Six

The smell of freshly mowed grass was the first thing that greeted Elizabeth as she trudged up the sloping front lawn of Sweet Valley High. It was a perfect spring day. A cloudless blue sky spanned the roof of the sprawling red brick school building. Sunlight glinted off the curlicued brass hands of the giant Romanesque clock that dominated the school’s impressive white-columned facade.

“Enid!” Elizabeth called out after her best friend, who was on her way through the double doors ahead.

Enid glanced over her shoulder at Elizabeth but didn’t stop.

Elizabeth was out of breath by the time she caught up with her friend at their lockers. “Why didn’t you wait?” she gasped.

Enid gave her a funny look. “I guess I just couldn’t imagine what you would have to say to me, Jessica,” she replied coolly.

“Jessica?” For a moment Elizabeth had forgotten. “Enid—it’s me, Liz!”

“Oh, my gosh, Liz!” Enid clapped a hand over her open mouth. “I’m sorry. How could I have thought—?” She stopped, her eyes narrowing. “Wait a minute, that’s not your outfit. It’s Jessica’s. What are you doing in her clothes?”

Elizabeth sighed. “It’s a long story.” She gave Enid a quick rundown on this latest Jessica-inspired disaster. “The question is, where is Jessica now? I don’t even know what happened to her last night.”

Enid bit her tongue to hold back the scathing remark she’d been about to make. “Some of those college parties can get pretty wild, from what I hear. Remember that pajama party my cousin told us about? Jessica probably just had too much to drink and passed out or something.” She smiled-to herself, thinking of the miserable hangover Jessica would be suffering as a result.

“Maybe you’re right.” Elizabeth wouldn’t have put such a thing past her sister. “I guess it doesn’t really matter at this point. The only thing that worries me now is the test. What if Jess doesn’t show up when it’s her turn to take it?”

Enid shrugged. “That’s her problem, if you ask me.”

“Jessie’s not really as tough as she seems,” Elizabeth remarked doubtfully.

“Oh, she’ll manage somehow. She always lands on her feet—no matter how much trouble she’s gotten herself into.”

Elizabeth looked so miserable that Enid couldn’t resist putting an arm around her shoulders.

“The trouble is,” Elizabeth went on, “I’m in this, too—whether I want to be or not. I promised Jessica I’d help.” She gave a sheepish grin. “Well—sort of.”

“I can imagine.” Enid removed her chemistry notebook and a dog-eared copy of Macbeth from her locker.

“It’s not just Jessica I’m thinking of, either,” Elizabeth was quick to point out. “We planned on being tourist guides together. No matter how mad I get at Jess sometimes, it just wouldn’t be the same without her. It’s for me, too.”

“I’m sure it’ll work out,” Enid told her, though secretly she had her doubts. “When’s the test?”

“I’m taking mine right now, but Jessica’s isn’t scheduled until second period.”

“That’s an hour away. Don’t worry. She’s got plenty of time.”

Elizabeth chewed her lip. “I’m not so sure—knowing Jessie. We have this joke in our family that the reason she was born four minutes later than me was because she forgot to put on her watch. Gosh, I don’t think Jess even owns a watch.”

“If the test is as important to her as it is to you, she’ll find a way to get here on time,” Enid said.

“I wish I could believe that,” Elizabeth muttered, her words drowned by the deafening clang of the first bell.

She spent the next few minutes scouring the corridors for some trace of her twin. No one had seen her, though several people did double takes, mistaking Elizabeth for Jessica. Even Bruce Patman was fooled.

“Hey, babe,” he called out loudly as she breezed past him, flashing her his famous heartbreaker smile. Some time back Jessica had met her match in gorgeous, arrogant Bruce, until their fiery romance had exploded. But that was old news by now, and recently he’d been trying to worm his way back into her good graces. “How about going out with me this Saturday night?”

“Not a chance,” Elizabeth tossed back cheerfully. It was exactly what Jessica would have wanted her to say. For the first time that day, Elizabeth didn’t mind playing her twin’s double.

