Chapter 1

"Mom, do we really have to move here? It's so… slimy." Luna said while looking at her new apartment building up and down. "Honey, it's only for a little while. NYC is booked, no places but here. Come on, enjoy yourself! Think of it as a new adventure." Her mom said while rubbing her back. Even though the pep-talk with her mother was comforting, she still wasn't sure. She had a feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong. And here's where it started.

"Heeelllooo new neighbors! Care for some Apple Pie? It's the official American food!" said a quick woman with brunette hair who was wearing an apron that said "Kiss the Cook".

Luna looked at her mom and then back at the woman. "Well, thank you ma'am, I appreciate it. Can you tell us where room number 178 is? We're hopelessly lost." Luna said trying to be polite. The woman, excited to help pointed it to be on the 3rd floor the 4th room on the right. "I really hope to see you around, you're just down the hall from us! If you need me room 172 is where I'll be!" the lady said, very pleased with herself and looked at Luna and her mother.

"Thanks I really appreciate it. I'm Elizabeth Luck, and this is my daughter Luna." Said Luna's mom putting her hands on her child's shoulders. "Oh, I can't believe I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Terry, and I have a 4 year old named Boots, a 9 year old named Lizzy and Gregor, my 13 year old!" Luna's mom smiled and said "Wow, Luna here is 13 too! Have Gregor come over any time!" Realizing that this was only going to turn into mom talk, which consisted of the PTA, healthy foods, the latest soaps and of course their kids, Luna decided to try to block it out by going to grab her suitcase from the back of their tan GMC Yukon.

Luna took her stuff upstairs with her mom right behind her. She looked around and could'nt stop smelling the foul odor of sweat and dirt. This isn't exactly what she was used too. Luna and her mom were from the suburbs in North Carolina, where they had everything a happy family could want. But after her dad died, Luna's mom had been searching desperately for work and finally found her dream job here in NYC as a magazine editor. Of course Luna was happy for her, but she just really wanted to be back with her friends in NC, where she would be enjoying the newest Degrassi episode with them.

"Luna Bear, it's just ahead right… here! How do you like it?" Her mom said looking at the chipped paint on the brown door. "Umm… lets see inside before I can make my final decision." Luna said while laughing. Luna's mom searched for the key on her key ring and when she found the right one said "Here goes nothing!" The excited mother and daughter burst through the door to find a simple apartment, One kitchen two bedrooms and a family room.

"Well, this is home-y." Luna said while pulling her suitcase inside so she could pick out her room. She looked around and could tell that it was definitely a very used room. She could see the stains on the carpet, and rust on the kitchen stove; they definitely weren't the first ones to stay here. Luna set down her bags in the room with a twin bed, a dresser and best of all the coolest window-seat ever. Luna had wanted a window seat in her room for ages, every house they moved too Luna always begged her father to make her one, but somehow they just never got around to it. Anyway, she knew her mother would need to bigger room with the bigger closet for all of her clothes.

"Should I start to unpack?" Luna asked her mom who was struggling to get the suitcases through the door. "Yes dear, and when you finish with that I have a surprise for you! Your favorite restaurant, Ferdinand's Steak house is close by! I booked reservations so we could celebrate our safe trip here." Her mom said with obvious glee on her face. Luna smiled, knowing her mother was trying her hardest.

Luna plugged her Ihome into the wall, and played her best playlist, which made her miss North Carolina even more. She couldn't unpack without a little tunes. First she started with her clothes, and carefully put them into the drawers, then pillows and sheets for her bed, and finally posters, random stuff and some decorations for her room. When she was complete she plopped down onto her bed and sighed. "How could I forget?" Luna said to herself when she looked at her blue and green messanger bag.

It was Luna's favorite bag in the entire world. They were'nt the most in style but she still liked carrying it around. She had put her personal stuff inside it, really the most important things. She had her cell phone, notebooks, her pencil pouch, a couple cds, pictures of friends from home and her books.

Reading is'nt really a pastime of most of the cool kids at her old school but she totally adored it, and so did her friends. She and her best friends, Stephanie, Taylor, Molly, Amy and herself had created a book club when they were in just 3rd grade. Before Luna left, her friends had given her a box of her favorite books, and some books that she would like to read, and each of her friends picked out a few of their favorites and put them in. They hoped that when she was feeling lonely she would go to them for comfort.

Luna placed the box on the window seat and changed into clothes for Ferdinand's.

"Lunaa! Come on its time to go!" Luna's mom yelled from the family room. She had already finished her packing and had been waiting for the past half-hour. "Sorry mom, just a few last minute things." Luna said while entering the room, ready to go out. Luna hoped that this would be the beginning of her normal life in New York City. But of course, the next day would prove her wrong.

Chapter 2

Luna started her first day out in New York City by reading on her window seat, which quickly became her favorite place in the whole apartment. While enjoying "The Troll Queen", she was interrupted by a telephone ringing and then her mother.

"Luna! Someone's on the phone for you!" she said while coming in the room and tossing the phone to her. "Who could this be? It's not like I know anyone here." She thought to herself and picked up the grey cordless phone.

"Hi, is this Luna?" said a boy's voice on the other line. Confused Luna said.

"Yes this is her. May I ask who this is?" she said and waited for a response. "Oh sorry, I'm Gregor. My mom met you last night." He said in an awkward and nervous voice. Recalling the event, she retorted "Oh sure, I remember. So what did you need?" "Umm… well I was wondering if you would want to come over to my apartment after lunch. We could go to Central Park or hang out around the city. It's really close by… but only if you want to." Gregor said. Smiling at this fine offer, Luna said. "Sure I'll be over at 12:30." She said and they said their goodbyes and hung up.

Ding-Dong, Gregor's doorbell chimed, and was then quickly opened up by a small toddler.

"Ge-go! Dere's someone at da door fo you!" The small girl said and then backpedaled away. Gregor came into view and rushed to the door. "Sorry, that was my sister Boots. Come inside." He said and opened the door.

"So, what do you want to do?" Luna asked Gregor while discreetley inspecting the apartment. It was close to Luna's but a little smaller and many more people lived in theirs.

"Well, I was thinking that we could go to Central park and kick this ball around." Gregor said while holding up a white and black soccer ball. Luna laughed at her new friend's bluntless and replyed "Sure I'd love to!" Gregor told his mother and they were off to Central Park.

Luna had only been to Central Park one other time, when she was much younger and they were visiting New York, Now, it's just minutes away from her apartment. How ironic. When they arrived, Gregor set down the ball and began looking off at something a few trees down. It looked like some sort of cement trap door.

"Whats that?" Luna asked while pointing to it. A serious look formed over Gregor's face, and then it faded away; he was obviously trying to act casual. "Nothing, nothing. Hey lets go over here." Gregor said and they moved away from the trap door thing. They kicked around the ball for about and hour before they got tired and had to sit down. Luna just could'nt shake the feeling about that weird trap door she had noticed earlier. So she glanced over to see that the trap door was flapping up and down!

"Gregor! Whats going on with that thing!" Luna said and ran over. "No! Don't go any closer we have to get out of here!" Gregor yelled. Luna didn't hear him because she was already sucked down into the earth.