‘Look out!’ Ivy reached down to help her twin up. Jet lag finally seemed to have hit Olivia, who was starting to weave slightly from side to side. ‘I’m sure it can wait just a little –’
‘Absolutely not!’ Olivia emerged with the sequinned purple bag, looking tousled but pleased with herself. ‘I don’t want to keep you guys in suspense any longer. A pay-off is only good if the audience still wants it, you know!’
‘I really will have to learn Camilla-ese now that you’re in the movie business, won’t I?’ Ivy gave a mock-sigh, shaking her head. ‘Can I buy a phrase book somewhere, at least?’
‘Oh, you’ll pick it up as we go,’ Olivia said breezily. Fumbling slightly, she put the bag on the table and opened it up to rummage through the chaos inside. ‘And for you, Ivy, from London . . . ta-da!’
Ivy blinked in disbelief. Is that a teddy bear?
It was. It was a small stuffed bear in a red raincoat and blue felt hat. Olivia beamed as she held it out. ‘To keep you company in your coff– . . . erm, bed!’
‘Uh, thanks.’ Eyebrows raised, Ivy accepted the bear. She must have been really Jackson-giddy when she bought these souvenirs. At least I should be grateful it isn’t pink!
Chapter Two
Here we go. Olivia braced herself as she stood in the doorway to Franklin Grove High School. This is going to be great, she repeated in her head. I’ve been waiting for this all summer!
She looked down at her carefully chosen outfit. Her glittery pink short-sleeved shirt, with its shiny Union Jack in the centre, was her very favourite British souvenir, and it looked perfect with her paler pink capris. I’m all set!
Unfortunately, her stomach didn’t seem to be listening to her head. First it did a nervous front-flip. Then a backflip! Olivia swallowed hard. I’ve performed whole cheerleading routines with fewer flips and tumbles than my belly is doing right now!
Olivia took a deep breath and turned to look at her sister. As long as I’m with Ivy, it’ll all be fine.
But Ivy was groaning as she gazed into the dimly-lit front hallway of Franklin Grove High. ‘You see?’ she muttered to Olivia. ‘I told you this was Bizarro World.’
As Olivia followed her twin into the school, she was forced to agree. Her head whipped back and forth as she tried to take in everything she saw in the crowded hallway. And what an unexpected crowd it was . . .
Wow. The goths really were in charge here! Goth girls and boys lined the walls, leaning against the lockers with their arms crossed, wearing sunglasses despite the low light. Other goths slouched in groups down the centre of the hallway while the few bunnies leaped to the side to make way for them, nearly squeaking with panic as they approached. And then there were the skaters . . .
‘So, are you freaked out yet?’ said Ivy, giving Olivia a nudge.
‘Well . . .’ Olivia shrugged, settling her own nerves. ‘It can’t be more of a mix here than the kind I saw on the film set. The actors and the crew members all got along just fine, no matter how different they were. In fact . . .’ She dropped her voice. ‘I’m pretty sure the actress who played Jackson’s mom was secretly dating the key grip!’
‘The what ?’ Ivy stared at her. ‘She was dating a key ? Or a glove? How did that even work?’
Oops. Olivia shook her head ruefully. ‘Sorry. Technical term. Maybe I should have saved that bit of gossip for Camilla?’
‘Maybe,’ Ivy agreed. ‘But you can do that later. Right now . . .’ She drew a deep breath, looking even paler than usual. Her lips twisted. ‘It’s time to face the music!’ Squaring her shoulders, she headed into the crowd.
Why does she look like she’s heading into battle? Olivia wondered. As she walked by her sister’s side, her concern deepened. Something is seriously wrong. Normally, Ivy looked so confident as she walked around. She never cared about other people’s opinions. But here . . . she looked tense. Her eyes darted everywhere, as if she were afraid of being attacked.
And maybe she had a point. As they headed for their lockers together, every head turned to watch them. Olivia didn’t need vampire hearing to pick up the whispers rising all around them.
‘Is that Ivy’s twin ?’
‘That’s not possible! She’s so . . . pink !’
‘Geez, look at her skin-tone. Why would she put on a fake tan like that?’
‘Maybe it’s not fake.’
‘Then how could she have let it happen ?’
Gritting her teeth, Olivia hung on to the shoulder strap of her sequinned bag and forced herself not to react. They’re not really making fun of me, she told herself. They’re just confused. And why wouldn’t they be? Ivy and I must be the least alike identical twins in the world!
She wasn’t the only one hearing the whispers. As Ivy came to a stop in front of her locker, Olivia could see the frustration on her twin’s face.
‘Are you OK?’ Ivy muttered.
‘I’m fine.’ Olivia gave her a reassuring smile.
Knowing how protective Ivy was, she guessed her sister had probably wanted to stop and shout at every single person who’d whispered about Olivia on the way. As sweet as that was, Olivia couldn’t let it happen.
Unlike the students at Franklin Grove Middle School, Lincoln Vale kids hadn’t grown up with vampires. The Franklin Grove vamps had to work extra hard here to keep their secret safe. That meant: Make no waves!
‘It’s just going to take a while to get used to, that’s all,’ Olivia said firmly.