Vampalicious! (14 page)

Olivia wrinkled her nose. “This one’s weird.”

“It’s hideous,” Ivy agreed.

Brendan bent over the little plaque alongside the sculpture. “Zebra guts,” he read. “‘Sculpture by Alice Bantam.’ ”

Ivy’s mouth dropped open. “It’s one of Alice’s!”

“Can you imagine if your dad had fallen for her and you had to live with something like this?” Olivia giggled.

“No,” Ivy answered. “Thank darkness that plan failed!”

Following the signs to the curator’s office on the fourth level, they proceeded down a narrow hallway that shot off from the main ramp. At the end of it was a frosted door with Mr. Grosvenor’s name on it in gilded letters. Ivy knocked, and a moment later Mr. Grosvenor himself pulled open the door. He was dressed in gray slacks and a white button-down shirt. “Can I help you?”

Ivy tried to speak, but she was so nervous nothing came out of her mouth.

“We’re here about the curator job for the new exhibit,” Olivia explained, stepping forward.

“Oh,” Mr. Grosvenor said, looking the three of them up and down. “I’m sure you’re all very talented. But I’m afraid we’re looking for someone with a bit more experience.”

“It’s not for us,” said Brendan, glancing at Ivy encouragingly.

“I’m Ivy Vega,” Ivy croaked at last.

Mr. Grosvenor’s face lit up. “Charles’s daughter!” He extended his hand. “Of course, I should have recognized you. I just read your father’s e-mail!” Ivy’s heartbeat quickened. “And this must be the twin sister I’ve read about in the papers,” Mr. Grosvenor went on.

Olivia shook the curator’s hand as Brendan introduced himself, too.

“Welcome,” said Mr. Grosvenor. “Please, come in.”

Mr. Grosvenor offered Ivy, Olivia, and Brendan white molded plastic chairs opposite his desk, which was completely bare except for a pad of paper and a bust of an old man’s head made entirely of paper clips.

“So, what brings you to see me?” Mr. Grosvenor asked, perching casually on the edge of the desk.

All day, Ivy had been mentally rehearsing a speech about how her father was the perfect person to set up the exhibition. “Mr. Grosvenor,” she began, “I believe my father is ideally suited to the opening you are trying to fill. He is—”

“I agree completely,” Mr. Grosvenor interrupted.

“Completely?” Ivy repeated in shock.

“I can’t think of a stronger candidate,” Mr. Grosvenor said with a smile. “I’ll be calling your father as soon as I have approval from the board.”

“When will that be?” asked Olivia quickly.

“Sometime in January,” Mr. Grosvenor replied, “or possibly February.”

Ivy’s stomach dipped suddenly, like she was falling from a great height. “Can’t you do it sooner?” she pleaded.

“I wouldn’t want to bother anyone before the new year,” Mr. Grosvenor said with a shrug.

I should have known it wouldn’t be so easy
,Ivy thought.

Brendan nudged Ivy’s boot with his own. He locked eyes with her, and she could tell he wanted her to tell the truth. Ivy looked toward Olivia, who also gave her a tiny nod.

“Is something wrong?” Mr. Grosvenor inquired.

“Very,” Ivy admitted. Words started pouring out of her mouth. “My dad didn’t send you that e-mail, Mr. Grosvenor. I did. We’re moving to Europe in four days. But I know that if my dad got this job in Franklin Grove, he’d stay. He’s always wanted to work for the museum.You can’t wait until the new year. By then, he’ll be gone.” Ivy looked down at her lap. “And so will I.”

“I see,” Mr. Grosvenor said, sounding disappointed. With one hand, he stroked the streak of white hair on one side of his head.

“I should never have forged the e-mail,” Ivy said, ashamed of herself. “I know it was wrong. I’m sorry.”

Mr. Grosvenor slowly went around to his chair and picked up the phone.

He’s calling the police!
Ivy thought in a panic.

“Will you please remind me of your father’s number?” Mr. Grosvenor said instead. Ivy and Olivia both gasped. “After all,” the curator said with a smile, “we can’t have Charles Vega leaving Franklin Grove without even
knowing
about this job.”

As Mr. Grosvenor dialed, Ivy reached out on either side of her. Olivia grasped one hand, and Brendan took the other.
This is our last chance,
she thought.

“Hello, Charles? Walter Grosvenor here. I’m sorry to call you on a Saturday, but there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here at the museum that I think you ought to seriously consider.”

Olivia, Brendan, and Ivy sat on the edge of their seats as Mr. Grosvenor described the position. Then he paused, listening to what Ivy’s dad was saying on the other end.

“Of course, of course,” Mr. Grosvenor said and nodded at his three listeners encouragingly. Ivy squeezed the hands in hers excitedly.

But then Mr. Grosvenor’s face changed. “Uhhuh,” he said. He looked down at his desk and jotted something on his pad of paper. “Uh-huh.” Brendan let go of Ivy’s hand and put it on her shoulder. “I understand,” said Mr. Grosvenor quietly. “Of course. Thank you.”

