Re-Vamped! (5 page)

Olivia
clapped her hands. “Talking to a vampire geneticist about how we’re twins is
going to be way more interesting than cheek cells!”

At
school on Thursday, the whole twin frenzy was even more intense than it had
been the day before. After fourth period, Ivy saw a sixth-grader wearing a baby
tee that said, I WANNA GOTH TWIN.

I’m
a fad!
Ivy thought,
horrified. If she could have dug a hole, climbed into her coffin, and lowered
herself into the ground, she would have. She felt so ill by the end of the day
that she canceled after-school plans with Olivia—they had been going to make a
list of questions for Mr. Daniels—and went straight home.

That
night, Ivy was in her pajamas, reading before bed, when she heard footsteps
descending the basement stairs. She watched as her father came slowly into
view.

“You
cleaned your room,” he said approvingly.

That’s
when Ivy knew something was wrong, because, if anything, the basement was an
even bigger mess than usual. She sat up and closed her book.

“Ivy,”
he said when he reached the bottom of the stairs, “I need to speak with you.

“Do
you recall the hotel job I mentioned several weeks ago?” he asked.

“You
mean the one in Europe?” Ivy said. Her father nodded in confirmation. A chain
of vampire-funded hotels had wanted to hire him to be their interior designer.
It was a really good job, but he had said he didn’t want to leave Franklin
Grove.

“I’ve
accepted the job,” Mr. Vega announced.

Ivy
blinked. “I thought you already said no.”

“I
did.” He cleared his throat. “But now they have made me an offer that I cannot
refuse.”

“What?”
gasped Ivy.

“I
have to.” He paused. “I would not be able to live with myself if I didn’t take
the job. I start in about three weeks.”

A
chill came over Ivy. She pulled the sleeves of her pajamas down around her
wrists. “So you’re going to Europe?”

Her
father nodded apologetically.

“But
how am I supposed to stay in Franklin Grove if you go to Europe?” she asked.

He
pulled a black handkerchief from his pocket and wrung it absentmindedly. “You
won’t,” he said, a pained look in his eyes. “You’ll be coming with me.”

Ivy’s
heart seized. “You’re taking me out of school?”

“There
is a very good academy for girls like you in Luxembourg,” her father answered
in a weary voice.

“I
can’t!” she cried in horror, pulling a black cat pillow in front of her.

“We
must,” her father said.

“All
my friends are here!” Ivy pleaded.

“You
will make new friends.”

“What
about Olivia?”

Her
father studied his hands. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

Ivy
could feel tears starting to slide down her cheeks. “Why are you doing this?”
she quavered.

“Ivy,
I am taking this job for you,” he said gently. “You will understand one day,
when you are a parent.”

Without
saying anything more, her father started to walk away. He turned to look back
at her solemnly before climbing the stairs. “We’ll be moving during your winter
break. I know how hard this will be for you, Ivy. But try to think of it as a
new adventure. For both of us,” he finished. Then he was gone.

Ivy
was stunned.
How can I leave Franklin Grove? How can I leave Olivia and my
friends? None of this makes sense!

Ivy
instinctively reached for the phone, but then realized that it was too late to
call anyone. She buried her face in her cat pillow and stayed that way,
thinking, unable to fall asleep for hours.

When
Olivia walked out of homeroom on Friday morning, Ivy and Sophia were waiting
for her. Ivy’s voice sounded weakly from behind her dark hair. “Can you come to
the science hall bathroom for a second?”

Poor
Ivy,
Olivia
thought.
All the attention is really getting to her.

A
moment later, the three of them were alone in the empty bathroom. Ivy pushed
her hair out of her face, and Olivia saw that her eyes were red from crying.

“What
happened?” Olivia and Sophia said at the same time.

Ivy
smiled for a moment. Then her face crumpled like one of those buildings that
gets blown up to make way for a parking lot. “I’m moving to Europe,” she
sobbed.

