Out of Reach Read online

  OUT OF REACH

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  OUT OF REACH

  David stared at Jade, his happy expression fading. "What's wrong with you?" he managed to ask her.

  Jade put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "What's wrong with me is that I don't happen to appreciate you breaking a confidence. You told me you wouldn't say a word to anybody!"

  "Yeah, and I didn't." David was staring right back at her.

  "Yeah, right. Then how come Amy Sutton and Lila just happen to have found out?"

  David's eyes sparkled with anger. "Look, Jade, either you trust me or you don't. I swear that I didn't tell a single soul your little secret, ridiculous as I think it is."

  "It's not ridiculous!" Jade shrieked. "David, you're the most insensitive, the most—"

  David broke in, his own voice getting louder. "Who's insensitive? You're the one who's ashamed of your own family!" He stared at her indignantly. "There's something wrong with your attitude, Jade. That's the real problem."

  "Thank you very much, but I don't need you to tell me what my problem is," Jade said coldly.

  David walked past her. "I want to know why you can't face up to who you are, Jade. You know, until you do, you're going to have nothing but problems!"

  Jade felt her eyes fill with tears. She reached out her hand to grab David's arm, but there was no stopping him.

  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

  "I'm so excited about the show!" Amy Sutton exclaimed, her gray eyes shining. "Don't you think I'm just perfect for the solo part?"

  It was lunchtime, and several girls were crowded around a table in the cafeteria, discussing Sweet Valley High's upcoming music and dance show, which was being staged to raise money to start a dance program so that students could take modern dance or ballet as an elective.

  "I haven't heard much about it," Cara Walker said. "What kind of acts are they going to have? I don't remember there ever being a show like that here before."

  "Ms. Bellasario's directing it," Amy answered, glancing at Jessica. "Only no one knows yet who's going to take over as student producer now that Maria Santelli had to drop out." Maria, one of the cheerleaders, had to give up her position when she got very ill with the flu. "Anyway, there are going to be auditions the day after tomorrow—that's Wednesday, right? Supposedly Ms. Bellasario wants to have a lot of different acts, though dance is most important. I think The Droids are going to play one of their songs, and some musical numbers—you know, people playing instruments and stuff." Her eyes gleamed. "But the big solo before the grand finale is being reserved for a really good dancer. And that's what I want to get!"

  Jessica Wakefield looked skeptically at her friend. As much as she liked Amy, she had to agree with her twin, Elizabeth, that Amy had an inflated sense of her own worth. Jessica had spent enough time on the cheerleading squad with Amy to suspect she wasn't as great a dancer as she thought she was. Personally, Jessica wasn't interested in dancing right now. Recently she had tried out for a role in the school production of You Can't Take It with You, but instead of winning the glamorous lead, she ended up with the part of a comic character, whose dancing was terrible. Also, she didn't feel like getting involved in another production where she would have to spend every waking minute working on it. Even though her twin sister Elizabeth was in charge of publicity, Jessica wasn't going to audition. The play had been fun, but she had a lot of other things to do. With cheerleading, Pi Beta Alpha—the exclusive sorority she was president of—and A.J., her brand-new boyfriend, she had her hands full.

  However, if Amy really wanted to be in the show, Jessica wasn't going to try to talk her out of it.

  "I bet you'd be great for the solo," she murmured, not looking directly at Amy.

  Lila Fowler was less polite. "I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, Amy, but there's going to be an awful lot of competition for the big dance solo." She tossed her hair back. "I had a discussion with Ms. Bellasario about it yesterday. Lots of people are going to be auditioning."

  "Like who?" Amy demanded, undaunted.

  "Well, probably Jade Wu." Lila, the richest girl in Sweet Valley, liked being the person who always knew what was going on at school. "I told you about her before, remember? She happens to be an incredible dancer. I bet you anything she gets the solo part." She gave Amy an imperious look. Lila tended to be competitive, and there was a natural rivalry between her and Amy. "I hear Jade Wu is practically a professional."

