“What is it?” Ivy asked.
“If we’re switching clothes, then you’re going to have to wear this to the adoption agency,” she said, pointing to her pink sparkly top.
The look of complete horror on Ivy’s face was more than Olivia could bear. She burst out laughing again, which set Ivy off, too.
“Ladies!” called Mr. Strain.
Chapter 7
Ivy had bats in her stomach as she strolled through the mall food court. She wasn’t just nervous about her visit to the adoption agency, she was also excited about swapping identities with her sister. Switching was almost like being invisible. Especially this week, when she felt like a bug under a microscope. She couldn’t wait to shed her skin.
She confirmed with a sidelong glance that Toby was still behind her as she headed into the ladies’ room. At least he can’t follow me in here, she thought. Well, he could, but then he’d get arrested.
There was no one in the ladies’ room except an old woman bent close to the mirror, straining to put on pale lipstick with a shaky hand. Where’s Olivia? thought Ivy.
The lady noticed Ivy and gingerly turned around, clutching her purse to her chest. “You’re one of those death children I heard about on The Morning Star!” She gasped.
Ivy put her hands on her hips. “So?”
The lady wagged a bony finger. “The Star of truth will shine!”
A stall door swung open and out marched Olivia. She walked right up to the old woman. “Then you should be worried about all those stolen ketchup packets from the food court you have in that pocketbook,” she said, folding her arms disapprovingly.
The lady hurried out of the bathroom without another peep.
“Have a good day!” Ivy called after her with un-Gothlike enthusiasm.
Five minutes later, Olivia and Ivy had changed into each other’s clothes, and Ivy was putting the finishing touches on Olivia’s black eyeliner. The spray-on whitener really made an enormous difference to Olivia’s appearance.
“All right,” Ivy said, taking a step back to admire her work. “You are now officially one of America’s Most Wanted.”
Olivia laughed. “And you should really consider wearing pink sparkles more often,” she responded.
They gave each other a huge hug.
“I hope you find what we’re looking for,” Olivia said.
“Me, too,” whispered Ivy. Then, with a playful wink, Olivia trudged out of the bathroom in Ivy’s heavy black boots.
Ivy pulled her hair back into a ponytail and started putting on Olivia’s shimmery pink lipstick. It’s pretty killer having a twin. Although, she thought, reviewing her reflection in the mirror, I always swore I’d never be caught dead in sparkles!
Olivia looked through an on-sale rack of drab skirts in the back of Midnight Clothing. She never thought she’d ever feel this way, but she was sick of shopping. She’d led Toby around the mall three times already. Her feet, clad in Ivy’s heavy black boots, were almost as sore as they were when she won the Cheer-a-thon in sixth grade.
Right now, Olivia could see Toby lurking behind a pile of distressed black jeans. She glanced longingly toward the dressing rooms, wondering if she could hide out there for a while.
Toby would probably just camp out in the next changing room, she thought. She hoped Ivy was succeeding at the adoption agency, because this was starting to feel as bad as not being able to stick a roundoff.
Suddenly, Olivia had an idea about how to liven things up. It’s time to find out just how far Toby is willing to go, she thought mischievously. She turned on her heel and walked abruptly out of Midnight Clothing. After a moment, she heard a crash, and Olivia glanced over her shoulder to see that Toby had toppled a display of black sunglasses.
“Sorry!” he yelped to a store clerk as he hurried after Olivia.
Olivia walked briskly down the mall’s main hallway. The hand-lettered sign in the window of Trudy’s Beauty Palace couldn’t have been more
perfect: WAXED LATELY? I bet he won’t follow me in here! Olivia thought as she walked to the personal care section near the back of the store. She peered out from behind a pyramid of jars of flesh-firming cream.
Toby was frozen outside in front of the WAXED LATELY? sign with a completely bewildered look on his face. He was hopping nervously from foot to foot.
He looks like he has to pee! Olivia thought with glee.