Star Style (12 page)

‘This barely feels like an airplane,’ Olivia whispered to Ivy as she sat in a white leather
designer armchair, looking around at the wood panelling and huge flat-screen TV. ‘It’s more like a swanky living room at twenty thousand feet.’

‘I can’t believe there’s something that beats first-class travel to Europe!’ Ivy replied, stuffing a Californian sushi roll into her mouth. When they had gone to meet their Transylvanian relatives, their grandparents had paid for them to travel first class.

Today, the private lounge at the airport had been huge and stocked with a fresh sandwich bar. Brendan had come to see them off and had a Philly cheese steak sub. Jackson had already flown out. He’d taken a day off school and left the day before for the award show’s dress rehearsal.

Olivia glanced out of the window at puffy white clouds in a blue sky.
I am on my way to Hollywood!
she thought. Later that night, she would be attending a star-studded award
ceremony with her movie-star boyfriend and she wouldn’t have to keep the secret any more. It still felt a little unreal.

‘More sushi?’ asked the stewardess, poking her head through the curtain.

‘Yes, please!’ Ivy piped up.

Olivia stared at her. ‘Well, it seems there are some things you could learn to live with.’

Ivy stuffed the last piece of sushi into her mouth and rolled her eyes at Olivia, making her laugh.

Olivia shook her head and gazed out of the tiny window at the ground far below.

‘Hollywood, look out!’ said Mr Vega. Olivia couldn’t agree more. They were on their way!

In what seemed like no time at all, the private jet had landed and Olivia was following Mr Vega and Lillian out on to the tarmac, where a stretched black limo was waiting for them.

The bright sunshine felt warm on her skin after the cold air-conditioned plane, and the sky was bright blue.

‘Miss Abbott,’ said the chauffeur as he held the door for her. He was huge, and was probably more like a bodyguard than a chauffeur. ‘I’m Frank.’

Once they were all settled in the luxurious back seat, Frank turned around and said, ‘I hope you don’t mind, folks, but Mr Harker has asked me to show you some of the sights.’

Olivia clapped her hands. ‘A private tour!’ she squealed.

‘It seems we would like that very much,’ said Mr Vega.

Frank set off, winding the mammoth car around the city streets. As they drove away from the airport, the scene changed from rundown houses to wide streets with plush green lawns and leafy trees.

‘Most people think Hollywood is where all the glamour is,’ Frank said. ‘But actual Hollywood ain’t pretty. The stars all live in Beverley Hills and that’s where we are right now.’

The houses were huge and there were palm trees everywhere.

‘Is this like your house?’ Ivy asked Lillian.

‘Ha!’ Lillian replied. ‘I have a teeny apartment on the other side of LA. These properties are for the mega-rich.’

Soon, they were driving past rows of stores.

‘Oh, my pom poms!’ Olivia squealed. ‘That’s Serendipity Fashion! And that’s Kevin Greene! We’re on Rodeo Drive!’ She knew Ivy wouldn’t be as excited, but she was glad to see her sister still smiling.

‘Beverley Hills is six square miles of shopping, eating and luxurious living,’ Frank went on. ‘There are no hospitals and no cemeteries in the
city limits, which means that, technically, no one is born or dies in Beverly Hills.’

‘And that’s not even counting the vampires,’ Ivy whispered.

Olivia giggled. She wondered how many of the undead were wandering about in this town.

‘Look at that dress!’ Ivy declared, pointing out of the window at the Asante couture store. The dress on display was layers of rainbow colours with a huge u-shaped cut-out in the skirt – just like Spencer’s creation.

‘That’s a rip-off of your skirt from the premiere,’ said Lillian. ‘And that girl there is wearing one, too.’

‘Except no one had to spill latte on them, to make them look like that!’ Olivia joked.

‘Where Olivia goes,’ Ivy teased, ‘the rest of the world follows.’

