‘Oh, you’re so lucky!’ Charlotte said.
Ivy let out her breath. What a let down! It seemed the two shallowest people currently in residence in Franklin Grove were destined to be friends. Ivy had been hoping for some kind of spontaneous combustion. Still, with two egos that size, there might be some fireworks to come.
‘I love your hair, too,’ Charlotte was saying. ‘And your ice sculpture is so fab.’
‘Thanks!’ Jessica said to Charlotte. Then she narrowed her eyes. ‘You must live here.’
Stop the press, Ivy thought. The girl is a genius.
Charlotte nodded eagerly.
‘That means,’ Jessica went on slyly, ‘you must go to school with . . . oh, what’s-her-name . . .’
‘I know everyone who’s anyone,’ Charlotte bragged, flipping her hair.
‘Dark hair, green eyes,’ Jessica went on vaguely. ‘Had some minor role in the movie.’
Charlotte was like a baby bird waiting for its breakfast, desperate to get the answer right. ‘Um . . . oh, I know! Olivia! Olivia Abbott!’
‘Hmm,’ Jessica said and Ivy wanted to dump the full potted plant’s worth of soil over her head.
How dare she pretend not to know Olivia’s name! Ivy thought.
Ivy was just about to step out and let Jessica have it when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around to see Mr Harker wearing what looked like the same pair of scruffy jeans from last night but with a different band’s T-shirt under his black blazer.
‘I was hoping to run into you, man,’ he said, as Ivy sheepishly stepped out from her hiding place. ‘Although I’m not sure I would have expected to do it behind a manicured plant.’
Ivy offered a weak smile. Maybe he will just decide I’m an idiot and not want me to star in any of his movies, she hoped.
‘Let’s find somewhere a little more quiet to talk,’ Harker commanded.
Ivy followed him through the throng to the drinks table.
‘Hello, sir,’ said the bartender, clearly aware who Harker was. ‘What can I get you?’
‘I’ll have what she’s having,’ Harker replied and the two of them waited for Ivy to decide.
‘Uh,’ she stammered. ‘Apple juice.’
While the bartender busied himself getting glasses, Ivy decided to be straight with Harker about her lack of acting ability. ‘Look,’ she said. ‘I’m not really . . .’
But the sound of Jessica’s forced laugh split through the crowd’s murmuring and interrupted her.
‘Always has to be the centre of attention,’ Ivy muttered.
‘That laugh is one of the most grating in Hollywood,’ said Mr Harker. ‘And there are some hyenas, let me tell you.’
Ivy hesitated, not sure if she should bite her tongue. After all, he cast Jessica in a movie – so maybe he didn’t find her that annoying. But Ivy was never very good at keeping her mouth shut.
‘Her laugh is the only thing faker than her tan,’ Ivy said. ‘Unless you count her hair extensions.’
Mr Harker chuckled, grabbing a stick of beef satay from a waitress’s tray.
Ivy was on a roll. ‘It is simply not possible to be that interested in a story about someone else’s finger nails.’ She sighed. ‘She is obviously very good at what she does, or she wouldn’t be so successful, but . . .’
‘Jessica does have the looks,’ Mr Harker said, but he leaned in and whispered, ‘Don’t you think she could do with filing her teeth more often?’
Ivy stepped back in surprise. Only a vampire would know to say that! And that must mean he knows that I’m one, too.
‘I did a little research,’ Harker explained, ‘and saw the VAMP magazine articles on you two. You’re already stars in the making, ready for the big screen,’ he said.
He must have been talking about the big feature that Georgia Huntingdon did on them before Christmas, when they had just found out they were twins. And there was the one with the Queen of Transylvania.
‘No, really, I –’ Ivy started. How can I tell him that a wooden stake would be better than me on screen?
‘Dude,’ Mr Harker said, ‘I don’t want you being modest. I’ve already got my lawyers drafting a studio contract to send to your agent. You do have an agent, don’t you?’
Ivy spotted an opportunity. ‘No, no, I don’t! Guess I’m just an amateur – shouldn’t be let near a movie set.’
‘I like your style,’ Mr Harker replied. ‘You negotiate your own terms. Excellent!’
Ack! Ivy thought. What do I have to do to put him off?
