‘Oh, um, I nearly forgot.’ Jenny peered down at Olivia. ‘You’ll need this, too.’ She balanced a clipboard on top of Olivia’s pile. ‘See you Sunday!’
How utterly great. Olivia tried to stand back up, struggling to manage the tower of paperwork. The files slid from her grasp and white sheets spilled across the floor.
‘Stay there. That’s perfect!’
Huh? Olivia looked up to see a video-camera lens in front of her nose. ‘Charlotte, what are you doing?’
‘That’s great, but maybe look even more overwhelmed.’ Charlotte continued filming Olivia from various angles before moving the camera to take in the mess on the floor. ‘I’m so pleased you’re organising this thing. I’m going to need interviews and access to behind-the-scenes footage. Got it?’
‘For what?’
‘For my yearbook film, silly. It’s going to capture Franklin Grove School in all its glory! The good and the bad. And this –’ Charlotte swooshed her hand towards the paperwork spilled on the floor – ‘is definitely the bad.’
‘Charlotte?’ Olivia asked, sighing.
Charlotte adjusted the lens on the camera, squinting as she focused on her shots. ‘Yeah?’
‘How about helping me clear this up?’
Charlotte’s head snapped up. ‘Oh! Yeah, of course!’ She stooped to lift a binder. ‘Sorry about that.’
As the jumbo binder was deposited back in her arms, Olivia had to wonder: What on earth did I just sign up for?
Chapter Two
‘Why did you agree to organise the dance?’ Ivy asked her sister as they walked along the street. Olivia must have gotten bats in her brain to agree to such a thing. ‘School dances are always snooze fests. They’re as bad as science class!’
‘Science class?’ Brendan raised his eyebrows. He had relieved Olivia of her binders and was carting them up the block towards Ivy’s house. Sophia had had to leave early to make her shift at the Meat and Greet Diner and Olivia and Ivy were heading for a twin sleepover at the Vegas’ house. Ivy’s dad had especially requested that they both stay the night, which was odd to say the least. Since when did parents suggest sleepovers?
‘You know what I mean. I’d rather endure a whole day of Mister Smoothie sing-a-longs than go to the school dance!’
Brendan caught her eye and shook his head. What was his deal? All she had said was that she hated the idea of a dance! Wait . . . Is he trying to tell me something? Ivy clenched her fists, mentally scolding herself. Of course! She was totally raining on her sister’s parade.
Ivy backtracked. ‘You’re really good at this sort of thing, though.’ She tried to channel a bit of her sister’s perkiness. ‘I’m sure your dance will suck!’
‘Thanks,’ Olivia said. ‘I really need the support.’
Brendan gave Ivy a small nod of approval. Where would she be without the best boyfriend ever? Hurting her sister’s feelings, that was where!
Olivia giggled. ‘You know, I bet you could find your inner dancing queen if you did want to come.’
Ivy scrambled to change the subject. ‘I hope you’re not too bummed about having to miss the big cheerleader end-of-term sleepover tonight.’ Even though Ivy didn’t understand the draw of pompoms and bouncy ponytails, she knew her sister did. ‘I mean, I love having you stay and all, but Dad was going a bit vamptator with the whole “You must be there” thing.’
‘That’s OK.’ Olivia skipped over the cracks in the sidewalk. ‘A twin sleepover is better than a cheerleader one any day.’
A chirpy ringtone sounded from Olivia’s pocket. Ivy snorted. She wasn’t sure anyone’s telephone needed to sound that enthusiastic.
Olivia dug out her mobile and read the screen. ‘It’s Jackson! I’ll be right back.’ She held up one finger before bouncing ahead out of earshot.
Brendan slowed at a stop sign where two roads intersected. ‘I should be getting home.’ Brendan’s parents liked him to be home for dinner on time, which made sense since his mom was a fantastic cook. Ivy’s mouth watered at the thought of his mother’s famous hamburger patties. ‘I’ll see you later, though?’ He pressed his lips to Ivy’s cheek, a lock of his dark, shaggy hair brushing her forehead.
Ivy took the binder from him, hoping this was as close as she’d have to get to any dance planning. ‘Sounds good.’
Brendan was being strangely quiet, Ivy thought, as he walked away. He must not like the idea of a dance any better than I do! That’s vamps for you. She shrugged and jogged over to Olivia.
‘Well?’ Ivy asked. Olivia was putting her phone back into her pocket.
‘He’s in the deep south,’ said Olivia. ‘Where, I have no clue. I could barely hear through the bad reception.’
Ivy bumped shoulders with her sister, trying to nudge her back into her usual cheery self. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll talk again soon.’
‘I know,’ Olivia groaned. ‘But I miss him so much! I haven’t seen Jackson since we left LA after the awards show a few weeks ago. I wish he hadn’t had to go off on that promotional tour for The Groves straight after. It would be nice if we could talk properly at least once a century.’
‘Once a century?’ Ivy glanced sidelong at her twin, trying not to grin.
‘You get what I’m saying. The last time I tried calling him he was being photographed on a rollercoaster at Graceland. You try having a conversation with someone surrounded by people screaming at the top of their lungs.’
‘Isn’t that sort of business as usual for Jackson?’ Ivy pointed out. Wherever Olivia’s boyfriend went, so did a swarm of screaming fans. It was enough to give any bystander a headache – especially Ivy.
They carried on walking in silence. The sidewalk started to slope up towards the top of the hill and the cul-de-sac where Ivy’s house sat. The sun had dropped in the sky and now reminded Ivy of the colour of blood-orange juice, spilling reddish light on to the tops of the neighbourhood trees. She listened as her sister’s jeans swooshed with hers in perfect unison.
‘Hey!’ she said, suddenly. ‘Why am I the one left carrying these monster binders?’
Olivia cringed. ‘Please, could you carry them? We don’t have too far to go and my arms are dead.’ She rubbed her skinny biceps.