Chapter 20

“Yeah,” said Vanessa, scrambling¹ for a decent reason why she was using Marjorie when Serena was obviously perfect for the part. “Marjorie’s really rough and innocent. That’s what I’m looking for. Dan and I thought your performance was just a bit too . . . um . . . polished.” “Oh,” Serena said again. She could hardly believe it. Even Dan had vetoed her? She had thought they were going to be friends. “Sorry,” Vanessa said, feeling slightly bad. She knew she shouldn’t have brought Dan into it; he didn’t even know she was turning Serena down. But it sounded more professional that way. Like it wasn’t anything she had against Serena personally, not at all. It was strictly² a business decision. “You’re a good actress though,” she added. “Don’t be discouraged.” “Thanks,” Serena said. Now she wasn’t going to hang out with Dan and practice their lines like she’d imagined. And what was she going to tell Ms. Glos? She still didn’t have any extracurriculars, and no halfway³ decent college was going to want her. Vanessa walked away, looking for Marjorie so she could tell her the good news. She was going to have to change the entire film now that Marjorie was her star. It would have to be a comedy. But at least she had saved herself from making Endless Love in the Park After Dark, starring Serena van der Woodsen and Daniel Humphrey. Blech. Serena stood in the corner of the cafeteria, the remaining cookies crumbling⁴ in her hand. Gone With the Wind was a total cheese-fest, and she was too polished for War and Peace. What else could she do? She chewed on her thumbnail, deep in thought. Maybe she could make a movie of her own. Blair took film—she could help. When they were younger they’d always talked about making movies. Blair was always going to be the star, wearing cool Givenchy outfits⁵ like Audrey Hepburn, except Blair preferred Fendi. And Serena always wanted to direct. She would wear floppy⁶ linen⁷ pants and shout through a bullhorn and sit in a chair with the word “director” on it. This was their chance. “Blair,” Serena nearly shouted when she saw Blair by the milk table. She rushed over to her, overcome by the brilliance⁸ of her idea. “I need your help,” Serena said, squeezing Blair’s arm. Blair kept her body stiff until Serena let go. “Sorry,” Serena said. “Listen, I want to make a movie, and I thought you could help me, you know, with the cameras and stuff, since you take film.” Blair glanced at Kati and Isabel, who were quietly sipping⁹ milk behind her. Then she smiled up at Serena, and shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t,” she said. “I’ve got activities every single day after school. I don’t have time.” “Oh, come on, Blair,” Serena said, grabbing Blair’s hand. “Remember, we always wanted to do this. You wanted to be Audrey Hepburn.” Blair removed her hand and folded her arms across her chest, glancing at Isabel and Kati again. “Don’t worry, I’ll do all the work,” Serena added hastily. “All you have to do is show me how to use the camera and the lighting¹⁰ and stuff.” “I can’t,” Blair insisted. “Sorry.” Serena pursed her lips to keep them from trembling. Her eyes seemed to be growing larger and larger, and her face was turning splotchy. Blair had seen this transformation¹¹ in Serena many times as they grew up together. Once, when they were both eight, they had walked the three miles from Serena’s country house into the town of Ridgefield to buy ice cream cones¹³. Serena stepped out of the ice cream shop with her triple strawberry cone¹² with chocolate sprinkles and bent¹⁴ down to pet a dog tied up outside. All three scoops¹⁵ fell splat into the dirt. Serena’s eyes had grown huge and her face looked like she had the measles¹⁶. The tears had just started to roll, and Blair was about to offer to share her cone with Serena, when the shop owner came out with a fresh cone for her. Seeing Serena on the verge¹⁷ of tears once more touched something deep inside of Blair, like an involuntary impulse. “Um. But we’re going out on Friday,” she told Serena. “Drinks around eight at the Tribeca Star, if you want to come.” Serena took a deep breath and nodded. “Just like old times,” she said, staving off her tears and attempting a smile. “Right,” Blair said. She made a note in her mental PalmPilot to tell Nate not to come out on Friday now that Serena was coming. Blair’s new plan was to knock back a few drinks with Serena at the Tribeca Star, leave early, go home, fill her room with candles, take a bath, and wait for Nate to come. And then they’d have sex all night long to romantic music. She’d already burned a sexy CD to play while they did it. Even the best-bred girls resort to cheesy things like burning CD mixes when they’re losing their virginity. The bell rang and the girls went their separate ways to class; Blair to her AP Academic-Achievers afternoon, and Serena to her plain old Kraft-American-Slices classes. Serena couldn’t believe she had just been rejected not once but twice in the last ten minutes. And as she gathered her books from her locker¹⁸, she tried to come up with a new plan of action. She wasn’t going to give up. Her picture wasn’t on the side of a bus for nothing. Vanessa skipped the first five minutes of Calculus¹⁹ to call Daniel on his cell phone. She knew he had Study Hall fourth period on Thursdays, and he was probably hanging out outside, reading poetry and smoking cigarettes. A girl was using Constance’s pay phone in the hallway by the stairs, so Vanessa slipped outside to the pay phone on the corner of Ninety-third Street and Madison. The lower-school boys were playing dodgeball in the Riverside Prep School courtyard, so when his cell phone rang, Dan was sitting on a park bench in the traffic island in the middle of Broadway. He’d just cracked open L’Etranger, by Albert Camus, which he was reading in French class that term. Dan was psyched. He’d already read the English translation, but it felt especially cool to read the French original, especially while sitting