Serena gave Ms。 Glos a polite； blank look。
Who said she needed improving？
“I see。 Well； we’ll have to get you involved in something； won’t we？”
Ms。 Glos said。 “I’m afraid the colleges aren’t going to even look at
you without any extracurriculars。” She bent over and pulled a big
looseleaf binder out of a drawer in her desk and began flipping
through pages and pages of flyers printed on colored paper。 “Here’s
something that starts this week。 ‘Feng Shui Flowers； the Art of Floral
Design。’ ”
She looked up at Serena； who was frowning doubtfully。 “No； you’re
right。 That’s not going to get you into Harvard； is it？” Ms。 Glos said
with a little laugh。
She pushed up the sleeves of her blouse and frowned at the binder
as she flipped briskly through the pages。 She wasn’t about to give
up after only one try。 She was very good at her job。
Serena gnawed on her thumbnail。 She hadn’t thought about this。
That colleges would actually need her to be anything more than she
already was。 And she definitely wanted to go to college。 A good
one。 Her parents certainly expected her to go to one of the best
schools。 Not that they put any pressure on her—but it went without
saying。 And the more Serena thought about it； the more she
realized she really didn’t have anything going for her。 She’d been
kicked out of boarding school； her grades had fallen；