‘Fluffy?’ Ivy admired the pink cowgirl outfit. Olivia wore a puffy, layered ra-ra skirt that Ivy wouldn’t be caught dead in, but it looked très cute on her sister. Olivia’s shirt was knotted at the front and her hair was tied into pigtails with two puffy pink hairbands. ‘And your boots, they totally make the outfit!’
‘You think so?’ Olivia beamed. ‘After all that Hollywood glamour, it’s sort of nice to dress up in an outfit that’s actually fun.’
That much Ivy could agree with. Although she had adored her outfit for the awards ceremony – a gorgeous black kimono embroidered with delicate red dragons – she had felt a bit constricted. She would take jeans over a fitted gown any day.
Mr Vega edged the sedan’s wheels up to the curb. ‘You girls both look stunning. Ivy, coffin by ten, OK?’
But Ivy was distracted. She had spotted Brendan standing in front of the school’s gates, right between the big iron initials ‘F’ and ‘G’. He strode towards the car in his shiny black cowboy boots and slender grey slacks. Ivy had never seen her boyfriend look so tall, dark and drop-dead handsome. He opened the door and, like a true gentleman, helped both Ivy and Olivia out of the car.
‘This is for you.’ He presented a corsage to Ivy made of deep purple . . . thistle! Even she had to admit, it was perfect. He helped pin it to her gingham shirt and then held out the crook of his arm so that Ivy could slip her hand through.
The other arm he extended to Olivia, and together the three of them walked into the crowd of students dressed in pink-and-black cowboy outfits. Ivy squeezed Brendan’s arm. Olivia has totally pulled it off! She peeked around Brendan. Does Olivia look OK? Ivy didn’t want her sister to feel lost without Jackson, but from the moment Brendan opened the school’s doors, Olivia was surrounded by a swarm of adoring classmates.
‘This theme is the best!’ said a red-handkerchiefed boy, patting Olivia on the back.
‘Oh my goodness, have you seen the bales of hay in the hall?’ Ivy recognised Jenny from the committee. ‘You just have to! Come on!’
Ivy was amazed to discover that Olivia had her own mini paparazzi. If only Jackson could see his girlfriend in action! Olivia led the way into the assembly hall and both twins gasped. It looked even better than when they had left to get changed. The gingham bunting was now hanging from the rafters and dance-goers were filtering in beneath a pink-and-black balloon arch. Inside the hall, everyone was sitting on hay bales and a country-and-western band was playing. Olivia had covered every detail, from floor to ceiling.
‘I can’t believe you managed to tame the beasts.’ Ivy pointed to Lucrezia, Melinda and Veronica. They were busy handing out berry-bright fruit punch, no attitude included.
‘Actually, that was Jenny’s idea.’ Olivia had her hands on her hips as she surveyed the rest of the transformed dance hall.
Ivy shrugged. It was hard to be a gothic grump when everyone was having so much fun. Ivy had better be careful that she didn’t let a ‘Yeehaw!’ slip out accidentally. Even better was the fact that Olivia seemed delighted, despite the fact that Jackson was a no-show. Ivy felt the familiar stab of guilt. How delighted will Olivia be when she finds out I might be away for more than the summer? Ivy tried to bury the thought.
‘May I have the honour of this dance?’ Brendan offered his hand with a flourish.
Ivy bit her lip, glancing in the direction of her sister, who was trying out the hay bales with a group of girls from the committee.
‘Olivia’s fine! Come on!’ He took her hand and dragged Ivy out on to the dance floor. In perfect step with the music, Brendan twirled her and circled in an excellent version of a do-si-do.
‘Where did you pick up these moves?’ asked Ivy. Her dark hair was flying and she was spinning, spinning, spinning until she was dizzy. If Ivy wasn’t mistaken, she was actually having – gasp! – fun. That was the last thing she’d expected.
Brendan pulled Ivy closer, looking a bit sheepish as he stared down at her. ‘Er, I might have been practising the country dancing your Aunt Rebecca taught me.’
That had to be the sweetest thing Ivy had ever heard and it didn’t even make her nauseous. She gazed up at Brendan, with his intense dark eyes and cute shaggy hair. Would he still love her when she was so far away? He smiled, warm and familiar. Ivy smiled back and, somehow, she had a feeling that everything would be fine.
Chapter Eleven
Olivia had once landed a perfect round-off back handspring with a full twist at her school’s homecoming game, but pulling off this dance had been ten times harder . . . and better! She watched Ivy line dancing with Brendan and a mixed group of goths and bunnies. I knew that she’d have fun if she gave the dance a chance!
She only had one extra wish. Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, clicked the heels of her fabulous pink boots, and wished for Jackson to be with her. But when she opened her eyes again, she was still alone. Hey, a girl has to try.
A sudden scuffling sound caught Olivia’s attention and she whirled around to see three girls blocking the end of the balloon archway. She glanced at the punch bowl. It was abandoned. Oh no, she knew taming the Terrible Trio had been too easy!
Olivia rushed over to Lucrezia, Melinda and Veronica to see what was causing the fuss. ‘Can I help you guys with something?’
Lucrezia stepped back and Olivia was stunned to see Camilla – just back from Paris and dressed as a space-cowboy character. Probably from one of her favourite sci-fi books, thought Olivia. Camilla had donned a fishbowl helmet over her Stetson, and even Olivia had to smile at her friend’s eccentricity.