She spied Todd a short way down the corridor talking to Bill Chase and angled toward him.

“Liz?” he asked hesitantly.

Elizabeth grinned. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Did I hear what I thought I heard? Was that Bruce Patman asking you out?” Todd demanded, breaking away from his conversation with Bill Chase to join her. “Talk to you later,” he yelled after Bill, who was already shuffling off toward class. Turning back to Elizabeth, he threatened, “One of these days I’m going to annihilate that creep.”

“Who—Bill?” Elizabeth asked distractedly.

“Naw, I meant Bruce. What was he doing asking you out, anyway?”

“Oh, that. Don’t worry. He wasn’t asking me out. He was asking Jessica.”

“Well, there is something awfully ‘Jessica’ about you today,” Todd said, a note of confusion in his voice.

No response.

Todd passed a hand in front of Elizabeth’s eyes as if he’d caught her in a trance. “Are you sure you’re feeling OK? You didn’t get hit over the head or anything, did you?”

“That’s one way of looking at it, I suppose,” Elizabeth replied with a giggle.

“OK, be mysterious.” He looked mysteriously happy about something himself, she thought. “Nothing could spoil the good mood I’m in today.” He waited a beat, an irrepressible grin plastered across his face. “Aren’t you even going to ask me why I’m in such a terrific mood?”

“Why are you in such a terrific mood, Todd?” Elizabeth asked dutifully.

“Because I finally have enough money to buy that Yamaha I was telling you about. Man, I can hardly wait.” He closed his eyes in an expression of rapture. “I can almost feel the breeze whistling past my helmet now.”

“That’s—that’s great, Todd.”

For a minute Elizabeth’s worries about Jessica were sidetracked by a brand-new dilemma. Her parents had absolutely forbidden her ever to ride on a motorcycle. It was one of their strictest rules. What was she going to tell Todd? She pushed it to the back of her mind for the present. He hadn’t even gotten the motorcycle yet. She would cross that bridge when the time came.

“Hey,” he asked her, coming to earth again, “are you really OK? You look a little spaced out. Is it that test you’re worrying about?” He placed a concerned arm about her shoulders.

“Oh, Todd…” Burying her head against the welcome haven of his shoulder, she spilled out the entire story.

Todd grew silent, and Elizabeth could tell from the way he was looking at her that he disapproved. Finally he said in a quiet voice, “You shouldn’t let Jessica get away with so much, Liz. She just uses you.”

“I know I shouldn’t, but she’s my sister. I can’t just stand by and do nothing.”

“Look,” Todd said, his face showing the strain of remaining neutral where Jessica was concerned, “there’s no real harm done so far. And you’ve certainly done everything you could. Nobody, not even Jessica, could ask for more. So forget about her for now. Go take the test. I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors.” He kissed her lightly on the mouth. He smelled faintly of toothpaste and the spicy aftershave he used.

“I guess there’s not much else I can do.” She kissed him back. “Thanks, Todd.”

Smacking his lips with exaggerated relish, he replied, “Thank you—Jessica. You kiss almost as well as your sister.”

Elizabeth tried to punch him, but laughing wickedly, he ducked out of the way.

By the time she reached the classroom where she was to take the test, Elizabeth had nearly succeeded in banishing her worries about Jessica. Still basking in the glow of Todd’s love, she sailed through the test. A lot of the questions had been worded to be deliberately confusing, but Elizabeth had no trouble sorting them out. She was one of the first to hand her answers in to Miss Bascombe, the teacher monitoring the first-period test.

“There you are.” Cara swooped down on her from out of nowhere as she was leaving the classroom. I’ve been looking absolutely everywhere for you, Jessica Wakefield.”

She clutched Elizabeth’s arm, lowering her voice to a shrill whisper. “You’re not getting away from me until I’ve heard everything, I mean everything, about the party.”

Elizabeth smiled sweetly, her blue-green eyes sparkling with mischief. “Gosh, Cara, I don’t know where to begin.…”