‘I’m fine.’ Jackson’s voice wrapped warmly around her. ‘I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Have you checked your email yet?’
Olivia laughed. ‘I’ve kind of had my hands full. Literally! I’ve been hauling zombies around for Camilla’s Halloween party.’
‘Really?’ Jackson paused. ‘You?’
‘Don’t sound so surprised!’ Olivia said with mock-outrage. ‘I’m not a bu– I mean, I’m a tough girl now. Anyway – what email?’
‘Well . . .’ Jackson sighed. ‘All those scenes we’re shooting in Pine Wood in a couple of weeks have just been rewritten – again.’
‘Oh no!’ Squeezing her eyes shut, Olivia rubbed her temple with her free hand, trying to massage away a sudden headache. ‘So we have new dialogue to memorise now? I was just getting the first pages down. I’ve practically been monologuing in my sleep!’
‘Oh, yeah?’ She heard a hint of amusement in Jackson’s voice. ‘So, how’s your Southern accent coming along?’
Olivia grinned as she turned back towards the Halloweenified Café Creative, where Camilla was still busy directing and the three vampire girls had their faces politely turned away from Olivia and her conversation. Putting on her best Southern accent, she declared, ‘Ah think it’s gettin’ bettah, sugah!’
All three vamp girls swung towards her.
Ivy’s eyes were wide with horror. Sophia cringed, looking pained. Reiko only shook her head sadly.
Uh-oh. Olivia winced.
Maybe she needed a little more practice after all!
Ivy was still yawning after school the next day as she sat at her computer, wearing her Halloween costume and cycling through the photos from last night’s Moonrise party. It hadn’t started until they’d gotten back from Café Creative, and it hadn’t ended until well after midnight, but it had totally been worth the sleep loss.
Just look at Olivia going vamp-y! In the first few photos, Olivia was holding up and then eating one of a dozen heart-shaped biscuits smothered in cranberry sauce, which Charles had made especially for her. In the next four photos, Ivy had captured her twin making funny faces with the sauce dripping from both sides of her mouth, just like a movie vampire.
We really did vamp-i-fy her!
A thump from downstairs signalled the front door opening and closing. Her step-mom’s voice sounded a moment later, calling up the stairs.
‘Reiko’s on her way to see you, Ivy!’
Fangtastic! Ivy jumped off her chair, straightening her costume with the help of the mirror that hung on her closet door. When Reiko sees this, she is so totally going to freak out!
The door burst open, and Reiko strode in . . . only to stop, staring, as the door slammed shut behind her. ‘Oh, wow.’ She looked Ivy up and down, shaking her head in wonder. ‘You are rocking that Sherlock Holmes costume!’
‘Thank you!’ Holding on to her deerstalker, Ivy gave a twirl so that her tweed cape swirled around her. ‘I thought it was perfect for an investigative-journalist-in-training. Now . . . what are you?’ She studied Reiko, tilting her head to take in every detail of the neon-green dress that reached down almost to Reiko’s knees – but half of it was completely hidden by the rest of her costume. Rusted metal covered Reiko’s left arm and leg, and half her chest; the left half of her hair had been dyed silver to match. ‘Some kind of rusty droid, maybe? Or . . .’ Ivy frowned as she took in the other, jet-black half of Reiko’s hair, and her non-metallic right side. ‘ . . . half a rusty droid?’
‘Exactly!’ Reiko swung an imaginary tennis racquet, then flung up her arm as if she’d scored a point. ‘I’m Kumiko!’
Ivy shook her head as she sank back down on to her chair in front of the computer. ‘Kumik-who?’
‘You know!’ Reiko rolled her eyes. ‘The half-robot, half-human main character from Droid Town? It’s one of the most popular manga comics in Japan!’
‘Um . . . OK.’ As the front door opened and closed again downstairs, Ivy sighed. ‘You look great,’ she told Reiko, ‘but you might want to prepare for a lot of people at tonight’s party not knowing who you’ve come as.’
Reiko snorted, waving at her outfit. ‘Come on, Sherlock. Who else could I possibly be, when I’m dressed like this?’
Ivy shrugged. ‘They’ll probably think you’re something from Star Wars.’
Reiko’s mouth dropped open in outrage and Ivy giggled.
