SVH07-Dear Sister (10 page)

Love you,

Mom

"This is her idea of
love?"
Jessica said, not expecting an answer from the Percy sisters.

Jessica heaved a disgusted sigh. She had no choice but to do what her mother asked her.

"OK, OK. Where is this place and how long does one of these stupid things take?" she snarled.

When the twins told her where the auditions were being held and that each one took only about five or ten minutes, Jessica's spirits soared. She could do her chauffeuring routine and have plenty of time to meet Danny at the beach, she thought. It should be easy--if she didn't pay too much attention to speed limits.

"That's the place, Jessica! See the sign?" Jean shouted. "Look at all those cars."

Jessica looked at the crowded grammar school parking lot and groaned. It had taken almost an

hour to get there because of the heavy Saturday traffic. No one
she
knew ever got on the freeway so early in the morning.

"Look, you two, I'll let you out in front. You go in and do your thing, then come on out to the lot. I'll be looking for you." She checked the time on the dashboard clock, wishing for once in her life that she had a wristwatch. Time had never seemed so important before. "It should take twenty, maybe thirty minutes, right?"

Four very frightened brown eyes looked at her.

"What
is
the matter?" she asked impatiently. Jean and Joan looked at each other, then at Jessica.

"Aren't you coming in with us?" Jean asked. "Mom
always
comes in with us," Joan added. "I am
not
your mother!"

"But you're kind of like a big sister, aren't you, Jessica? Please. We can't go in there
alone
."

Jessica looked from one terrified face to the other. How had she gotten herself into this mess? It didn't take long to find the answer. Elizabeth. She knew the old Elizabeth would be kind and understanding and supportive in this kind of situation. Jessica wasn't sure if she could be any of those things, but she was there, and she was stuck with it.

"OK, you little munchkins, out! I'll park the car and meet you in the lobby," she said, resigning herself to the chore.

The twins scrambled out of the car, black flute cases under their arms, and joined the stream of young musicians entering the building.

Jessica stomped down hard on the accelerator, tearing around the lot until she found an empty space.

She was appalled at the crowd in the front lobby of the grammar school.
Terrific,
she said to herself. A mob of pushy parents and a zillion scared little rabbits. This was one strange place for Jessica Wakefield.

She had no sooner gotten inside when Jean and Joan surrounded her. "OK, kids," she said, "let's get the show on the road."

"Will you go up to the desk and tell the woman who we are?" Jean asked timidly.

"You want me to go up and tell her you are a large pain in the butt?" Jessica snapped.

Those eyes were focused on her again.

"Come on. Let's get this whole disaster over," Jessica said as she dragged them to the long registration table.

"Can I help you?" a woman asked.

"I doubt it, but it's worth a try," Jessica muttered.

"I beg your pardon, miss?"

"These two kids are here to audition." Jessica pulled the two girls closer to the table.

"More flute players, I see," the woman said as she glanced at their leather cases.

"Yes. Can they audition right now, please?

We have a long way to drive home and a
very
important appointment at noon." Jessica put on her most sincere smile, the one that was so effective at getting her what she wanted from adults.

The woman smiled back. It was working!

"Let's see what we can do, dear. A number of players have already registered this morning, so your sisters will have to wait their turns." She glanced down at a list on the table.

Jessica didn't bother to correct the woman, but she decided she must need glasses if she saw any resemblance between these two brown wrens and a dazzling blonde like herself.

"All right, girls, sign your names on the bottom of this list. Your audition numbers are seventy-two and seventy-three."

"Seventy-two and seventy-three!" Jessica gasped. "That can't be!"

Jessica thought she had never been more annoyed in her life. But she was wrong. True annoyance came after she had spent five hours restlessly pacing the musty corridors of the school, listening to interminable noises from flutes, trumpets, trombones, and heaven only knew what. Finally the twins' numbers were called. They disappeared into a room and emerged a short time later.

"I think I made it," Jean said gleefully.

"I bombed out," Joan said.

"What was all that terrible stuff you were playing?" Jessica asked.

"Terrible? That was a Bach sonata."

