14 Flipping Out - My Sister the Vampire

by Sienna Mercer

  Amelia gasped, grabbing on to him and clinging to his shoulders as his board screeched to a stop. Finn’s arms locked around her waist. As Olivia watched, open-mouthed, his head lowered towards Amelia. The Goth-Queen’s eyes drifted closed as her head tipped back, obviously waiting for his kiss . . .

  And Mr Russell’s voice snapped through the air.

  ‘That’s it!’ Looking triumphant, the English teacher marched down the hall. ‘It’s detention for you this time, Mr Jorgensen. You’ve been told before about skateboarding inside the school!’

  Not now! Olivia pleaded silently. But it was too late.

  Groaning, Finn let go of Amelia. She stepped back hastily, brushing herself down and not meeting his gaze. Without a word of protest, Finn scooped up his skateboard and followed after Mr Russell, all the way to Principal Carson’s office.

  Olivia shook her head despairingly as she watched him disappear behind the closed door. Then she looked back at Amelia . . . and began to smile.

  The Goth-Queen was still gazing after Finn as if no one else in the world existed.

  Talk about a perfect ‘Meet Cute’ moment! Olivia bit her lip to hold back a burst of delighted laughter as she sidled up to Amelia. ‘That was quite heroic, wasn’t it?’ she murmured. ‘The way he saved you . . .’

  ‘Sorry?’ Amelia seemed to snap out of a daydream. Her face tightened, as if she were preparing some sharp remark . . . but then she sagged. ‘Yeah,’ she said softly. Her eyes turned back to the closed door of Principal Carson’s office. ‘I guess it was.’

  Yes! Olivia wanted to do a high-jump of triumph. Instead, she opened her mouth, already preparing her next move. She knew exactly what to say next: No other boy would have done what Finn did!

  But Principal Carson’s office door opened before she could say a word.

  ‘This is outrageous!’ Mr Russell burst out, red-faced, and stalked down the hallway, scattering students in his wake.

  Behind him, Finn and the principal stepped out together . . . and they were both smiling!

  What on earth is going on? Olivia wondered, freezing halfway to her locker.

  As she watched, Finn and Principal Carson shook hands. Then Finn started walking . . . straight towards Amelia.

  The whole hallway went silent as everyone gathered around, eyes wide.

  Amelia waited in front of her locker, and for once, the Goth-Queen looked anything but cool. One hand fluttered up to touch her hair. Her other hand closed around her locker door. Olivia could see Amelia’s chest rising and falling, as if she were breathing quickly.

  Finn came to a halt in front of her, grinning, his blond hair falling over his shoulders and his blue eyes intent. ‘So,’ he said. ‘I just agreed on a new plan with Principal Carson. You know how I’ve been doing some volunteering with kids, teaching them how to skateboard?’

  ‘Um . . . yeah?’ Amelia raised her eyebrows, obviously trying to look bored. It didn’t work. Her fingers visibly tightened on the door of her locker.

  Finn’s grin widened. ‘Well, Carson says I can do something like that here, too. I’ll be giving lunchtime lessons in the skatepark to any students who are interested. And the thing is . . .’ He paused, running one hand through his hair and starting to look nervous for the first time. ‘The thing is, I need someone to manage the programme, and, well, I’ve seen you hanging out at the skatepark a lot. So . . .’ He spread out his hands questioningly. ‘Would you be interested in joining me?’

  Eek! This is perfect! Olivia could barely stop from hugging herself in delight. Asking her to help him with his skateboarding? He might as well be asking her on a date!

  She wanted to shout ‘YES!’ on Amelia’s behalf. It took everything in her to firmly button up her lip. No more meddling, remember? Just please, please let her make the right decision! She will make the right decision . . . won’t she?

  The whole hallway was silent, waiting, as Amelia looked down at the linoleum squares on the floor, a crease forming in her forehead. Finn’s smile wavered. Olivia panicked.

  Uh-oh. She surely can’t say no . . .

  As she watched, Amelia chewed on her black-lipsticked lip, frowning harder. Finn’s smile disappeared. He started to step back.

  Then Amelia looked up, let go of her locker, and held out her hand. ‘Shake on it,’ she said. ‘I’m in!’

