Fangtastic! (3 page)

Ivy
pushed her locker door shut to find Sophia attached to the boots.

“Where
have you been?” Sophia demanded.

“Tidying
my locker,” Ivy answered sheepishly.

“Tidying
your locker!?” Sophia repeated incredulously. “Well, while you were cleaning
out your locker, Serena Star convinced Principal Whitehead to call a meeting
with the staff of the
Scribe
!” The
Franklin Grove Scribe
was the
school paper, where Ivy was senior writer and Sophia was a photographer.

“Why?”
Ivy asked.

“I don’t
know,” Sophia answered, “but it can’t be good!”

“When’s
the meeting?”

Sophia
looked at her watch with false nonchalance. “Oh, you know . . . RIGHT NOW!” she
replied, pushing Ivy along in front of her.

As
they charged through the halls, Sophia whispered, “You know we’re the only
vamps on staff.”

“That’s
why we have to get on Serena’s good side,” Ivy responded, following her friend
through the frosted-glass
Scribe
office door. She saw at once that they
were the last to arrive; everyone else was already seated around the big
editorial table. At the far end of the room stood Serena Star with Principal
Whitehead at her side.

She’s
so much shorter than she looks on TV
,
thought Ivy.

“Thank
you for joining us,” Serena Star said with a flash of her brilliant smile as
she shot a tiny glance over the girls’ shoulders.

Ivy
turned to find herself face-to-face with a WowTV camera lens. She hadn’t
noticed the cameraman squeezed into the corner by the door. For a moment, she
felt as if she’d been turned to stone; she
 hated
being in front of
cameras, crowds, and tape recorders.

Camera
or no camera, I have to charm Serena Star
, she told herself. With a gulp, Ivy looked right at
Serena and smiled as brightly as she could. “As the senior writer of the
Franklin
Grove Scribe
, allow me to say what an honor it is to meet a journalist of
your, uh, standing, Ms. Star. I’m sure we all have a great deal to learn from
you.”

“Thank
you,” said Serena Star, clearly flattered by the praise. She gestured to the
boy sitting closest to her. “This young man has just finished saying so
himself.”

Toby
Decker, one of the best reporters on staff, blushed slightly. His blond hair
was combed neatly off his face, and he was dressed in a blue button-down shirt
and a red power tie. Ivy thought he looked like he was running for office.

Sophia
and Ivy grabbed two seats next to Camilla Edmunson, who was the paper’s book
reviewer.

Serena
officiously placed her palms on the table. “I called you here, fellow
reporters, because I need your help.”

“We’ll
do whatever we can,” said Toby eagerly, and everyone nodded.

“Good,”
said Serena. “Because I’d like one of you to work with me on my nationally
covered story about life here in Franklin Grove.”

A
bunch of people gasped.

“You
mean, be your assistant?” asked Will Kerrell, a seventh-grader who usually
covered sports.

“Exactly.”
Serena Star nodded. She paused to let the information sink in. “I’m holding an
audition, and the person who wins gets to be my assistant.”

“How
exciting!” Principal Whitehead said approvingly.

What
is she up to?
Ivy
wondered suspiciously.

Serena
Star looked around the table with her wide eyes. “To audition, you have to get
out there and get me a quote about Garrick Stephens and his coffin.”

“What
kind of quote?” asked Kelly Marlings, flipping open her spiral pad and
furiously starting to take notes.

“Something
juicy,” replied Serena Star, “something that will make the American public sit
up and take notice. And the person who gets the best quote will get to help me,
WowTV’s Serena Star, with my story,” she finished, her eyes sparkling.

Ivy
was beginning to see what Serena had in mind.
She’s using us to find out
stuff no adult could,
she thought.

Ivy
felt Sophia slip a piece of paper into her hand. She unfolded it beneath the
table and glanced down to see one of her friend’s hastily drawn bunny cartoons.
Surrounded by a bunch of wide-eyed baby bunnies was a particularly thin bunny
with enormous eyes, long hair, and a sparkly smile—Serena Star, obviously. Her
speech balloon said, “The first little bunny to give up their fur wins a rabbit
coat!”

