Camilla thought for a moment. 'No problem,' she declared and Olivia wanted to weep with relief. 'I can write out most of the kisses and you don't have to do it for real in rehearsal.'

Olivia almost broke into a cheer, until Camilla said, 'But there's no way of taking out the last kiss, in the last scene. You will have to kiss Garrick once for the performance.'

Olivia sighed.

'Is there something you're not telling me?' Camilla prompted. 'I may be your director, but I'm your friend first.'

Olivia confessed about not having kissed Jackson yet. 'Having Garrick Stevens as my first kiss would be worth disconnecting my power supply to prevent.'

'Hm,' Camilla said. 'That does present a problem. But it's nothing a little cyborg stalking can't fix.'

'Huh?'

'You've got about ten days before the performance, right?' Camilla prompted.

'Right,' Olivia agreed.

'That means you have approximately two hundred and forty hours to get your dream hunk cyborg boyfriend to kiss you,' she explained. 'Preferably more than once. That way, Garrick's kiss will be a blip on the radar screen of love.'

Olivia giggled. 'Only you could explain it like that.'

Camilla winked at her. 'I have to get back,' she said, jumping down. 'See you in a few minutes?'

Olivia nodded and Camilla left.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Two hundred and forty hours. Camilla was right. Her new mission was to get Jackson to kiss her at all costs.

Chapter Seven.

'Where is he?' Olivia said aloud, searching through the crowds of students leaving their after-school activities. She was on the top step, just outside the huge school doors, but couldn't spot her boyfriend anywhere.

She'd successfully fended off Garrick for the remainder of the rehearsal and Camilla praised her when she tried out the gazelle plus robot movements.

But when Camilla had let them go, Jackson had darted off, thwarting her efforts to put Operation Cyborg Smooching into action.

'There!'

He was wearing a crash helmet with a visor to avoid being recognised by any eager fans, but she knew his light-blue eco-warrior shirt. He was unlocking his bike from the rack.

She bolted down the steps, narrowly missing knocking over a sixth-grader carrying some science experiment involving lots of gla.s.s tubes and something that smelled like rotten eggs.

'Hey!' she called to Jackson.

'Olivia!' He pushed up the visor and grinned. 'I thought you'd already left.'

Kiss me, kiss me! She wanted to shout, but she had to stay casual. 'Nope, still here.'

'Well, see you tomorrow,' he said, giving her a hug.

'How about not?' she said. 'I mean, how about seeing me now?'

Jackson looked confused. 'Do you mean in some other way than me looking at you looking at me?'

Arg! Why is this so complicated? Olivia thought. 'Yes, I mean, do you want to go to the mall? For a snack or something? Do you have time?'

'Time for my beautiful girlfriend?' he said. 'Of course.'

They sat down in the food court at a corner table, with Jackson facing the wall to minimise how often he got recognised.

Olivia was chewing on her fingernails again.

She'd tried to kiss him on the walk over, but with him wheeling his bike, it was hard to get into range. When they'd walked past the fountain in the mall, she thought he was going to kiss her, but he was just looking at the tennis rackets in the window of Sports Selector.

Now that they were sitting down, it was going to be even harder. She had always thought of the tables in the food court as small, but this one felt like Mount Everest now that she was planning on kissing the boy on the other side of it.

I'll practically have to flip over it to get to him! she thought.

'Are you OK?' Jackson asked.

'Huh?' Olivia replied. 'I mean, yes, I'm fine.'

Now, should I go over the French fries or around the ketchup bottle? Olivia wondered.

'Are you feeling faint?' Jackson was watching her closely. 'You seem to be swaying.'

'Ha!' Olivia tried to laugh nonchalantly and wave away his concern, but she knocked over the salt and pepper shakers and sent them flying. 'Everything's great!'

You can't be happy that I'm going to kiss Garrick before you! Olivia thought. So why don't you kiss me and make this all so much easier?

She placed her hands on the table, lifted herself slightly off her chair, leaned across and ... head-b.u.t.ted the tray of cakes and sodas being carried by the waitress who was bringing over the rest of their order.

It didn't hurt, but everything went flying with an embarra.s.sing clatter and smash. Jackson was doused with soda and Olivia had cake splattered all over her white-and-yellow sweater.

'Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry,' she said to Jackson and to the waitress.

The waitress grabbed them some napkins and Olivia wished she could disappear into the palm fronds behind her. 'Hey aren't you Jackson Caulfield?'

Covered in sticky soda, poor Jackson gave a weak smile. 'Yup, that's me!' Then he had to sign one of the napkins for the waitress.

'I'd better head home and take a shower,' Jackson said, after the waitress had skipped off to show her friends.

'Yes, yes, of course,' Olivia stuttered, her cheeks colouring. All she really wanted to say was, Kiss me, you fool!

He gave her an awkward hug goodbye and left.

'That could not have gone any worse,' Olivia said to no one, burying her head in her hands.

'Horse-riding is much more glamorous than I realised,' Ivy decided, looking at herself from all angles in the mirror. Rebecca had given her a pair of tight-fitting black 'jodhpurs', along with calf-high leather boots. 'I could definitely rock this look, as long as the horse is not a required accessory.'

