Elizabeth Betrayed

  ELIZABETH

  BETRAYED

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  "I'd like an explanation," Mr. Collins said simply.

  Elizabeth raised her eyes. "An explanation? An explanation of what?"

  "This!" he said, holding her essay in front of her.

  "Well . . ." Elizabeth took a deep breath. "I know it's not the best I could do," she began, "but I was so busy with The Oracle last week because everyone was out sick—"

  "Elizabeth!" Mr. Collins cut her off. "Please don't make this any harder than it already is. I spent a sleepless night trying to come up with reasons why you would do this, trying to explain it to myself somehow." There was real pain in his eyes when he looked at her. "You're the last person in the world I would have thought would do something like this."

  Suddenly Elizabeth realized that she and Mr. Collins weren't talking about the same thing. The anger and disappointment in his face weren't about her essay not being up to her usual standards. It was something else. Something really awful. "Do something like what?" she asked uncertainly.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  One

  "I know you appreciate good writing. You even write a little yourself," Rod Sullivan was saying to his girlfriend, Olivia Davidson, as they drove to Sweet Valley High on Monday morning. "Don't you agree with me that Elizabeth Wakefield has a really special talent?"

  Olivia fiddled with the strap of her bag, looking straight ahead of her. Usually she loved driving to school with Rod. It was one of the few times all day when they could actually be alone together. This morning, however, she felt as though there were three of them in the car: Olivia, Rod, and Elizabeth Wakefield. Rod hadn't stopped talking about Elizabeth since Olivia got in.

  Rod nudged her. "Hey, sleepyhead! Didn't you hear me? Don't you think Elizabeth has a special talent?"

  Olivia forced herself to smile back at him. She, Rod, and Elizabeth were all on the staff of The Oracle, Sweet Valley High's school newspaper, but it was Elizabeth who was the star reporter. Lately Elizabeth seemed to be Rod's favorite topic of conversation. When, a few days earlier, Olivia had suggested that his admiration of her was going a little far, Rod had assured her that his interest in Elizabeth was only that of a friend. Even so, she wished he would find something else to be so enthusiastic about.

  "Of course. I think Elizabeth's amazing," she said, trying to sound enthusiastic herself. "Everyone knows she's a terrific writer. Where would the paper be without her?"

  Rod shook his head. "I bet you that twenty years from now she'll win the Pulitzer Prize for journalism, and we'll be telling all our friends that we used to know her when."

  Olivia smiled grimly. Not only did Olivia work on The Oracle, but she also edited Visions, the school literary magazine, almost single-handedly, and she was a very talented painter as well. But she couldn't remember Rod ever suggesting that she would win something someday. "I'm sure you're right," she said flatly.

  "Of course I'm right." He shook his head. "Didn't you love that piece she did for the L.A. Times? " Rod apparently couldn't get over the fact that someone they went to school with had had work published in a paper like the Times.

  Olivia looked at him. "I didn't get a chance to read it. I guess I was just too busy trying to get some new ideas together for the next issue of Visions," she explained. Finally seeing a break in the Elizabeth Wakefield monologue, she went on quickly, "In fact, I was hoping to discuss some of my ideas with you."

  "Me?" Rod looked surprised. "I know the magazine means a lot to you, Liv, but I already told you I'm not going to have any extra time for it."

  Olivia knew. How could she not know? Rod, who was a gifted graphic artist, had given her some invaluable help with Visions when she first began it, but he had made it clear that he was too busy with his work for The Oracle and his own projects to become really involved. Olivia also knew that he wasn't all that interested in Visions. "I know, it's not nearly as important as The Oracle," she replied a little bitterly. She could feel her cheeks burning.

  Rod reached over and took her hand. "It's not that I'm putting Visions down or anything," he said gently. "You do a great job on the magazine. It's just that stories and poetry and stuff like that don't seem as real to me as news articles."

  Olivia watched the houses go by. What was the use of trying to explain to him again that "stories and poetry and stuff like that" were every bit as real as news articles? At least to her they were.

