Simple, right?
Olivia took a deep breath. It would be a miracle if she made it through the day without having a heart attack! The door chimed as she stepped inside Mister Smoothie. She did a quick scan of the restaurant, spotting Holly right away with her long red streaks of hair. She was sitting in a corner booth with her back to the door.
Olivia started to walk over. Hold on . . . Ivy wouldn’t know who Holly was, or what she looked like. The two had never met. So she wouldn’t just walk over there, would she? ‘No,’ Olivia muttered under her breath. ‘Play it cool.’ That was what Ivy would do and Olivia needed to sell the part. It’s all in the details, she reminded herself.
All right, where to go first? Olivia headed for the opposite side of Mister Smoothie. That should throw Holly off the trail. She strolled around, making sure to look at all the customers.
A girl in a football jersey and jeans looked up from stirring her Mocha Choca Latte smoothie. ‘What are you looking at, Goth Girl?’
Olivia froze in place. If she were the real Ivy, she’d have something witty to say. Not at you, Smoothie Drinker. No, that was terrible. Try kicking a football someplace else, Jersey Girl. That was even lamer. Nothing else was coming to mind, so Olivia just made an awkward shrug and moved on to another booth.
When she’d pretend-inspected nearly all the available booths, Olivia decided she had kept the charade up long enough. Walking over to where Holly was sitting and fiddling with her camera, Olivia tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Are you Olivia’s pal?’ Pal? Who says ‘pal’ any more?
Holly closed the viewfinder of her camera and looked ‘Ivy’ over. She smiled. ‘Sure am.’ She extended a hand. ‘I’m Holly. It’s great to finally meet you. How was Transylvania?’
Olivia scooted into the pink-leather booth opposite Holly. ‘It was good. Actually, I’m headed back tomorrow.’ She had rehearsed the cover story. If Ivy had to go back across the Atlantic, there was no way Holly could expect another get-together. Olivia couldn’t handle pulling this switcheroo every single day! ‘Yeah, it totally sucks,’ she finished.
Holly frowned. ‘Didn’t you just say it was good?’
Olivia suppressed her instinct to laugh nervously. That was so not Ivy. But what a fool she was! Bunnies didn’t know that ‘sucks’ meant ‘good’ in vampire speak. And she couldn’t explain that to Holly without outing all of vampire society.
I’ll just have to improvise. She put one elbow on the table and picked at the Midnight Mauve polish she’d painted on her nails. ‘Oh, you know, I don’t like to play by the rules. I’d rather give words my own meanings. “Sucks” means “totally cool”. In Ivy-speak, I mean.’
‘I like it,’ said Holly enthusiastically. ‘In fact,’ she continued, unsheathing the lens to her camera, ‘I’m really digging your whole vibe. That look –’ she shaped her fingers into a rectangular frame – ‘the hair, the make-up, the rocker T-shirt and jeans . . . it’s so . . . open-minded. I can tell you’re a traveller of the world. Do you mind if I take a few pictures?’
‘Snap away.’ Olivia set her phone down on the table and tried to pull off her best tough-girl poses. Some of the other customers were looking at her oddly and she tried not to feel self-conscious or worry that they recognised her. Be brave! she told herself, folding her arms over her chest. She tried flexing her biceps for the camera. How utterly embarrassing, she thought, once again thankful that Ivy wasn’t here to witness her horrible impersonation.
‘Another look,’ Holly directed. ‘Pretend you’re gazing out over an African desert.’
Olivia gazed into the distance, brooding . . . and nearly jumped out of her skin. There was Brendan, outside the window, staring at her in shock. Olivia gulped and quickly glanced away. This will be OK, she tried to tell herself.
At least Holly didn’t seem to suspect anything. She kneeled on the tiled floor of Mister Smoothie, catching various angles. Olivia listened to the click, click, click but she could see Brendan walking over, waving excitedly. Her mouth felt dry and it was all she could do to maintain her cool composure.
Holly lowered her camera just as Brendan burst through the doors. ‘That’s a wrap!’ she said, beaming. ‘I can’t tell you how much this means to me. Olivia said so many great things about you – I couldn’t wait to meet you and get a few photos. I really want to launch my career one day and interesting subjects will make all the difference.’ Her eyes twinkled. Brendan was getting nearer, his arms wide in anticipation of a hug. ‘Getting an exclusive with you is a real privilege,’ Holly carried on. ‘You don’t know how much this could help me win the travel-writing competition.’
‘That’s killer.’ Olivia could hardly get the words out. Brendan was making his way between the booths, his eyes fixed on Olivia’s face. The face that he thinks is Ivy’s. The lips that he’ll want to kiss. She had to stop this! She sent Brendan a sharp shake of her head and he paused, realising something was wrong.
‘Would you like a smoothie?’ she asked Holly, taking her arm and steering her round so that her back was to Brendan. ‘My treat.’
‘Sure, thanks!’ Holly read the menu, picking from the list of crazily named fruit drinks. ‘Can you get me a Twist and Shout?’
Olivia tried not to groan. Would it be completely awful for her to tell one more white lie – that Mister Smoothie was out of Twist and Shouts? She wasn’t sure she could bear hearing that song again, not when she was already so on edge. Just thinking about it made her shiver:
Hey, Mister Smoothie!
I’ve got a little twist!
I’ve got a little SHOUT!
But no – if Holly wanted a Twist and Shout, that’s what she’d have. Olivia walked over to the queue. Brendan was still watching her and she jerked her head, signalling for him to come and stand beside her. He ran to her like an excited puppy. Fortunately, Holly had settled in a booth and was scrolling through the photos on her digital camera.
As Ivy’s boyfriend caught up with Olivia, she stiffly held out her arms, keeping him at bay.
‘Brendan, I –’
His face was lit up like a firework display. ‘When did you get back? Why didn’t you tell me? Are you back for good, or just a few days? Why didn’t you want me to come over back there?’ He ignored her outstretched arms and swept her into a crushing hug that wouldn’t have bothered the real Ivy, with her V-strength, but for Olivia, it was totally cutting off her circulation. ‘This is so exciting!’ He breathed into her hair. Oh no! ‘I’ve missed you so much, you have no idea.’