Fashion Frightmare! (My Sister the Vampire)

by Sienna Mercer

  Ivy shook her head as she began to change. Never again! she promised herself. Putting on her own slinky black gown felt like coming home. She felt like a brand-new ‘Old Ivy’ five minutes later as she set off with Penny through the halls of the museum.

  When she flicked on the lights of the display room where her dad kept the pashmina, as part of his Transylvanian history exhibit, Penny gasped.

  ‘Ohhh! I was in such a hurry earlier to get the pashmina, I barely noticed the rest of these! All of them are so gorgeous, I almost wish I had a time machine!’

  ‘Really?’ Ivy wrinkled her nose as she looked at the rich costumes arranged around them, from cloaks to tunics and long, flowing gowns. ‘I don’t see what’s so great about them.’

  Ivy let her friend geek out over the old fashions while she turned to put the pashmina back in its case. The rich red silk felt soft against her hands as she arranged it on its velvet hanger.

  ‘Olivia was right,’ she whispered to it. ‘Who would call something so gorgeous the “Vein of Love”? Yuck!’

  She stepped back and closed the glass display case, before heading out of the room.

  ‘I’m definitely coming back again tomorrow to get some new design ideas!’ Penny started after Ivy . . . just as the lights flickered and went out.

  ‘Not this room, too!’ Ivy groaned. ‘Dad had better get on to somebody about this, or it’s really going to affect museum business. If they don’t get it fixed –’

  A loud clatter sounded behind her, cutting her off.

  ‘Penny?’ Ivy spun around. ‘Are you OK? Did you crash into something?’

  ‘It wasn’t me,’ Penny said. Her voice came from just behind Ivy, sounding suddenly strained. ‘Is there someone else in here?’

  Suddenly, Ivy’s skin felt too tight. With her ears pricked for any sound, she heard every breath in the room . . . including that of a third person, only feet away in the darkness . . .

  Someone else is in here, Ivy thought, a shudder running through her. Then she grimaced.

  I’m scared of a stranger in the dark. I have to be the worst vampire in the world!

  ‘Hey!’ she yelled, forcing anger into her voice, above the fear. ‘Whoever’s there, stop creeping around right now. It’s not funny, it’s just stupid!’

  Shuffling noises sounded against the tiled floor on the other side of the room.

  The lights came back on with a flash. Ivy blinked against the sudden glare, spun around . . .

  . . . and found no one. Penny stood just behind her, eyes wide and panicked, but they were the only ones in the big, echoing room.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Penny whispered. ‘I could have sworn I heard someone.’

  ‘I know I heard someone,’ Ivy said grimly. ‘Whoever it was, though, they must have taken their chance to disappear before the lights turned back on.’

  ‘Oh!’ Penny’s gasp sounded almost like a scream. ‘Ivy . . .’ She pointed, her finger quivering. ‘Look! ’

  Feeling heavy with dread, Ivy turned . . .

  ‘Oh, no,’ she whispered.

  The intruder wasn’t the only thing that had disappeared.

  The display case she’d closed only a few moments ago hung open . . . and the velvet hanger was empty.

  Tessa’s priceless pashmina had been stolen!

  Ivy staggered, reaching out for something, anything, to catch herself on before she could faint.

  ‘Ivy!’ Penny grabbed her arm to steady her. ‘Are you OK?’

  ‘No.’ Ivy’s voice cracked as she imagined her dad’s reaction to the news . . . and worse yet, how Alex and Tessa would feel when they found out their ‘Vein of Love’ had been stolen.

  In every possible way, tonight had been a total fashion frightmare!

  Chapter Five

  In her bio-dad’s house the next morning, Olivia fumbled her way down the black-carpeted staircase, yawning and stretching. Worry does not make for good sleep!

  After Ivy had told her about the theft, it had been impossible to drop off . . . and the fact that she’d heard Ivy tossing and turning all night long in her coffin across the room hadn’t made it any easier! Olivia loved her vampire sister, but it was still seriously spooky to hear the thumps and thuds of a body knocking around inside a coffin, in the dark. Talk about nightmares . . .

  Still yawning, Olivia walked towards the kitchen and found Ivy and Charles at the table already. Ivy had a full bowl of Marshmallow Platelets sitting, ignored, in front of her as she slumped in her chair, rubbing her elbow.

