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Olivia and Ivy sat together on a bench as the last guests ood-bye
"Interested in writing a regular guest column for the Scribe about what it&039;s like to be a Franklin Grover in Europe?"Toby asked with a grin
Ivy&039;s eyes opened wide "Are you serious?"
"You&039;re the best writer we have," Toby told her
"That would be deadly," Ivy said appreciatively "Thanks,Toby"
"How cool is that?" Olivia reone But Ivy didn&039;t see off into space
"You okay?" Olivia nudged her sister
"I was just thinking" Ivy shrugged "I&039;ve been so caught up in trying to get Dad to change hislike this for him He&039;s been in Franklin Grove foraway party, too"
"That&039;s such a great idea," Olivia exclai hi to change his mind"
"I doubt that," Ivy adood And h"
Olivia nodded to herself She had known Mr Vega - her father - for such a short ti for him before he disappeared fro about?"
Brendan leaned over the bench between the away party," Ivy answered "Do you think it&039;s too late?"
"Under norh time," Brendan admitted He waved to Caood news," he said as they trotted up, "is that you have Operation FANGED at your disposal!"
At 10 AM sharp, Sundayof Operation FANGED in Olivia&039;s family room Camilla, Olivia, Sophia, and Brendan were all in attendance
Ivy paced back and forth on the Abbotts&039; blue shag carpet in front of the couch, where the others were all sitting in their sweats
"We have exactly eight hours to plan and execute Dad&039;s going away party," Ivy said "Synchronize watches"
Everyone looked at their wrists except Brendan
"I forgot my watch," he said with a wince, "but I can use my cell phone"
Ivy frowned at him in mock seriousness
"You&039;d better shape up, Daniels, or you&039;ll be scraping cake plates at the end of the night!" She surveyed the group "Now, to the first order of business: guests At present time, we have none We need invitations, and we need them fast Any volunteers?"
Ca on Olivia&039;s parents&039; co to the desk in the corner
"Go!" Ivy commanded, and Camilla raced across the room
Sophia raised her hand Ivy pointed to her
"Why are you acting like you&039;re in a bad action movie about a SWAT team?" Sophia asked
Olivia and Brendan both chuckled
"Because I&039; to Europe in three days and I can do whatever I want," Ivy said with a straight face She cracked a s, and I think they look deadly"
"They are pretty awesoreed
"Now," Ivy continued, "ants to deliver invitations and spread the word as quickly as possible?"
"Brendan and I can do it," said Sophia "We can run faster than, you know, most people"
"I used to do track!" Ca at the computer
But Ivy knehat Sophia meant - vath and speed "Don&039;t you worry, Edh tasks to go around Besides, we have you only until sixteen hundred hours" Caeeks this evening, so she wasn&039;t going to be able to attend the party - which was probably for the best, since it was going to be Vauest listWe want as many of my father&039;s friends and acquaintances as can possibly make it on such short notice Abbott - pen and paper?"
"Check," said Olivia, holding the!" Ivy declared
Everyone started calling out names, and Olivia scribbled them down furiously In fifteen minutes, they had a list of al her aching hand "Your dad&039;s almost as popular as you, Ivy"
Camilla rushed over with a sheet from the printer and handed it to Ivy It was a jet-black square hite text and an icon of a white airplane on it
"&039;You are cordially invited,&039;" Ivy read aloud, "&039;to bid a fond farewell to Charles Vega, before he departs Franklin Grove for exciting opportunities abroad&039;" She flicked the paper with a black fingernail "Excellent work, Edmunson! Let&039;s print one hundred copies and put them in the hands of our invitation runners ASAVP"
"You ht Ivy She&039;d mistakenly used the acronym for "as soon as vampirically possible"
"Yes," she replied
Sophia and Brendan put on their coats, and, the , they rushed out the door to deliver theerly Olivia flipped through her notes She looked up: "We need to get to FoodMart to pick up paper plates and cups"
"Done," said Ca on her coat After Camilla left, Olivia tossed Ivy the phone and she dialed the nuer, please," Ivy requested
"Hi, Mr Bobovitch, it&039;s Ivy Vega I&039;oing away party for er foods to be delivered to her house that evening "And I hope you can make it, too, Mr Bobovitch," she added "My father has always said you&039;re the best caterer outside Transylvania And pass the invitation along to anyone else you think ht like to come"
"Will do, Ivy," Mr Bobovitch answered
"Everyone was sad to hear that your father is leaving us I know lots of folks ant to say good-bye"
Ivy hung up and handed the phone back to her sister "What&039;s next?"
Olivia glanced at her notebook "Now that invites and catering are taken care of, the only thing left is decorating your houseWe can ether, it shouldn&039;t take more than a couple of hours"
"That won&039;t work," Ivy realized "Dad&039;s going to be ho"
Olivia wrinkled her nose "How are we supposed to throw him a surprise party if we can&039;t surprise hihtfully "This calls for a covert operation" A plan caether in her o to my house, and you&039;ll sneak around back You&039;ll hide in my room while I convince my dad to take me to the uests should be there"
"Great," Olivia approved "That gives Brendan, Sophia, andready" She stood up from the couch and saluted Ivy Ivy saluted back, and they both cracked up
They had a few hours to kill before going to Ivy&039;s house, so Olivia invited her sister down to the kitchen to have a bite for lunch Her parents were out visiting friends who had just had a baby, so she and Ivy had the place to theround beef while she had tuna salad, Olivia couldn&039;t helpat the differences between the two of them - and at how close they&039;d beco her napkin, "there is one person who knows the whole truth about why our dad&039;s "
"Who?" Olivia asked
"Him," Ivy replied She had a determined look in her eye"We have to confront our father, Olivia"
"But what if he freaks out?" Olivia said "Hereally drastic"
Ivy raised her eyebrows "You ht Olivia
"What do we have to lose?" Ivy pressed
Olivia searched her ," she had to adht to know that I know he&039;s oes "We&039;ll do it to crept into Olivia&039;s stonore it "Okay," she said, "but in thehim the best party ever"