  Rod steered the red Honda into the high school parking lot and pulled into a space. "Don't forget to read that article of Elizabeth's," he said as he turned off the engine. "It's really good." He smiled. "It might even inspire you."

  Olivia didn't smile back. She was not a petty or jealous person by nature, but she was getting pretty sick and tired of hearing Rod constantly talk about how intelligent and talented Elizabeth was. She unfastened her seat belt and got out of the car. "Thanks for the advice," she said, slamming the door shut. "I just hope the L.A. Times doesn't offer Elizabeth a job before we graduate. Without her around to inspire me, I'd probably never put out another issue of the magazine again."

  Rod got out, too, falling into step beside her. He put his arm around her shoulders. "Hey," he said, "do I detect a little jealousy here?"

  "Jealousy?" Olivia didn't meet his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course I'm not jealous."

  He leaned his head close to hers. "I just think Elizabeth's a good journalist," he said softly. "You're the girl I'm crazy about."

  She turned to look at Rod. His eyes were looking right into hers. Olivia smiled her first real smile of the day.

  Elizabeth Wakefield walked across the school parking lot with her identical twin sister, Jessica, who was chatting happily about the beach party she had been to the day before.

  "You really should have come," Jessica said with her usual bubbly enthusiasm. "On a scale of one to ten it was a definite twelve."

  Elizabeth smiled. Nothing with Jessica was ever simply good or bad. It was either fantastic or completely awful. "I'm sure it was great," she said, "but I just had too much to do."

  Jessica frowned in mock seriousness. "If you ask me, Elizabeth Wakefield, your problem is that you work too hard. Life's for living, not typing." She shook her head. "You're the only person I know who would rather spend the weekend in her room with her word processor than at the beach with her friends." She grinned impishly. "I'm so glad I only look like you."

  Elizabeth grinned back. Jessica was right. Even though the two girls looked exactly the same, from their sun-streaked blond hair to their blue-green eyes and the tiny dimple in their left cheeks, underneath they were as different as spring and fall. Jessica was fun-loving and frivolous. Her three favorite things were parties, shopping, and boys. Elizabeth, however, was quieter and more serious. She preferred spending time with her best friend, Enid Rollins, and her boyfriend, Todd Wilkins, to having a busy social life.

  "I have to work hard on my articles for The Oracle if I'm ever going to be a professional writer," she said. "And besides, I'm having a tough time getting started on my English essay for Mr. Collins."

  "I never worry about that sort of thing," Jessica said airily.

  Elizabeth decided not to point out that Jessica rarely worried about much of anything. Seeing Olivia Davidson and Rod Sullivan up ahead of them, she decide
d to change the subject. "Doesn't Olivia look great today?" she asked, giving her sister a nudge. "She really has a terrific sense of style."

  Jessica nodded. "She's a little too artsy for me, but she's still cool." Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "Even if she is as intense as you are."

  "Maybe that's why we like each other so much," Elizabeth answered. "Because we have so much in common." She touched her twin's shoulder. "I think I'll go catch up with her. See you later."

  Elizabeth had just reached Olivia and Rod inside the school entrance when Penny Ayala, editor-in-chief of The Oracle, came racing down the hallway toward them.

  "Elizabeth! Olivia! Rod!" she shouted. Her face was bright with color and her hazel eyes shone.

  Elizabeth couldn't remember ever seeing Penny so excited before. "What is it?" she called back.

  "You're not going to believe this," Penny said as she screeched to a stop next to them. "You're just not going to believe it!" She looked from one to another, unable to stop smiling. "I've been chosen for the Washington Correspondent Program!" she announced in a rush. "Isn't that terrific? Out of all the thousands of high school editors in the country, they picked me!"

  "That's wonderful!" Elizabeth threw her arms around her friend. She knew how much this meant to Penny. The Washington Correspondent Program gave a few of the top high school editors the opportunity to spend two weeks in Washington, D.C., following a senator around, just as an actual reporter would.

