13 Double Disaster - My Sister the Vampire

by Sienna Mercer

  Now that she did finally look up, Olivia could see Jackson staring at his watch. Was that why he’d let go of her hand – because he was running late? He started to turn away, then hesitated. ‘What’re ye doin’ on Satahdee?’

  ‘“Satahdee?”’ Olivia repeated blankly. ‘Oh, Saturday! Nothing, I don’t think. I mean, I don’t have any plans. We have the weekend off, don’t we?’

  ‘That’s right,’ Jackson said, ‘and I was finkin’ . . . d’ye wanna take a nanny-ride along the Thames shake?’

  ‘A what?’ Olivia stared at him.

  He grinned. ‘“Nanny-goat,”’ he said. ‘That means boat, and “shake” means river. I’m asking you for a boat-ride along the Thames.’

  ‘Oh. I get it . . . I think,’ Olivia said. Was a boat-ride with Jackson a good idea or a really, really bad one? She felt so numb, she couldn’t even tell. ‘That sounds good,’ she said weakly.

  ‘Cushty,’ Jackson said. Olivia assumed that meant, Good. He swung off, striding quickly through the cluster of trailers and trucks. Just before he disappeared from sight, Olivia heard him greeting Harker. ‘Awight, Guv’ner?’

  Ingrid’s voice rapped out furiously from somewhere nearby: ‘That’s “Guv-nah”!’

  Wincing, Olivia turned away. It was almost time for her parents to collect her from her trailer . . . and she still hadn’t come to any conclusions about Jackson, or about herself.

  What ever happened to figuring things out?

  The next day, Ivy sat with Brendan at the very back of the school bus, as usual, but Sophia was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘What do you think?’ Ivy whispered to her boyfriend, as the big banana-coloured bus rolled down the street towards the school. ‘Is she sick? Or is she just having a last-minute gingham emergency?’

  ‘Ugh.’ Brendan grimaced. ‘Maybe she’s just got really, really into the whole subterfuge thing? Trying to be un-vamp-y, like our parents want?’

  ‘No way.’ Ivy kept her voice too low for the students in front of them to hear. ‘Trust me, she’s not doing this for her parents. She’d never do anything that stupid for them. She has to be doing it for a boy.’

  ‘Really? Sophia?’ Brendan stretched out his legs under the seat in front of him, looking sceptical. ‘I don’t know. She’s always been smarter than that.’

  ‘I talked it all over with Lillian last night,’ Ivy told him. ‘She says it’s not uncommon for girls to do the stupidest things to impress boys.’

  A lock of dark hair flopped over Brendan’s eyes as he shook his head, letting out a half-laugh. ‘I’ve never seen you do anything like that.’

  ‘No?’ Ivy nudged him playfully. ‘Remember when we were in elementary school, and I was “really, really into” Ninja Warrior 7?’

  ‘You were?’ Brendan frowned.

  ‘Oh that’s right, I forgot,’ Ivy laughed. ‘You ignored me all through our childhood.’

  ‘I did not,’ Brendan protested.

  Ivy gave his hand a squeeze. ‘The point is, I mastered that game, just because you once wore a Ninja Warrior 7 T-shirt!’

  ‘Are you kidding?’ Brendan stared at her for a long moment. Then he started to laugh, even as he wrapped one arm around her shoulder to hug her close. ‘I didn’t even like the game! The shirt was a Christmas present from my mom . . . and I only ever wore it once.’

  ‘Argh!’ Ivy groaned and buried her face in his shoulder. ‘I wasted a whole summer on that game, just in case you ever invited me over to your house to play it. I was going to impress you with my mad Ninja skills!’

  ‘Aww.’ Brendan tipped up her chin and kissed her. ‘Ivy Vega, you are a tremendous dork.’

  ‘Whatever!’ Ivy whispered back. As the bus jerked to a stop in front of the school grounds, she gave him a mischievous grin. ‘You just love me for my Ninja powers, and you know it!’

  Still laughing, she jumped up to follow the students in front of her off the bus, while Brendan playfully hung on to her backpack. She stepped off the bus – and then leaped back, gasping and almost knocking Brendan over, as a flash of black and white gingham swooped past.

  Was it a bird, was it a plane . . .?

  Oh no. It’s worse!

