Switched (5 page)

Ivy
beamed. “Really?”

Olivia
tried to ignore her. “The other thing you have to remember is that I’m the new
girl. So you can’t talk about anything I shouldn’t know. If you get stuck, just
ask about the latest ...the latest . . .
whatever.
”

Ivy
took a deep breath.
“Really?”

“ENOUGH!”
Olivia cried.

Ivy
slouched back to her normal self. “My turn!” she sang, picking up her shiny
black purse and turning it upside down over the counter. A jumbled waterfall of
stuff clattered out: cosmetics, pens, chewing gum, scraps of paper, nail files,
pictures, paper clips. Ivy shook the bag. A full-size stapler crashed to the
counter. She shook it again. Out tumbled a small, black aerosol can, which Ivy
snatched up and displayed in the palm of her hand.

“‘Pale
Beauty, the spray-on whitener,’” She caressed the can like a model on a TV
commercial. “‘For that extraspecial made-of-marble look!’”

“You’re
kidding!” Olivia said. She grabbed the can and inspected the label.

“Lots
of Goths use it,” Ivy explained, “especially if they’re not blessed with a
flawless white complexion like mine. Now close your eyes.”

Olivia
did as she was told. The spray was cool and moist on her skin, but it dried
almost instantly. She glanced in the mirror. “I look like a clown!” she said.

“Careful
what you say or I’ll take your eye out,” said Ivy, already leaning in with an
eyeliner pencil as fat as a Sharpie marker.

Olivia
tried to hold still. She focused on a brown spot on the ceiling and asked, “So
what should I talk to your friends about?”

“Excuse
me?” Ivy stopped mid upper-left lid. “You cannot talk to my friends.
At all
.
Charlotte Brown’s one thing. But Sophia Hewitt has been my best friend since we
were four years old. She’d be able to tell you weren’t me
instantly
.”

Olivia
knew Ivy was right, but she was still disappointed. “I was sort of excited to
be all gloomy,” she said, pouting.

“Sorry,”
Ivy said with genuine sympathy. “What about hiding out in the library? That’s
where I normally work on my articles for the paper.”

“It
won’t be as fun as gabbing with Goths, but I guess it’ll have to do,” Olivia
conceded. “Luckily, I have an apple and some health chips to keep me company.”

As Ivy
finished Olivia’s eyes, she said, “Let’s meet back here right after lunch and—”

The
bell rang.

“Oh,
my gosh!” Olivia squealed. “It’s time.You have to go!” She scooped up her
cosmetics, dumped them back in her pink purse, and handed it to Ivy. “I’ll
refill your bag once you’ve gone,” she added.

Ivy
rested her hands on Olivia’s shoulders and looked her right in the eye. “Don’t
smile too much and don’t speak,” she said, and Olivia felt her sister pressing
her down toward the ground. “And, whatever you do,
please
don’t bounce!”

Olivia
nodded seriously. She hugged her sister for luck. Then Ivy plastered her face
in a smile and headed out the door, clutching Olivia’s purse.

Olivia
did her best not to grin after her. After all, she was a Goth now.

Ivy
pushed open the doors to the cafeteria, curling her toes so that Olivia’s
flip-flops wouldn’t fly off her feet.

She
tried bouncing as she walked, but then she realized she wasn’t smiling. She
started smiling, but then she forgot to bounce.

Ivy
caught a glimpse of Charlotte Brown and her minions already at their table, and
she ducked nervously into the food line.

As the
line crept along, Ivy decided to try a hair flip. She thought of a mouse
running along the floor, just as Olivia said, and followed it out of the corner
of her eye. Her ponytail swung around smoothly. Then the mouse ran under
Charlotte Brown’s chair. Ivy imagined Charlotte jumping up and down, screaming
her head off.

There.
That was better. Now it was suddenly easy to smile and bounce.

“A
burger, please!” Ivy requested perkily when it was her turn.

