Sophia gasped, her arms flying up to cover her gingham shirt.
Ivy rolled her eyes. ‘Your arms are in the sleeves of your shirt, Sophia. You can’t hide gingham by covering it up with gingham sleeves!’
Sophia looked at the floor. ‘What are you even doing here?’
‘Your mom told me where I could find you.’ Ivy crossed her arms. ‘But she didn’t tell me why you’d come here in the first place.’
Sophia shrugged, lifting her chin defiantly.
‘There’s a special offer.’
‘On what?’
Her friend didn’t answer, so Ivy leaned out from the line of girls, craning her neck to see. The line ended in a hair salon, and the poster in front showed . . .
Ivy’s mouth dropped open. ‘You wouldn’t!’
A short-haired, blonde girl smiled out from the poster. Her hairstyle was the same as worn by everyone in the flock of skater-girls from the park the other day – the ones who’d applauded Finn’s ‘bodacious cabs’ as if their lives depended on it.
Half-Price Cut-and-Dye Today! read the banner at the bottom of the poster.
Ivy turned to stare at her friend. ‘You cannot be serious.’
‘Why not?’ Sophia asked. She crossed her arms stubbornly. ‘Are you turning into Amelia now, Ivy? Telling other goths what to wear?’
Ivy gasped. ‘I am not like Amelia!’
‘No?’ From behind her sunglasses, Sophia raised an accusatory eyebrow.
Taking a deep breath, Ivy forced herself to imagine her friend with short, blonde, pixie-style hair. But her brain simply refused to form the image.
‘Look,’ Ivy said. She fought to keep her voice soft and reasonable. ‘At the risk of sounding like Charlotte Brown, have you actually stopped to think how this is going to look?’
Sophia’s chin jutted out. ‘I’ll pull it off.’
Where was the vamp-fashionista Ivy had known her whole life? Taking a deep breath, she stepped closer. ‘What will your parents say when you get home and reveal this new-look? They’ll totally freak out.’
Sophia’s jaw clenched, but she didn’t back down. ‘It’ll be worth it.’
Ivy shook her head. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she hissed: ‘You can’t say that Finn is worth this much trouble and effort. You’ve known him for one week, and the most you’ve talked to him is when you fell down in front of him.’
‘Finn has nothing to do with it,’ Sophia hissed back. ‘I just want to try a new look for our new school. That’s all!’
Ivy sighed. Yeah, right. If her friend wasn’t ready to admit to her crush, then Ivy wasn’t about to humiliate her by pressing the point.
But as the line shuffled forwards, the entrance to the hair salon grew ominously close, like a whirlpool sucking in helpless sailors.
If I don’t think of something fast, Ivy thought, my best friend is going to make a horrible mistake. We don’t have much time!
We don’t have much time! Olivia had to bite back an Ivy-like growl of frustration, even as her dance partner dipped her in a romantic twirl. She had never endured such an awful dance. It wasn’t her partner’s fault – Will, Jackson’s body double, was a fabulous dancer. But she’d been trying to get back to Jackson, without any success, ever since Mr Harker had first started blaring 50s music on the yacht.
For some reason, Jackson seemed to be exempt to Mr Harker’s rule that everybody ‘get down’. Instead, he sat typing on his tablet device, as if the rest of the cast and crew weren’t spinning on the deck-turned-dance floor right in front of him.
Every time a new song ended, Olivia had made a move to cross the deck towards him. But – every time – she’d found another cast member walking into her path with a big smile and a hand held out to sweep her into the next dance. It was so smoothly done, she wondered if the whole thing had been choreographed!
As the latest song finished, she smiled and pulled away from Will as quickly as she could without being rude. She could feel Jackson’s presence at the edge of the deck, like a magnet pulling her towards him. Finally! She started towards him . . .
. . . and Mr Harker beckoned her over. ‘Olivia!’
Argh! As another track kicked in, Olivia forced herself not to let the annoyance show on her face. She couldn’t offend the studio boss . . . even if she was ready to scream at yet another interruption!
‘Yes?’ she said politely. ‘Did you want to dance?’