  Ivy cringed as she recognised Sophia, her skateboard swerving dangerously towards a collection of stone benches on the school grounds.

  ‘Look out!’ Brendan yelled.

  Ivy could only watch, speechless with horror, as Sophia’s skateboard took another violent swerve. Sophia’s sunglasses fell from her face, just in time for her to see the bench rising up in front of her. With a super-agile vampire leap, she hopped straight over the bench as her skateboard whizzed beneath it.

  Ivy counted it as an absolute miracle when Sophia landed back on the board on the other side of the bench and turned to wobble back over to her friends.

  Ivy caught her up halfway. ‘Do you have any idea how close you came to being rushed to the nearest emergency room?’ She pointed at the skateboard under Sophia’s feet. ‘Stop riding that thing!’

  But Sophia obviously wasn’t listening. Instead, she was gazing directly over Ivy’s shoulder at something that made her lips curve into a dreamy smile. Using the skateboard to shoot away from Ivy, she scooped up her sunglasses from the ground and shoved them back on her nose.

  ‘And that’s another thing!’ Ivy yelled after her friend. ‘Stop wearing those things! They’re not good for your health!’

  Brendan came up beside her, shaking his head. ‘You do realise she isn’t paying any attention to you.’

  ‘I know,’ Ivy said glumly, as they watched Sophia aim her skateboard at the group of skater-boys and girls gathered near the front of the school building. She was clearly intent on joining them . . . but in her rush, she seemed to have forgotten how to put on the brakes. She tried to stop, but it was too late. Her arms windmilled through the air.

  As Ivy let out a moan of sympathetic horror, Sophia skated her board right over Finn’s feet.

  ‘Please tell me I imagined that,’ Ivy breathed.

  ‘I wish you had,’ Brendan whispered back.

  Together, they started running, even as the group of blonde skater-girls near Finn all started screaming at once.

  Every time Ivy had ever seen Finn, he had been wearing pristine white tennis shoes. They’d been so perfectly white, Ivy could have written an essay on them. Now, though, Ivy could see dirty black wheel marks running over the top of them.

  She cringed at the sight. It’s like a sign saying, ‘Sophia was here!’

  Sophia’s face was bright red, and her words were tumbling over each other as the skater-girls all glared at her from behind Finn, whispering to each other.

  ‘I am just so, so sorry!’ Sophia gasped. ‘I never meant – I would never, ever, ever, on purpose . . .’

  Ivy started forwards to save her out-of-control friend, but Brendan pulled her gently to one side. ‘Shh,’ he whispered. ‘Look again.’ He nodded at Finn, and Ivy followed his gaze.

  Finn didn’t look angry. He didn’t even look annoyed.

  ‘Hey, don’t worry,’ he said, smiling at Sophia, his eyes twinkling. ‘It’s fine. Totally! I was getting desperate for ways to scuff up these new shoes anyway. You’ve done me a triumphant favour.’

  ‘Really?’ Sophia bit her lip.

  Finn clamped a reassuring hand on her shoulder. His blond hair glinted in the sunlight, and his smile was dazzling. ‘Absolutely. Don’t worry about it, OK?’

  ‘OK,’ Sophia breathed. Her eyes were shining. As Ivy watched, Sophia’s gaze drifted over to his fingers, still resting on her shoulder. Her lips trembled.

  ‘See you around!’ Finn gave her shoulder one more squeeze, then wandered off with his gang of friends.

  Sophia turned slowly, as if in a daze, to Ivy and Brendan. ‘He . . . he touched my shoulder!’ she whispered.

  Ivy rolled her eyes. ‘We saw.’

  The school bell rang, harsh and jangling, but it wasn’t enough to jolt Sophia back into common se
nse. Her eyes were glazed with delight even as Ivy turned her around and shoved her gently towards the school building.

  We are going to have to have a real talk soon, Ivy thought grimly. Away from all skateboards and sunglasses!

  There might not be time to fix Sophia now, but at least Ivy had finally solved one mystery. Lillian had been right, as usual. Sophia was being driven by a huge crush . . . on Skater Finn!

  Chapter Seven

  Snap out of it! Olivia told herself.

  She was on the deck of a yacht, cruising directly past Hampton Court Palace. It should have been one of the coolest moments of her entire life, but all she could think about was the boy next to her. Jackson.

