14 Flipping Out - My Sister the Vampire (12 page)

One way or another, she was going to find a way to improve things for both of them.

Fuelled by new determination, Ivy reached for her burger. ‘Mmm!’ As she savoured the bite, she carefully wiped the grease from her lips.
It’s so much better to eat without
fangs!
No more accidentally biting herself in the cheek when she ate, no more . . .

‘Wait a minute.’ Ivy narrowed her eyes as she saw Brendan looking mock-sad beside her. ‘What is it? What’s wrong now?’

‘Ohhh . . .’ Brendan sighed mournfully. ‘I just miss your scary ketchup face! Do you think you could do it again, once more? Just for me?’

‘
You!
’ She snatched back up her greasy napkin. ‘I’m going to spread grease all over your face for that.’

Even as they arm-wrestled, though, exploding with laughter, Ivy felt the tension drain straight out of her. She might not know yet just how to fix her unwanted popularity or to make it up to
Olivia for the ‘canteen-incident’ . . . but somehow, she was beginning to feel certain that everything would be OK.

O
peration Famelia: go!

Olivia hunkered down in her seat on the Lincoln Vale bus the next morning, scoping out her materials. It had taken hard planning and a ridiculously early alarm call for her to make it all the
way out to Lincoln Vale in time to catch this school bus, instead of riding her usual Franklin Grove bus along with Ivy, Brendan, and Sophia. But it had been worth it. It was time to take
Lillian’s advice and set up an Awful Alternative for Amelia, to make Finn look even better by comparison . . . and Olivia knew exactly who to choose.

Josh Dillon sat at the very back of the bus with his Beastly friends, but the stench from his trench coat emanated all the way to Olivia’s seat in the middle of the bus.
He is
definitely the one
, she decided, as she breathed through her mouth to avoid the worst of the smell. They might have only met once, but sometimes, once was more than enough. She was absolutely
certain that Josh had to be the most horrid boy in Amelia’s grade.

If only she could force Amelia to spend some time with Josh, the Goth-Queen would have to realise how fantastic Finn was! And really, this mission was bigger than either one of them. Not only
did Amelia and Finn both secretly want to get together – whether or not they would admit it – but their romance would help to unite the whole school . . . and allow one particular
pink-loving bunny girl to publicly sit with her goth twin at lunchtime.

Olivia took a deep breath.
I have to get this right!

Unfortunately, Amelia wasn’t helping the plan. She sat at the very front of the bus, with her back to everyone . . . including Josh.
Turn around
, Olivia willed silently, as Josh
and the others let out obnoxious brays of laughter in the back of the bus.
Turn around, look at Josh, turn around
. . .

It was no use. If Olivia left it up to the ‘heroine’ of this rom-com, Amelia would never even glimpse her Awful Alternative.
It’s time to play the director
, Olivia
told herself.
Make it happen!

But how?

Aha
 
. As Olivia watched, she saw the flick of a page in the corner of her eye – her seat mate reading a novel.
I know exactly what to do!

Amelia loved the book of
Eternal Sunset
 
. How better to start a conversation with her than to talk about the movie?
Then, once I’ve got her
talking, I can ask her what she thinks of Josh, and get her to take a good look at him . . . yes!

Olivia jumped out of her seat, ignoring the rattling of the moving bus. As she headed up the aisle towards Amelia, she started practising her opening lines.
So, you’re an
Eternal
Sunset
fan
. . .

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ the bus driver screeched.

The whole bus went silent. Olivia froze.

The driver was a middle-aged woman named Mrs Martin, and when Olivia had first stepped on to the bus, she’d barely said a word. Now, though, her face looked furious in the rear-view
mirror.

‘I see you standing up, young lady! What do you think you’re doing, walking around on a moving bus? Do you want me to lose my licence?’

Gusts of nervous laughter swept around the bus as Olivia stuttered. ‘Um . . . I, um . . . I just . . .’

‘I don’t care!’ Still steering with her right hand, Mrs Martin jabbed her finger towards the one empty seat nearby – the seat next to Amelia. ‘You sit down this
instant, young lady. I will not tolerate this behaviour!’

Cringing, Olivia hurried to take the empty seat beside Amelia, feeling the eyes of all the other students on her.

‘Sorry,’ Olivia said weakly to Mrs Martin.

Amelia rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, even as she moved her bag to make space for Olivia to sit. ‘What are you doing on this bus anyway?’ the older girl asked. ‘This is
the Lincoln Vale bus. Don’t you live in Franklin Grove?’

‘Er . . .’ Olivia hesitated halfway into the seat. The truth was, she’d set her alarm clock for five-thirty a.m. and walked all the way to the next town specifically to catch
this bus. She could hardly tell Amelia that, though – she’d look like a super-meddler. ‘I, um, stayed over at a friend’s house. Last night. In Lincoln Vale,’ she
mumbled.

‘And they’re not here with you now?’ Sighing, Amelia looked over Olivia’s head at the bus driver. ‘Come on, you’d better sit down before she has any more of a
fit.’ Shaking her head, Amelia turned to gaze out the bus window, obviously dismissing Olivia.

Wait! This isn’t how it was supposed to go
 
. Desperately, Olivia grabbed for her earlier plan. ‘So!’ she said brightly. ‘Did you
know there’s more filming for
Eternal Sunset
starting next week? I’m flying out on Saturday afternoon.’

‘Good for you,’ Amelia drawled, still looking out the window.

