A handsome face appeared in one of the frosted windows of the boys’ dormitory. Ivy squinted to try and make it out. The boy held up one finger and then disappeared.
Seconds later, he came rushing out on to the dew-stained lawn. Ivy didn’t know which was more amusing, his bedhead or his look of sheer amazement.
‘Where’s Petra?’ he cried, stumbling to a halt. ‘What are you doing here?’ He looked past Ivy hopefully, scanning the forest, before his gaze settled back on her face. He cleared his throat. ‘Um, there seems to be a misunderstanding. You’re very nice and everything, but Petra’s my true love. I mean, I’m sure some boys would find you attractive, but . . .’
‘Don’t kid yourself!’ Ivy erupted. She couldn’t believe it. Etan thought she’d made her way through the Gauntlet because, because . . . He thinks I have a crush on him! Ivy pulled her shoulders back. ‘I have the best boyfriend in the world waiting for me back in Franklin Grove. I’m not here because I “heart” you!’ She drew a little heart in the air with her forefingers, grimacing. ‘I’m here to help Petra.’
Before Etan could open his mouth to say sorry, there was the sound of a twig snapping. He jumped and darted back inside. Ivy looked round.
That was weird. Why was everyone around here so jumpy? Thank goodness I have a normal boyfriend. Just not here in Transylvania. Ivy sighed. Maybe she had made the wrong –
A slow clap started up behind her. ‘Bravo, bravo.’
Bats alive! Ivy’s heart jolted. She turned to see Miss Avisrova, wearing an ugly frown. How did her teacher get here so fast?
Ivy’s jaw clenched. Here it comes.
‘You know –’ the Etiquette teacher began circling her – ‘I smelled you, Miss Lazar, there in the forest, from a mile away. And I knew that you would have the insolence to try to complete the course.’
‘I did complete the course,’ Ivy corrected.
Miss Avisrova ignored her. ‘That ostentatious American fragrance creates an unmistakable stench.’
It’s got to smell better than Eau de Snob, thought Ivy, but she just managed to bite her lip. Do not say that out loud. There was no way that would end well.
Miss Avisrova snatched the grubby envelope from Ivy’s hand. ‘What do we have here?’ she read the scrawling script. ‘Very well,’ she said sharply. ‘As is customary, the token of love will be passed on to the intended.’
Ivy frowned. On the one hand, she was glad that Petra’s letter would get to her true love. On the other hand . . . ‘What do you mean “customary”?’ she asked. Had the Gauntlet been conquered by love before?
Avisrova’s eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline. ‘I don’t have to explain my meaning to you,’ she said, her voice high and tight. Then she seemed to force herself to relax, her shoulders dropping. ‘But even I have a heart. Etan will get his letter.’ For a moment, Avisrova gazed off in the direction of the boys’ dormitory. ‘I was in love once, you know . . .’
In love? Ivy could not picture that. But as fast as this softer side had come on, Avisrova’s stony expression returned. She cleared her throat. ‘As for you, Miss Lazar . . .’ The hairs on the back of Ivy’s neck stood on end. ‘You will report to my office after school.’ She glanced over towards the Gauntlet, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. ‘But you’d better be quick. I want you back in your dorm room before anyone wakes up.’
How utterly great, thought Ivy, squinting into the rising sun as Avisrova walked off in the direction of the boys’ dorm. Now I have to get back through the forest without my hair turning white and then wait for my death sentence. She tried not to shiver in the chill dawn air and wondered what her sister was doing right now. Olivia would never get herself into trouble like this, she thought. Why can’t I be more like my twin?
Chapter Eight
Low: 90°
High: 96°
Current Temperature: 92°
Olivia snapped shut the pink rhinestone cover on her phone. Of course the universe wouldn’t cooperate just so that she could pull off a lie. The best she could hope for now was to get out of her house without being spotted by anyone – especially her parents.
She clicked on her webcam and Ivy appeared at her desk on-screen. She and Ivy had been texting and Ivy had agreed to take a quick ten minutes during her lunch break to have a video call with Olivia.
‘Hey there, sister!’ Olivia waved to the camera. ‘How do I look?’
Ivy’s eyes grew wide. ‘Awful! What are you wearing?’