  ‘Yes!’ Finn’s face broke into the biggest smile Olivia had ever seen as he grabbed Amelia’s hand . . . but not to shake it. Instead, he yanked her forwards into a hug.

  And Amelia threw her arms around him to hug him back!

  Gasps sounded all around them. Goths, skaters and bunnies all stared in shock. A small smattering of applause broke out – then quickly died.

  Uh-oh. Olivia snuck a covert look around . . . then started grinning. No one seemed to be really offended by ‘Famelia’ after all – they were just completely baffled by the concept!

  Finn and Amelia didn’t seem to have any trouble with it, though. And the complete incomprehension on everyone else’s faces as Finn swung Amelia round in a spinning hug was actually pretty hilarious . . . especially as the closest students all had to scramble backwards to avoid being hit by Amelia’s flying feet!

  The looks on Finn’s and Amelia’s faces, as he awkwardly set her down, were just adorable.

  Olivia let out a happy sigh. Maybe it’ll take time, but everyone will come around in the end, she decided, looking at the gathering of shocked faces. And then we’ll see how strong the barriers between people at this school really are!

  Finn only seemed to notice his observers as he set Amelia down. ‘Um, I’m so – pleased,’ he said hastily, and shot a look back at his staring skater friends. ‘I mean, because we’ll need your organisational skills.’

  ‘Oh, yeah?’ Amelia asked. She was grinning, too, for the first time since Olivia had met her. ‘You’ve noticed my skills?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ Finn said. ‘I’ve seen the way you keep your gang of friends together. You’re the best!’

  Amelia didn’t say a word. But she was blushing with delight . . . and as her gaze caught Olivia’s, Olivia couldn’t help giving the Goth-Queen a fat wink.

  Amelia’s blush deepened.

  ‘So, we’d better work out the details, right?’ Finn held out his hand to Amelia. ‘Maybe in the library?’

  ‘Sounds good to me,’ Amelia said. Holding her head high, she took Finn’s hand and they walked together through the whispering, staring crowd.

  Mr Russell emerged from his classroom just long enough to snarl: ‘No skating in the corridors, remember!’

  ‘I remember.’ Finn raised his free hand in casual acknowledgement, rolling his eyes.

  He isn’t even carrying his skateboard! Olivia thought indignantly. But the Skater King was clearly too ecstatic to worry about even the most annoying of teachers right now.

  As the couple passed Olivia, Amelia pulled Finn to a stop. ‘You know,’ she said sheepishly to Olivia, ‘you’re not so bad, for someone who thinks that pink goes with everything!’

  Olivia grinned happily up at the older girl. ‘It really does!’

  Amelia’s lips twitched. Her free hand reached out as if to pat Olivia on the arm. Then she pulled back, as she obviously reconsidered. Instead, she gave Olivia a small smile and a nod, turned back to Finn, and continued down the hall.

  ‘So . . .’ Olivia started at the sound of Ivy’s voice. She was sidling up to her. ‘Your matchmaking worked, huh?’

  ‘It so worked!’ Olivia bounced on her toes with delight. ‘Did you see how happy they looked together? Of course, I can’t take all the credit, but maybe I could work on my skills. I just need to develop a lighter touch. Hmm . . .’

  Her gaze moved around the corridor, moving from boy to girl. ‘Maybe, next time . . .’

  ‘No way!’ Ivy’s hand clamped around her arm. ‘That’s enough matchmaking for now. I want us both to have a quiet life for the rest of the semester! Just the two of us hanging out without any interr
uptions or drama or –’

  ‘A quiet life?’ Olivia let out a snort of disbelief as she turned to stare at her twin. ‘For a whole semester? Are you insane, Ivy Vega? That stuff never happens to us!’

  ‘Well . . .’ Ivy grinned, shaking her head. ‘You may have a point. We don’t seem to “do” quiet lives, do we?’

  ‘Absolutely not,’ Olivia agreed, smiling in satisfaction. ‘And that’s just right for us.’

  Maybe they’d both had a few hiccups as they’d settled into their new school – but from now on, she was determined to make the most of it. Together.

  She linked arms with her sister to walk together to their next class in perfect comfort. No groupies got in their way, no one tried to squeeze in between them or make any nasty comments about Olivia’s clothes . . . and when Olivia glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes widened with delight.

