SVH01-Double Love (2 page)

Jessica headed for Elizabeth's closet. "At least now I won't have to look totally gross on the most important day of my life."

"Come on, Jess," Elizabeth argued. "Getting into Pi Beta isn't that big a deal. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if I ever should have let you talk me into pledging."

"How can you say that?" Jessica shrieked. "You know how important a sorority is. Especially this one. All the top people are in it."

"You mean all the snootiest."

It was an echo of the argument they'd had two weeks earlier when Jessica had pleaded with her sister to pledge. Eventually Elizabeth had given in. Mostly because she and Jessica always did things together, and she didn't want anything as dumb as a sorority to come between them.

Jessica had assured Elizabeth that the pledge dares they'd be required to do would be nothing major. "Just a lot of silly fun!" she'd insisted.

Fun! Their first dare had been to order a pepperoni pizza from Guido's Pizza Palace, to be delivered during Mr. Russo's chemistry class.

"I'll die!" Elizabeth had protested. Just the thought of Mr. Russo's reaction petrified her. Bob Russo was the most brilliant--and most demanding--teacher at Sweet Valley. He was highly temperamental, with a biting sense of humor. You never knew when he would cut

you down or stare you into a tiny, shrinking smudge for saying something stupid. Every kid at school was terrified of him. And now they were going to have a pizza . . .

"It'll be a scream," Jessica had said.

It had been a scream, all right. A delivery man wearing stereo headphones and a tomato- stained apron had walked right into the classroom carrying a humungous, steaming, smelly pepperoni pizza and stood there looking questioningly as Mr. Russo was writing a complicated formula on the blackboard.

"Yes?"

"Your pizza?" the delivery man had asked, and the class had gone into collective cardiac arrest. Somebody snorted, trying to stifle a laugh. Somebody else giggled. Elizabeth's face turned the color of the tomato stains on the delivery man's apron.

"Pardon me?" Mr. Russo asked innocently, still preoccupied with the lesson. That did it. The entire class cracked up and howled with laughter.

"One double pepperoni pizza for"--the delivery man examined his order form--"Elizabeth Wakefield."

Elizabeth's face was on fire. Everybody looked around at her in disbelief. Elizabeth Wakefield-- the level-headed, serious twin--had flipped out!

Only Elizabeth knew who had really ordered the pizza--and given her name.

"Well, well," said Mr. Russo. "Elizabeth, is this by any chance a science project?" More laughter from the kids.

Elizabeth panicked. What will I say? Shooting a glance at Jessica, she knew instantly she was on her own. Her twin wore the angelic expression of a totally innocent bystander.

"Uh--yes, sir," Elizabeth stammered, groping for a way out. "Uh--see--we wondered how much heat the pizza would lose getting from the pizza parlor to here--and uh . . ."

Even Mr. Russo had to smile. He rummaged through a desk drawer and produced a thermometer. "I see," he said. "Well, then, let's take the pizza's temperature, before it undergoes a chemical change--commonly called digestion."

So they had gotten away with that pledge dare. They'd survived the other crazy pranks, too. Second on the list was delivering the singing telegram to Chrome Dome--Mr. Cooper, Sweet Valley High's somewhat stuffy principal. Finally, they'd grossed out the entire cafeteria by dyeing the mashed potatoes purple.

And now the big day had arrived. At noon they would find out if they were in Pi Beta. Elizabeth wasn't too excited about it, but Jessica had the date circled in red on her calendar. Nothing could spoil this day for her--except of

course, not getting into the sorority, which wasn't a likely possibility.

For Elizabeth, the day was already spoiled. As she thought of Todd's phone call to Jessica, the tight feeling in her chest spread to a pressure behind her eyes. But she was determined not to let Jessica know how she felt about Todd. What was the point? It was obvious which sister Todd preferred. And why not? What girl could possibly compete with the dazzling Jessica Wakefield?

Two

Jessica was already at the breakfast table when Elizabeth sat down.

"Your father's going to be working late again tonight," Alice Wakefield told her daughters as she served french toast.

"What's up, Dad? A merger? A war between two giant conglomerates?" asked Jessica, bringing a smile to her father's face. Ned Wakefield was always a pushover for his lively daughters.

"Both--and then some," he said. "Big doings. There may be serious consequences for the Sweet Valley High football team. The playing field is becoming a battlefield."