Olivia took a deep breath. It was almost like an
unintended welcome. She could feel it; something big was going to happen this weekend.

‘Why would anyone need three sinks in one bathroom?’ Ivy asked.

‘Why don’t you just enjoy the luxury?’ Olivia suggested.

Ivy sighed. The suite was so over-the-top that it made her feel uncomfortable: marble floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and an enormous bunch of fresh flowers in every room. All Ivy needed was a warm coffin somewhere to snuggle into.

Mr Vega and Lillian were in a meeting with Mr Harker about how his girls would be treated during filming. Ivy and Olivia were waiting for Frank to come and pick them up and take them on some mystery Hollywood adventure.

‘I just want to say,’ Olivia said, perching on the floral print chaise longue in the suite’s sitting
room. ‘All this craziness isn’t what it’s about for me.’

‘I know,’ Ivy replied, taking a sip from her fluted glass of milkshake.

‘Don’t get me wrong, all this nice stuff is great.’ Olivia grinned. ‘But I want to do this because I think acting is the thing I’m really good at.’

‘It is,’ Ivy agreed. ‘And that’s why all these amazing things are happening for you. I’m just the black fly in your soup.’

Olivia sighed and Ivy felt that familiar pit of doom in her stomach.

‘Harker’s going to hate me the minute he gets me on set,’ Ivy said. ‘He doesn’t realise that I’m no good. We’ve got to make him understand!’

‘You know what?’ Olivia said at last. ‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘What do you mean?’ Ivy asked.

‘There will be other roles,’ Olivia said. ‘This crazy media baiting has nothing to do with making a good movie. Harker is just being dramatic.’

Ivy felt the pit filling in with a little bit of hope.

‘I can’t cope with all the secrets I’ve got to keep in this town. You. Jackson. So I’m just not going to worry about it any more,’ Olivia declared. ‘I’m going to enjoy this experience.’

There was a knock at the door. ‘Ladies?’ It was Frank. ‘Ready to go?’

‘Coming!’ Olivia called. She grinned at Ivy. ‘Let’s be tourists and do some star-spotting!’

They grabbed their bags and hurried out into the hallway where Frank was waiting under a huge chandelier. He tipped his hat and they stepped into the mirrored elevator.

‘Where are we going, Frank?’ Ivy asked, checking her teeth in the mirror.

‘I suppose I don’t have to keep it secret any
longer,’ he replied. ‘To one of the biggest film studios in LA.’

‘Which one?’ Olivia wanted to know.

Frank grinned as the elevator door dinged open on to the underground parking lot. ‘Rumour has it you might get to see the Killer Bees making their latest music video . . .’

Ivy gasped. The Killer Bees were one of her and Brendan’s favourite bands!

‘Or even the mega-famous Jackson Caulfield strolling around in-between takes,’ Frank finished as he opened the door to their limo.

Ivy smiled. Of course, Frank wouldn’t know that Olivia and Jackson were dating because it was still a big secret.

‘The Killer Bees!’ she whispered. Maybe this trip to Hollywood wouldn’t be such a drag after all.

After a short drive, they pulled in through
some huge gates with a security guard peering in through their windscreen. There were warehouse buildings neatly lining a grid of streets, and people in golf carts zipping around. They drove past two men carrying an enormous Christmas tree and a woman dressed in an Elizabethan dress. It looked like chaos, but a lot of fun.

They pulled into a long parking space, designed just for limos.

Frank opened the door and helped them step out. ‘Mr Harker will meet you in about half an hour, over on Lot 3.’ He handed them a map of the huge complex. ‘But until then, you can go anywhere you like.’ He gave them two laminated passes with VIP written in big red letters.

Ivy kept scanning the crowd for any sign of James, Joe or John from the Killer Bees.

The map showed various studios and had little notes on their history.

‘Ooh, that’s where Wacky Walrus was made!’ Ivy declared. ‘I loved that show when I was little.’

