Boy Trouble Read online

  BOY TROUBLE

  Written by

  Kate Williams

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  By the time the lovers were reunited in a classic Hollywood happy ending, Patty had made up her mind. She would make things up with Jim, no matter what it took. She loved him too much to let him go without a fight.

  The lights came up in the movie theater, and Patty sniffled discreetly and felt in her purse for a tissue. "I'm a total cornball when it comes to romantic movies," she said, wiping away her tears.

  Then she froze, not quite sure whether to believe her tear-misted eyes. Was she seeing things? Had the movie gotten to her that badly?

  At the front of the movie theater, turning to head up the aisle in her direction, was Jim. And he wasn't alone. At his side was a beautiful black girl in a short purple dress, a wide purple headband in her dark curly hair. The girl was laughing. Then she said something to Jim, her face very close to his.

  Patty couldn't believe it! The whole time she had been crying over him and wanting to get back together, he had been right in the same movie theater, cuddling up with another girl!

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  One

  "So, Liz, when do you want to interview me for the new 'Personal Profiles' column?" Winston Egbert asked, flexing one of his thin arms in an exaggerated pose.

  Elizabeth Wakefield laughed along with the rest of the group at the lunch table.

  "The column is supposed to focus on people with real talent, not ridiculous talent," Todd Wilkins pointed out, grinning.

  Winston pretended to be offended, and Elizabeth patted his hand. "You'll be the first Sweet Valley student I'll feature," she assured Winston, "next year. 'Personal Profiles' is about seniors. We've still got a year to go!"

  "I'll let you off the hook this time, Wakefield." Winston wagged a finger at her. "But I won't let you forget that promise. I'd better not catch you interviewing basketball hotshot Wilkins before me."

  Elizabeth darted a smile at her boyfriend. Todd's brown eyes sparkled back at her. "Don't worry, Egbert," Todd said casually. "Sure, I have an in with the school paper, but I don't take advantage of it. I only make Liz put my picture in The Oracle every other week."

  Elizabeth punched Todd's arm lightly. "Every third week," she jokingly corrected him. "Anyway, I'm glad you guys like the 'Personal Profiles' idea." She had hoped for a positive reaction from Winston, Enid Rollins, DeeDee Gordon, Bill Chase, and the other Sweet Valley juniors at the table.

  "How are you going to have time to write two columns?" Bill asked.

  "I've been wondering that myself," Elizabeth admitted. Interviewing people for "Personal Profiles" in addition to composing "Eyes and Ears," her weekly gossip column for The Oracle, would be a challenge. But she knew the more journalistic practice she got, the better writer she would be someday.

  "It won't be hard if you mix business with pleasure," DeeDee suggested slyly. "Like by interviewing cute senior guys!"

  Elizabeth laughed. "True. The first person I want to feature happens to be a girl, though—" She broke off, her eyes lighting up with pleasure. "Hi, Jess!"

  The others echoed the greeting as Jessica Wakefield stopped by their table to talk to her sister before heading off to sit with a group of her own friends. "Hi, yourself!" Jessica responded.

  An outsider would have looked from Elizabeth to Jessica in a classic double take. Students at Sweet Valley High were used to the uncanny resemblance between the sixteen-year-old identical twins, however, and most people didn't have a hard time telling them apart. Elizabeth usually wore her silky, sun-streaked blond hair pulled back in barrettes or in a ponytail, while Jessica liked hers loose around her shoulders. Jessica's trendy clothes weren't for Elizabeth, who preferred neat khakis or the denim skirt she was wearing that day. Jessica liked bright colors, while Elizabeth usually wore soft pastels—although Jessica managed to find a number of Elizabeth's clothes satisfactory enough to borrow and then forget to return!

