14 Flipping Out - My Sister the Vampire (5 page)

There was no good reason for all this worship. She was just a normal girl! . . .
Well, normal by Franklin Grove standards, anyway
, Ivy thought ruefully. But honestly, it wasn’t as
if the kids here knew anything really special about her. Back in Transylvania, Ivy was kind-of-sort-of-royalty, and all the other kids at Wallachia Academy had known it, but here she was just
another goth.

Just imagine if anyone else at this school knew I was royal!
She shuddered at the thought.
Oh, my darkness. That would be my worst nightmare!

As soon as she’d paid for her lunch, she turned around – and saw heads drop as bunny students desperately tried to pretend they hadn’t been watching her. Ivy had to stifle a
scream of pure frustration.

Seriously, people. I am not that cool!

Was it time for desperate measures? As she walked towards a table in the corner of the room, she desperately tried to think of new ideas.
Maybe I could drop my tray?
If everyone saw her
act like an embarrassing klutz, that would have to undo her popularity . . . wouldn’t it?

But then I wouldn’t have anything to eat!
Her stomach growled in protest at the idea. After a morning spent under relentless social attack, she was starving. No way could she give
up her lunch, even if it was only a measly medium burger!

As she passed a table full of goths, one hopeful-looking girl piped up, ‘Here, Ivy! You can sit with us if you want.’

She started to push out a chair just as Ivy passed – and the chair smashed
hard
into Ivy’s leg.

The girl’s face went sickly green with horror. Gasps filled the air as the entire cafeteria turned to stare.

Argh.
Ivy stifled a groan.
I don’t have time for this!

The truth was, she’d felt no pain at all. With vampiric RHP on her side, the hit had felt like only a light tap. But from the way the chair had crashed into her, it obviously would have
hurt a
human.

So Ivy had no choice . . .

‘Ohhh . . .’ She bent over, grimacing as if in agony. Acting with all her might, she rubbed at her leg through her long black skirt.

‘I am so, so sorry!’ The goth-girl was almost crying now, her voice choked. ‘I
never
meant to hurt you.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Ivy muttered. ‘
Really
 
.’

Even as she spoke, her vampire hearing picked up the conversations erupting all over the cafeteria.

‘Did you see that?’

‘Oh, she’s so grounded, even when she’s in pain!’

‘She even looks cool when she winces!’

Oh, my darkness.
Ivy rolled her eyes.
Are they seriously idolising the way I look when I’m ‘in pain’? They’re going to love me in math class!

As she straightened, the goth-girl jumped up, grabbing Ivy’s arm in a desperate grip. ‘I’m just
so
sorry. I’m Bela, by the way. Let me make it up to you? My
father has a store card at Macy’s.
Please
let me take you there this afternoon! You can pick up a gift and –’

‘No! No, thank you.’ Ivy yanked her hand out of Bela’s clinging grip.
Too. Much. Apologising!

Bela looked crushed.

Ivy bit her tongue against the death-squint she could feel forming on her face. Then she winced at the sudden stab of pain.
I really need to get to the dentist, and soon!

Through gritted teeth, she said, ‘It’s fine.
I’m
fine. But, Bela, please. Get. Out. Of. My. Way.’

By the time she finally got to the corner table she’d been aiming for, she felt like she’d been through a battlefield. She looked down at her medium burger and groaned.
It has to
be cold by now.

Then again . . .
Silver lining? Maybe it’ll do a good impression of a real, rare burger!

Quirking her lips at the idea, she sat down. Immediately, she realised her tactical mistake.
Uh-oh.

The small, rectangular table she’d chosen could seat up to six people. All five empty seats were just waiting to be filled . . . and, based on recent events, people were going to want to
sit
with
her now! She could already feel the eyes on her from the rest of the cafeteria, and hear the furious whispering as people debated whether or not they dared to join her.

Don’t even think about it!
Ivy hunched her shoulders defensively, leaning over her tray. She’d promised Olivia they would sit together at lunch. Not only did she want to
spend more time with her sister, but she really wanted all the other students to get used to her having a non-goth twin. Then maybe they’d stop whispering rude things about her . . . and Ivy
would stop wanting to punch them all!