  What was he really thinking as he leaned over her shoulder, pointing out London landmarks? What did he want from her, and for their relationship? And what did Olivia want for herself ?

  Hampton Court Palace was impressive. Apparently, Henry VIII had once lived there. Admittedly, Olivia knew less about English history than she did about quantum physics, but Jackson was full of fun facts. The palace sprawled along the riverbank like something out of a fairy tale, but Olivia was very much not enchanted by it.

  Then Ivy’s brisk voice in her head answered her question: Stop being silly and enjoy this experience!

  Right. Olivia focused on the lapping waves, and the long-necked swans that floated past the yacht. Be in the moment, she told herself.

  And what a moment it was! The yacht had been privately rented by Jackson just so that the cast and crew could have a special treat at the end of Week One. That’s so Jackson, thinking of everyone! All around them, people were milling about, carrying crystal flutes filled with pomegranate juice or elderflower spritzers, and there were whole tables covered in sparkling white linen tablecloths and platters of food.

  Olivia loved seeing so much history floating past her . . . and better yet, she didn’t even have to wear a corset to enjoy it! Instead, she was wearing her favourite light pink, knee-length sundress. She had never appreciated loose-fitting contemporary clothing so much until she had spent a week dressing like a Victorian!

  Smiling, Olivia took a deep breath just to prove that she could. Thank goodness I live in the twenty-first century, and not the nineteenth! Breathing comfortably is definitely underrated.

  She couldn’t wait to switch to 1950s style, when they got back to the States for their next block of shooting. After corsets, poodle skirts sound like heaven!

  Now she looked around, hearing the hum of voices behind her. Olivia had spent the first part of the cruise mingling with the rest of the cast, while her parents hung out with the other actors’ parents and guardians below deck. After half an hour, though, Jackson had asked Olivia if she wanted to walk with him along the deck, alone . . .

  ‘’Ave a butcher’s at that!’ he said now, pointing over her shoulder. ‘Can ya believe all this ’istree, right in front of us!’

  Olivia sighed, even as she smiled politely. It was hard to be thrilled by the ’istree of anything!

  She knew it was important for him to practise and stay in character. Better yet, she could see that it was paying off in his performance. Yesterday had been the best day of filming so far. Jackson had had to do a monologue twice, once in the posh voice and once in the Cockney, and even terrifying Ingrid, the Vocal Coach of Doom, had actually agreed that it was good.

  It’s not that I don’t admire Jackson’s commitment, Olivia thought glumly. But it’s hard to feel romantic when he sounds like a stranger.

  The sound of a throat being cleared behind her made her turn – and her momentary annoyance evaporated as she saw a waiter approaching with a platter of delicious-looking appetisers.

  ‘Oh good!’ Jackson stepped forward, smiling. ‘I’m Dean Martin!’

  The waiter rolled his eyes. ‘No, you’re Hank Marvin,’ he said, in a real London accent.

  ‘Are you sure?’ Jackson frowned, looking suddenly less confident. ‘I really thought I was Dean Martin.’

  The waiter shook his head. ‘No, you’re definitely Hank Marvin.’

  Are you both crazy? Olivia wanted to scream. He’s Jackson Caulfield!

  Then she bit back a groan as she realised what was going on. Why can’t anything just make sense?

  Ever since she’d arrived in London, it had felt like everything was in a code she couldn’t read . . . from the language that everybody spoke to the feelings that Jackson might or might not have for her.

  Still, she was pretty sure she could work out this particular puzzle. Hank Marvin rhymed with . . . starving! Jackson must have meant he was hungry. And she was, too!

  The waiter offered the platter to her. ‘Miss?’

  ‘Thank you.’ I can do this! Olivia braced herself to make the attempt. ‘I’m so . . . Sally . . . Tungry?’

  For a moment, the waiter stared at her blankly. Then he burst out laughing.

  Sighing, Olivia took a still-steaming spring roll and watched as he walked away, chuckling so much he almost dropped his platter.

  ‘So, it’s not something you can just make up on the spot?’ she asked Jackson.

  ‘Well . . .’ He smiled sympathetically. ‘Maybe if –’

  But before he could finish, the yacht lurched to a stop. The sudden movement threw Olivia forward . . . straight into Jackson’s arms.

