Gritting her teeth, she forced the thought aside. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for that, she told herself. I’ll find out when we finally get to talk about it . And they didn’t just need to clear up their own issues. Right now, Olivia needed the most popular girl in her grade to help with her ‘Famelia’ problem!
When the door opened, though, it wasn’t Ivy who stood there. It was Lillian.
‘Olivia!’ Lillian smiled warmly. ‘How are you?’
‘Oh . . . um . . . fine,’ Olivia mumbled. She’d been working so hard to prepare herself for a heart-to-heart with Ivy, it was a shock to see anyone different. She craned her neck to look past their stepmom. ‘Is Ivy here?’
‘No, she’s gone to the dentist for an emergency touch-up.’
‘What?’ Olivia’s gaze flashed back up in surprise. ‘At this time of day?’
Lillian gave a wink. ‘Not a regular dentist. You know how it is.’
‘Ohhhh. Of course.’ Olivia forced a laugh, as embarrassment crashed down on her. ‘I should have known.’
The truth was, she didn’t know how it was. She’d never minded being the only non-vampire when she was with Ivy and their dad. But somehow, it felt worse to be out of the loop when she was around her elegant new vampire stepmom.
‘Why don’t you come in and wait for her?’ Lillian stepped back to let her in.
‘OK. Thanks.’ Olivia drew a deep breath and followed Lillian into the kitchen, her thoughts whirling. If Ivy wasn’t here, who could she talk to about her plans for ‘Famelia’?
What about my bio-dad?
Of course! Charles Vega would definitely know how to resolve a star-crossed love affair – because he’d had the ultimate impossible romance with their mom!
‘Is Dad here?’ she asked.
‘Oh, I’m afraid he’s out running some errands.’ Lillian reached into the refrigerator and took out the juice that was always kept stocked there for Olivia’s visits.
‘Oh.’ Olivia slumped.
Lillian raised her eyebrows comically. ‘Don’t look so disappointed,’ she said, faking outrage.
‘Sorry,’ said Olivia, laughing with her. ‘I’ve just got some stuff on my mind.’
‘Anything I can help with?’ Lillian asked.
Olivia thought for a split-second of a split-second. How could she not have realised before? Lillian had worked in movies for decades. She was the perfect person to help navigate the story of ‘Famelia’!
As the two of them snacked on tortilla chips and salsa, Olivia gave her stepmom all the details. Luckily, Lillian was already fluent in Camillaese, so it was easy to sum up what had already happened. ‘I think they’re just about halfway through their Act Two,’ Olivia finished, ‘but they’re still not together. What can I do?’
‘Well . . .’ Tapping her chip on her plate, Lillian looked pensive. ‘There are always obstacles in every rom-com, you know. If the “meet-cute” didn’t work, maybe what they need now is to be shown the “awful alternatives”. You know, that moment in movies and TV when the hero and heroine go on dates with really horrible people. It helps them realise who they really love.’
‘Hmm.’ Olivia crunched her chip thoughtfully. ‘I think that actually might work . . . and that way, no one needs to get a lecture from the principal! Thank you!’
I have such a cool stepmom, she realised.
Chapter Eight
Ivy grimaced as she stepped back into the Slice of Life pizza parlour and saw a life-size plastic cockroach in the corner, near a mouldy-looking smear of old tomato sauce.
I know they have to make this place look gross, she thought. But did they have to do such a good job of it? Her mouth tasted funny enough from the procedure she’d just undergone downstairs, without adding so many other horrible flavours to the air!
To all the bunnies of Franklin Grove, the Slice of Life was known as the nastiest pizza parlour in the universe. None of them could understand how it had stayed in business for so long
Only the vampires knew the truth: that the Slice of Life’s disgusting appearance was exactly what made it the perfect base for Dr Pane Lee, the town’s resident vampire dentist. Dr Lee kept his practice in the basement, and the vampires of Franklin Grove went in and out freely throughout the night, pretending to be visiting the twenty-four-hour pizza parlour.
I almost wish I had been, Ivy thought glumly. Sure, the Slice of Life looked awful. But could eating mouldy pizza really be that much worse than having her super-long fangs filed with Dr Lee’s ‘special machine’, the one he only reserved for really drastic cases? She shuddered at the memory of the grinding noise it had made, rattling through her bones.