Fashion Frightmare! (My Sister the Vampire) (4 page)

Ivy spotted Olivia out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t wave, because her hands were full. She couldn’t even nod at her sister, because she had to keep
her eyes on the ball, of all ridiculous things.

She was trapped playing
doubles tennis
!

‘Ivy and Reiko lead by four games to love,’ called the sophomore bunny who’d volunteered as their umpire. She sounded as excited as if she was watching a professional tennis
match.

I can’t believe this is happening to me
, Ivy thought miserably.

Reiko had insisted they play against Skylar Drew and Hayley Winston, two blonde bunny seniors who were tennis-obsessed. Both girls were super-athletic, and had promised to ‘go easy’
on the two freshmen girls but the truth was, they had very little hope of beating two vampires . . . even if one of those vampires didn’t even
like
tennis.

Why couldn’t I just say no?
Ivy asked herself. But she already knew the answer.

She couldn’t be mean to the exchange student. Unfortunately, tactful dodges didn’t seem to work with Reiko; and Reiko – whose hair was a vivid blue today – apparently
could
not
walk past the tennis court without challenging the girls already there to a ferocious game of doubles.

Now, Reiko fired a fast forehand that had Skylar scrambling to return. Ivy swung a half-hearted backhand . . . but a
vampire’s
half-hearted backhand still sent the ball flying
across the court so fast it was almost invisible.

Hayley lunged forwards just in time to return the ball with a clever drop shot. It fell just over the net, and Skylar hooted with triumph before it could even land.

‘Yes!’

No normal player could possibly get to that ball in time . . . but Reiko was no normal player. She raced forwards in a green-yellow-and-blue blur to dive, racquet first and flick the ball back
up and over the heads of their opponents. Hayley and Skylar collided into each other as they both leaped for it, collapsing in a tangle of tanned arms and legs.

‘Fifteen-love,’ the umpire announced, staring at Reiko in amazement.

Ouch.
Ivy felt a wave of sympathy as she watched the bunnies pick themselves up, groaning. ‘Let’s take a minute, OK?’ she called out. ‘I’m, um, out of
breath.’

Hayley and Skylar only waved their assent, panting too hard to talk.

Ivy pulled Reiko aside and lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Hey, cut it out with the super-vamp moves. We’re supposed to be making this game competitive, remember?’

‘No way.’ Reiko grinned. ‘I’m here to
win.
’

‘We already
are
winning,’ Ivy hissed. ‘Plus, if you make any more plays like that last one, we’re going to get some serious questions. A normal human being
can’t
do
things like that!’

Reiko shrugged. ‘I’ll take my game down to ninety-five per cent, but that’s the best I can do.’

Ivy groaned as they took their places once more.

The bunny girls both looked grimly determined to re-balance the score. Skylar fired in a serve that, by human standards, would have been considered “fierce”.

Ivy faked a sneeze, dropping her racquet, and the ball whistled past her head.

‘Fifteen-all,’ the umpire declared.

‘No
way
!’ Reiko shouted. ‘Ivy, how could you miss that?’

Even the bunnies were frowning. ‘You definitely would have gotten that, if you hadn’t had to sneeze,’ Skylar said. ‘Do you want to replay the point?’

‘No.’ Ivy shook her head emphatically. ‘It’s yours, fair and square.’

‘If you say so . . .’ Skylar looked worried.

Reiko just looked outraged. She shot Ivy a narrow-eyed look, then took her place, ready to receive the next serve.

This time, Skylar hit the ball just as fiercely as before – but Reiko returned it with a double-backhand that burned through the air.

‘Aaahh!’ Hayley fell to the ground with a scream of pain. The ball had hit her on the knee.

‘Time out,’ the umpire said. ‘I guess.’

Ivy threw aside her racquet to leap over the net and crouch beside Hayley. ‘Are you OK?’

‘I . . . I . . .
ow
!’ Hayley let out a moan of agony as Skylar gently massaged her knee. She closed her eyes, taking deep, ragged breaths as a whispering crowd gathered on
the court. ‘I don’t think I can get up by myself,’ she mumbled.

‘She needs a doctor!’ Skylar said.

