SVH04-Power Play

Power Play (Sweet Valley High #4)

Kate William

(From The Back Cover)
Elizabeth and Jessica in a tug of war..,

Chubby Robin Wilson has been following Jessica around for months. First she wanted to be her friend-- now she wants to join Pi Beta Alpha, Sweet Valley High's snobby sorority.

When Elizabeth, Jessica's twin, nominates Robin for the sorority, Jessica is furious. Robin may be friendly and smart, but she's certainly not beautiful or popular enough to be a Pi Beta. Jessica's determined to find a way to keep Robin out.

But Elizabeth is just as determined to make Robin a sorority sister. Soon the twins are locked in a struggle that develops into the biggest power play at Sweet Valley High....

POWER PLAY

Jessica was stunned. "Robin Wilson in Pi Beta Alpha? With
us?
With Lila Fowler? One look at that shape and they'll be calling us the Pi
Butterball
Alphas! Oh, really, Liz, are you completely absent from this universe?"

Elizabeth sighed. "Jessica, for heaven's sake, don't come unglued. I've promised, and that's that. Robin Wilson's going to be in the sorority."

"Oh, is she?"

"Look," Elizabeth said, "if I sponsor Robin, and you're the president of Pi Beta Alpha--
and
her best friend--she's in."

Jessica's only response was to toss her head and stomp out of the room. It wasn't until the instant before she slammed the door to her room that Elizabeth thought she heard a faint reply.

"We'll see about that."

Bantam Books in the Sweet Valley High Series Ask your bookseller for the books you have missed

#1 DOUBLE LOVE

#2 SECRETS.

#3 PLAYING WITH FIRE

#4 POWER PLAY

POWER PLAY

Written by

Kate William

Created by

FRANCINE PASCAL

BANTAM BOOKS TORONTO 'NEW YORK * LONDON * SYDNEY

RL 4, IL age 12 and UP

POWER PLAY
A Bantam Book January 1984

Sweet Valley High is a trademark of Francine Pascal

Conceived by Francine Pascal

Produced by Cloverdale Press Inc.,

133 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003

Cover art by James Mathewuse

All rights reserved.

Copyright
© 1983
by Francine Pascal.

Cover copyright
©
1983 by Cloverdale Press Inc.

This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by
mimeograph or any other means, without permission.

For information address: Bantam Books, Inc.

ISBN
0-553-23730-6

Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words "Bantam Books" and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, Inc., 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10103.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

O 0987654321

POWER PLAY

(This Page Is Blank.)

One

Elizabeth Wakefield didn't know how messy things would get with Robin Wilson and the sorority pledging, until she was in too deep to back out.

It happened, as so many things seemed to, because of Jessica, her twin sister, who had just been elected president of Pi Beta Alpha, the snobbiest sorority at Sweet Valley High. Elizabeth was a member, too, but she hardly ever went to meetings. She didn't like the club's style and was too busy writing the "Eyes and Ears" column for the school paper to give the members much of her time.

"Eyes and Ears" was a regular feature, filled with hot, fun items about the students at Sweet Valley High. Sources remained anonymous. Even the identity of the writer herself had at first been a secret, though by now everyone knew it was Elizabeth.

The column was always humorous and light. Elizabeth had been very careful to stay away from any topic that could be mean or hurtful, even before anyone knew who was writing the column. Mr. Collins, the faculty adviser, had warned her early on about the dangers of anonymous power. It was advice Elizabeth would recall when she confronted another kind of anonymous power--one that threatened to tear Robin Wilson and the Pi Betas apart.

Robin believed herself to be Jessica's best friend, which was, at best, a dangerous assumption. Elizabeth became acutely aware of the fact one day when the phone in the kitchen rang and it was Robin Wilson's mother trying to locate her daughter.

"Gee, Mrs. Wilson, I haven't seen her." "Is this Elizabeth? I think Robin is on her way over there with some things she's delivering for your sister."

"Oh," said Elizabeth, frowning. It was just like Jessica to use Robin as a messenger.

"If she shows up, ask her to call home, will you, dear?"

"Of course, Mrs. Wilson," Elizabeth said.

And then, silence. Although the conversation seemed to be over, Mrs. Wilson didn't hang up. Elizabeth could almost hear her on the other end of the line, making up her mind to say more.

"Elizabeth," Mrs. Wilson said at last, "can I ask you something? Does Robin seem--unhappy to you? I know that having you and Jessica as friends is the best thing that's happened to her since we moved to Sweet Valley. But--"

Elizabeth thought for a moment. "Well, I don't know. She seems all right to me," she said, at a loss for a better answer.

And then Elizabeth was totally astounded to hear Mrs. Wilson crying. "Oh, Elizabeth, you've got to help Robin! She's going to drop out of school!"

"What?"

"Yes! Even though she doesn't show it, she's so miserable. She's a little overweight, you know, and she thinks she's very unpopular." Mrs. Wilson took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was steadier. "Elizabeth, I know it's none of my business, but is Robin going to

be asked to pledge your sorority? It would mean so much to her."

"We've gotten behind on nominations," Elizabeth said, "because the old president moved away. But now Jessica is president, and she told me that she's going to put Robin's name up at the next meeting."

"Yes, I know," Mrs. Wilson said and sighed. "But ..."

"But what, Mrs. Wilson?"

"Well, Jessica is so busy, she might never get around to it. This is silly of me. Never mind, Elizabeth. Ask Robin to call home, will you? And, please, don't mention this to her. She'd be mortified."