‘Harker!’ said a grey-haired man, grabbing a bottle of beer off the table. ‘The board is all round the table, waiting for you.’
‘Perfect timing, Greg,’ Harker said, thumping the guy on the back. ‘I’ve got a new star to introduce.’
Ivy gulped.
Chapter Four
‘Dudes,’ announced Mr Harker, ‘and Dudettes.’ He nodded to the three women around the table. ‘You’ve got to meet the Next Big Thing!’
He stood aside so that everyone could get a good look. Ivy wished she could sprout bat wings and fly away.
Harker had dragged her over to a side room that opened on to the main area, where the display of the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty was overshadowed by a round mahogany table. It was piled high with nibbles and drinks, but Ivy was too uncomfortable to get excited about the mini quiches. The sounds of the party faded as they stepped further into the room.
Now that Harker had outed himself as a vampire, Ivy could tell that all of the suits at the table were vamps and she wondered for a minute if Hollywood was run by vampires.
She hated it when people stared and the people round this table had absolutely no hesitation in evaluating her from her ponytail to her lace-up boots.
One man on the opposite side of the table put down his fork and said, ‘I’m not sure about the hairstyle.’
Ivy’s hands flew to her fringe. ‘What?’ she protested.
‘The fashion is current,’ commented another, like Ivy was a store mannequin.
‘You know it,’ Ivy retorted.
‘What about the nose?’ muttered a third.
‘Hey, now,’ Ivy started, ready to let them have it, but Harker interrupted.
‘Forget all that.’ He waved his hands. ‘This is Ivy Vega, the edgy opposite of her twin, the sugar-sweet Olivia Abbott.’
‘Ooooh.’ That seemed to impress the group.
I’ll have to tell Olivia that! Ivy thought.
‘And Ivy’s going to be just as good!’ Harker gave a thumbs up.
Ivy was starting to get a little panicky. She needed Olivia to come and deal with all the attention.
She looked over her shoulder through the open doorway and caught sight of Olivia in the main area, practically concealed behind the glass Eiffel Tower with Jackson.
Even if I did a cheerleading routine on the table, she wouldn’t notice, Ivy thought. I’m on my own.
‘There’s more,’ Harker went on.
Please no, Ivy thought. She wasn’t sure she could handle more.
He grinned and grabbed a leather messenger bag from under the table. ‘Just this morning, I closed the deal for the option on the hottest book series in town.’
Harker pulled a hardback out of the bag and held it up. The woman closest to Ivy, in a red off-one-shoulder blouse, gasped.
Ivy recognised the book from posters in bookstores and even on billboards. It was a dark, paranormal romance called Eternal Sunset about an immortal vampire girl and her sister who fall in love with two reincarnated boys once a century. Totally dumb and of course it had sold a gazillion copies.
‘And we need some really special actresses to play Carmina and Belinda, the two immortal vampires . . .’ Ivy started to see where Harker was going. ‘Carmina is a girly-girl, just like Olivia, and Belinda is edgy and dangerous, just like Ivy!’
‘I should tell you –’ Ivy started.
But Harker was so excited that his shag
gy hair was bouncing up and down with every other word. ‘Two sisters in real life, plus a great vampire actress on the big screen. What’s not perfect?’
To Ivy’s horror there was lots of nodding around the table.
‘But a debut?’ said the woman in green, sceptically. ‘I’m not sure we should go with someone untested.’
Ivy wanted to kiss the woman. ‘Actually, I –’
‘But don’t you see, Jennifer?’ Harker insisted, as he leaned over the table to grab a dumpling from one of the plates. ‘The wider public don’t know that Olivia has a twin sister. And if we can keep it that way, we can build up a whole mystery about who we’re casting. It’s a publicity dream!’
Jennifer frowned. ‘But that all falls apart the minute a pap gets a shot of the two of them together.’
Harker nodded. ‘Yup, that’s why I’m telling Ivy all this.’ He turned to her. ‘You two will have to stay on the down low.’
Don’t tell everyone that I’ve somehow been roped in to star in a blockbuster? Ivy thought. You’ll get no argument from me there.
‘If the news gets out before then,’ Harker said, ‘it just won’t work for the two of you.’
The gathered suits murmured like a mantra, ‘Just won’t work.’
