“That’s pretty fatal,” Ivy concluded.
“Cool!” Olivia said.
“Depends which town your head’s in,” Sophia joked.
“So how do I become one?” Olivia asked.
Ivy couldn’t tell if her sister was serious, and she paused for a moment before answering. “It’s not easy,” she said at last, a tinge of genuine disappointment fluttering inside her. Ever since she’d met Olivia, she’d been trying not to think about the fact that one day, her sister would no longer be with her.
“You have to be born one,” Sophia explained. “That’s what makes you two a complete mystery.”
“But what if a human gets bitten?” Olivia asked.
“Doesn’t happen,” Ivy said, “at least, not anymore.”
“Very last century,” Sophia chimed in. “But if it did?” Olivia pressed.
“They’d probably die,” Ivy admitted. “But if not,” she went on, “they’d become one of us.”
The FoodMart sign appeared in the distance, and Olivia smiled to herself. She was on her way to meet Sophia in the parking lot for the last ball planning meeting, and, over her shoulder, a black faux-leather duffel bag was filled near to bursting with supercool decorations to show the committee.
Olivia couldn’t get over how quickly the past week had whizzed by. Between meeting Ivy in the afternoons to practice cheering, trying to stay on top of her schoolwork, and her work for the planning committee, Olivia hadn’t had a moment’s rest.
She’d told her parents that she was head of decorations for a school dance, which was at least partly true. Her mom got excited about buying a dress until Olivia hastily explained that it was exclusively for older students, and she wouldn’t be attending.
Every evening, Olivia’s mother, who’d been prom queen in high school, spent hours online with Olivia, finding and ordering ball decorations being sure to stick to the ball’s budget. Then, when Olivia finally got to bed, she couldn’t fall asleep right away because she was busy thinking about the whole new world of vampires she had discovered. Count Vira totally paled in comparison.
Sophia was waiting in front of the FoodMart doors. Olivia linked arms with her, and together they went inside. As they made their way down aisle nine, Olivia asked if she could be the one to say “pumpernickel” today.
“No way,” said Sophia with a serious look. “If an outsider says the password, they burst into flames!”
Olivia gasped. “Just kidding,” Sophia said, laughing. “Go for it.”
At the meeting, everybody loved the decorations, especially the bats, which were totally lifelike and only cost thirty cents apiece.
“Where did you get these?” Vera asked in a dumbstruck voice, turning one over in her pale hand. “It’s so real.”
“At a website that supplies museums and zoos,” Olivia answered. “Liquidation sale.”
At one point, the Beasts tried to butt in with another of their grisly ideas, but Olivia stopped them cold with one of Ivy’s death squints. They didn’t say another word.
When she finished showing what she’d brought, the committee burst into applause. Olivia didn’t even know that Goths could spontaneously clap with enthusiasm. She was thrilled.
“Great work, Ivy,” Melissa said. “I can’t wait for next Friday night.”
Sophia nudged Olivia’s leg approvingly under the table.
After the meeting ended, Olivia and Sophia made a quick exit. Olivia ducked behind the FoodMart and changed into her normal clothes, while Sophia stood guard; Olivia only had fifteen minutes to get to the mall for a shopping date with Camilla.
She stuffed Ivy’s outfit in the duffel with all the decorations and handed it to Sophia, who said, “You’re getting pretty good at this.”
“Aren’t I?” said Olivia.
A half hour later, Olivia was standing in the bookstore with Camilla when her cell phone rang.
“Hey, Ivy!” Olivia said brightly, answering the phone and stepping into the crowded mall corridor to talk. “What’s up? How was practice?”
“Terrible!” Ivy’s voice crackled.
Olivia stiffened. “What happened?”
“It didn’t go anything like last week!” Ivy sounded totally distraught. “I was running late,” she said, “and by the time I finished making myself pink, I couldn’t find your pom-poms. I looked everywhere, Olivia. Finally, I just had to go to practice without them.”
“Oh, no,” Olivia winced. A cheerleader never loses her poms! she thought.
“I might as well have bitten someone. Ms. Barnett gave me this eternal lecture about commitment and responsibility,” Ivy went on.
Olivia shuddered.
“And then it just got worse from there,” Ivy said miserably. “I was so flustered I forgot the words to one of the cheers.”
Olivia closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Olivia.” Her sister sounded on the verge of tears. “Ms. Barnett seemed utterly disappointed. It would have been a complete loss if it weren’t for Camilla.”
“Camilla?” Olivia’s eyes snapped open and she spun around to look through the bookstore window. There were her friend’s golden curls in the sci-fi section. “I’m at the mall with her right now!” she whispered.
“Oh, I wondered what she meant when she said she’d see me at five,” Ivy responded.
“What was she doing at practice?” Olivia asked.