  Elizabeth, older than Jessica by four minutes, had a gift for organization. There was a place in her life for everything that mattered to her—family, schoolwork, extracurricular activities, friends, and social life. But Jessica didn't bother to balance work and play. She was perfectly content to emphasize the latter. Jessica admired Elizabeth, even if she sometimes thought her twin acted too grown-up and serious. She was sure Elizabeth would become a famous writer, but as far as Jessica was concerned, the future was too far away to worry about now. Jessica was more interested in the present in surrounding herself with her good friends Amy Sutton and Lila Fowler, and in being at the center of things in Sweet Valley, California. And anyone could see that she was an unqualified success at that.

  Elizabeth turned to DeeDee. The petite junior was wearing a T-shirt with a bright abstract design. "I wanted to tell you, DeeDee, I love your shirt. Did you make it?"

  "You really like it?" DeeDee asked, smiling shyly. "I'm wearing it as a sort of advertisement. There's a big crafts fair at the mall this weekend, and I'm going to exhibit my hand-painted T-shirts."

  "Crafts fair," Jessica said. "You mean like handmade jewelry and stuff? Sounds like fun."

  "I bet you'll be sold out in five minutes," Elizabeth predicted as Jessica drifted away to join another table.

  DeeDee's boyfriend, the tall towheaded surfer Bill Chase, leaned forward. "She sure will, because I'll be there early to buy the whole batch," he said, putting an arm around DeeDee to give her a squeeze.

  DeeDee rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right! I know where you'll be on Saturday—catching a wave on your new surfboard!"

  "Saturday . . . that reminds me." Elizabeth looked around the crowded school cafeteria. "Do you see Patty anywhere, DeeDee? I want to talk to her about being interviewed for 'Personal Profiles.' " Elizabeth thought Patty Gilbert, a talented dancer and a popular senior who also happened to be DeeDee's best friend, would get the new feature off to a great start.

  "As a matter of fact, she's right over there." Elizabeth followed DeeDee's gaze and saw the pretty black girl setting her tray down a few tables away.

  "But don't expect her to talk any sense to you," DeeDee warned, laughing. "You know her boyfriend, Jim Hollis? He's a freshman at Pacific College, and he's coming home this weekend for the first time in almost a month. Need I say more?"

  Smiling, Elizabeth shook her head. She knew just how Patty must feel. Not long ago, Todd had been living in Vermont, three thousand miles from Sweet Valley! Elizabeth's heart had almost broken when his family moved to the East Coast. It had been impossible to maintain their old closeness—and for a time, she and Todd had gone their separate ways. But recently the Wilkinses had moved back to California, and now things were wonderful between Elizabeth and Todd. Luckily for Patty, Pacific College was only two hours north of Sweet Valley.

  "I think I'll go talk to her right now," Elizabeth decided. "I want to arrange an interview with her before the weekend gets here and we lose her for good!"

  Patty Gilbert was sitting at a table with Olivia Davidson, the arts editor for The Oracle, Guy Chesney, and Emily Mayer, both of whom played in the popular Sweet Valley High band, The Droids.

  "Don't tell me that's all you're eating, Patty," Olivia said.

  Patty looked down at the small tossed salad on her tray. As a
dancer, she was always conscious of her weight, although she didn't usually limit herself to rabbit food. "I'm dieting now because Jim's coming home for the weekend," she explained to Olivia. "I'm making a lot of special plans, most of which include food, like a picnic at the beach, a romantic dinner . . ."

  Olivia laughed, and Patty joined in. She knew she was going overboard trying to come up with fun things to do. The weekend just has to be perfect, she thought for about the hundredth time since Jim had called from college to say he was driving down to Sweet Valley after his calculus exam on Friday.

  In the past, she hadn't felt this sort of pressure. At first when Jim went to Pacific, he had come home every weekend, and they had talked on the phone several times a week. But lately he had been getting busier and busier—so busy that he had stayed on campus three weekends in a row. And he wasn't calling as often, either.

  I wasn't going to worry about all that, Patty reminded herself. Jim's got his own life, and I have mine. But it had been hard lately not to feel a little anxious. One thing was for sure: They needed this weekend together if their romance was going to survive.

  "Hey, you guys. Mind if I join you?"

  Patty snapped out of her reverie and heard a chorus of hellos greeting Elizabeth Wakefield as she pulled a chair up to the table.