Ivy started to see it clearly now.
Jennifer crossed her arms. ‘That’s low risk, then.’ She raised an eyebrow at Ivy. ‘Got that?’ she said. ‘If there’s a news leak, your sister and you are out.’
Ivy felt like it was almost a challenge.
‘What do you think, man?’ Harker prompted Ivy. ‘Can you do this for me?’
‘Er . . .’ Ivy didn’t care about her film career, but she knew how much this would mean to Olivia. She’d just have to try her best at this acting game. After all, weren’t there loads of actors and actresses out there who weren’t exactly brimming with talent? She could be one of them! ‘It’s an amazing offer,’ she began.
Jessica and Charlotte appeared in the open doorway, smiling brightly.
‘What are you all doing, hiding back here?’ Jessica said, her eyes flashing when she saw Ivy.
Charlotte piped up from behind. ‘Is this girl bothering you?’
Harker didn’t reply and the suits were tight-lipped. But Jessica was not about to take the hint.
Ivy realised she had the perfect opportunity to annoy Jessica. ‘Actually,’ she said to the group. ‘I’d love to take the role.’
‘Dude,’ said Harker appreciatively. The suits offered a smattering of applause.
Jessica looked like her head was going to spin around in a full circle. ‘What role?’ she asked through gritted teeth.
‘Now, now, Jessica,’ Ivy replied. ‘That would be a secret!’
‘That’s my girl,’ said Harker, popping another dumpling in his mouth.
Jessica opened her mouth, then closed it. ‘Well, I hope you break a leg,’ she said with sickly sweet venom, and then flounced away, Charlotte trailing behind.
‘There is nowhere I’d rather be than with you,’ Jackson said into Olivia’s ear, ‘but I think Amy will kill me if I hide in this corner for the whole party.’
Olivia smiled. She didn’t mind doing a circuit of the room on Jackson’s arm.
As they stepped out from behind the coloured glass, Olivia caught sight of her parents chatting to another couple near the ice sculpture of Jessica and Jackson. She steered Jackson in that direction.
‘Who are my parents talking to?’ Olivia wanted to know.
‘That’s the third wife of the studio’s financial guy,’ Jackson whispered as they approached.
The woman barely looked older than Camilla’s college-age sister and was wearing the largest diamond necklace Olivia had ever seen. ‘And he’s the financial guy,’ Jackson added. A short, balding man was ranting about accountants.
‘And I just can’t tell you the headache that clause 6.83 has caused us . . .’ He mopped his sweaty forehead with a linen handkerchief.
Mrs Abbott was smiling politely, but Olivia’s dad was pondering a silk screen of birds flying over a river.
The moment they joined the group, Mrs Abbott interrupted. ‘Oh, Olivia, sweetheart. Have you met George and Katrina?’
Katrina looked bored out of her mind.
‘Lovely to meet you,’ Olivia said to the bald man and his wife.
‘Olivia is my daughter,’ Mrs Abbott said, pulling Olivia in for a side-hug. ‘She was in the movie!’
‘Uh, well done,’ said George, uncomfortably. Olivia wondered if he’d even watched it. ‘I should go and find Edgar.’
Once the couple had disappeared into the crowd, Mr Abbott said, ‘I’m so glad you came over then. Like a babbling brook, that man.’
‘Behave,’ Mrs Abbott said, swatting his arm. ‘Now, Jackson, is this the first time you’ve been carved into a block of ice?’
Olivia noticed that the ice-Jackson’s nose was dripping, but it did really look like him.
‘It is,’ Jackson replied, ‘but apparently in two weeks, I’m going to be even bigger than that.’
‘Mount Rushmore?’ Mr Abbott asked, joking.
‘Actually, a balloon float just outside the Bright Stars awards show,’ Jackson replied. ‘I’m hosting.’
‘Hosting!’ Olivia couldn’t believe it. The Bright Stars? She had watched the whole two-hour show for the past three years running. It featured all the most glamorous and popular young celebrities – musicians, sports people and actors, as voted for by the public. She had even voted for Jackson once or twice. Or maybe more than that.
‘Mr and Mrs Abbott,’ Jackson said, taking a formal tone. ‘I would like to ask your permission to take Olivia as my date to the awards. You or Mr Vega could chaperone?’