"Are you two through now? Can we go?"

"Sure," Joan said. "It was really great of you to bring us."

Jessica hardly listened. She herded them to the car and took off toward Sweet Valley in a fever.

She thought at first it was just the echo of all that flute playing in her ear, until she saw the flashing lights in the rearview mirror.

Jessica pounded the steering wheel with the flat of her hand. She was being frustrated on every side.

"License and registration, miss," the trooper said.

This was definitely the spot to use a for-adults-only smile, and Jessica gave it everything she had.

"Oh, officer, I'm so sorry. Was I going just a little bit over the speed limit?" One large tear miraculously appeared in her right eye.

"Fifteen miles is more than just a little bit, young lady," the trooper said, totally unmoved by the threat of tears. "You were endangering your life and the lives of others. And you put your little sisters in jeopardy," he added.

That did it!

"These are not my sisters, as anyone with half an eye could tell," she said with an edge to

her words. "If you'll just give me that ticket, I'll be on my way."
If I hurry
,
she thought,
maybe I can still catch Danny at the beach.

"Jessica, that policeman told you not to drive so fast," Jean complained as the little red car hurtled along the way to the beach.

"Well, if you had learned to play the flute faster, I wouldn't have to drive so fast. Just keep quiet and let me concentrate on the road!"

She swung the car sharply into an empty parking space and jumped out, followed by the twins.

"Are we going to go swimming, Jessica?" Joan asked.

"No, we are not going to go swimming," Jessica answered angrily.

She scanned the beach crowd, hoping for a glimpse of Danny. He just had to be there.

"There he is, Jessica."

"Where? Where?"

"Over there with his arm around that pretty girl in the white bikini." Jean pointed him out.

"The nerve of him! Just because I was a few hours late, he picks up someone else," Jessica fumed. "Let's go," she said to the girls and stomped back to the car in disgust. "I refuse to waste another minute of my time on that jerk."

They quickly got into the car, and as Jessica was backing out, she said angrily, "Don't you ever,
ever
ask me to take you anyplace again! Is that clear?" She had her eyes on them, and as a

result, Jessica Wakefield and disaster collided once more.

The crunch of fenders was the worst sound Jessica had ever heard. She jammed on the brakes and did the only thing possible. She put her arms on the steering wheel, buried her face in her hands, and cried.

Twelve

Most of the kids at Sweet Valley High considered Lila Fowler just about the biggest snob around, but they had to hand it to her when it came to having a party. When the Fowlers threw open their sprawling estate on the hill, they went all out. There were lights around the Spanish courtyard, and the hottest band in Southern California played by the swimming pool.

Lila never gave a party without a theme, and this time she had combined two of her old favorites. The kids were told to come in costume and without a date to a "pickup party." Everybody came single and picked up whomever they could. A lot of girls at Sweet Valley who thought they were going steady found themselves without boyfriends after one of Lila's pickup bashes, and a lot of girls who wanted to

get rid of guys did so that same night. Jessica liked the idea because it would give her a chance at just about every neat guy there.

It had taken the Wakefield twins almost an hour of heroic promises to get permission to go to the party.

"Elizabeth is grounded," Alice Wakefield had said. "No dates."

"But, Mom, there won't
be
dates. Everybody's going single. We'll be together," Jessica argued.

"Oh, please," Elizabeth had chimed in. "I'll do all my homework, really! And I haven't felt this good in so long."

It was a losing battle for Alice Wakefield when both her twin daughters overwhelmed her with appeals at the same time.

"Well, all right," she had said finally. "But, Jessica, you take care of your sister."

"I will," Jessica had said and sighed.

The beautiful twins were both dressed as matadors, but with different-colored accessories. Elizabeth's were red, and Jessica's were green. As usual when they dressed nearly the same, they succeeded in fooling most of the kids for a while.

But pretty soon the twin with the red sash and jacket was flirting so outrageously with every boy present that everyone knew it was Elizabeth.