Sophia
looked sideways at Olivia. “Did she just say she’s ‘moody like syrup’?”

“I
th-think she s-said she’s moving to Europe,” Olivia stammered.

“What?”
Sophia cried.

Ivy
nodded in confirmation.

Olivia
put out her hand, and Ivy grabbed it as if it were a lifeline. Sophia grasped
Ivy’s other hand.

“It’s
okay,” Olivia cooed, trying to keep her head.

“When
is this happening?” Sophia asked.

It
took Ivy three attempts before she could get the answer out. “Winter break,”
she sobbed.

“But
that’s barely three weeks away!” exclaimed Sophia, and Olivia’s heart plunged
into her sneakers.

“Why?”
Olivia asked, her voice tight.

Ivy
couldn’t answer. Not letting go of her hand, Olivia inched over to the
dispenser on the wall and pulled out some paper towels. She gave them to Ivy,
who took them and blew her nose.

Ivy
took a deep breath. “My dad took a job in
Luxembourg,
” she explained.
She said “Luxembourg” like it was the North Pole.

Olivia
shook her head slowly, the reflection in the bathroom mirror blurring as her
own eyes filled with tears. “But you can’t go,” she said. “I only just found
you!”

“You
can’t go,” Sophia repeated. “You’re my best friend!”

“I
have to,” Ivy said, and now they were all sobbing. The three of them flung
their arms around one another and bawled.

When
Olivia finally pulled away, Sophia and Ivy’s faces were both muddy with black
mascara. She couldn’t help laughing. “You two look like raccoons.”

“So do
you,” Sophia laugh-cried. Olivia looked in the mirror and saw that Sophia was
right. Their Goth makeup had rubbed off on her face.

Olivia
washed her face and was starting to reapply some blush when something else
occurred to her. “Have you told Brendan yet?” she asked Ivy.

Ivy
didn’t say anything, but suddenly her skin started turning a color Olivia had
never seen before. It was pink, as if she was blushing.

“She’s
going to faint!” Sophia cried.

Ivy’s
eyelids fluttered and she slumped against the sink. Olivia rushed to hold her
up. Sophia turned on the tap and threw a handful of water in Ivy’s face.
Nothing happened, so Sophia tried again.

“Stop!”
Ivy spluttered. “Stop it!” She stood on her own two feet and glared at Sophia.
“What are you trying to do—drown me?”

“You
fainted,” Sophia said apologetically.

“What?
I never faint!” Ivy said in disbelief.

“Olivia
asked you about Brendan,” Sophia explained gently.

Ivy
blinked. Then she let out a tortured sigh. “Oh, yeah,” she whispered.

“I
thought people were supposed to turn white before they faint,” Olivia said.

“Not
vamps.” Sophia shook her head. “We blush.”

Ivy
started drying her face with a paper towel. “I hadn’t even thought about
Brendan,” she said hoarsely. “I guess I just didn’t
want
to think about
it. Losing the two of you is bad enough.”

Olivia
set her jaw. She didn’t want to start crying again.

“I’m
going to the arcade with him tonight,” Ivy went on forlornly. “I guess I’ll
have to tell him then.”

Facing
the mirror, side by side, the three of them silently went about cleaning
themselves up. After giving Ivy a hug, Sophia left first, because she had to
get a book from her locker before next period.

As Ivy
finished reapplying her mascara, Olivia stared at the floor. “Do you think we
should keep looking for the truth about our parents?” she asked.

“The
fact that you know about vampires’ existence isn’t going to change when I’m
gone,” Ivy answered, though she only mouthed the word “vampires.”

“It’s
probably even more important to justify your knowing the secret now, since I
won’t be around to protect you.”

Olivia
nodded and a small smile found its way to her lips. Her sister was right—and
anyway she wanted to know the truth about their parents.

“Can I
come visit you?” Olivia asked in a small voice.

Ivy’s
reflection looked her in the eye. “You’d better.” She spun around, and they hugged.

