Playing With Fire (8 page)

“Not the Jessica I know and hate.”

Elizabeth ignored his last remark. “And then finally he did call—just to tell her he'd see her tonight. Todd, you should have seen the look on her face. It was as if someone had just crowned her Miss America. She looked so—so satisfied. And for what? A lousy phone call!”

“Well, wait a second, Liz. She really cares about the guy. Of course she's going to be happy to see him. Not
everything
Jessica does or feels for him is horrible!” Todd fondly cupped Elizabeth's chin in his hand. “Don't you feel good when I call?”

Gently Elizabeth gave Todd a soft kiss then thoughtfully responded, “Of course I do, and you're right. I should try to be more understanding. It's just that she's getting so carried away.”

“Yes, well, she's got it bad for him.”

Elizabeth leaned back in her seat dejectedly. “I tell you, Todd, he's like an evil wizard, out to twist her into anything he wants. And the worst part is, she's letting him. I wish there were something I could do to stop her.”

“You've already tried—and look where it's gotten you.”

“I know.” She sighed. “But you don't know how awful it is to watch your sister go through all this and not be able to do a thing about it. She's heading for a disaster. I can feel it, and if I don't find a way to show her what's really happening, I'm afraid I'll lose the real Jessica altogether!”

Eight

EYES AND EARS

The halls are buzzing with the news of a hot and heavy thing going on between Lila F. and a certain blond football player. Chalk up one more for Lila.… Three cheers for Lois W.! John P. showed up at her party. Guess sometimes dreams
do
come true.… Bill C.'s found another surf bunny.… Enid R.'s packing up her suitcases for another weekend visit with G.W.—fourth in a row, but who's counting? … Cara W. has her eye on a basketball-playing senior. Maybe
she
can get him interested in something besides dribbling!… Danger: Toni J.'s now on the roads. Pedestrians beware.…

Elizabeth sighed with despair after giving her latest column for
The Oracle
a final read. It seemed to her that it lacked its usual punch. Had her writing gone stale? she wondered. No, the breezy copy was as fast-paced and readable as always. There were plenty of tidbits on all the leading couples in school. All but one. And that, she realized, was where the trouble lay.

Elizabeth had left out the most talked-about duo in school, Jessica and Bruce. Not that there hadn't been anything to write about, she admitted grudgingly to herself. In the two weeks they had been dating, the two had been nearly inseparable around campus, sharing lunches and study periods, frequently cutting classes to sneak some loving moments in the alley behind the school cafeteria: Jessica devotedly went to every single one of Bruce's tennis practices, watching his every shot with adoring eyes. She even ran after his tennis balls as if performing a sacred duty. She spent almost every night with him as well, and when she didn't she kept a vigil by the phone, just in case he had a sudden change in plans.

During dinner the night before, Jessica had given everyone a replay of a practice game between Bruce and another player on the team. “He sounds quite good, Jessica,” her father had commented. “But has he been able to beat you, yet?”

“Oh, we don't play against each other.”

Ned and Alice Wakefield exchanged puzzled looks. “You mean you play doubles together?” Mr. Wakefield had asked.

“No.”

“Then what?”

“I just watch,” she'd declared matter-of-factly—as if it were perfectly normal for the Wakefield family's best tennis player to sit on the sidelines voluntarily.

Her father had stared at her incredulously. “But why, Jess? You love to play.”

With that now familiar dreamlike look in her eyes, Jessica had said, “I'd rather watch
him,
Daddy. He looks so beautiful on the courts.”

Mr. Wakefield had smiled at his daughter's romantic vision, while his wife had given Elizabeth a worried look.

“Didn't you two play a few sets when you first started going out?” Elizabeth had asked pointedly. “I seem to remember you were looking forward to showing him how good you are.”

Jessica had snorted. “That was so juvenile of me. Besides, I could never beat him—he's very, very good.”

