‘I don’t know,’ Olivia said, crossing her arms across her body. ‘She must be having a bad day or something. I think we probably need to find a way of getting out of here.’
‘Past her?’ Brendan asked, chuckling and nodding to the waitress. She was telling off another customer for something. ‘Our glasses are still full – she’ll never let us leave.’ He jerked a thumb at the glasses of juice. He was right.
Olivia began to tap her fingers on her glass, but froze mid-tap. She had an idea. Looking out the window, she swished her hand across the table, knocking the glass off. ‘Oops!’ she said, trying to sound surprised and staring at Brendan hard. ‘I’m such a klutz . . .’
But Brendan had used his vampire reflexes and caught the fruit juice before it had even fallen from the table. Olivia’s heart sank. He didn’t get it at all! Ivy would have understood the escape plan straight away.
Brendan offered a wry smile, setting the glass back on the table. Then he pointed out of the window. ‘I can see Camilla outside.’ Olivia turned. How did I miss that?
Olivia’s best friend, Camilla, was squatting down in the bushes with a video camera and a French beret, filming one of her crazy scenes. Her lens was pointed at a boy in a snazzy pinstripe suit wearing full zombie make-up and lumbering down the pavement with his arms stretched out in front of him.
‘Yeah! I guess I’d better go say hi. Do you want to come? That waitress can’t make me finish my drink!’ Olivia slid out of the booth and waited.
‘No, you go ahead.’ He smiled at her as if to say: It’s probably best if we leave it here. She knew he wasn’t being mean; it was just that there was a big Ivy-shaped space between them.
‘See you later then,’ Olivia said, and walked quickly past the waitress who was scowling at a receipt.
At the door of the Meat and Greet, Olivia looked back to see Brendan breathing a big sigh of relief and resting his head back on the cushioned booth behind him. Any other day she would have been offended, but today, she knew how he felt.
Outside, Olivia hurried down the street, but she couldn’t see Camilla. Where did she go? There was another girl from Franklin Grove Middle, though – Aurora. She was leaning against a wall doing absolutely nothing, wearing a fabulous sequinned gown more fit for a dance or the Oscars than a normal weekday afternoon. Now that’s what I call style, thought Olivia, marching over to her.
‘Hey, Aurora! I totally love your outfit. Did you see where Camilla –?’
‘Cut!’
Olivia jumped as Camilla popped out from behind a postbox across the street, holding her camera.
‘Olivia! You ruined the take!’ Camilla crossed the street wearing black skinny jeans, ballet flats and a scarf tied around her neck. Ever since she had written and directed the school play, Romezog and Julietron, she had become quite the passionate film-maker. She’d even been on a trip to film in Paris.
‘I’m so sorry!’ Olivia clasped her hand over her mouth. ‘I didn’t see you there. I mean, I saw you before, and I wanted to know where you were, and . . .’ She was gesturing this way and that trying to explain herself. ‘I wandered into your scene, didn’t I? I’m so sorry.’ Olivia had prided herself on her film-making expertise ever since starring in a movie with Jackson. How could she have been such a fool?
‘It’s OK.’ Camilla smiled, picking up her black-and-white clipboard. She erased ‘Take Two’ and wrote in ‘Take Three’. ‘I’m experimenting with a new documentary, hidden-camera style, blending it with the classical forties film-noir look.’ Olivia had no idea what that meant, but she nodded anyway.
‘That’s why I’m all dressed up with nowhere to go,’ grumbled Aurora, picking up the train of her gown.
Camilla placed her hands on her hips. ‘Do you want to be introduced to Craig Cash or not?’
Olivia almost gasped. Aurora and Craig Cash? Tall, popular, athletic – he was one of the most eligible bachelors in the whole school.
‘Oh, wow, that’s amazing!’ Olivia started to say. She’d love to find out all about this. But Camilla was frowning at her.
Um, I know when I’m not wanted, Olivia thought. I can take a hint! ‘Maybe I’ll see you later then?’ she told Camilla. She didn’t want to hold up their movie any more than she had already.
Now Camilla was busy repositioning Aurora so that she looked more ‘old Hollywood’, leaning up against the wall. She waved a hand over her shoulder without even looking around.
‘Later.’
‘Maybe we could get pizza tonight?’ Olivia called. She waited for a response – nothing. She slunk away, starting down Orange Grove Avenue and heading back to her house. She couldn’t ignore the pain of – was it loneliness? – in her chest. For the first time since Ivy had gone to Wallachia Academy, Olivia had to admit the truth to herself.
Who am I kidding? I’ve been miserable since the moment she left. Olivia almost never walked home from town on her own; Ivy was usually there to tease her about the latest pink outfit she’d bought or grumble over the newest rom-com movie she’d persuaded Ivy to sit through.
Olivia remembered her mom dropping her off on her first day at Franklin Grove. She had been intimidated by the campus, which looked ancient in comparison to her former school’s ugly modern building. Franklin Grove had leafy vines, huge columns and a yawning hallway. Olivia recalled staring up at it and being terrified that she would be the friendless new girl forever. But all that had changed quickly, and Olivia had even been put in charge of the biggest social event at school.
That was almost a year ago. Now, in the space of just a few minutes, she had felt like both Brendan and Camilla were strangers. Plus, of course, her sister was on the other side of the Atlantic. Olivia was beginning to feel like an outsider all over again. She knew this was probably part of growing up – that one day she and Ivy would be leading their own lives – but why did it have to be so horrible right now? I’m not ready for this! She didn’t even have a boyfriend to call any more.
Olivia scuffed her wedges along the sidewalk, sticking her hands in the pockets of her pink bubble skirt. On a day like today, dressing like Ivy would have fitted her mood much better!
Loitering outside the grocery store were Garrick Stephens and his buddies, nicknamed the Beasts by everyone in Franklin Grove. Garrick was bouncing a basketball loudly on the pavement when he looked up, noticing Olivia.