Ms. Quarterback

  MS. QUARTERBACK

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  Terri waited anxiously for Ken at the sidelines.

  "Listen, we have to talk," she said to him as he strolled up to her, unstrapping his helmet.

  He looked upset. "I don't really feel like talking right now, Terri. Can't it wait till after tomorrow?"

  From the look on his face Terri knew she'd been right. Something had gone wrong with his vision. "I can't let you go out on the field tomorrow if there's something wrong with your eyes!" she blurted out.

  Ken glared at her. "Quit mothering me, Terri. That stuff was fine back when I needed it, but I can see just fine now. I don't need you playing nurse."

  Terri stared at him, completely stunned. "I'm just trying to—"

  "Trying to keep me from doing what I love," Ken finished bitterly. "You ought to be a little less protective, Terri. Take a lesson from Claire. Her motto is, 'I'd rather die than quit.' "

  "Quit telling me how great Claire is," Terri retorted, glaring back at him. "I'm sick and tired of hearing it. Claire wasn't there when you thought you couldn't even make it down the hallway without help!"

  Ken backed up, his blue eyes filled with anger. "If you think a good relationship is based on gratitude, Terri, then you're crazy!"

  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

  One

  "Hey, Liz! Aren't you going to the pep rally?" Enid Rollins called out as the two girls crossed paths in the crowded hallway of Sweet Valley High.

  Elizabeth Wakefield gave her best friend a quick wave. "I've got to meet Todd at my locker first. Go on, Enid. We'll meet you in the gym!"

  Elizabeth ran a hand through her long blond hair and strained her eyes for a glimpse of Todd Wilkins, her boyfriend. The corridor was packed with students heading in the opposite direction, toward the gymnasium, and Elizabeth felt a little bit like a salmon swimming upstream.

  The pep rally had been organized by Coach Schultz to support the Gladiators, Sweet Valley High's football team, before their game that weekend against the Palisades Pumas. The Pumas were one of Sweet Valley High's biggest rivals, and the next day's game was the last in the season before the all-important match with Big Mesa two weeks later. Big Mesa was the only team with more wins that season than Sweet Valley. If Sweet Valley could beat them, the Gladiators would have a chance to go to the state play-offs.

  Elizabeth was really looking forward to the pep rally. Sweet Valley High had been through some rough turmoil in the past few weeks, and like a number of other students, Elizabeth was hoping the rally would help revive school spirit.

  She caught sight of Todd up ahead. He was leaning back against her locker, tapping one foot impatiently.

  "Hey," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek when she came up to him. "I was getting worried about you. Is this the same Elizabeth who's always three minutes early?" he added teasingly.

  Elizabeth laughed. She was used to friendly jibes about her punctuality. Unlike her twin sister, Jessica, who never even wore a watch, Elizabeth could always be counted on to be on time.

  "I was talking to John Pfeifer about doing some new sports pieces for the newspaper. I guess we lost track of time." She spun her locker combination, opened her locker, and stuffed her books inside. "So, what do you think is going to happen at this rally? Do you think Coach Schultz is going to spring the news about Scott?"

  Elizabeth had heard that Scott Trost, the team's first-string quarterback, was failing history and Spanish classes. If the rumor was true, Scott would probably go on academic probation. He would be suspended from the team until his grades went up.

  "Hey, you know that's inside information," Todd said, his brown eyes sparkling mischievously. "You newspaper reporters always know the truth before anyone else."

  Todd was right. Almost no one knew about Scott yet. Elizabeth had heard the rumor from John Pfeifer, sports editor of The Oracle, but she'd been sworn to secrecy.

  "News reporters may know," she teased him, ruffling his curly brown hair, "but so do their boyfriends!"

  Todd put his arm around her, and Elizabeth felt a surge of warmth run through her. Even though she and Todd had been steady boyfriend and girlfriend for a long time, she still felt a thrill when he hugged her.

