SVH10-Wrong Kind of Girl (2 page)

But all that day the rumor went through the corridors of the school. Elizabeth heard it again in the cafeteria at lunch.

"Easy Annie did it again."

"What happened?"

"She was out with that bum Rick Andover."

"No!"

"Yes. Everybody says she'll take just about anyone. I guess this proves it."

Despite the whispers, Elizabeth withheld judgment. That afternoon she wrote an article on the cheerleader tryouts for
The Oracle,
carefully typing out all seventy-five names.

"Competition for the cheerleader tryouts is the greatest in the school's history," she wrote. "Good luck, everybody."

Elizabeth had left the
Oracle
office and was heading out through the front door, between the massive stone columns that adorned the building, when she spotted Annie Whitman.

She almost turned away to avoid the other girl, but something wouldn't let her. Elizabeth had to know.

"Annie," she called out. "Wait up."

Annie looked back, saw Elizabeth, and

quickened her step as if to hurry away. She looked down at her shoes, and suddenly tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. When Elizabeth caught up with her, Annie could barely speak.

"What's the matter?" Elizabeth said softly. "Are you all right?"

Annie shook her head sorrowfully. "No, Liz, I'm not all right at all."

"What happened?"

"Who does Ms. Taylor think she is, anyway?" Annie cried.

"Your math teacher?"

"Really, Liz, it was supposed to be a little quiz, but it was more like a final."

Annie plopped down on the lawn under a huge tree, and her face looked like a dam about to burst.

"How did you do?" Elizabeth asked cautiously.

Annie let out an exasperated breath and looked away. "Rotten, of course."

"How
rotten?"

"Oh, I think I got the first part right. Where it says write your name. After that--zilch."

Elizabeth shook her head helplessly. "You knew the test was coming."

"But I didn't realize she was going to cover everything!"

Did you study for it?
Elizabeth wanted to ask but didn't.

Annie was playing with her shoelaces, untying and tying them over and over. Her hands

trembled, and her eyes were red. She looked like someone who desperately needed a friend.

"I thought I knew it. I really did," she said. "I should have stayed home last night and reviewed it, I guess."

Given the opening, Elizabeth couldn't resist dashing through it. "You mean you didn't study last night?"

Annie tossed her lovely head and made a face. "I did, for a while. But I don't like to hang around the house. Anyway, Rick Andover came by and showed me his latest car. It's really neat, Liz."

Elizabeth looked at Annie. So, it was true after all. She
had
been out with Rick.

"It's a souped-up 1955 Chevy," Annie went on. "He calls it his Campbell's Special." She laughed. But as she glanced at Elizabeth, the laugh died and she fell silent.

"Don't look at me that way," Annie said.

"I'm not."

"You are!"

"Annie, I thought staying off probation was important to you."

"Oh, it is, Liz! It's just about the most important thing in my life. Because I just
have
to make the cheerleading squad, or I'll
die.
But--"

"But what?" asked Elizabeth.

"Oh, I don't know. Sometimes I think it's not even worth trying, Liz. Sometimes I feel so worthless."

"What?" Elizabeth said, truly surprised. "You?

Why, Annie, you're just about the most beautiful girl in Sweet Valley High."

A becoming blush rose in Annie Whitman's cheeks. "I am not, Liz. Oh, sometimes I think I'm sort of OK-looking, but--"

"OK-looking? Why, every boy in school is crazy about you."
Oh, no, why did I blurt that out?
Elizabeth thought miserably. But Annie didn't seem to mind. In fact, she perked up and smiled again.

"Yeah, boys like me." She giggled. "I like them, too. But I don't know," she mused. "Maybe it's because girls sometimes seem jealous of me. They're not as friendly.

"But anyway, Liz, what am I going to do about that yucky math stuff?" The gloom returned to her pretty face. "If I don't pass, I'll be back on probation, and if you're on probation, you can't go out for the cheerleader squad. Liz, the first round of tryouts is in two weeks!"

"Don't worry," Elizabeth tried to console her. "You'll make it."

