A Picture-Perfect Prom? Read online

  A PICTURE-PERFECT PROM?

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  To Lara Fischer-Zernin

  "So, Aaron, have you decided who your lucky date will be for the prom?" Jessica asked point-blank. "Could it be . . . me?"

  Aaron pretended to ponder the question. "It's not you," he replied. "I'm too cranky for you, remember?"

  "Oh, let's put that behind us," Jessica said, forcing out a laugh. "A silly mistake. You can't imagine—"

  "Excuse me," a voice behind Jessica interrupted. Jessica cringed. "Please stop harassing my prom date."

  Jessica wheeled around to face Heather Mallone. Oh, no! Jessica thought. Not her. Heather was the cocaptain of the cheerleading squad along with Jessica, and she and Heather had been bitter rivals from the first day Heather had moved to town. Anyone but her!

  Heather sat down on Aaron's lap, and he clinched his arms around her waist.

  This is a nightmare, Jessica thought.

  As Aaron kissed Heather's neck Jessica closed her eyes, feeling like her head was going to explode.

  Shunned by the boys at Sweet Valley High. She popped open her eyes and pushed blindly through the crowd back toward the booth where Lila waited.

  The world is coming to an end.

  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

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 1

  "Bibi's just got in an amazing new collection of prom dresses," sixteen-year-old Jessica Wakefield told her best friend, Lila Fowler. Bibi's was an incredibly trendy dress boutique in the Valley Mall. "Très fab."

  Lila sniffed as she stepped into the Sweet Valley High parking lot. "Who did you hear that from?" she asked disdainfully, tossing her long brown hair. "I can't believe Bibi managed to pull a new line together so quickly. Just last week her collection was, oh . . . très drab."

  Jessica giggled. The prom was only a few weeks away, and she and Lila were heading over to the mall to get started on acquiring the most important part of any prom—the perfect dress. Ever since the final bell of the school day had rung, Jessica and Lila had been carefully planning their attack on the stores in order to get the best dresses possible. But so far they hadn't been able to agree on where to start their shopping invasion.

  "Oh, I think Sandy mentioned stopping in at Bibi's yesterday," Jessica replied. Sandy Bacon used to be a member of Jessica's cheerleading squad and was a friend of both Jessica and Lila.

  "You're going to trust Sandy?" Lila asked as she carefully made her way between the cars in the lot. "Don't get me wrong, Sandy's a doll, but the girl's taste is definitely . . . suspect."

  "Agreed," Jessica said. "Did you see the red, white, and blue jumper she was wearing today?"

  "Painful," Lila murmured, shaking her head sorrowfully.

  "But I love her to death," Jessica pointed out quickly.

  "Oh, no question," Lila replied.

  "So, fine, we don't start at Bibi's. Where, then? Lisette's?"

  Lila stopped short in the middle of the parking lot, and Jessica almost bumped into her. "Jessica," Lila said, turning slowly in a circle to look around. "Where'd you park your Jeep? You always park right here. But I don't see it."

  Jessica peered over the cars surrounding her, searching for any sign of the black Jeep Wrangler she shared with her twin sister. "That's funny," she muttered. "Liz wouldn't have taken it. . . ." She gasped and pressed her hand to her forehead. "Duh!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. "We took our mother's wagon today. The Jeep—poor thing—is in the shop. Somehow Wilkins managed to drive it over a cliff after he asked Liz to marry him."

  "How dramatic," Lila said. "So, where's the station wagon?"

  Jessica pointed to the far end of the lot. "I parked it in the corner so nobody would see us driving something so lame," she replied. "But Liz has the keys."

  Lila sighed. "You're exhausting me, Jessica, and we haven't even started shopping yet."

  Jessica grinned and grabbed her best friend's hand, dragging her back toward the school. "Liz is probably in the Oracle office as usual," she said. "C'mon, it'll only take a second. Then we'll hit Lisette's."

  "Jessica, do not pull me," Lila protested, but she followed along. "And Lisette's? Why there? That place is so early eighties."

  For some reason Jessica had a sudden strong, positive feeling about that particular boutique. Her fingers tingled—a sure sign she was on the right track. But how to convince Lila to start at Lisette's? There was only one way to persuade the snobbiest and richest girl at Sweet Valley High. "It's very expensive," Jessica commented.

