14 Flipping Out - My Sister the Vampire (7 page)

‘What?’ Camilla stared at her. ‘That doesn’t sound like Ivy.’

Olivia shrugged unhappily. ‘Honestly, at the time I was just confused. But now that I’ve had time to think about it . . . well, it’s kind of getting to me.’ As hurt
bubbled up inside her, she had to take a deep breath, focusing on pouring her cereal without spilling it. ‘She promised we’d sit together at lunch, but when I got there, the whole table
was filled with goths. There wasn’t a single space left. And . . . well, the goths at that school
hate
people like me.’

Camilla shook her head as she took down a box of cereal for herself. ‘Do you seriously think Ivy would snub you just to please someone else?’

‘No!’ Olivia said. ‘Of course not. But . . .’ Her voice lowered to a whisper. ‘When another girl snubbed me, Ivy didn’t say a word. The truth is, I’m
worried about her. I think she’s not finding it so easy to be herself.’

Or easy to stand up for what she believes in.
Olivia sighed.

Where was her twin tonight? At home, hiding? Or out with one of her new friends . . . the ones who sneered at everything pink?

‘Well . . .’ Camilla blinked, giving a quick headshake as her gaze passed over Mr Abbott in the garden. ‘Wow, he still hasn’t moved. What martial art is he practising,
Statue-Do?’

Olivia smiled weakly. ‘Maybe.’

‘Never mind.’ Camilla turned back to Olivia, a determined look in her eye. ‘Look, I strongly,
strongly
doubt that Ivy didn’t want to be seen with you. High
school is a weird time for everyone, you know? It was probably just a misunderstanding.’

‘Yeah.’ Olivia sighed. ‘At least it wasn’t all bad.’ Her lips twitched into a mischievous smile. ‘I actually ended up sitting with a group of senior
boys!’

‘Oh, reeaally?’ Camilla drawled. Putting on a mock-stern look, she added, ‘And what would your
boyfriend
have to say about that?’

‘Oh, shut up!’ Giggling, Olivia shoved her playfully. ‘I didn’t mean it like
that.
But I wanted to get a better read on one of them, anyway. His name’s
Finn, and –’

‘Finn, hmm?’ Camilla waggled her eyebrows as she poured her own cereal. ‘I bet he has blond hair. Am I right?’

‘Of course you are.’ Olivia carried the big bowl of potato salad to the table, with two sets of forks and spoons stuck inside, and Camilla followed with the bowls of cereal. As the
two girls settled in comfortably, Olivia explained the Finn-and-Amelia problem to her friend.

‘So it’s a
Romeo and Juliet
meets
West Side Story
vibe.’ Camilla nodded knowledgeably as she scooped up a spoonful of potato salad. ‘I’ve got it.
We’re talking romantic tragedy here.’

‘I hope not!’ Olivia shivered. ‘Honestly, at first I was only interested because of that situation, but then I got a chance to actually talk to Finn at lunch – and he is
kind of sweet! He coaches Lincoln Vale middle school kids in skateboarding every weekend. He’s just a really nice guy . . . and, you know, I’m not so crazy about Amelia, but at least
she’s no Jessica Phelps.’

Camilla made a face. ‘Ugh. The world does
not
need another Jessica Phelps!’

They both shuddered at the reminder of the awful Hollywood mega-star who’d schemed and stolen the lead role in
The Groves
from Olivia, then done her best to steal Olivia’s
Eternal Sunset
role, too.

‘Amelia’s not so bad, though,’ Olivia said firmly. ‘I think if she had someone like Finn to balance her out, she might even be nice. So now I
really
want them to
get together!’

‘You do, huh?’ Camilla looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Tell me the truth, Olivia Abbott. Is this just because of what happened with Ivy at lunch?’

‘No!’ Olivia felt her cheeks heat up. ‘Of course not. But . . .’ She ducked her head over her cereal as she admitted, ‘I don’t think I can deal with going to
a school where I never get to have lunch with my own twin.’

‘Hmm.’ Camilla took a first, testing spoonful of cold cereal . . . and made a disgusted face. ‘Yuck! I can’t believe you eat this for fun.’

Olivia rolled her eyes. ‘Not all of us eat French croissants for breakfast every day, Madam Director.’

‘Whatever.’ Camilla shoved the cereal bowl to one side. ‘Here’s the real point. You’ve been at high school for just
one day
, and you already have a bunch
of homework. Do you really want to add to your boatload of stress by trying to match-make two people you’ve only just met?’