  Amy looked scornful. "But you told me Jade's only a sophomore," she said disparagingly.

  Jessica laughed. "So what? If she's the best for the part, Ms. Bellasario will give it to her for sure."

  Amy stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "But she's Chinese! She doesn't look right for the part. The soloist for the finale should be blond, all-American—like me."

  "Jade's American," Lila observed wryly. "Just because her father was born in China doesn't mean she isn't American. I think you'd better plan to audition for the chorus line." She giggled. "Or maybe you and Jessica could try singing something together. Like 'Row, row, row your boat.' "

  Jessica barely listened to Amy's angry response. Actually, she hadn't heard from her sister yet whether Jade was trying out for the solo role. Elizabeth might know, since she had thrown herself into the production with characteristic energy. It would be interesting to watch and see what happened if Jade did compete with Amy!

  Jessica had been curious more than once about the beautiful, petite sophomore. Jade had only moved to Sweet Valley a few months ago, and she was a shy, delicate girl who kept to herself. The one thing everyone at school had heard about Jade was that she was a phenomenal dancer. She wanted to be a professional ballerina one day, and from what Jessica had heard, she seemed to have a real shot at it—she was that good. Jessica wondered if her twin knew anything more about Jade. Just at that moment Elizabeth came hurrying over to the table. "You guys aren't going to believe it," she said excitedly. "You know Maria Santelli had to drop out of the show. Well, guess who just got drafted to take her place?"

  Everyone stared at Elizabeth in surprise.

  "Me!" Elizabeth exclaimed with a rueful laugh. "Ms. Bellasario wants me to be the student producer of the show!"

  Elizabeth hadn't intended to get herself into such a big job. But the show had to go on. And as always, Elizabeth was ready to help out in a pinch!

  Jade was sitting at a corner table in the cafeteria across from Melanie Forman, her best friend. Melanie, who was also a sophomore, had a great sense of humor, and Jade really enjoyed her company. Today especially she was happy to have her friend's support, because all she could think about was how unfair it was that she couldn't audition for the upcoming show.

  "I can't believe you're not even going to give it a shot," Melanie objected. "Come on, Jade. You know you're the best dancer in the whole school."

  Jade pushed her silky black hair over her shoulder. "What difference would it make? You know my dad would never let me dance in public. I'd have to give up the part as soon as I got it—if I got it." She sighed. "I talked to Eve about the show. She thinks I'd be perfect for the solo." Eve Miller was Jade's dance teacher. For the past six years Jade had been studying ballet. But she had only worked with Eve since her family moved to Sweet Valley. The lessons were a present from her grandparents, who knew Jade's dream was to be a ballerina one day. Jade could still remember what they had said to her the day she turned nine. "If this is your dream, we'll help you reach it." Ever since then, they had lived up to their promise. If only her parents were as supportive as her grandparents were!

  Jade's dark eyes were sad as she said, "I wish I had parents like yours, Melanie. Your family lets you do whatever you want. If only my father understood how much dancing means to me . . ."

  Melanie frowned. "Well, it's true my parents aren't as strict as yours. But your parents have such interesting backgrounds. I love listening to their stories. When your father starts talking about what it was like to grow up in China

  Jade sat up straight, and tossed her napkin onto her tray. "I'm sick to death of hearing him go on about it. You'd think he still lived in China! Well, he doesn't. He's an American now. So's my mother, and so am I. My father insists on living in the past. Every second word that comes out of his mouth is about China. In China girls wear their hair like this. In China people take their vacations at such-and-such. If we lived in China, we wouldn't do this or that. I can't stand it!"

  Melanie was quiet for a minute. "But you must be proud of them, Jade. Not everyone has parents as fascinating as yours."

