14 Flipping Out - My Sister the Vampire (14 page)

Ouch.
Ivy took a deep breath as she realised just how similar she and Charlotte might be after all.
But no one is un-saveable
, she told herself.
Not Charlotte . . . and not
me, either.

‘Are you OK?’ Olivia whispered, steering Ivy to one side as the others fell into a noisy debate about which movie this situation was most like. She frowned as she looked into
Ivy’s face. ‘You look a little . . .’

‘Unnerved?’ Ivy gave a sad half-smile. ‘I guess I am. I just never realised that if I were given half a chance . . . I might actually be even worse than Charlotte ever
was.’

‘Are you kidding?’ Olivia gave her a quick, tight hug. ‘You are my twin, Ivy Vega. Do you think I’d
ever
let you go that far?’

Ivy couldn’t help laughing at that, even as she hugged Olivia back. ‘Good point,’ she said. ‘You may look all pink and fluffy on the outside, but you’re an
unstoppable force on the inside.
No one
could stand against you for long.’

‘That’s right.’ Nodding decisively, Olivia clapped her hands, breaking off the others’ movie debate. ‘Everyone! Let’s have a dress rehearsal for the Hallway
Gauntlet. Camilla? Will you direct? And Charlotte? For now, can you just stand back and watch how Ivy handles it? Then you can offer her advice on how to do it better.’

‘Got it!’ Camilla snapped to attention, her eyes sparkling under her latest velvet beret as she went into full-on Director Mode. Wiping off the crumbs from her hands, she jumped up
from her seat. ‘Sophia and Holly, you’ll be the clingy goths. Brendan, you’re the annoying skater-boy!’

‘Liiiike, got it!’ Brendan drawled. ‘Totally, dude.’

Ivy rolled her eyes at him. It didn’t help with the sudden sick tension in her gut, though. Even the thought of those hallways filled her with dread.

Camilla was still busy handing out the last of her assignments. ‘Olivia, you’re the timid cheerleader who doesn’t want to upset the cool girl.’

Olivia fluttered her eyelashes. ‘How perfect!’ she cooed.

Ivy groaned.

Camilla ignored them both. ‘Everybody got it?’

‘Got it!’ they all chorused.

‘Got it,’ Ivy mumbled, a moment later than everybody else. Her shoulders sagged. Brendan gave her a sympathetic look before slouching off to take his place, carrying an imaginary
skateboard by his side.

‘Now!’ Camilla pointed. ‘Ivy? You stand by the front door. Everybody else, take your places along the hallway!’ She mimed holding a clapperboard. Her voice switched to a
movie narrator’s rich tones. ‘It’s a normal morning at Franklin Grove High. Ivy’s just about to step inside. Aaaand . . . take one!’

Her arm swung down. Obediently, Ivy stepped forwards . . . and was immediately swarmed.

‘Iiiivy!’ Sophia and Holly fluttered towards her, blocking her way. ‘You are soooo cool! Won’t you tell us how you did your hair? And your makeup? And your laces? And
–’

‘Um . . .’ Smiling desperately, Ivy tried to sidestep past them, but they wouldn’t give her an inch of space. She could barely breathe as they clung closer and closer, filling
up her vision.

‘Wasn’t the homework
boring?
What did
you
do last night, Ivy? Won’t you tell us how to be like you? Ivy, Ivy, Ivy, Ivy . . .’

Panic made Ivy’s heartbeat thrum against her skin. Her face twisted into a scowl, but they wouldn’t step back. She couldn’t escape. She couldn’t breathe. She looked
desperately to where Olivia waited, further down the hall, but her sister was too far away to help.

‘Can we cut?’ Charlotte asked sharply.

‘Cut!’ Camilla bellowed.

Grinning, Sophia and Holly high-fived each other and stepped back to await Charlotte’s verdict.

The ex-head cheerleader was frowning intently. ‘You can’t do that thing with your face,’ she told Ivy.

‘What thing?’ Ivy stared at her.

Charlotte shook her head impatiently. ‘That squinty, I-hate-you face. That’s too mean.’

‘But they were smothering me!’ Ivy protested.

‘I know.’ Charlotte rolled her eyes. ‘Believe me, I know! But at most, you should look mildly annoyed.’