Olivia looked at the corner of the screen that showed her own picture as Ivy would see it through her computer. She had lined her eyes with dark eyeliner and coated her lips with a thick layer of Midnight Mauve lipstick. Her dark hair was pinned into a bun with two chopsticks.
Olivia shrugged. ‘You know what they say – “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. And anyway, you look a bit – um – rough around the edges yourself.’ She didn’t want to say too much, but her sister looked as though she’d been dragged through a hedge backwards!
Ivy hastily patted down her hair. ‘Er, I had a bit of a midnight adventure,’ she said.
‘Oh, goodie!’ Olivia cried, clapping her hands together. ‘A midnight feast? I knew you’d make friends quickly. Tell me all about it!’
On screen, Olivia saw Ivy stifle a yawn. ‘It wasn’t a feast, exactly, more of an assault course.’ Olivia’s brow crinkled into a frown of curiosity as Ivy continued. ‘I’ll tell you about it some other time. Once I’ve had a good night’s sleep. You fill me in on what you’ve been doing. What’s with the goth make-up?’
‘Um, see, I may have got myself caught up in a teensy little lie.’ Olivia held her fingers a couple of centimetres apart. ‘The thing is, well, I made this new friend called Holly, and she really wanted to meet you and interview you about Transylvania. She’s training to be a journalist and she’s entered a travel-writing competition and . . . she thinks you’re back in the country.’
Ivy palmed her forehead.
‘What? I couldn’t exactly tell her you were at a vampire boarding school! Plus, she thinks getting pictures of you will help her win the competition, and I don’t want to let her down. The deadline is the end of this week.’
Ivy shook her head, clucking her tongue. ‘Olivia, Olivia, Olivia.’ She broke out into a mischievous grin. ‘Don’t forget to bring your best death squint. At least I know you can fool people that you’re me, what with the Pall Bearers concert and everything!’
‘You heard about that?’ Olivia hid her face behind her hands as her shoulders shook with laughter.
‘Yes, we heard about it! And I got into a whole heap of trouble. My teacher thought I’d skipped school to go to it.’
Olivia’s hands fell from her face. ‘I’m so sorry!’ She couldn’t believe it. I’ve got my twin into trouble by trying to help her boyfriend. How twisted is that ?
Ivy batted a hand through the air. ‘Forget about it. I seem to get in trouble a lot here.’ Her smile faded.
‘You’re not still feeling homesick, are you?’ Olivia asked, suddenly concerned.
Ivy shrugged. ‘Kind of. A bit. What about you? How are you feeling now that you’re single again? Everything OK?’
Olivia smiled bravely. ‘Getting better. One day at a time.’
A bell rang at Ivy’s end. ‘Oops, that must be the end of our lunch hour. Speak later, sis!’ Ivy giggled and signed off.
Olivia’s palms were getting sweaty now and her heart was thumping in her chest. What if she messed this up?
She tiptoed down the stairs from her bedroom, straightening her black wig. How would she explain the long coat and hooded jacket she was wearing? It was going to be a scorcher in Franklin Grove today and this get-up certainly didn’t fit with Olivia’s usual fashion taste. This was the same outfit she’d worn to the Pall Bearers concert.
What am I doing? What am I thinking? Olivia was starting to freak out. Do I really think I can pull this off? Once could have been a fluke
. Twice? That may be asking for too much luck. And how did she wind up having to cover one lie with another lie? I had to tell the first lie, Olivia told herself for the thirtieth time that morning. She hadn’t had a choice. It was either that or disappoint Brendan and Sophia.
Still, somehow she had a feeling that this was not going to end well.
One last step and . . . Creaaaaaaaak! Olivia cringed.
‘Olivia, are you there?’ her adoptive mother, Mrs Abbott, called.
Oh no! She made a beeline for the front door, but her mom stepped out of the living room just as she was reaching for the handle.
‘Why are you wearing that big coat, dear?’
Olivia reached for her hood, dragging it off quickly, along with the black Ivy wig. Now, as far as Mrs Abbott knew, her daughter was just in a hoodie and not dressed in a full-on Ivy disguise.