  "Hi, Liz," Patty said. Although everyone liked Elizabeth, Patty felt she and Elizabeth shared a special bond since the time they had teamed up to help DeeDee regain her self-confidence by putting her in charge of the school talent show. "What's up?"

  "Business for The Oracle, as usual," Elizabeth answered. "I'm launching a new feature for the newspaper, a series of interviews with seniors about their plans for the future and their memorable experiences at Sweet Valley High. It's called 'Personal Profiles.' "

  "Catchy title," Patty remarked.

  "How would you like to be my first profile?" Liz inquired.

  She smiled as Patty's dark, almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise. "Me?" Patty asked. "Are you kidding. I'd love to!"

  Olivia nodded in approval. "Good choice," she said. "I like to see the arts well-represented."

  "Great," Elizabeth said. "Tell you what, Patty. I'd like to get started as soon as possible. DeeDee said she didn't think you were doing much of anything this weekend—maybe we could get together on Saturday."

  Patty's jaw dropped. "DeeDee said what?" Then she caught the mischievous twinkle in Elizabeth's eyes. "She told you about Jim, huh?" Patty guessed, grinning.

  "Believe me, I know how you feel," Elizabeth assured her. "You must be dying to see him."

  "I am," Patty admitted, running a hand through her long, black hair. "I miss him like crazy. Four weeks is too long to spend apart."

  Elizabeth tilted her head. "I thought you two got together every weekend."

  "Not recently. Jim's been too busy." The nagging doubt about their relationship returned, but Patty dismissed it with a decisive shake of her head. She smiled brightly. "We'll really have to make up for lost time."

  "Well, if you're not completely exhausted by Sunday night, do you want to meet for the interview then?" Elizabeth suggested.

  "Sunday's fine with me," Patty agreed.

  "Great. Can you come over to my house around seven?" Elizabeth asked. "We could talk over dessert."

  "Perfect." Patty jotted a reminder to herself on the cover of her notebook as Elizabeth stood up to leave. "See you then, Liz!"

  The bus dropped Patty off at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Ridgeview. It was just three blocks to her house, and Patty walked slowly, her duffle bag stuffed with workout clothes slung over one shoulder. She felt loose and relaxed after an invigorating class at the Modern Dance Academy downtown, the Southern California sun was shining—and in just two days Jim would be home!

  Heading up the driveway, Patty hummed a tune from West Side Story to herself. Mom's home early for once, she observed, noting her mother's Buick in the garage. Patty guessed it had been a relatively slow day at the computer consulting firm where Mrs. Gilbert worked.

  Inside, Patty headed for the kitchen and immediately removed a pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator. Her mother was on the telephone, talking animatedly. Glass in hand, Patty slid onto a stool.

  Mrs. Gilbert cupped a hand over the mouthpiece. "It's Jana," she informed Patty.

  "Give her my love!" Patty whispered.

  "You can yourself pretty soon," Mrs. Gilbert quickly said. Then she resumed her conversation with Jana.

  Patty raised her eyebrows at her mother's comment. What's up with Jana? she wondered. It had to be something good because Mrs. Gilbert was smiling from ear to ear.

  Hearing from Patty's twenty-one-year-old sister, who had moved to San Francisco after her graduation from college, was always a big event. Between her job with a nonprofit environmental organization and her social life in the city, Jana had a busy schedule. She hadn't been home for a visit since she moved six months ago, and her phone calls were usually short and rushed.

  Patty took a sip of her lemonade. "Get here as soon as you can, honey," Mrs. Gilbert was saying. "But promise you'll drive safely. I don't trust that old VW."

  A moment later Mrs. Gilbert hung up the phone and turned to Patty. "Guess what? Jana's finally coming home, this weekend! Isn't that wonderful?"

  This weekend? Patty's face fell.

  Mrs. Gilbert caught her expression. "Honey, I thought you'd be thrilled."

  "Oh, I am," Patty said. "I just have a bit of a conflict, that's all." That's the understatement of the year! she thought. "Jim's coming down from school, remember?"