Mr. Grosvenor gently hung up the phone. He shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Charles seemed genuinely interested, but he has firmly committed to this job in Europe. He said he wouldn’t feel right changing his mind at this point.”

Ivy felt her whole body go limp. Olivia released Ivy’s hand and covered her face.

“It appears we were too late after all,” Mr. Grosvenor said, his voice full of disappointment.

All Ivy could think was,
It’s over
.

“Thanks for your time, Mr. Grosvenor,” Brendan said after a moment. Then he led Ivy and her sister back out to the hallway and slowly down the long ramp. They spiraled down and down, farther and farther, and Ivy knew there was nothing she could to do to keep from hitting bottom.

As Olivia stood with her friends in the enormous stone courtyard in front of the museum, the frozen wind whipped her face. Her eyes began to water, but she couldn’t tell whether it was from the cold or from the knowledge that she’d soon be losing both her sister and their father.

“He’s not leaving because of the job,” she said softly. “He’s leaving because of me.”

Olivia expected Ivy to try to convince her that what she’d just said wasn’t true. But when she looked into Ivy’s eyes, she knew her sister had reached the same conclusion.

“He’s determined to separate us,” Ivy admitted, “just like he did when we were a year old.”

Olivia’s cell phone rang. She stood there, feeling hopeless for a long moment before answering it. “Hello?”

“Hi, Olivia. It’s Camilla. How’d it go at the museum?”

“Our dad got the job,” Olivia replied flatly. There was a squeal on the other end of the phone. “And he turned it down,” she finished.

Across from her, Ivy and Brendan shared a hug.

“Oh, no,” Camilla said softly. “I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah.” Olivia shrugged. “Me, too.”

“You sound like you could use some cheering up,” Camilla noted. “Why don’t we go bowling? I have a coupon for two free games. Ivy and Brendan can come, too.”

Olivia put her finger over the phone’s mouthpiece. “Camilla wants us all to go bowling,” she told them.

“I don’t feel like having fun,” Ivy said.

“Me, neither,” Olivia agreed.

“Will you twins come on?” Brendan protested. “Are you going to spend what might be your last few days together in Franklin Grove sulking and sighing? Or are you going to make the most of them?”

“I’m a professional sulker,” Ivy replied, smiling weakly.

“And I have a very dramatic sigh,” Olivia said, and sighed dramatically.

But Brendan wouldn’t take no for an answer. “You love bowling, Ivy. It’s the only sport with an all-black ball. And you dig the shoes.” His dark eyes shone as he looked at Ivy entreatingly.

“Okay,” Ivy conceded begrudgingly.

Why not?
Olivia thought. She lifted the phone back to her ear. “Camilla? Prepare the gutters for our arrival.”

Brendan opened the door to the bowling alley, and the sounds of rolling balls and crashing pins poured out. Ivy’s eyes adjusted to the indoor light, and across the alley she spotted Sophia standing beside Camilla, grinning hopefully and clutching her camera. In fact, the two of them were surrounded by people from school.

“SURPRISE!” the crowd cried, and a banner unfurled from the ceiling: WE’LL MISS YOU, IVY! The hairs on Ivy’s neck stood on end. “You didn’t!” she cried across the bowling alley. Sophia’s camera flash fired and the whole crowd broke out laughing and clapping.

“And to think we didn’t even want to come!” Olivia whispered in awe beside her.

Sophia and Camilla ran up. “Sophia told me how much you love bowling,” Camilla explained as she gave Ivy a hug, “and my uncle owns the alley.”

“Camilla was like the funeral director of this whole thing,” Sophia admitted.

“I can’t believe you two didn’t tell me about this,” Olivia said, hugging Camilla. “I could have helped!”

“We wanted to plan it all on our own,” Camilla answered proudly. “Besides, you and Ivy have had other stuff going on, like Plans A through C.”

Camilla and Sophia led Ivy, Olivia, and Brendan to the far side of the bowling alley, which Ivy could now see was cordoned off with a black velvet rope. Everyone was there: Toby Decker and the rest of the staff of the
Franklin Grove Scribe
, her math study group, and the members of the planning committee for the All Hallows’ Ball.

Miss Everling from the library came up and squeezed Ivy’s shoulder. “So ‘your friend’ is moving, huh?” she said. “Well, there’s no reason she can’t come back to visit.” She stuck a gray pin on Ivy’s long-sleeved black shirt. It read
Parlez-vous Anglais?

A few minutes later, Ivy was chatting with Melissa, who’d been head of the All Hallows’ Ball planning committee, when two loud
crack
s pierced the air. She turned to see Camilla standing in the middle of a bowling lane, holding a bowling pin in each hand. Sophia was beside her, holding something behind her back. Camilla cracked the pins together a third time, and the crowd quieted.

“Will our guest of honor please join us in lane nine,” Sophia called.