‘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!’
Chapter Five
This is actually kind of awesome! Olivia thought the next afternoon, as she tailed Amelia through the hallways. The final bell had just rung to end the school day, and everyone was heading out . . . everyone except Olivia.
She’d never seen anything like the way the entire school created a path for Amelia as she moved. Now, if only they would keep it open for me! Unfortunately, the gap closed just behind Amelia, forcing Olivia to hop, skip and pirouette her way past the others to keep up with the Goth-Queen. She wondered if the ninth graders did the same for Ivy, and thought how weird she must find that experience. Yesterday, at lunch, Olivia had seen the indecision on Ivy’s face, and knew that her twin was still having a tough time adjusting to high school. She had decided not to call Ivy last night, just in case talking about the whole thing made her twin feel even more pressured.
She had to run to finally catch up with Amelia, but at least there was one good side-effect: the breathlessness she had been planning to fake came completely naturally.
‘A . . . A . . . Amelia!’ she managed, panting.
‘Yes?’ Amelia raised her eyebrows, looking bored. ‘Is something wrong?’
Aware of everyone around staring at them, Olivia drew on all of her acting exercises. Remember: make eye contact! No stuttering! Minimal head movement! Those were the rules that had helped her act convincingly on screen. Now she’d have to hope they helped her now.
‘The principal is looking for you,’ she said, looking straight into Amelia’s eyes.
‘Really?’ Amelia frowned. ‘Why wasn’t there an announcement on the PA, then?’
‘Uh . . .’ Olivia paused. No head movement, she reminded herself, fighting to keep her head from ducking. Keep eye contact! ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘It’s just . . . what I was told.’