‘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.
‘I don’t think there’s any space left,’ the first goth-girl said coolly.
‘Yeah,’ said the third goth-girl. ‘What a pity .’
Just explain it to them simply – this doesn’t have to be anything dramatic. Ivy gritted her teeth, starting a count to ten in her head . . .
Only to find Olivia backing away from her.
‘Don’t worry about it.’ Olivia gave her a bright, tight smile. To anyone but Ivy, she would have looked completely unbothered . . . but Ivy knew her twin. ‘I’ll catch up with you later,’ Olivia said breezily.
Ivy shook her head, glimpsing the hurt hidden behind Olivia’s expression. ‘But –’
It was too late. Olivia had already spun around and hurried away, her pink shoes clicking against the cafeteria floor. A moment later, she’d disappeared into the crowd of strangers, by herself.
Ripples of reaction ran through the cafeteria, and Ivy’s vampire ears forced every whisper on her.
‘Did you see that? Even her own twin isn’t cool enough to sit with her!’
‘Of course not.’ Someone let out a snort of disgust. ‘Just look at all that pink!’
Fury tightened every muscle in Ivy’s body. Under the table, Brendan took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. He was the only person who could know exactly what she’d just heard . . . and how hard it was for her not to react.
Ivy squeezed his hand back, grateful for his support . . . but it wasn’t enough. This can never happen again. OK, she couldn’t find Olivia a place at her table this lunch hour, but she could do her best to fix things.
Starting now!
Squaring her shoulders, she looked at the goth-girl directly across the table from her, who was wearing a Shadowtown T-shirt.
The truth was, Shadowtown was Ivy’s favourite show . . . but it was undeniably trashy. And so far, no one else at Franklin Grove High knew about Ivy’s midnight marathons of Shadowtown. So . . .
She forced her face into a sneer. ‘So, is that how you like your vampires?’ She pointed dismissively at the other girl’s T-shirt. ‘Moon-eyed and sappy?’
‘Uh . . .’ Brendan stared at her, visibly shocked. ‘Ivy –’
She gave him a gentle kick under the table. The last thing she wanted right now was for him to blurt out how much Ivy loved Shadowtown and its sappy, moon-eyed vampires.
Brendan closed his mouth obediently, but his eyes were wide as she continued, ‘I mean, don’t you think all of that –’ She waved her hand in the general direction of the Shadowtown T-shirt, forcing poison into her tone –‘is a bit pathetic ?’
The girl rocked backwards as if she’d been punched . . . and Ivy’s stomach gave a sickening twist.
The whole table had fallen silent with shock. Everyone for three tables around was watching Ivy and her victim, waiting to see what would happen next.
It’s for the best, Ivy told herself, fighting down guilt. Really, this whole horrible scene was for the poor girl’s own good, and everyone else’s, too. If they all decided Ivy was horrible, they wouldn’t want anything more to do with her. Then they’d all find something more interesting to do with their lives – and she’d finally be left in peace to settle in at her new school without everyone analysing her every move.