Jessica Quits the Squad Read online

  JESSICA QUITS

  THE SQUAD

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  To Steven Lev Groopman

  "Here's to Jessica!" Maria Santelli raised her glass of soda, and all the cheerleaders did the same.

  Just as they were about to click their glasses together, Jessica's attention was diverted by a stunning blond girl walking into the Dairi Burger.

  "Who's that?" Jessica asked, annoyed that this stranger had interrupted Maria's toast honoring her.

  "I don't know, but the guys look like their tongues are about to fall out of their mouths," Lila Fowler teased."

  "I don't see what all the fuss is about." Jessica scrutinized the girl who was stealing her thunder. "She looks pretty plain, if you ask me."

  "If that's plain, then in my next life I want to be plain," Jean West said, taking a bite of her sundae.

  "A diet Coke with lemon, please," Jessica heard the girl say, flipping her hair.

  Everyone in the restaurant seemed to hold their breath as she left the restaurant with her order.

  Jessica, more annoyed than ever, watched as the girl got into a brand-new white convertible Mazda Miata with "Cheerleader" plates and revved the engine before she pulled out.

  I hope I never lay eyes on that girl again, Jessica thought as she pushed away her hot-fudge sundae.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Preview: Sharing Sam

  Chapter 1

  "Great job today, girls!" Ken Matthews said as he walked past the booth of cheerleaders at the Dairi Burger on Friday afternoon. "You guys were hot! We couldn't have won that game without you."

  "Thanks," Jessica Wakefield said, gladly accepting the compliment for the whole table. Ken was the quarterback for the Gladiators, the Sweet Valley High football team, and he had thrown the pass that clinched the game. With his blond hair and winning smile, he was also one of the cutest guys in the school.

  Jessica felt personally responsible for the cheering squad's brilliant performance at the Big Mesa game that afternoon. Even though she shared the title of cocaptain with Robin Wilson, she considered herself the true team leader. After all, she put more time and energy into the squad than Robin did.

  Robin was great at the organizational stuff, like paperwork and scheduling practices, but Jessica was the real brains behind the squad. She wrote most of the cheers and choreographed the moves. Still, they were a good team, mainly because there wasn't any rivalry between them. Robin wasn't at all competitive with Jessica. On the contrary, she was just happy to be cocaptain. After all, not so long ago Robin hadn't even been a cheerleader. Jessica remembered the old, chubby Robin Wilson, how she had followed Jessica around like a little puppy dog, wanting to be just like her. But now, after recovering from a scary bout with anorexia, during which she had got much too thin, she had reached a healthy weight and was completely her own person. As far as Jessica was concerned, she was the perfect cocaptain. She helped out just enough and never stole the limelight.

  Like today, for instance, Jessica was getting the attention and admiration she felt she deserved. The Dairi Burger was teeming with excitement after the big game. The entire football team was there and dozens of their fans, and everybody was congratulating Jessica on her squad's performance. Nothing made Jessica happier than being in the spotlight—a position she found herself in more often than not. After all, with her beautiful long blond hair, sparkling blue-green eyes, and dynamic personality, Jessica was one of the most popular girls at Sweet Valley High.

  But even Jessica had to admit that there was someone else who was equally popular at Sweet Valley High—her identical twin sister, Elizabeth. But she was popular in a different way.

  Elizabeth, a serious student, was the editor of the school newspaper, The Oracle. She liked to have a good time as much as Jessica did, but Jessica knew Elizabeth thought she and her friends were a little silly—that they were more interested in gossip and parties than in their schoolwork. Which was, of course, true, but who could blame them? Still, despite their differences, Jessica and Elizabeth were as close as two sisters could be.

  "I was really proud of all of you today," Jessica said to the cheerleaders as she flipped her hair, aware that she was being watched by a lot of the guys. She felt prettier than ever and couldn't help noticing that one person in particular had his eyes on her: Ken Matthews. Every time she looked up and caught him looking at her, he blushed and looked away.

  "I know we've all been working hard in practices, and today our hard work paid off," Jessica said, relishing her role as cocaptain.

