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1 port authority, take one: eliza experiences public transportation

Eliza Thompson had never been so unco in the back of a Greyhound bus, sandwiched between the particularly fragrant bathroo Eliza's shoulder as a headrest The old bag in the Stars and Stripes T-shirt had little bubbles of spit for on her lips Eliza took a moment to pity herself Seriously, how hard could it have been for her parents to spring for a ticket on Jet Blue?

The night into her dad's "accounting practices" at the bank and dug up some "misdirected funds" Several details had been leaked--the papers had a field day with the thousand-dollar umbrella stand on his expense reports The lawyer's bills added up quickly, and soon even the maintenance on their five-bedroom, five-bath co-op was just too much

The Thoansett--which was actually the size of an airplane hangar--to pay their al

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expenses Next they sold their beachfront condo in Palm Beach And then one afternoon Eliza cairls private school (which counted none other than Gwynnie Paltrow as an alu her bedroo in a crappy two-bedrooh, while her parents shared a ten-year-old Honda Civic Forget AP classes Forget early adet that year abroad in Paris

Her parents had told everyone they were sio recover froh no one had any idea how far upstate they had really gone To Manhattanites, there's as big a difference between the Catskills and Buffalo as there is between Chanel Couture and Old Navy

But thank God for rich brats The call fro for a summer au pair and could Eliza make it to the Hamptons by sunset? Kevin Perry's law fir House, so he was one of the only people who really knew about their situation The au pair job was her one-way ticket out of godforsaken Buffalo; so what if she had to work for old friends of her family? At least she wouldn't have to show up for work at the Buffalo Galleria on Monday The girl who used to have personal shoppers at Bergdorf's had co on pimply classmates determined to squeeze themselves into two-sizes-too-sht

The worunted and exhaled Eliza discreetly

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spritzed the air with her signature tuberose perfuht earring, a diaiven her for her sixteenth birthday Eliza wasn't senti up with hio She'd done it in self-defense, really: how do you explain Buffalo and bankruptcy to the sole heir of a multi-million-dollar pharmaceutical fortune? She'd loved Charlie asherself to tell him or anyone else about exactly how much they'd lost It was almost like if she said it out loud, it would make it true So Eliza was determined to oing to cover it up exactly, but she was sure she'd co She always did, after all

Take today, for example So, fine, she was on the Manhattan- bound Greyhound, but she'd already found a way to get out of taking the Jitney to the Ha on Kit to take her, just like he'd always done before Sure, she could spend four hours in a glorified bus (and hello, the Jitney was a bus even with its exclusive name)--but why should she, when Kit drove his sweet little Mercedes CLK convertible out of the city every summer Friday just like clockwork? All she needed to do was hitch a ride She and Kit had grown up across the hall fros Good old Kit She was looking forward to seeing hi everyone as anyone again

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The bus pulled into the yawning chasers under a grimy concrete slab Eliza shouldered her Vuitton carryall (the only one her mom let her keep from her formerly extensive collection) and walked as fast as she could to get away from the awful place

She looked around at the sprawling bus station, wrinkling her nose at the blinding fluorescent lights, the holiday rush of the crowd on their way to the 34th Street piers for the fireworks, the pockets of pasty-faced tourists holding A LIRR ti and pulling and running and catching trains? Ugh She'd never had to take public transportation in her life She'd alht actually have the temerity to leave without her

Life had alaited for and waited on Eliza She never even wore a atch Why bother? The party never started till she arrived Eliza was diirl looks that paradise resort brochures were made of All she needed to coold lavaliere necklace The tan would happen--she'd hit Flying Point and slather on the Ombrelle, and, well, the lavaliere was tacky anyway

She wandered for a while in a bit of a daze, looking for exit signs, annoyed at all the plebian commotion A harried soccerher onto a brunette girl as standing in thea map

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"Oh, gee, I' Eliza back to her feet

Eliza scowled but h it hadn't been the girl's fault that she had fallen

"Excuse irl asked, but Eliza had already dashed off to the nearest exit

On 42nd Street, horns honked in futile protest at the usual gridlock A long, serpentine line for the few yellow cabs snaked down the block, but Eliza felt exultant She was back in New York! Her city! She savored the s-filled air She hoped idly that she would make it in time She didn't really have a back-up plan in s she loved about Kit was how predictable he was

She walked a block away froers in herwhistle