“Well, thank you for feedback, Olivia,” Charlotte huffed. “But it’s clear you don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, I’ll forgive you for not knowing this because you’re new, but let me tell you something about those Goths. The walking dead don’t have feelings!”
How utterly great, Ivy thought grimly as the bell rang for the last class of the day. The new girl— who looks just like me but is best friends with Charlotte Brown—is in my science class, too.
Ivy slumped in her chair in the back row. She could not believe Olivia had been sucked into Charlotte’s web so easily. Olivia might share Ivy’s nose, but that was obviously where the resemblance ended.
Uh-oh. Olivia was coming over. “Hi,” Olivia said quietly. She seemed embarrassed.
She should be! thought Ivy.
Olivia said, “Mr. Strain told me you’re my lab partner.”
What?! This is so unbelievably O-negative, Ivy raged silently. She was now officially having the weirdest and worst day ever. She was ready to say something really grave, but the look on Olivia’s face stopped her.
“I am so horrified by what Charlotte said at lunch. I mean, you are, like, the nicest person I’ve met so far. I know I should have said something on the spot. It’s just that, I don’t know, I was so shocked. I mean, look at you. You’ve got unbelievable style,” Olivia said.
“P-pardon me?” Ivy stammered.
“That’s the coolest dress I’ve seen all day!” Olivia went on. “And I’m absolutely going to try the chopstick-in-the-hair thing. You’ve got way more style than Charlotte Brown.”
Ivy was speechless.
“Anyway,” Olivia concluded, “I’m really sorry.”
Maybe Olivia Abbott wasn’t a cheerleader underling after all. Ivy moved her books aside so Olivia could sit down.
“It’s okay,” Ivy said. “I’m used to Charlotte’s petty ways. I bet she didn’t tell you I’m her nextdoor neighbor.”
“Are you serious?” Olivia asked incredulously.
“Dead serious. And she never misses an opportunity to say something nasty.” Ivy rolled her eyes. “I guess it’s a cheerleader thing.”
Olivia shook her head firmly. “I cheered at my old school, and most cheerleaders aren’t like that—any more than Goth girls are all witches.”
“As if.” Ivy laughed, impressed.
Olivia opened her notebook. “I mean, it would be one thing if you’d done something. But for Charlotte to act like that out of nowhere—”
“Actually,” Ivy interrupted, “there was sixth grade.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. “What happened in sixth grade?”
“I tried—”
Mr. Strain appeared in front of their desk. “Don’t you two think you should be preparing your lab materials like the rest of the class?”
“Sorry,” they both mumbled. Ivy sheepishly handed a pair of safety goggles to Olivia. A few moments later, when Mr. Strain had gone, she continued in a whisper, “I tried out for cheerleading.”
“YOU tried out—” Olivia gasped, but Ivy motioned for Olivia to keep her voice down. “For cheerleading?” Olivia finished in a whisper.
“Yep.” Ivy smiled. “My dad wanted me to have an extracurricular. I actually made the squad. But, guess . . . who ...didn’t?”
“No way.” Olivia’s jaw dropped.
“Way.” Ivy grinned. “Charlotte was only first alternate.”
“You can cheer?” Olivia asked.
“I may not be a smiler, but I am really good at gymnastics,” Ivy replied.
“You can too smile,” objected Olivia.
“Yes, but I don’t like to smile,” Ivy said. “And I certainly don’t like to be perky. Truth is, I wasn’t really into the ‘cheer’ part of cheerleading.”
Olivia wrinkled her nose. “That part is really important,” she admitted.
“It just wasn’t my style,” Ivy explained. “Even my dad knew it. So, after the first week, I quit and joined the newspaper.”
“And what happened?” probed Olivia.
“Charlotte got to fill the spot I left. That was the only reason she made the squad. She’s never gotten over it. And the rest, as they say—”
“Is middle school!” Olivia blurted. They both laughed.
“Ladies!” Mr. Strain interrupted from across the room. “Please focus on the experiment at hand! We are exploring the combustion of plant matter, not your social lives!”
Olivia made a face and raised her hand to turn on the Bunsen burner. There was a dark emerald ring on her middle finger.
The strange feeling Ivy had experienced earlier when she’d looked at Olivia rushed back over her like a tidal wave. Her hand instantly flew to her neck, and she felt for the ring on its chain beneath her dress. She found it near her throat. But how could there be two of them? The ring was the only thing she had from her real parents. She was sure it was one of a kind. How could Olivia have one, too?
“Ivy?” Olivia was staring at her. “Are you okay?”
Somehow Ivy forced herself to smile. “F-fine,” she stammered.
Ivy didn’t know how she would make it to the end of class, but she did. When the bell finally rang, she grabbed Olivia’s arm. “Come with me!”
“Sure,” Olivia said. “Where to?”
Ivy looked around wildly as they stepped into the hallway. “The bathroom.”