Olivia wanted to do a back flip right then, but her dress was too long. She desperately hoped her parents would say yes.
Mrs Abbott clapped her hands. ‘Oh, I’m sure we could work something out. How wonderful!’
‘And . . .’ Jackson said. ‘I believe there’s a chance my beautiful girlfriend may be in the running for an award.’
‘Eee!’ Olivia couldn’t hold back the squeal that emerged. She felt part-excited, part-nauseous. To be on stage receiving an award? It was more than a girl from Franklin Grove could hope for – and it was the scariest thing Olivia had ever imagined.
‘Joy and trepidation spread like rays of the sun,’ quipped Mr Abbott.
‘But . . . don’t you have to be famous to do that?’ Olivia wondered.
Jackson smiled. ‘Up-and-coming famous is good enough for the shortlisting committee.’
Mrs Abbott gave Olivia a nudge. ‘That would be you!’
‘I’ve been in one movie!’
‘Well, I can’t promise,’ said Jackson, ‘it’s only a rumour I’ve heard.’
Before Olivia could reply, a blur of yellow dress and red hair interrupted.
‘News!’ said Amy Teller, flapping her gold-bangled arms. ‘I’ve got news!’
‘Hello, Amy,’ said Mrs Abbott.
‘Mrs Abbott. Steve. Lovely to see you,’ said Amy, air-kissing them quickly. She turned back to Jackson and Olivia. ‘This is big. It’s going to be HUGE!’
Olivia had never seen Amy so excited. Normally, she was shouting down the phone or frowning at some poor underling who’d got something wrong.
‘I’ve just been roped into negotiations by Jacob Harker about . . .’ Amy paused for suspense. ‘You!’ she said, looking straight at Olivia.
‘Me?’ Olivia was baffled. What would the head of the studio want with her? ‘Did I say “totally” too much in the movie? Or was I touching my hair?’ Had she flopped?
‘No, silly!’ Amy said. ‘He just loves you and wants you for the filming of Eternal Sunset – the biggest blockbuster in pre-production. I said, “Well, my client is going to need some special billing,” and he said –’
‘Your client?’ Olivia interrupted.
‘You practically are my client at this point, right?’
Amy waved her hand. ‘We’ll take care of the paperwork later.’ She was talking so fast Olivia could barely keep up. Harker thought she was star material!
‘Apparently, there’s some other newcomer actress playing your twin sister but – get this! – the fool is negotiating her own contract.’ Amy cackled with laughter. ‘Can you imagine how naive someone would have to be to try that in Hollywood?’
Olivia felt like she’d just won prom queen. She wondered for a moment who the other actress could be.
‘Do you know who it is?’ Jackson asked.
‘Some wannabe,’ she replied. ‘Harker didn’t say who, but does it matter? I’ve just landed Olivia a huge role!’
Jackson cleared his throat. ‘I think Olivia has landed herself a huge role.’
For an instant, Amy looked guilty. ‘Oh . . . I . . . uh . . .’
‘But,’ Olivia put in quickly, ‘I am glad for your help. After all, if Jackson chose you as his agent, then you must be the best.’
Amy beamed. ‘Aw, thanks. Now, we are going to make you huge!’
Jackson and the Abbotts looked delighted. Olivia gazed at the room full of producers and agents.
How has it happened that I’m part of this world? she marvelled.
Amy was babbling on about contracts and riders.
Whatever had happened to set this all in motion, Olivia was grateful. She’d always wanted to act professionally. This could be her big chance!
Chapter Five
Six days later, the sun was shining. Birds were chirping, chickens were clucking at her feet and Ivy didn’t mind in the slightest. Usually, vampires didn’t like this amount of sunlight or being near animals but, for today, Ivy was prepared to make an exception.
She and Olivia were with their dad at Aunt Rebecca’s ranch in Beldrake for a barbecue. Ever since the two of them had come to visit here a few weeks ago, it had become a home-from-home. The stables, the farmhouse, the big willow tree, the lake with the ducks: it was so picturesque. Their mother had stayed here every summer as a girl, and just being here made Ivy feel closer to her.
It was a relief to finally dress down again after the premiere and the party last week. The only people she’d see today were family and friends. Thank darkness!
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