The moment the girls were out of earshot, Petra burst into laughter. ‘Oh my darkness, you so have to come here!’
‘After that?’ asked Ivy. ‘Where I come from, that wouldn’t exactly pass for a warm welcome.’
Petra clutched her sides. ‘Can you imagine how riled up those girls will be every single day if you come here? It’s going to be killer.’ She squeezed Ivy’s arm as if the two of them had concocted this whole scheme together.
‘Right,’ said Ivy, pulling her hands to her lap. ‘Killer . . .’ But her neck prickled. Could it be that Petra wasn’t as friendly as she’d thought? It seemed like she just hoped that Ivy’s American ways would get a rise out of the teachers and the other snooty students.
Ivy was about to excuse herself when the sound of a loud gong rippled through the air. She looked around. Why would someone be ringing a gong? Everyone but Ivy jumped up. An excited murmur travelled through the canteen, the likes of which Ivy hadn’t seen since Principal Whitehead had announced the school dance at the end of term and the bunnies had freaked out. Could that be it? Was there going to be a Wallachia-style shindig?
‘Hey! That sound can mean only one thing – a duel! Come on.’ Petra pulled Ivy up by the sleeve of her T-shirt. ‘We don’t want to miss this. It’s pretty much the only time boys and girls are allowed to mix!’
A duel? Ivy wondered. Like, to the death? Petra dragged her outside to a grassy field where a group of vampire boys were bunched together. A bunch of girls were huddled together too, whispering furiously to each other, their eyes wide. Haven’t they ever seen boys before? Ivy thought. If this is the way that segregated classes make girls behave I’m not sure I like it.
One of the boys suddenly slammed a rugby ball to the ground, where it bounced – or it would have bounced, had it not burst.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Ivy, going on tiptoes because the crowd outside was getting so thick. Two young vampire boys snatched off their shirts while their fellow players formed a tight ring around them. Ivy caught her breath. The Academy might be fancy, but it wasn’t all that different from Franklin Grove School. Stupid teen boys on an ego trip – it must be universal.
The onlookers had drawn closer, chanting: ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’
All across the grounds more students were streaming on to the field. ‘We need a better view.’ Petra tugged Ivy along after her again, snaking through the crowd until they found a perch on a stone bench. ‘You’re in luck!’ Petra winked. ‘We don’t get one of these every day, you know!’ Petra clapped her hands and began whooping along with the other spectators. ‘I love duels,’ she continued. ‘There aren’t enough of them these days. Seriously, we’ve gone whole school years without one.’
In the centre of the ring of vampires, the two boys, shirtless and barefoot, circled each other. They looked high-school age, around sixteen. One of them – the slightly taller one – was tying his long blond hair into a ponytail, while the other removed an expensive-looking gold watch and handed it to one of his friends standing nearby.
Ivy was finding the whole scene strange. The boys back at Franklin Grove would shout and get furious and shove each other – but these boys were calm and focused. They didn’t even look that angry. Ivy shuddered. This wouldn’t be a regular human fight. Knowing vampire skills the way Ivy did, she knew this could turn out very, very badly. Ivy tried not to imagine the damage the two boys could do to one another.
Another commotion stirred the crowd and the ring parted opposite her and Petra. Now everyone was gasping. Prince Alex stepped right into the circle with the shirtless vampires. Everyone bowed in his presence, including the two fighters. Ivy’s shoulders relaxed. Everything would be under control now. Alex would put a stop to this.
The prince wedged himself between the two boys, one palm on each of their chests. ‘It’s fortunate that I’m here today. Please state your names.’ Alex’s voice boomed across the field.
‘Carlos,’ answered the tall, blond vampire.
‘Gregor,’ said the shorter one.
‘And what is your quarrel?’
Gregor pointed at his opponent, a sneer twisting his lips. ‘Carlos accused me of dishonesty on the playing field, but he’s wrong. I took the lead fairly –’ he pushed his finger into his chest – ‘and I should not be called a cheat in front of my classmates.’
Carlos shook his head and his ponytail swept across his bare back. ‘That’s not what happened. I saw the ball touch the ground but Gregor carried on playing – he had an unfair advantage.’
‘You’re mistaken,’ Gregor insisted.
‘I am not.’ Carlos crossed his arms. Ivy rolled her eyes. They were being so polite, while still managing to act like total cavemen. Were they really going to fight over this ? Ivy would give them each a trophy if they would just chill out!
Alex turned to the group. ‘Would the other players please step forward?’ Young vampires wearing different coloured Wallachia rugby shirts entered the circle, bowing slightly as they approached Prince Alex. ‘Now. Can anyone verify either boy’s story?’
They all shrugged. One bulky vampire with huge, muddied hands spoke up for the group. ‘It all happened too fast and we were playing the game ourselves. We didn’t get a good look.’
‘Very well,’ said Prince Alex, returning to the two quarrelling players. ‘As the highest-ranking vampire on this property, I hereby formally sanction this duel.’