'Don't worry, Ivy,' Olivia said. She was wearing a similar outfit in beige and white, and had been bouncing on the bed with excitement while Ivy was getting dressed. 'It's going to be great!'

It was Sat.u.r.day and they were back at Rebecca's ranch in Beldrake, bright and early in the morning, for Ivy's first-ever riding lesson. She'd reluctantly left her mom's diary up in the bedroom, getting Olivia to promise that they would have a look at it as soon as they got back.

Rebecca poked her head in the room. 'You girls ready?' she asked in her soft drawl. 'We need to be done by eleven.'

She had told them when they arrived that the ranch had taken a last-minute booking for a group trail ride one of the many ways she supported all the horses and the guests would be here at noon. 'There'll be tons of beginners, so once we show Ivy the basics, you girls can come on the trail ride, too,' Rebecca had said.

Ivy wasn't convinced. But here she was, dressed exactly like she'd been horse-riding forever. She took a deep breath. 'I'll try anything once.'

The three of them clattered down the stairs and into the stable.

Ivy tried not to be scared, or scary, but the horses started shuffling away from her and snorting.

'Maybe I should wait outside?' she asked hopefully.

Rebecca gave her a sympathetic look. 'OK. I'll tack up for you. Let's just find you a good helmet.'

Ivy tried on several in the tackroom until Rebecca was satisfied, then she went to wait outside the stable. When Rebecca and Olivia came out, they were leading Coco, Honey and a horse that Ivy hadn't met before named Topic. She was light brown with a black mane, tail and legs, and she had a white patch on her forehead.

'She's gentle and very tolerant,' Rebecca said.

You mean huge, Ivy thought.

Rebecca showed her how to hold the reins, to lead her.

'Hold them right here, under her chin and keep your arm extended, so she has room to walk beside you.'

Ivy gulped and grasped the leather reins. She looked into Topic's huge eyes and thought, Please don't freak out!

Topic snorted and walked on, practically leading Ivy instead of the other way around. Ivy walked across the dirt and gravel towards the ring, feeling a little short of breath to be so close to such a strong creature.

So far, so good, Ivy thought.

Ivy stepped into the riding ring that was encircled by a white-painted fence. Despite the sunny day and clear blue sky, all she could think about was the headless horseman, thundering through the dark after his victims on his terrifying horse.

'Great job!' Rebecca said, with a big smile. 'How did that feel?'

'Uh ... not as bad as I thought,' Ivy said. But walking next to a horse was one thing. She was dreading what was coming next.

'Oh, good,' Rebecca said. 'Time to mount up!'

Ivy gave a weak smile.

'You'll be fine,' said Olivia. 'Just think of her like a motorcycle.'

Ivy had always wanted to ride a big black motorcycle, dressed all in leathers. Maybe this wouldn't be so different. She would just be higher up, on a living creature that might choose to throw her to the ground.

'Olivia will hold Topic's head to keep her straight and I'll be right here to help you,' Rebecca said. Olivia spoke steadily to Topic as Ivy tried to build up courage. 'First, take the reins in your left hand and, with the same hand, grab a lock of mane.'

'Really?' Ivy said, cautiously following her instructions. 'Won't it hurt her?'

'No, no,' Rebecca said. 'You won't be putting your weight on it. Now, put your left foot in this stirrup. Grab the saddle here with your right hand.' Rebecca patted the back of it. 'Ready?'

No, no, no! Ivy wanted to scream, but she forced herself to nod.

'On the count of three, swing your right leg over. Try to land gently and not hit the horse with your leg.' Rebecca smiled, and the thought flashed in Ivy's mind that this would be just the moment to have her mom here. 'You can do it.'

Ivy closed her eyes.

'One, two, THREE!' Rebecca and Olivia counted together.

Ivy hauled herself up and swung her leg over. When she opened her eyes, she was amazed to be sitting in the saddle.

'Oh my darkness,' she breathed.

Topic shifted her weight underneath her and Ivy felt a rush of adrenaline. She had done it! She was riding a horse! Well, OK, technically it was sitting still on a not-moving horse, but she never thought she'd get this far. Then she looked at the ground and realised she was pretty high up.

Gulp.

'Perfect!' Rebecca called up. 'Olivia, you mount up and we'll go on a little walk.'

Olivia got up on Honey easily, and Ivy felt better having her sister at the same height.

Rebecca started to lead Topic around the ring, and Ivy was amazed. Topic didn't seem to mind her at all. Ivy had no idea what to do or how to control her, but the horse hadn't bolted or freaked out. The steady rhythm of her plodding was soothing.

Ivy felt her heart race. She had a slightly different view of the farm. Suddenly the disapproving chickens seemed smaller and the dark wooden stable didn't look so imposing.

'I'm letting go now,' Rebecca said. 'Use the reins to point her nose in the direction you want her to go.'

Ivy felt the leather strap in her palm.

Can it really be that easy? she wondered. She pulled a little to the left and Topic obeyed.

'Wow,' Ivy breathed.

Hank and John, the stable hands, were watching from just outside the fence and applauded her.

'Go, Ivy!' John called. 'Ride 'em, cowgirl!'

'See what I mean?' Olivia called from just behind.