‘Sorry?’ Ivy shook her head wearily. ‘I don’t even know what that looks like!’

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake. Let me.’ Charlotte swept past Ivy to take her place in the gauntlet, and Ivy was only too happy to step back.

There may have been a real Gauntlet at Wallachia Academy for vampires . . . but the Hallway Gauntlet at Franklin Grove High is infinitely worse.

Camilla counted down. ‘Three . . . two . . . one . . . action!’

Walking briskly, Charlotte stepped into the hallway. Sophia and Holly swept down around her, shrieking with excitement.

‘Ivy, Ivy, Iiiiivy!’

Huh.
Ivy’s eyes narrowed as she watched Charlotte’s reaction. She stood listening, without trying to step past them, but her forehead was drawn into impatient lines. As she
listened, she glanced down at her watch in a move that read clearly:
I have somewhere else I need to be!

Without a word of prompting – or an I-hate-you face – Holly and Sophia started to clear a path for Charlotte to walk through.

‘Oh. My. Darkness!’ Ivy shook her head in disbelief. ‘How did you
do
that?’

Charlotte shrugged. ‘Just act like your time is
very
important, and the people around you will treat it that way! You don’t have to be
mean
, or treat people badly
– you just have to be honest about who you are . . . not the person other people think you should be.’

Charlotte’s face softened. Looking rueful, she met Ivy’s eyes directly. ‘That is a lesson you helped
me
learn all through eighth grade.’

‘Oh.’ Ivy felt her own face soften.
Wow. There’s one more thing I wouldn’t have believed a year ago!
‘OK.’ She blew out a breath. ‘Can I try it
again?’

Camilla nodded. ‘Take your places, everybody,’ she barked. ‘We are back at the Hallway Gauntlet . . . take two!’

This time, Ivy felt a sense of purpose leading her as she stepped forwards. As Sophia and Ivy converged on her, she fought her instinctive panic, trying to remember Charlotte’s advice.
Small, impatient frown . . . look at watch . . .

Charlotte’s voice rapped out. ‘Can we cut?’

‘Oh, fine. Cut!’ Camilla sighed heavily. ‘I’ll bet real directors don’t get
told
when to cut, though.’

Ivy didn’t have any time to laugh. Charlotte was already hurrying towards her, and this time she reached out to physically push Ivy’s posture into place. ‘Shoulders straight
and head up, that’s all good, but
don’t
raise your chin too much – you’ll give yourself neck strain!’

‘Seriously?’ Ivy let out a half-laugh. ‘Don’t you think you might be getting a little too obsessive, now? I mean –’

‘Why do you think I had to miss summer camp that one year?’ Charlotte demanded.

‘Um . . .’ Ivy thought back. ‘Oh, that’s right, you
did
miss a year. Why –?’

‘Because I was stuck at home wearing a neck brace, that’s why!’

‘Oh.’ Ivy’s eyes widened.
Wow.
‘OK,’ she said. ‘I’ll keep my chin down.’

Who knew that popularity could actually give a girl physical injuries? I thought all I had to worry about was emotional damage!

‘Try again,’ Charlotte ordered.

Ivy nodded, rolling back her shoulders like a boxer getting ready to jump back into the ring.
I can do this
, she told herself. For the first time ever, it felt like it might actually be
true.

She kept her shoulders back, her chin lowered, her eyes on her watch, her attitude impatient but not mean . . .

‘And I’m through!’ As she swept past Holly and Sophia in exactly the way that Charlotte had, Ivy let out a shout of triumph. ‘I did it! Woot!’ She punched the
air.

‘Ahem!’ Camilla cleared her throat. ‘You’ve made it past the
first
obstacle . . . You still have the annoying skater-boy
and
the timid cheerleader lying
in wait!’

Uh-oh.
Lowering her fist, Ivy looked around.
She’s right.
Brendan was poised halfway down the hall, miming turning the wheels on his invisible skateboard. Olivia huddled
near the end, her shoulders drawn up, holding a stack of textbooks in her arms as her eyes darted nervously around her.

‘Oops.’ Ivy sighed. ‘OK. I’m ready.’ She started forwards, trying to put herself back into Charlotte-mode . . .