Her
full tray in hand, Ivy set her sights on the Table of Evil. Charlotte saw her
and waved excitedly, then rested her hand meaningfully on the shoulder of the
boy next to her—none other than Jeff Moore, the original beefy superbunny. Even
from this far away, Ivy could see Charlotte fluttering her eyelashes.

Ivy
made her way across the cafeteria bouncily. She was almost at the Table of Evil
when she realized with a jolt that she was walking right past her usual table,
where all her friends were eating lunch. She nearly tripped over one of her
flipflops and had to bend down to get it back on.

Sophia
was saying, “It’s seriously the most important night of the whole year” to
Holly.

What
am I doing?
Ivy
thought nervously.

As Ivy
straightened, Charlotte caught her eye again and mouthed,
“Isn’t he hot?”
She
was leaning toward Jeff like she was hanging on his every word.

I
remember,
thought
Ivy, turning her smile back on.
I’m getting back at Charlotte Brown.

She
plopped her tray down across from Charlotte and Jeff and unleashed an
exuberant, “Hi, guys!”
Oops,
she thought.
I wasn’t supposed to overdo
it.

Fortunately,
Katie and Allison didn’t seem to notice. “Hi, Olivia!” they replied.

Then
Charlotte said, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Ivy’s
heart stopped. “Uh . . . I’m, like,” she stammered, “having . . . lunch?”

Charlotte
blinked in disbelief. “Since when,” she asked wide-eyed, “do self-respecting
cheerleaders eat hamburgers for lunch?”

Allison
and Katie nodded in concern.

“Yes,
well, you are so totally right,” Ivy said, her heart beating again. “And I don’t
know what came over me, but I just really wanted a burger today.”

“I
think it’s cool,” said Jeff Moore, smiling broadly at Ivy from beneath his crew
cut. “Refreshing, actually. A girl who really eats. All the girls I know won’t
even have a French fry unless it’s covered in fatless dressing.”

“I
love hamburgers!” Charlotte said quickly. “Just not from the cafeteria.” She
giggled uncomfortably. “Anyway, let me introduce you. Olivia, this is Jeff.
Remember I was telling you about him? Jeff ’s co-captain of the Devils football
team.”

“Really?”
Ivy said in wide-eyed wonder as she took a bite of her burger.

“Plus
he’s all-state cross-country,” Charlotte continued, savoring the words like she
was eating a chocolate.

“Baseball,
too,” Jeff added.

“You
should see him in uniform.” Charlotte winked.

“Rea-lly,”
Ivy said with a knowing smile. Jeff chomped a French fry.

Ivy
wasn’t about to stop now. “So, what’s the latest in Devils football?”

“I
scored seventy-two touchdowns last year.” Jeff swallowed. “It was a county
record. This year, I’m going for eighty.”

“Really?”
Ivy said automatically.

“Yeah.”
He cocked his head. “Hey, Charlotte tells me you’re trying out for the
cheerleading squad.”

Ivy
nodded coyly.

“She
says you’re pretty good,” said Jeff.

“For a
new girl,” Charlotte put in.

“You
sure
look
like you’d be a good cheerleader,” said Jeff, with what he
obviously thought was a winning smile.

I’ve
sunk to a new low,
Ivy
thought.
Jockstrap Jeff Moore likes me!

The
look on Charlotte Brown’s face made it seriously worth it, though. “Jeff!” she
said, clutching at his arm like she was drowning. “Oh, my gosh, Jeff. We forgot
wrestling!”

“Oh,
yeah,” Jeff nodded, looking impressed. “I wrestle, too.”

Charlotte
narrowed her eyes. Then she reached over, grabbed the last bite of Ivy’s burger
off her plate, and dramatically popped it in her mouth, smiling at Jeff goofily
as she chewed.

Katie
and Allison looked seriously shocked.

This
is going better than I ever imagined!
Ivy
thought, wiggling her toes in delight underneath the table.
Charlotte Brown
is literally eating her words!

Olivia
was having a great time trudging back toward the science hall bathroom at the
end of lunch period. Now that she was used to Ivy’s boots, every step made her
feel really powerful, like she could march through a crowd of people and they
would all move out of her way. Her mouth set firmly, she peered out at people
from behind a wall of hair. A passing Goth girl murmured, “Hi, Ivy.”