  "Those new cheers you taught us were great," Annie Whitman said enthusiastically.

  "I read about them in Cheerleading magazine," Jessica said with pride. "At first I thought they might be too complicated, but you guys didn't have any problem with them."

  "That's because you're such a great teacher," Robin said, smiling.

  "Here's to Jessica!" Maria Santelli raised her glass of soda, and all the cheerleaders did the same.

  Just as they were about to click their glasses together, Jessica's attention was diverted by a stunning blond girl walking into the Dairi Burger. She apparently wasn't the only one to notice her, as a hush had fallen over the entire room.

  "Who's that?" Jessica asked, annoyed that this stranger had interrupted Maria's toast honoring her.

  "I don't know, but the guys look like their tongues are about to fall out of their mouths," Lila Fowler teased. "They're practically salivating over her."

  Lila, who was Jessica's best friend and at times her biggest rival, had a knack for saying the exact thing that would make Jessica's blood boil. This was one of those times. Why can't she just keep her mouth shut? Jessica wondered.

  "She's certainly creating a big stir," Helen Bradley said as everyone watched the girl make her way over to the take-out counter. "You'd think the entire football team had been hit over the head with a hammer."

  "I don't see what all the fuss is about." Jessica scrutinized the girl who was stealing her thunder. "She looks pretty plain, if you ask me."

  "If that's plain, then in my next life I want to be plain," Jean West said, taking a bite of her sundae. "Check out that body. You probably don't catch her eating sundaes."

  "Hey, Winston, put your eyes back in their sockets," Maria said to her boyfriend, Winston Egbert, the class clown, who was sitting on a stool next to the girls' booth.

  "Oh, sorry," Winston said with an impish grin. "I was just trying to read what was on her T-shirt."

  "Yeah, right," Maria said, shaking her head. "You know, a gorgeous girl walks into the room, and relatively intelligent males are reduced to cavemen in one second."

  "Rick Hunter looks like he's about to fall off his stool," Amy Sutton said.

  Jessica hardly heard her, though.

  "A diet Coke with lemon, please," she heard the girl say, flipping her hair. Then the newcomer gave a dazzling smile to the kid behind the counter. "And I'd like that with a straw."

  "Oh, please," Jessica said to her friends, rolling her eyes. "A diet Coke with lemon, please," she mimicked, hair flip and all. "And I'd like that with a straw. Gimme a break."

  "That's probably how she stays so thin," Jean said as she watched the girl walk toward the door sipping her soda.

  Everyone in the restaurant seemed to hold their breath as they watched her walk out the door.

  "Whoa, mama!" Bruce Patman yelped as the door swung shut behind her.

  "Major babe!" Rick Hunter exclaimed.

  Jessica, more annoyed than ever, watched as the girl got into a brand-new white convertible Mazda Miata with "Cheerleader" plates and revved the engine before she pulled out.

  I hope I never lay eyes on that girl again, Jessica thought as she pushed away her hot-fudge sundae.

  "So who's psyched for the victory barbecue at the beach?" Jessica asked, loudly enough for the whole restaurant to hear. "We have plenty to celebrate!"

  "I am! I am!" different voices echoed around the room. "Party on!"

  "I've got a great tape I just made of all my favorite dance songs in case anyone gets the urge to boogie down," Jessica said as she moved her arms around in the air and snapped her fingers.

  "What are you doing, Jessica?" Lila asked. "Are you losing it?"

  "I'm booth dancing!" Jessica announced. "It's the latest thing; in fact, it's so late that I just invented it this minute!"

  Jessica was pleased to see that everyone was laughing at her joke, and once again she was the center of attention. Back where I belong! she thought with a smile.

  Will I ever have another boyfriend? Jessica wondered as she sat alone on a blanket at the barbecue, watching the sun set over the ocean. The excitement about the game had died down, and now everyone had paired off. Maria Santelli was sitting with Winston Egbert. Elizabeth and her boyfriend, Todd Wilkins, were laughing and kissing a few yards away, and Amy Sutton and Barry Rork were strolling along the shore, holding hands. She felt as if she were the only person in the world who wasn't part of a couple.