Olivia forged on, trying to sound enthusiastic. ‘We’ll be shooting the futuristic dream sequences – oh, but I probably shouldn’t talk too much about this, should I? I
mean, unless you want to know the details . . .’ She trailed her words off enticingly.

At just that moment, a familiar flash of colour caught her eye on the street outside. It was Finn, skating down the street just ahead of one of his friends, a pixie-blonde skater-girl . . . and
Amelia had just leaned closer to the window to gaze after them, her look suddenly intent.

Yes!
Olivia let out a silent cheer.

Amelia must have felt Olivia’s eyes on her, though. She straightened, looking self-conscious. ‘Sorry, I didn’t catch that.’ She yawned pointedly . . . but Olivia caught
her sneakily glancing back at Finn and the skater-girl.

‘Well,’ Olivia said. ‘If you don’t want any spoilers for
Eternal Sunset
–’

‘Are you kidding?’ Amelia looked amused. ‘No one can spoil the plot of
Eternal Sunset
for me. I’ve read it way too many times for that. It’s the best of
the Count Vira novels.’ She reached into her bag to pull out an iPod and headphones.

Uh-oh. Time for my Hail Mary
 
. Opening her mouth, Olivia prepared for her most lastditch attempt of all – asking whether Amelia thought Josh was the
type to read Count Vira books.
It might just work to make her look around at him
. . .

But before she could say a word, Amelia glanced back at the window . . . and froze.

Olivia peered over her shoulder. The skatergirl had caught up with Finn, and they were laughing together over some joke.

Amelia’s face suddenly looked carved out of ice. She jerked her head away from the window – and glowered as she found Olivia watching her. ‘Would you mind finding your own
seat?’ she said. She waved one hand in haughty dismissal. ‘I’d like to be alone.’

Ohhh-kayy
. . . Olivia opened her mouth, then closed it again. She had literally no idea what to say in response to that.

So much for my plan! Feeling as deflated as a limp balloon, she stood up . . .

And the bus screeched to a halt. ‘That is it!’ Mrs Martin swivelled around in her seat, pointing furiously at Olivia. ‘If you stand up one more time in my bus, you will be
walking the rest of the way to school. We’ll see how you like it when you get detention for being late!’

‘I’m sorry.’ Hunching her shoulders, Olivia started back towards her original seat, feeling the bus driver’s fuming gaze on her every step of the way.

At the last moment, though, inspiration struck.
I didn’t manage to get Amelia to look at Josh . . . but I bet I could make Josh look at her!

She veered off course to sit in the seat in front of Josh and his friends, just as the bus re-started with an angry-sounding roar of its engine. Olivia stumbled and almost fell into the seat,
but it was worth it: she was exactly where she needed to be.

The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Maybe Amelia wouldn’t think twice about Josh, but she was certain she could plant the idea in
his
head.

Fixing a beaming smile on her face, she turned in her seat . . . and found Josh smirking at her. ‘I knew it,’ he drawled. ‘Aren’t you the girl who front-flipped in the
hallway yesterday just to get my attention?’

Huh?
Olivia stared at him.
What is he talking about?
She might be a former cheerleader, but she hadn’t done a front-flip in months, much less in the school hallway.
Why would he think . . . ?

Oh
 
. She sighed.
If she looked like me, it must have been Ivy . . . and it sounds like something set off her vampire reflexes
 
. So much for keeping those hidden at school! ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m that girl’s sister.’

‘Really?’ Josh pulled a face. ‘Geez, you two could be twins!’

Olivia had to call on all of her acting training to keep herself from letting out a cheer of triumph.
Foul, mean, and dumb . . . he’s absolutely perfect!
There couldn’t be a
more Awful Alternative in their school.
Now all I have to do is bring them together.

She glanced at the front of the bus, where Amelia was still sitting alone and looking out the window.
If I can just talk Josh into going up there and asking her out
. . .

Leaning across the top of her seat, she asked as casually as she could, ‘So, are you seeing anybody?’

‘Ha!’ He burst into laughter. ‘I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!’ He shook his head and pointed straight at her, as his friends exploded into hilarity all around him.
‘That moment you “bumped into” me – you were just faking, weren’t you?’

‘What?’ Olivia’s jaw dropped open. ‘No! What – why –’

‘You were just trying to get my attention!’ He shook his head, still chortling. ‘Listen, kiddo, I’m flattered, believe me, but I have a reputation to think about,
y’know? I just can’t date a ninth grader . . .’ His gaze swept her up and down. ‘Especially not one who looks like she’s gone swimming in cotton candy!’

Ouch!
Olivia snapped her jaw shut. Desperately, she fought to remember Jackson’s acting tips on how not to blush.
Tongue behind my teeth; think of something cold
. .
.

Maybe it would even have worked . . . if it hadn’t been for what happened next.

‘Hey, everyone!’ The boy next to Josh cupped one hand to his mouth to call out to the rest of the bus. ‘You should have heard it! This ninth-grade chick was just telling Josh
how much she loooooves him!’

As the entire bus burst into laughter, and students all around her turned to point, Olivia sank back down into her seat. She could feel her skin burning, and there were no acting skills that
could stop it.

Worse yet, while everyone else had turned to stare at the back of the bus, Amelia just kept looking out the window without turning around once. Her iPod must have drowned out all the noise. When
the bus came to a halt a few minutes later, she walked straight to the door without glancing back for a single second at her Awful Alternative.

Olivia followed after with clenched teeth and hunched shoulders, while Josh’s friends sent catcalls after her. This was definitely the last time she would
ever
take the Lincoln
Vale bus!