smiled proudly, wrapping one arm around his wife’s waist. ‘It was a gift from the Indian vampire community’s Senior Ambassador,’ he explained. ‘It is said to bring good fortune to whoever holds it close. Franklin Grove Museum will have it on display until the spring. While it is here, nothing bad can happen. So, you see? There’s nothing to worry about.’
‘Oh, thank darkness.’ Lillian visibly relaxed for the first time that day. ‘I can’t tell you how much this helps.’
As Olivia looked at her stepmom’s relieved expression, she had to stifle a giggle. Vampires really are so superstitious!
Olivia was in such a rush to get to her locker at the end of school on Wednesday, she had to make a quick, dancing side-step to avoid the stooped, elderly janitor who stood in her way. With only a few hours to go before the grand opening of Café Creative, she didn’t have much time – she’d have to rush home if she wanted to scoff down a quick sandwich before heading over to the museum.
As she bundled her books into her locker, a familiar clump-clump-clump caught her attention.
It was the unmistakable noise of Amelia Thompson’s heavy black boots marching down the hall.
Olivia glanced around curiously. The gothabulous senior was making a bee-line for Penny Taylor. Penny was a bunny freshman who had once pretended to be the gothiest of goths – but actually preferred the lighter, sparklier side of life. Today, Penny looked as bright as spring in a blue cardigan and pale pink dress . . . and Amelia was scowling as she marched towards her.
Uh-oh. Forgetting her own hurry for a moment, Olivia turned around to get a better look. Is Amelia mad at Penny about something?
Both Penny and Amelia were designers for the fashion show at the Café’s grand opening, and Olivia just knew Lillian would be devastated if anything fell apart at the last minute.
Amelia came to a halt in front of the younger girl. ‘Is it ready?’ she demanded.
‘Oh, yes.’ Penny gave a satisfied smile. ‘I finished up the very last piece over lunch break. It is definitely ready . . . and it’s definitely going to be great!’
‘Ohh!’ Amelia wasn’t mad at Penny at all. Olivia couldn’t help herself. Leaving her locker door hanging open, she rushed forwards, sidestepping around the janitor again to race towards the other girls.
‘Please!’ she begged, as she arrived at Penny’s locker. ‘I’ve been dying to know about this show-stopping secret project. What did you guys collaborate on? I know it must have been a dress, or . . . well . . . some item of clothing, right?’ She looked from one of them to the other, lowering her voice as a group of chattering students passed behind her. ‘Come on, can’t you just give me a hint?’
Penny laughed. ‘It’s a secret, Olivia!’
‘Yes, but I’m one of your models,’ Olivia said. ‘So you don’t have to keep it a secret from me !’
Penny and Amelia traded a look. Despite their differences in style, when they turned back to face Olivia, they wore exactly the same teasing grin.
‘You’ll just have to wait and see, like everybody else,’ Amelia said sternly.
‘But . . .’ Olivia began.
Penny giggled as she closed her locker. ‘The one thing we can tell you is: it’s really kind of . . .’
‘“Altegular”!’ Amelia finished.
They both burst into laughter as they linked arms and walked away down the hall, leaving Olivia staring after them.
‘Altegular’? What does that mean?
‘Excuse me.’ It was the janitor again, his voice gruff and his face hidden under a ragged old baseball cap as he stepped up to mop the floor around Olivia’s feet.
‘Oh, sorry.’ Sighing, Olivia started to head back to her own locker.
Then she stopped. Wait a minute. The janitor wasn’t stooped any more. In fact, she was certain she recognised his posture from somewhere . . .
Narrowing her eyes, she turned to stare at him. Lowering his mop, he turned right back to her and raised the brim of his cap.
Olivia’s breath stopped in her throat. That’s no janitor!
Even with make-up carefully applied to ‘age up’ his face, she would have known those blue eyes anywhere.
It was her far-too-famous boyfriend, Jackson Caulfield!
‘Oh, really. ’ Olivia tried to scowl, but she couldn’t help laughing. ‘Has your career really slipped this far, Jackson? Is Amy getting you cleaning jobs now between shoots?’
‘Ahem.’ Still speaking in his gruff, old man’s voice, Jackson gave a wink. ‘I don’t think you should be openly flirting with a school janitor, do you?’
‘Whatever.’ Rolling her eyes, Olivia walked back to her locker and pushed the door wide open, so that no one else could see her expression. ‘So,’ she said, through the locker door, ‘what are you doing here, really?’
‘What do you think?’ Groups of students walked past behind them, but Jackson’s voice was too low for any of them to overhear. ‘I got into town early, and I wanted to see you. But for obvious reasons, it didn’t seem like a good idea to be noticed coming into the school.’
‘Hmm.’ Olivia raised her eyebrows. ‘Do you know, I think there’s a part of you that actually enjoys the trouble you can cause!’
‘I just like the practice,’ Jackson said cheerfully. ‘It’s good to try out different roles.’ He shifted to mop the floor on her other side. ‘So, what time does the event start tonight?’
‘Seven-thirty,’ Olivia said. It was a good reminder: she started packing her bag as she spoke. ‘Just remember, you can expect some chaos as we try to get into the museum.’
‘That’s fine.’ Jackson shrugged. ‘It can’t be any tougher than that crowd at the premiere for The Groves . . . remember?’
‘How could I forget?’ She remembered feeling like she might pass out from the crowds pressing in on them that evening. Their excitement had been overwhelming.
‘Just wait,’ Jackson said. ‘I bet the one we have for “ES” is going to be an even bigger deal.’
‘Oh.’ Olivia gulped. I hadn’t even thought of that.
Jackson was talking about Eternal Sunset, the film they were currently shooting. At its premiere, Olivia would be walking the red carpet as the lead actress of a major movie for the very first time – and it would be the last time
