Re-Vamped! by Sienna Mercer Page B

“Kitty!
Kong!” she called.
    A pale
woman in a dark business suit and angular glasses appeared at the front door
with a clipboard. She entered and surveyed the room, silently greeting everyone
with a professional smile.
    That
must be Kitty, thought Olivia. Behind Kitty, a bald man with huge muscles and a tight black
top appeared with an armful of camera equipment. And that must be Kong!
    Georgia
beckoned to the girls as Kitty and Kong began scurrying around. “I am sorry for
the short notice, but we are on a verrrrry tight deadline,” she said. “The
magazine comes out on Wednesday, and I only just learned of your story—but it’s
much too big to leave for the next issue. Don’t you agree?” Suddenly her eyes
fell on Sophia.
    “Who
are you? A trrrriplet?” she said, rolling her “r” mercilessly. Then she gave a
full-throated laugh.
    “My
name’s Sophia Hewitt,” Sophia said, shaking Georgia’s hand firmly. “As an
aspiring photographer myself, I am a huge fan of your magazine, Ms.
Huntingdon.”
    “Oh?”
Georgia said. “Then how would you like to assist Kong today?”
    Sophia
tried to speak, but all she could do was wiggle around excitedly. It was like she’d
been turned into a jellyfish.
    “Go
on,” Georgia smiled, waving her away to where the muscle-bound photographer was
unpacking some lights across the room.
    As
Sophia went to help Kong, Kitty appeared, pushing an enormous rack of clothes
with each hand—one filled with dresses in shimmering dark shades, the other
with lighter and brighter ones. On the second rack, Olivia immediately noticed
an ivory satin sleeveless cowl-necked gown that looked like something Marilyn
Monroe would have worn. She reached to look at the label. “Is this a real
Margot Chenille?” she gasped.
    “Of
course!” exclaimed Georgia.
    Ivy
fingered a sequined black flapper dress with a fringed bottom. “How do we know
what will fit?”
    “It
all will,” Georgia answered with an obvious gesture, “because Kitty has only
selected the latest fashions in your size.”
    Olivia
and Ivy exchanged excited looks— Olivia could tell her sister was nervous about
all the attention, as usual, but they were both total fashion hounds.
    For
the first shot, Kitty had draped a pale sash of silk dramatically over a chaise
longue in the foyer. After consulting with Kong, Sophia helped pick the
sisters’ outfits. For Olivia, they chose a bright pink Coco Loco cocktail dress
with a formfitting sleeveless top, while Ivy wore a midnightblue
off-the-shoulder number from Before Dawn.
    This
is so fun! Olivia
thought, carefully walking to the chaise in her specially selected, superhigh
heels.
    “Olivia,”
Kong’s deep voice boomed from behind his camera, “I want you to make a face
like you are blowing the biggest bubble gum bubble ever.” Olivia puffed up her
cheeks and widened her eyes. “Bigger!” Kong commanded. “Bigger!” Olivia felt
like her face was going to pop off.
    “Now,
Ivy, pretend to pop your sister’s bubble,” Kong instructed.
    “Yessss!”
Olivia heard Georgia hiss approvingly as Kong’s flash started popping.
    After
a few minutes, Georgia clapped her hands briskly. “The camera looooves you,”
she said. “Time for the next outfit!” and whisked them away to change.
    Next,
Olivia and Ivy put on matching tight satin dresses, except Olivia’s was white
while Ivy’s was black. The dresses had this really cool thing happening, like
they were being peeled back layer by layer as they rose up the body, from tons
of fabric on the bottom to just a thin layer on top. Ivy looked gorgeous. I
guess since we’re identical twins, Olivia realized happily, that means I
look gorgeous, too!
    Georgia
led them to an alcove off the front hall, where there was a grand piano. “Could
there be a more perfect backdrop?” she enthused. “The caption will read: ‘Ivy
and Olivia, ebony and ivory, make music together!’ ” Sophia directed Ivy to sit
at the keyboard, while Kong