‘Except no one had to spill latte on them, to make them look like that!’ Olivia joked.
‘Where Olivia goes,’ Ivy teased, ‘the rest of the world follows.’
Olivia took a deep breath. It was almost like an unintended welcome. She could feel it; something big was going to happen this weekend.
‘Why would anyone need three sinks in one bathroom?’ Ivy asked.
‘Why don’t you just enjoy the luxury?’ Olivia suggested.
Ivy sighed. The suite was so over-the-top that it made her feel uncomfortable: marble floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and an enormous bunch of fresh flowers in every room. All Ivy needed was a warm coffin somewhere to snuggle into.
Mr Vega and Lillian were in a meeting with Mr Harker about how his girls would be treated during filming. Ivy and Olivia were waiting for Frank to come and pick them up and take them on some mystery Hollywood adventure.
‘I just want to say,’ Olivia said, perching on the floral print chaise longue in the suite’s sitting room. ‘All this craziness isn’t what it’s about for me.’
‘I know,’ Ivy replied, taking a sip from her fluted glass of milkshake.
‘Don’t get me wrong, all this nice stuff is great.’ Olivia grinned. ‘But I want to do this because I think acting is the thing I’m really good at.’
‘It is,’ Ivy agreed. ‘And that’s why all these amazing things are happening for you. I’m just the black fly in your soup.’
Olivia sighed and Ivy felt that familiar pit of doom in her stomach.
‘Harker’s going to hate me the minute he gets me on set,’ Ivy said. ‘He doesn’t realise that I’m no good. We’ve got to make him understand!’
‘You know what?’ Olivia said at last. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘What do you mean?’ Ivy asked.
‘There will be other roles,’ Olivia said. ‘This crazy media baiting has nothing to do with making a good movie. Harker is just being dramatic.’
Ivy felt the pit filling in with a little bit of hope.
‘I can’t cope with all the secrets I’ve got to keep in this town. You. Jackson. So I’m just not going to worry about it any more,’ Olivia declared. ‘I’m going to enjoy this experience.’
There was a knock at the door. ‘Ladies?’ It was Frank. ‘Ready to go?’
‘Coming!’ Olivia called. She grinned at Ivy. ‘Let’s be tourists and do some star-spotting!’
They grabbed their bags and hurried out into the hallway where Frank was waiting under a huge chandelier. He tipped his hat and they stepped into the mirrored elevator.
‘Where are we going, Frank?’ Ivy asked, checking her teeth in the mirror.
‘I suppose I don’t have to keep it secret any longer,’ he replied. ‘To one of the biggest film studios in LA.’
‘Which one?’ Olivia wanted to know.
Frank grinned as the elevator door dinged open on to the underground parking lot. ‘Rumour has it you might get to see the Killer Bees making their latest music video . . .’
Ivy gasped. The Killer Bees were one of her and Brendan’s favourite bands!
‘Or even the mega-famous Jackson Caulfield strolling around in-between takes,’ Frank finished as he opened the door to their limo.
Ivy smiled. Of course, Frank wouldn’t know that Olivia and Jackson were dating because it was still a big secret.
‘The Killer Bees!’ she whispered. Maybe this trip to Hollywood wouldn’t be such a drag after all.
After a short drive, they pulled in through some huge gates with a security guard peering in through their windscreen. There were warehouse buildings neatly lining a grid of streets, and people in golf carts zipping around. They drove past two men carrying an enormous Christmas tree and a woman dressed in an Elizabethan dress. It looked like chaos, but a lot of fun.
They pulled into a long parking space, designed just for limos.
Frank opened the door and helped them step out. ‘Mr Harker will meet you in about half an hour, over on Lot 3.’ He handed them a map of the huge complex. ‘But until then, you can go anywhere you like.’ He gave them two laminated passes with VIP written in big red letters.
Ivy kept scanning the crowd for any sign of James, Joe or John from the Killer Bees.
The map showed various studios and had little notes on their history.
‘Ooh, that’s where Wacky Walrus was made!’ Ivy declared. ‘I loved that show when I was little.’
Olivia laughed. ‘Me too! Wa-cky Wal-rus likes to dance and sing . . .’
Ivy joined in for the second line, ‘Wa-cky Wal-rus, he’s the walrus king!’
Ivy squinted in the sun. ‘I’m glad Lillian lent me her sun block. It’s so hot!’
The sisters wandered across the sunny lot to the door marked VIP ONLY.
‘Oooh.’ Ivy played with the VIP pass around her neck, waving it in the air even though there was no one there to see it. ‘VIP, that’s me!’ she said and Olivia giggled.
Her sister stuck her nose in the air. ‘I’m very important, let me through!’
‘Hey you!’ shouted someone. ‘You can’t go in there!’
Olivia and Ivy swivelled around, their VIP badges swinging from their cords.
It was a bald security man, and he did not look amused, but as soon as he saw their passes, he stopped. ‘My apologies, ladies,’ he said, backing off. ‘Guests of Mr Harker are welcome anywhere.’
‘Uh, thanks,’ Ivy said. It was funny when they were pretending, but people bowing and scraping like that really made her uncomfortable.
Olivia pushed open the door to Studio 6 and Ivy followed her inside. The motion-sensor lights flickered on when they walked in to reveal a huge open space with wires snaking across the floor and random props everywhere.
‘Look!’ Olivia said, her voice echoing oddly in the emptiness.
She had found a display of Wacky Walrus merchandise and photographs behind the scenery. Olivia picked up one of the soft-toy versions of Wacky Walrus and made it dance through the air.
‘Wa-cky Wal-rus,’ she sang and Ivy joined in.
They started skipping around the studio, shouting the song louder and louder.
Olivia made Wacky Walrus sit on one of the tall, expensive-looking cameras and Ivy goofed around with a big soft-toy fish, making it swim up to Wacky and almost get eaten.