‘Oh, yes.’ Olivia sighed as she stepped back. She could hardly bring herself to look at the disaster unfolding for her twin. How was Ivy, of all people, going to endure four years of this? Even now, one of the goth-girls was stroking Ivy’s hair, and Ivy was visibly shuddering with displeasure. ‘Maybe I should ask Jackson how he deals with all the attention,’ Olivia murmured.
Then she grinned. Hey, that’s right! I get to talk to Jackson whenever I like, now. After all their months apart, it still felt delicious to remember that they were finally a couple again.
Sophia cocked one eyebrow at her in a Come on, now look. ‘Ivy may be popular, but she’s not quite A-list yet.’ She grinned mischievously. ‘Besides, can you really see her using the classic Hollywood disguise of sunglasses and a baseball cap?’
‘Hmm. Maybe not,’ Olivia admitted.
As Sophia put her black faux-leather shoulder bag in her locker, Olivia looked around for her own locker. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she read the numbers. 61, 62, 63 . . . Wait a minute. Where’s 323? She’d assumed her locker would be in the same area of the hall as all the others in her grade. But these numbers weren’t anywhere near her own!
Frowning, she pulled out her cell phone. Maybe I’m misremembering it.
When she looked in her phone’s message box, though, she saw a second text from the school – a text she’d never actually read, in all the craziness of filming.
Drat. She sighed as she read the text. It turned out, because she had missed Week One of school, her locker wasn’t with the other freshmen at all! Instead, it was further down – with the juniors and seniors.
Oh, well. Considering how pushy her fan club is, I wasn’t going to get to hang out with Ivy anyway. Shrugging, Olivia put the phone in her backpack and stood on tiptoe to try to catch her twin’s eye.
‘I’ll see you in homeroom,’ she whispered. The crowd might be intense, but she knew her vampire twin would have no problem hearing her words. ‘I have to go find my locker. It’s not with yours.’
Ivy broke off from yet another fashion question – ‘Honestly, I don’t really have an opinion on whether purple lipstick “totally stakes” black lipstick!’ – to wave back at her. ‘See you later!’ she called.
At that, Ivy’s entire adoring crowd swung round to glare at Olivia. Every goth eyed her up and down with curled lips and frowns . . . then turned their attention back to Ivy.
Dismissed, Olivia realised. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to keep her head high. Whatever!
Maybe Ivy’s goth-fans didn’t approve of her sparkly pink outfit, but that didn’t stop it from being fabulous . . . right?
Right, she told herself firmly. But she couldn’t help a small voice in her head from asking: Why is Ivy staying with them even after she saw them do that? Olivia had never seen her looking so helpless or so overwhelmed . . . but she knew her twin. Ivy was the strongest person she’d ever met. Why wasn’t she just speaking her mind to her ‘fans’ and walking away? She isn’t secretly enjoying all this attention . . . is she?
Olivia took a deep breath and forced the suspicion aside. Leaving Ivy and her fan club behind, she started down the hall, following the locker numbers higher. But she couldn’t forget what she’d just seen. Who knew Ivy would turn into Most Popular Girl at School? she thought wryly. Just wait for the yearbook!
She had to weave her way through the mass of older goths in the hallway as she headed for the junior and senior lockers. There really are a LOT of goths here, she realised. Does that explain why Ivy’s so popular?
As she waited for a space to clear, Olivia suddenly came face to face with the most gothabulous senior girl she’d ever seen . . . and the most confused-looking one, too. She looked Olivia up and down, shaking her head in amazement and making her heavy silver earrings jangle.
‘Is something wrong?’ Olivia asked.
‘Oh, come on, Ivy,’ the older goth-girl said. She crossed her arms over her leather jacket. ‘Are you really so bothered by being liked that you’ve gone “alternatively” mainstream? Or did you just get into a wrestling match with a Glitter Goblin?’
Ouch! Olivia couldn’t help glancing down at her sparkly top. Maybe this isn’t my favourite souvenir any more, after all.
Then she took a deep breath. Yes, it is, she told herself. Whatever this girl thinks of it! Still, she found herself shifting her bag to cover it up as she answered, swallowing down her hurt for the second time that morning. ‘Sorry for being so mainstream,’ she said coolly, ‘but that’s because I’m not Ivy. I’m Olivia, Ivy’s twin.’
‘Oh.’ The older girl stepped backwards, frowning. ‘I’m Amelia Thompson.’
And you’re not apologising for being rude, are you, Olivia thought. Hmm . . .
‘Hey, you were in the newspapers, weren’t you?’ Amelia’s eyes narrowed. ‘Back when Jackson Caulfield came to town. You two are making Eternal Sunset now, right?’
Olivia smiled. Just thinking of Jackson was enough to make her lips stretch into a goofy grin. My boyfriend . . . she thought giddily. ‘That’s right!’
‘Hmm.’ Amelia’s pale face hardened. ‘That’s one of my favourite books. I hope you guys don’t mess it up.’
Olivia felt the smile stiffen on her face. ‘I’ll try my best not to,’ she said.
Amelia didn’t reply . . . and as Olivia gazed at the older girl, she wondered: was her expression actually supposed to be threatening? Or did she just never smile?