  Olivia hugged Penny, too. "Congratulations," she said. "No one deserves this more than you."

  "That's right," Elizabeth said. "You're the best high school editor in the country. Who else would they pick?" She looked to Rod and Olivia for agreement. Olivia was nodding her head, but Rod wasn't looking at Penny. He was smiling at Elizabeth.

  Rod suddenly turned back to the others. "We'll have to go somewhere after school to celebrate," he said.

  Penny laughed. "I don't know if I have time to celebrate. I leave on Friday, and I have about a million things to do before I go."

  Rod put one arm around Penny's shoulders. "We won't take no for an answer," he told her. "Will we?"

  Elizabeth smiled. "Of course not." She turned to Penny. "Even William Randolph Hearst must have stopped for a double-cheese pizza now and then."

  Todd raised his juice container. "To Elizabeth Wakefield! Acting editor-in-chief of The Oracle."

  Enid raised her carton of milk. "Here, here!"

  Elizabeth blushed. "Come on, you two," she said. "Penny heard only this morning that she's going to Washington. I'm sure she hasn't had time even to think about asking someone to stand in for her."

  Enid picked up her sandwich. "But she will have to ask someone, won't she?" she reasoned. "She can't leave the paper without an editor for two whole weeks."

  Elizabeth nodded. Once she had gotten over the surprise of Penny's news, she'd remembered that very thing: that Penny would have to appoint someone to act as editor-in-chief while she was away. Someone who was responsible. Someone who was dedicated. Someone like me! Elizabeth had thought, her heart skipping a beat.

  "But that doesn't mean she'll choose me," she protested now. "There are a lot of hard-working, talented people on the paper, you know."

  Todd made a face. "Don't be so modest, Liz," he said. "You know as well as we do that you're the obvious choice."

  Elizabeth blushed again. Deep down, she secretly thought that she was the obvious choice—or at least one of the obvious choices—but she wanted the job so much that she was afraid to be too confident about getting it.

  "That's right," Enid agreed. "No one works harder than you do."

  "And no one else has already filled in as editor like you did when Penny was out sick," Todd reminded her.

  "And no one else has been published by the L.A. Times," Enid added.

  Elizabeth pushed her plate away. She was much too excited and nervous even to pretend to eat. "But what about Olivia?" she asked. In Elizabeth's opinion, Olivia was the only other obvious choice. She didn't have as much journalistic experience as Elizabeth, but she had enormous editorial ability and flair—and Penny knew it.

  Todd's expression became grimly serious. "Olivia?" he asked. "Olivia Davidson?" He slapped his forehead. "I forgot about her. Maybe you are in trouble, Liz."

  Elizabeth tried not to look disappointed. She had been expecting Todd to tell her that she didn't have to worry about Olivia.

  Enid punched Todd in the arm. "Stop teasing her," she ordered. "Can't you see she's really nervous about this?"

  Todd broke into a huge grin, leaned over, and put his arm around Elizabeth. "Lucky for you Olivia already has too much to do with Visions."

  Elizabeth smiled. Todd was right. Penny probably wouldn't choose Olivia because she was doing too much already. Lucky for me is right, she thought.

  "Two weeks is a long time," Rod said as he set down his tray. "She'll have to appoint someone. Now, I wonder who that someone could be?" he added in a teasing tone of voice.

  Olivia slipped into the chair across from him. She knew that Rod meant Elizabeth. And to be fair, Elizabeth had been the first person Olivia had thought of, too. But then someone else had occurred to Olivia. Someone who had a vast amount of editorial experience. Someone who was a talented writer and a tireless worker.

  Olivia looked at Rod as he lifted a forkful of pasta salad to his mouth. "Well, actually," she said evenly, "I was thinking Penny might ask me."

  "You?"

  Olivia glared at him. "Yes, me, " she said coolly. "What's so outrageous about that?"

  Rod shook his head. "There's nothing outrageous about it, Liv. It's just that you're already editing Visions. And, good as you are, journalism's not really your specialty. Besides, Elizabeth is already Penny's right-hand person."