Olivia dug a pair of sunglasses out of the pocket of her coat and shoved them over her nose. Think, Olivia. ‘Oh, um . . .’ She squeezed her eyes shut for a split second, and when she turned around she had shaped her lips into her trademark megawatt smile. ‘I’m going over to Charles’s later, you know.’ She tried to sound offhand. ‘To talk wedding stuff. The plans are still all very hush-hush, remember, and I figure I’ll be coming back with notepads and bridal magazines and holiday brochures. So, I needed something with big pockets.’ She opened them up to demonstrate.
When Olivia had been acting in her first film, The Groves, the mega-famous Hollywood studio head, Harker, had told her, ‘Hey, kid, the key to selling any role is first confidence and then the details.’
Mrs Abbott shrugged, looking a bit befuddled. ‘OK, that’s fine. Have fun and I hope you don’t get too hot in that thing.’
Olivia shut the door behind her, replacing the wig and hood so that she was re-Ivy-ed. I swear, if I get past this little mess I’ve made, I will never tell another lie ever again.
Olivia checked her reflection in the window of Mister Smoothie. She looked like Ivy, but with a tan. She slipped off the coat and draped it over her arm. Holly didn’t know why Ivy was always so pale, so Olivia should be able to get away with it. Perhaps Ivy had been outside a lot while on vacation in Europe. Olivia almost burst out laughing at the thought. Ivy Vega volunteering for outdoor activities? The thought was ridiculous.
Olivia glanced at her watch and started going over the plan one more time in her head. It was 10 a.m. She would go inside, pretending to be Ivy. She would tell Holly that Olivia wouldn’t be long and that they should begin without her. That would give Holly a chance to take some photos. At 10.22 a.m., Sophia would call Olivia’s phone. Ivy-Olivia would act as though the real Olivia were on the phone. Then Ivy-Olivia would tell Holly that Olivia was stuck at their father’s house helping him with something, and that Ivy was needed there right away too. The three of them would have to hang out together some other time. Like when Ivy gets back from Transylvania, thought Olivia.
Simple, right?
Olivia took a deep breath. It would be a miracle if she made it through the day without having a heart attack! The door chimed as she stepped inside Mister Smoothie. She did a quick scan of the restaurant, spotting Holly right away with her long red streaks of hair. She was sitting in a corner booth with her back to the door.
Olivia started to walk over. Hold on . . . Ivy wouldn’t know who Holly was, or what she looked like. The two had never met. So she wouldn’t just walk over there, would she? ‘No,’ Olivia muttered under her breath. ‘Play it cool.’ That was what Ivy would do and Olivia needed to sell the part. It’s all in the details, she reminded herself.
All right, where to go first? Olivia headed for the opposite side of Mister Smoothie. That should throw Holly off the trail. She strolled around, making sure to look at all the customers.
A girl in a football jersey and jeans looked up from stirring her Mocha Choca Latte smoothie. ‘What are you looking at, Goth Girl?’
Olivia froze in place. If she were the real Ivy, she’d have something witty to say. Not at you, Smoothie Drinker. No, that was terrible. Try kicking a football someplace else, Jersey Girl. That was even lamer. Nothing else was coming to mind, so Olivia just made an awkward shrug and moved on to another booth.
When she’d pretend-inspected nearly all the available booths, Olivia decided she had kept the charade up long enough. Walking over to where Holly was sitting and fiddling with her camera, Olivia tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Are you Olivia’s pal?’ Pal? Who says ‘pal’ any more?
Holly closed the viewfinder of her camera and looked ‘Ivy’ over. She smiled. ‘Sure am.’ She extended a hand. ‘I’m Holly. It’s great to finally meet you. How was Transylvania?’
Olivia scooted into the pink-leather booth opposite Holly. ‘It was good. Actually, I’m headed back tomorrow.’ She had rehearsed the cover story. If Ivy had to go back across the Atlantic, there was no way Holly could expect another get-together. Olivia couldn’t handle pulling this switcheroo every single day! ‘Yeah, it totally sucks,’ she finished.
Holly frowned. ‘Didn’t you just say it was good?’
Olivia suppressed her instinct to laugh nervously. That was so not Ivy. But what a fool she was! Bunnies didn’t know that ‘sucks’ meant ‘good’ in vampire speak. And she couldn’t explain that to Holly without outing all of vampire society.
I’ll just have to improvise. She put one elbow on the table and picked at the Midnight Mauve polish she’d painted on her nails. ‘Oh, you know, I don’t like to play by the rules. I’d rather give words my own meanings. “Sucks” means “totally cool”. In Ivy-speak, I mean.’