"Really? What's going on?" Elizabeth asked.

"As a lawyer on the case, I can't tell you. It's too soon and too complicated," her father said. "Marianna and I are working on it. I will be late

again, though. Isn't that enough bad news for you?"

"OK, mystery man." Jessica laughed.

"Jessica," said her mother, "aren't you coming home late, too? Don't you have cheerleading practice?"

"Right, I won't be home till at least seven."

"And, Liz, isn't this a late afternoon for you at The Oracle?"

"Uh-huh. Looks like the whole Wakefield clan will be out doing things," Elizabeth said.

"Therefore ..." said Alice Wakefield.

Elizabeth and Jessica knew what was coming.

"Therefore--you can drive the Fiat today," she said.

The twins squealed with delight. Only on rare occasions were they allowed to drive to school in the family's second car, a little red Spider convertible.

"Oh, wow," Jessica said, jumping up. "Am I going to be hot today! In my tuxedo shirt, driving my Fiat! Look out, Sweet Valley!"

"Jessica," her mother interrupted, "I'm sorry, honey, but Liz will have to drive."

"What?" Jessica's anguished wail filled the entire kitchen of the Wakefield's split-level home.

"Jessica, you know very well that you can't drive for three weeks. And you can stop looking at me that way. You're the one who had the accident."

"That's not fair!" Jessica whined. "I'm not going to school to be humiliated like a kindergarten child! Oh, forget it, Mom, just forget it. I know Liz is your favorite, and I'm just an afterthought!"

"Come on, Jess, let's get going," Elizabeth said patiently. "You know you're not going to miss today for the world. What's Pi Beta Alpha going to do without you? Let's just go, or we'll be late for school."

"Accident!" Jessica muttered after they had climbed into the car and were driving through Sweet Valley, the little green jewel of a California town where they lived.

"It was just a tiny dent in the fender. She makes it sound like a six-car pileup on the L.A. freeway!"

"That tiny dent cost two hundred dollars to fix," Elizabeth said dryly, wishing her sister would stop complaining and let her enjoy the drive through the valley. As she did very often, Elizabeth thought how lucky she and Jessica were to live in Sweet Valley. Everything about it was terrific--the gently rolling hills, the quaint downtown area, and the fantastic white sand beach only fifteen minutes away. She and Jessica were even luckier now, with a new in- ground pool in the backyard.

"Don't you wish we lived up here on the hill like the Patmans and the Fowlers?"

"You can't be serious, Jess," Elizabeth admonished. But she knew perfectly well that her twin was totally serious about wanting to live on the hill where Sweet Valley's very rich lived in sprawling, imposing mansions. "Dad does all right," Elizabeth went on. "He certainly works hard enough. He's out late practically every night these days."

"Lizzie, I've been wondering about that. Does that seem funny?"

"What?"

"Dad out every night. And one night I called his office, and that new woman lawyer answered."

"You mean Ms. West?"

"Yes. But you heard what Dad called her this morning--Marianna!"

"Well, that's her name, silly," said Elizabeth, trying to sound more unconcerned than she really was. She had wondered about her father and Marianna, too.

"Well, I don't know, Liz. She sounded pretty seductive on the phone."

"Jessica, really! Sometimes I think you're wacko!"

"OK, OK, don't get so shook, Liz." Jessica glanced out at the spacious homes and heaved a great sigh. "Anyway, I'm not saying I don't

like our house, Liz. But having a lot of money, like Bruce Patman and Lila Fowler, can't be all bad."

"And what about what goes with it?" asked Elizabeth.

"You mean all those cars and servants?"

"C'mon, Jess, you know what I'm talking about. This crazy feud--the Patmans want every rock in Sweet Valley to stay exactly where it's been for fifty years, and the Fowlers want to build over everything in sight. Who needs that?"

Jessica changed the subject with her usual abruptness as the school came into view. "Oh, Liz, please stop and let me drive into the parking lot," she pleaded.

"Jess, you heard what Mom said."

Jessica sank into her seat. "You heard what Mom said," she mimicked nastily. "Sometimes I wonder how anybody so wimpy can be my sister."

Elizabeth slid the Fiat into an empty space in the student parking lot. "Come on, Jess, what difference does it make?"