  Olivia felt her confidence slipping away. Rod was probably right. Why would Penny ask her when Elizabeth was available? Elizabeth had more experience, she had worked closely with Penny for ages, and she already did a lot of the editorial work anyway. She wasn't just the obvious choice, she was the only choice.

  "I didn't mean actually ask me to run the paper," she said quickly. "I just thought she might ask me to help Elizabeth out. I do know a lot about editing and layout, you know."

  Rod picked up his fork again. "Yeah, but you're much more knowledgeable about fiction and poetry, and it seems like Visions keeps you pretty busy."

  Olivia's confidence ebbed a little more. She thought about the things Penny and Elizabeth had said about Visions. That it was well done. That it showed imagination. That it must be nice to work on something that didn't come out every week, because she really had time to give it her all. She had thought they were complimenting her, but now she wondered. Maybe they had really been saying, "Go away now, Olivia, we have something important to work on. Something real."

  She shoved her plate away, too depressed to eat. "Maybe you're right," she said in a soft, defeated voice.

  Jessica was humming to herself as she got her things out of her locker. She had survived another Monday, school was over, and she was going home.

  "Jessica!" called a voice nearby. "Jessica!"

  Jessica turned around. Coming down the hallway toward her was Annie Whitman, one of her fellow cheerleaders. Jessica smiled happily. "Hi, Annie!"

  But Annie, Jessica suddenly realized, did not seem to be in a happy mood.

  "I want to talk to you, Jessica Wakefield," Annie whispered angrily. She glanced around her to make sure there was no one else listening.

  The smile died on Jessica's lips. "What is it?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.

  "What is it?" Annie repeated sarcastically. "Are you going to stand there and tell me that you don't know what it is?"

  Jessica shut her locker and backed off a few steps. Sweet Valley High cheerleaders didn't usually go around slugging one another, but from the look in Annie's eyes it occurred to Jessica that there might be a first time. "Yes," she said as calmly as she could. "I have no idea why you're so
upset."

  "Well, let me give you a hint, then." Annie folded her arms across her chest. "Tony."

  "Tony?" Jessica blinked, still confused. Tony Esteban was Annie's boyfriend. "What about Tony?"

  "Don't pretend with me, Judas Wakefield," Annie snarled. "I know you know that he's been seeing another girl. You knew, and you didn't tell me! I'm supposed to be your friend, but you didn't tell me he was running around with someone else, making a fool out of me!"

  Jessica felt the color drain from her face. It was true. She had seen Tony at least half a dozen times with someone else, but she'd never considered telling Annie.

  Annie pointed to Jessica. "You did know! Tony told me you did. He said he thought I knew, since you knew. He thought you'd told me and that I didn't mind."

  Jessica regained her composure. "Calm down, will you, Annie?" She tried to reach for Annie's hand, but Annie pulled away roughly. "First of all," Jessica said, trying to sound as reasonable and calm as she could, "I didn't know. I saw him with some girl a couple of times, but it could have been completely innocent. It could have—"

  Tears were streaming down Annie's cheeks. "You let me go on thinking everything was fine." She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "I bet you told everyone else, though. The whole school's probably been laughing at me."

  Jessica was indignant. The only person she had mentioned it to was her best friend, Lila Fowler, and Lila had been sworn to secrecy. "That's not true! I am your friend, Annie. I just didn't want to upset you."

  "Well, thanks very much," Annie said coldly. "Thanks for sparing my feelings. But in the future you don't have to worry about what you do or don't tell me, Jessica Wakefield, because I'm never speaking to you again so long as I live!"

  Elizabeth climbed into the Jeep and fastened her seat belt. "Isn't it great about Penny?" she said. "I really envy her. It's just about the best thing that could have happened."

  Jessica showed less enthusiasm than she would have if she had just been told Penny had bought a new silk shirt. "Personally, I'd rather have a ring through my nose," she said sourly.