Diner. She could see her sister already seated at their usual booth in the back. Ivy had called her on her cell in the middle of study group and said she had to see her right away. She wouldn’t take no for an answer.
When Olivia reached the table, her sister leaped up and hugged her quickly. “My dad’s going to be here to pick me up in, like, fifteen minutes,” said Ivy, “so we don’t have much time.”
They slid into the booth opposite each other. “Let me guess,” Olivia said. “You found the perfect Mrs. Vega?”
“Better,” said Ivy. “I found the perfect explanation for us —or, rather, Mr. Daniels did. He figured out how it’s possible for you to be a human and me to be a you-know-what.”
Olivia’s heart leaped up into her throat. “Really?!” she squealed. “What’d he say?”
“Ever since we went to the V-Gen lab,” Ivy explained, “Mr. Daniels has been running all these tests on the samples he took from us.”
“The strands of our hair and stuff?” Olivia asked, remembering all the weird machines to which she’d been strapped.
“Exactly,” confirmed Ivy. “Anyway, remember how he said they wouldn’t have any results for months?”
Olivia nodded. “Well, he had a huge breakthrough much sooner than he expected!”
“Which is?” Olivia cried.
“Not very easy to explain,” Ivy admitted with a grimace. “You know how Brendan’s dad talks.”
“Ivy!” Olivia pleaded.
“Okay,” Ivy said. “I’ll do my best.” She scanned the table and grabbed the salt and pepper shakers from next to the napkin dispenser. “Pretend this salt is your DNA,” she said, shaking some onto the table. Then she made a little mound of pepper adjacent to the mound of salt. “And this is mine.”
“Oh, my goodness!” came a bubbly voice. “I know you! You’re the twins!”
Olivia looked up to see a pale waitress in a butcher’s apron smiling down on them. She was tall and thin, with her long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. “I’m Alice Bantam.”
Ivy was looking embarrassed, so Olivia smiled and said, “Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, I don’t want to bother you,” Alice blurted. “I just came to see if you wanted to order anything.” She smiled hopefully down at Olivia.
“Oh, yes, please,” Olivia replied. “How about a Sweet Strawberry Smoothie?”
“And I’ll have a Bloody Raspberry Shake,” Ivy put in.
“Be back in a flap,” Alice winked.
Ivy leaned forward to Olivia. “I think she’s new,” she whispered. “Anyway,” she picked up where she’d left off, “salt and pepper can’t mix.”
“You’ve clearly never made soup,” said Olivia.
Ivy rolled her eyes. “It’s a metaphor , Olivia . Human and vamp DNA are incompatible. That’s why the two species can’t usually breed.”
“Right,” Olivia said sheepishly.
“Mr. Daniels said that, in V-Gen’s tests, I didn’t show any traces of human DNA, and you didn’t show any traces of vamp DNA. He couldn’t understand how that could be possible, until he remembered what makes us so special.”
“Our incredible coolness?” Olivia joked.
Ivy smiled and shook her head. “The fact that we’re identical twins ,” she said. “Which means we both started in the same embryo.”
Olivia shrugged. “So?”
“So Mr. Daniels thinks that somehow the cells in the embryo became polarized. All the vamp cells went to one end,” Ivy said, using the back of her knife to push the salt away from the pepper, “and all the human cells went to the other.”
Suddenly Olivia got it. “And then the embryo split into two babies!” She gasped.
“One vamp and one human,” Ivy pronounced triumphantly. “Mr. Daniels said the odds are like a billion to one!”
Olivia’s heart did a triple handspring. We’re not a mistake , she thought. “We’re a miracle!”
Just then, Alice
When Olivia reached the table, her sister leaped up and hugged her quickly. “My dad’s going to be here to pick me up in, like, fifteen minutes,” said Ivy, “so we don’t have much time.”
They slid into the booth opposite each other. “Let me guess,” Olivia said. “You found the perfect Mrs. Vega?”
“Better,” said Ivy. “I found the perfect explanation for us —or, rather, Mr. Daniels did. He figured out how it’s possible for you to be a human and me to be a you-know-what.”
Olivia’s heart leaped up into her throat. “Really?!” she squealed. “What’d he say?”
“Ever since we went to the V-Gen lab,” Ivy explained, “Mr. Daniels has been running all these tests on the samples he took from us.”
“The strands of our hair and stuff?” Olivia asked, remembering all the weird machines to which she’d been strapped.
“Exactly,” confirmed Ivy. “Anyway, remember how he said they wouldn’t have any results for months?”
Olivia nodded. “Well, he had a huge breakthrough much sooner than he expected!”
“Which is?” Olivia cried.
“Not very easy to explain,” Ivy admitted with a grimace. “You know how Brendan’s dad talks.”
“Ivy!” Olivia pleaded.
“Okay,” Ivy said. “I’ll do my best.” She scanned the table and grabbed the salt and pepper shakers from next to the napkin dispenser. “Pretend this salt is your DNA,” she said, shaking some onto the table. Then she made a little mound of pepper adjacent to the mound of salt. “And this is mine.”
“Oh, my goodness!” came a bubbly voice. “I know you! You’re the twins!”
Olivia looked up to see a pale waitress in a butcher’s apron smiling down on them. She was tall and thin, with her long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. “I’m Alice Bantam.”
Ivy was looking embarrassed, so Olivia smiled and said, “Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, I don’t want to bother you,” Alice blurted. “I just came to see if you wanted to order anything.” She smiled hopefully down at Olivia.
“Oh, yes, please,” Olivia replied. “How about a Sweet Strawberry Smoothie?”
“And I’ll have a Bloody Raspberry Shake,” Ivy put in.
“Be back in a flap,” Alice winked.
Ivy leaned forward to Olivia. “I think she’s new,” she whispered. “Anyway,” she picked up where she’d left off, “salt and pepper can’t mix.”
“You’ve clearly never made soup,” said Olivia.
Ivy rolled her eyes. “It’s a metaphor , Olivia . Human and vamp DNA are incompatible. That’s why the two species can’t usually breed.”
“Right,” Olivia said sheepishly.
“Mr. Daniels said that, in V-Gen’s tests, I didn’t show any traces of human DNA, and you didn’t show any traces of vamp DNA. He couldn’t understand how that could be possible, until he remembered what makes us so special.”
“Our incredible coolness?” Olivia joked.
Ivy smiled and shook her head. “The fact that we’re identical twins ,” she said. “Which means we both started in the same embryo.”
Olivia shrugged. “So?”
“So Mr. Daniels thinks that somehow the cells in the embryo became polarized. All the vamp cells went to one end,” Ivy said, using the back of her knife to push the salt away from the pepper, “and all the human cells went to the other.”
Suddenly Olivia got it. “And then the embryo split into two babies!” She gasped.
“One vamp and one human,” Ivy pronounced triumphantly. “Mr. Daniels said the odds are like a billion to one!”
Olivia’s heart did a triple handspring. We’re not a mistake , she thought. “We’re a miracle!”
Just then, Alice
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