And Camilla bellowed, ‘Cut!’

‘Sorry?’ Ivy stared.

Camilla rolled her eyes under her beret. ‘What on earth do you think you’re doing, Vega? We need to run this scene through
from the top
 
!’

‘What?!’ Ivy’s mouth dropped open. She turned slowly around . . . and found Holly and Sophia bouncing in place, getting ready to pounce all over again.

‘Ohhhh, fine.’ She sighed. ‘I guess I can do it again. Probably.’

‘Good,’ Charlotte said. ‘Because I have a few more notes.’

‘Of course you do,’ Ivy mumbled.
This is going to be a long evening.

But as she took her position at the doorway, facing the full Hallway Gauntlet, with her twin giving her a surreptitious ‘thumbs-up’ gesture near the end of it, Ivy felt a sudden
charge of energy run through her body.
Just look at all of them!

The whole Franklin Grove Middle School gang was back together, for the first time since high school had begun – and with special new members in Holly and Charlotte!
This actually feels
like old times. This is good!

Ivy looked round at her friends and her sister, all gathered to help her. Her eyes stung even as she prepared to run the gauntlet all over again.
I know the old times can never really come
back
, she thought, blinking back the would-be tears,
but it’s nice to remember them . . . at least for a little while.

T
he next morning, it was time to put theory into practice.
This is not a drill.
Ivy took a deep breath as she stepped up to the main
entrance of Franklin Grove High. The school bus had pulled away five minutes ago, and Brendan, Sophia and Olivia had all gone in ahead of her, giving her space to tackle the Hallway Gauntlet
head-on.

She reached out for the door handle. Then she stopped.
Oh, come on
, she told herself.
Don’t be a wimp! Remember how well it went last night?

They’d run through the scene over a dozen times at her house, and even Charlotte had been impressed by the end of it. When they’d finished the final take, Camilla had announced,
‘We have gold in the can!’

Ivy had barely understood a single word in that sentence, but at least it had sounded like a compliment. And even if it wasn’t . . .

Right.
She reached out and pulled the door open.
It’s show time!

Just as she’d practised, Ivy kept her gaze fixed on her locker up ahead, where Brendan, Olivia and Sophia were waiting. Before she could take two steps, though, two clingy goth-girls came
racing towards her.

‘Wasn’t the homework
boring
, Ivy?’

‘What did
you
do last night? I bet it was cool.’

‘Of course it was cool. Ivy’s
always
cool!’

‘I wish I was like you, Ivy!’

Normally, Ivy would have panicked as they plucked at her sleeves and blocked her in every direction. This time, though, she had to restrain a burst of incredulous laughter. It was almost eerie
how good Sophia and Holly’s impression of these girls had been.

I think I’ve had this conversation before,
Ivy thought.
Over a dozen times before, actually!

Holding back a smile, she forced her forehead to crease. She glanced at her watch.

Almost imperceptibly, the two girls began to shift back, automatically starting to make space for her to leave, even as they kept on talking.

‘Are you ready for the poetry reading in English?’

‘I can’t wait to hear what
you
chose!’

Ivy’s mind went blank. Then she bit back a groan.
Oh, no! I was supposed to choose a poem to read today!
She’d been so busy doing her hallway homework, she’d forgotten
all about finishing her English homework.

She shrugged, trying to look impatient instead of horrified. ‘I’ll have something by the time class starts.’

‘Ooh.’ The two girls fluttered back, eyes wide. ‘You’re
so
cool. I could never wing it so close to show time.’

‘I’ve been agonising all week!’

‘Oh, well, I’m sure it’ll be fine.’ Carefully keeping her nose – but
not
her chin! – in the air, Ivy walked forwards with subtle determination.
Just don’t laugh!
she ordered herself.

It was hard not to laugh, though, as the two goths fell into a heated debate over their own poetry choices.

‘Do you think I should have gone for “Angry Soul” instead of “Wilting Roses”?’

‘All I know is, I’m going to
kill
with my choice: “Coffin of Confidence!”’

Looking at her watch, Ivy swept forwards . . . and just like in the rehearsal, the goth-girls cleared a path.