  Jessica had never had a hard time getting a boyfriend in the past. In fact, she almost always had someone. Her heart had been broken recently, however, and she didn't know if it would ever be whole again.

  Jeremy Randall had been older and gorgeous, and she'd fallen madly in love with him the first second she'd laid eyes on him. In fact, they'd met on this exact beach. It had all seemed so magical. She'd been hit on the head with a Frisbee, and the next minute a hunky blond fantasy man with the most inviting smile she'd ever seen was looking down at her, asking her if she was all right.

  But the man of her dreams had turned out to be a nightmare. Not only had he planned to hit her on the head with the Frisbee so he could get to know her, but Jessica found out that he'd only been using her to swindle a fortune out of another woman, the Wakefields' houseguest, Sue Gibbons. The thing that had hurt the most, though, was accepting the fact that all the love he'd claimed to feel for Jessica was only an act. How will I ever be able to trust another guy again? Jessica thought, watching the sky turn a deep red as the sun slowly slipped behind the water.

  Jessica swallowed hard to make the lump in her throat go away, and she hugged her knees to her chest.

  "What's a beautiful girl like you doing sitting alone watching the sunset?" Ken Matthews asked Jessica as he sat down next to her, his shoulder brushing against hers.

  Jessica had been so lost in her thoughts that she practically jumped up from the blanket at the sound of Ken's voice. She pushed a strand of hair out of her face and looked into Ken's eyes. He's really handsome, Jessica thought, feeling a slight flutter in her stomach in spite of herself. She had known Ken forever, but as she looked at him now with the glow of the sunset on his face and his shiny blond hair, it was as if she were seeing him for the first time.

  Ken had been an especially good friend to her when she'd been going through the hard time with Jeremy. He had encouraged her to go out with the whole Sweet Valley gang one night—something she hadn't done since she'd met Jeremy—and one day at school, when she was feeling particularly low, he'd surprised her with a perfect white rose.

  He'd even invited her to the Mistletoe Madness dance, but she hadn't been able to go, as that was the night she and Elizabeth and Sue Gibbons were laying the trap to catch Jeremy. When it was all over, and Jeremy had been arrested for fraud, it was all everybody at school was talking about. After all, Jessica had been engaged to him, and now he was in prison. But despite all the gossip, Ken had stayed by her side as a supportive friend.

  Now she wanted to tell him how much she'd appreciated his friendship during that difficult time.

  "I just wanted to say . . ." Jessica began.

  "You know, I've been meaning to . . ." Ken said at the same time.

  They both laughed awkwardly, and Jessica, feeling herself blushing, turned away.

  "Let's go for a swim," Ken said, pulling Jessica up by the hand. "I'll race you to the water."

  Jessica, relieved to have the tension broken, jumped up and pulled off her yellow halter sundress, revealing the new white bikini she was wearing. They ran together into the waves laughing and splashing, and Jessica couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so happy.

  "That was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen," Todd said to Elizabeth as he pulled her closer to him. They were huddled together on a blanket, and the sky was almost completely dark. "I could sit like this forever, just feeling you next to me, watching the water. Are you as happy as I am?"

  "Huh? Oh, yeah," Elizabeth said, distracted. She was barely listening to a word Todd was saying. Her attention was focused on the couple frolicking in the waves.

  "Do you want to go to a movie tomorrow night with Maria and Winston?" Todd asked, stroking Elizabeth's long blond hair.

  "Hmmm," Elizabeth muttered.

  "Earth to Elizabeth!" Todd teased as he waved his hand in front of her face. "What planet are you visiting?"

  "Sorry?" Elizabeth asked, turning her gaze toward him for the first time.

  "The question is, what are you thinking about?" Todd said. "I feel like you're a million miles away."

  "Oh, I'm not thinking about anything in particular," Elizabeth lied. The truth was that Elizabeth was thinking about the sick feeling she was having in her stomach. She looked back at the water where she could still see her sister and Ken laughing and splashing each other in the fading twilight.