Elizabeth hung up the phone. The conversation, however, continued to replay itself in her mind. Robin Wilson drop out of school? Why, she was one of the smartest girls at Sweet Valley! True, she was "a little overweight," as her mother had said. Much more than a little, actually. But she always seemed so cheerful and friendly.

Just then the phone rang again. It was her twin.

"Jessica Wakefield, you were supposed to be home an hour ago to help me clean the house, and you know it!" Elizabeth's anger came through loud and clear.

After listening to Jessica's breezy excuses for a moment or two, Elizabeth impatiently cut in. "You always have
very, very
important things to do when work is involved. What is it this time? You have to pick up your cleaning? What else?"

Again she listened, but this time an amused smile crept over her face.
"You
are picking up books at the library?" She was surprised her sister even knew her way there.

"OK, Jess, get here as soon as you can. Mom said the house had to be absolutely squeaky clean for her dinner party tonight."

Before Jessica could object, Elizabeth hung up, cutting her sister off in the middle of a sentence. Whenever Jessica talked that fast, Elizabeth knew she was up to something. Resisting the temptation to guess what the "something" was this time, she walked into the living room, trying to decide between vacuuming and dusting.

Elizabeth's usual sense of humor, momentarily out to lunch, returned in full force as she remembered her sister's last attempt to get out of serious work.

"Let's share the work," Jessica had said. "You clean the Johns, and I'll arrange the flowers."

Alone in the living room, Elizabeth laughed out loud. One thing about Jessica--you had to give her credit for sheer nerve.

Elizabeth was plugging in the vacuum cleaner

when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to find Robin Wilson, loaded down with books and dry cleaner's bags.

"Hi, Elizabeth, is Jessica home?" she asked shyly.

"What makes you think I'm not Jessica?" Elizabeth responded with friendly playfulness.

Looking awkward and uncomfortable, Robin blushed. "I don't mean to offend you, Liz, really I don't, but I'm pretty sure Jessica's never dressed like that in her life."

Elizabeth looked down at her favorite old jeans and flannel shirt and started to chuckle. "You're right, Robin. Come on in. Jess should be home pretty soon."

Robin plopped down on the sofa, rummaged around in her purse for something, and finally came up with a large chocolate bar. She unwrapped it and hungrily started munching.

"You're really lucky, Liz, having a terrific sister like Jessica." The chocolate bar was disappearing fast.

"That's me, all right, lucky Liz," she replied dryly, hypnotized by Robin's rhythmic chewing.

"Robin, doesn't eating like that make you"--
don't say "fat,"
she warned herself--"break out?"

"Oh, no," said Robin, licking her sticky fingers.
"I
never get zits, just pounds. But I just wasn't meant to be slim like you and Jessica. It's got

something to do with my bones--or is it my metabolism? Anyway, it's just my sad fate."

Elizabeth looked at Robin dubiously. She was convinced Robin's heaviness was due to the way she ate--especially if this was typical.

Though Elizabeth and Jessica certainly didn't have Robin's figure problems, they still watched their diets carefully. Slim, five foot six, the sisters were both beautiful: shoulder-length, sun- streaked blond hair, flashing blue-green eyes, and perfect skin. Elizabeth was four minutes older, but they were identical right down to the tiny dimple each had in her left cheek. Although they wore the same size clothes, they never dressed alike, except for identical lavalieres that they wore on gold chains around their necks. The lavalieres had been presents from their parents on the twins' sixteenth birthday.

The only way a stranger could tell them apart was that Elizabeth had a tiny beauty mark on her right shoulder. Their friends might notice that only Elizabeth wore a wristwatch. It was a telling detail. Time was never a problem for Jessica. She always felt that things didn't really start until she got there, anyway. And if she happened to be a little late--let 'em wait.

That "let 'em wait" attitude was what Elizabeth was inwardly fuming about.

"Look, Robin, Jessica may have gotten held

up somewhere, so maybe you could call her later or--"

"That's all right, Liz," Robin said, struggling to get out of the deep cushions. "I just wanted to drop off her cleaning and the books she wanted from the library."

Cleaning? Books?
Bingo!
Elizabeth exclaimed to herself. Jessica was definitely up to something.

"Why in the world are you doing Jessica's errands, Robin?"

"Well, she said she had something
very, very
important to do. Besides, that's what best friends are for--to do favors for each other."

Oh, Robin,
Elizabeth thought,
if you're Jessica's best friend, Attila the Hun is the prom King.
Elizabeth knew that doing favors was a one-way street with her sister. Jessica always let people do favors for her. It was her way of being kind to the "little people."

"I'll get out of your way, Liz," Robin was saying. "There's just one thing, and I probably shouldn't even mention it."

"Let me guess. Jessica forgot to pay for the cleaning."

"Oh, no, that doesn't matter. It's about-- well, it's about Pi Beta Alpha."

"What about PBA, Robin?"

Robin blushed. "It's just that I thought--I mean I know--that Jessica is waiting for the

right time to put my name up for membership. I
know
she wants me to be a PBA, but she's always so busy with really important things, and maybe she's forgotten this is my last chance to pledge. I can't pledge as a senior, so it's either now or never, Liz. I don't know what to do. It means everything to me." Robin looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

Don't cry,
Elizabeth thought.
Oh, Robin, please don't cry.
Belonging to a group whose main activities were putting on lip gloss and talking about boys was definitely not worth crying about.