White Ninja by Tiffiny Hall Page B

minutes, wanna come?’ she asks.
    I’m amazed she is even asking me to go with her. ‘Sure,’ I say. ‘Can I choose?’
    â€˜Depends.’ She shrugs. ‘If it’s got vampires or pirates, then no. But if there’s a wedding, or a proposal, or a makeover scene, then yes.’ She smiles.
    Lecky can be nice. If only she realised that you don’t have to be mean to get attention. She can be silly, vain and ridiculous, but when no one else is around and it’s just us, I feel like I’m the only person who really gets her. It’s a love-hate thing. It’s a sister thing.
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    At the DVD store Elecktra heads straight to the romantic comedies and selects an old classic, Father of the Bride . The movie was made before she was born, but Elecktra loves Steve Martin and the chaotic wedding preparations. She is obsessed with weddings and has already designed her own wedding dress. She has locked me in as a bridesmaid on one condition: I wear a red dress. Of her choice.
    I head over to the action movies section where I pick up a Jackie Chan film — the one with Jet Li. The cover shows Jet Li doing a kick through the air. I love this film.
    Elecktra comes over and takes the DVD from me.
    â€˜You and Mum are just the same,’ she says. ‘Just because you look alike doesn’t mean you can fight like her. She dyes her hair to be like me, remember?’
    â€˜No, she doesn’t,’ I say.
    Elecktra sighs. I know she hates looking different from Mum and me.
    â€˜Don’t you want to watch something romantic, with no fighting?’ She holds up my Jackie Chan movie in one hand and her chick flick in the other. I look at the two films in her hands; they couldn’t be more opposite, just like me and Elecktra. She likes chick flicks, I like action. She is blonde, my hair is black. She is tall, I am short. Her bedroom is a bomb site, I’m a neat freak. She is popular, I’m not. Could we be more different? We have the same mother, but sometimes Elecktra acts like she’s come from outer space. She can be so alien to me. Elecktra rattles her film, trying to persuade me.
    â€˜Come on, Cat, the father is so nice in it,’ she says. ‘He just wants his daughter to have the most beautiful wedding ever.’ Her eyes dim a little. Sometimes I see a hint of sadness simmering under the surface of her confident exterior, as though she wears a mask.
    â€˜How many times have you seen it?’ I ask.
    â€˜Not enough. Oh, come on,’ she pleads.
    I think Lecky loves the film because despite all her wedding plans she still doesn’t know who will walkher down the aisle. I think we have both always hoped our real father would be at our weddings.
    â€˜I guess we could watch both,’ I say.
    Elecktra narrows her eyes. ‘Okay,’ she agrees, ‘but you have to let me buy us some chocolate as a treat and not tell Mum.’
    She gives me a little grin as she puts out her pinkie finger and we pinkie swear like we used to when we were little.
    Walking home with Elecktra, she asks me if I thought the new guy working at the DVD store was cute, and as usual I have to say I didn’t notice … because it is true. She teases me and calls me hopeless and we laugh and talk like sisters should.
    And for a moment, I feel as though I could tell Elecktra about what I’m going through. Maybe she has experienced ninja too and didn’t tell me about it.
    I’m deep in thought when we arrive home. I see the note on the front door before Elecktra even notices it. It has my name on it. I rip it open, but as soon as I read it I feel my heart clunk and I’m thrown straight from a rom-com into a horror film.
    I know what you are. You will never be safe again — I’ll make sure of it. And if I find out you’re even looking for the White Warrior, I’ll hurt you. H.
    My body writhes with fear at the thought of seeing Hero at