Ivy
hid her smile.
Serena Star isn’t the most ethical reporter,
she thought,
but she’s not as dumb as I thought.

Ivy
cleared her throat. “Does the quote have to be about Garrick Stephens’s stunt
at the cemetery?” she asked. “I mean, that was just a lame practical joke,
right?”

“I
think there’s more to the story,” Serena said meaningfully, “and a good
reporter will find out what.”

So
much for my attempt to derail her,
Ivy thought.

Camilla
raised her hand, looking a little bored. “Does everyone need to get a quote? I
mean, I’m more of a critic than a reporter.”

“Only
those with investigative reporting experience need apply,” Serena answered.

Ivy
saw Sophia grin at Camilla and whisper, “Looks like you and me are off the
hook!”

“Well,
for those of you who do audition, I cannot imagine a greater opportunity than
working with a journalist as respected as Serena Star,” Principal Whitehead
said.

A
snort of disdain erupted from Sophia. Ivy kicked her under the table, and her
friend tried to make it seem like something had been caught in her throat. She
descended into a dramatic coughing fit, shrugging at Ivy in a way that said “Oops.”
Camilla was also suppressing giggles.

If
Serena Star noticed, she didn’t show it. She flashed her trademark smile at the
staffers around the table. “You have twenty-four hours to get your quotes. May
the best reporter win!” she declared.

“Thank
you, Ms. Star,” Toby Decker said professionally. With that, the
Scribe
staff started to file out of the room, chattering about their highprofile
assignment. Sophia started to leave, too, but Ivy put a hand on her arm. They
had to talk to Serena first.

“See
you,” Camilla said to Ivy and Sophia and headed toward the door. Just before
she reached it, though, Ivy saw her do a double take and walk over to the
cameraman.

“That’s
the Sign of the Cyborg!” Camilla said, pointing to a symbol on the guy’s
T-shirt.

“
You’re
a Coal Knightley fan?” he responded.

Soon
they were deep in conversation about Coal Knightley’s books.

Meanwhile,
Ivy and Sophia went over to talk to Serena. The reporter grabbed Ivy’s hand and
shook it. As she did, she peered down at Ivy’s fingers. “Interesting choice of
nail polish,” she said, raising her other hand and signaling her cameraman to
come closer. He was too busy talking to Camilla to notice, so Serena smiled at
Ivy in a plastic way and waved her free hand more frantically. Finally she
snapped, “Martin!”

“Sorry!”
Martin the cameraman said, rushing over as Camilla left the room.

Serena
huffed and let go of Ivy’s hand at last. She looked at her and Sophia
intensely. “You two must be friends with Garrick Stephens.”

Sophia
scoffed, and Ivy elbowed her before she said something rash. “Do you mean
because we wear dark clothes?” Ivy asked innocently.

Serena
Star nodded. “Exactly.”

Ivy
frowned. “You mean you agree with stereotypes?”

“What?”
Serena Star spluttered. “No. Of course not.”

“Thank
goodness,” Ivy said, “because Principal Whitehead always says that a great
reporter is never swayed by prejudice.” She smiled at the principal over Serena
Star’s shoulder.

“That
I do!” Principal Whitehead confirmed cheerfully.

“I
couldn’t agree more,” Serena said stiffly, glancing uncomfortably toward the
camera. She changed the subject. “So where do you kids hang out?”

“The
diner,” Sophia told her with a shrug.

“Which
diner?” Serena Star asked immediately.

“We
like the Meat & Greet,” Ivy replied.

“Is
that the one that’s decorated like a meat locker?” Serena Star said.

Uh-oh,
thought Ivy.
She’s digging, and
soon she’s going to hit a coffin.
“Plus I love Mister Smoothies,” Ivy lied.

“Me,
too,” Sophia chimed in quickly.

Serena
Star paused. “So you two don’t know Garrick Stephens?”