"None, of course, Aunt Fanny!"

Elizabeth sighed. She knew that tone all too well. It meant a storm was brewing, one that could turn into Hurricane Jessica.

"I'm sure you'll be allowed to drive again soon," she said encouragingly.

But Jessica wasn't listening to a word. She

was out of the car in a flash, slamming the door so hard that Elizabeth winced. How did it always turn out this way? She just did what her mother said, and somehow she was always wrong. Even worse, she felt guilty.

"Jess, please!" Elizabeth said, scrambling out of the car and facing her stormy-eyed twin. Jessica just stood there smoldering, refusing to relent.

"Look, I'll talk to Mom for you," Elizabeth said. "I'll ask her to let you drive tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!" Jessica sneered. "You may be a tomorrow person. I am a today person. Don't do me any favors."

Jessica wasn't going to let up. She kept turning away, refusing to look at Elizabeth. Jessica could hold a grudge the way the Patmans held on to their money--forever!

Just as Elizabeth was deciding this was a lost cause, she saw Enid Rollins, her best friend, coming across the lawn, waving to her. Something was cooking with Enid. She had sounded excited when she called Elizabeth the night before and said she had something "vital" to tell her. Elizabeth was dying to find out, but Jessica was still pouting.

"Jess, I have to talk to Enid."

"How can you be best friends with somebody as blah as Eeny Rollins? I don't want you to go

over there. Somebody might think it was me talking to her."

"Enid is a wonderful person. Why don't you like her?"

"Eeny is a nerd. And there's something weird about her."

Just then Jessica glanced over her shoulder. Apparently something she saw swept away her anger in a flash. She threw her arms around Elizabeth and gave her a swift, powerful hug, almost lifting her off the ground.

"I've decided to forgive you," she announced, beaming. "Go on, talk to Enid. I'll see you at noon."

Surprised, but not unaccustomed to Jessica's swift changes of mood, Elizabeth hugged her back and ran to catch up with Enid.

"So what's the big news?" Elizabeth asked as she fell in step with her friend.

"Shhhhhhhhh! Not so loud, Liz," Enid Rollins said, looking around and blushing, as though the entire student body were eavesdropping.

Elizabeth smiled. "Don't be silly. There's nobody near us."

When Enid didn't smile back, Elizabeth knew her friend had something serious to discuss. Elizabeth and Enid had become best friends when they had taken a creative writing class together the year before. Enid was a terrific person, Elizabeth thought, and absolutely not a

nerd, no matter what Jessica said. With her shoulder-length brown hair and large green eyes, she was really pretty. And in her quiet way, she was very smart--and very funny. Jessica figured anyone who was quiet was dull, but Enid Rollins was anything but dull. There was something almost mysterious about her, as though she knew things that other people didn't, or had a secret she wanted to keep.

They were nearing the school door when Elizabeth saw handsome, spoiled Bruce Patman sliding his black Porsche into a parking spot. Enid tugged on her friend's arm.

"Let's sit a second," she said.

Elizabeth quickly sat down beside her on the grass, eager for the news. "Well?"

Enid blushed even redder than before. Then she smiled so radiantly that for a moment she became a brand-new person.

"Who is he?" Elizabeth asked.

"What?" Enid looked shocked.

"You heard me. Who is he?"

Enid shook her head in amazement. "How can you see into people like that, Liz? You could be a detective--or even a mystery writer."

Now it was Elizabeth's turn to blush. Enid knew her secret dream--to be a writer. Not just a reporter, the way she was on The Oracle, but a serious writer. Someday she wanted to write poems or plays or even novels. She was sharpening

her skills, too, right now at the school newspaper. Elizabeth wrote the "Eyes and Ears" column for The Oracle, but no one knew who the writer of the column was--and Elizabeth couldn't even tell her best friend about it. Many times she ached to tell Enid or Jessica or somebody--but she didn't. Only Mr. Collins, the faculty adviser for the paper, knew.

It was a tradition at Sweet Valley that if the identity of the writer of the "Eyes and Ears" column was discovered before the end of the term, the students threw that person fully clothed into the swimming pool. Elizabeth Wakefield had no intention of being unmasked.

Now Elizabeth searched Enid's flushed face, wondering if Enid had figured out her big secret. But, no--Enid's mind was occupied with something entirely different.