Fangtastic! (6 page)

“I saw
the Beasts working on theirs.” Ivy nodded. “Apparently, Garrick’s going to make
Charlotte Brown a star.”

“Yeah.”
Olivia sighed. “Well, Camilla and I are doing ours on this relative of my mom’s
who I never even knew about: her great-aunt Edna. She just died recently, and
it turns out she left my mom her love letters, plus some other stuff. There’s a
ruby and diamond necklace you’d love.”

“Really?”
Ivy said, her eyes lighting up. “That sounds killer.”

“It
is,” Olivia agreed.

“So
what’s wrong?”

Olivia
sighed. “Do you ever think about our real parents, Ivy?”

“Every
time my father drives me crazy,” Ivy said, cracking a smile.

“I’m
serious,” Olivia said. “All this stuff about Great-aunt Edna has really got me
thinking— about our family and history and stuff. I mean, I love my mom and dad
and I feel superlucky that they adopted me, but I wish so badly that we knew
something,
anything,
about our biological parents. Who knows? Maybe we
have grandparents somewhere, or aunts and uncles and cousins. We could have a
whole big family we don’t even know about!”

“I
thought about our parents a lot when we first found each other,” Ivy said. “I’m
lucky that my dad’s seriously great and that now I have you. But I’d like to
know more about where we came from.”

“Exactly,”
Olivia agreed as they crossed the street in front of school. “I mean, who wrote
the notes when they put us up for adoption?”

Ivy
stopped in her tracks. “What notes?”

“You
know,” Olivia clarified, “the piece of paper they left with the baby’s name and
date of birth on it.”

“I
didn’t get a note,” Ivy said. Then she murmured, “At least not that I know of.”
She bit her lip thoughtfully as they resumed walking.

“So
how did you find out about where you were born?” Olivia wondered aloud.

“My
dad told me it was in the adoption file.” Ivy replied. “But he never said
anything about a note.”

“Well,
you should ask him. Serena Star doesn’t have to be the only person in Franklin
Grove determined to discover the truth,” Olivia said.

“Thanks
for reminding me.” Ivy winced. “I only have until lunchtime to save all of
vampirekind! But as soon as I get through with that, we’ll dig up our parents
together. Okay?”

“Sounds
like a plan,” said Olivia with a grin. “Good luck getting your quote!”

Ivy
was already hurrying up the steps ahead of her. “I need it!” she called over
her shoulder.

By the
break before third period, Ivy was flitting around school like a bat that
couldn’t find its way out of a cave. Her sister came bouncing toward her,
jacketless to reveal a pink long-sleeved T-shirt that had the word “Yay!”
printed on it in blue bubble letters.

“Hey!”
Olivia said. “Any luck?”

Ivy
shook her head, feeling faintly sick. Olivia’s eyes widened. “You mean you
still

haven’t
found a quote?” Ivy ran a hand through her hair. “It’s not for lack of trying!”
she wailed.

“Okay.”
Olivia nodded. “That’s okay. We’ll think of something.” She scanned the hallways
as Ivy bit her lip hopefully.

“I got
it!” Olivia announced after a moment.

“What?
What is it?” Ivy asked eagerly.

“Mr.
Slipson,” Olivia told her.

Ivy
followed her sister’s gaze and saw the school guidance counselor, Mr. Slipson,
waving his arms wildly as he talked to Mrs. Klinter, the computer science
teacher, in front of his office. The buttons were nearly bursting off his
shirt, and a tiny paisley bow tie hung under his enormous chin. “It’s
outrageous!” Ivy heard him cry, his tiny eyeglasses nearly popping off his
round face.

The
corners of Ivy’s mouth curled. Mr. Slipson was always going off on bizarre
tangents that made no sense, and he was constantly saying things that were
completely alarming but had no basis in reality. He was utterly
perfect.

Ivy
threw her arms around Olivia. “You are seriously the best twin sister I have
ever had,” she said.

A few
moments later, Ivy was in position next to the guidance counselor. “Excuse me,”
she interrupted him. “Mr. Slipson?”

