Ivy watched her father’s face. She could tell he was moved, his eyes flickering as he leaned forward intently in his chair.
At last, Olivia stepped forward once again. “And here, Mr. Vega,” she said, “are the sorts of things that might happen if you go to Europe.”
Suddenly the soundtrack sped up crazily and its volume rose until it was an unrecognizable, screeching mess. A quick succession of images flashed on the screen: a mustachioed man running from a charging bull, two dinky European cars crashing into each other, a World War II plane dropping bombs, a wrecked apartment building in France, a soccer player with an agonized look of defeat on his face, a painting of Mount Vesuvius erupting.
The rush of images ended abruptly, along with the unbearable noise. The simple, lone guitar melody from the beginning of the song rang out plaintively, and a single phrase appeared on the black screen: Franklin Grove or Europe?
Ivy and Olivia triumphantly read the final screen that came next: “ ‘FRANKLIN GROVE!’ ”
Ivy’s father clapped enthusiastically. His face was flushed, and he had a smile that Ivy realized she hadn’t seen in weeks. “Terrific job,” he said. “What a wonderful presentation! You should share it with the Franklin Grove Chamber of Commerce.”
I knew he’d like it, Ivy thought. I knew it would work! “So we’re not moving?” she blurted.
Her father’s smile abruptly fell from his face, like a dark cloud suddenly drifting across a full moon. He dropped back into his chair and studied his hands. Olivia looked at Ivy anxiously.
“Can’t you see how much we have here, Dad?” Ivy pleaded.
“Don’t go,” Olivia said in a small voice.
“I have to,” Mr. Vega whispered. He raised his eyes to them sadly. “We have to go, Ivy. I know it’s difficult for you to accept...but you must try.”
Ivy looked at him in disbelief. Why are you being so stubborn? she thought. She tried to think of something she could say, anything that might get through to him and make him realize they couldn’t go to Europe.
Her father forced his mouth into a strained smile that seemed utterly fake compared to the one from a few moments ago. “You should try to think of all the good things about Europe,” he said hopefully.
Ivy shook her head. She turned to Olivia. “I thought he’d listen to reason. Or emotion. Or us,” she said softly. “But I guess I was wrong.”
Without another word, Ivy led her sister out of the study. She knew Olivia was struggling not to burst into tears, too.
Chapter 3
The next day at lunch with Olivia, Sophia, Camilla, and Brendan, Ivy was still in a pitch-black mood.
“My father is being impossible,” she fumed. “He’s determined to move. I’m not sure there’s anything I can do that will change his mind.”
“Have you tried biting him on the leg?” said Brendan. “My little sister, Bethany, did that once to my dad, and it really got his attention. I mean, he almost had to go to the hospital.”
Ivy couldn’t even smile. “My father doesn’t like hospitals,” she said glumly.
Across from her, Olivia moved a piece of limp broccoli around her plate with her fork. “Do you think he wants to go to Europe to get away from me?” she said quietly to her plate.
Ivy’s heart cracked open like a coffin. Sometimes she forgot that this was just as hard for Olivia as it was for her—maybe harder. “He wouldn’t do that, Olivia,” she said as reassuringly as she could. “It’s the job. It’s a really killer opportunity.”
“Didn’t he say that they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse?” asked Sophia. Ivy nodded.
“But we don’t even know why he separated me and you in the first place,” Olivia said, unconvinced. “Maybe when I was a baby, I bit him in the leg.”
Ivy smiled. “I don’t think he would insist on moving away just because of you, Olivia. He was talking about this job before you even came to Franklin Grove.”
Olivia looked at her gratefully. “You’re right,” she said. “Sorry, I’m just being completely neurotic.”
“What we need to do is come up with something even a great job can’t compete with,” Camilla said.
Brendan nodded, his dark curls flopping in front of his eyes. He was so drop-dead handsome. “With the right reason, your father will decide to stay,” he agreed.
At that moment, Ivy couldn’t imagine being apart from Brendan. She felt herself filling with determination again. “Then we’ll just have to come up with the right reason.”
“Hey, Vega!” a voice called.
Ivy spun around and saw Garrick Stephens and his greaseball goons, Dylan Soyle and Kyle Glass, winding their way toward the table. Instinctively, she rolled her eyes. The Beasts were the lamest vampires in the whole school.
“Word in the dirt is that you’re skipping town!” Garrick said happily.
“What’s it to you?” Ivy said coolly.
“Nothing,” Garrick said, but then he turned and grinned as his friends. “Nothing at all,” he repeated, wheeling back to face her, “except that with you gone the Beasts are going to rule the school!”
Kyle and Dylan laughed idiotically and waited for Garrick to give them high fives.
“As if,” said Sophia under her breath. “You tombstones couldn’t rule an empty cemetery plot.”
Garrick pretended not to hear. “So, uh, before you go, why don’t you do an article on us for the Scribe?”