That is so not a vamp look!
‘Hey!’ Reiko’s face lit up in a grin as she saw them. Giving an excited wave, she bounded over to the table in fast, athletic strides. ‘You must be Ivy, right? And Olivia! I recognise you both from Banp magazine!’
‘Did you say Ban magazine?’ Ivy asked, scooting over on the seat to make room for Reiko and her giant backpack full of sports equipment. Through the crack in the top of the backpack, she could see tennis balls and even a basketball jostling for space inside.
‘No, Banp !’ Still standing – and bouncing on her toes – Reiko yanked off the backpack and tossed it on to the table.
‘Oops!’ Olivia jerked out of the way just in time, before the handle of the tennis racquet could slam into her head. She sat back, eyes wide. ‘Bamp magazine?’
‘No, no, Banp . You know . . .’ Reiko slid into the booth beside Ivy, then leaned forwards to whisper, with an infectious grin: ‘Japanese for “vamp”!’
‘Aha!’ Ivy gave a sigh of relief. Banp must be the Japanese edition of VAMP magazine.
‘It’s so great to meet you two!’ Reiko said, bouncing in her seat. ‘And it is so nice of you to take care of me while I’m in Franklin Grove. This is a big adventure for me, you know?’
‘It’s no problem. Really.’ Ivy didn’t have to force a smile. Reiko may have been a little over-energetic, but she did seem like a nice person. ‘I’m sure the next two weeks will be killer.’
‘Absolutely.’ Reiko’s knee jiggled up and down so vigorously, Ivy had to scoot further to the side to keep from being bumped. ‘So, who’s playing tonight?’
‘Um . . .?’ Ivy gave Olivia a Help-me! look. ‘None of the bands I know . . . Olivia?’
Ivy’s twin shrugged.
‘Not music .’ Reiko laughed. ‘No way! But Franklin Grove has a sports team, right?’
‘Well . . .’ Ivy’s head was whirling.
‘You must have lots,’ Reiko said. ‘There are so many different sports in America, right? Just like in Japan. So, who’s playing tonight? And what time does the game start?’
Dread settled in Ivy’s stomach. No one warned me I’d have to watch sports for this! ‘I . . . have to check the newspaper,’ she said weakly. ‘I think . . . are the sports reports at the back? Maybe?’
Olivia only shrugged again. Reiko looked stunned.
‘Are you serious?’ she said. ‘I can’t believe you two live in America and you don’t follow sports!’ She shook her head at both of them. ‘If I lived here, I’d go to a different game every night!’
Please not for the next two weeks, Ivy begged silently. I might start looking for a stake to walk into!
As Reiko launched into an excited list of all the different types of games she most wanted to watch while she was in Franklin Grove, Ivy sagged lower and lower in her seat. Does she actually expect me to watch a whole sports game? On purpose?
Worse yet . . . based on how packed full of equipment that backpack was, Reiko might even expect Ivy to play sports with her .
Ivy shuddered. I can’t believe this is happening!
Of all the possible vamps that she had imagined turning up, she would never have expected a sports fanatic! Now, here she was sitting right next to one . . . who suddenly gave her a nudge so powerful, she nearly slammed into the wall of their booth.
‘Hey, do you mind if we go somewhere else for lunch?’ Reiko tossed down the menu with a shudder. ‘This whole menu is really unhealthy. Does the Meat and Greet have something against proper nutrients?’
‘Ahem.’ Next to the table, the waitress cleared her throat loudly.
Cringing, Ivy looked up. The waitress stood holding Olivia’s diet soda . . . and she’d obviously heard every one of Reiko’s words about the menu.
‘Ready to order, finally ?’ the waitress snapped.
Ivy gave her best “apologetic” smile. ‘Um . . . can we please have the check?’
The waitress let out a growl. ‘I don’t believe this!’
Ivy sighed. Trust me, neither do I.
Two hours later, Olivia led Ivy and Reiko through the echoing halls of the Franklin Grove Museum. She had to hold on to Ivy’s elbow to keep her twin moving in the right direction. Ivy was walking backwards, her horrified gaze firmly fixed on the exchange student behind them . . .
Less than a minute after stepping into the museum, Reiko had pulled a tennis ball from her backpack. Now, she juggled it fluidly between her palms, elbows and shoulders as she walked. She was obviously skilled, but Olivia dreaded what would happen if the museum’s intense vampire caretaker, Albert, caught sight of what was going on. And if Reiko’s ball actually crashed into one of the museum’s priceless displays?
Ouch. Olivia cringed at the idea.
Reiko was the only one who seemed completely unfazed by the priceless antiquities all around them. ‘ . . . and after we go to the basketball game,’ she was saying, ‘I want to see a real American football game! And then . . .’
‘I can’t take this any more,’ Ivy mumbled. She pulled free of Olivia and turned to stride ahead.
Oh, dear. Olivia sighed. She couldn’t imagine Ivy sitting through a single sports game, much less two weeks’ worth of them!
Still, she didn’t want Reiko to feel snubbed, so Olivia dropped behind to walk by the exchange student’s side as she chattered on and on, juggling her tennis ball all the way. As they walked past an ancient ceramic vase sitting on a pedestal, the ball flew up over their heads. Reiko jumped up to catch it between her shoulder and jaw . . .
She missed.
‘Oh!’ Olivia gasped as the ball hurtled towards the vase.
‘Noooo!’ Albert suddenly appeared from the shadows of the hall, lunging towards them with his arms outstretched.
Ivy spun around. Horror spread across her face as she leaped forwards . . .
And, just in time, Reiko snatched the ball out of the air in a quick, backwards catch. ‘There!’ She winked at the others, grinning. ‘You weren’t worried, were you? I never miss a catch.’
Albert put one hand to his chest, as if to soothe his racing heart. He took deep breaths. Olivia thought he might be about to pass out from shock. As soon as he had calmed down, though, they were going to be in big trouble.
She traded a panicked look with Ivy. ‘Let’s hurry, OK?’ I don’t want to be here when Albert starts yelling! Putting one