Unless my darling sister has something to say about it,
she added grimly to herself.

Two

Elizabeth had mixed feelings as she walked into the lobby of the apartment building where Annie and her mother lived. She had not been able to resist Annie's plea for help the day before.

Fortunately she
had
been able to get out of the house after dinner without telling Jessica where she was going. If her sister discovered she was tutoring Annie again, Elizabeth knew she would be furious.
Why am I saying "if?
she asked herself. Jessica was sure to find out, and she'd consider it a major act of treason.

For the millionth time in her sixteen years, Elizabeth wondered how identical twins could be so different. "But I
am
doing the right thing," she said under her breath as she went up in the elevator to the fourth floor. Annie opened the door before Elizabeth even had time to ring the bell.

"Hi, Liz. Come on in! I was at the front window watching for you. You don't know how

much this means to me," she said breathlessly, ushering Elizabeth into the living room.

"Take it easy, Annie," Elizabeth said, laughing. "I'm only helping you with math, not saving your life."

"It's the same thing, Liz. With tryouts coming up so soon, it's absolutely the same thing."

Elizabeth wasn't surprised by the look of intensity on Annie's face, but it did make her uncomfortable. Wanting something so badly was bound to cause problems, especially with Jessica Wakefield as an opponent.

"This is a nice apartment, Annie," Elizabeth said, looking around the living room. It was small but attractive, and the furniture was ultramodern. She had never been to Annie's home before; Annie had preferred to stay after school and have Elizabeth help her.

"It's OK, I guess," Annie said, "if you like small apartments with too many people around."

"I thought it was just you and your mother."

"And Johnny makes three," Annie said bitterly.

Elizabeth stared at her blankly. Annie had a brother?

"Johnny is my mother's
very special friend.
He lives here, too. We're just one big happy family."

Elizabeth wished they had stuck to the subject of math. Mrs. Whitman's personal life was really none of her business.

The look of embarrassment on Elizabeth's face was hard to miss, and Annie was instantly contrite. "I'm sorry, Liz. You must think I'm a

real jerk, babbling on like that. You're not interested in my personal life."

"If s not that I'm not interested in you, Annie," Elizabeth protested. "If s just..."
It's just what?
she asked herself. J
don't want to get involved? But I'm already involved. Maybe Annie needs someone to talk to.

"Forget it, Liz," Annie said. "Maybe we should get started on the math. You don't want to waste your whole evening on me.. I'll get my books."

As Elizabeth watched Annie leave the room, she resisted the urge to shake the pretty, dark-haired girl. She sent a silent message to her sister.
Forgive me, Jess. I'm about to get in all the way.

"Annie, let's get something straight right up front," Elizabeth said as a dejected Annie came back into the room. "You asked me for help, and I said yes. I don't think I'm wasting my time."

Annie smiled her thanks, her green eyes lighting up for a brief moment as she sat down next to Elizabeth on the sofa.

"If you've got problems you want to talk about, Annie, I'm a pretty good listener."

"Really?" Doubt was written all over Annie's face.

"Yes, really. And I've got time."

Annie got up and walked to the window, jamming her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "Do you ever get lonely, Liz? I mean
really
lonely to talk to somebody?"

"Everybody gets lonely sometimes." Elizabeth tried to remember if she had ever been
really
lonely. She had her family; she had Enid Rollins, her best friend--she and Enid could talk about anything; and then there was Todd Wilkins, her boyfriend and the Gladiators' star basketball player. If only Annie had one guy like Todd, Elizabeth thought, she wouldn't need an army of other guys.

Annie turned around to face Elizabeth. There were tears in her eyes. "Liz, I don't have one real friend in the world."

As Elizabeth started to speak, Annie waved her hand. "Please, don't tell me that a mother is a girl's best friend. You don't know my mother. She's--she's different. Oh, boy, is she different!"

Annie seemed like an oil well waiting to be tapped. It all poured out--all fifteen years of a life that Elizabeth could hardly imagine.

