‘Oh. My. Darkness!’ Ivy shook her head in disbelief. ‘How did you do that?’
Charlotte shrugged. ‘Just act like your time is very important, and the people around you will treat it that way! You don’t have to be mean, or treat people badly – you just have to be honest about who you are . . . not the person other people think you should be.’
Charlotte’s face softened. Looking rueful, she met Ivy’s eyes directly. ‘That is a lesson you helped me learn all through eighth grade.’
‘Oh.’ Ivy felt her own face soften. Wow. There’s one more thing I wouldn’t have believed a year ago! ‘OK.’ She blew out a breath. ‘Can I try it again?’
Camilla nodded. ‘Take your places, everybody,’ she barked. ‘We are back at the Hallway Gauntlet . . . take two!’
This time, Ivy felt a sense of purpose leading her as she stepped forwards. As Sophia and Ivy converged on her, she fought her instinctive panic, trying to remember Charlotte’s advice. Small, impatient frown . . . look at watch . . .
Charlotte’s voice rapped out. ‘Can we cut?’
‘Oh, fine. Cut!’ Camilla sighed heavily. ‘I’ll bet real directors don’t get told when to cut, though.’
Ivy didn’t have any time to laugh. Charlotte was already hurrying towards her, and this time she reached out to physically push Ivy’s posture into place. ‘Shoulders straight and head up, that’s all good, but don’t raise your chin too much – you’ll give yourself neck strain!’
‘Seriously?’ Ivy let out a half-laugh. ‘Don’t you think you might be getting a little too obsessive, now? I mean –’
‘Why do you think I had to miss summer camp that one year?’ Charlotte demanded.
‘Um . . .’ Ivy thought back. ‘Oh, that’s right, you did miss a year. Why –?’
‘Because I was stuck at home wearing a neck brace, that’s why!’
‘Oh.’ Ivy’s eyes widened. Wow. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘I’ll keep my chin down.’
Who knew that popularity could actually give a girl physical injuries? I thought all I had to worry about was emotional damage!
‘Try again,’ Charlotte ordered.
Ivy nodded, rolling back her shoulders like a boxer getting ready to jump back into the ring. I can do this, she told herself. For the first time ever, it felt like it might actually be true.
She kept her shoulders back, her chin lowered, her eyes on her watch, her attitude impatient but not mean . . .
‘And I’m through!’ As she swept past Holly and Sophia in exactly the way that Charlotte had, Ivy let out a shout of triumph. ‘I did it! Woot!’ She punched the air.
‘Ahem!’ Camilla cleared her throat. ‘You’ve made it past the first obstacle . . . You still have the annoying skater-boy and the timid cheerleader lying in wait!’
Uh-oh. Lowering her fist, Ivy looked around. She’s right. Brendan was poised halfway down the hall, miming turning the wheels on his invisible skateboard. Olivia huddled near the end, her shoulders drawn up, holding a stack of textbooks in her arms as her eyes darted nervously around her.
‘Oops.’ Ivy sighed. ‘OK. I’m ready.’ She started forwards, trying to put herself back into Charlotte-mode . . .
And Camilla bellowed, ‘Cut!’
‘Sorry?’ Ivy stared.
Camilla rolled her eyes under her beret. ‘What on earth do you think you’re doing, Vega? We need to run this scene through from the top !’
‘What?!’ Ivy’s mouth dropped open. She turned slowly around . . . and found Holly and Sophia bouncing in place, getting ready to pounce all over again.
‘Ohhhh, fine.’ She sighed. ‘I guess I can do it again. Probably.’
‘Good,’ Charlotte said. ‘Because I have a few more notes.’
‘Of course you do,’ Ivy mumbled. This is going to be a long evening.
But as she took her position at the doorway, facing the full Hallway Gauntlet, with her twin giving her a surreptitious ‘thumbs-up’ gesture near the end of it, Ivy felt a sudden charge of energy run through her body. Just look at all of them!
The whole Franklin Grove Middle School gang was back together, for the first time since high school had begun – and with special new members in Holly and Charlotte! This actually feels like old times. This is good!
Ivy looked round at her friends and her sister, all gathered to help her. Her eyes stung even as she prepared to run the gauntlet all over again. I know the old times can never really come back, she thought, blinking back the would-be tears, but it’s nice to remember them . . . at least for a little while.
Chapter Eleven
The next morning, it was time to put theory into practice. This is not a drill. Ivy took a deep breath as she stepped up to the main entrance of Franklin Grove High. The school bus had pulled away five minutes ago, and Brendan, Sophia and Olivia had all gone in ahead of her, giving her space to tackle the Hallway Gauntlet head-on.
She reached out for the door handle. Then she stopped. Oh, come on, she told herself. Don’t be a wimp! Remember how well it went last night?
They’d run through the scene over a dozen times at her house, and even Charlotte had been impressed by the end of it. When they’d finished the final take, Camilla had announced, ‘We have gold in the can!’
Ivy had barely understood a single word in that sentence, but at least it had sounded like a compliment. And even if it wasn’t . . .
Right. She reached out and pulled the door open. It’s show time!