  "You're right," Lila said. "We'll start at Lisette's."

  A few minutes later Jessica burst into the Oracle office. "Liz!" she cried. "I need Mom's keys!"

  Jessica's identical twin sister, Elizabeth, looked up from where she had been hunched over a big drafting table beside Penny Ayala, the editor in chief of the school newspaper, and Olivia Davidson, the arts editor. Both Olivia and Penny groaned as they saw Jessica and Lila enter. Jessica rolled her eyes at them. She didn't really care if Elizabeth's nerdy friends liked her or not.

  Olivia was simply weird, with her funky, sometimes homemade outfits and wild tangles of dark hair. Jessica knew Olivia was a talented artist, but the girl was too oddball for Jessica's taste. Penny, on the other hand, was tall and lanky, with short brown hair. And she was totally uptight. She was always insanely driven about her journalism career. Jessica couldn't understand why Elizabeth hung around them so much.

  But then, their choice of friends was only one of the many differences between Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. In spite of their absolutely identical sun-kissed shoulder-length blond hair, willowy athletic figures, and bright eyes the color of the Pacific Ocean, their interests and personalities were as different as sweater sets and ball gowns. Jessica lived for the moment, always seeking out wild adventures to keep her busy, always scheming new ways to thrust herself into the limelight. She dressed to impress. Someday, Jessica knew, she was going to be a famous model or movie star. In the meantime she kept herself active hanging out with her friends, going to parties, chatting about guys, and being the cocaptain of the Sweet Valley High cheerleading squad. And dating a continual progression of incredibly cute guys, of course.

  Elizabeth, the older twin by four minutes, was a lot more reserved. She preferred to stay behind the scenes, writing articles for the Oracle, concentrating on schoolwork, and going to movies or having coffee with her best friends, Maria Slater and Enid Rollins. Elizabeth dressed conservatively and comfortably. Her goal in life was to be a professional writer someday. Either that, Jessica thought with a chuckle, or a senator—someone powerful, dependable, and . . . bossy. Elizabeth usually only dated one guy, her dull, longtime boyfriend Todd Wilkins, but lately her romantic life had been in major upheaval.

  "Jess," Elizabeth replied calmly, "we discussed this already. We decided I could have Mom's car this afternoon. I need to go to the prom committee meeting after I finish helping Penny."

  "C'mon, Liz," Jessica wheedled. "It's an emergency."

  Elizabeth narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What emergency?"

  Jessica decided to change the subject, knowing that her twin didn't share her concern over buying the perfect prom dress. She peer
ed at the black-and-white layout on the drafting table. It looked pretty boring, but maybe she was mentioned in it. "What's this?" she asked.

  Nobody replied—in fact, the girls on the Oracle staff seemed pretty uncomfortable—so Jessica quickly scanned it. Her eyes widened as she read. Jessica wasn't mentioned in it—always a disappointment—but she saw that it was an advertisement. For a prom date!

  "Jessica," Lila whined. "Hurry up. I just shivered, so someone is probably touching the prom dress meant for me. We've got to get there before someone buys it!"

  "Your emergency is shopping?" Elizabeth asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Jessica ignored her twin for the moment. "Who's desperate enough to actually advertise for a prom date?" she asked with a laugh.

  Penny cleared her throat. "I am," she replied, with only a tiny trace of embarrassment in her voice. "And it's not desperation. It's practicality."

  "Whatever," Lila whispered in Jessica's ear. "Sounds like desperation to me."

  "Doesn't it make you feel . . . oh, I don't know—like a used sewing machine?" Jessica asked Penny. "And what about Neil?" Neil Freemount was Penny's boyfriend.

  "Jess!" Elizabeth scolded.

  Penny shook her head. "It's OK," she said. "I'm fine with it, Jessica. Neil has a great internship in Chicago this summer, but it starts early and he's going to miss the dance. But just because my boyfriend can't make it shouldn't mean I have to skip my own senior prom! I want to be there with all my friends, and I should be there to cover it for the Oracle."