‘I know first aid!’ called the umpire, running over.

Good.
Ivy’s shoulders relaxed. That meant she was free to deal with the
other
problem.

Ivy turned and shot Reiko a surreptitious death-squint.

‘
What were you thinking?
’ she mouthed.

Reiko shrugged sheepishly, but Ivy didn’t spot any
real
regret on her face. Apparently, Reiko figured that losing the ability to walk was just an occupational hazard for anyone
who was foolish enough to play tennis with her.

Gritting her teeth, Ivy started towards the other vampire . . .

But a cry of anguish shattered the air behind her, making her spin around.

The sound came not from Hayley, but from Amelia Thompson, who had shoved her way through the crowd to Olivia’s side. ‘She can’t
walk
?’ Amelia demanded. ‘Is
that
true
?’

‘Sorry.’ Hayley just barely managed to raise herself up on her elbows, with Skylar’s help. ‘I know you were expecting me at the fashion show tonight, Amelia, but
–’

‘I wasn’t just
expecting
you,’ Amelia said. ‘I
need
you there! You’re modelling our “Altegular” outfit tonight!’

Hayley looked like she might be blinking back tears. ‘I don’t think I’ll even be able to sit in the audience for the fashion show, much less strut down that catwalk.’

‘Ahh . . . ahhh . . .!’ Amelia looked as if she might faint. She grabbed out at Olivia for support.

If it weren’t for Hayley’s pain, and her own anger at Reiko’s carelessness, Ivy might have almost found it funny. She had
never
seen Amelia get so emotional about
anything
.

Reiko jogged over, swinging her tennis racquet by her side. ‘It’s my fault Hayley can’t do it,’ she said. ‘So, can I help? I could be her stand-in, if you need
one.’

‘A stand-in?’ Amelia straightened, looking Reiko up and down. The despair in her eyes seemed to fade. ‘Yes . . . You
might
work. You’re about the right size, and
I assume you can walk without falling over?’

Reiko raised her eyebrows, obviously taking it as a challenge. Tossing her racquet up into the air, she strutted forwards across the tennis court, catching it seven steps later – while
twirling gracefully. ‘How’s that?’

‘Well . . .’ Amelia’s eyes narrowed. ‘It’s a bit more . . .
forceful
than I’d like, but I guess I can’t be choosy this close to
showtime.’

‘Excellent.’ Reiko grinned.

‘Wait!’ Amelia snapped. ‘Your hair might not work.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that.’ Reiko shrugged. ‘I can change it to any colour you want.’

‘Hmm.’ Amelia considered her. ‘Something dark would be best. Maybe black or . . . no, wait – blood red!’

‘You want red,’ Reiko said cheerfully, ‘you’ll have red!’

‘Ohhh . . .’ Looking uncharacteristically misty-eyed, Amelia wrapped the exchange student in a hug. ‘Such school
spirit
from someone who’s only going to be here
for two weeks. We’re so lucky to have you!’

I’m not sure Hayley would agree,
Ivy thought.

Amelia’s phone rang, and she scooped it out of her black leather satchel. As she strode away in her heavy boots, Ivy’s vampire-strong hearing picked up Penny’s voice on the
other side of the call, sounding tinny through the cell phone’s speakers.

‘I heard about Hayley. Is she –?’

‘It’s all sorted out,’ Amelia said. ‘Don’t worry.’

Reiko turned to Ivy with a big grin. ‘I get to model . . . I am having
so
much fun at this school!’

‘Seriously?’ Ivy stared at her.

Reiko was super-sporty, scarily competitive,
and
excited by the idea of a fashion show? Ivy sighed.
We’re not just from different countries . . . I think we may actually come
from different planets!

T
hat evening, as Jackson’s black limousine drove down the street towards Franklin Grove Museum, Olivia looked out through one dark, smoky
window and shook her head in disbelief.

Until now, she had always thought of museums as
quiet
places – but tonight, Franklin Grove Museum was a hub of sheer
noise
. Cameras flashed to capture images of the
people filing into the building. On either side of the small aisle on the pavement, matching crowds of teenaged girls were pressed against the safety barriers that lined the kerb for about fifty
yards in both directions. They seemed to be buzzing with anticipation. Inside the limo, Olivia had to take a deep breath to calm down and prepare herself for the event ahead.