In
unison, they swung their bags onto their shoulders and prepared to walk out.
“Are you still coming over for lunch tomorrow?” said Olivia. “My mom’s all
excited to go shopping.”

“Absolutely.”
Ivy grinned as she swung open the door and led Olivia into the bustling
hallway. “I’m not gone yet.”

Friday
night, Ivy stood in the shadows near the doorway of the mall arcade, squeezed
between the wall and the side of a hulking airplane cockpit game. From there
she could watch Brendan undetected, as he stood waiting for her by the air
hockey table across the room.

His
broad shoulders were cloaked in a dark gray, military-style jacket over a
bright ghoul green T-shirt. His curly black hair, still wet from the rain,
glistened in the dim blue light of the arcade. He was drop-dead in every way.
He tapped an air hockey panel on the edge of the table absentmindedly.

Their
first date had been here, not so long ago. Brendan had surprised Ivy by
challenging her to a running air hockey competition, and Ivy had never had so
much fun in her life. As their relationship had grown, so had their tournament:
the score now stood at Ivy 23, Brendan 22.They were always neck and neck. Ivy
wanted to be neck and neck forever.

She
had spent so many years pining over Brendan Daniels without having the nerve to
speak to him, and now he was her boyfriend.
How am I going to leave him?
she thought, a sharp pain piercing her heart. But she knew she didn’t have a
choice.

Ivy
was prepared for the possibility that tonight would be their final date. How
could they stay together when an ocean was going to separate them?

Bracing
herself, Ivy stepped out of the corner. Brendan spotted her right away.
Bounding over, he kissed her on the cheek, grabbed her hand, and dragged her
back to the air hockey table.

“I’ve
been waiting all week to take the headlines away from you!” he announced. He
paused at the side of the table, spreading his hands in the air as if imagining
the cover of the next
Scribe
: “Daniels Beats Vega in Air Hockey
Hullabaloo!” Brendan reached into his pocket and took out some tokens. He bent
down to put them into the slot, but Ivy forced herself to put her hand on top
of his at the last moment.

“Wait,”
she said quietly. Brendan stopped and looked at her. Ivy entwined her pale
fingers in his own and led him away from the table, deeper into the arcade.
Finally they stood in the corner near the retro games, where it was quieter.

“Brendan”—her
voice shook—“my dad has got a new job.”

“That’s
great!” he responded, but his smile started to fade as his eyes searched her
face. “Isn’t it?”

“It’s
in Europe,” Ivy answered. She took a deep breath. “We’re moving in three
weeks.”

Something
dark flickered in Brendan’s eyes. Suddenly, he looked down at their hands.
“You’re leaving?” he said without looking up.

Ivy
nodded. He shook his head without meeting her eye.

This
is the end,
thought
Ivy.

Then
Brendan started to stroke Ivy’s fingers thoughtfully. Suddenly he looked up at
her with determination. “Distance doesn’t matter,” he declared.

“Brendan
. . .” she began, feeling for some reason like she should argue.

“It
doesn’t,” he said forcefully. “We can call and e-mail and IM.”

“There’s
a time difference,” Ivy cautioned.

“I’ve
always wanted to visit Europe,” Brendan said, unfazed. “Everyone says it
sucks.”

“You’d
visit me?” Ivy quavered. Brendan looked into her eyes, put his arms around her,
and pulled her close.

Ivy
buried her face in his chest. “I don’t know how I’m going to say good-bye to
you,” she whispered.

“You
don’t have to,” Brendan said into her hair. Ivy looked up at him, and her heart
fluttered.

He
smiled down at her easily.“I think we need a new game,” Brendan said, looking
around, “one that we can play when we’re apart and then compare scores.”
Suddenly his eyes focused across the room, and his eyebrows shot up.
“Skee-Ball!”

He
started pulling her across the arcade, but Ivy hung back; somehow, it didn’t
seem right to play a game. “I don’t know,” she murmured.