"Boy, your sister is going all out tonight," Lila said as the red twin twirled through a group

of boys near the band. "But I really do wish you would put a lid on her." Lila sighed. "It's becoming an absolute bore, you know."

"Lila, that
is
my sister you're talking about. Knock it off!" Jessica said angrily.

Jessica felt rotten about blowing up at Lila, but she didn't have time to apologize. She had to keep an eye on Elizabeth.

The flirtatious twin in the red-trimmed matador suit was having a wonderful time, while the one in green stood on the sidelines.

"Hey, Jess, are you just going to stand around all evening watching your sister?" Cara Walker asked.

"I
have
to watch her." Jessica said dejectedly. "I promised my mother."

Under the lanterns Elizabeth spun madly across the red Spanish tiles. The world about her became a spinning blur. Suddenly she whirled into the arms of another boy. He was tall and strong, and when she looked at his face, she saw it was Todd.

"Liz," he said.

"No, thanks, Todd." She turned away.

The music erupted into a driving, powerful beat, and Elizabeth spun once more, moving happily and swiftly, smiling at each boy she passed. Once again, she was in somebody's arms.

"Hello, Jessica," Bruce Patman said.

Elizabeth didn't say a word, she just gave Bruce a flirtatious smile.

Tall, dark-haired Bruce was easily the best-looking guy at Sweet Valley High, and the richest. He was well aware that with his looks, his father's money, and his fantastic talent on the tennis courts, he could date any girl in town--except either of the Wakefield twins. Sometime back he'd done a real number on Jessica, and he figured that pretty much finished him with either Wakefield.

He didn't understand why Jessica was flirting with him now, but he was going to make the most of it. "You're looking sensational, Jess," he said.

Elizabeth's face glowed with excitement. Bruce's arms were around her, and they moved rhythmically to the beat. They danced under the lanterns and behind the palm trees, where Bruce nuzzled her neck and tried to kiss her. She laughed and moved them back out onto the patio.

"You're in a teasing mood tonight, Jessica," he said. "Really?"

"Really. But don't stop. You seem different. I don't think I've ever realized just how terrific you are."

Elizabeth laughed wildly.

Whirling past the band, Bruce spotted Max

Dellon lounging against the bandstand watching them, grinning knowingly.

"What's so funny?" Bruce asked.

"You and Liz," said Max. "I didn't know you were an item. But then, this is pickup night."

Bruce examined the face of his lovely partner. It was beautiful, all right. He had thought it was Jessica. Now he remembered he'd heard Elizabeth was going through a mysterious illness and wasn't acting like herself.

"You aren't Jessica," he said. "You're Elizabeth."

Elizabeth laughed. "Fooled you."

She made no attempt to pull away from him, though. She seemed quite content in his arms.

"You like me?" he asked, probing her situation.

She smiled. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Just wondering. You know who I am?"

"Sure," Elizabeth giggled. "Bruce Patman."

Now Bruce smiled. Elizabeth Wakefield, the beautiful girl who had snubbed him a thousand times, who thought she was too good for him, was in his arms at last.

"I thought you were Jessica at first," he said.

Elizabeth tossed her head. "Really? Don't you think I'm just as exciting as Jessica?"

Bruce looked into her eyes. Was she putting him on? "You like excitement?"

"Of course. Who doesn't?"

"Want a drink?"

"Sure! What do you have?"

Bruce led her back behind a palm tree and pulled a small bottle from his pocket. He took the cap off and, still doubtful, handed it to her. But Elizabeth grabbed the bottle and gulped down several quick slugs. Bruce had to grab it back. "Hey, take it easy."

Elizabeth laughed and ran back out onto the dance floor, just in time to meet Jessica, who'd been searching anxiously for her.

"Liz," she said, "are you all right?"

" 'Course," said Elizabeth, her eyes wide.

"OK. I'm going to dance a little. I'll see you later. Take it easy, will you?"

"See you," said Elizabeth.

Bruce watched from behind the palms. When Jessica was gone, he stepped out and took Elizabeth's hand. With a little tug, he pulled her back into the shadows. Elizabeth didn't resist. Instead, she gave him another dazzling smile.