Olivia sat back. ‘Why not? If it’ll make life better for everyone –’

‘Trust me,’ said Camilla, ‘every time people meddle in romance in the movies, it
always
goes wrong and creates chaos.’

‘But I really think I’m on to something here!’ Olivia held up her two spoons to make a point, ignoring the milk and potato salad dripping from them. ‘See, this is Finn
and this is Amelia.’ She wobbled the two spoons meaningfully. ‘They want to move forwards, but they can’t. The social divisions in the school are too defined. Without some help,
they’re going to be stuck in Act One forever.’

Narrowing her eyes, she spoke in the secret language guaranteed to get Camilla on board: ‘They need an
inciting incident
to propel them into Act Two . . . and we are just the
directors to make it happen!’

‘Hmm.’ Camilla’s own eyes narrowed. Then her lips curved into a beaming grin. ‘But of course. How could I refuse when you begged me in film-speak?’

‘I knew it.’ Olivia beamed. ‘I’m getting good at Camilla-ese, aren’t I?’

‘You’re definitely learning. And maybe . . . maybe we
could
rewrite the script.’ Camilla’s eyes narrowed and her jaw pushed outwards into her
all-business
look as her fingers started tapping rapidly on the table. Olivia waited patiently as the wheels turned. Suddenly, Camilla’s face lit up.

‘Of course!’ Camilla shook her head. ‘How could I have been so blind? What the soon-to-be “Famelia” need is a good, old-fashioned “meet
cute”!’

‘I beg your pardon?’ Olivia gave her friend a stern look. ‘If you’re going to be involved in this project, ma’am, our producers insist that you break up the
Camilla-ese with a little bit of English from time to time!’

‘I’ll try.’ Camilla giggled. ‘But it’s so perfect! Can’t you see? Movie romances almost always start by having the couple meet in a wacky way. It has to be a
funny story they can tell their friends about later on – and then when things get rough in the second half of Act Two, one of them can always lament the
twist of fate
that brought
them together. You know, “If only I hadn’t walked into that police station . . .”’

‘Have you gone a little bit wacky yourself
 
?’ Olivia stared at her, setting down her spoons. ‘First of all, I do not see Finn and Amelia
ever
ending up in a police station. And secondly . . .’ She shook her head. ‘Why do things have to get rough?’

Camilla shrugged. ‘Every romance needs a narrative obstacle, right?’

‘No!’ Olivia protested. ‘Trust me. Jackson and I have had
more
than our fair share of those over the last year-and-a-bit, and they were
not
fun! I
wouldn’t wish them on anybody.’

She shuddered at the memories . . . especially of that long, bleak period when they had actually broken up.
I never want to feel that way again!
She hung on to the memory of their
latest phone call like a talisman.
Thank goodness we’re back together.

‘Yeah, but you’re reunited now, right?’ Camilla raised her eyebrows. ‘So it was all worth it, wasn’t it?’

Olivia nodded. ‘Totally.’ As she finished her cereal, though, she thought hard. ‘There’s just one problem with your meet-cute plan,’ she said. ‘Finn and
Amelia have
already
met . . . and no matter how that went down, it can’t have been
that
adorable or wacky, because now they barely speak to each other. They don’t even
want anyone else to notice when they make eye contact!’ Pushing aside her empty cereal bowl, she gave her friend a challenging look. ‘What does Hollywood teach us about
this
situation?’

Camilla’s eyes narrowed in concentration. ‘What they need is to be
forced
into close proximity. They need to be put in a life or death situation that brings them together
and forces them to face up to what is in their hearts! If they have no choice but to communicate, they’ll eventually have to run out of topics other than their true feelings. Then
–’

‘Ahem.’ Olivia cleared her throat. ‘Did you just say
life or death
 
?’ She raised her eyebrows at her friend. ‘In
Franklin
Grove
 
?’

Camilla burst into laughter. ‘OK, OK! Well, maybe it doesn’t have to be that extreme . . . but it has to be a situation that makes them both so uncomfortable that they start bonding.
Something like . . . oh, I don’t know –’ she waved one hand in loose circles, obviously searching for inspiration – ‘maybe they could be paired up on a science project
together. I know – Chemistry!’

‘Seriously?’ Olivia groaned. ‘That’s the worst you can think of
 
? You always had so much imagination! Maybe high school is changing you,
too.’

‘Well, I didn’t mean it to be as boring as it sounds.’ Camilla grimaced. ‘But think about it: a sudden explosion is just the sort of dramatic, inciting incident to push
an odd-couple relationship along!’