"My mother was sixteen when I was born. Sixteen, Liz--the same age you are now! I must have been really good news for her. My father was seventeen. He married her, but they didn't live happily ever after. Are your parents together, Liz?"

The suddenness of the question startled Elizabeth. She was still trying to cope with the idea of having a baby at her age.

"Well, yes." She felt strangely guilty about having terrific parents.

Elizabeth tried to imagine what life would be like without her mother and father. Impossible, that's what! She was so proud of her tall,

dark-haired, good-looking father. Even though he was one of the busiest lawyers in the area, he always had time to be with his family. What Would she do without his warm support, not to mention his sense of humor?

And Mom, she thought. Did Elizabeth remember to tell her how much she appreciated everything her mother did for her? Probably not. Even with her career, Alice Wakefield was always there when the girls needed her. And it made Elizabeth so proud whenever people said that she and Jessica looked like their mother.

"My parents split up when I was two," Annie continued. "My father wasn't into responsibility, I guess."

Annie might be a year younger than she was in actual age, but Elizabeth knew she was years older in experience. "Couldn't your grandparents help?"

"Grandparents! They're the ones who are supposed to bounce you on their knees, right? Not mine. They thought my mother was
bad
--there was no way they would help."

"Annie, I'm really sorry. I had no idea." Elizabeth almost wished she hadn't said she was a good listener. This was much more than she wanted to know.

"No, Liz," Annie said, recognizing the expression on Elizabeth's face, "I don't want you to feel sorry for me. My mother's not like yours, but she's OK. She's pretty gutsy, really. She could have given me away, but she didn't. She did the best she could, I guess."

"Do you ever see your father?" Elizabeth asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Annie gave a short, bitter laugh. "He hasn't been around in five years. He used to show up once in a while--wanting money, I guess. Mom was making pretty good money modeling, and my father was out of work most of the time. He came around one day--I was about ten years old--and they had a big fight. I tried to separate them because I thought he was going to hurt Mom. He got so mad that he threw me down the stairs."

Elizabeth sat there in a state of shock. She didn't know what to say. But Annie didn't seem to need any words, only the willing ear Elizabeth had offered her.

"I did some modeling, too, a couple of years ago. Did you know that?"

Glad to be off the subject of Annie's parents, Elizabeth nodded. "I hear you were terrific at it," she said. "You've certainly got the looks for it." Even Jessica would have to admit that Annie was a knockout, with her slim figure, dark, wavy hair, and flawless complexion.

Annie laughed. "I don't know about
terrific,
Liz, but it was kind of fun for a while. I got to wear these really fabulous clothes, and people were always making a big deal about doing my makeup and fixing my hair. When they got through with me, I looked eighteen or nineteen instead of thirteen." She had a faraway look in her eyes. "Sometimes I'd look in a mirror and try to remember exactly how old I really was,

you know what I mean? Everybody treated me like an adult during a modeling session, but as soon as the makeup came off and I was back in jeans, I was just a kid again."

"All that attention must have been terrific." Annie shrugged. "Everyone said I was wonderful while the cameras were clicking, but when the session ended, they ignored me. I finally realized they didn't care about
me,
the real me beneath the makeup and the clothes. I was still lonely. My mother didn't have time for me because of her schedule, and I guess I just didn't know how to make friends with girls my own

age."

"I can't imagine anyone as friendly as you are not being able to make friends, Annie."

"Well, I've got lots of boyfriends." Annie smiled brightly. "I've been deeply in love a few times. But a lot of boys are shallow, you know? Sometimes after you break up, they don't even respect you. That's what this is all about, Liz."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked, still taking in everything Annie had just told her about herself.

"The grades and the cheering squad, Liz. That's the way I'm going to change my life. Don't you see? The kids will respect me if I get good grades and if I'm on something as important as the cheering squad."

"I know what you mean, Annie," Elizabeth said. "Good grades and activities
are
important, but the cheering squad isn't the only good activity. There are lots of others that are just as

good."
Most of which my sister Jessica is not into,
she added to herself.