  Jessica smirked—Penny sounded a little overdefensive.

  "I've decided to treat the prom almost as a professional necessity rather than a romantic event," Penny continued. "So I have to find a date with no emotional involvement. It's that simple."

  Jessica spotted Elizabeth's backpack, unzipped the front pocket, and starting fishing around for the keys to the station wagon. "Sounds kind of sad to me," she told Penny.

  "I think it's brave . . . and independent," Olivia said.

  "Nope," Lila murmured. "Sad. Like renting a prom dress instead of buying one." She shuddered.

  Elizabeth turned to Jessica, her eyes blazing. "Who are you going with, Jess?" she asked pointedly. "How about you, Lila? People without dates shouldn't be so quick to judge."

  Jessica froze as her hand closed over the keys to their mother's station wagon. Elizabeth was absolutely right—Jessica didn't have a prom date . . . and neither did Lila. Yet. She relaxed and pulled the keys out of Elizabeth's backpack. Like finding a date was going to be a problem for them! She'd often had to juggle two dates in one weekend! She glanced over at Lila, and when she saw the amusement twinkling in her best friend's brown eyes, Jessica couldn't help laughing hard and loud at the very idea that the two most popular—and beautiful—girls in Sweet Valley wouldn't be able to find dates for the prom.

  Lila let out a dainty snort of laughter. "Preposterous," she muttered.

  Jessica composed herself. "Get real, Liz," she told her twin. "Finding a date is not the issue. Guys will be knocking down our doors. Not a problem." She jangled the keys in front of Elizabeth's face. "Besides, big sister, have you asked yourself the same question?"

  Elizabeth's mouth dropped open, and her eyes filled with pain. "That's not fair, Jess," she whispered. Jessica immediately felt guilty for broaching the subject of her twin's troubled romantic life. Elizabeth had recently been dating both Todd Wilkins and Devon Whitelaw, a gorgeous newcomer to Sweet Valley. After Devon and Todd had gotten into a huge fight—which almost led to Todd's death in a terrible accident—Elizabeth had decided she needed space to figure out how she felt. And she'd broken up with them both, even though Todd had given her a ring and asked Elizabeth to marry him! Jessica knew that Elizabeth would be heartsick over her decision for a long time to come. She just couldn't bounce back from romantic disaster as fast as Jessica could.

  Jessica sighed. "I'm sorry, Lizzie," she said. "You know I didn't mean it. It just popped out. I'm just overexcited about shopping for my prom dress. You know Todd will come to his senses eventually." Jessica didn't mention Devon on purpose. She'd made a play for Devon early on, but he'd only had eyes for Elizabeth. Jessica might bounce back from romantic messes quicker than her twin, but it wasn't instantaneous!

  "Of course he will, Liz," Jessica continued reassuringly. "He's forgiven you—and you've forgiven him—so many times it makes me sick. Why should this time be any different?"

  "Precisely," Lila agreed.

  "I've been telling you that all week," Olivia added. "Listen to your wacky sister."

  A ghost of a smile played on Elizabeth's lips. "I guess you're right," she said.

  "I'm always right." Jessica cleared her throat. "So, you don't mind if I take Mom's car?"

  Now Elizabeth smiled for real. "Oh, I guess not. I can always get a ride to the committee meeting from Enid."

  Jessica leaned down and planted a quick kiss on Elizabeth's cheek. "Great!" she exclaimed. "Liz, you're the best. We're outta here." She was already turning and heading for the door.

  "Toodles," Lila said with a wave as she followed Jessica.

  Once they had made it out into the hallway, Jessica turned to Lila, shaking the keys triumphantly. "Lisette's?" she breathed.

  "Definitely," Lila confirmed.

  "Do you have any ideas for the prom theme?" Enid Rollins asked Elizabeth. They were in Enid's car, heading over to the prom committee meeting at Winston Egbert's house. "I can't think of a single one."

  Elizabeth shifted in the passenger seat. "Not yet," she admitted. "I've got a few ideas, but they're still pretty vague." She didn't really feel like discussing the design theme for the prom. All afternoon Elizabeth had been brooding over her messy love life. Her turbulent feelings made concentrating on planning the prom difficult . . . and a little painful.

