LITMIR.BIZ

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movie. As soon as Eternal Sunset wraps, I’m going to put my acting ambitions on hold until I’ve finished my education.’

      ‘Very commendable,’ Ms Milligan muttered, sounding like she’d bitten into a rotten egg.

      It really is, Ivy thought. She wished she could reach through the door to give her sister a hug.

      For any young actress, a choice between a normal life and Hollywood stardom would be huge . . . and it had to have been even harder for Olivia since her boyfriend, Jackson Caulfield, just happened to be a megastar, who would continue to travel the world shooting blockbuster movies without her. Ivy didn’t know if she would have had the strength to make the same decision in Olivia’s place . . .

      But she was very glad not to be losing her sister again so soon after being reunited with her – and so soon after they’d both finally managed to settle into their new school!

      I’m so relieved Olivia is genuinely happy with her decision, Ivy thought. Otherwise, I’d have to call myself really selfish right now!

      As she turned on her heel to pace back down the hall in front of the office, her gaze landed on an unfamiliar girl hovering nearby, covertly watching everything.

      Wait a minute. Coming to a halt, Ivy blinked. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that girl before.

      People didn’t usually start new schools in October. But this girl looked the same age as Ivy . . . and one of the few advantages of Ivy’s brief, and highly unwanted, stint as Ms Popularity in her new school was that she knew every student, especially those in her own grade.

      At one point or another, they almost all sucked up to me, she thought, cringing at the memories. Thank darkness that’s all settled down now!

      But she definitely did not recognise this girl. And, even more oddly, Ivy couldn’t figure out what social group the girl belonged to.

      With her long auburn hair and pale blue eyes free of kohl, she definitely wasn’t a typical goth . . . but with her plain jeans and dark blue top, she wasn’t an obvious bunny, either. And at Franklin Grove High – the most socially divided place Ivy had ever known – the fact that this girl didn’t wear group colours meant she was practically an alien!

      Inside the office, Ms Milligan had begun to speak again, her tone sharp and angry. ‘You may think you’ve solved everything with your plans, but I’ll be keeping my eye on you, Miss Abbott. And believe me, if your academic performance slips, even for a single minute . . .’

      Ivy’s jaw clenched as she listened. I’d better go talk to the new girl, she decided. Because if I listen to any more of this, I might just go charging in there!

      Forcing a smile, she started forwards. ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘I’m Ivy. Are you new in town?’

      ‘Um . . .’ The girl stepped back a pace, but she didn’t look nervous. Instead, she looked annoyed. ‘Sort of,’ she mumbled.

      Ivy raised her eyebrows. What’s that supposed to mean? ‘And . . .?’ she prompted.

      As the silence stretched between them, the other girl sighed. ‘I’m Maya,’ she muttered, her body language making clear what she was not saying out loud: she did not want to be approached unless the school was on fire and she needed directions to the nearest exit.

      So much for my distraction! Ivy sighed.

      After her first few weeks at school, when the other students had treated her like a rock star, it was a relief not to be fawned over any more. But she’d never before seen a newbie flat-out reject a conversation on their first day of school! Maybe Maya just hated the whole world . . .

      No, wait. Ivy stopped herself, taking a deep breath. What would Olivia do? Maybe Maya has just moved to Franklin Grove and she’s homesick.

      As if thinking of her twin could make her magically appear, the door to Ms Milligan’s office swung open, and Olivia stepped outside.

      Oh, my darkness, that hair! Ivy had to put one hand over her mouth to hide her grin. Olivia’s completely frizzed, staticky hair billowed out from her head and clung to the doorway. The beehive style might be gone, but it had left some seriously scary after-effects that, Olivia insisted, only a trip to the salon could fix.

      I can’t believe I’m actually looking forward to going to a salon, Ivy thought, shaking her head. There really is a first time for everything!

      ‘All set.’ Olivia beamed at her. ‘Are you ready for homeroom?’

      ‘Absolutely.’ As Ivy walked past Maya, she mumbled, ‘See you around.’

      It was like talking to a statue. The other girl didn’t even blink.

      Whatever. Ivy rolled her eyes. At least I tried!

      Halfway to homeroom, she and Olivia had to split up to collect their things from their lockers. Olivia’s own late start at school meant that her locker was not with Ivy and the rest of her class – she’d been placed with the older students. As Ivy waved goodbye to her sister, she turned towards her own locker . . . and smiled when she saw her boyfriend leaning against it, his back turned to her.

      ‘Hey!’ Running up behind him, she poked Brendan in the shoulder.

      ‘Ah!’ He jumped, dropping the phone in his hand . . . and when a vampire jumped, he really jumped. Ivy had to grab his arm to keep him from landing several feet away.

      ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.

      ‘Sorry.’ Smoothing down his messy dark hair, he gave her a weak smile. ‘Just startled. I didn’t hear you coming.’

      ‘Really?’ Ivy blinked. ‘You know, Olivia said Lillian didn’t hear her approaching yesterday, too. Maybe there’s an epidemic of “vampire deafiness” going around!’ She snickered . . . but Brendan’s expression was blank as he gazed over her shoulder.

      ‘Hey!’ Ivy prodded his arm. ‘OK, I know that joke was dumb, but a true boyfriend would have given me a pity laugh.’

      ‘Oh.’ Brendan gave an obviously forced chuckle. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Good one.’ He met her gaze for a moment . . . then looked again back over her shoulder.

      Ivy peered up into his face. ‘Are you OK?’ Stepping closer, she dropped her voice to a bare whisper. ‘You’ve been acting kind of weird ever since yesterday. Was it that phone call you got?’

      He swallowed visibly. ‘What phone call?’

      ‘“What phone call?”’ Ivy stared at him in disbelief. ‘Come on. You got a mysterious phone call, and left the house to answer it – and then you came back and said you suddenly “had to go home” just because of some TV show you were missing.’

      ‘Oh. Well.’ Brendan ran one hand through his hair, not meeting her eyes. ‘That was nothing. I’m just tired . . . And y’know, I had a lot of homework to do yesterday. That English assignment really bit.’

      Ivy frowned as his gaze drifted back over her shoulder. ‘So . . . that’s the only reason you look so tired today?’

      ‘Yes!’ His gaze snapped back to her. ‘Definitely. Totally. That’s absolutely it.’

      ‘Ohhh-kay . . .’ Ivy forced herself to nod, as if she’d accepted it . . . but her mind was churning.

       Brendan is not the type of person to answer a question three times!

      She reached out to touch his arm. ‘Brendan . . .’

      He jumped away before she could touch him, moving hastily to his own locker a few feet away. ‘Hey, we should get to class.’ He scooped his books out in a rush. ‘I don’t want to be late, OK?’

      ‘OK.’ Biting her lip, Ivy grabbed her

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