14 Flipping Out - My Sister the Vampire Read Online Free PDF

grip. ‘I’m just
so
sorry. I’m Bela, by the way. Let me make it up to you? My
father has a store card at Macy’s.
Please
let me take you there this afternoon! You can pick up a gift and –’
    ‘No! No, thank you.’ Ivy yanked her hand out of Bela’s clinging grip.
Too. Much. Apologising!
    Bela looked crushed.
    Ivy bit her tongue against the death-squint she could feel forming on her face. Then she winced at the sudden stab of pain.
I really need to get to the dentist, and soon!
    Through gritted teeth, she said, ‘It’s fine.
I’m
fine. But, Bela, please. Get. Out. Of. My. Way.’
    By the time she finally got to the corner table she’d been aiming for, she felt like she’d been through a battlefield. She looked down at her medium burger and groaned.
It has to
be cold by now.
    Then again . . .
Silver lining? Maybe it’ll do a good impression of a real, rare burger!
    Quirking her lips at the idea, she sat down. Immediately, she realised her tactical mistake.
Uh-oh.
    The small, rectangular table she’d chosen could seat up to six people. All five empty seats were just waiting to be filled . . . and, based on recent events, people were going to want to
sit
with
her now! She could already feel the eyes on her from the rest of the cafeteria, and hear the furious whispering as people debated whether or not they dared to join her.
    Don’t even think about it!
Ivy hunched her shoulders defensively, leaning over her tray. She’d promised Olivia they would sit together at lunch. Not only did she want to
spend more time with her sister, but she really wanted all the other students to get used to her having a non-goth twin. Then maybe they’d stop whispering rude things about her . . . and Ivy
would stop wanting to punch them all!
    Unfortunately, Olivia’s first stop at lunchtime had to be the school counsellor’s office, to work out her late-enrolment issues. She wouldn’t be here for at least ten
minutes.
    How am I supposed to guard five empty seats for that whole time, all by myself   ?
    Clenching her hands around her burger, she sent off her strongest
Don’t come near me
vibes and bit into the burger, hard.
    The burger was every bit as cold as she’d imagined. Tough, chewy and flavourless. She forced herself to keep eating just to fill her stomach, but it couldn’t hold her attention as
she felt the cafeteria filling up around her.
Come on, Olivia. Hurry up!
    Tapping one booted foot nervously under the table, Ivy mentally counted off the number of spare seats against the number of students and trays. Soon, she might have no choice but to let someone
sit opposite her . . . and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t think of any way to translate ‘Get away from me’ into polite English.
There’s only so much
grumpiness the word ‘please’ can excuse!
    She closed her eyes for a moment in despair.
Oh, my darkness, it’s only the second week of school. What will I be like by the end of the year?
    As she chewed doggedly on her unappealing burger, taking tiny bites to minimise the taste, a parade of people tried to ‘subtly’ walk by her with their trays of food, their footsteps
lagging as they passed her table. She tried not to look, but she couldn’t miss the way their eyes lit up with hope – hope that she might let them sit at her table.
    Argh.
Ivy couldn’t bear it.
How do I reject them without being mean?
    She lunged for her bag, searching for something she could use as a shield. Textbooks wouldn’t work, but maybe . . .
Yes!
She could feel a small paperback inside.
Maybe if
I’m totally absorbed in reading, people will leave me alone!
    She snatched the paperback out of her bag and opened it to the middle section, as if she were already halfway through. Almost burying her face in it, she began to fake-read without even looking
at the cover, screwing up her face in an expression of intense concentration.
    Behind her, she heard someone gasp. Then someone else whispered, ‘Is she