‘I like it,’ said Holly enthusiastically. ‘In fact,’ she continued, unsheathing the lens to her camera, ‘I’m really digging your whole vibe. That look –’ she shaped her fingers into a rectangular frame – ‘the hair, the make-up, the rocker T-shirt and jeans . . . it’s so . . . open-minded. I can tell you’re a traveller of the world. Do you mind if I take a few pictures?’
‘Snap away.’ Olivia set her phone down on the table and tried to pull off her best tough-girl poses. Some of the other customers were looking at her oddly and she tried not to feel self-conscious or worry that they recognised her. Be brave! she told herself, folding her arms over her chest. She tried flexing her biceps for the camera. How utterly embarrassing, she thought, once again thankful that Ivy wasn’t here to witness her horrible impersonation.
‘Another look,’ Holly directed. ‘Pretend you’re gazing out over an African desert.’
Olivia gazed into the distance, brooding . . . and nearly jumped out of her skin. There was Brendan, outside the window, staring at her in shock. Olivia gulped and quickly glanced away. This will be OK, she tried to tell herself.
At least Holly didn’t seem to suspect anything. She kneeled on the tiled floor of Mister Smoothie, catching various angles. Olivia listened to the click, click, click but she could see Brendan walking over, waving excitedly. Her mouth felt dry and it was all she could do to maintain her cool composure.
Holly lowered her camera just as Brendan burst through the doors. ‘That’s a wrap!’ she said, beaming. ‘I can’t tell you how much this means to me. Olivia said so many great things about you – I couldn’t wait to meet you and get a few photos. I really want to launch my career one day and interesting subjects will make all the difference.’ Her eyes twinkled. Brendan was getting nearer, his arms wide in anticipation of a hug. ‘Getting an exclusive with you is a real privilege,’ Holly carried on. ‘You don’t know how much this could help me win the travel-writing competition.’
‘That’s killer.’ Olivia could hardly get the words out. Brendan was making his way between the booths, his eyes fixed on Olivia’s face. The face that he thinks is Ivy’s. The lips that he’ll want to kiss. She had to stop this! She sent Brendan a sharp shake of her head and he paused, realising something was wrong.
‘Would you like a smoothie?’ she asked Holly, taking her arm and steering her round so that her back was to Brendan.
‘My treat.’
‘Sure, thanks!’ Holly read the menu, picking from the list of crazily named fruit drinks. ‘Can you get me a Twist and Shout?’
Olivia tried not to groan. Would it be completely awful for her to tell one more white lie – that Mister Smoothie was out of Twist and Shouts? She wasn’t sure she could bear hearing that song again, not when she was already so on edge. Just thinking about it made her shiver:
Hey, Mister Smoothie!
I’ve got a little twist!
I’ve got a little SHOUT!
But no – if Holly wanted a Twist and Shout, that’s what she’d have. Olivia walked over to the queue. Brendan was still watching her and she jerked her head, signalling for him to come and stand beside her. He ran to her like an excited puppy. Fortunately, Holly had settled in a booth and was scrolling through the photos on her digital camera.
As Ivy’s boyfriend caught up with Olivia, she stiffly held out her arms, keeping him at bay.
‘Brendan, I –’
His face was lit up like a firework display. ‘When did you get back? Why didn’t you tell me? Are you back for good, or just a few days? Why didn’t you want me to come over back there?’ He ignored her outstretched arms and swept her into a crushing hug that wouldn’t have bothered the real Ivy, with her V-strength, but for Olivia, it was totally cutting off her circulation. ‘This is so exciting!’ He breathed into her hair. Oh no! ‘I’ve missed you so much, you have no idea.’
He let go of her at last. Olivia chanced a look back at Holly, who had put her camera down and was watching now. Ugh. Just what I need.
Olivia tried not to flinch when Brendan took her hand.
‘I’m not Ivy!’ she hissed.
Brendan’s smile faded. ‘What are you talking about?’
How could Olivia get him to understand? ‘It’s me, Olivia! You know, the girl who helped you get into the Pall Bearers concert? I answered the question about the third line in the second song on the first album, remember?’ That was one detail Ivy couldn’t possibly know.
11 Flying Solo - My Sister the Vampire Page 8