  ‘I think my coffin needs a new lining!’

  ‘I’ll take a look at it later,’ Charles promised, not looking up from the newspaper on his lap. ‘Ah, Olivia!’ As she stepped through the doorway, he smiled and pointed to a manila envelope that was on the worktop. ‘That was dropped off for you by a courier first thing.’

  ‘For me? Who would send it to me here?’ She’d only spent the night in Ivy’s house as a special treat, to celebrate Café Creative’s opening night. Frowning, Olivia reached out to pick up the envelope . . . then relaxed as she recognised the handwriting on the back.

  ‘Jackson?’ Ivy asked from the table.

  ‘Yeah.’ Smiling, Olivia sank down into an empty seat and opened the envelope as Charles returned to his newspaper, humming a tune that sounded like it might have come from some opera a hundred years ago or more. Knowing Charles, it probably had!

  A thick sheaf of typescript slipped out of the envelope, along with a handwritten note:

  These are the revised pages for the scenes we’ll be shooting in Pine Wood next month. I had to catch a six a.m. flight to get to that hospital visit in Chicago, but I’ll be in touch as soon as I land. I miss you already!

  A stab of regret pierced Olivia as she set down the note. It would be so many weeks before she’d see him again . . . but she felt a warm pride, too. Jackson was giving up his own free time to visit some of his youngest fans in hospital . . . and as much as she might miss him now, the fact that he would do something like that was a big part of why she loved him.

  ‘I can’t believe you’re smiling right now!’ Ivy hissed. ‘Do you even remember what happened?’

  Oops! Olivia sighed. She hadn’t even realised she was smiling. Talk about inappropriate!

  But this was all so unfair. She and Ivy should have been basking in the success of the Café’s grand opening this morning. Most of the town was buzzing about it, judging from the texts Olivia had gotten from friends all through the night! But the theft had cast a shadow – a shadow that only Olivia and Ivy could see.

  As she stood up to pour some cereal and orange juice for herself, she shot a quick look at Charles. He was still humming happily over his copy of The Franklin Grove Reporter, and no wonder: the front cover showed a giant photo of Reiko in last night’s fashion show . . . wearing the pashmina that had been stolen less than an hour later.

  Suddenly, she didn’t feel hungry any more. And she knew Charles would not be humming if he only knew the truth of what had happened last night.

  If the twins couldn’t find the pashmina themselves, they would definitely have to tell their bio-dad and stepmom . . . but there was no question about it: Charles and Lillian would both totally panic. It would be enough of a nightmare for any of the museum’s treasures to be stolen – but Tessa’s pashmina, with all those vamp superstitions surrounding it? That’s a whole new level of disaster!

  Olivia tried hard to sound casual as she cleared her throat. ‘So, Dad . . . what more can you tell me about the’ – yuck! – ‘. . . Vein of Love?’

  Ivy gave a nervous twitch that sent Marshmallow Platelets flying off her spoon.

  Luckily, Charles – his attention still focused on the newspaper – didn’t seem to notice. ‘Oh, the origins of that tradition are so obscure, even vampires argue about the precise dates,’ he murmured. ‘So, imagine how long ago the tradition must have begun!’

  ‘Right,’ Ivy muttered, looking green. ‘Just imagine.’
/>   And now we’ve ruined it. Olivia set down her spoon and swallowed hard.

  The timer on the oven dinged loudly, and Charles’s head jerked up. ‘Aha!’ Smiling broadly, he tucked the newspaper under his arm and hurried to the oven. ‘After all her hard work, I thought I’d give Lillian a celebratory breakfast-in-dead this morning!’

  Olivia’s mouth fell open.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Ivy mumbled through her mouthful of cereal. ‘It’s just the vamp equivalent of breakfast-in-bed.’

  ‘Indeed.’ Humming the thumping runway music from the night before, Charles scooped up the food and headed for the door. ‘I’ll be right back!’

  When the twins were sure he was upstairs, Ivy sagged back in her chair. ‘I can’t believe this . . . What are we going to do?’

  ‘We have to tell the police,’ Olivia said. ‘It’s our only choice.’