‘Ha!’ Mr Harker grinned. ‘Don’t sweat it.’ He glanced meaningfully at where Jackson sat on the edge of the deck, still typing on his tablet device. ‘I know exactly what busy bees are buzzing through your brain.’
‘Then why are you getting in my way?’ The words burst out of Olivia’s mouth before she could stop them. Horrified at her own loss of control, she clapped her hand over her mouth . . . but it was too late to take the words back. Way to tell him everything!
Harker smiled and leaned closer to whisper in her ear. ‘It’s a basic rule of storytelling, kiddo – the longer the audience is made to wait, the better it feels when the characters finally get what they want.’ As he straightened, he gave her an approving nod. ‘But you’re not the audience. Go get him!’
‘Thank you!’ Olivia breathed a sigh of relief as the studio boss made way for her with a dramatic, sweeping gesture.
Smoothing down her skirt, she started towards Jackson. At last! He was so focused on his tablet, he didn’t see her approaching.
Olivia pasted a confident smile on her face. I will make this happen. I will –
‘Aaah!’ She let out a cry as the ground moved beneath her feet, throwing her forwards. The yacht had lurched back into motion again at just the wrong time!
She landed straight on top of Jackson, knocking the tablet from his hand. As it crashed to the ground, she cringed. Smooth move, Olivia!
‘Sorry!’ She scrambled off him and reached for the tablet.
‘No!’ Jackson lunged forwards, almost knocking her aside. ‘Don’t!’
He grabbed the tablet from the deck and Olivia tried not to feel hurt. ‘I wouldn’t have dropped it,’ she told him. ‘I’m not that clumsy.’
‘That’s not what I . . .’ Jackson inspected it hastily, then clicked the power off and hid it behind his back
Olivia blinked. What is he trying to hide?
He collected himself, taking a deep breath and flashing his megawatt smile. ‘Anyway,’ he said, and gestured down the deck in front of them with his free hand. ‘Now that we’re moving again, do you want to have a last look at the view?’
Are we already that close to the end of the trip? Olivia fought down panic as she followed him around the weather deck. Up ahead, she could see the dock that signalled the end of their boat ride, coming closer and closer with every moment. Jackson pointed out landmarks, talked charmingly about the weather and the film . . . but he didn’t say a word – in any accent – about them.
Am I the only one being driven mad by this? Olivia wondered, forcing herself to smile and keep up her side of their conversation. All she could see, though, was the dock ahead of them. Look at it, she thought grimly, all beautiful and opulent. She had never before wanted anything so wonderful-looking to drift further and further away instead of closer!
Jackson was frowning at her. ‘So you think it’s a bad idea, then?’
‘Huh?’ Olivia snapped back out of her thoughts. Uh-oh. Jackson must have seen the look on her face, and thought it had been in response to something he’d said. But what had he been saying? She’d been so distracted she’d zoned out!
‘Um . . . I’m not sure,’ she hedged. ‘What do you think?’
‘Well, he seems OK to me,’ Jackson said slowly. ‘But I guess what I really wondered was, what you thought of him.’
Olivia’s mind was blank. Who are we talking about?
Then she followed Jackson’s gaze to where Will, his body double, stood at the other end of the deck, watching them.
‘Oh, Will!’ Olivia almost laughed
with relief as she found her way back into the conversation. ‘What do I think of him? Well . . .’
She remembered knocking him over in her hoop-skirt, when she’d thought that he was Jackson. Her face burned with renewed embarrassment.
A crease appeared in Jackson’s brow. ‘Why are you blushing?’
‘Oh . . . no reason,’ Olivia mumbled. ‘Really. It’s not worth explaining.’
‘No?’ Jackson’s frown deepened. ‘I’d really like to hear it, though.’
Silence pulsed between them as the dock grew closer and closer. I can’t tell him what happened, Olivia thought. It’s too embarrassing! But she had to say something to break the odd tension that was growing between them at that moment.
‘Um, he’s very convincing,’ she said, ‘as a body double, but . . .’
‘But . . .?’ Jackson asked.
‘Well, he’s nowhere near as kind and thoughtful as you are,’ Olivia blurted. ‘Who could be?’