As they pulled up outside the museum, the crowd’s chant drifted into the vehicle. ‘Jack-son! Jack-son! Jack-son!’

Crowds of teens lunged towards the car, arms outstretched, and a line of hard-faced security men stepped forwards to make sure no one could climb over the barriers.

Cameras flashed as journalists and photographers spotted the limo and raced in to focus on it.

Jackson squeezed Olivia’s fingers, grinning. ‘Excited?’

‘I am,’ Olivia said.
But I don’t know about the others!

Sitting on the long seat across from them, Ivy and her boyfriend, Brendan, looked frozen with horror as they took in the pandemonium outside their little local museum. Olivia could barely
believe she had lived in Franklin Grove for over a year before finding out it existed!

After tonight,
everyone
will know it’s here
, Olivia thought proudly.
Thanks to Lillian and Jackson!

Ivy sounded like she was choking as she spoke. ‘Now I know why you made us dress up, even though we’ll just have to change into different fancy clothes once we’re
inside.’

‘Yeah, well, it’s all right for you,’ Brendan said nervously. ‘You look great, but I’m just wearing my regular clothes.’

On Ivy’s other side, Reiko didn’t say a word. Her eyes had been wide and glazed-looking ever since the beginning of the ride, when she’d first seen exactly who was sitting
across from her. Even now, she seemed to be far too busy staring at Jackson to come up with a coherent thought. As far as Olivia could tell, Reiko hadn’t even noticed the chaos outside.

She’s even more freaked out by Jackson than she was by vampire royalty!

Olivia smiled as she took in Reiko’s petrified expression. Meeting Alex and Tessa and then a movie star was probably a lot more than Reiko had been expecting on a simple exchange programme
to a quiet little American town!

‘So, are you guys ready?’ Jackson asked.

‘No!’ Ivy said. ‘But . . . that doesn’t really matter, does it?’ She took a breath, obviously bracing herself. ‘Let’s do this.’ She leaned
forwards to reach for the door handle.

Olivia grabbed her arm to stop her. ‘That’s not a good idea.’

‘Oh, I know!’ Ivy said, letting out a panicky half-laugh. ‘It’s a
crazy
idea for me to be modelling – but what choice do I have?’

Olivia gently nudged Ivy back into her seat. ‘That’s not what I meant. If anyone but Jackson is first out of this limo, they will risk
serious
hearing loss. It’s much
better for us to walk in Jackson’s slipstream and save our ears.’

Brendan frowned. ‘But what about Jackson?’

‘Don’t worry about me.’ Grinning, Jackson reached into the pockets of his black trousers and took out a pair of earplugs. He stuck them in, then clapped his hands together.
‘All right, let’s go!’

Brendan reached out to open the limo door for Jackson – and the noise from the crowd rushed in like a surge of floodwater.

Beaming his famous, megawatt grin, Jackson slid out of the limo, raising his hands high to greet the crowd outside.

One . . . two . . . three . . .
Olivia counted down, then stepped out after him, surreptitiously smoothing down her floaty pink chiffon gown and slipping into his wake with the three
vamps close behind her.

Cameras flashed in her eyes. Screams sounded just ahead. It was overwhelming, it was scary . . . and Olivia could not stop smiling. Lillian’s pet project had become a
huge
deal!

As Ivy, Brendan and Reiko ducked their heads to race as fast as possible into the museum, journalists swarmed Olivia and Jackson.

‘Just a quick interview!’

‘Please, one moment of your time!’

‘Of course,’ Jackson said easily. He nodded to Albert, who stood holding the museum’s front door open, and the vampire caretaker stepped back, making space. Jackson came to a
smooth stop at the top of the museum’s front steps, slipping his arm around Olivia’s waist. ‘We’re happy to stop and talk, aren’t we?’

‘Of course,’ Olivia said. But she had to swallow a gulp as countless mics suddenly swarmed around their heads like giant, multi-coloured flies.