Luche

1

******ALL PLACES IN THIS BOOK ARE REAL AND SO ARE THE ADDRESSES. BUT THE PEOPLE ARE MOSTLY MADE UP******

Hailing taxis is my least favorite thing in the world. Especially when I have to chase one 3 blocks up the street.

But I'm just happy when I finally get one. And I can sit in the ripped leather seats and give the grumpy driver the address, 980 Park Avenue, which today would be school.

Once the cab took of down the busy city roads, I glanced down at my notebook that I'd just stuck my invitation for Saturdays soirée in. Mysterious society clubs seem to freak me out.

By the time the taxi pulled up in front of Loyola School, I was already 5 minutes late. Lucky for me, everyone just hangs out in the courtyard on the first day of school. Yay

I ran over to one of my best friends, Abbi Ridge. Abbi has long legs and a dancer body with gorgeous red hair. And she's been a dancer since she could walk. Her parents own the popular Pure Yoga East. Sarah Jessica Parker takes classes there so that makes it cool. Abbi isn't the brightest pear in the bowl, but we still love her.

"If it isn't the famous Grace Leeland Cruz," Abbi said as I approached her and enveloped her into a big hug. "How was your summer? Did you cruise in BoraBora? Sun in the South of France?"

"More like swim in the Hamptons and surf in Belize. Oh and rock climb in Hawaii and work in a Honduran village," I replied with a smile.

Abbi had been my best friend since we started at Loyola in pre school. We did everything together.

"Tell me about your summer, but first, have you ever heard of Luche?" I asked.

"Oh isn't that the new club in SoHo? I heard alot of stars go there and they charge $50 a drink" she replied confidently.

"Uh, no" I said with a puzzled look and a laugh. "It's.." I started to say when my other best friend Kasey Rim walked up.

Kasey is the daughter of a famous business man in NY, Kurt Rim. Kasey has never really seen her mom being as she is a nurse her dad hooked up with one night in China. Kasey has stunning long black hair and a dark complexion coming from her Asian roots. She's tall, like the rest of us, and guys are always looking at her because if her exotic looks.

"KASEY!" I shouted as she gave me the biggest hug ever! "How was your summer?"

"Ugh," she replied with a sour expression. I spent most of the time in Tokyo with my dad and his tiny new wife. Apparently she's a model from Women's Health and she was in Miss Universe! I hate her,"

Kasey's dad seemed to have a new wife every month, and Kasey never liked any of them. Most of them were European models that her dad meets on business and then he cheats on her and finds another one and gets married again.

"Well, I bet you fit in perfectly in an Asian country!" Abbi said. We always wonder how she's not a blond

"Well," I said ignoring Abbi," At least he'll only be with her for a month or less!"

"Yeah," she said probably forgetting it all together.

"Hey," I said, about to ask her the same question I asked Abbi. "Have you ever heard of Luche?"

"Of course!" she replied excitedly "My sister was in it. They ask 50 girls and guys from all over the Upper East Side at the beginning of the school year to join and on the Saturday after the first week of school, the have kind of like a mixture of sorority rushing, and a reaping from the Hunger Games. Everyone has to do some kind of glamorous but crazy task, and if you complete it, your name goes in the reaping hat. The better you do, the more times your name is in it. And then all of the Luche Society Board Members put in recommendations for the reapers. You can have more than one. And then, they draw five people's names out and those five get swirled into the life of luxury and privilege. Then, at the start of next semester, they do it again. Most of the time at least one person gets kicked off, so everyone tries their hardest to be proper. I'm supposed to get an invitation. Did you?"

"Yeah," I say back, overwhelmed. " I'd heard about it but wasn't for sure."

"I heard that Amy Reynolds and Carl got asked to go on Saturday. Well, speak of the devil," she replied looking over to the entrance of the school where the two most popular kids at Loyola, Carl and Amy Reynolds, had just entered the courtyard.

Carl was like, royalty at school. Every girl wanted him, even the seniors. He was tall, had a great complexion, and he was rich. But, he'd also been one of my best friends since we were in diapers.

Amy looked almost identical to her twin brother. She had tanned skin, wavy brown hair, and supermodel long legs. All the guys, including seniors, wanted to be with her, and all the girls wanted to be her. And she was also one of my best friend. I guess you could say our group of five were pretty fab if I do say so myself.

"Hello fabulous people" Amy said as she strutted over to us with a mega watt smile and left Carl to talk to his lacrosse pals. "How was y'all's summers?" Se asked in her Georgian accent. I don't know how she still had a southern drawl since she hadn't lived in Georgia since she was 3 and we'd met at baby yoga in Atlanta. "I bet y'all heard that I was doing mission work in Africa! It was such a culture shock to see all them poor poor families living in tiny huts. I felt bad that I take for granted everything I have and I'm gonna try to be a better person and give back to the less privileged." By then, she'd already had a crowd of her adoring freshmen crowding our table. Even the upper classmen wanted to be her.

"Well," I said back. "I know exactly how you fell! I spent a month helping orphans in a Honduran village, and they have near nothing. It's so sad," I kept a fake smile on my face as all of Amy's fans turned and looked at me with puppy eyes. She can't have ALL the attention.

"Oh, yes. It's terrible," she said putting her freshly manicured hand over her heart. "And Grace, I need to talk to you in private," she whispered and shooed all her her fans away. Abbi and Kasey were talking about the sale at Barney's, so we just stayed put.

"I heard about you getting invited to Luche!" she said enthusiastically "I checked my mail this mornin and I had an invite too! Let's get lunch today and discuss our weekend plans. Crown on 81st? Meet me here after your class before lunch and we can get there. I'll make reservations. Sounds good? I gotta get my schedule, so see you here!" with that she grabbed her Tory Burch tote and fluttered into the Upper School building.

Yay for me. Lunch with the queen.