Cover Girls Read online

  COVER GIRLS

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  To James Ryan

  "Too bad your insides aren't as attractive as your outsides," Cameron said, his voice suddenly bitter.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Jessica asked.

  "You're interested only in people with classy titles or flashy cars or tons of money!"

  "And you're a sanctimonious jerk!" Jessica yelled back, jabbing a finger at the mail-room clerk's chest. "You're stuck in a dead-end job so you're jealous of people who have the potential to go higher than that!"

  Suddenly Jessica was aware of how close Cameron was standing. If they hadn't been screaming at each other, they could have been slow dancing. Without thinking about it, Jessica tilted her head back to kiss him. For a second Cameron seemed to be leaning forward. Then he scowled and turned away.

  "And isn't that just like a model," he observed bitterly. "You all assume that every guy is dying to kiss you, anytime you're ready. Well, this guy isn't! I kiss when I choose to. And only when I choose to!"

  Jessica felt her face grow prickly hot. She glared at him, humiliated and furious, as she gathered up her photographs. And she stalked out of the room, vowing never to speak to Cameron again.

  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 1

  Elizabeth Wakefield pushed a strand of her long blond hair behind her ear as she scanned the bookshelves. "Here's the book about women in Victorian England," she said. She selected a paperback and handed it to Enid Rollins. "That's on your list, isn't it?"

  Enid's green eyes sparkled. "Yes, this is one of the Morgan Agency's books," she said, thumbing through it. "And look: The author thanks one of my new bosses in the acknowledgments!"

  Maria Slater grabbed the book from her and looked down at her friends with a fake haughty expression. "Special thanks to my agent, Roberta Morgan, for her expert advice and invaluable assistance," she read aloud in a pretentious English accent that made Elizabeth and Enid giggle. Maria grinned and switched back to her normal voice. "By the time your internship at the literary agency is over," she told Enid, "authors across the country will be writing notes like this about you!"

  The three Sweet Valley High juniors were standing in the women's studies section of The Book Case, a store in the mall. It was Sunday afternoon, and their school's miniterm internships were starting the next morning.

  Enid laughed at Maria's confidence. "I don't think so," she said. "I doubt I'll offer much 'expert advice and invaluable assistance' in a high-school internship that lasts only two weeks!" She shook her head. Her coppery brown hair, which had only recently fully grown out after she had dyed it black some time ago, swung against her neck. "But with an accent like that, Maria, you're a shoo-in for the role of Queen Victoria!"

  "I don't think the Bridgewater Theatre Group will need someone to play Queen Victoria in the next two weeks," Maria pointed out, "even if they decided to be experimental enough to cast an African American in the role."

  "With your experience?" Enid argued. "They'd cast you in a minute—in any role."

  "Whatever," Maria said, rolling her dark brown eyes. "Anyhow, it takes a lot longer than two weeks to put together a production. And I'm just a little ol' student intern, not a leading lady. I'll probably be painting scenery and helping the real actors get into their costumes."

  "Maybe," Elizabeth said. "But how often does a community theater get an intern with real Hollywood experience? You were the hottest child star in the country."

  "I bet the actors will be asking for your autograph," Enid said confidently.

  Maria frowned. "Stop! That was a long time ago," she reminded them. "And hello! I was the Softees toilet paper girl—I wasn't exactly performing in a play by Ibsen."

  "You did movies and television too!" Elizabeth reminded her friend.

  "Get over it!" Maria pleaded. "This is totally embarrassing. Besides, it's Liz's turn now! What do you think, Enid? Should we check out Elizabeth's magazine?"

  "My magazine?" Elizabeth exclaimed as they walked toward the periodicals section. "It's a nice thought. But remember, I'll be a lowly editorial assistant at Flair, not the editor in chief!"

  "Ha!" Enid said. "You're the most talented student writer in southern California. By the end of two weeks you'll be running the place!"

  "That would send Todd screaming into the night," Elizabeth replied ruefully, thinking of her longtime boyfriend, Todd Wilkins. "He's already stressing about how this internship will take too much time away from him."