Olivia laughed. ‘Me too! Wa-cky Wal-rus likes to dance and sing . . .’

Ivy joined in for the second line, ‘Wa-cky Wal-rus, he’s the walrus king!’

Ivy squinted in the sun. ‘I’m glad Lillian lent me her sun block. It’s so hot!’

The sisters wandered across the sunny lot to the door marked VIP ONLY.

‘Oooh.’ Ivy played with the VIP pass around her neck, waving it in the air even though there was no one there to see it. ‘VIP, that’s me!’ she said and Olivia giggled.

Her sister stuck her nose in the air. ‘I’m very important, let me through!’

‘Hey you!’ shouted someone. ‘You can’t go in there!’

Olivia and Ivy swivelled around, their VIP
badges swinging from their cords.

It was a bald security man, and he did not look amused, but as soon as he saw their passes, he stopped. ‘My apologies, ladies,’ he said, backing off. ‘Guests of Mr Harker are welcome anywhere.’

‘Uh, thanks,’ Ivy said. It was funny when they were pretending, but people bowing and scraping like that really made her uncomfortable.

Olivia pushed open the door to Studio 6 and Ivy followed her inside. The motion-sensor lights flickered on when they walked in to reveal a huge open space with wires snaking across the floor and random props everywhere.

‘Look!’ Olivia said, her voice echoing oddly in the emptiness.

She had found a display of Wacky Walrus merchandise and photographs behind the scenery. Olivia picked up one of the soft-toy versions
of Wacky Walrus and made it dance through the air.

‘Wa-cky Wal-rus,’ she sang and Ivy joined in.

They started skipping around the studio, shouting the song louder and louder.

Olivia made Wacky Walrus sit on one of the tall, expensive-looking cameras and Ivy goofed around with a big soft-toy fish, making it swim up to Wacky and almost get eaten.

‘You can’t catch me, Mr Walrus King!’ Ivy shouted, making the fish swim away.

Olivia shouted. ‘Mm, tasty fish!’ and chased Ivy over on to the stage area, which had a piano and big quilts hanging up on a laundry line.

‘This totally reminds me of
The Parent Trap
!’ Olivia said.

‘Let’s get together . . .’ Ivy started, knowing she was off-key but not caring.

‘Yeah, yeah, yeah!’ finished Olivia.

Ivy used the fish to play a little air guitar and hopped around the stage, but her foot caught on one of the cables on the floor and she lurched right towards a camera.

Olivia lunged, trying to stop Ivy crashing into it. But it was too late. All Ivy could do was twist at the very last second so that she landed on the fish, rather than on the camera.

‘Are you OK?’ Olivia asked as she helped Ivy get up.

Ivy nodded, relieved that she didn’t break anything – especially the equipment. She straightened her black wrap-around skirt, the good mood disappearing. ‘See?’ she said, wishing she was anywhere but here. ‘Me anywhere near a camera is a disaster waiting to happen.’

‘G
irls?’ called Mr Vega.

Olivia hadn’t heard the door opening, but she turned to see Mr Vega, Lillian and Mr Harker walking into the studio.

‘We’re over here!’ she called.

‘But how did you know where we were?’ Ivy asked as they drew near.

Harker pushed his wild hair out of his face. ‘Big Kev said that he’d seen you coming in here.’

The name definitely suited him
, Olivia thought, putting Wacky Walrus carefully back in his place on the display.

‘Everything is gravy for this summer’s filming,’ said Harker. ‘You two will be my leading ladies, and Lillian will chaperone, as well as acting as assistant director.’

‘And I’ll be on set as much as possible,’ said Mr Vega, smiling at Lillian.

‘So we just need to finish the paperwork.’ Harker grinned. ‘And you’ll both be hugely famous!’

Olivia watched her sister. Ivy had a grimace on her face.
She’s only doing it to help me
, Olivia knew.
And it’s too much to ask
.