  ‘No way!’ Ivy held her spoon as if it were a weapon. ‘This is a vampire issue. We need to deal with it ourselves. Besides, the police won’t exactly go into overdrive just to find a stolen pashmina, will they?’

  ‘Maybe you’re right,’ Olivia sighed. ‘But what about Prince Alex and Tessa? They’re supposed to be spending today in Adamstown, half an hour away from here. Don’t you think we should tell them first, so they can join in the search?’

  ‘Absolutely not.’ Ivy leaned forward, setting her arms on the table. Her eyes were narrowed with concentration, her investigative brain obviously hard at work. ‘I don’t think we should tell Alex and Tessa anything unless they specifically ask about it.’

  ‘Right,’ Olivia nodded. ‘We don’t want to get Amelia and Penny into trouble.’

  ‘Of course not.’ Ivy shook her head. ‘Plus, it would totally ruin Alex and Tessa’s trip. We don’t want them to freak out about bad luck.’

  Olivia winced. As wonderful as Alex and Tessa were, they were Transylvanian vampires to the core – which meant, they were intensely superstitious! ‘You’re right.’ She took a deep breath. ‘So, where do we start?’

  Ivy made a rueful face. ‘Honestly? I have no idea. But this is the most important mystery we’ve ever been faced with.’

  Olivia grinned at her. ‘We are the Daring Detective Duo,’ Olivia said. ‘Come on. Let’s go to work!’

  They marched together out of the kitchen towards the stairs, leaving the uneaten cereal bowls behind them . . .

  And the doorbell rang loudly.

  Olivia traded a quick, panicked look with Ivy as they both froze at the bottom of the stairs. Had Alex and Tessa found out somehow about the theft? What if they were here to demand answers?

  Olivia hurried after her sister to the front door. Squaring her shoulders, Ivy swung it open . . .

  Reiko beamed at them both from the doorstep. She looked as fresh and well-rested as if she’d slept for days, and her hair was coloured such a bright green, Olivia actually had to take a step back.

  ‘Hi!’ Reiko bounced on the toes of her tennis shoes, looking at the twins expectantly. ‘Are you two ready for school?’

  ‘What?’ Olivia frowned, confused.

  ‘Oh, no.’ Ivy groaned and fell back against the doorway. ‘I can’t believe it. I was so focused, I actually forgot I’m still a fourteen-year-old girl who has to go to school!’

  ‘Huh?’ Reiko looked between the two of them, frowning. ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘I’ll explain later.’ Ivy sighed. ‘Come on, Olivia. We’ll have to wait until after school to start investigating.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Olivia glanced at the clock on the wall – then down at her pyjamas. She winced. ‘But only if the Daring Detective Duo don’t get an after-school detention for tardiness!’

  She gave Reiko a quick, apologetic smile – Explanations will have to wait! – then hurried upstairs, leaving the green-haired exchange student behind.

  Four hours later, Ivy scowled down at her school lunch. Thank darkness she wasn’t dealing with Amelia-levels of popularity any more, and could trust that her expression was enough to keep her cafeteria table clear of unwanted guests.

  It wasn’t that she disliked the other students at her school – it was just that, with the mystery of the missing pashmina circling over and over again through her head, she needed all the thinking time she could get. Right now, there was only one thing she could be sure of: the pashmina had been on display not as a “vampire” artefact, but rather as a Transylvanian one. That meant that the thief was probably not someone who was actually aiming to bring bad luck to Alex and Tessa, because the thief probably did not know the vampire secret. Instead, it was more likely to have been just an opportunistic bunny who had seen it, liked it, and wanted it for themselves.

  But how am I supposed to get into the head of someone like that?

  She gave a frustrated sigh. If it had been a vampire, she might have been able to think like them and figure out where they would hide it. But a human thief, who had stolen something just because they wanted it . . .

  I will just never understand humans, Ivy thought glumly. They might look like vampires, but sometimes it felt like they were an alien species! And if she couldn’t figure out what had brought the thief to the museum in the first place . . .

  Her breath caught. There was something she knew about her mysterious thief, wasn’t there?

  It has to be someone our age.

  The realisation felt like a bell going off in the back of her brain. The audience for the fashion show had been almost completely made up of teenagers – mostly from Franklin Grove High, who’d come specifically to see Amelia’s and Penny’s designs. That meant the thief could actually be someone Ivy knew.

