11 Flying Solo - My Sister the Vampire by Sienna Mercer Read Free Book Online Page B

turning back to the man at the box office, who was now reading the sports pages, waiting for Olivia to respond. Might as well give it a try , she thought.
    ‘ This love is like a stake in the heart   ?’ she said.
    He peeled his eyes away from the newspaper to read the answer sheet. ‘Here you go,’ he said, sliding three tickets towards her. Olivia snatched them. Seriously? I did it? She wanted to jump for joy, but she was pretty sure goths weren’t allowed to show that much enthusiasm about anything. Instead, she walked coolly over to Brendan and Sophia, wondering: Who would listen to a song about love and stakes?

    Half an hour later, Olivia was busy avoiding getting her toes crushed beneath combat boots in a sea of goth girls and guys, who were all so ghostly pale it almost looked as if they’d drained the colour from the usually vibrant park. The three of them scoped out a spot on the grass and spread a blanket among the other concertgoers, who all sat in clusters, waiting for the gig to start.
    ‘This –’ Sophia stared up at the blazing spotlights – ‘is killer.’ They were sprawled out in the Winner’s Enclosure right beneath the stage and even Olivia had to admit, it was pretty cool. She had never seen a live band playing this close up.
    ‘You ready to hear your new favourite song?’ Brendan nudged Olivia playfully.
    She dropped her chin. ‘Any song that compares love to being staked will not be gracing my iPod!’
    The lights dimmed and a roaring cheer rose from the crowd. Brendan pulled Olivia to her feet just before the crowd surged forwards. The place was a madhouse! She clung to Brendan’s hand so as not to be crushed. Pall Bearer fans are rabid .
    ‘Brendan!’ Olivia yelled, still clutching on to him. His hand was scalding hot, like he had a 110 degree fever. ‘Are you OK?’ she asked.
    ‘Yeah, yeah,’ he said, letting go. ‘I’m fine.’
    Olivia peered up at Ivy’s boyfriend. She couldn’t put her finger on why, but she didn’t think Brendan was telling the truth. He looked hot and flustered. Something’s definitely wrong . Before she could ask any more questions, music blasted from the speakers and amps situated at the end of the stage. How could vampires stand this? They had super-sensitive hearing, but Olivia could barely handle it, and she was human! It was the single loudest noise she had ever heard. She would have plugged her ears if only her arms weren’t pinned to her sides in the crowd crush. Now all she could do was cringe. She felt like her parents: Turn the music down!
    Sophia bounced next to her, pumping her fist to the pounding drum beat. A red light illuminated the stage, revealing The Pall Bearers, dressed in skinny jeans and ripped T-shirts. The lead guitarist jammed on the strings of his instrument and what came out was a tuneless, rhythmless mess.
Fright Night, nocturnal delight
Turn out the light and
Scream with all your might . . .
    Olivia had nothing against goths, but they had terrible taste in music. This could not possibly get any worse . . . Or at least that was what Olivia thought before the dancing started. If it could even be called ‘dancing’. First, the crowd surged one way and then the other, like an angry, writhing snake, and Olivia was wrenched along in the current.
    ‘Ouch!’ Someone stomped on her toe. ‘Oof!’ An elbow jabbed into her back and she lurched forwards. When she regained her balance, she tried standing on tiptoes so that she could just see over the shoulders of the people directly in front. There was a little clearing within the mass of people, in which a bunch of rowdy boys were shoving and kicking each other, yelling, ‘Mosh, mosh, mosh, mosh!’ And this is supposed to be fun? Olivia thought.
    There was a brief lull between the first and second songs and Olivia jumped at the opportunity to talk to Sophia. ‘Mind if I head out now?’ She tugged at the sleeve of Sophia’s faded Pall Bearers T-shirt. ‘I’m not sure I