Ivy closed her notebook, trying not to look defeated. She knew that her quote wasn’t what Serena Star was hoping for, but maybe the beginning would be good enough to get her the assistant job. Or at least, Ivy thought doubtfully, convince her that there’s no deep, dark secret in Franklin Grove.
Soon the only person left to try out was Toby. He pulled a leather briefcase up onto the table and said, “Before I begin, allow me to thank you, Serena Star, for this extraordinary opportunity.” Then he opened the briefcase and pulled out a single piece of typed paper, as if he were about to present an opening argument before the Supreme Court.
“I owe my quote to the dental profession,” Toby began, stowing away his briefcase. “And, more specifically, to my dental hygienist, Ms. Monica Messler.”
Serena was not looking impressed.
Next to dentistry, my quote might not seem so boring after all, Ivy thought, brightening.
“Allow me to explain,” Toby continued. “I was at a dentist appointment yesterday afternoon, when a repeat of the morning edition of The Morning Star came on the television above my chair. Ms. Messler, who was cleaning my teeth at the time, said that she recognized Garrick Stephens. He had recently come to the dentist’s office.”
Suddenly, a dark and heavy feeling spread through Ivy’s chest. She and Sophia exchanged worried glances as Toby said, “Ms. Messler said it was a very strange visit.”
Serena Star leaned forward, clearly interested now.
“I nearly choked on the suction tube trying to ask her more about it. Here is what she said....” Toby looked down at his sheet of paper. “ ‘Garrick Stephens came into the office last Thursday. He wanted to know how much a set of vampire fangs would cost.’ ”
Ivy felt her skin flush, and she thought she might faint. She closed her eyes, trying to make the dizziness go away, and felt Sophia grab her hand tightly underneath the table. Ivy opened her eyes to find Serena Star staring right at her. Ivy looked away quickly.
“ ‘We all thought it was such a strange request,’ ” Toby said, continuing his quote, “ ‘especially because he isn’t even one of Dr. Roth’s patients.’ ”
“What happened?” Serena pressed.
“Nothing.” Toby shrugged. “The receptionist told him he’d have to talk to Dr. Roth, who was seeing a patient at the time, so Garrick said he’d come back later—but he never did.”
Serena Star was on her feet. “Did he say what the fangs were for?”
“No,” Toby replied.
“Is she—the dental assistant lady—is she willing to go on camera?”
Toby nodded. “I think so.”
Serena Star’s wide eyes went starry. “I can see the on-screen graphic now,” she murmured, spreading her hands in the air like she was making words appear on an invisible TV screen. “FANGTASTIC!”
Then she blinked, picked up her bag, and gestured to her cameraman. “Principal Whitehead,” she said, barely looking his way, “I’m taking Toby out of school for the rest of the day on fieldwork. Toby, let’s go!”
“But who won the assistant job?” Marnie Squingle blurted.
“Who do you think?” Serena shot back. And, with that, she charged out the door, closely followed by Toby Decker, grinning widely as he hurried to catch up.
Ivy was about to bury her face in her hands when she heard a blubbering noise. Rudy Preston had burst into tears.
“Don’t blame yourself, Ivy,” Sophia said as they trudged down the hall. “How could anyone compete with a quote like that?”
“I know,” Ivy said. “But this is seriously bad news, Soph.” She looked around to make sure no one was listening. “A vampire inquiring about a new set of fangs? What was Garrick thinking?”
“Probably that his mom would kill him if he let his own incisors grow,” Sophia said gloomily.
“But why would he go to a human dentist?” Ivy said, utterly exasperated.
“You know the answer to that,” Sophia said, rolling her eyes. “There isn’t a dentist in our community who would agree to do it!”
She was right, Ivy thought. Getting fangs made—or even not filing down your real ones for an extended period of time—violated the 1926 Bylaw of the Night: A vampire will never try, or conspire to try, to bite a human. The risk of getting caught was too great, not to mention the fact that it was incredibly evil.
“Anyway,” said Sophia, “it’s time for plan B: damage control. We have to keep an eye on Toby and on what he and Serena are finding out.”
“And how do you suggest we do that?” Ivy asked.
“I was sort of thinking that maybe you could become Toby’s new best friend,” Sophia suggested.
“As if,” Ivy replied. “Did you see that tie he was wearing today? I don’t really think I’m his type.”
“Come on,” her friend teased. “You’d look killer in polka-dots.”
That gave Ivy an idea. “I might not be the right person,” she said, looking down the hall, “but I think I know who is.”
Ivy hurried over to join her sister, who was opening her locker.
“Did you get the job?” Olivia asked hopefully.
Ivy shook her head, and Olivia’s face fell. “We lost to a quote about Garrick Stephens asking a dentist for a set of fake fangs,” Ivy admitted.
Olivia winced. “That doesn’t sound good. What are we going to do now?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Ivy said. “We’re going to make sure we know what Serena Star’s finding out even before she does.”