Olivia took a deep breath. I have to get this right!
Unfortunately, Amelia wasn’t helping the plan. She sat at the very front of the bus, with her back to everyone . . . including Josh. Turn around, Olivia willed silently, as Josh and the others let out obnoxious brays of laughter in the back of the bus. Turn around, look at Josh, turn around . . .
It was no use. If Olivia left it up to the ‘heroine’ of this rom-com, Amelia would never even glimpse her Awful Alternative. It’s time to play the director, Olivia told herself. Make it happen!
But how?
Aha . As Olivia watched, she saw the flick of a page in the corner of her eye – her seat mate reading a novel. I know exactly what to do!
Amelia loved the book of Eternal Sunset . How better to start a conversation with her than to talk about the movie? Then, once I’ve got her talking, I can ask her what she thinks of Josh, and get her to take a good look at him . . . yes!
Olivia jumped out of her seat, ignoring the rattling of the moving bus. As she headed up the aisle towards Amelia, she started practising her opening lines. So, you’re an Eternal Sunset fan . . .
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ the bus driver screeched.
The whole bus went silent. Olivia froze.
The driver was a middle-aged woman named Mrs Martin, and when Olivia had first stepped on to the bus, she’d barely said a word. Now, though, her face looked furious in the rear-view mirror.
‘I see you standing up, young lady! What do you think you’re doing, walking around on a moving bus? Do you want me to lose my licence?’
Gusts of nervous laughter swept around the bus as Olivia stuttered. ‘Um . . . I, um . . . I just . . .’
‘I don’t care!’ Still steering with her right hand, Mrs Martin jabbed her finger towards the one empty seat nearby – the seat next to Amelia. ‘You sit down this instant, young lady. I will not tolerate this behaviour!’
Cringing, Olivia hurried to take the empty seat beside Amelia, feeling the eyes of all the other students on her.
‘Sorry,’ Olivia said weakly to Mrs Martin.
Amelia rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, even as she moved her bag to make space for Olivia to sit. ‘What are you doing on this bus anyway?’ the older girl asked. ‘This is the Lincoln Vale bus. Don’t you live in Franklin Grove?’
‘Er . . .’ Olivia hesitated halfway into the seat. The truth was, she’d set her alarm clock for five-thirty a.m. and walked all the way to the next town specifically to catch this bus. She could hardly tell Amelia that, though – she’d look like a super-meddler. ‘I, um, stayed over at a friend’s house. Last night. In Lincoln Vale,’ she mumbled.
‘And they’re not here with you now?’ Sighing, Amelia looked over Olivia’s head at the bus driver. ‘Come on, you’d better sit down before she has any more of a fit.’ Shaking her head, Amelia turned to gaze out the bus window, obviously dismissing Olivia.
Wait! This isn’t how it was supposed to go . Desperately, Olivia grabbed for her earlier plan. ‘So!’ she said brightly. ‘Did you know there’s more filming for Eternal Sunset starting next week? I’m flying out on Saturday afternoon.’
‘Good for you,’ Amelia drawled, still looking out the window.
Olivia forged on, trying to sound enthusiastic. ‘We’ll be shooting the futuristic dream sequences – oh, but I probably shouldn’t talk too much about this, should I? I mean, unless you want to know the details . . .’ She trailed her words off enticingly.
At just that moment, a familiar flash of colour caught her eye on the street outside. It was Finn, skating down the street just ahead of one of his friends, a pixie-blonde skater-girl . . . and Amelia had just leaned closer to the window to gaze after them, her look suddenly intent.
Yes! Olivia let out a silent cheer.
Amelia must have felt Olivia’s eyes on her, though. She straightened, looking self-conscious. ‘Sorry, I didn’t catch that.’ She yawned pointedly . . . but Olivia caught her sneakily glancing back at Finn and the skater-girl.
‘Well,’ Olivia said. ‘If you don’t want any spoilers for Eternal Sunset –’
‘Are you kidding?’ Amelia looked amused. ‘No one can spoil the plot of Eternal Sunset for me. I’ve read it way too many times for that. It’s the best of the Count Vira novels.’ She reached into her bag to pull out an iPod and headphones.
Uh-oh. Time for my Hail Mary . Opening her mouth, Olivia prepared for her most lastditch attempt of all – asking whether Amelia thought Josh was the type to read Count Vira books. It might just work to make her look around at him . . .
But before she could say a word, Amelia glanced back at the window . . . and froze.
Olivia peered over her shoulder. The skatergirl had caught up with Finn, and they were laughing together over some joke.
Amelia’s face suddenly looked carved out of ice. She jerked her head away from the window – and glowered as she found Olivia watching her. ‘Would you mind finding your own seat?’ she said. She waved one hand in haughty dismissal. ‘I’d like to be alone.’
Ohhh-kayy . . . Olivia opened her mouth, then closed it again. She had literally no idea what to say in response to that.
So much for my plan! Feeling as deflated as a limp balloon, she stood up . . .
And the bus screeched to a halt. ‘That is it!’ Mrs Martin swivelled around in her seat, pointing furiously at Olivia. ‘If you stand up one more time in my bus, you will be walking the rest of the way to school. We’ll see how you like it when you get detention for being late!’