  "Besides," Elizabeth went on as she and Todd walked to the rally, "I don't think the rumor about Scott can be kept quiet for long—not with so much riding on the Gladiators' performance in the next couple of weeks." She thought for a moment, then added, "Maybe today's the day we'll learn more about that girl who wants to be quarterback."

  Elizabeth had recently run a questionnaire in the school paper asking students what they would most like to see changed at Sweet Valley High.

  Some of the suggestions she received had really surprised her. In fact, some had been extremely troubling, dealing with issues of discrimination. One girl, who had responded anonymously, had written that she didn't see why a girl shouldn't try out for a boys' team, even for quarterback of the varsity football team.

  Elizabeth wasn't completely sure that Scott Trost would be suspended as quarterback. But if he was, maybe whoever wrote that complaint would be bold enough to actually try out for the position.

  Todd rolled his eyes. "Liz, that was just a joke. No girl in her right mind would try out for quarterback."

  Elizabeth shook her head. "I think you're wrong," she told him. "I'm pretty sure she was serious, and I think it's great!"

  "Listen, I'm all for a girl quarterback," Todd said, giving Elizabeth's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "But I think I may be an exception, if the other guys on the basketball team are any indication. A lot of them are pretty chauvinistic, and I bet the football team is the same way."

  Elizabeth shrugged. "Well, maybe whoever it is will have the chance to prove to them that they're wrong!"

  When they got to the gymnasium, Elizabeth scanned the crowded bleachers, trying to locate Enid.

  "Liz! Todd! Over here!"

  Elizabeth heard Enid's voice calling out to them, and she looked up to see her friend sitting high up.

  Elizabeth waved back and called, "We're coming!" It took them a while to negotiate their way up the bleachers. First Winston Egbert, the clown of the junior class, pretended he was going to trip Todd, then gave him a high-five. "Very funny, Egbert," Todd muttered. Before they got a step farther, Aaron Dallas stopped Todd to ask him something. And several other friends called out to them before they at last sat down next to Enid, feigning exhaustion.

  "Sorry. We got intercepted," Todd joked.

  Enid's green eyes were shining. "Where have you two been? I've been going nuts up here. Have you heard the news?"

  "What news?" Elizabeth asked, looking out over the gym as she shrugged out of her cardigan sweater. The football team was lining up on one side of the gym, and across from them the cheerleaders, including Elizabeth's twin sister, Jessica, were forming one of their famous pyramids.

  "Scott Trost," Enid whispered excitedly. "He flunked another history test this week. Coach Schultz has been talking to Chrome Dome all day, but it doesn't look like there's any way around it." "Chrome Dome" was the students' nickname for their bald principal, Mr. Cooper. "Scott's on probation for the rest of the term—meaning, the rest of the football season!"

  Elizabeth and Todd stared a
t each other, then at Enid. "Wow," Elizabeth said. "I guess it's really true." So much for the rumor. Scott's suspension was finally out in the open.

  "Poor Scott," Todd commented. "He must be going out of his mind. He's had such a great season so far."

  "I know. Especially coming in the way he did after Ken's accident . . ." Enid said slowly.

  Up until a few months ago Ken Matthews had been the Gladiators' captain and quarterback. Elizabeth had heard that he was actually pro material and was being approached by some scouts. At any rate, there was no doubt that he would have gotten a football scholarship at a good school. On top of being talented, he was handsome and friendly. It seemed that he had everything going for him, his whole future wrapped up—until the terrible night when a drunk driver skidded out of control on a deserted, rainy road, forcing Ken's car off the road and head-on into a tree.

  Elizabeth's head turned automatically in Ken Matthews's direction. Looking at him now, you'd never know what he's been through, Elizabeth thought. He was every bit as good-looking and strong as he had ever been. Sitting next to his girlfriend, Terri Adams, he looked cheerful and relaxed.

