‘Too bad,’ said Brendan, but even Olivia could tell he didn’t mean it. Ivy and Sophia both turned on him.
‘What?’
He held up his hands in surrender. ‘Personally, I think the show sucks. And not in a good way.’
This time Ivy did manage a death stare, and it was aimed straight at Brendan. ‘How could you say that about Shadowtown? It’s only the best show ever. This is the end of the world.’ She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and acted as though she would faint.
‘For you?’ Olivia interrupted. ‘My film is postponed!’ Not even Olivia could maintain a perky cheerleader image in the face of news this bad. ‘Jackson can’t come back from his promotional tour and summer holidays start today. What am I going to do? I was planning on being so busy learning my lines that I wouldn’t notice he was missing.’
Ivy twirled a loose strand of her hair. ‘You could get a hobby?’ she suggested.
Olivia drew a sharp breath. ‘That’s it! You’re a genius, Ivy. Hold on one second.’
‘Where are you going?’ called Ivy, as Olivia dashed back down the corridor.
‘I won’t be long. Don’t worry. I’ll meet you at the gate!’ She skidded around a corner and nearly collided with Jenny, who was shuffling along with her binders clasped against her chest. ‘Hey!’ Olivia panted. ‘I was looking for you.’
Jenny shifted the enormous folders in her arms. ‘You were?’
‘Yes. Do you still want me to help out?’
‘Oh my goodness!’ Jenny’s words came out in a rush. ‘Absolutely!’ She dumped the biggest binders on Olivia, who stumbled under the weight. ‘The first committee meeting is on Sunday.’ Jenny patted Olivia’s arm. ‘That should give you plenty of time to look those over. OK?’ Olivia opened her mouth, but Jenny didn’t wait to hear what she had to say. ‘Great, thank you!’
Olivia could barely hold the binder, it was so enormous. She felt herself start to tip, and before she could stop herself, she staggered on to a chair on one side of the corridor. She blinked. Jenny couldn’t get away from all that paperwork fast enough. She must have really not wanted to organise the dance. But, wait! Was that the sound of Jenny’s heels clacking on the floor? She must be coming back to help.
‘Oh, um, I nearly forgot.’ Jenny peered down at Olivia. ‘You’ll need this, too.’ She balanced a clipboard on top of Olivia’s pile. ‘See you Sunday!’
How utterly great. Olivia tried to stand back up, struggling to manage the tower of paperwork. The files slid from her grasp and white sheets spilled across the floor.
‘Stay there. That’s perfect!’
Huh? Olivia looked up to see a video-camera lens in front of her nose. ‘Charlotte, what are you doing?’
‘That’s great, but maybe look even more overwhelmed.’ Charlotte continued filming Olivia from various angles before moving the camera to take in the mess on the floor. ‘I’m so pleased you’re organising this thing. I’m going to need interviews and access to behind-the-scenes footage. Got it?’
‘For what?’
‘For my yearbook film, silly. It’s going to capture Franklin Grove School in all its glory! The good and the bad. And this –’ Charlotte swooshed her hand towards the paperwork spilled on the floor – ‘is definitely the bad.’
‘Charlotte?’ Olivia asked, sighing.
Charlotte adjusted the lens on the camera, squinting as she focused on her shots. ‘Yeah?’
‘How about helping me clear this up?’
Charlotte’s head snapped up. ‘Oh! Yeah, of course!’ She stooped to lift a binder. ‘Sorry about that.’
As the jumbo binder was deposited back in her arms, Olivia had to wonder: What on earth did I just sign up for?
Chapter Two
‘Why did you agree to organise the dance?’ Ivy asked her sister as they walked along the street. Olivia must have gotten bats in her brain to agree to such a thing. ‘School dances are always snooze fests. They’re as bad as science class!’
‘Science class?’ Brendan raised his eyebrows. He had relieved Olivia of her binders and was carting them up the block towards Ivy’s house. Sophia had had to leave early to make her shift at the Meat and Greet Diner and Olivia and Ivy were heading for a twin sleepover at the Vegas’ house. Ivy’s dad had especially requested that they both stay the night, which was odd to say the least. Since when did parents suggest sleepovers?
‘You know what I mean. I’d rather endure a whole day of Mister Smoothie sing-a-longs than go to the school dance!’
Brendan caught her eye and shook his head. What was his deal? All she had said was that she hated the idea of a dance! Wait . . . Is he trying to tell me something? Ivy clenched her fists, mentally scolding herself. Of course! She was totally raining on her sister’s parade.
Ivy backtracked. ‘You’re really good at this sort of thing, though.’ She tried to channel a bit of her sister’s perkiness. ‘I’m sure your dance will suck!’
‘Thanks,’ Olivia said. ‘I really need the support.’
Brendan gave Ivy a small nod of approval. Where would she be without the best boyfriend ever? Hurting her sister’s feelings, that was where!
Olivia giggled. ‘You know, I bet you could find your inner dancing queen if you did want to come.’
Ivy scrambled to change the subject. ‘I hope you’re not too bummed about having to miss the big cheerleader end-of-term sleepover tonight.’ Even though Ivy didn’t understand the draw of pompoms and bouncy ponytails, she knew her sister did. ‘I mean, I love having you stay and all, but Dad was going a bit vamptator with the whole “You must be there” thing.’