Jackson let out a half-laugh, stepping back. ‘You don’t have to say that. Seriously –’
‘I mean it!’ She frowned at him, putting her hands on her hips. ‘Honestly, who else would hire a boat for the entire crew?’
‘Olivia . . .’ Jackson shook his head, flushing. ‘You know I like to do nice things for people.’
Olivia stepped forwards, closing the distance between them. ‘I know, but even so . . . it’s pretty awesome . . .’
Her words dried up as embarrassment hit her. Am I really lecturing Jackson about himself ? ‘I’m sorry,’ she mumbled. She felt her face flush again. ‘I’ve been talking too much, haven’t I?’
‘No,’ Jackson said gently. He grinned, and this time it wasn’t the smile from the posters and magazine covers. It was a smile Olivia knew from their time as a couple.
A personal smile, just for her.
He took her hand, looking straight into her eyes. ‘Everything you say is absolutely perfect,’ he said. ‘In fact –’
Bump!
The yacht had hit the dock with a thud. Jackson’s mouth snapped shut as he looked around nervously.
Suddenly, there were people streaming towards them from every direction, talking and laughing and eager to disembark.
Jackson let go of her hand. ‘I guess it’s time to go,’ he said.
Olivia nodded. But as she looked at her ex-boyfriend-now-something-else, she felt an ache burn deep in her chest. ‘It was a wonderful afternoon,’ she said softly.
It was true.
But why was she now feeling anything but wonderful?
Chapter Eight
Ivy’s stomach felt tight with dread as the line of skater-girls shuffled forwards, bringing the black leather hairdresser’s chair closer and closer. Sophia’s really going to go through with this!
They were fourth in line now, and the team of hairdressers was working fast – too fast! Ivy watched the latest identical blonde skater-girl emerge from the salon, beaming and stroking her identikit haircut. It’s like watching a parade of clones! Can’t Sophia see that?
The big, black chair looked ready to swallow up the next unique, individual girl and spit her out as yet another copy of SkaterGirl 2.0. If Ivy didn’t think fast, the same thing was about to happen to her best friend.
If only Olivia was here! Ivy’s twin would never have pressed the point so hard. She’d have been able to explain gently to Sophia just why this was such a terrible idea.
I don’t have those skills! Ivy thought glumly.
How many more times could she simply repeat, ‘It’s not a good look for you’? Because, so far, that tactic was not working and she felt mean even saying it. Telling people how they should look is so not ‘me’.
‘Next!’ the top hairdresser announced.
Yet another skater girl jumped off the black chair, her hair magically transformed into exactly the same colour and cut as every other girl’s before her.
Sophia beamed as she moved forwards in the line. Ivy’s heart rate sped up. I wonder just how much trouble I would get into for setting off this mall’s fire alarm?
‘Oh, would you please stop scowling?’ Sophia demanded, shaking her head at Ivy. ‘What if this style is the “new me”?’
‘It can’t be!’ Frantically, Ivy waved from the latest skater-girl to Sophia. ‘They all look exactly the same. Just think about that.’
‘No, you think about it.’ Sophia slid her sunglasses down her nose and glared at Ivy. ‘You seem to want me to look just the same as every other goth. How is that any different? Are you, of all people, seriously going to force another person to look a certain way? Just because it’s the way you look? Because, if you are, then . . . there’s really no difference between you and Amelia Thompson.’
Ivy stared at her friend, her jaw slack.
Sophia nudged her sunglasses back into place. Smiling serenely, she followed the line as it shuffled forwards yet again as one more skater clone strode proudly out of the salon. Numbly, Ivy turned and followed after.
I can’t stay and watch, she thought.
But Sophia was right: this decision was hers to make.
High school is pretty challenging, Ivy thought miserably. Her best friend was making a drastic mistake, all the social rules had been turned upside-down . . .
Things had seemed so much less serious back in eighth grade!
The next morning, Ivy couldn’t stop clicking refresh on her emails in between checking her phone. Still no messages from Sophia. Is she giving me the cold shoulder?
Ivy didn’t even know if they’d had a proper falling-out! It didn’t feel like it . . . but maybe that’s only by middle school rules. Maybe by high school rules, I really offended her.
As Ivy checked her phone one more time, she finally asked herself the real question she’d been dreading: Are we even friends any more?