  Jade shook her head vehemently. "Believe me, I'd give anything in the world if I could swap with you, Mel. My parents are wonderful, but it's impossible to live with them and still lead a normal life." She frowned. "I can't do anything other kids my age can. I'm not allowed to date. I can't even spend a night over at your house, or have you come over to stay with me. And why can't I? Because in China girls don't sleep over at their friends' houses. I guess it's worse because I'm an only child, too. If I had brothers and sisters,
they wouldn't pay so much attention to me. But as it is . . . Mel, I feel so trapped."

  Jade knew how distraught and angry she sounded, but she couldn't help herself. For as long as she could remember, she and her father had disagreed about almost everything that mattered. Jade wanted to be American in every way. She wanted American clothes, American food, American friends. If she could look American, she would be overjoyed. But Jade was the epitome of Oriental beauty. She was small, delicate, with skin as smooth as ivory, beautiful dark eyes, and jet-black hair as fine as silk. She knew her father loved her and that he just wanted to make sure she maintained her ties with Chinese culture. He distrusted Americans, and he wanted Jade to form friendships with other Chinese-Americans like herself—not with girls like Melanie.

  Dr. Wu had come to America when he was twenty-three. After studying for his Ph.D. in physics at CalTech, he had worked in California, first as a professor, then as a business consultant. Six months ago he had been transferred from San Francisco to a new branch office that was opening in Sweet Valley, and the Wus made the move.

  It had been a mixed blessing for the whole family. On the plus side, Mrs. Wu's parents, the Sungs, lived in Sweet Valley. Jade was finally going to have the chance to spend some time with her grandparents. But each of them missed San Francisco. Dr. Wu missed Chinatown and the close Chinese friendships he had developed there. Mrs. Wu felt uprooted, and Jade missed the dance community. She'd had a wonderful dance class in San Francisco, and even the lessons her grandparents set up for her with Eve Miller didn't make up for it.

  In fact, it had been a tough adjustment all the way around. In San Francisco Jade had managed to build up a network of friends—some Chinese, some American—whom her father grudgingly accepted. The move had only brought their differences out in the open again. Dr. Wu was constantly worrying that Sweet Valley High was the wrong sort of atmosphere for Jade—that, as he put it, "there won't be any people like you around." Jade hated that phrase!

  Not even her best friend completely understood. Yet of all the people Jade had met so far at school, Melanie was the most understanding. She seemed to guess intuitively how hard it was for Jade to get along with her father and how much Jade hated asking her mother to intervene.

  "What if you just tried to talk to your father? You could explain to him how much being in the show would mean to you," Melanie suggested.

  Jade shook her head impatiently. "No, it would never work. He'd say that it's OK to take private ballet lessons. At least that seems to him like some sort of strict discipline. And as long as it's private, just me and my teacher, then he can't really object to it. I mean, he doesn't support it or anything, but he doesn't forbid it." She frowned. "But it would be completely different being in a show. He wouldn't think it was 'serious dancing.' For my father everything has to be totally serious. If you're not working as hard as he works, then it just doesn't count. He doesn't respect things like dance shows."

  "But this is going to be a great show!" Melanie objected. "And believe me, you'd have to work very hard, with the rehearsals and all. Jade, I can't stand to think of you not even trying out."

  Jade took a deep breath. "Well, the only hope is talking to my mother about it. Even though she takes my father's side most of the time, I think she'll be more sympathetic about this. She remembers what it's like to be young, to want to do things with other people." She sighed. "But even so, I think she'll take his side. She'll think it's flashy, a waste of time, not serious enough."

  "What if you asked Eve to talk to them? You know, she could tell them how much being in it could mean to your dance career. After all, every great artist needs public exposure," Melanie pointed out.

  "Yeah," Jade agreed. "Maybe."

  She pushed her tray away, not wanting to talk further about the show. Melanie knew her well enough not to say more. They had talked about Jade's family before, and it always came down to the same thing: a stalemate. Dr. Wu wanted one thing, and Jade wanted the opposite. And there didn't seem to be a way to close the gap between them.

