Everyone get their coats,? Serena told the ninth graders in peer group on Monday. ?We?re taking you out for hot chocolate at Jackson Hole.? ?Don?t worry, we have permission,? Blair added, checking herself out in the cafeteria mirror. She?d gone back to the salon to have her hair touched up and now she looked like Edie Sedgwick from the Andy Warhol Factory days. It was totally far out. ?Wow,? Jenny breathed, staring at her. ?You look great.? Jenny was so happy since meeting Leo, she was practically bursting with love for everyone she encountered. Blair turned around, remembering something. ?Have you been checking your e-mail?? she demanded. Jenny?s eyes lit up. ?Oh, yes. Yes, I have!? Blair thought about taking credit for Jenny?s obvious state of complete ecstasy, but it was actually more fun to watch Jenny glow in complete oblivion. Maybe it wouldn?t be so horrible being a big sister after all. She noticed Elise Wells was wearing a tight black cropped sweater instead of one of her trademark prissy pink cardigans. Good. Maybe her mom had finally murdered her father for being such an asshole. ?How are things with your dad, Elise?? Serena asked, practically reading Blair?s mind. To Blair?s surprise, Elise smiled happily. ?Fine. He and Mom went away together this weekend.? She laughed and nudged Jenny in the arm. ?But never mind me. I think Jenny has something to say.? Jenny knew her face was beet red, but she didn?t care. ?I?m in love,? she declared. Serena and Blair exchanged disparaging looks. The last thing they wanted to talk about waslove . ?Come on, get your coats,? Serena urged. ?We?ll meet you outside.? The atmosphere in Jackson Hole on Madison Avenue was thick with the smell of hamburger grease and the tittering sound of gossip. As peer group A walked in and sat down at a table near the large glass windows, Kati Farkas and Isabel Coates huddled together in the back corner, discussing the latest developments with anyone who would listen. ?Did you hear about Nate Archibald and that girl from Connecticut?? Kati asked. She?d had her hair cut short over the weekend and it made her Germanic nose look twice its size. ?They got busted for having sex in the broom closet at rehab and now he has to go to private therapy in the city instead.? ?Wait, I thought it wasBlair and Nate in the broom closet,? Isabel sniffed. She was wearing a sample of Serena?s Tears that she?d gotten from her mom?s publicist friend who worked atVogue . It made her nose run. ?No, stupid. Blair is seeing that old guy, remember? She?s not having his baby anymore, though. She had a miscarriage. That?s why she missed so much school.? ?I heard that Blair and Serena both sent in applications to the University of California school system today,? said Laura Salmon. ?They have rolling admission, so you find out which UC school can take you, like, a few weeks after you apply.? She raised her thin strawberry blond eyebrows. ?Hey, maybe we should all do that!? Not that any of them wouldreally have considered going to a UC school. ?So what was it like, being in that perfume ad?? Mary Goldberg asked Serena while the girls in peer group A were waiting for their hot chocolates. Cassie Inwirth and Vicky Reinerson pricked their ears up on either side of her. The three girls had gotten matching short haircuts over the weekend, but since none of them had gone to see Gianni at Garren, their cuts were only pale imitations of Blair?s old one, andnothing compared to her new one. ?Cold,? Serena answered. She blew her nose on a paper napkin and then pulled her long, golden blond hair up on top of her head, twisted it into a bun, and stuck a pencil through it to hold it up. Of course now they all wished they hadn?t cut their hair. ?I?d really rather not talk about it,? she added mysteriously. Blair leaned across the table. ?She and Aaron broke up during the shoot,? she told the ninth graders in a confidential whisper. She sat up straight again. ?End of subject.? The waiter brought their hot chocolates, giant steaming mugs, loaded with Reddi-Wip. ?Can we talk about love now?? Jenny asked tremulously. She glanced around the crowded room. If she was lucky, Leo might even show up so she could show him off. ?No!? Serena and Blair cried in unison. They?d specifically brought the group to Jackson Hole so they wouldn?t have to talk about boys, food, parents, school,anything . All they wanted was to sip their hot chocolates and enjoy each other?s company. Suddenly a hush fell over the restaurant as Chuck Bass waltzed in wearing a fox fur hat and a baby blue pea coat, his monogrammed pinky ring flashing as he passed out pink flyers to everyone inside. ?Be there or be square!? he shouted, drifting out the door in a cloud of Serena?s Tears just as suddenly as he had come in. The flyer was an invitation to a party on Monday night, and............