“Hi,”
Olivia answered without stopping. She

tried
not to let a tiny smile escape, but she couldn’t help it.
Being a Goth is so
cool!
she thought. Her period in the library had flown by. At first, Olivia
had been annoyed that she’d forgotten to bring
Thrice Bitten
, the latest
Count Vira book, with her. But then she’d remembered reading about an old
French short story that, according to what she’d seen on a vampire fiction
fansite, was one of the first vampire stories ever written. She’d decided to
see if they had it.

“
The
Horla and Other Stories of Guy de Maupassant.
It looks like this isn’t the
first time you’ve checked this book out, Ivy,” the librarian had said when she’d
looked at the computer screen.

Olivia
had shrugged as she’d thought Ivy might, taken the book, and started
reading....

The
story had been so awesome that, before Olivia knew it, the bell had rung for
the end of the period. Now she was in a hurry to get back to the bathroom and
find out from Ivy how things had gone with Charlotte Brown.

Olivia
rounded the corner and crashed right into a Goth boy! Her book flew from her
hands and skittered across the floor.

She
looked at the boy as he bent to pick up her book. He was thin with broad shoulders,
wearing black cargo pants and a black button-down work shirt. His pale face was
surrounded by dark disheveled curls. He looked familiar, probably from one of
her classes.

“Are
you okay?” he asked, sounding concerned.

“I’m
fine,” Olivia said. “Sorry. I guess my boots got ahead of me.”

The
boy handed Olivia her book, and she finally figured out which subject they had
together. “I know you,” she said with a nod. “You’re in my social studies
class.”

The
boy gave her a weird look. He frowned, looking cute, if you were into the
brooding type. “Ivy,” he said slowly, “we’ve been in the same social studies
class for the last three years.”

“Uh .
. .” Olivia fumbled. “Of course. Just kidding?” She tried to grimace in a
friendly way.

He
glanced at the cover of her book. “Looks interesting,” he said, holding it out
to her.

She
knew she should just take the book and go, but it really was something that
more people should read. “It is.
The Horla’
s about this guy who thinks
he’s being stalked by a vampire. It, uh, really sucks.”

“Yeah?”
the boy said, clearly intrigued.

“Yeah.
It’s all told in diary entries, and this guy doesn’t know if he’s going crazy
or what,” explained Olivia.

He
nodded. “I’ll have to read it.”

“You should,”
she said. Then she spotted Ivy down the hallway.
Gosh
,
she really
does look fabulous in that skirt!
Olivia thought.

The
boy was still looking at her. “What else do you like to read?”

Over
his shoulder, Olivia saw Ivy stop and stare at her, mouth agape, looking
completely panicked.

Oh,
no,
thought Olivia.
Lunch with Charlotte was a bust!

Ivy
stamped her flip-flop on the ground and frantically motioned for Olivia to
follow her into the bathroom
right now
! Olivia mumbled, “Gotta go,” to
the Goth boy and rushed away. She heard him call, “Hey, Ivy!” as she pushed
through the bathroom door.

“Oh,
my gosh, what happened?” Olivia cried when she saw her sister’s stricken look
in the bathroom mirror.

“How
the heck am I supposed to know what happened?” Ivy demanded with a wild look in
her eyes. “That’s what I should be asking you. WHAT HAPPENED?” She washed the
spray-on tan off her face, arms, and legs, pulled her hair out of its ponytail,
and abruptly disappeared into a stall to change.

Wow!
Olivia thought as
she washed off the heavy eyeliner and white makeup.
Lunch must have been
really awful.

“I’m
really sorry, Ivy,” Olivia said, taking the next stall and unlacing her boots. “You
were right. It was a bad idea. Charlotte was never going to fall for it.”

“Charlotte?”
Ivy’s voice rang off the bathroom walls. “Charlotte fell for it like a skydiver
without a parachute. I’m not talking about Charlotte. I’m talking about
Brendan
Daniels
!”