  Her spring roll fell to the deck as he caught her. His breath was warm against her hair. She thought she could feel his heartbeat racing – but that might have been her own.

  Then the captain’s voice blared over the intercom:

  ‘Sorry about that, ladies and gentlemen. There’s a slight mechanical difficulty down here, but the crew are working on it now. We should be on the move again shortly. In the meantime, everyone, just get comfy and enjoy the view.’

  Olivia couldn’t help it. She started laughing as Jackson helped her upright.

  He didn’t let go of her hands even after she was standing safely on the deck. ‘What is it?’ He looked down at her, his eyebrows raised. ‘Why are you laughing?’

  Olivia shook her head, smiling ruefully and wondering if there could possibly be a more perfect metaphor for their whole relationship than a stalled ship? Surrounded by a wonderful view but going nowhere . . .

  ‘Nothing,’ she said. ‘Never mind.’

  ‘Hey, hey, hey, Eternal Sunset cast and crew!’ Mr Harker’s voice suddenly boomed out of a megaphone, only ten feet behind Olivia.

  She jumped, then pulled her hands free to clap them over her ears as she spun around. The vampire studio boss was grinning mischievously as he looked straight at her and Jackson.

  ‘Since this yacht of ours isn’t moving, we’re going to have to create our own movement. And you guys know what that means . . .’

  Do we? Olivia stared warily at Jackson, who closed his eyes and groaned, ‘Oh no . . .’

  Harker stepped back and gestured grandly at the big speakers set along the deck. A moment later, 1950s pop music blasted out from the speakers.

  Silently, Olivia echoed Jackson’s groan.

  Just what this awkward afternoon needs – dancing!

  Argh. Ivy groaned silently as she tipped her head against the window beside her seat on the bus as it stopped at yet another red light. I’m on a bus going nowhere!

  She was very eager to get to the Lincoln Vale Mall – and was seriously worried about what she might find when she got there. She had gone to Sophia’s house that afternoon to have a serious talk with her friend. Unfortunately, she’d been too late – and as soon as Sophia’s mom had told her where her friend had gone, Ivy had been filled with panic.

  If Sophia actually wanted to go shopping, Ivy had reasoned, she would have gone to the Franklin Grove Mall.

  Was she hoping to run into Finn the skater-boy? Wasn’t that what some people called ‘stalking’?

  Ivy had to stop her before she went too far.

  Finally, the bus lurched back into movement.

  When it pulled up in front of the L
incoln Grove Mall, Ivy jumped off with a moan of impatience. She hurtled through the front doors with only one goal. Mission: Rescue Sophia – From Herself !

  But as she hurried down the long galleries of the mall, her eyes widened. As malls went, it was actually the coolest one she’d ever seen. One side was dominated by goth and alternative clothing outlets, the other with accessories stores. Pall Bearers CDs filled the display cases of the music stores. And right up there, in front of her . . .

  Oh my darkness. Ivy’s feet slowed to a stop as she stared at the mall’s comic-book store, the frontage rising up and up over the central fountain. She had to tip her head all the way back to see the very top floor with its glass-fronted display. That store is bigger than my whole house!

  She had to force her mouth shut before she could start moving again. No time to stop! she told herself firmly.

  Still, she slid longing glances back at it as she walked away. I will definitely bring Brendan here another time . . . when I’m not looking for my crazy best friend!

  Ivy turned a corner to find a bunch of middle-schoolers soaring down the polished gallery floor right towards her on their skateboards. She leapt aside just in time to avoid a messy crash.

  One of the younger skateboarders craned his neck backwards as he skated past. ‘Are you OK?’

  Ivy sighed. ‘I’m fine.’

  The truth was, she could have leapt all the way across the gallery if she’d wanted to. Instead, she’d forced herself to use only half her strength and landed just far enough away for safety. She couldn’t break the First Law of the Night by letting outsiders see her vampire super-strength at work.

  But up ahead of her, she saw a vampire who didn’t seem to remember anything about the Laws of the Night – or who she really was – any more. Sophia – who looked like she had been caught in explosion at a gingham factory – stood in the middle of a line of skater-girls that snaked down the long gallery. What are they in line for?

  Scowling, Ivy marched right up to her friend and tapped her on the shoulder.