Olivia looked over her shoulder and took in the enormous ballroom below. The classic movie posters on the stone walls were illuminated by tiny spotlights. Round black tables dotted the room, tombstones rising from them evocatively. Bats hung at all levels in the air. In each corner of the room, there was a huge coffin lined with dark purple satin that overflowed its sides luxuriantly—a special last-minute touch of Mr. Vega’s. Olivia had filled each one with party favors, like plastic fangs, temporary neckbite tattoos, and extra bats.
Olivia felt like cheering. Everything looked awesome!
“Now that is the sort of smile,” Mr. Vega mused, “I have rarely seen on your face.”
Olivia tried to stop grinning, but she couldn’t.
“So, daughter,” he said, “you have said nothing of your date.”
“You mean Brendan?” Olivia asked nervously as she climbed down the ladder.
“Ah, Brendan. I wondered when you would reveal his identity,” Mr Vega remarked.
Oops, thought Olivia.
“Tell me.What is he like?” Mr.Vega continued.
Olivia didn’t know how to answer.
“In a world that is so open to you,” he mused, “you need not always keep the contents of your heart closed.”
“He’s really cu—” Olivia stopped herself. “Handsome,” she finished.
“I am sure.”
“And . . . romantic,” Olivia added.
“Oh?” Mr. Vega’s dark eyes sparkled.
Olivia remembered something her sister had said. “The way he asked me to the ball was really ...sweet.”
Ivy’s father smiled. “I am glad for you, Ivy.”
Olivia suddenly felt weird talking about Brendan this way. He wasn’t her boyfriend, after all. She glanced at the enormous clock above the ballroom entrance. “I should go get ready,” she said.
Mr. Vega nodded. “Yes, of course.”
Outside the ballroom, Olivia descended the enormous staircase to the first floor. She was walking past the front doors on her way to the basement when she was stopped in her tracks by the momentary booming of a pipe organ. She was about to continue on her way when the organ music rang out again, the same brief ornate musical phrase as before.
“Ivy?” Mr. Vega called down the stairs. “Can you answer the door please?”
Olivia hesitated, took a deep breath, and opened the front door.
Before her stood the Beasts, grinning like idiots. Olivia silently noted that their ill-fitting tuxes didn’t make them look any less greasy.
“Hey, Vega,” one said.
“What are you guys doing here?” said Olivia. “The ball doesn’t start for another hour.”
“We, uh, brought a guest,” one of them replied. They pushed forward a boy Olivia hadn’t noticed at first: Toby Decker.
Olivia knew him from math. He was wearing a gray suit with a blue polka-dot bow tie, and his blond hair was combed back from his forehead.
“Hi, Ivy. Thanks so much for having me,” he said with formal politeness. Then he gestured to the Beasts. “These guys said you had more than enough punch, and it’s going to be quite a party.”
Olivia narrowed her eyes and turned to the Beast closest to her. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”
The boy shrugged, and Olivia led him down the hall. When they were just out of earshot, she spun around. “What are you doing?” she demanded.