  But for a while it had seemed as though Ken's entire future had been knocked off the road along with his car. Elizabeth clearly remembered hearing the shocking news that a head injury had caused swelling that had left Ken blind. He had to forget foorball and a future in the pros! For Ken, just getting down the hallway had turned into a major feat. He had worked really hard to get back on his feet and adjust, both on his own and with the help of his physical therapist, Ron Jablonski. And Terri had been there to support him every step of the way, too.

  "I wonder if Ken's heard the news about Scott yet," Enid said, following Elizabeth's gaze. "Now that he can see again, do you think . . ." Her voice trailed off, but Elizabeth knew what her friend was thinking.

  "Ken wouldn't be ready for that kind of competition right now," Elizabeth said, shaking her head. "Besides, his vision still isn't back one hundred percent. Terri told me it could be months before it is."

  Todd frowned. "I don't know about that. I played basketball with Ken last Saturday. If that guy can't see, then he's got some kind of guardian angel telling him where the basket is," he said enthusiastically. "I think you're onto something, Enid. If I know Ken Matthews, there's no way he's going to sit back and let an opportunity like this pass by. If Scott is out, somebody's going to have to take over the ballgame. And Ken's the obvious choice."

  Elizabeth didn't answer. She didn't want to sound defeatist, but Ken hadn't been out on the field for a long time. Would he really be in any shape to take over as quarterback?

  Jessica Wakefield jumped down out of the pyramid formation and looked critically at the other cheerleaders, a frown on her face. Couldn't they see that the cheers were getting old? Jessica fumed. It seemed to her that some people had actually stopped paying attention to the cheerleaders—and that was something Jessica wouldn't stand for.

  Except for her red-and-white cheerleading uniform, Jessica looked so much like her twin sister, Elizabeth, it would have been impossible for a stranger to tell them apart. Each was blond, slim, and graced with quintessential California beauty. Each had sparkling blue-green eyes and a tiny dimple in her left cheek that showed when she smiled. And each wore a gold lavaliere necklace, a birthday present from their parents on their sixteenth birthday.

  But apart from their identical appearance, they couldn't be more different. Elizabeth was the "responsible" twin—that was the way Jessica always put it. She was serious and liked to take things slowly and steadily, whereas Jessica was impulsive and liked change and excitement. Elizabeth hoped to become a writer one day, and she dedicated long hours to her work on the school paper, The Oracle. When she took on a cause, she did it wholeheartedly and saw it through to the end. Unlike Elizabeth, Jessica's interests were constantly changing. She had a different hobby and a different boyfriend practically every day of the week. When life got too dull for her, Jessica wouldn't hesitate to liven things up, even at the expense of her twin.

  Jessica pulled impatiently at her uniform, although it fit perfectly. Ordinarily there was nothing she loved more than a pep rally. It was fun getting to wear her uniform to school, and even better doing cheers in front of the entire student body. She knew she looked good in her red-and-white pleated skirt and white knit sweater, and she always enjoyed being the center of attention.

  "I can't stand that rah-rah-rah one," she complained to Robin Wilson, who, with Jessica, was cocaptain of the cheerleaders. "Can't we do any better? They must have heard this cheer seven billion times."

  Robin looked at Jessica questioningly. "And it always gets the crowd going. I don't see what's the matter with it."

  Jessica tossed back her blond hair and surveyed the group of cheerleaders, eight in all, counting Robin and herself. "I just think this cheering squad needs a little new blood in it."

  "We've already had tryouts, Jess," Robin reminded her.

  Amy Sutton, another cheerleader and one of Jessica's closest friends, danced over. "What are you two arguing about? By the way, do we have to do the pyramid again? I'm getting a little sick of it."

  "See?" Jessica said triumphantly. "Amy's the newest member of the squad, and even she thinks the cheers are getting tired."

  Robin opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when Maria Santelli came rushing over from the bleachers. "You guys, did you hear the news about Scott? He's off the team for the rest of the season!"

  Amy Sutton's gray eyes widened. She had started dating Scott when he took over as first-string quarterback after Ken's accident. She had really been looking forward to basking in Scott's glory during the weeks ahead. "He hasn't been quarterback that long. How can he possibly be off the team already?" she demanded.

