The Legacies

after the ball

The Legacy Ball had never ended in a murder-obviously. Usually, the seniors from New York's elite institutions capped off the night by watching the sunrise at some elaborate after-party. An all-nighter at a mansion in Bronxville. A beach bonfire at a sprawling estate in Southampton. A strobe-lit rave in a Ridgewood loft. This year, the nominees were supposed to be whisked away in a fleet of Suburbans heading to someone's country manor in the Hudson Valley.

But that's out of the question now, with the body and all.

Bernie Kaplan stands on the corner of Sixty-First Street in glittering four-inch stilettos and a silk pleated gown, Skyler Hawkins's tuxedo jacket hanging off her shoulders, even though it's warm for September. If you look closely enough, you can see she's trying not to shiver. A light breeze whips at the diamond drops dangling from her ears. The sirens from the cop cars wail, and Bernie glances down at her pale pink manicured fingers, now flecked with blood and dirt. Her bright red hair is messy, out of place. Her mother usually whispers for her to tuck back the flyaways before onlookers can snap photos, but Esther Kaplan is nowhere to be found, so Bernie lets them go free.

Bernie's eyes move to the curb as the rest of the attendees of the Legacy Ball spill onto the street to see the commotion. She wishes Tori were by her side. A week ago, that girl was no one. A scholarship senior from Queens who had stayed in the background for three whole years. Now, it's obvious that all of the Legacies underestimated her.

Bernie opens her mouth as if to say something but snaps it shut when the whispers around her erupt in to frantic, excited chatter. The wondering, the gasps, as police roll a stretcher away from the side entrance of the Legacy Club, away from the Ball. The body's on it, covered by a white sheet. An outline of lifeless fingers, legs, arms. The medics push the corpse in to an ambulance and shut the door. It speeds

Jessica Goodman is the New York Times bestselling author of They’ll Never Catch Us, They Wish They Were Us, and The Counselors. She is the former op-ed editor at Cosmopolitan magazine. Her work has also been published in Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly, The Cut, and Glamour. Follow Jessica on Twitter @jessgood and on Instagram @jessicagoodman.

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"Sharp and snappy dialogue; a fleshed-out, intersectionally diverse cast; and thought-provoking interrogations of classism elevate this adrenaline-packed read." Publishers Weekly

"Thrilling and unputdownable. These dimensional, expertly crafted characters will sear into your mind and leave a mark long after you ve turned the last page. This is Jessica Goodman s best work yet." Diana Urban, author of Lying in the Deep