Unfortunately, Olivia’s first stop at lunchtime had to be the school counsellor’s office, to work out her late-enrolment issues. She wouldn’t be here for at least ten
minutes.

How am I supposed to guard five empty seats for that whole time, all by myself
 
?

Clenching her hands around her burger, she sent off her strongest
Don’t come near me
vibes and bit into the burger, hard.

The burger was every bit as cold as she’d imagined. Tough, chewy and flavourless. She forced herself to keep eating just to fill her stomach, but it couldn’t hold her attention as
she felt the cafeteria filling up around her.
Come on, Olivia. Hurry up!

Tapping one booted foot nervously under the table, Ivy mentally counted off the number of spare seats against the number of students and trays. Soon, she might have no choice but to let someone
sit opposite her . . . and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t think of any way to translate ‘Get away from me’ into polite English.
There’s only so much
grumpiness the word ‘please’ can excuse!

She closed her eyes for a moment in despair.
Oh, my darkness, it’s only the second week of school. What will I be like by the end of the year?

As she chewed doggedly on her unappealing burger, taking tiny bites to minimise the taste, a parade of people tried to ‘subtly’ walk by her with their trays of food, their footsteps
lagging as they passed her table. She tried not to look, but she couldn’t miss the way their eyes lit up with hope – hope that she might let them sit at her table.

Argh.
Ivy couldn’t bear it.
How do I reject them without being mean?

She lunged for her bag, searching for something she could use as a shield. Textbooks wouldn’t work, but maybe . . .
Yes!
She could feel a small paperback inside.
Maybe if
I’m totally absorbed in reading, people will leave me alone!

She snatched the paperback out of her bag and opened it to the middle section, as if she were already halfway through. Almost burying her face in it, she began to fake-read without even looking
at the cover, screwing up her face in an expression of intense concentration.

Behind her, she heard someone gasp. Then someone else whispered, ‘Is she really reading . . .
that
 
?’

‘I can’t believe it,’ another girl murmured. ‘Of all the people I never thought would read that book –’

Um . . .?
Ivy blinked and switched from fake-reading to real-reading.

‘He clasped her in an embrace so tight, she could not escape . . . nor did she want to. She would be his prisoner of love . . . forever!’

Ivy stifled a groan.
Oh, no.

She knew that awful writing style and that unintentionally funny romance vibe. This was
Bare Throats at Sunset
by S. K. Reardon! Ivy had become friends with his daughter Holly this
summer, but she’d been outraged by the way the book presented vampires. Still, Lillian had insisted that Ivy should give it another try, claiming it was the ultimate guilty pleasure. Ivy had
finally stuck it in her bag last week just to make her stepmom happy. She’d planned to read it when no one was looking.

Now
everyone
was looking – and she’d practically plastered her face to the pages in her attempt to keep people away from her. She must have looked as if she were
loving
it!

Ivy’s face burned.
Everyone’s going to think I have the worst taste ever!

. . . Hey, wait!
A sudden flutter of hope sparked inside her.
If they think I actually enjoy this book, maybe they’ll stop thinking I’m cool. Maybe they’ll realise
I’m actually just . . . uh . . . warm?

But the next conversation she heard destroyed her hope.

‘Wow . . . Maybe that book isn’t so bad, after all.’

‘If
Ivy
likes it . . .’

‘I’m going to get a copy, too.’

‘Maybe we should re-evaluate S.K. Reardon. He may have made a serious contribution to literature.’

I can’t believe this!
Ivy slammed down the book on the table, fighting the impulse to scream.

‘Or maybe not,’ another girl whispered. ‘I think she’s turned against it.’

Ivy closed her eyes and counted to ten. When she finally thought she could hold herself back, she opened her eyes again and reached for her burger. Just as her fingers touched it, she stilled.
Wait a minute. Maybe it’s not too late to prove that I’m un-cool.

What if she ate messily – and not just a
little
messily, but horribly, sloppily, like a pig? Then the other kids would
have
to stop mooning over her!