  "He'll survive," Enid assured her.

  "Todd has no right to give you attitude, Liz!" Maria said. "He should be proud of you for hitting the big time. Flair is the hottest new magazine in the fashion world. It's been around less than two years. But even in New York City everyone's reading it." Maria had recently moved back to Sweet Valley after relocating with her family to New York for a few years. She and Elizabeth had been close in junior high. Now that she was back in town, she had renewed her friendship with Elizabeth. And Maria and Enid were quickly becoming friends too, although there had been some conflict between them at first.

  "A magazine that popular wouldn't accept just anybody as an intern," Enid said.

  Maria laughed. "They accepted Jessica, didn't they?"

  "She probably impersonated Elizabeth in the interview," Enid suggested dryly. Elizabeth's identical twin sister, Jessica, had been known to borrow her sister's identity when it suited her goals.

  "Jessica is such a trip," Elizabeth said, an amused grin highlighting a dimple in her left cheek. "Her internship position is photographer's assistant, but she plans to convince the photographer to make her a model and put her on the cover of the magazine. You know how much Jess loves being in the limelight."

  "It's not all it's cracked up to be," Maria said seriously.

  "Speaking of Liz's evil twin, look," Enid whispered urgently.

  All three girls turned to see Jessica Wakefield entering the store, accompanied by her best friend, Lila Fowler.

  "If it isn't Tweedledum and Tweedledummer!" Maria teased. "I never expected to see them putting in a cameo here. I'd have thought those two were allergic to bookstores."

  "No, no—Jessica can do bookstores all right," Elizabeth joked, "as long as she stays in the magazine section. History gives her hives, and reference books make her sneeze."

  To most customers in the store the sixteen-year-old Wakefield twins would have looked absolutely identical at first glance. Both had California tans, sun-streaked hair, and eyes the color of the Pacific Ocean. Both were five-foot six and had trim, athletic figures.

  But Elizabeth, always the practical twin, had pulled her hair back in barrettes. For her trip to the mall she'd worn a denim skirt with a hemline just above her knees, a white T-shirt, and no makeup except a touch of lip gloss.

  Jessica's hair was loose and as meticulously tousled as a movie star's. Her makeup was carefully applied, including a hint of violet eye shadow that was her latest cosmetic experiment. Her floral minidress left her shoulders bare, and her high-heeled sandals were the same shade as her eye shadow.

  Even if they'd been dressed identically, the twins' classmates could have told them apart the instant either twin opened her mouth. Both were articulate. But Jessica's favorite topics of conversation included boys, clothes, parties, and cheerleading, Elizabeth was more likely to be heard advising a friend on a personal problem, conducting an interview for an article in the school newspaper, discussing a book with a classmate, or raising money for charity.

  Despite their differences, each twin knew she could count on her sister when she was in trouble. But it was usually Jessica, the younger sister by four minutes, who got herself into ridiculous situations and needed her more sensible sister to bail her out. Elizabeth sighed as she continued walking toward the magazine racks. Sure enough, Jessica and Lila were standing in front of a brilliantly colored display of fashion and beauty magazines. Elizabeth hoped her twin wouldn't find a way to turn the internship into another one of her disasters.

  "Yo, Lizzie!" Jessica called, holding up a magazine. Elizabeth winced at the hated nickname but let it slide. "Did you see the new issue of Flair?" Jessica asked.

  "That's Simone on the cover," Maria said, sticking her nose up in the air as she emphasized the model's name. "I read that she moved to Los Angeles recently—just after Mode, the company that publishes Flair, moved its headquarters here. Simone was totally big in New York last year."

  Enid laughed as she took the magazine from Jessica. "Big? She looks like she wears about a size one! I've never seen anyone so emaciated in my life."

  "You can never be too thin or too rich," Lila reminded them haughtily. "But especially rich."