She realised that she was really going to miss Reiko when she went home, even with Sophia back now. It was a shame that Sophia wasn’t coming to the party, but Ivy understood that her parents wanted a family Moonrise after their daughter had been away for so long.
‘OK, Kumiko, are your, uhm . . . batteries charged?’ Ivy asked, grinning.
Reiko closed her eyes and made a whirring noise. Then she spoke in a cute, robotic drone: ‘System analysis reports that battery is at one hundred percent capacity, Mr Holmes!’
Half an hour later, Ivy gave Olivia’s hand a squeeze as they walked with Reiko up to the doorway to the museum. ‘I can tell you’re not worried about walking this corridor again.’
Her twin smiled at her. ‘That doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to it, though.’
Ivy gave her a nudge, pointing at her pale pink witch costume. ‘Besides, you’ve got the scariest outfit!’
‘Ha ha.’ Olivia rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched. ‘Just because you have an unnatural fear of the colour pink . . .’ She squeezed Ivy’s hand and started forwards.
Ivy wasn’t about to be taken off guard again the way she had been last night. No more bunny hops for me! Still, she couldn’t help but be impressed by Camilla’s skill as the girls had to dodge shuffling zombies, groaning ghosts and bandaged mummies. Luckily, the models were all on just the right side of “too scary” . . .
Well, except for those five! Models don’t breathe . . . or stink. Camilla definitely didn’t put these ones here!
Ivy narrowed her eyes, using her vampire super-sight to pick out the five boys huddled together in the shadows of the next room, still as statues, obviously waiting to jump out and scare them.
‘Come on, Josh,’ she yelled. She would have recognised the closest as the meanest boy in their high school by his repulsive stench, even if she hadn’t had vamp-vision. ‘Don’t you have anything better to do? You’re not even in costume!’
‘Oh, yeah?’ Shaking back his lank hair, Josh stalked forwards, his long, leather trenchcoat swishing around him. From the smirk on his face, he wasn’t even the slightest bit put out by being recognised. And he wasn’t ready to back down, either.
Ivy crossed her arms, giving him a death-squint. Unbelievable. His hair had somehow managed to achieve an even greater state of “greasy” than it ever had before.
‘What do you think, guys?’ Josh asked his cronies as they emerged from the shadows behind him. ‘Do we have somewhere better to be? Or would we rather stay . . . right . . . here?’
The boy just behind him gave a snort of laughter, and Ivy’s eyes widened.
Uh-oh. This, she hadn’t expected. It looked like Josh’s new main henchman was Garrick Stephens. She hadn’t seen him since he’d started at the other high school in town, but he had been the head “Beast” at Franklin Grove Middle School, his gang of vamp boys all doing their best to make every other kid in school miserable.
‘I’ve been hearing stories about you from my crew,’ Josh told Ivy, his smirk widening. He looked her up and down, then said to Garrick, ‘So, this was the girl you kissed in the school play last semester?’
‘Nope.’ Garrick gave a goofy grin as he pointed straight to Olivia. ‘It was the other one.’
‘Int-er-est-ing,’ Josh drawled. His eyes gleamed dangerously as he turned to Olivia.
‘Hey!’ Ivy sidestepped to stand protectively in front of her twin, but Olivia quickly stepped around her, face scrunched up in outrage.
‘I did not kiss Garrick!’ she declared. ‘Camilla’s script for Romezog and Julietron said I was supposed to k
iss him as part of the play, but . . .’ She glared at Garrick, who was still grinning at her. ‘ . . . thankfully he had to run offstage early in the performance because he’d gone off-script!’
‘That’s right,’ Ivy said. ‘Plus, he was itching all through the whole show!’ She gave Josh a smirk, hoping that it looked just as rude as the one he’d been aiming at her sister. ‘But then, you probably get that, too, don’t you? You seem to have the same lax approach to personal hygiene.’
‘Ha!’ Josh snickered, turning to Garrick. ‘You got put in your place, dude.’
‘Aw, Josh . . .’
Seriously? Ivy stared at the head of the greasy gang. You didn’t even notice that I was insulting you, too?
