photo had been picked up by a New York Transit Authority arts project and had wound up being
pasted all over the city。
？Are you interested？？ the guy asked； raising his blond…tinted eyebrows hopefully。 ？You？re just
what we？ve been looking for。？
Serena fiddled with the ties on her white cashmere earflap hat。 This Friday she and Aaron had
planned to spend the whole night together； drinking at Soap on the Lower East Side； watching
late…night TV in her bedroom； and 。 。 。 hanging out。
Whateverthat means。
Yes； Iaminterested； Serena thought。 She and Aaron could hang out any time。 They had the rest of
their lives to hang out together！ Getting asked to be in Les Best？s show during New York Fashion
Week was a once…in…a…lifetime opportunity。 It wasn？t like she wanted to make a career of
modeling or anything； but this was her chance to show Les Best how much she truly appreciated
his clothes。 Plus； it would befun 。 Aaron would understand that。 In fact； he was such a wonderful
boyfriend； he？d probablyencourage her to do it。
？I？d love to；？ Serena answered finally。 She pursed her not…too…full； not…too…thin lips and then
grinned at her own ballsiness。 ？But only if I can have your jacket。 I was looking for that exact one
for my boyfriend and a little bird told me you took the last one。？
？Oh my God； totally。？ The blond guy whipped off the bright green jacket and folded it expertly。
Walking over to the register； he wrapped the jacket in black tissue paper and tucked it into a prized
white Les Best shopping bag。 ？There you are； darling。？ He offered the bag to Serena。 ？I？ve only
worn it for like； an hour。 And it？s on us； gratis。 So； we？ll see you in Les？s tent in Bryant Park on
Friday at 4P。M。 sharp； okay？ You？ll be on the list and you can invite four friends。 Look for the
girls holding clipboards and wearing headsets。 They？ll tell you exactly where to go。？
Serena took the bag。Score！
？Don？t I need to be fitted for anything； or practice walking on the runway； or whatever？？ she
asked； pulling her white cashmere cap down over her ears。
The guy rolled his eyes in a camp； don？t…be…silly way。 ？Honey； you？re a natural。 Trust me； you？ll
look good no matterwhat you do。？ He handed her his card。Guy Reed； Chief d？Affairs； Les Best
Couture； it read。 ？If you have any questions； just call。？ He gave her a quick kiss on the
cheek。 ？Hey； whatis that scent you？re wearing？？
Serena smiled。 She was used to people asking about her scent； too。 ？I mix it myself；？ she told
him； fully aware that her answer was just as mysterious as the scent。
Guy closed his eyes and inhaled deeply。 ？Mmm。 Dee…lish。？ He opened his eyes again。 ？I？m
going to have to tell Les about that； too。 He？s been searching for a signature scent。？ He reached up
and gave Serena？s hat strings a playful tug with his tanned fingers。 ？See you Friday； doll。 Stay
warm。 And don？t forget； the after…party is even better than the show！？
Serena gave him a quick air kiss and then headed out into the cold。 She couldn？t wait to give
Aaron his present and tell him the news。 He could wear the jacket to the show and then they could
drop by the after…party together so she could show him off。
Outside； she no sooner lifted her cashmere…mittened hand than four cabs on West Fourteenth
Street screeched to a halt and honked for her attention。
See how difficult it is to be so beautiful？
vrocks people？s worlds
Ruby was on another Martha Stewart spree； and the tantalizing scent of freshly baked brownies
wafted into Vanessa？s bedroom as she sorted through submissions forRancor ； the Constance
Billard student…run arts magazine of which she was editor…in…chief。 Heat blasted from the steaming
radiators； and the sounds of ambulance sirens and car horns wailed through the two open windows。
Vanessa？s bare wooden floor was scattered with the usualRancor submissions： twenty
black…and…white photographs of clouds； feet； eyes； or the family dog； three short stories about
learning to drive and feeling the tug of independence despite the writer？s appreciation for her
parents and all they？d done for her； and seven poems discussing the meaning of friendship。
Boring。
After the third short story； Vanessa retrieved Ruby？s sugaring kit from the bathroom。 Sugaring
was an extremely messy； all…natural； and ？virtually painless？ way of removing the hair on your
legs。 You covered your legs with sticky brown goo； applied a strip of white cloth； and then ripped
the strip of cloth away from your leg； taking the hair with it。
Painless？Yeah； right。
Vanessa kicked her black leggings onto the floor； laid a black bath towel over her black…and…gray
patchwork bedspread； and sat down on top of it。 She basted her pale； stocky calves with the sugary
stuff； feeling like a giant glazed donut。 Usually she was extremely low…maintenance； but if Dan
was going to be hanging out with supermodels and agents and fashion designers； she thought she
should at least try to make an effort and do something about the hair on her legs。 Besides； spring
