Amy’s eyes almost popped out of her head.
‘She could be huge, man,’ said Mr Harker.
‘What do you mean?’ Ivy spluttered.
Jackson gave her a nudge, smiling. ‘Ivy and Olivia, taking the world by storm.’
‘Who’s Olivia?’ Harker asked.
‘She’s the goth neighbour in the movie, and Ivy here is her twin,’ Jackson explained. ‘And Ivy was an extra in the diner scene.’
‘Hey, now I see,’ Harker said. ‘You guys are twins.’
Ivy nodded, biting her lip to stop from saying, Duh.
‘Dude, your sister was good,’ Harker went on. ‘Really good.’
‘Yes, she is,’ Jackson put in, and Amy shot him a warning look. Ivy guessed that Amy didn’t want Harker getting the hint that Olivia and Jackson were dating.
Harker turned to Ivy. ‘Are you ready?’
‘For what?’ Ivy had no idea what was coming next. This was turning out to be the strangest supermarket experience of her life.
‘For your walk down the red carpet, man?’ He leaned in close. ‘You and your sister are gonna be the next big actresses to hit Hollywood – and I’m going to be the one who discovered you.’
Mr Harker ushered Amy, Jackson and Ivy towards the door. ‘It’s a shame your sister isn’t here,’ he said. ‘But you and Jackson are coming out with me.’
Ivy couldn’t believe that the head of a Hollywood studio wanted her to be an actress. Every cell in her vampire body was telling her to flee. This was the exact opposite of how she’d wanted her evening to go.
Ivy stopped next to the enormous display of brooms that was by the front doors. ‘Look, this really isn’t my scene.’
‘Of course it’s not,’ Mr Harker said. ‘That’s exactly why you’re perfect for it. Now, come on!’
The Blue Tie guy nudged her in the back. ‘You can’t say no to Mr Harker,’ he said.
Ivy gulped and stepped out into the night. From across the parking lot, she could see flashes of light and hear crowds screaming. It was like a horde of demons ready to swallow her up.
Olivia was reading the label on the back of a bottle of detergent for delicates, wondering if it would work on chiffon, when she heard, ‘Darling, what a dress!’
She looked up to see a man in a purple silk suit with an open black shirt underneath. He was clapping his hands together in appreciation at her dress. Olivia remembered him from the set of The Groves. He was Spencer, the flamboyant make-up artist.
He leaned in closer. ‘Don’t tell anyone I said this, but your dress beats Jessica’s in the class category any day.’ Olivia blushed. ‘But what are you doing hiding back here, when they’re calling everyone out for the carpet cues?’
Olivia turned to show the full hideous stain, holding out the draped folds of the skirt panels for him to see.
‘Oh, no, no, no!’ he tutted, backing away in shock.
‘Coffee,’ she told him.
‘It’s worse, honey,’ he retorted. ‘That is not any coffee. That is a soy latte with . . .’ He sniffed the air. ‘Vanilla syrup.’
Olivia put the bottle of detergent back on the shelf and plopped down on to the cold floor. ‘I can’t go out there looking like this.’
‘You are absolutely right, you can’t!’ He grabbed her hand, pulled her to her feet and dragged her down the cleaning aisle.
‘What –?’ Olivia started. It felt like her arm was about to pop out of its socket.
‘Trust me,’ Spencer replied as they turned a corner. Olivia had to scoot around a store assistant who was restacking the candy bar section at the end of the aisle.
He finally stopped in the homewares section and selected a pair of big orange scissors. He slapped a 20 dollar note on the shelf and ripped open the packet.
‘Wait, I –’ What was he planning to do with those?
‘Sshh!’ he said abruptly.
‘But –’ Olivia started.
‘Sshh!’ He held up a finger. ‘Your dress is ruined. Nothing will get that stain out. The premiere has started and you are about to miss your red-carpet debut. Let me fix this.’
Olivia bit her lip as Spencer knelt down and began to cut. The store assistant peered down the aisle at them and Olivia hoped that he wouldn’t try to have them arrested for the scissors.
She smiled brightly and waved at him.
The assistant grunted and went back to his CocoLoco bars.
With what seemed like only six snips, Spencer had removed the stained area of the skirt, leaving a C-shaped curve at Olivia’s right leg. The edge of the curve had been cut into jagged sections, just like teeth marks. It looks like a shark has taken a bite out of my dress! The white chiffon underneath was on show and . . . and . . .
‘Well?’ he said.
‘I look OK,’ Olivia said, amazed.
‘OK?’ Spencer gasped. ‘Honey, this is divine. Everyone will love it.’
Olivia wasn’t entirely sure but she was so grateful to Spencer for trying to help. ‘You’re right!’ She put on her bravest face. ‘Divine.’ She flashed a smile and pretended the homewares aisle was the red carpet. She strutted down a few steps, paused, turned and strode back with not a single stumble.
The store assistant was staring again, so she gave him a little wave.
‘Great walking, sweetie, but what’s the pose?’ Spencer asked.
‘The pose?’ Olivia was focusing on getting the walk right. Now she had to do a pose, too?
‘Look,’ Spencer said, grabbing her shoulders and looking her right in the eye. ‘You are going to have to show off this fabulous dress, and you can’t just hope the photographers get a good shot of you – you have to make it happen!’ Spencer did three quick poses in a row: his head over his right shoulder, both hands on his hips with a pout, and one foot kicked up in the air. ‘Which one did you like best?’