“Miss
Vega!” Mr. Slipson bellowed. “I was just telling Mrs. Klinter here about the
problem with toilet brushes.” Mrs. Klinter smiled weakly before fleeing down
the hall as if her life depended on it.

“Yes,”
Ivy said. “Um, Mr. Slipson, I wonder if I could talk to you about—”

“Of
course you can talk to me. That’s my job— I’m a listener!”

“Right.
Well, I’d love your thoughts for a story that Serena Star is doing,” said Ivy.

“Serena
Star!” Mr. Slipson gasped in delight. “Her ‘Hygiene of the Rich and Famous’
exposé last year was riveting!”

An
hour later, Ivy walked into the
Scribe
office with Sophia. This time,
they were the first ones to arrive, except Principal Whitehead and Serena Star
herself.

“Good
morning,” Ivy said as brightly as she could, taking the seat next to Serena.

“Good
morning,” replied Serena Star. “As the senior writer here, did you get your
quote?”

Ivy
leaned closer to Serena and whispered, “Garrick Stephens is just the tip of the
iceberg.”

Serena
Star’s wide eyes shone with excitement. “Well, I can’t wait to hear what you’ve
learned,” she said approvingly.

Camilla
came in and went over to the cameraman. “This is that
Eighth Dimension
book I was telling you about,” Ivy heard her say as she handed him a dog-eared
paperback.

“Thanks,
Camilla,” the cameraman replied with an appreciative nod.

The
rest of the staff filed in. Toby sat down on the other side of Serena,
straightened his polkadot tie, and folded his hands on the table in front of
him.

He
looks confident,
thought Ivy, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

“Let’s
get started,” announced Serena expectantly. “Who wants to go first?”

Marnie
Squingle raised her hand, and Serena Star pointed to her.

Marnie
cleared her throat and read from her notebook. “ ‘Justin Fairfax, a Franklin
Grove Middle School eighth-grader who has gym class with Garrick Stephens, told
me—and I quote— “Garrick Stephens has the worst BO ever. He smells like death.”’
” Marnie lifted her face with a look of smug satisfaction.

“That’s
it?” said Serena.

“He
smells ‘
like death.
’ ” Marnie nodded. “Isn’t that shocking?”

“No,”
replied Serena, “not really. Who’s next?”

Rudy
Preston waved his beefy arm in the air. He glanced at the piece of a paper in
front of him and then folded it up and put it in his pocket.

He
must have memorized his quote
,
Ivy thought, impressed.

Rudy
looked around the table and began. “I want to be Serena Star’s assistant
because she is the most beautiful, intelligent, interesting reporter working
today,” he said in a steady voice. “I admire her courage, her sense of justice,
and her perfect smile. I remember the first time I saw her on television. I was—”

“Time
out,” Serena interrupted. “Is any of this going to be about Garrick Stephens
and his cult?”

Rudy’s
eyes crossed. “I thought you just wanted the best quote.”

“Next,”
Serena said dismissively. Rudy opened his mouth and shut it again, clearly not
understanding where he’d gone wrong.

“Poor
guy,” Sophia whispered in Ivy’s ear.

Next
was Will Kerrell. Nervous at the best of times, he glued his eyes to his
notebook and read in a rushed monotone, “ ‘Those Beasts are into heavy metal
music, and everyone knows that if you play that stuff backward, it will make
you eat the head off a bat, and then you’ll run into the street screaming and
your eyeballs will explode and your brains will go everywhere!’ ”

“Who
said that?” asked Serena.

“My
cousin Charlie,” Will told her. “He’s in high school.”

“Well,
he’s absolutely right,” Serena said. “Unfortunately, heavy metal is old news.”

At
this rate,
Ivy
thought hopefully,
I just might get the assistant job.
She took a deep
breath and raised her hand.

“Let’s
hear it,” invited Serena.

“My
quote is from Franklin Grove’s very concerned guidance counselor, Mr. Reginald
Slipson,” Ivy said. “Mr. Slipson has long suspected that something is very
wrong with students in Franklin Grove. According to him, this latest incident
at the graveyard was a perfect example of the sinister problem that is
threatening our community.”