Now, staring at her column, Elizabeth realized that if she had ever complained about the old Jessica, she'd gladly take it all back now. She couldn't stand the changes Bruce had caused in her sister. The old Jessica was fun-loving, spontaneous—and she
never
walked away from a good game of tennis. And, more importantly, Jessica always shared everything with her. Now, more often than not, Elizabeth had to find out about Jessica's doings from starry-eyed dinner conversations like these—and she didn't like what she was hearing. It was clear that the strong-willed twin she used to know had turned into a helpless puppet—and Bruce Patman was pulling all the strings.

DROIDS DO IT AGAIN

By Elizabeth Wakefield

(second in a continuing series)

 

The Droids' path to rock-and-roll stardom took them this week to Marshalltown, where they performed at the Rancho East, one of the beach area's leading music spots. We're told that the Sweet Valley band proved once again that they are one of the up-and-coming groups on the rock scene, earning a standing ovation from the enthusiastic audience.

Droids' drummer Emily Mayer summed up her feelings about the show: “It was our best performance yet. Everything seemed to click, and the crowd was super. I wanted to play for them all night.”

The band has been on the move since last performing in Sweet Valley. Guy Chesney, keyboardist for the group, has been busy writing original songs, three of which were introduced at Saturday's concert. “We're getting into new areas, away from the simple old love songs,” he said. “Topics like alienation and loneliness. They may sound like downers, but the messages are uplifting. And of course there's still the famous Droids beat that Sweet Valleyites know us for.”

Tony Conover, The Droids' new manager, plans to continue showcasing the group at clubs around the state. Next week the band returns to Sand Pines, where they made their impressive debut two weeks ago.

“Pretty good write-up, don't you think?” Guy handed the paper to Max for his inspection.

“If you like fiction.” Max rolled up the paper and whacked Guy with it. “You're beginning to believe your own notices. That's bad, man.”

“Yeah, what about that standing ovation business?” Emily came down from behind her drums and joined the boys as they seated themselves around an old table. “The place was half empty, and Liz wasn't even there, so she had to get the information from somebody. Wonder who?” She looked directly at Guy, who couldn't meet her eyes.

“It's not hurting us, right?” Guy defended his action. “What's wrong with letting everyone in school think we're really making it?”

“Nothing, except it's not true,” Dan said.

Max lit up a cigarette. “Yeah, two gigs in dives like those don't qualify as success in my book. When's Tony going to get us some real dates?”

“I thought you didn't care,” Emily said. Max just shrugged.

“Did someone mention Tony?” Dana came running down the stairs and took a seat with the others. “Sorry I'm late, but I was on the phone with Tony for a long time. He's in L.A. trying to line us up at more clubs.” She smiled. “He says he's getting lots of positive feedback. Isn't that great?”

“Fantastic!” Emily cried. “Where are we playing next?”

“He says he'll get back to me in a day or two.” Dana looked at the others. “We ready to get started?”

“Yeah, sure.” Suddenly glum, Guy pulled back his chair and walked slowly to his synthesizer.

The sudden change in mood was apparent to Emily. “Are you OK, Guy?” she asked, realizing he might be reading something hurtful into Dana's conversation with Tony.

He turned instead to Dana and asked, “Why did Tony call you? I thought we agreed that I was the one he'd be dealing with.”

“Maybe your line was busy,” Max said sarcastically.

“I don't know why he called me,” Dana answered. “But it doesn't really matter, does it, Guy?”

The frizzy-haired musician switched on his instrument and didn't say another word.

Nine

Jessica arrived at school the following Friday wearing her cheerleading uniform. The football team was playing rival Dallas Heights High that evening, and the whole school was getting ready for the action. Although she'd missed practice for the past three weeks, Jessica was as up for the game as the rest of the squad and couldn't wait for the morning's special assembly to rally team spirit. There'd been some talk of kicking her off the squad for missing so many practices, but Jessica put her old charm to work and wheedled herself back into everybody's good graces. With the entire school planning to attend the home game, this was one event she didn't want to miss.

She ran through the packed hallway to the locker area to find Bruce, who'd been unable to take her to school that morning because his Porsche was in the shop for repairs. Finding him rummaging through his open locker, she put her hands over his eyes and whispered, “Guess who?”