Ivy
and Sophia didn’t say anything.

“And
you don’t know anything about him or his friends?” Serena pressed.

“Everyone
calls them the Beasts,” Toby piped up from a few feet away. Ivy hadn’t even
realized he was still there.

Serena
Star nodded at him encouragingly, and Toby went on. “They’re always playing
practical jokes and things. Several weeks ago, they dragged me to a party at
Ivy’s house, even though they knew I wasn’t invited.”

Ivy
winced. Serena turned to look at her. “You invited Garrick Stephens to a party?”

“Just
a, you know, a Halloween party.” Ivy gulped. “Lots of people were invited.”

“But
not Toby, who you work with closely on the school paper?” Serena said
pointedly. Ivy shrugged helplessly.

Serena
Star turned back to Toby. “What else can you tell me about Garrick and his
friends?”

“I
think they’re into heavy metal,” Toby said, “although that might just be their
T-shirts. And they’re always saying weird things, like ‘bloodsucker’ this and ‘bloodsucker’
that.”

Ivy’s
mouth went dry.

“Bloodsucker?”
Serena’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,”
Toby replied.

Serena
looked at her cameraman. “That’s a wrap,” she said. She didn’t even thank Toby
or anything. “Looks like we have some investigating to do, Martin. Let’s start
by doing some undercover eating at this Meat & Greet, where
certain
elements
seem to hang out.” She looked at Ivy and Sophia meaningfully. Then
she marched out of the room, her cameraman hurrying after her.

“Celebrities.”
Toby shrugged at Ivy and Sophia by way of explanation. They smiled back at him
awkwardly.

A few
moments later, Ivy and Sophia were trudging down the hall toward the cafeteria.

“You’ve
got to do something, Ivy,” Sophia said.

“Me?”
Ivy cried. “What about
you
?”

“I can’t.
I’m just a photographer,” Sophia said. “You have to get that assistant job.”

Ivy
knew her friend was right, but it wasn’t going to be easy. “I have a feeling
Serena Star doesn’t trust me very much.”

“You
have to make her!” Sophia pleaded.

Ivy
thought about it and pushed her hair out of her face. “What I need to do is come
up with a killer quote that is also completely misleading.”

“Hey,
that’s all Serena Star does every day,” Sophia said with an encouraging smile. “And
you’re much smarter than she is.”

At
that very moment, Serena Star rushed past with her cameraman in tow. “Didn’t
the actor Hank Hogart call his wife a bloodsucker after their divorce?” the
girls heard her say. “Maybe there’s a connection there!”

Sophia
and Ivy looked at each other and then burst out laughing as they pushed through
the cafeteria doors.

As she
walked into media studies class, Olivia was having a hard time not imagining an
angry mob storming into school and carrying off her sister for the WowTV
cameras. She absentmindedly took her seat beside Camilla as the bell rang.

In
strolled Mr. Colton wearing dark sunglasses and his trademark short-sleeved
Hawaiian shirt. “Good afternoon, media moguls!” he sang, dramatically throwing
his old leather briefcase onto his desk. “Judging from all the TV cameras
around here, I’d say it’s quite a day for media studies at Franklin Grove.”

He
scanned the class until his eyes rested over Olivia’s shoulder.

“Mr.
Stephens, it’s clear from your little performance at the cemetery that last
month’s journalism segment made quite an impression on you.” Olivia and Camilla
both turned around to see Garrick sitting with the other Beasts at the table
behind them, an ear-to-ear grin above his Interna 3 T-shirt. “Maybe next time,
you’ll actually complete the assignment on time,” Mr. Colton finished with his
eyebrows raised.

Ouch,
thought Olivia. She couldn’t help
feeling pleased as the smile fell right off Garrick’s face.

Mr.
Colton dug into his briefcase and held up a sheaf of papers. “Drum roll,
please!”

Everyone
started drumming on their desks with their fingertips. The thrumming got louder
and louder, until Olivia and Camilla were slapping the table they shared with
their hands.