  "Academic probation," Maria explained. "He's failing history."

  "That's ridiculous," Amy muttered. Scowling, she bent over and pretended to retie her shoelace.

  Jessica couldn't resist a little dig. "Maybe Ken will try out for the spot again. That would be kind of awkward for you, wouldn't it?" she teased.

  Two spots of color flared in Amy's cheeks. The fact that she had coldheartedly dropped Ken after his accident and then kindled a romance with his replacement was not something she liked to be reminded of.

  "I'm going to get a drink of water," she snapped and stormed off across the gym.

  By now the entire gymnasium was buzzing with the news of Scott's probation, and when Coach Schultz stepped up to the microphone, it was hard to hear his voice. "Please!" he cried, putting up his hand to silence everyone. "I do not want rumors of any kind marring our team's performance," he said calmly. "Our football team is one of the strongest in the state." Loud cheering broke out, and the coach had to wait for it to die down before continuing. "We're going to go into tomorrow's game against the Palisades Pumas with our current lineup. But after tomorrow, due to some reorganization—"

  This phrase met with an intense reaction from the audience. A loud hum of voices spread through the bleachers, and the coach had to speak loudly to be heard over the noise.

  "—we will be holding tryouts, on Monday after school in the playing field, for the position of quarterback."

  Jessica's eyes flew up to the spot in the bleachers where Ken Matthews was sitting next to Terri. It was clear from the expression on his face that the news about Scott had taken Ken by surprise. But would Ken take advantage of his friend's suspension to get back on the team? And, Jessica wondered, what would happen if he tried out and failed!

  When the rally ended, Terri Adams took a deep breath and pushed her way through the crowd to the corner of the gymnasium where the football players were standing. As the new assistant manager for the Gladiators—she had recently been promoted from assistant statistician—she could have stood with them during the pep rally. But since Ken had left the team, she tended to minimize her role at public events like this one. She preferred to sit up in the stands and
keep him company.

  Terri was surprised by the coach's announcement. She had been hearing rumors about Scott for a while now, but she hadn't expected him to be suspended now, before the big game against Big Mesa. It was common knowledge on the bench that Scott had overextended himself this semester. Playing football was one thing, but taking over the starring position and trying to juggle college prep classes at the same time was something else. Not to mention that the second-string quarterback had injured his hamstring, which meant that Scott had no backup. Scott was disciplined and hardworking, but he wasn't as gifted an athlete as Ken. Terri knew he had felt that he needed to add to his practice time in an attempt to improve himself. He'd let football take over his entire life. Now he was out, and the team had lost its most important player.

  Terri knew the news had shocked Ken, too. He had looked completely flabbergasted at first, but then he seemed to tense with excitement. With all the noise of the pep rally, they hadn't been able to talk about it, but Terri was sure Ken was considering trying out, and that worried her a little.

  "Hey, Terri!" John Pfeifer hurried over to her. "What's Ken saying about the coach's news? You think there's any chance he'll feel up to trying out for his old spot on the team?"

  Within seconds the petite, pretty junior was surrounded. Terri had known most of the guys on the team for years now. Usually she felt as at ease with them as she did with her own brothers. But suddenly she felt nervous. Everyone crowded around asking for information about Ken. Zack Johnson, a sophomore linebacker and one of her closest friends, rushed up to ask about Ken, too. They all wanted to know the same thing: What was Ken planning to do now? Was he going to try out for his old position, or let someone else take the place?

  "I don't know," Terri said, forcing a smile. "You'll have to ask Ken what he plans to do."

  It was exciting to think about Ken playing again, but was he ready for all this pressure to perform? He'd been doing incredibly well—better than his doctors had hoped. But, after all, he had suffered a serious head injury. Terri wanted Ken to be happy, but she also knew he was still having some trouble with his eyes—not a lot, but enough for her to worry about him.