  "Please!" Jessica complained, grabbing the magazine back from Enid. "We can't all have multimillionaire parents like you, Lila." She stared thoughtfully at the sophisticated, black-haired model on the cover. "But maybe you can be too thin. Guys can't possibly think women like Simone are sexy. Can they?" Her voice sounded worried.

  "A lot of them do," said Maria. She grinned evilly. "Especially after her plastic surge
ry."

  "What plastic surgery?" Jessica demanded. "Tell me!"

  "I don't know, really," Maria said. "But there have been rumors."

  "Well, I can't believe a guy would find her sexier than someone like me," Jessica insisted. "I mean, she's attractive, I guess. But she looks more like a department store mannequin than a real person!"

  Elizabeth shrugged. "Don't worry about it, Jess. The boys who really count—nice boys like Todd—care more about who you are than what you look like."

  "Nice isn't at the top of my wish list for a guy, Lizzie," Jessica reminded her.

  "You are so naive, Elizabeth," Lila told her, holding out her hand wordlessly until Jessica passed her the issue of Flair. "Guys are letches. The point is to get what you can out of them." She gestured with the magazine. "Obviously Simone has found the look that works for her. You'd be surprised at how many men would fall all over themselves trying to get close to somebody famous and glamorous. Not my darling Bo, of course," Lila amended, speaking of her boyfriend in Washington, D.C., Beauregard Creighton the Third. "He's hopelessly devoted to me. But most guys would."

  "But Liz is totally right about wimpy old Todd," Jessica said with a sigh, shaking her head at the thought of her sister's long-term relationship. "I've told you over and over again, Liz. Todd may be a hunk. But you're too young to be tied down to somebody so boring!" She turned to Lila. "Todd Wilkins doesn't have the imagination to drool over supermodels like Simone."

  "Imagination?" Maria asked with a hoot, swiping the magazine from Lila. 'This bikini Simone is wearing doesn't leave much to a guy's imagination. But Todd doesn't need to drool over supermodels. He's in love with Elizabeth—" She smiled loyally at her friend. "And Liz is as gorgeous as any supermodel."

  "I really may vomit—," Lila began.

  "I guess I'm not up on my supermodels," Enid interrupted. "I know I've seen this girl's face—or should I say her pout? But exactly who is she? Simone who?"

  "She's just Simone," Lila said, as if Enid should have known. "When you're that famous, who needs a last name?"

  "This will be me someday," Jessica bragged. She took the magazine from Maria and stared at it as if trying to imagine her own face on the cover. "All over the world my adoring fans will know me only as Jessica. Or should I use Jesse? Does that sound more sophisticated?"

  Lila shook her head. "Jessica Wakefield, you are the most conceited person I've ever met."

  "And you are the expert," Jessica interjected.

  Lila stared at Jessica coldly for a moment before turning to Elizabeth, Enid, and Maria. "You should have seen Jessica this afternoon, making a photo album of herself! Have you ever heard of anything so vain?"

  "You can call it vain," Jessica said. "I call it enterprising. I need a proper portfolio ready when Quentin Berg discovers me."

  Enid sighed. "Again I'm clueless. What's a Quentin Berg?"

  Jessica's mouth dropped open in shock. "Quentin Berg is only the coolest photographer in the fashion business," she told Enid. "And he's under contract to Flair magazine."

  "Jessica's about to become his assistant," Elizabeth explained, taking the magazine from her. "I feel sorry for the poor man."

  "Ha, ha," Jessica said flatly. "You won't be making fun of me when he promotes me from camera carrier to cover girl."

  Elizabeth tuned out her sister's prattling and thumbed through the cosmetics advertisements in the front of the magazine until she came to the staff listing. "This is it!" she cried excitedly. "This is the first issue of Flair with the new managing editor listed. Her name is Leona Peirson. All I know about her is that she's young to be in such a high-powered position and that everyone says she's got a brilliant career in publishing ahead of her."

  "Is she your new boss?" Maria asked.

  Elizabeth nodded. "I can't wait to meet her. This internship is what I've been dreaming of my entire life!"