‘I suppose . . .’ Olivia sighed. ‘But I want to get Finn and Amelia together, not singe off their eyebrows in a chem-experiment!’

Camilla shrugged. ‘Detention, then? They can bond over their shared resentment of having to stay behind!
Oh
, yeah. Instead of thinking about how they broke a school rule
–’ She waggled her eyebrows meaningfully – ‘they can think about how much they
looove
each other!’

Olivia stared at her. ‘How long was I away in London? It can’t have been long enough for you to undergo a full metamorphosis. Have you
always
been a Sappy Sally?’

Camilla rolled her eyes. ‘This is for the good of the narrative, Olivia. That’s
all
it’s about.’

‘Yeah, right.’ Olivia poked her best friend in the shoulder, grinning. ‘Come on, admit it. You’re a secret romantic, aren’t you?’

‘Focus, Abbott!’ Camilla shoved aside the potato salad bowl, looking as scary as a real film director. ‘This is no time for jokes! We have a script to write. Now help me
brainstorm while we make something
appropriate
for an evening meal.’

‘Yes, ma’am!’ Olivia gave a mock salute. ‘Would sandwiches work?’

A faraway look came into Camilla’s eyes. ‘Hmm, sandwiches . . . Yes, those could work. Those could work
perfectly
 
!’

But it wasn’t until they were standing at the chopping board with all the ingredients around them that Olivia figured out what her friend had had in mind.

‘Right!’ Camilla scooped up a hunk of cheese. ‘So, here’s Finn, and here’s . . .’ she picked up a lettuce leaf ‘. . . Amelia!’

‘Really? As lettuce?’ Olivia frowned. ‘Amelia’s a Goth-Queen. Remember?’

‘Oh, all right, then.’ Camilla dropped the lettuce and grabbed a black olive. ‘Now, the chopping board is Franklin Grove High.’ Rapidly, she laid out lettuce leaves to
form corridors. All we have to do is figure out a way for Finn and Amelia to get detention!’

‘Hmm.’ Olivia bent in to help. ‘Finn’s easy to predict. That skateboard is bound to get him into trouble one day! Mr Russell’s just bursting to give him detention
for it.’

‘Excellent!’ Camilla gave the black olive a narrow-eyed look. ‘And Amelia? What does our Goth-Queen do? Talk back to teachers? Scrawl graffiti on the walls?’

‘No!’ Olivia shook her head. ‘Nothing like that. She may dress like a rebel – well, by the standards of most schools, anyway – but she’s not a
troublemaker.’

‘No?’ Camilla sagged with disappointment. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Positive.’ Olivia grimaced. ‘She’s even getting top grades.’

‘Drat.’ Camilla sighed. ‘How on earth are we going to get her into detention, then?’

As Olivia shook her head hopelessly, the kitchen door opened and Mr Abbott walked in, wearing his loose martial arts uniform. His eyes widened as he looked at the lettuce-maze the two girls had
built on the chopping board.

‘Ah . . . Olivia? Do you girls have some sort of a
scheme
going?’

‘No, Dad!’ Quickly, Olivia brushed the lettuce into a pile, obliterating the hallways of Franklin Grove High. ‘It’s just a . . . project. A project for school!’

Camilla nodded earnestly beside her . . . and really, Olivia told herself, she was telling the truth. It might not be official, but it was definitely a school-related project!

‘I’m glad to hear it.’ Mr Abbott smiled as he gave Olivia a pat on the shoulder. ‘The
scheming
warrior will always be outfoxed by an
honest
one, you
know.’

Olivia had to close her eyes so her dad wouldn’t see them roll. ‘Yes, Dad,’ she said politely. In her head, though, she added:
But high school is hardly
Warriorsville!

‘How did your meditation go, Mr Abbott?’ Camilla asked. ‘Did you find your “T”?’

‘That would be
Chi.
Spelled with a
Q.
’ Mr Abbott sighed. ‘But, alas . . . it remains elusive.’

Olivia opened her eyes and gave her dad a bracing smile. ‘I’m sure you’ll find it soon, Dad,’ she said. ‘And in the meantime . . .’ She glanced at the
chopping board full of ingredients.
How many people did we think we were cooking for?
‘Why don’t you eat a nice sandwich to feel better?’

‘Just don’t eat that bit of cheese or black olive,’ Camilla added, sweeping ‘Finn’ and ‘Amelia’ quickly out of the way. ‘Because that would be
really, really bad karma!’