  "So do you want to go to the movies tomorrow with Maria and Winston?" Todd asked again. "If you'd rather do something just the two of us, that would be great too." Todd kissed her left cheek. "You know I'm always happy to be alone with you."

  "A movie sounds great," Elizabeth said, trying to force her attention back to Todd. "Whatever you want to do is fine with me."

  As hard as she tried, Elizabeth couldn't push that sick feeling away. And she couldn't keep herself from watching Jessica and Ken in the distance.

  "That felt great!" Ken said as he and Jessica emerged from the water. They were standing close together, shivering from the water. The air was getting chillier now that it was completely dark.

  Jessica looked up at Ken, whose face was glowing in the moonlight. "It sure did," Jessica said, squeezing the water out of her hair. "Whew! That last wave almost knocked the breath out of me."

  "Jessica," Ken started in a serious tone as he gently put one hand on her hip and then took it away. "I wanted to tell you that I . . . I think you're really terrific."

  Jessica's heart raced, and it wasn't just from the waves and the cold. She was totally charmed by Ken's awkwardness and sincerity. It was so unlike Jeremy, who was always so smooth and in control.

  She suddenly realized that they were in total darkness and no one sitting on the beach could see them. She stepped toward him. Their faces were so close together, they were almost touching. Ken took Jessica's face in his hands and held it tenderly as he looked deeply into her eyes. She could feel his whole body tremble as he moved even closer to her and kissed her on the lips.

  "What's going on?" Elizabeth asked Todd. She had been lying on her back looking for constellations, trying to distract herself from thoughts of Ken and Jessica cavorting in the waves, when suddenly there was a commotion on the beach. People were laughing and cheering.

  "It's just Bruce showing off the spotlights on his father's new Jeep," Todd said, lifting himself up on one elbow. Bruce usually cruised around in his own black Porsche, but his father had just gotten a new Jeep Cherokee that Bruce had driven down to the beach.

  There were more cheers and catcalls, and Todd and Elizabeth stood up to see what all the excitement was about. The Jeep's spotlights, which were incredibly powerful, were shining on a couple deeply engrossed in a kiss.

  "Isn't that your sister with Ken?" Todd asked Elizabeth.

  "It couldn't be," Elizabeth said, hearing her own voice shaking.

  "Take another look," Todd said, laughing. "It looks like there's a new couple on the horizon."

  Elizabeth squinted. It can't be, she thought in desperation. Laughing and splashing in the waves was one thing, but kissing? Jessica and Ken?

  Everyone on the beach started clapping for the couple. Everyone except Elizabeth.

  Chapter 2

  "Slow down, Jess!" Elizabeth said as she braced her hand against the glove compartment of the twins' Jeep on Monday morning. "You're going to have an accident if you don't stop driving like a lunatic."

  "Stop worrying so much. It's bad for your health," Jessica said as she whirled around a corner. "You know I'm an expert driver."

  "Since when have you been in such a hurry to get to school?" Usually Elizabeth had to force her sister to get out of bed, but that morning Jessica was the first one up. "What are you so excited about? Algebra class?"

  "Yeah, right." Jessica laughed. "You know I live for algebra." She stopped at a red light and reapplied her matte pink lipstick in the rearview mirror.

  "So what is the big rush for?"

  "I'm just anxious to get to school because I know everyone's going to still be buzzing about the awesome job we cheerleaders did on Friday, thanks to me, of course," Jessica said excitedly, flooring the gas pedal when the light turned green. "And second of all, I'm looking forward to seeing Ken."

  Elizabeth looked out the window at the houses and trees that were whizzing past, so Jessica wouldn't be able to see the pained expression on her face. She wished she could tell her sister what she was feeling, but that was impossible. She couldn't tell her, because Jessica didn't know that she had had a fling with Ken when Todd had moved to Vermont for a brief period earlier that year. Nobody in the entire world knew except Elizabeth and Ken.