  They could be in the cafeteria right now, she thought. I could sit next to them in a class, or –

  ‘Hey!’ Fingers snapped in her face, and Ivy jerked upright, blinking hard.

  Her table wasn’t empty any more. As her vision cleared, she found Reiko and Olivia sitting across from her . . . and from the dent in Olivia’s veggie burger, they’d been there for a few minutes.

  ‘Sorry!’ Ivy mumbled. She could feel her cheeks paling with embarrassment. ‘I was miles away.’

  ‘We could tell.’ Olivia gave her a concerned look. ‘Have you had any brilliant detecting ideas yet?’

  Ivy shook her head. ‘None at all.’

  ‘Oh.’ Olivia slumped.

  The fraught silence between the sisters was broken by a weary sigh from Reiko, who’d heard the whole story on the way to school that morning. ‘You know, in Japan we hear stories about the Euro-American banps and all their tradition and drama.’ She frowned. ‘I always thought it sounded fun – but actually, it’s just making me feel a little tense!’

  ‘Tell me about it,’ Ivy mumbled.

  ‘Ivy!’ Amelia’s voice hissed just behind her. ‘We need to talk!’

  Ivy turned around. For once, the Goth-Queen’s thick black hair looked uncombed, and her chalk-white make-up was smudged. Next to Amelia, Penny carried a long, thin box in her arms and looked as pale as if she’d reverted back to her old goth self . . . but her pallor didn’t come from make-up. Instead, Penny just looked dead tired.

  ‘Have you heard anything about the pashmina?’ Amelia muttered, her eyes darting around the room, as if she was watching out for eavesdroppers.

  Ivy shrugged unhappily. ‘It’s still gone.’

  Amelia sagged. Suddenly, her leather jacket looked too big on her.

  ‘We still feel terrible about what happened,’ Penny whispered. ‘But . . .’

  Taking a deep breath, she leaned over the table to set down the box. Ivy, Olivia and Reiko all crowded round to watch as Penny opened it . . .

  . . . and Ivy let out an actual squeak as she saw the blood-red fabric shimmering inside. ‘The pashmina! Where did you find it?’

  ‘Nowhere,’ Amelia sighed.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Ivy couldn’t look away from the beautiful silk. Reverently, she reached out to stroke it. ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘Thi
s is just a replica,’ said Penny. ‘We stayed up all night making it, so that it can go on display in the museum while we all search for the original one.’

  ‘Oh.’ Ivy’s hand dropped away. Disappointment tasted so bitter in her mouth, she had to fight not to let out a groan of frustration.

  ‘It really is a wonderful replica,’ Olivia said softly. ‘I could never tell the difference.’

  ‘Me neither,’ Reiko said. ‘And I wore the real thing last night!’

  ‘It’s great,’ Ivy said. ‘Really. Thank you.’ She forced a smile for the two designers. ‘You created the perfect replacement.’

  Penny brightened. ‘We hand-dyed the pashmina to match the exact shade of red. It’s not completely perfect, but the untrained eye shouldn’t notice a thing.’

  What about untrained vampire eyes? Ivy wondered. She peered harder . . . but no. She definitely couldn’t tell the difference, vampire vision or no.

  ‘Whew.’ Ivy sighed. ‘At least there won’t be any drama at the museum if no one even realises the pashmina is missing.’

  ‘But we still have to find the real one,’ Olivia finished quietly.

  Ivy nodded unhappily.

  It was the worst possible moment to look up and see Brendan approaching the table with the world’s most inappropriate grin. He was still snickering as he slid into the seat beside Ivy.

  ‘What could possibly be so funny?’ Ivy snapped. He knew the truth about the pashmina; she’d confided in him last night. Doesn’t he even realise we’re dealing with a disaster?

  ‘Oh . . . nothing,’ Brendan drawled, sliding her a mischievous sideways glance.

  ‘Seriously!’ She pinched his forearm. ‘What is it?’

  ‘I don’t think I can explain it with words,’ Brendan said solemnly. He reached into his pocket and took out his smartphone. ‘I think . . . you have to see this one for yourself !’

  He pressed a button to illuminate the screen.

  Ivy sucked in a gasp. ‘What . . .?’