  A few hours later Todd sat with Elizabeth in the front seat of his BMW, gazing over the lights of Sweet Valley. They were parked at their favorite spot on Miller's Point, and Todd was kissing her passionately, but Elizabeth seemed preoccupied. Finally she pushed him away.

  "What's the matter?" Todd asked, annoyed and mystified. "Did I do something wrong? Is it my breath?"

  Elizabeth smiled. "No, you're still the world's number-one kisser. I'm just distracted tonight."

  "Let me guess," Todd said with a groan as his good mood evaporated. "You're thinking about that magazine.

  "Sorry," she replied, smiling wanly at him. "I've been looking forward to the miniterm for so long that I can hardly believe it starts tomorrow. Todd, I'm going to be working on a national magazine! Do you know what that means?"

  Todd slouched in his seat with his arms crossed in front of him, "It means we'll have to go for two whole weeks without being able to see each other at school," he said. "What's so awesome about that?"

  "Think about what a great opportunity this is!" Elizabeth urged. "For both of us," she added quickly, running her fingers playfully through his wavy brown hair.

  "Right," Todd replied grumpily. "I'll be an intern at my dad's company—big deal. I already know everyone at Varitronics. And I've spent the last few months listening to my father talk about everything that goes on there. This internship will be the thrill of my life."

  "You could have applied for a position somewhere more interesting," Elizabeth reminded him.

  Todd rolled his eyes. "You don't seem to realize that most of the kids in our class think this miniterm thing is a joke! So does the rest of the world, for that matter."

  "That's not true!" Elizabeth protested.

  "Why do you suppose so many of us are working for our parents' firms?" he asked. "Even Lila Fowler is working at Fowler Enterprises. I'll bet Jessica isn't letting her forget that!"

  Elizabeth laughed. "My sister never passes up an opportunity to gloat—especially over Lila."

  "When it comes to exciting internships, you and Jess are the exceptions," Todd said. He sighed miserably, but deep down he knew that his boring internship was his own fault. He'd been too busy with basketball finals to think about applying anywhere until it was much too late. Still, it hurt to admit that he'd screwed up. And plenty of kids had applied early and still ended up with boring prospects. "How many adults with really neat careers are willing to baby-sit high-school students for two weeks?" he asked.

  Elizabeth's blue-green eyes were beginning to show annoyance. "It's not baby-sitting!" she insisted. "And it's not just me and Jess who are working at something we're interested in. Aaron Dallas managed to find a great internship!"

  "Don't remind me," Todd said, hating himself for being so jealous of his friend Aaron. "While I'm photocopying invoices for my father, Aaron will be working for the L.A. Lakers! And you'll be throwing yourself into that magazine the same way you always do with new activities. Plus you'll be commuting all the way to Los Angeles. I'll be lucky if you have time to see a movie with me over the weekend."

  Todd knew it wasn't like him to be so negative, but he couldn't help it. He felt like an idiot for the way he'd neglected to plan ahead for the miniterm. And the thought of not seeing Elizabeth every day for the next two weeks made every muscle in his body tense up. "Life isn't fair," he concluded.

  "You aren't being fair either," Elizabeth said. "Todd, I'm excited about this internship! Can't you please be happy for me?"

  He smiled weakly. "I guess I am," he admitted. "But you may be getting your hopes up for nothing. What if you spend the whole two weeks answering the phone? It's not like anyone's going to let a sixteen-year-old make real decisions."

  Elizabeth bit her lip, and Todd knew he'd struck a nerve. But she recovered quickly. "Even if I'm only answering the phone, I'll be watching and learning from real professionals," she said philosophically.

  "It's not like you've never worked on a professional publication before," Todd pointed out. "You've written articles for the Sweet Valley News and even the Los Angeles Times. And you and Jessica had internships at that newspaper in London last summer. Look what happened there—you forgot all about me, you started dating some wacky poet, and you nearly got yourself killed!"

  Elizabeth winced. "Well, the newspaper part was good experience anyway. And I promise the other part will not happen this time!"