“This
sounds promising,” Serena murmured. Sophia looked at Ivy encouragingly.

“Mr.
Slipson has done some digging into the school records,” Ivy continued, “and he’s
noticed a disturbing pattern. It appears students aren’t getting enough sleep
at night. In fact, he would bet that Franklin Grove has more students falling asleep
in class than anywhere else in the nation!”

“Why?”
asked Serena.

“Yes,
why is that?” asked Principal Whitehead.

Ivy
raised her eyebrows. “I think you’ll all be shocked by the answer,” she said.
Then she paused for effect and cleared her throat. “I quote Mr. Slipson
directly: ‘What, exactly, are these students doing when normal people are in
bed? Horrible things.
Unnatural
things!’ ”

Serena
Star’s eyes were wider than Ivy had ever seen them. Ivy leaned back in her seat
and shared a triumphant look with Sophia.

After
a second, Serena said, “Don’t stop there.”

“W-what?”
Ivy stammered.

“Tell
us the rest of your quote. What kind of ‘unnatural’ things?”

Ivy
hesitated. She had really hoped that what she’d read would be enough to do the
trick.

“Go
on!” Serena insisted, and Sophia looked at Ivy hopefully.

Ivy
read Mr. Slipson’s quote in its entirety, her voice getting quieter and quieter
as she went along. “ ‘What, exactly, are these students doing when normal
people are in bed? Horrible things.
Unnatural
things! Eating junk foods
packed with additives, listening to portable music devices, surfing the
Internet, playing video games, watching satellite television beamed from the
sky. This insomniac epidemic is destroying our youth!’ ”

Serena
tapped her pink fingernails on the table. “I liked the beginning,” she said, “but
then you lost me. Help me out here. Is the scoop that kids are staying up late?”

“Exactly,”
Ivy agreed.

Serena
nodded. “I was afraid so.” Then she added, “What a snooze.” Everyone laughed.

Ivy
pressed her hands into the table. “The truth is sometimes less sensational than
we imagine, Ms. Star.”

“I
know,” Serena said. “Isn’t that the
worst
?”

Ivy
closed her notebook, trying not to look defeated. She knew that her quote wasn’t
what Serena Star was hoping for, but maybe the beginning would be good enough
to get her the assistant job.
Or at least,
Ivy thought doubtfully,
convince
her that there’s no deep, dark secret in Franklin Grove.

Soon
the only person left to try out was Toby. He pulled a leather briefcase up onto
the table and said, “Before I begin, allow me to thank you, Serena Star, for
this extraordinary opportunity.” Then he opened the briefcase and pulled out a
single piece of typed paper, as if he were about to present an opening argument
before the Supreme Court.

“I owe
my quote to the dental profession,” Toby began, stowing away his briefcase. “And,
more specifically, to my dental hygienist, Ms. Monica Messler.”

Serena
was not looking impressed.

Next
to dentistry, my quote might not seem so boring after all,
Ivy thought, brightening.

“Allow
me to explain,” Toby continued. “I was at a dentist appointment yesterday
afternoon, when a repeat of the morning edition of
The Morning Star
came
on the television above my chair. Ms. Messler, who was cleaning my teeth at the
time, said that she recognized Garrick Stephens. He had recently come to the
dentist’s office.”

Suddenly,
a dark and heavy feeling spread through Ivy’s chest. She and Sophia exchanged
worried glances as Toby said, “Ms. Messler said it was a very strange visit.”

Serena
Star leaned forward, clearly interested now.

“I
nearly choked on the suction tube trying to ask her more about it. Here is what
she said....” Toby looked down at his sheet of paper. “ ‘Garrick Stephens came
into the office last Thursday. He wanted to know how much a set of vampire
fangs would cost.’ ”

Ivy
felt her skin flush, and she thought she might faint. She closed her eyes,
trying to make the dizziness go away, and felt Sophia grab her hand tightly
underneath the table. Ivy opened her eyes to find Serena Star staring right at
her. Ivy looked away quickly.