Welcome, everyone,? Jackie Davis greeted Breakaway?s Friday afternoon teen therapy group. ?I?m so pleased to welcome back our old friend Georgina Spark.? She tapped her pencil against her clipboard. ?We?re also expecting a new friend today. But while we?re waiting for her I?d like to recognize two members of the group for their courage and for demonstrating what I like to calllife-building for the rest of us.? She beamed an encouraging smile at Nate. ?Nate, would you like to tell us about what happened last Friday now that Georgie is back?? Nate tipped his chair back and then righted it again. Across the circle from him Georgie was sitting with her legs crossed, wearing orange satin short shorts and orange leather sandals, which was kind of a strange choice for the middle of February, but it wasn?t like she went outside very much these days. Her luxurious dark hair clung to her Snow White face as she looked up at him with a coy smile on her dark red lips. Nate rubbed his hands against his olive green Ralph Lauren cords. God, he wished he could kiss her. The other members of the group were waiting eagerly. They knew some serious shit had gone down but they still hadn?t heard the whole story. ?Go on, Nate,? Jackie prompted. ?Friday night I was over at Georgie?s house and we were having a good time, um, getting to know each other,? he began to explain. ?Then I figured out that Georgie was kind of having her own separate little party in the medicine cabinet. When she conked out I got kind of worried. So I called Jackie.? ?It was a cry for help,? Georgie intoned with mock enthusiasm. Nate chuckled to himself. She was still a mess, but so fucking irresistible. And he was glad he had to go to rehab for six whole months, because he actually wanted to help her the way she had helped him. ?We got her to the clinic just in time. She?s going to live here for a while, and she?s been doing wonderfully so far, haven?t you Georgie?? Jackie gushed. Georgie nodded and hugged herself, a placid smile plastered to her face. ?The meatloaf at dinner last night was not to be believed.? ?Let?s put our hands together and give them both props for their courage!? Jackie cried. Every member of the group stood up and applauded, including Georgie and Nate. ?Hey,? Georgie mouthed to Nate and licked her bloodred lips. ?Hey,? Nate mouthed back. ?Right this way, miss.? Blair smoothed down her freshly plucked eyebrows and rubbed her pink-glossed lips together as she followed one of Breakaway?s linen-clad staff members to the room where the teen group therapy session was already under way. She was wearing her new vintage black, red, and purple Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress paired with her favorite pair of pointy black suede knee-high boots, and she was positively brimming with excitement at the idea of spilling her guts in front of a rapt audience that would include Nate. ?Welcome, Blair Waldorf,? a dowdy woman wearing ugly brown lipstick greeted her when the staff member opened the door. She walked over and ushered Blair into the room. ?I?m Jackie Davis, the teen group facilitator. Please come in and have a seat.? Blair surveyed the group. There was Natie, her Nate, looking scrumptious as ever in his olive green cords which set off his wonderful green eyes. To her dismay, the only empty chair was next to this Jackie person who Blair could already tell was a total drip. ?You can all sit down again,? Jackie instructed, taking her seat. ?Now, what we like to do when a new member joins the group is go around the circle saying who we are and naming the thing or the circumstance that brought us here. Be as specific and concise as possible. Remember, naming your weakness is the first step toward taking control of it. Don?t worry, Blair,? Jackie put a reassuring hand on Blair?s arm, ?I won?t make you go first. Billy, would you like to begin?? A stocky, muscular boy in a white Dartmouth sweatshirt rubbed his hands together nervously. ?I?m Billy White. I?m addicted to lifting weights and drinking muscle-building drinks,? he announced. ?I?m an exercise bulimic.? Nate was next. He couldn?t believe Blair had actually turned up at Breakaway, but he?d known her long enough not to put anything past her. ?I?m Nate and I used to smoke marijuana every day, but I have to say, lately I haven?t really wanted to.? It was sort of strange to admit this in front of Blair, the girl from back in the days when he?d been permanently stoned. Blair?s eyebrows shot up in pleased surprise. Was Nate really reforming? Was he doing it forher ? ?I?m Hannah Koto,? said the girl sitting next to Nate. ?I?ve taken E every day since my dog died last summer.? She glanced at Jackie. ?Sorry.Ecstasy ,? she clarified. ?I?m Campbell and I?m a budding alcoholic,? said a blond boy who looked no older than ten. ?I cleaned out my parents? wine cellars in Darien and Cape Cod.? ?I?m Georgie and I?ll do anything,? said a strikingly beautiful girl with long, silky brown hair, enormous brown eyes, and dark red lips. She was wearing orange satin Miu Miu short shorts and beautiful tangerine leather Jimmy Choo sandals, Blair noted enviously. ?Lately I like pills and I used to be scared that one day I?d fall asleep and never wake up again. But now that I know I have a knight in shining armor . . .? She batted her thick brown eyelashes in Nate?s direction. Blair?s hackles rose. ?Thank you, Georgie,? Jackie interrupted before Georgie could say anything that might jeopardize her control over the group. ?Next?? ?I?m Jodia and I?m an alcoholic, too,? said the chubby girl sitting next to Blair. ?I even drank perfume once.? ?Me too,? Blair cut in, eager to top Georgie?s performance. She uncrossed and recrossed her legs, giving the room a glimpse of her sexy black fishnets through the slit in her dress. ?I?m Blair and . . .? She hesitated. Where to begin? She took a deep, dramatic breath. ?My parents got divorced last year. It turns out my father was gay and he was fooling around with my mom?s personal assistant, who was only twenty-one. They?re still together, and now they live in a chateau in a vineyard in France. My mother just married this gross fat freak real estate developer and now they?re having a baby, even though she?s, like, a hundred years old. It?s a girl, they just found out. I was supposed to apply early to Yale, but my interview sucked. So this old friend of my father?s said he?d give me an alumni interview. He was really attractive and I?d never been with an older guy before so I kind of hooked up with him,? she glanced apologetically at Nate. He?d forgive her for philandering, just as she?d forgive him for straying from her. Jackie listened with her mouth agape. She was used to the kids in teen group giving a little more detail than was necessary, but she?d never run across anyone who seemed to enjoy talking about herself so much. ?I think part of the reason I cut all my hair off was I was trying to make myself ugly, even though I didn?t realize it at the time. I thought short hair might look cool on me. But I think I was maybe, you know, bringing all the ugliness inside to the surface? And this past week I stayed home from school. I was............