‘Come on.’ Josh jerked his head towards the South Wing of the museum, where the party was waiting. ‘We’ve got cooler places to be. But you . . .’ His gaze landed on Ivy, and his face hardened. Suddenly, Ivy was very certain that he had noticed her insult . . . and would remember it. ‘Don’t worry . . . I’ll be seeing you again.’
He started for the café, his dirty leather coat crackling with every movement.
Ivy let her held breath out in a whoosh of relief as the four other boys followed after him and finally disappeared from view, leaving the three girls alone in the darkened corridor. As she turned back to her friends, though, they shared a long look. She knew they were all thinking the same thing:
Garrick the Beast has found a buddy even meaner than him. We should probably steer clear . . . Which is not going to be a problem.
Oh my darkness, do they smell terrible!
Chapter Three
‘Ugh!’ Olivia cringed as the zombie mannequin at her table fell against her again, knocking her candy apple into her chest before she could take a bite. Caramel smeared all over the front of her dress as she heaved the bulky mannequin back into place, its yellowish-grey eyes staring sightlessly at her.
‘You’re not even gross any more,’ she muttered, giving the mannequin one last shove. ‘You’re just irritating! You ruined my outfit!’
Then she looked up and gave a start of surprise as she saw a girl sitting opposite her at the small table, wearing a fabulous, deep-red Victorian-style dress that put Olivia’s pink caramel-smeared witch costume to shame. I must have been more distracted than I’d realised. I didn’t even hear her arrive! Instead of facing Olivia, the girl sat sideways on her seat, her wide hooped skirts spread around her and her eyes darting around the crowded dance floor, watching the rest of the party guests moving and mingling through Café Creative. Her hands were clenched around something in her lap.
‘Hi!’ Olivia said. Then she winced as she realised that the new girl must have heard her talking to the zombie mannequin. ‘Sorry, my, uh, “boyfriend” is being a little annoying tonight,’ she joked.
The other girl turned away without a word, angling herself towards the dance floor so that all Olivia could see was her back.
Ouch. Olivia gave up. She’s obviously waiting for someone . . . but seriously, would it hurt for her to just be a little friendly in the meantime?
Sighing, she set down her uneaten apple and looked out across the café at her own friends. Reiko was trying to teach Ivy how to robot dance and it wasn’t going very well. Ivy looked stiff even by robot standards!
Olivia was so glad for Camilla’s sake that the party was going so well. Café Creative was crammed to bursting, and Olivia recognised students from both her own school and Willowton High filling the dance floor and the tables. Her friends Finn and Amelia – or “Famelia”, as Olivia preferred to call them – were dancing together in the centre of the room. Finn was dressed as a zombie surfer, while Amelia was her usual goth self. I’m not sure Amelia’s even in costume, Olivia thought. But it hardly matters when you’re as fabulous as she is!
Closer to the wall, Penny Taylor, the ex-goth, was looking utterly adorable in bright blue fairy wings as she laughed up at her own boyfriend, Maxie, who was dressed as a superhero. Lillian stood near the back as a chaperone, looking elegant and fabulous in a slinky black dress, with a long white streak sprayed into her black hair.
The only empty area that Olivia could spot in the room was . . . oh, yuck. She grimaced as she saw Josh Dillon having way too much fun dancing with one of the zombie mannequins while his followers cheered him on. No wonder the other guests are trying to keep their distance!
Still, she had to give him one tiny piece of credit: he could actually waltz surprisingly well!
Thump! The mannequin fell on top of her again, and Olivia groaned. This time, though, when she shoved it off, she found the girl opposite leaning across the table, looking straight at Olivia and clutching a large, striking bracelet made of chunky black stones.
‘Have you seen Hope?’ the girl asked urgently.
Oh, what a perfect Southern accent! Olivia felt a pang of excitement as she heard the other girl’s drawl. Maybe if I help her find this Hope girl, she’ll help me with my accent for the movie!
Olivia pushed the mannequin back into its chair with a grunt of effort. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said to the girl. ‘I don’t know anyone named Hope – but honestly, I don’t know many people from Willowton. That must be where you go to school, right?’
Before the girl could answer, the mannequin slipped back out of its chair, heading directly towards Olivia.
Not again! Gritting her teeth, Olivia fought it back into place, then looked back to the girl . . .