‘Why so glum?’
Ivy gave a start as Olivia’s beaming face suddenly filled the computer screen, courtesy of the Lonely Echo messaging system.
‘I have never been so glad to see you!’ Ivy felt tears burn at the back of her eyes. ‘I really need help.’
Olivia’s smile turned into a concerned frown. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘It’s Sophia.’ Ivy spilled out the whole story of their friend’s transformation, ending with the madness at the mall. As she explained, she watched Olivia’s face go pale with horror.
‘A blonde pixie-cut?’ Olivia gasped. ‘That’s crazy!’
‘That’s what I said!’ Ivy swallowed hard. ‘But she just thought I was trying to force her into being a Goth Clone. Like I wasn’t respecting her individuality.’
‘It has nothing to do with individuality,’ Olivia said. ‘Sophia just doesn’t have the colouring for blonde hair. It would look completely unnatural on her. It would make her look sallow! And, with the shape of her face, a pixie-cut is the least flattering style I can imagine. And she looks awesome just as she is!’
‘I knew you’d find the right words to explain it.’ Ivy smiled wearily. ‘I could have used you yesterday.’
‘But I wasn’t there.’ Olivia bit her lip, looking away. ‘I’m so sorry . . .’
‘Don’t be.’ Ivy shrugged, looking down at her silent phone. ‘It’s my fault, for not being able to talk her out of it.’
Her twin sighed. ‘From what you’ve said, I’m not sure anyone could have talked Sophia out of it, if she was really determined to impress this “Finn” boy. She’s never had a major crush before, has she?’
‘No,’ Ivy said.
Olivia shrugged. ‘Then this one must be hitting her extra-hard.’
‘It’s probably just a phase, though, right?’ Ivy twirled the bat-ring on her finger nervously. ‘I mean, most girls grow out of their first crushes pretty quickly, don’t they?’
‘Um . . .’ Olivia looked meaningfully at the ring Ivy was twirling on her finger . . . a ring given to her by Brendan. ‘Maybe some girls do,’ she said.
Ivy followed Oliv
ia’s gaze to her finger and groaned, letting go of her ring as if it had burned her. ‘You’re right! My first crush was Brendan, all those years ago, and yours –’
‘– was Jackson,’ Olivia finished softly.
They looked at each other, wide-eyed. Then they both began to laugh.
‘I guess we’re hardly ones to talk,’ said Olivia
Ivy leaned back in her chair, idly picking up a glass of Strawberry HemoGlobules and taking a long sip through her ruby-red straw. ‘So,’ she said, ‘speaking of Jackson, how’s everything going on-set?’
‘Honestly?’ Olivia let out a groan and tipped her head into her hands.
Ivy winced and set down her drink. ‘That bad?’
‘The work is great,’ Olivia said, her voice muffled by her hands. ‘The work is fabulous. But Jackson . . .’
Ivy’s shoulders stiffened. She could feel the beginnings of a death-squint. ‘What has he done?’
‘Nothing,’ Olivia said, her eyes filled with frustration. ‘That’s the problem. He took me on a boat ride yesterday down the Thames.’
Sitting back, Ivy raised her eyebrows. ‘Sounds . . . romantic?’
‘Well, I thought so,’ Olivia said. ‘I thought he was going to say something romantic, or make some kind of declaration. But it turned out . . . he just wanted to go on the boat ride!’
Ivy grimaced sympathetically. ‘So what now?’
‘Now we’re in London for just one more day before production goes on a break,’ Olivia said. ‘Then he’ll be going back to Hollywood, and I’ll be coming home. And nothing will have changed!’
Ivy frowned. ‘You’re not done with shooting yet, are you?’
‘But when we start shooting again, we’ll be doing scenes without each other!’ Olivia slumped. ‘I know you think film sets must be great, but they’re a lot less fun without the boy you love.’
Ivy fought to keep her mouth from dropping open. In her lap, her phone began to ring for the first time in twenty-four hours. She’d been waiting all day to hear that sound . . . but now she ignored it.
Did Olivia even realise she’d just finally let slip her true feelings?
13 Double Disaster - My Sister the Vampire Page 9