  Behind them, students were beginning to mingle! Goth-girls were asking if they could borrow bunny girls’ magazines during lunch. Skaters were joking with goths. She could see at least four smiles that were less secretive than they would have been the day before, and also some upward nods of the head.

  The blossoming romance between Finn and Amelia was already making a real difference to the school. ‘You know,’ Olivia said to her twin, ‘I have a feeling we’re both going to be really happy here, from now on . . .’

  Ivy would have shared her sister’s satisfaction . . . if she hadn’t been so nervous about what was coming next.

  As Mr Russell stalked into place in front of the class, she could see that he still hadn’t recovered from the disappointment of Finn’s triumph with Principal Carson. His face was still flushed, and his eyes glittered with frustration as he glared around the room.

  ‘Right!’ he said. ‘The moment has arrived. It’s time for you all to read out your poems.’

  Ivy slumped in her seat, wishing that she could disappear. What am I going to do? I haven’t chosen anything yet!

  It was great that for the first time ever, she was actually sitting next to her own twin in class. But that wouldn’t do her much good when she got a failing grade!

  Her English teacher paced back and forth in front of the room with quick, impatient steps. ‘The reason I set you this assignment is because poetry has a way of revealing things about people . . .’

  Ouch. Ivy turned to glance at Penny, who was sitting two desks behind her. Their gazes met . . . and then they both looked away quickly.

  ‘. . . and because high school English is very different from middle school English,’ Mr Russell declared, ‘a student’s feelings are just as important as his or her intelligence now. To truly engage with the texts you will read, you must feel them in your hearts!’ He spun around on one heel. ‘So! Who will reveal themselves first?’

  Uh-oh. Ivy gulped. Talk about pressure!

  A nervous hush fell over the class. All around the room, students ducked down, hiding their gazes.

  It looks like nobody wants to read their poems now, Ivy thought. And no wonder! No matter what poems anyone had chosen, all everyone else in class would be thinking about was hidden meanings. What is Mr Russell thinking? This is almost mean.

  Ivy slouched even lower in her chair.

  Mr Russell let out an impatient sigh. ‘Fine! I’ll choose randomly, then.’ He snatched the roll call list off his desk and glanced down at it. ‘Penny Taylor. You’ll go first.’

  Penny gasped, clutching the anthology close to her chest. She was still wearing her long black trench coat, and her bone-white face looked almost sickly beside the black cloth now.

  ‘Don’t be shy, Miss Taylor.’ Mr Russell rolled his eyes. ‘It’s just reading a few lines, remember? You might as well take your place in front of the class and get it over with.’

  Penny nodded weakly. But she looked glued to her chair.

  This is all my fault, Ivy realised.

  ‘Shadows in Sunshine’ was a poem loaded with personal meaning for Penny – meaning that everyone would pick up on and gossip about at lunch, if things went wrong! And if they did . . .

  Ivy’s mouth suddenly felt dry. All she’d tried to do was help Penny to be herself. Now, she feared that she had pushed too hard. If Penny became an object of ridicule because of her poem – the poem Ivy had encouraged her to choose – Ivy would never forgive herself. But what could she do?

  Before she’d even made any conscious decision, she felt her hand shooting up in the air.

  ‘Yes, Miss Vega?’ Mr Russell sighed. ‘Do you have something you wish to contribute?’

  ‘Yes, I do,’ Ivy said firmly. ‘Penny was only hesitating, sir, because we were planning to read a poem together.’ She saw Penny’s eyes widen. She gave the other girl an encouraging smile. ‘Would that be OK?’

  Mr Russell raised his eyebrows. ‘That sounds not only “OK”, but excellent! Why don’t you both step up to the front of the class?’

  Ivy jumped up, and Penny followed, still looking nervous. As they reached the front of the class, Penny opened the textbook with trembling fingers.

  ‘Every other verse?’ Ivy whispered.

  Penny nodded silently. As she looked down at the textbook, though, her expression smoothed. Her voice was strong as she read the first line, and real feeling sounded in her words.

  ‘I sit surrounded by a crowd of people,

  But none of them are looking at me . . .’

  She really does love this poem, Ivy realised.

