； was happy to oblige。 Their
mother had already moved to Prague a few years before to “focus
on her art。” Dan invited his entire class and told them to invite as
many people as they wanted。 More than a hundred kids showed up；
and Rufus kept the beer flowing out of a keg in the bathtub； getting
many of the kids drunk for the first time。 It was the best party Dan
had ever been to； even if he did say so himself。 Not because of the
booze； but because Serena van der Woodsen was there。 Never mind
that she had gotten wasted and wound up playing a stupid Latin
drinking game and kissing some guy’s stomach with pictures
scrawled all over it in magic marker。 Dan couldn’t keep his eyes off
her。
Afterwards； Jenny told him that Serena went to her school；
Constance； and from then on Jenny was his little emissary； reporting
everything she’d seen Serena do； say； wear； etc。； and informing
Dan about any uping events where he might catch a glimpse of
her again。 Those events were rare。 Not because there weren’t a lot
of them—there were—but because there weren’t many Dan had
even a chance of going to。 Dan didn’t inhabit the same world as
Serena and Blair and Nate and Chuck。 He wasn’t anybody。 He was
just a regular kid。
For two years Dan followed Serena； yearningly； from a distance。 He
never spoke to her。 When she went away to boarding school； he