ightly； and saw
Nate underwater right in front of her； his green eyes wide open too。 His hair was standing straight
up； and he waved his hand； a liquid ？hello？ escaping his lips with a rush of bubbles。
She giggled； nearly choking； and suddenly thought of the games of Marco Polo she and Nate and
Blair had played when they were younger。 Nate would always cheat； shouting ？Marco！？ and then
opening his eyes for a moment to see where they were。 Then he？d grab the girls with huge
splashing lunges； pretending he？d just found them by accident。 Nate never seemed to care which
girl he caught； he？d just grab whomever was in front of him and held on。 Serena closed her eyes；
the sting of the chlorine now too much to bear； and shot up to the surface。
Nate sidestroked into the shallow end and hopped up onto the edge of the pool； letting his legs
dangle in the water。 Serena looked so peaceful floating on her back in the calm water； her blond
hair forming a halo around her head； an angelic smile on her face。Being with Serena was so much
less stressful than being with Blair。 Immediately he thought of his last； highly stressful interaction
with Blair； whom he？d been avoiding since the day before yesterday； when she？d thrown her
shoes at him。
Blair had left him hundreds of voice mails； but Nate thought he should wait to speak with her
until she？d had a little more time to cool off。