  "That's right." Mrs. Gilbert lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. "And Jana was dropping hints that she has some big news to tell all of us. She wants to have a real family weekend."

  "Big news?" Patty was momentarily distracted. "And she didn't say what it was?"

  Mrs. Gilbert shook her head. "No, she was very mysterious about it."

  Patty sipped the last of her lemonade. "Maybe she got promoted at work," she guessed. "Or maybe she's moving back to Southern California!"

  "I suppose we'll just have to wait and find out," Mrs. Gilbert said.

  "Yeah," Patty agreed. Then her dilemma hit her full force. What was she going to do about Jim? She hadn't seen her sister in half a year. They had always been close, and Patty missed Jana's companionship. It would be fantastic to see Jana—there was so much for them to catch up on.

  But Jim and I need this weekend, she reminded herself. Our whole relationship might depend on it!

  She had to make a choice, unless she wanted to spend the entire weekend driving back and forth between her house and Jim's.

  Mrs. Gilbert seemed to read her mind. "Is there any way you could ask Jim to visit another time?" she asked Patty as she rinsed a head of lettuce in the sink.

  Patty sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I guess I should call and see if he can drive down next weekend instead," she conceded. "I just hate to ask him to change his plans. He'll be as disappointed as I am."

  "He might be happy to wait another week if that means he can have you all to himself," her mother observed.

  "You're probably right." Patty drummed her fingers on the counter. She had been looking forward so much to their weekend together, and she didn't know if she could take another week of wondering whether their relationship was in some kind of trouble.

  But I'll have to, Patty thought, taking a deep breath as she reached for the phone and dialed Jim's college number. Jim would understand how important it was for her to see Jana. Everything would work out fine.

  Patty let the phone ring for a full minute, but there was no answer. On one hand she was relieved, but on the other, she almost wished she could get the whole thing straightened out right away. She decided she would call again around dinnertime.

  At midnight the next evening, Thursday, Patty was still trying to get in touch with Jim. She sat on her bed and dialed his number. His phone rang. Five, six, seven, eight—she counted the rings, then
finally replaced the receiver in its cradle and sighed in frustration. That would have to be her last attempt—she had to get some sleep.

  Where could he be, anyway? Patty wondered as she pulled her nightshirt on over her head. Even with exams, it was hard to believe Jim had been in the library for twenty-four hours straight.

  There were lots of perfectly innocent reasons why Jim might be out so late, Patty told herself. She set the clock radio alarm and switched off the light. But lying in the dark, watching the palm tree outside her bedroom window swaying gently in the breeze, Patty couldn't keep the jealous thoughts that had been bothering her for the past few weeks from creeping back into her mind.

  Jim could still be studying for his test or maybe hanging out at a friend's room. Or, he could be on a date with another girl. . . .

  Restless, Patty rolled over. Since he had started at Pacific in the fall, Jim had never said anything to her about wanting to date other girls. But maybe now that he had been there for a while, he was having second thoughts about hanging on to his high-school girlfriend.

  Deep down, Patty knew Jim still loved her as much as she loved him. When she graduated from Sweet Valley High next year, she planned to attend Pacific, too, so they could be together all the time.

  I'll feel better as soon as I see him, Patty decided. I'm just being paranoid, that's all. But she couldn't fall asleep for another hour, no matter how many reassurances she gave herself.

  Two

  "I wish I could help you out," Patty said. "But as you know, I'm already overbooked for this particular weekend."

  DeeDee blew her light brown bangs off her forehead, concentrating as she made a last dab with her paintbrush on a T-shirt. Then she laughed. "Don't worry, Patty. I didn't expect you to come to my rescue! I'll be able to handle the booth myself."

  It was Friday evening, and Patty was at DeeDee's house watching her friend's last-minute preparations for Saturday's crafts fair. Patty, preoccupied over Jim's and Jana's coinciding visits, had arrived to find DeeDee grumbling about a problem of her own. A friend from her civics center design class who had promised to help DeeDee at the fair had come down with the flu.