Seriously? Olivia stared at the now-empty chair. Talk about rude! And besides . . . She frowned as she looked around the crowd. How did she even get away so quickly? It’s like she vanished into thin air!
Oh well. She sighed and gave the mannequin a warning look as it started to slide again. ‘You might be the friendlier of my two neighbours at this table,’ she told him. ‘But I’d rather be ignored by that girl all night than pick you up again!’
A loud clap of thunder suddenly echoed through Café Creative, cutting off the pounding dance music. The lights flickered, then disappeared, turning the room dark for one pulsating moment. Gasps and screams sounded across the café.
And then the lights flicked back on – just in time for a swarm of ghosts to come screaming through the air, swooping down low over all the party guests’ heads.
‘Ahhh!’ Olivia ducked reflexively, her heartbeat speeding up. She heard startled laughter all around, though, and it was enough to make her look twice at the ghost that had nearly landed on her.
It’s made of gauze, she realised, and . . . wait. I know those curtains! She had seen them hanging in Camilla’s living room. Now that Olivia wasn’t so taken aback, she could even make out the elaborate wires that had swung the ghosts from the ceiling.
She started to relax . . . a moment too soon.
Something long and rubbery landed on her shoulder.
‘Auggh!’ Olivia barely even noticed she was clutching at the zombie mannequin. She didn’t care. She just needed something safe to cling on to!
Shrieks sounded throughout the room, all laughter replaced by panic.
Why, why, why wouldn’t Camilla give me a heads-up on what to expect? Then I could have prepared myself! Olivia leaned back in her chair as massive black spiders suddenly dropped down on to the table in front of her, moving around with scuttles so horribly realistic that she found herself scooting even closer to the mannequin, until she was nearly sitting in its lap. Being startled every five seconds is not fun!
She wished so much that Ivy was here instead of halfway across the room doing the robot!
A wave of nervous but excited chatter swept across the room as the party finally resumed, the dance music blasting back over the loudspeakers. Olivia focused on taking deep breaths, trying to force her heartbeat to return to normal.
It’s all over. It’s all o–
‘Aahh!’ Despite herself, she let out one last shriek as a hand landed on her arm.
‘Hey, it’s only me!’ Grinning, Ivy slid into the seat across from
her. ‘But you’d better look out . . .’ She pointed to the mannequin that Olivia was clutching. ‘The last thing you want is for the paparazzi to see this. Jackson’s fans will turn on you in an instant if they think you’re cheating on him with Zombie Zach!’
Olivia flushed with embarrassment as she realised just how tightly snuggled up she was to the disgusting mannequin. ‘Eww!’ she cried, and gave it a hard shove.
Zombie Zach landed unceremoniously on the ground, his legs and arms sprawled crookedly against the floor.
‘Aw.’ Ivy clucked her tongue. ‘Come on, buddy. Just because you got dumped, you don’t have to look so sad! I’d dance with you.’
‘Like Josh was doing?’ Grimacing, Olivia looked out over the crowd. ‘At least I can’t see him any more.’
Ivy snorted. ‘His whole gang probably fled in terror when Camilla’s show started up. Typical boys!’ She took a large bite of candy apple and gave Olivia a pleading look. ‘Please come with me on a tour of the room? Let’s see all of the amazing effects that our brilliant friend put together!’
Olivia feigned confusion. ‘So, you don’t want to do the robot with Reiko any more?’
Ivy scooped her magnifying glass out of her pocket, extending it to Olivia. ‘Guess I’m not the only detective in the family! Come on – before Kumiko’s batteries have recharged!’
‘Well, OK then, Miss Holmes. Let’s go!’ Despite herself, Olivia laughed and got up with Ivy.
Sidestepping dancing couples and zombies with their rotting arms outstretched, Olivia followed her twin around the edges of the dance floor, passing witches and wizards, orcs and elves, and three Katnisses from The Hunger Games. ‘There really are a lot of great costumes here,’ she said as she passed a perfect Peeta. ‘I like that one over th– ahh!’ She sucked in a breath as a blurred shape flitted past her. ‘What was that?’
‘What?’ Ivy turned around, laughing. ‘Are you imagining things now? Halloween really has spooked you!’
17 Spooktacular - My Sister the Vampire Page 3