Petra shook her head, staring out over the trees. ‘If only there wasn’t this big old forest in the way.’ She gave a deep sigh. ‘Etan dorms over there. I wonder what he eats for breakfast . . .’
Ivy glanced sideways at Petra. She could swear blind she saw the glisten of tears in her eyes. Oh, please.
Then Petra looked at her hopefully. ‘Of course, with you here, anything could happen now. Just think! One day I might even get to have a proper conversation with Etan. You know, if you keep the teachers distracted.’
Hold it right there! Ivy thought. Was Petra only hanging around with her because she thought Ivy’s talent for trouble would provide a good cover? Hello! I’m not a human decoy! Or was she genuinely opening up to Ivy? Petra seemed so confident most of the time; Ivy was sure she wouldn’t talk to most of the other students like this.
Ivy sighed. One nice thing about Franklin Grove – the people were a lot simpler. I almost wish I was back there . . . I wonder what Brendan’s doing right now? Just thinking this made her feel a bit more sorry for Petra. It hurt Ivy to be so far from her boyfriend and it must really hurt Petra to know that the boy she liked was just on the other side of this forest.
‘I’ve had an idea,’ Ivy said, walking over to inspect one of the trees on the edge of the Gauntlet. It looks sturdy enough – surely it can take two girls scrambling up into its branches . . . ‘Shall we?’ she asked, turning back to her friend.
‘Shall we what?’ asked Petra.
‘Take a peek!’ Ivy patted the thick tree trunk.
Petra looked from Ivy to the tree and back to Ivy. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me! We can’t.’ Petra shook her head rapidly. ‘I can’t.’
‘Etan might be over there.’ Ivy smiled innocently. ‘Besides, we have a couple of minutes to kill, don’t we?’
Petra set her jaw, practically glaring at the tree. ‘You’re right. I have to see him. Give me a boost.’
Ivy held out her hands, lacing her fingers together to form a step for Petra like she had seen her sister do during cheerleading practice. She lifted Petra to the lowest branch and in turn Petra reached out a hand to help Ivy up. Together, they scrambled to a higher branch.
‘Can you see them?’ Ivy asked, breathing hard.
Petra pointed. ‘There, on the sports field. There’s a bunch of boys playing.’ Ivy watched them running around in their rugby shirts, waiting for the match to start.
‘This is crazy.’ Ivy laughed, even though she wasn’t sure she really thought it was funny. ‘It’s like we’re living in one big zoo and the boys are the main exhibit.’
Petra clutched her heart. ‘I wish we had better views, then. Up close and personal.’
This girl has it bad! ‘Yeah,’ Ivy said, leaning back against the trunk, her legs dangling from the branch she was sitting on. ‘Back in Franklin Grove I got to hang out with my boyfriend all the time. He was one of my best friends. I can’t imagine . . . living like this.’
The two of them fell quiet. Beside her, Ivy could sense Petra holding her breath, probably hoping for a glance of Etan.
There was the sound of a twig snapping and an adult’s voice called from the base of the tree.
‘You two, what are you doing up there?’ A long-nosed teacher with circular spectacles peered up at them from below.
Ivy and Petra looked at each other wide-eyed and scrambled down.
‘Coming!’ called Ivy.
She dropped to the ground only a moment after Petra, brushing off her uniform.
‘Sorry, Miss . . . um . . .’
‘Kornikova,’ said the woman, like she’d just swallowed a spoonful of curdled milk.
‘Miss Kornikova. Right.’ Ivy tried to look innocent. ‘You see, we were just preparing for our first Herbal Science class this afternoon and – oh, look at the time! We better get going!’
Ivy grabbed Petra’s hand and the two of them scurried away, walking fast past the forest. Petra had fallen silent and Ivy was glad to be left to her thoughts for a few moments. That was a close call!
The two of them sat through lessons that felt more like torture for Ivy: choir practice, which involved singing Gothic chants, and then on to Domestic Science, where they were taught the finer points of making steak tartare. Ivy loved Gothic songs, but her newly long fangs kept catching on her gums. And although she loved eating steak tartare, she hated chopping up the meat with the raw egg! Where’s Horatio when you need him?
Finally it was time for Herbal Science. They headed towards a large, glass greenhouse. This was one class that Ivy was actually looking forward to. Around the time of Prince Alex and Tessa’s royal wedding, Ivy had discovered her knack for vampire botany. Olivia had been mistakenly treated with vampire medicine after she’d fallen into a nasty patch of Bloodbite Nettles. With the help of the Lazar family herbal scientist, Helga, Ivy had created a poultice, mixing plants and potions to cure her twin sister.
Ivy and Petra arrived outside the state-of-the-art greenhouse with its whirring fans and electric sprinklers. Half a dozen metal tables were set up behind a chalkboard, with stools lined up along both sides of the tables. Potted plants hung in baskets above, their tendrils snaking through the air.
‘Good afternoon, class!’ From behind a screen, an older vampire woman emerged, wearing a dark-green apron and canvas gloves. Her frizzy grey hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and streaks of dirt covered both her cheeks.
‘Helga?’ Ivy blurted before she could stop herself. ‘I didn’t know you were teaching here.’