Flipping Out!. Sienna Mercer

tourist T-shirt was one more reminder of just how far away she had been – but now that she was home, everything finally felt right again to Ivy. From the grin on Olivia’s face – and the heart she’d drawn on her T-shirt! – it looked like everything was going right for Olivia, too.

      Ivy’s sister gave an impatient bounce as she turned to look at her adoptive parents, who were snoring loudly in the backseat. ‘I can’t believe they’re both sleeping. I have never felt so awake!’

      Ivy rolled her eyes. ‘Tell me about it. You’ve been fidgeting ever since you got here!’ But her smile was affectionate as she gazed at her twin.

      The Abbotts had flown to London a week ago so that Olivia could film scenes for the upcoming Hollywood film Eternal Sunset. Now Olivia should have been crashing, after being up all night on the plane ride home. But between the hectic filming schedule she had just gone through, her crazy levels of jet lag, and her giddy happiness over her reunion with Jackson, she was acting exactly like a bumble bee that had rolled in sugar. Ivy had never seen her twin so hyper.

      ‘Ooh! I almost forgot!’ Olivia let out a squeak of excitement, diving down to grab the bag from between her glittering pink tennis shoes. ‘I have gifts ! I got you guys so many souvenirs.’

      ‘Just wait!’ Laughing, Ivy put one hand on her twin’s arm. ‘It’s too cramped in here for gift-giving. Plus, Dad’s busy driving, and your parents are out like lights. Why don’t you hand them out when we get home to Undertaker Hill?’

      ‘You’re right. Of course you’re right.’ Nodding firmly, Olivia gave another little bounce. ‘We should build suspense. That way, we’ll all enjoy the pay-off even more when it comes!’

      ‘Is this movie-talk?’ Ivy raised her eyebrows, thinking of Olivia’s cinema-obsessed best friend Camilla. ‘I think you’re the first of us to get fluent in Camilla-ese!’

      Before Olivia could reply, her adoptive father lurched forwards in his seat.

      Still asleep, he bellowed, ‘Forget shape and structure! They have no meaning he-ahhhhhzzz . . .’

      His last word was swallowed by an enormous snore as his head fell back against the seat.

      Ivy and Olivia both had to cover their mouths to hold back their giggles. Even Charles Vega, in the front of the car, looked as if he was choking back a laugh.

      ‘Welcome home,’ Ivy whispered to her sister, giving her a hug.

      Back at Ivy’s house, her dad and stepmom, Lillian, laid out a light breakfast for the returning trio. Even cereal and toast didn’t seem to be enough to fight the jet lag, though. Mrs Abbott had to excuse herself to go upstairs after less than five minutes.

      ‘I need to splash some water on my face,’ she said. ‘Maybe that’ll wake me up.’

      ‘Of course,’ Lillian said. ‘Please make yourself at home.’ As Mrs Abbott walked out of the room, Lillian turned to Olivia and Mr Abbott. ‘Won’t you two tell me about your flight?’

      ‘Well . . .’ Olivia began. Then she stopped, as Mr Abbott’s head suddenly lolled forwards.

      Ivy gasped as he began to fall face first into his cereal bowl . . .

      . . . Only to catch himself just in time. He jerked back as he grunted awake, sending his silver spoon flying through the air, too high and fast for any human to catch.

      But none of the Vegas were human.

      Charles Vega’s hand flashed up with vampire speed and snatched the spoon from mid-air.

      Uh-oh. Ivy stared at her father. That was a mistake. A real human couldn’t have done that!

      Next to Charles, Lillian was visibly wincing, while Olivia looked just as alarmed as Ivy felt. Talk about a vampire giveaway! Even Charles seemed to realise his mistake. He gave the spoon in his hand a stern glance, looking as annoyed as if he’d found a shoe in his closet that wasn’t perfectly polished.

      Luckily, Mr Abbott was clearly too zonked to have noticed. There’s one advantage of jet lag, Ivy thought ruefully. It keeps you from noticing the vampires all around you!

      ‘Whew.’ Mrs Abbott walked back into the room, her face still pink and damp-looking. ‘I can’t believe how tired I am.’

      ‘I can imagine.’ Lillian Vega smiled sympathetically. ‘I’ve been on enough red-eye flights for my own movie jobs. I know exactly how difficult jet lag can be.’

      ‘Do you know, I’m so exhausted, I’m actually having hallucinations.’ Mrs Abbott collapsed back on to her stool at the breakfast bar, rubbing her eyes. ‘As I was walking past Ivy’s room, I could have sworn I saw a coffin inside!’

      Oops. I must have forgotten to close my bedroom door. ‘Ha! Ha.’ Ivy almost choked on her forced laughter. ‘Just imagine! A coffin in a bedroom. Isn’t that funny?’

      But she cringed at the look her father gave her. This one was the look he had when something really serious went wrong, like a stain on one of his silk shirts.

      ‘What were you thinking?’ Olivia hissed into her ear. ‘You know you need to keep your door locked when you have “bunny-company” around the house!’

      ‘Did you just say something about bunnies, sweetheart?’ Mrs Abbott frowned at Olivia as she picked up her last piece of toast. ‘Or was I imagining that, too?’

      Olivia’s cheeks flushed. ‘Umm . . .’

      Her adoptive mother stared at her. ‘Why would you be talking to Ivy about rabbits?’

      Lillian leaned forwards, gracious as always, to rescue the situation. ‘You must tell me,’ she said to Mrs Abbott, ‘what did you think of London’s sights?’

      ‘Oh, London . . .’ Mrs Abbott gave a sigh of delight. ‘It was amazing. The culture! The architecture! The –’

      ‘I’ll just clear up,’ Ivy mumbled, as she felt her dad’s disapproving gaze lingering on her.

      ‘I’ll help.’ Olivia bounced to her feet. ‘I can’t sit still anyway!’

      ‘Thanks.’ As Ivy started gathering up plates, she gave her dad an apologetic look. ‘Sorry,’ she said in a low voice, aiming her words at both him and Olivia. ‘It’s been such a crazy time, I’m just a little absent-minded right now.’

      Olivia’s adoptive parents might be wonderful people, but they were still bunnies – humans who weren’t in on the vampire secret – and they could never be allowed to find out. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have forgotten to close the door of her bedroom.

      Ivy had just started high school, though . . . and the circumstances were anything but ‘normal’.

      Olivia’s energy seemed to dim a bit for the first time since she’d arrived. ‘Is high school really as tough as you said in our Lonely Echo chats?’

      ‘Just wait until tomorrow,’ Ivy told her, as Charles joined in with the others’ conversation. ‘You’ll see for yourself. And wait until the homework starts rolling in – you’ll need to learn how to write while wearing gloves!’

      Olivia blinked, then shook her head. ‘OK, it can’t just be jet lag. That comment made no sense at all.’

      ‘Trust me.’ Ivy leaned close to whisper in her twin’s ear. ‘Even my RHP’ – Rapid Healing Process – ‘struggles to keep up with all the paper-cuts I’m getting from the mountains of essays.’

      ‘Ouch.’ Olivia sighed as she picked up the last of the plates. ‘Well, I’m still not dreading the new school . . . but I really wish I could take a day off to recover after all my travelling.’