“I'd know those beautiful hands anywhere. Must be my pretty little princess.”

“I should have known I couldn't fool you,” Jessica said, giggling.

Bruce turned around, ready to give her a goodmorning hug. But he stopped when he saw what she was wearing.

Jessica grew puzzled at the change in his expression. “What's the matter, honey?” she asked.

Bruce's scowl grew deeper. “What's the idea of that outfit?”

“You haven't gone blind all of a sudden, have you?” she teased. “It's my cheerleading outfit. I just had it cleaned. Doesn't it look nice? I wanted to look my best for the assembly and tonight's game.” As soon as the words were out, Jessica realized she'd said something wrong. “What's the matter, Bruce? Haven't you ever seen a cheerleader before?”

“Who said you're going to the football game?”

Jessica looked at him disbelievingly. “It's the biggest game of the year. Of course I'm going.”

“How come you didn't mention this to me?”

Jessica couldn't understand why Bruce was getting angry with her. “I—I didn't think it was necessary, honey. I mean, you know I'm on the squad, so I just assumed you knew I'd be there.”

“Never assume anything with me, babe.” Bruce's tone was harsh, unsympathetic. “I thought the two of us would take a drive down to the beach tonight.”

“But what about the game?”

“Football bores me. And if you know what's right for us, you'll find a way to miss this game.” He put his hands firmly on her shoulders. “Tell me, baby, who'd you rather be with? Me, or a bunch of chicks with fat thighs in short skirts?”

Jessica hated the hard look she saw in Bruce's eyes. Hesitating a moment, she ran her fingers nervously through her hair. “Well, if you put it that way…”

Jessica went to the assembly but asked to be excused from English class that morning because of a splitting headache. At lunchtime she passed Lila Fowler in the hall and complained of stomach cramps. By last period she was crying uncontrollably to Cara Walker. She was feeling so awful, she said, she just didn't see how she was going to be able to make it to the game.

By seven o'clock, however, she'd made a miraculous recovery. She was dressed and ready to go when Bruce picked her up for the beach.

*   *   *

A few days later Cara barged into the newspaper office. Ignoring the meeting in progress between Elizabeth and Mr. Collins, the faculty adviser for the paper, she walked right up between the two. “Your sister is mad,” she announced.

Elizabeth looked helplessly at the faculty adviser, who nodded as he rose and left the two girls alone. Elizabeth offered Cara a seat, which she declined. “Who's she mad at?” Elizabeth asked.

“Not mad-angry—mad in the head. Do you know what she just told me? She's quitting the cheer-leading squad!”

Elizabeth was truly startled by the news. “She didn't say anything about it to me. Did she tell you why?”

“She says she's tired of it.” Cara shrugged. “Maybe she is. She sure has missed a lot of practices lately. But if you ask me, I think Bruce made her quit.”

“Or she quit to stay on his good side,” Elizabeth thought aloud. “He broke a date with her this week, and I thought she'd go out of her mind.”

“Oh, Liz, what are we going to do about her? We've got to get her away from that boy.”

“You're not still interested in him, are you?”

Cara rolled her eyes. “Liz, I've been down that road. Once is enough. I like my independence too much.”

“So he tried to control you just like he's doing with Jessica?”

“From what I can see, yes. I hardly ever spend time with her these days, though. That girl hasn't been herself since he came on the scene. She's surrendered to him body and soul. And for what? I've heard Bruce hardly spends a dime on her and never takes her anywhere except to the beach.”

“That's not true!” Elizabeth emphatically denied the accusation, although she had no way of disproving it. “Jessica wouldn't waste five minutes with someone who didn't want to show her a good time.”

Cara arched an eyebrow. “I didn't say anything about not having a good time. All I'm saying is, that girl is headed for trouble!”

*   *   *

“It was so nice of you to invite me over tonight, Jessica,” Robin gushed. The two girls were in Jessica's room the following night, sitting at her vanity, an array of blushes, lipsticks, and eye-shadows lined up in front of them.