“Ivy?” Melissa said again.
Sophia pinched her hard, and Olivia jumped. She reached into Ivy’s black velvet messenger bag and pulled out her white All Hallows’ Ball— Decorations folder.
The papers rustled in Olivia’s trembling hand. “Take one and pass them on,” she whispered.
Olivia stumbled through her presentation. She’d organized her ideas into two categories: “Big Things,” which included stuff like the centerpieces—fake tombstones featuring celebrity vampires’ names, surrounded by bouquets of white lilies—and “Little Things,” which included random stuff like rubber spiders, bats, cobwebs, flaming torches, and so on.
Even through her haze, Olivia could tell that the committee, in its Goth way, was pleased. Almost against her will, she started feeling better.
Oh, my gosh, she thought nervously, I might actually make it through this meeting without losing my mind, being bitten by a vampire, or driving a stake through anyone’s heart!
She’d saved the best idea for last: a bunch of old vampire movie posters she’d found on eBay.
“That sucks!” Anise declared, and everyone nodded. Olivia smiled in spite of herself.
One of the Beasts cleared his throat. “I have an idea,” he said, a devilish grin spreading across his face.
Olivia’s pulse quickened.
He held up a long, pale finger. “A decoration that’s cheap and plentiful.”
“Let’s hear it,” Melissa invited reluctantly.
“Something better than posters.” The Beast leered at Olivia. “How about we round up a bunch of dead bunnies from the morgue and line the walls with them?”
The other Beasts burst into laughter.
Olivia’s stomach churned.
Melissa seethed. “You guys are disgusting!”
Raymond balled up his list and chucked it at the boy.
I have to get out of here! Olivia thought. She leaped up from her chair, blurted, “Sorry” to Sophia, and bolted out of the room.
She raced down the narrow hallway, its walls closing in around her. On the stairs, she tripped and skinned her knee, but she just scrambled to her feet and kept running.
She burst out through the doors of FoodMart and finally slowed to a stop. She leaned against the outside of the building, taking deep breaths of fresh air.
A few seconds later, Olivia heard someone coming up behind her. She spun around, ready to fight for her life, but it was just Sophia.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ivy’s friend asked. Olivia didn’t answer. She was breathing too hard.
Sophia shook her head and said, “You’ve been acting strange all afternoon. It’s one thing for Ivy Vega to be out of her element at social functions, but my best friend has never in her life fled from a room.” She stepped closer and peered into Olivia’s eyes.
Olivia looked away.
Sophia said, “What’s going on?”
“Nothing!” Olivia gulped.
“What is going on?” Sophia repeated more forcefully.
“Everything’s totally fine!” Olivia squealed hysterically.
Sophia narrowed her eyes.
I just said “totally,” thought Olivia.
“Did you just say ‘totally’?” demanded Sophia.
Olivia sank down on the curb. It was obvious that Sophia knew something weird was going on. She was going to have to confess. “I’m not Ivy,” she muttered in defeat.
“What?” said Sophia.
“I’m Olivia Abbott.”
Sophia grabbed Olivia’s arm. “What have you done with my best friend?” she demanded anxiously.
“Nothing!” Olivia snapped, twisting out of her grasp. “She’s at cheerleading practice,” she admitted.
Sophia was speechless for a moment. Then she sat down beside Olivia on the curb. “I’m listening,” she said.
It took a long time to tell the whole story: discovering they were twins, switching identities, Charlotte Brown, Ivy’s date with Brendan, the ball. In the middle of it all, Sophia was nice enough to go inside and buy Olivia some aspirin and a Diet Coke.
After getting over her initial shock that Ivy had a twin sister, Sophia seemed to take the news surprisingly well—except that Olivia left the most awkward part for last.
“And then yesterday,” Olivia said slowly, “Ivy told me what kind of person she is.”
“What do you mean?” Sophia asked innocently.
“What kind of people you all are.”
Sophia looked thoughtful for a second. “Goths?”
“No, the really secret thing,” Olivia said meaningfully.
“Oh!” Sophia’s eyes opened wide. “She told you that?”
“Yup,” Olivia said guiltily. “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. She said we could both get into big trouble.”
“She never should have told you,” Sophia said firmly.
“She didn’t have a choice,” Olivia responded. She shut her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “This is all my fault.” She thought she was going to start crying, but then she felt Sophia’s hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry,” Sophia said quietly. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“Really?” Olivia said, opening her eyes.
“Really,” Sophia said sincerely. “Ivy’s my best friend.”
“And you’re not mad?” Olivia asked.
“A little,” Sophia admitted with a shrug. “Ivy could have told me she’d found her long-lost twin sister. I feel like I’ve been missing all the fun. But at least this explains why Ivy was suddenly so good at party planning!” She peered at Olivia’s face. “You really had me fooled. I mean, I didn’t notice any resemblance between you and Ivy at all.”
Olivia smiled. “That spray-on pale stuff does wonders.”
Sophia laughed and stood up. “Come on,” she said.
“Where are we going?” Olivia asked, getting to her feet.
“Cheerleading practice,” Sophia replied. “If Ivy’s hopping around like a bunny, I need to see it!”
Chapter 11
Ivy stuck the final move of another cheer, yelled, “Fight!” and thrust her arms in the air. She could hear Charlotte panting desperately beside her.
The look on Charlotte’s pink face when Ms. Barnett put Ivy front and center in the formation—right in the captain’s spot—had been truly unforgettable. It was enough to plaster a 150-watt smile on Ivy’s face for the rest of practice. She turned it up.