outside drinking bad coffee and smoking a cigarette in the middle of noisy, smelly Broadway. It was very hard-core. As people walked past in a hurry to get somewhere, Dan felt aloof²⁰ and removed from the chaos²¹ of everyday life, just like the guy in the book. Dan had dark circles under his eyes because he hadn’t been able to sleep the night before. All he could think about was Serena van der Woodsen. They were starring in a movie together. They were even going to kiss. It was too good to be true. Poor dude, he had that right. His cell phone was still ringing. “Yeah?” Dan said, answering it. “Hey. It’s Vanessa.” “Hey.” “Listen, I have to make it quick. I just wanted you to know that I told Marjorie she has the part,” Vanessa said quickly. “You mean Serena,” Dan said, flicking²² his ash and taking another puff²³ of his cigarette. “No, I mean Marjorie.” Dan exhaled²⁴ and clenched²⁵ the phone tightly. “Wait. What are you talking about? Marjorie, with the red hair and the gum?” “Yes, that’s right. I haven’t got their names mixed up,” Vanessa said patiently. “But Marjorie stank²⁶, you can’t use her!” Dan insisted. “Yeah, well, I kind of like that she stank. She’s sort of rough around the edges. I think it will make it feel edgier²⁷, you know? Like, not what you’d expect,” said Vanessa. “Yeah, definitely not,” Dan sneered²⁸. “Look, I really think this is a mistake. Serena totally ruled. I don’t know why you wouldn’t want her. She was awesome²⁹.” “Yeah, well, I’m the director, so it’s my choice. And I chose Marjorie. Okay?” Vanessa really didn’t want to hear about how awesome Serena had been. “Besides, I keep hearing all these stories about Serena. I don’t think she’s all that reliable.” Vanessa was pretty sure that everything she’d heard was completely bogus, but it couldn’t hurt to mention it to Dan. “What do you mean?” Dan said. “What kind of stories?” “Like she manufactures her own drug called S, and she has some pretty bad STDs,” Vanessa said. “I really don’t want to deal with that.” “Where’d you hear that?” Dan said. “I have my sources,” she said. A bus roared up Madison on its way to the Cloisters³⁰. On the side of it was a massive photograph of a belly³¹ button. Or was it a gunshot wound? Scrawled³² in blue girly writing on the side of the poster was the name “Serena.” Vanessa stared after the bus. Was she losing her mind? Or was Serena really and truly everywhere? Every last bit of her? “I just don’t think she’s right for us,” Vanessa said, hoping Dan would come around if she used the word “us.” It was their movie, not hers. “Fine,” Dan said coldly. “So, are you coming out with me and Ruby³³ in Brooklyn on Friday?” Vanessa asked, eager to change the subject. “Nah. I don’t think so,” Dan said. “See ya.” He clicked off and tossed the phone angrily into his black courier bag. That morning his sister Jenny had stumbled into his room, her eyes all bloodshot and her hands covered in black ink, and dropped an invitation to that stupid falcon³⁴ party on the floor beside his bed. He’d actually dared to think that since he was going to be Serena’s costar, he might actually take her to the goddamned party. Now, that little dream was all shot to hell. Dan couldn’t believe it. His one chance to get to know Serena was gone because Vanessa wanted to exercise her artistic³⁵ license³⁶ to make the worst film ever made. It was unbelievable. More unbelievable still was that Vanessa, queen of the alterna-rebel scene, had actually stooped to spreading rumors³⁷ about a girl she barely knew. Maybe Constance was finally rubbing off on her. Oh, don’t be a spoilsport. Gossip is sexy. Gossip is good. Not everybody does it, but everybody should! A bus stopped at a light right in front of him. First Dan noticed Serena’s name. It was scrawled in blue, in messy girl’s handwriting on a giant black-and-white poster of what looked like a rosebud³⁸. It was beautiful. Jenny was a zombie on Thursday from missing a whole night’s sleep, but she’d gotten the Kiss on the Lips invitations done, and now she and Dan each had an invitation of their very own. She was starving, too, having consumed only a banana and an orange for dinner the night before. She’d even skipped her morning chocolate-chip scone³⁹. So, at lunch, Jenny wrangled⁴⁰ two grilled⁴¹ cheese sandwiches and two coffee yogurts out of the Constance lunch ladies and carried her feast out into the cafeteria, hunting for a seat at a quiet table. While she ate, she had to make up the homework she’d skipped last night. Jenny chose a table in front of the wall of mirrors on the far side of the cafeteria. None of the older girls liked to eat lunch by the mirrors because it made them feel fat, so that table was always empty. Jenny put her tray down, and was about to start stuffing her face when she noticed a sign-up sheet taped to the mirror. Jenny lunged for her backpack to find a pen. She scribbled⁴² her name at the top of the list—she was the first one to sign up!—and then sat down in front of her heaping tray of food, her heart pounding. Life was full of miracles. It just got better and better. More miraculous⁴³ still, Serena van der Woodsen herself was coming out of the lunch line and making a beeline for Jenny, carrying her tray. Was Serena actually going to sit with her? In person? Deep breath in, deep breath out. “Hi,” Serena said, beaming at Jenny and setting her tray down. God, she was beautiful. Her hair was the pale gold color some of the other Constance girls tried to achieve by spending four hours in the hair salon⁴⁴ on the top floor of Bergdorf Goodman getting their highlights done. But Serena’s was natural, you could tell. “Did I just see you sign up to help with my movie?” Serena asked. Jenny nodded, speechless in the presence of such greatness. “Well, you’re the only one so far,” Serena sighed, sitting down across from Jenny, facing the wall of mirrors. She didn’t have to worry about feeling fat when she ate. She didn’t have any fat. She raised her golden eyebrows⁴⁵ at Jenny.

