessa said. “She's in my class at Constance.” “Hey Dan,” Serena said. “Nice tux.” Dan blushed and looked down at himself. “Thanks,” he said. He looked up again. “And that dress is . . looks . . . pretty also,” he stuttered. He hadn't thought it was possible to sound so idiotic²⁴. “What about my shirt?” Vanessa said loudly. “Have you ever seen me look this hot?” Dan stared at Vanessa's shirt. It was a red T-shirt. Not very exciting. “Is it new?” he asked, confused. “Never mind,” Vanessa sighed, impatiently swirling²⁵ the maraschino cherry around in her glass. “Grab a chair,” Serena said, moving over to make room for him. “Ruby's band is going to play in a minute.” The rumors²⁶ couldn't possibly be true. Serena didn't look like a sex-crazed, drug-addicted maniac²⁷. She looked delicate and perfect and exciting, like a wildflower you stumble upon unexpectedly in Central Park. Dan wanted to hold hands with her and whisper to each other all night long. He sat down next to her. His hands were shaking so badly he had to sit on them to keep them still. He wanted her so badly. The band started to play. Serena finished her vodka. “Would you like another one?” Dan offered eagerly. Serena shook her head. “I'm okay,” she said, sitting back in her chair. “Let's just listen to the music for a while.” “Okay,” Dan said. As long as he was near her, he'd do anything. as usual, b is in the bathroom and n is stoned “Hello, everyone!” Jeremy Scott Tompkinson said loudly, throwing open the doors to the old Barneys building. As always, Nate, Jeremy, Anthony, and Charlie had smoked a big fatty before the party. Nate was silly high, and when he walked through the door and saw Blair pushing her way through the crowd with her hand pressed over her mouth, he started to giggle²⁸. “What're you laughing at, jackass?” Anthony said, shoving his elbow into Nate's ribs²⁹. “Nothing's even happened yet.” Nate wiped his hand over his face and tried to look serious, but it was hard to keep a straight face in a room full of boys dressed like penguins³⁰, and girls in sexy dresses. He knew Blair was in the bathroom, throwing up as usual. The question was, should he go rescue her? It was the type of thing a good, concerned boyfriend would do.Go for it. You know you want to. “Bar's over there,” Charlie said, leading the way. “I'll catch you guys later,” Nate said, pushing his way through the crowded dance floor. He ducked around Chuck, who was gyrating his crotch against the ass of a short girl with curly brown hair and insane cleavage, and headed for the ladies room. But Blair hadn't made it to the ladies' room. Before she'd gotten there, a middle-aged³¹ woman in a red Chanel suit with a “Save the Falcons” button pinned to it had stopped her. “Blair Waldorf?” the woman said, holding out her hand and smiling her best fundraising smile. “I'm Rebecca Agnelli, from the Central Park Save the Peregrine Falcon³² Foundation.” Talk about bad timing³³. Blair stared at the woman's hand. Her own right hand was clapped over her mouth, holding in the vomit³⁴ that threatened to spew out at any moment. She started to remove it so she could shake hands, but then a waiter walked by with sizzling skewers³⁵ of spicy³⁶ chicken, and Blair gagged. Blair squeezed her lips together to keep the puke from seeping³⁷ out the sides of her mouth and changed hands, clapping the left one over her mouth and reaching out to shake hands with her right hand. “It's so wonderful to finally meet you,” the woman said as they clasped hands. “I can't thank you enough for all you've done.” Blair nodded and pulled her hand away. Enough was enough. She couldn't hold on any longer. Her eyes darted³⁸ around the crowded room, desperately³⁹ seeking help. There were Kati and Isabel, dancing with each other. There was Anthony Avuldsen, handing out tabs of E. There was Jeremy Scott Tompkinson, trying to teach Laura Salmon⁴⁰ and Rain Hoffstetter how to blow smoke rings by the bar. There was Chuck, holding that little Ginny girl so tight it looked like her boobs might explode. All the extras were there, but where was her leading man, her savior? “Blair?” She turned around and saw Nate pushing his way through the crowd toward her. Nate's eyes were bloodshot, his face slack, his hair uncombed.

1 chirped   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )

参考例句：

• So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽，在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
• The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。

2 brandished   

v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀

参考例句：

• "Bang!Bang!"the small boy brandished a phoney pistol and shouted. “砰！砰！”那小男孩挥舞着一支假手枪，口中嚷嚷着。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Swords brandished and banners waved. 刀剑挥舞，旌旗飘扬。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

4 flutes   

长笛( flute的名词复数 )； 细长香槟杯（形似长笛）

参考例句：

• The melody is then taken up by the flutes. 接着由长笛奏主旋律。
• These flutes have 6open holes and a lovely bright sound. 笛子有6个吹气孔，奏出的声音响亮清脆。

5 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

6 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

7 queasily   

adv.令人恶心地

参考例句：

8 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

9 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

10 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

11 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

12 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

13 slurred   

含糊地说出( slur的过去式和过去分词 )； 含糊地发…的声； 侮辱； 连唱

参考例句：

• She had drunk too much and her speech was slurred. 她喝得太多了，话都说不利索了。
• You could tell from his slurred speech that he was drunk. 从他那含糊不清的话语中你就知道他喝醉了。

14 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

15 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

16 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

17 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

18 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 tuxedo   

n.礼服，无尾礼服

参考例句：

• Well,you have your own tuxedo.噢，你有自己的燕尾服。
• Have I told you how amazing you look in this tuxedo?我告诉过你穿这件燕尾服看起来很棒吗？

20 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

21 suavely   

参考例句：

• He is suavely charming and all the ladies love him. 他温文尔雅，女士们都喜欢他。 来自互联网
• Jiro: (Suavely) What do you think? What do you feel I'm like right now? 大东﹕（耍帅）你认为呢﹖我现在给你的感觉如何﹖。 来自互联网

22 suave   

adj.温和的；柔和的；文雅的

参考例句：

• He is a suave,cool and cultured man.他是个世故、冷静、有教养的人。
• I had difficulty answering his suave questions.我难以回答他的一些彬彬有礼的提问。

23 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

24 idiotic   

adj.白痴的

参考例句：

• It is idiotic to go shopping with no money.去买东西而不带钱是很蠢的。
• The child's idiotic deeds caused his family much trouble.那小孩愚蠢的行为给家庭带来许多麻烦。

25 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

26 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 maniac   

n.精神癫狂的人；疯子

参考例句：

• Be careful!That man is driving like a maniac!注意！那个人开车像个疯子一样！
• You were acting like a maniac,and you threatened her with a bomb!你像一个疯子，你用炸弹恐吓她！

28 giggle   

n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说

参考例句：

• Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。
• All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。

29 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

30 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

31 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

32 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

33 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

34 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

35 skewers   

n.串肉扦( skewer的名词复数 )；烤肉扦；棒v.（用串肉扦或类似物）串起，刺穿( skewer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Damaged skewers and clogged bobbin holder. 木锭子破损，纱管支架底座阻塞。 来自互联网
• I heard you really like mutton skewers and that you can eat 50 at one time. 听说你特别爱吃羊肉串儿，一次能吃五十串儿。 来自互联网

36 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

37 seeping   

v.（液体）渗( seep的现在分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出

参考例句：

• Water had been slowly seeping away from the pond. 池塘里的水一直在慢慢渗漏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chueh-hui could feel the cold seeping into his bones. 觉慧开始觉得寒气透过衣服浸到身上来了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

38 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

39 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

40 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？