was just around the corner。 She might even go crazy and try sporting a miniskirt。
？Fuck！？ she yelped； ripping off the first strip of gauze。 Who？d e up with the idea that women
were supposed to be all smooth and hairless like babies？ What the hell was wrong with a little hair？
Most men were covered with it。
She ripped off another strip。 ？Christ！？ Okay； this was officially insane。 Her skin was so raw and
red she wouldn？t have been surprised to see blood gushing from the hair follicles。
Her phone rang and she snatched it up and growled into it； ？If this is you； Dan； I want you to
know that I？m frigging ripping the hair off my body with my bare hands right now； and I？m doing
it all for you； which is pretty fucking poetic if you ask me！？
？Hello？ Vanessa Abrams？ This is Ken Mogul； filmmaker。 You sent me your New York film essay
a few weeks ago。 We met in the park on New Year？s Eve？？
Vanessa sat up straight and adjusted the phone against her ear。 Ken Mogul was only； like； one of
the most famous alternative film directors ever。 At Christmastime he？d happened upon a clip of
Vanessa？s work on the Web and had been so impressed he？d flown all the way from California to
look her up。 The problem was； he？d found her at exactly midnight on New Year？s Eve； which had
been exactly the same moment Dan had shown up to give her a big fat New Year？s Eve kiss。
Needless to say； Vanessa had sort of blown Ken Mogul off； although she had made the effort to
send him her New York film essay when it was finished。
？Yes； I remember；？ she answered quickly； pletely amazed that the director even wanted to
speak to her again。 ？What？s up？？
？Well； I hope you don？t mind； but I showed your film to Jedediah Angel； who？s a personal friend
of mine； and he wants to use it as a backdrop for his Fashion Week show this weekend。？
Vanessa wrapped the black bath towel around her legs。 It was sort of embarrassing talking to Ken
Mogul when she was practically naked and covered in sugary brown goo。 ？Jeremiah what？？ she
asked。 Ken always seemed to speak in Hollywoodese； and this time she had absolutely no clue
what he was talking about。
？Jedediah Angel。 He？s a fashion designer。 His label is called Cult of Humanity by Jedediah
Angel？ Very hot。 Jed says you？re the next Bertolucci。 Your film？s like the anti？La Dolce Vita。 You
really rocked his world。？
Vanessa grinned。 Why did people have to sound so cheesy just because they？d made it？ She？d
rocked his world？ ？Great；？ she replied； unsure of what to say。 ？Is there anything you need me to
do？？
？Just e to the show and enjoy。 I？ll be there of course； and there are some people I want you
to meet。 You？re already a moviemaking goddess； babe。 You totally rock。？
？Cool；？ Vanessa replied； slightly appalled that he？d actually told her she rocked not once
buttwice 。 ？So what？s the designer？s name again？？
？Cult of Humanity by Jedediah Angel；？ Ken repeated slowly。 ？SixP。M。 Friday at Highway 1。 It？s
a club in Chelsea。？
？I？ve heard of it。？ It was the type of place Vanessa normally avoided like the plague。 ？I guess I？ll
see you there。？
？Fan…fucking…tastic！？ Ken enthused。 ？Ciao！？
Vanessa hung up and rubbed at a glop of dried sugaring paste on her wrist。 Then she picked up
the phone and dialed Dan？s number without even looking at the keypad。
？Hello？？ Jenny answered on the first ring。
？Hey Jennifer； it？s Vanessa。？ Vanessa always called Jenny Jennifer because Jenny had asked her
to。
？I？m not sure if Dan will talk to you。 He wouldn？t talk tome ； and he？s been locked in his room
ever since he got home。 It？s so gross？there？s cigarette smoke； like；pouring out from under the
door。？
Vanessa laughed and flopped back on her black pillows。 Everything in her room was black；
except the walls； which were dark red。 ？How do you know he？s not in there putting gel in his hair？
That new haircut looks pretty high maintenance。？
The two girls snickered。
？I？ll go see if I can get him。 Hold on。？
？What？s up？？ Dan picked up the phone a minute or two later。 He sounded distracted。 ？Jenny said
it was an emergency。？
Vanessa lifted her leg in the air and tugged at another sugaring strip。 It appeared to be glued
permanently to her skin。 Talk about emergencies！
？I thought you？d want to know that Ken Mogul just called。 He said some designer named
Jedediah Angel who has this fashion label called Culture of Humanitarianism or something is
using my film essay as a backdrop for his fashion show on Friday night。 Ken said I really ？rocked？
Jedediah Angel？s world。？ She snorted。 ？Isn？t that hilarious？？
？That？sfantastic ；？ Dan responded earnestly。 ？Seriously。 Congratulations。？
Fantastic？ Since when did Daniel Humphrey use words likefantastic ？ Vanessa didn？t know what
to say。 Dan hadn？t caught the sarcasm in her voice at all。 As if she？d only called him to gloat
about her success。
？Okay；？ she said evenly。 ？I just thought you？d want to know。 I？ll let you get back to work now。？
She thought of cracking a joke about how one day when they were both rich and famous the