1 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

3 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

4 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

5 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

6 floppy   

adj.松软的，衰弱的

参考例句：

• She was wearing a big floppy hat.她戴了顶松软的大帽子。
• Can you copy those files onto this floppy disk?你能把那些文件复制到这张软盘上吗？

7 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

8 brilliance   

n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智

参考例句：

• I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。
• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。

9 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

10 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

11 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

12 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

13 cones   

n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒

参考例句：

• In the pines squirrels commonly chew off and drop entire cones. 松树上的松鼠通常咬掉和弄落整个球果。 来自辞典例句
• Many children would rather eat ice cream from cones than from dishes. 许多小孩喜欢吃蛋卷冰淇淋胜过盘装冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句

14 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

15 scoops   

n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 )；小勺；一勺[铲]之量；（抢先刊载、播出的）独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• I used three scoops of flour and one(scoop)of sugar. 我用了三杓面粉和一杓糖。 来自辞典例句

16 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

17 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

18 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

19 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

20 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

21 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

22 flicking   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的现在分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• He helped her up before flicking the reins. 他帮她上马，之后挥动了缰绳。
• There's something flicking around my toes. 有什么东西老在叮我的脚指头。

23 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

24 exhaled   

v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气

参考例句：

• He sat back and exhaled deeply. 他仰坐着深深地呼气。
• He stamped his feet and exhaled a long, white breath. 跺了跺脚，他吐了口长气，很长很白。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

25 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 stank   

n. (英)坝，堰，池塘 动词stink的过去式

参考例句：

• Her breath stank of garlic. 她嘴里有股大蒜味。
• The place stank of decayed fish. 那地方有烂鱼的臭味。

27 edgier   

adj.不安的，易激怒的( edgy的比较级 )

参考例句：

• The Hill is an upstart competitor that's a little edgier. 国会山是一个有点边缘化的新晋竞争者。 来自互联网
• Despite the edgier aspects of his personality, Anakin possesses a guileless charm. 除去他性格中的边缘性，阿纳金拥有一种坦率的魅力。 来自互联网

28 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

29 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

30 cloisters   

n.（学院、修道院、教堂等建筑的）走廊( cloister的名词复数 )；回廊；修道院的生活；隐居v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The thirteenth-century cloisters are amongst the most beautiful in central Italy. 这些13世纪的回廊是意大利中部最美的建筑。 来自辞典例句
• Some lovely Christian Science ladies had invited her to a concert at the cloisters. 有几位要好的基督教科学社的女士请她去修道院音乐厅听一个音乐会。 来自辞典例句

31 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

32 scrawled   

乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I tried to read his directions, scrawled on a piece of paper. 我尽量弄明白他草草写在一片纸上的指示。
• Tom scrawled on his slate, "Please take it -- I got more." 汤姆在他的写字板上写了几个字：“请你收下吧，我多得是哩。”

33 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。

34 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。

35 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

36 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

37 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》

38 rosebud   

n.蔷薇花蕾，妙龄少女

参考例句：

• At West Ham he was thought of as the rosebud that never properly flowered.在西汉姆他被认为是一个尚未开放的花蕾。
• Unlike the Rosebud salve,this stuff is actually worth the money.跟玫瑰花蕾膏不一样，这个更值的买。

39 scone   

n.圆饼，甜饼，司康饼

参考例句：

• She eats scone every morning.她每天早上都吃甜饼。
• Scone is said to be origined from Scotland.司康饼据说来源于苏格兰。

40 wrangled   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They wrangled over what to do next. 他们就接下来该干什么而争吵。 来自辞典例句
• They wrangled and rowed with other passengers. 他们与其他旅客争辨吵闹。 来自辞典例句

41 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

42 scribbled   

v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
• He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

43 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

44 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

45 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。