  "You OK, Liz?" Enid asked. "You've been pretty quiet since we left school."

  Elizabeth smiled at her best friend. Jessica always wondered why Elizabeth hung around with Enid, whom Jessica considered too shy, studious, and socially awkward to be any fun. But Elizabeth knew that there was nobody warmer or more supportive than the girl with reddish brown curly hair sitting beside her. Enid might be a little shy, but once she warmed up, there was no one more loyal on earth. She always knows when I'm confused, Elizabeth thought. And she's the best listener I know. But I don't feel like talking about it right now.

  "I'm fine," Elizabeth said. "Just a little preoccupied today."

  "OK," Enid said amicably. "Back to the prom theme. What do you think if we—"

  "Do you think Todd's going to be at the meeting?" Elizabeth interrupted. She blushed furiously. She hadn't meant to blurt that out at all, but lately her confused emotions were right near the surface—and always ready to burst through.

  Enid chuckled. "You have Todd on the brain, huh? I thought so."

  Elizabeth shook her head ruefully. "I can't stop thinking about him and Devon," she confessed. "My life's such a wreck, the president should declare it an official disaster area."

  "Hmmm. I don't think it's as bad as you think it is," Enid said carefully. "You made the decision to break up with both of them. I say, good. That's not a mess, that's taking control of your life, figuring out what you really want. Todd and Devon were tearing you in two, and you were just going to end up hurting all three of you. This way you get to make your decision calmly."

  Elizabeth sighed. "You're right," she admitted. "But I can't help wondering what Todd's been up to. I haven't even said more than two words to him since he got out of the hospital. I'm just so used to knowing about his life that . . . I feel like I'm in withdrawal. Have you heard . . ." Elizabeth let her voice trail away, not wanting to finish her sentence.

  "What?" Enid prompted. "Have I heard what?"

  A hot blush crept over Elizabeth's face. "Have you heard if Todd's seeing anyone else?"

  Enid laughed. "Get real, Liz," she said. "This is Todd we're talking about. He'll be devoted to you u
ntil the day he dies. He asked you to marry him just a few weeks ago! And Devon's crazy about you. The two of them are probably just waiting around for you to make a decision."

  "You know," Elizabeth replied thoughtfully. "In my stronger moments I think ditching them both so I have time to think is the best thing I could've done."

  "It is," Enid agreed.

  "In fact, I feel pretty good about the whole thing," Elizabeth concluded in a determined voice, mostly believing it. Of course, she thought, if I'm totally honest with myself, the fact that I've been avoiding both Todd and Devon like the plague might have something to do with whatever sense of well-being I have.

  "Good for you," Enid said. She steered the car around a sharp curve and headed down the long block toward Winston's house.

  Elizabeth groaned. "I wish I could just be friends with them both. That would solve everything."

  "OK," Enid said with a shrug. "Sounds good to me."

  "Oh, who am I kidding?" Elizabeth exclaimed. "I'm completely in love with both of them. Friendship—just friendship—would be absolutely impossible."

  "When you're right, you're right," Enid said evenly.

  They both laughed. Elizabeth lightly poked her best friend on the arm. "You know," she said in an amused voice, "there's such a thing as being too supportive. You can't take both sides!"

  "Sure, I can," Enid replied. "When both sides are right." She pulled into Winston's driveway, parked behind Maria Santelli's car, and killed the engine. "So, what are you going to do if Todd's here? There's a very good chance he will be, you know."

  Elizabeth clenched her jaw. "I'll hang out with him," she answered. "I'll make a point of it. After all, I still care about Todd—and talking to him will make it easier for us to get used to being friends, get over whatever awkwardness is left. All it takes is time . . . and exposure. It'll be fine."

  "That's the spirit," Enid said. She opened the car door. "Ready?"

  Elizabeth unbuckled her seat belt. "Ready," she replied firmly.

  Winston answered the door only seconds after Enid knocked. He was balancing a giant bowl of tortilla chips on one arm, with liter bottles of soda dangling between his fingers. Winston looked even more awkward and gangly than usual as he struggled with the food and the door. "Hurry!" he called. "Help me! I'm dropping these!"