  Every eye in class was on them as they passed the verses back and forth. They worked surprisingly well as a team but Ivy was thrilled to notice by the end of the poem that far more eyes were on Penny than on her! She really is an amazing reader.

  ‘. . . and shadows in sunshine are my home.’

  Penny’s voice throbbed with emotion as she finished.

  Everyone in class burst into applause. Penny’s face lit up as she looked around, taking it all in. Thank you, she mouthed to Ivy.

  Ivy shook her head, smiling. ‘It was all you,’ she whispered back.

  ‘That was absolutely captivating!’ Mr Russell leaped from his chair. All of his earlier irritation with Finn seemed to have been swept away by his excitement. ‘I’ve learnt so much about both of you from that reading!’

  Uh-oh. Ivy traded a look with Penny. What is that supposed to mean? ‘You know . . .’ she began, hoping for a distraction.

  But there was no stopping their English teacher now. ‘What bravery!’ he declared, as he began to pace the room. ‘The two of you chose to celebrate your differences – not something that happens often in high school! There’s far too much value given to “fitting in” here. Bravo for a pair of friends who can admire each other for exactly what makes them each unique!’

  Um . . . Raising her eyebrows, Ivy glanced at Penny’s long trench coat and dyed black hair. I don’t think many people would see the differences between us right now. Maybe Mr Russell is just super-perceptive?

  Luckily, the class seemed to take their cue from Mr Russell’s enthusiasm. They all applauded again as the girls walked to their desks, Penny leading the way – and Ivy beamed as she saw other students offering Penny high-fives.

  Just as Ivy slipped into her seat, she saw Penny come to a halt in front of her own. The other girl paused, taking a deep breath. Then she unbuttoned her coat, and took it off.

  Ivy’s jaw almost hit her desk.

  Beneath the coat, Penny wore a sky-blue dress that Olivia would die for! And as the black trench coat slipped away, Ivy saw the tension drain from Penny’s expression.

  As Penny sat down she looked pretty, confident and more relaxed than ever before. No wonder, Ivy thought. For the first time ever, she isn’t pretending to be someone she’s not! As everyone watched, Penny clasped her hands together and smiled.

  Admiring whispers broke out all around them.

  ‘She looks fabulous!’ a bunny girl whispered to her friend, near the windows. ‘Where do you think she found that dress?’

 
At the same time, on the other side of the classroom, a goth-girl murmured, ‘I didn’t know Penny was so cool!’

  ‘Well,’ the girl’s friend said authoritatively, ‘it’s always cool when someone is real. Don’t you think?’

  Absolutely, Ivy thought. Beaming, she sat back in her seat. Mission accomplished . . . in every way!

  Not only had she learned how to handle her own popularity, but she had successfully offloaded some of it on to Penny – without forcing Penny to pretend to be someone she wasn’t.

  Ivy looked at Olivia sitting beside her – exactly where she belonged – and smiled.

  Maybe I can cope with high school after all!

  Ivy was still beaming hours later, as she wandered towards the school bus with Olivia, Brendan and Sophia.

  ‘Ohhh!’ Bouncing with excitement, Olivia tugged on Ivy’s arm. ‘Just look at that!’ She pointed across the field to where Amelia and Finn sat with their heads close together, studying a timetable. ‘Isn’t that sweet? They’re planning their classes together!’

  Ivy grinned and rolled her eyes. ‘I’m just glad they’re in a higher grade than us, so I won’t have to avert my eyes five times a day!’

  ‘Oh, hush,’ Olivia said, giving Ivy a nudge. ‘You know you’re a romantic at heart!’

  Ivy was still laughing as she stepped on to the bus . . . then stopped. Wait a minute.

  No one was making space for her! Every seat in front of her was full – and no one was leaping up to give up their seat, the way they had every day so far. What’s going on? she wondered.

  Brendan snickered and nudged her shoulder. ‘Doesn’t it feel great to be invisible again?’

  Ivy blinked. She looked around with a new perspective. ‘You know what, it really does!’

  She grabbed a handrail and held on as the bus pulled away from Franklin Grove High. All around, other students were shouting and throwing things at each other. A screwed-up ball of paper accidentally hit Ivy on the cheek. She froze, waiting . . .