? Or a glove? How did that even work?’
Oops. Olivia shook her head ruefully. ‘Sorry. Technical term. Maybe I should have saved that bit of gossip for Camilla?’
‘Maybe,’ Ivy agreed. ‘But you can do that later. Right now . . .’ She drew a deep breath, looking even paler than usual. Her lips twisted. ‘It’s time to face the music!’ Squaring her shoulders, she headed into the crowd.
Why does she look like she’s heading into battle? Olivia wondered. As she walked by her sister’s side, her concern deepened. Something is seriously wrong. Normally, Ivy looked so confident as she walked around. She never cared about other people’s opinions. But here . . . she looked tense. Her eyes darted everywhere, as if she were afraid of being attacked.
And maybe she had a point. As they headed for their lockers together, every head turned to watch them. Olivia didn’t need vampire hearing to pick up the whispers rising all around them.
‘Is that Ivy’s twin ?’
‘That’s not possible! She’s so . . . pink !’
‘Geez, look at her skin-tone. Why would she put on a fake tan like that?’
‘Maybe it’s not fake.’
‘Then how could she have let it happen ?’
Gritting her teeth, Olivia hung on to the shoulder strap of her sequinned bag and forced herself not to react. They’re not really making fun of me, she told herself. They’re just confused. And why wouldn’t they be? Ivy and I must be the least alike identical twins in the world!
She wasn’t the only one hearing the whispers. As Ivy came to a stop in front of her locker, Olivia could see the frustration on her twin’s face.
‘Are you OK?’ Ivy muttered.
‘I’m fine.’ Olivia gave her a reassuring smile.
Knowing how protective Ivy was, she guessed her sister had probably wanted to stop and shout at every single person who’d whispered about Olivia on the way. As sweet as that was, Olivia couldn’t let it happen.
Unlike the students at Franklin Grove Middle School, Lincoln Vale kids hadn’t grown up with vampires. The Franklin Grove vamps had to work extra hard here to keep their secret safe. That meant: Make no waves!
‘It’s just going to take a while to get used to, that’s all,’ Olivia said firmly.
‘Good luck with that,’ Ivy grumbled. ‘I’ve been here a week already, and I’m not getting used to anything!’
‘Oh, come on.’ Olivia gave her twin a sympathetic smile. ‘There’s got to be something good about this school, right? I mean . . .’ she looked around the dimly lit hallway, searching for something positive to say ‘. . . at least the light isn’t bright enough to hurt your eyes.’
Ivy snorted. ‘I wish . . . oh, no!’
‘What is it?’ As her sister’s eyes widened with horror, Olivia twisted around . . . just in time to see half a dozen goths descend in a mass of black hair, flapping black trench coats and jangling silver jewellery.
They swept down around Ivy like a flock of blackbirds.
‘Oh, Ivy, where did you get that killer ensemble?’ The girl in front was almost shrieking with excitement, reaching out to stroke Ivy’s Pall Bearers T-shirt with one black-nailed hand.
Olivia watched Ivy squint – not in one of her patented death-stares this time, but in an obvious attempt to hide the fact that she was rolling her eyes as she scooted backwards.
‘These are the exact same clothes I was wearing last Friday,’ she said, sighing. ‘There’s nothing special about them.’
‘Ohhhh!’ breathed the girl who’d asked the question. She clapped one hand to her mouth, her eyes widening in obvious wonder. ‘That is so daring of you!’
The two girls behind Olivia started whispering frantically.
‘She’s so cool, she doesn’t even do laundry!’
‘I’m going to try that, too!’
More and more goths gravitated towards them, as if Ivy were a magnet pulling them in from throughout the school. Olivia had never seen anything like it. Her twin had no choice but to keep backing away to create room for the newcomers. Within a few minutes, she had somehow drifted from one side of the hall to the other, fending off fashion-related questions with every step.
‘But how do you get so pale?’ the closest girl asked imploringly. ‘I want to do it, too!’
‘Um . . .’ Ivy gave Olivia a look of obvious desperation, but they were separated by so many goths now, Olivia could only shrug sympathetically. ‘I don’t know,’ Ivy said. ‘Just luck?’
The girl pressed on, forcing Ivy further backwards. ‘But what brand of pale foundation do you use? You can tell me, Ivy! I’d never tell anyone else!’
‘I don’t really . . .’ Ivy began.
As she backed away, she walked straight into a sweet-faced bunny girl who was trying to edge past the group of goths. It would have been bad enough if Ivy was human – but with her vampire strength, she knocked the girl straight to the ground.
Oh, no! Olivia raced over to help. Ivy was already apologising as she leaned over the bunny girl.
‘I’m so sorry!’ Ivy said, for at least the third time. ‘I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you OK?’
Olivia and Ivy took an arm each as they helped the girl to her feet. But the bunny shrugged them off.
‘No, no!’ she said to Ivy. ‘Please don’t apologise. It was my fault. I totally should have been watching where you were going! No one should get in your way. Ever!’
Hey. Suddenly frowning, Olivia let go of her arm. She didn’t have to be nasty about it. That kind of cruel sarcasm had been exactly what their old nemesis Charlotte Brown had specialised in, back at Franklin Grove Middle.
But as Olivia watched the other girl, the truth dawned on her. She wasn’t being sarcastic at all. She actually thought the collision was somehow her fault.
‘Please forgive me!’ she said earnestly, gathering up the last of her books. ‘I promise I won’t do it again.’
‘But . . .’ Ivy began.
It was too late. Still apologising, the girl had already hurried away.
Olivia met Ivy’s gaze and saw the desperate frustration simmering there. She started to step forwards but the goths had already moved back in. They swept between her and her twin like a tsunami. Olivia felt dizzy as she watched the wave carry Ivy down the hall. Even though she was standing still, it seemed like the world was spinning around her.
Ivy and Sophia were right. High school really is weird! Olivia was used to fangirls swooping