It’s worth a try.
Steeling herself, she grabbed her burger and took a huge, messy bite. Ketchup exploded over her chin and cheeks, through the air, on to the table . . .

. . . and just as she smeared it across her face, she looked up to find her boyfriend staring down at her in disbelief.

Oh, no!

Ivy wanted to disappear.

Brendan’s eyes widened as his gaze went from her ketchup-smeared face to the ketchup she had sprayed across the table.

It’s OK,
Ivy told herself, trying to slow her suddenly rocketing heart-rate.
We’ve been together for a long time. He knows this isn’t really me. Right?

As she sat frozen, unable to speak, Brendan’s lips twitched. Then he began to laugh.

‘Uh . . . you want one of these, maybe?’ Still laughing, he handed her a paper napkin from the dispenser on the table. ‘You look just like a movie vampire!’

Rolling her eyes, Ivy snatched the napkin from his hands and hastily wiped off her face. ‘
Movie
vampire, huh?’ She gave him a mock-snarl.

Brendan recoiled, his laughter dying. ‘Whoa.’ His voice dropped to a concerned whisper. ‘Your teeth
really
need filing.’

‘I know, I know.’ Ivy winced. ‘I’m going to the dentist soon, I promise. But first, you need to sit down
fast.
’

‘Really?’ He looked around the nearly-empty table, shaking his head. ‘Have you been saving
all
the seats just for me?’

‘Doofus.’ She groaned, trying to ignore the ripple of excitement and gossip that passed around the room as Brendan sat down beside her.

It was impossible to ignore the squeals that rose from the very next table, though. ‘O.M.G.!’ one girl gasped. ‘Do you think Ivy has a
boyfriend
 
?’

‘I can’t take this much longer,’ Ivy muttered under her breath. ‘I’m not cut out for popularity! I feel like I have to perform, or something – and I am
not
the actress in the family.’

Brendan rubbed her back in warm, comforting circles. ‘I know.’

‘Ooh,’ another girl at the next table sighed. ‘They look
serious
 
.’

Ivy winced. ‘Do you think it’ll ever get better?’ She eased into his touch, starting to relax. ‘Once people get used to me, they’ll see I’m not so special,
and everything will calm down . . . right?’

Brendan shrugged. ‘Maybe I’m not the person to ask.’ His dark hair flopped over his eyes as he leaned towards her, smiling. ‘From the moment I realised you were the
coolest girl in the world, I’ve been realising it every day, over and over again.’

Ivy tried to fight it, but she couldn’t stop a grin invading her face. ‘You big sap!’

Then she bit back a curse as she realised her mistake. How could she have been so dumb? She’d smiled. And smiling made her look friendly.

Big, big mistake!

It was too late to take it back. Goth-girls from her grade were suddenly swarming the table, beaming at her hopefully.

Don’t panic
, Ivy told herself.
There are only four of them.
But that didn’t lessen the feeling of an attack as they all swooped at once, filling every empty chair.
See, this is why smiling is stupid
, she lectured herself.
It lands you in uncomfortable situations!

‘So . . . how
exactly
do you two know each other?’ the first goth-girl drawled. ‘Hmm?’

The other three leaned in to listen, setting their chins on their hands and staring at Brendan with open curiosity.

‘You can tell
us
,’ the second girl purred. ‘Is it serious?’

‘Ivy deserves the
best
, you know,’ the third girl said pointedly.

Ivy stiffened with outrage even as Brendan gave a tiny, meaningful shake of his head, telling her without words not to worry about it.

I am not going to sit here and let him be insulted!
Ivy opened her mouth to tell the other girls
exactly
how important Brendan was to her . . .

. . . then stopped herself with a jerk.
Wait a minute. The last thing I need to do is to make romantic declarations ‘cool’!

She was still trying to figure out how to respond when she heard a familiar voice behind her. ‘Uhm . . . ?’

Oh, no.
Ivy looked up, and her stomach did a backflip. It was Olivia, tray in hand, standing behind her . . . and looking at the completely-full table, without a single space
available.

‘Olivia . . .’ Ivy began. She twisted around, looking for another chair to pull up to the table.