In the Club Read Free Page A

ask
me
out. And besides, when it comes to serious relationships, Damien isn’t…well…all that serious. Everybody knows he’s a little gay.”
    “Is he?” Coco raised an eyebrow.
    “Only about a quarter gay,” Madison said. “Which, when you do the math, comes out to about once every three months. So it’s not really a big deal.”
    Coco nodded in agreement. “Anyway,” she said, “I wanted to tell you both that I definitely can’t make it tonight. My mom is
still
making me fly out to California with her to some Zen meditation retreat. Three whole days without my cell phone or laptop! I swear, ever since she bought that hotel in Malibu, she’s gone crazy.”
    “Three days without a cell,” Lex whispered gravely. “Be brave. Be strong.”
    “Come
on,
” Madison snapped. She grabbed Lex’s arm and quickly air-kissed Coco good-bye. “We have to go. We’re already late.”
    Coco glanced at her watch. “
Ugh.
Chemistry in five minutes. See you guys Monday.”
    Standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the closed door of the principal’s office, Madison and Lex hesitated. Then Madison said in a low voice, “Do you think Park got one of those notes too?”
    Lex sniffed. “Probably not. And it doesn’t matter, because she took the day off.”
    “That’s right. I forgot.” Madison gritted her teeth. Their sister, Park, had called in sick that morning so that she could join her boyfriend, famed actor Jeremy Bleu, on the set of his newest movie.
Damn you, Park,
Madison thought,
we need you.
And that really was the truth. In Park’s calm and reassuring presence, even the most nerve-wracking moments seemed trivial.
    “Do you think Reverend Mother already called Dad?” Lex whispered, a hint of panic in her voice.
    “There’s only one way to find out.” Madison curled her fingers around the brass knob and gently opened the door.
    The reception area of the principal’s office fanned out before them, a rich tapestry of reds, golds, and browns. A long sofa occupied the left-hand corner, two Tiffany lamps perched on either side of it. There was a glass coffee table, a bookshelf, and a tall wall unit made of dark cherry wood. The expensive music system piped out a steady stream of Beethoven.
    Seated at the L-shaped desk on the right side of the reception area was the principal’s secretary, Mary Grace Burns. A short, wide woman with bright red hair, big owlish glasses, and pale skin, Mary Grace had been a member of the school’s administrative team for nearly twenty years. She was one of those quiet and highly efficient assistants who said nothing but knew everything. She glanced up from her desk. “Good afternoon, Madison. Good afternoon, Lexington.”
    Madison dipped into a proper curtsy. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Burns.”
    “Hi,” Lex said dryly, immediately imparting her I-really-don’t-want-to-be-here attitude.
    Mary Grace gestured toward the sofa, then got up and disappeared into the small kitchen.
    Madison and Lex sat down. They both stared at the closed door ahead of them, where Reverend Mother Margaret was tending to her myriad duties as commander in chief of one of the world’s most exclusive prep schools.
    “I really hope this doesn’t take long,” Lex muttered. “We have a lot to do before tonight.”
    “Be quiet,” Madison snapped. “And for God’s sake,
don’t
mention anything about tonight.” But even as she doled out the order, Madison knew that tonight was
exactly
what was on everyone’s mind.
    Tonight, Manhattan’s newest and most exclusive nightclub, Cleopatra, was opening its doors to a select group of invitees—celebrities, fashion designers, actors, directors. Which meant, of course, that most of St. Cecilia’s student body would be in attendance. The social event of the season, it had already garnered massive amounts of press all over the world. Cleopatra was being billed as an extraordinary experience in New York nightlife—not necessarily because of its