  Jade usually caught the downtown bus right after school to go to her dance teacher's studio. But this afternoon she missed the three-twenty bus and had to wait for the next one. She noticed a boy from her history class, David Prentiss, standing a few feet away from her. Jade had noticed him several times before. He was a really nice-looking guy. Tall—almost a foot taller than she—with sandy hair, green eyes, and freckles. He had a shy but good-hearted manner that made her look at him twice. I'd really like to get to know him, she thought. It was a new feeling for Jade, who had always been so busy with her dancing and studies that she hadn't even had time to look at boys.

  "Hi," he said, looking at her with a shy smile. "You're Jade, aren't you? You sit behind Kevin Johnson in history class, right?"

  Jade nodded. "He's as tall as you are," she said with a smile. "I can never see the blackboard!"

  David laughed. Just then the bus pulled up in front of them, and Jade climbed on ahead of David. There were two free seats in the back, and they sat down side by side. "I'm heading downtown," Jade explained. "I've got a dance lesson every day after school."

  "Wow, that's great," David said enthusiastically. "I wish I could afford lessons." He had a cheerful, matter-of-fact air that kept his comment from seeming like a complaint. "I paint, and I'd love to be able to take a studio class. But my mom's the only one around to support all of us—we've got six kids in my family. And there just isn't any extra money for lessons."

  Jade looked at him curiously. He didn't have to tell me that, she thought. But it made her feel good that he had. "My mother's parents pay for my lessons," she admitted. "My dad doesn't like dancing classes. If he had his way, I'd spend every afternoon at home." She blushed as soon as the words were out of her mouth. It wasn't like her to say something so personal to someone she had just met. Melanie was the only friend she ever confided in, and Jade was worried how David would react.

  But David didn't seem surprised or bothered by what she'd said. "Parents can be like that. I think they're especially hard on daughters." He smiled at Jade. He made her feel as if her family situation were normal, and she instantly relaxed.

  "You know," David added thoughtfully as the bus turned onto the big palm-tree-lined avenue heading downtown, "you should try out for the show I'm working on. Have you heard about it? It's a show that Ms. Bellasario is directing to raise money for a dance program at school. I'm in charge of set design." He grinned. "I'm not exactly a recruiter, but I'm pretty sure we need a great dancer for a big solo number. I bet you'd be perfect."

  Jade bit her lip. Wherever she turned, people were talking about the show!

  "What are you doing for sets?" she asked, changing the subject as casually as possible. She didn't want to explain her reasons for not trying out.

  "Well, my title is art and set director. I'm supposed to design a poster to use for advertising, and the main sets as well. I really hope you audition," he added. The bus stopped, and David stood up. "This is my stop—my house is two blocks from here. Maybe I'll see you Wednesday at the auditions," he added. He gave her a smile that made her feel warm and slightly embarrassed and happy all at the same time.

  "Maybe," she murmured. Now more than ever Jade wanted to audition. She was just going to have to try her hardest to convince her parents to say yes.

  Two

  "Jessica!" Elizabeth called upstairs. "Am I completely crazy, or is it your night to help make dinner?"

  The twins were supposed to alternate nights helping their mother with dinner because she was an interior designer and worked very long hours. But Elizabeth all too often ended up filling in for her sister. It wasn't fair, she thought now, waiting for Jessica's response. The bad thing about being the "responsible" twin was that she had to do at least twice as much of the work around the house!

  It was a long-standing joke among the Wakefields that Elizabeth and Jessica were identical on the outside and totally opposite on the inside. As far as appearances were concerned, they were mirror images: they both had blond hair, blue-green eyes, slender size-six figures, and tiny dimples that showed when they smiled. Only the tiniest details distinguished them, like the fact that Elizabeth usually wore a wristwatch and Jessica never did. Jessica operated by her own inner clock, or what her older brother, Steven, liked to call Jessica Standard Time, which meant that she basically did whatever she felt like, whenever she felt like doing it. Jessica's motto was to have fun, no matter what. And fun for Jessica meant being the center of attention. Whether it was cheerleading, the sorority, or a night out at the Beach Disco, Jessica loved being in the limelight—and she usually was.