‘Maybe you could all come and visit my home in Hollywood and we could talk about some ideas?’ Lillian asked.
Mr Vega bowed slightly. ‘I would be happy to, as long as you think my taste will complement yours.’
‘Well –’ Lillian leaned in closer, like she was about to share a secret. ‘Like you, I have special . . . culinary requirements of the red-meat variety.’
‘You mean, you’re . . .’ Ivy trailed off, not wanting to say anything that might break the First Law of the Night. No humans could ever find out about vampires’ existence and, since it was so hard to tell who was and who wasn’t, it was always tricky when you met someone you didn’t know but suspected might be.
‘I’m rather partial to Marshmallow Platelets,’ Lillian said with a grin.
Ivy grinned back. Cool, she thought.
‘I think there are some drinks on a table over by the refrigerated aisles,’ Mr Vega said, suddenly as enthusiastic as he had been when he was pretending to enjoy visiting Mister Smoothie a few weeks ago – but this time it felt genuine. ‘Can I get you a drink, Lillian?’
‘I’ll come with you,’ she replied and the two of them walked off, chatting about arrangements for a spontaneous trip.
‘Oh my darkness,’ said Sophia. ‘We’re going to Hollywood!’
Ivy grinned. She couldn’t wait. ‘This totally sucks.’
Chapter Two
The FoodMart was much emptier now.
Burly Man from before bustled past. ‘I’m chasing the rabbit down the hole,’ he said into his phone.
‘That is the lamest code-speak ever,’ Ivy said. But at least Jessica’s entourage had followed her downstairs so there was a little breathing room.
‘Let’s find Olivia, so we can tell her about going to Hollywood,’ Ivy said, leading Sophia through the refrigerated section.
‘Hey,’ said an unshaven older guy wearing a Harker Films T-shirt, looking straight at Ivy. He flashed a big grin as he walked past. ‘You were pretty good.’
Ivy stopped short. ‘Who was that?’ she asked Sophia. ‘And what did he mean?’
Sophia looked amused. ‘I don’t know, but I bet Brendan won’t like guys like him smiling at you like that.’
Then an older lady with greying hair, holding a clipboard, gave her a smile. ‘Sweetie, you were great! Congratulations.’
Ivy was completely baffled. She couldn’t let this go, so she turned and hurried after Clipboard Woman. ‘I’m sorry, but what do you mean?’
‘The movie, sweetie.’ She patted Ivy’s arm. ‘Most of the crew have already seen the full screening. I bet you loved dumping that jug of juice on Jackson’s head.’
‘Oh . . .’ Ivy said, realising that they had mistaken her for Olivia, who played a goth in the film. She decided it would be too complicated to explain. ‘Thanks! It was fun!’ she said brightly.
‘Maybe you and Olivia should be a double act?’ Sophia suggested as they walked down the soda aisle.
‘Not a chance,’ Ivy replied. ‘I’ll leave the star turns to her and stick to making things happen behind the scenes.’
‘Like me!’ Sophia said, holding up her digital camera. ‘I’d better go find the Phelps-inator in case she’s doing something particularly headline grabbing with the Platelet Porridge.’ Sophia gave Ivy a hug. ‘See you on the carpet!’
‘But I’m not –’ Ivy began but Sophia had already disappeared. ‘Going on the carpet.’
‘You’re not?’ said an unfamiliar voice behind her.
Ivy turned to see a man with shaggy black hair and a pale complexion. He wore scruffy jeans with a black blazer over a T-shirt from a band that had broken up at least twenty years ago. He must be one of the paparazzi in Jessica’s entourage, Ivy decided.
‘Nope,’ Ivy said, definitively.
‘But you’re all dressed up, man,’ he pointed out, sounding like a hippie from the sixties. Ivy guessed he couldn’t be part of Jessica’s flock of vampire sheep with that kind of slang. He probably wasn’t even a vampire, she decided, and didn’t have a clue about what went on downstairs. ‘Why don’t you want to?’
‘Honestly?’ Ivy asked, not sure why he would be asking.
‘Yeah.’ The shaggy-haired guy nodded.
‘I think it’s all a little bit dumb,’ she confessed. ‘All the stress, the running around and shouting. Has no one realised, this is only a movie?’
Shaggy Guy crossed his arms, grinning. ‘When you put it like that, man, it does sound kinda over the top.’
Ivy was just getting started. ‘Think about it,’ she challenged him. ‘If they would put all the money from this premiere into a fund for graduates to go to film school – or even for underprivileged kids to go and see this movie – it would be money better spent.’
Shaggy Guy laughed. ‘You’ve got your head screwed on, man. That’s not a bad idea.’ Then he walked off.
That was weird, Ivy thought, but it seems like this movie business makes everyone a little crazy.
Olivia felt like Cinderella, frantically searching for her pumpkin carriage before the clock struck midnight – except that instead of running from a palace, she was charging past shelves of pickles and ketchup.
‘Olivia!’
She turned and saw her prince, looking charming in a black tuxedo with silk lapels. His usually wild blonde hair was slicked back and his bright blue eyes were twinkling.