； she glanced around at the sleeping partygoers lolling
list…lessly on the tufted leather sofas； empty liquor bottles lying defeated at their sides。
Hope the maid？s ing in today！
She studied the faces of the sleeping revelers？dozing and peaceful； not yet mindful of the horrid
hangovers that were their immediate future。 Everyone looked so sweet and innocent。 Only a few
hours before； they？d all joined in a rousing drunken chorus of ？Happy Birthday。？ She？d
pre…tended not to notice how they mumbled when they got to the ？dear Serena？ part。 Besides Erik
and Henry； the only other people at the party who knew her name were too busy upstairs to sing。
She found a clean tumbler in the kitchen and filled it with cold water； sipping it greedily to wash
the taste of morning breath from her tongue。
Yum。
Hopping up on the counter； she perched for a while； feeling like the last person alive after a
nuclear bomb or some other disaster。 But the quiet helped her clear her mind。 Today was her
eighteenth birthday； but she wasn？t thinking about what was ahead。 For the first time in a long；
long time； she couldn？t stop thinking about the past。
Everyone always assumed that she was as happy…go…lucky as she acted； but the truth was； shewas
acting。 At least； some of the time。 After all； even she looked liked crap when she？d been crying。
And during those early days at Hanover she？d cried alot。
She hopped off the counter and padded back into the library； sliding open the many small
drawers of her father？s heavy wooden desk until she unearthed some stationery。 Then； instead of
taking a seat in his giant leather office chair； she tucked herself under the desk。 It