Love Letters for Sale Read online

  LOVE LETTERS FOR SALE

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  To Amy Ellen Dyson

  "How is that letter-writing service going?" Mr. Wakefield asked.

  Elizabeth smiled tiredly and flopped down on the sofa. "Well, it's been incredibly lucrative, but Jessica and I both feel that the letter-writing business takes too much time away from the other things we have to do, like homework and seeing our friends. We know we need to slow down." Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest. "I'm just not sure what we're going to do."

  Elizabeth picked up the U.S. Sports catalog and flipped automatically to the warmup jacket she had ordered for Todd. It was due to arrive any day now, and then she could finally tell him what had been keeping her so busy. But for some reason, Elizabeth felt melancholy. She glanced quickly at her parents, contentedly sharing an evening together just reading and talking, and she thought about how little she had seen Todd during the past weeks. Somehow, her plan didn't seem worth it anymore. "Right now," she said, surprising herself with the firmness of her tone, "I'm ready to quit altogether."

  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

  Chapter Fifteen

  One

  "It was definitely a very gutsy thing to do, Liz," Todd said, squeezing Elizabeth's hand.

  "It wasn't gutsy so much as necessary," Elizabeth responded with a smile. "When the powers-that-be oppose the First Amendment, when they threaten our right to free speech, then it's time to take matters into our own hands. That's why I printed the article about sexual harassment of students by teachers and distributed it on my own. I couldn't let Mr. Cooper censor what was printed in The Oracle, even though he is the principal. The newspaper belongs to the students!"

  Jessica Wakefield yawned. She'd heard her sister's First Amendment speech about a dozen times. Would people ever stop talking about her twin's latest triumph over oppression and tyranny? She knew she should be used to it by now. Elizabeth was always promoting one worthy cause or another. Sometimes, Jessica thought with a grimace, in direct opposition to her own sister's point of view. Like the time Elizabeth had chosen to boycott the Miss Teen Sweet Valley pageant on the grounds that it was degrading to women. That would have been fine if Jessica hadn't entered the contest herself and hoped to win. For weeks they hadn't spoken to each other except to argue.

  But most of the time, Jessica backed Elizabeth one hundred percent. In fact, it was Jessica who had urged Elizabeth to print the renegade version of her article. And Jessica had been the first person to pick up a copy and read it.

  Actually, the twins were more alike than different. Both had shoulder-length blond hair, blue-green eyes that were the color of the Pacific Ocean, and perfect size-six figures. They were so physically identical that even their close friends couldn't tell them apart on the rare occasions when they dressed and wore their hair alike.

  Of course, there were two very special friends who had no trouble telling the twins apart. Tall, with brown hair and coffee-colored eyes, Todd Wilkins, Elizabeth's longtime boyfriend, complemented Elizabeth's blond beauty perfectly. Not only did they look good together, Jessica decided as she watched the two of them across the table from her, they were perfectly attuned to each other's thoughts and needs. Todd was always there for Elizabeth whenever she decided to right another wrong.

  And then there was Sam Woodruff, Jessica's boyfriend. Up until recently, Jessica had kept herself busy dating almost every eligible guy at Sweet Valley High and beyond. But when Sam had ridden into her life on his motorcycle, his wavy blond hair tousled endearingly over his gray eyes, Jessica gave up her wandering ways. Well, almost. There had been times when she had strayed, like when she thought she had fallen for Brandon Hunter, the star of her favorite soap opera, The Young and the Beautiful.

  But Brandon Hunter and Jessica's week of fame as a soap star were a thing of the past. At that moment, Jessica wasn't thinking about acting, other guys, or journalistic censorship. Sure, she was proud that Elizabeth had ignored the initial cautions of the school newspaper's advisor and the outright restrictions of Sweet Valley High's principal and printed her article on harassment anyway. But right now, Jessica was thinking about something much more important—money. Or rather, the lack of it.

  Jessica sipped her soda and snuggled closer to Sam. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

  "What was that for?" Sam asked, his eyes twinkling.

  "Just because," Jessica teased. "Do I have to have a reason?"

  Sam shook his head and grinned. "No way! Feel free, anytime."

  Free. Sam's comment had made her think about money again! If only that sleek new compact disc player that she had seen at Stereo City were free. Jessica had spotted the portable player at the mall when she and her best friends, Lila Fowler and Amy Sutton, were shopping the night before and she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. Especially since she had put it on layaway. Jessica liked layaways. The trouble was, she now had both a dress at Lisette's and the CD player waiting for her. Though the sale prices on the items were locked in, she still didn't have the money to buy them. She wasn't even sure she would have the money in a month, when the layaway time ran out.

  The seventeen dollars she now had left in her savings account wasn't even going to come close, and next month's allowance was already advanced and spent. Sam's birthday was coming up, and she wanted to buy him a new pair of gloves to wear when he was racing his dirt bike. And Jessica had been toying with the idea of redecorating her room. She was tired of Hershey Bar brown!

  Jessica sighed. This was just another example of the difference between herself and Elizabeth. Jessica had no money and no idea what she wanted to be when she grew up. Elizabeth, on the other hand, not only had her life and future career as a writer plotted out, she also had her finances well in hand. Jessica couldn't remember her sister ever needing an advance on her allowance. And when Elizabeth did come into an extra sum of money, she either put it in the bank or spent it on something practical.

  Jessica sighed again. She needed to come up with a new money-making idea, and fast!

  "I think I'm going to start a business," Jessica announced suddenly.

  "Doing what?" Sam asked.

  "I don't know. Got any ideas? I'm in dire straits, moneywise."

  "What happened to all the money you and Elizabeth made working on the soap opera?" Todd asked.

  "Oh, it wasn't that much," Jessica said. "Not as much as we thought it would be, anyway. We spent most of it helping to pay for the Jeep."

  "Don't forget the clothes you bought, and those new CDs, and going out to dinner, and . . . " Elizabeth teased.

  "You don't have any of your share left, either," Jessica retorted good-naturedly.

  "But I do have something to show for it—my new computer and word-processing program," Elizabeth said. "It makes writing for The Oracle much less time-consuming. Now I don't have to start over every time I make a mistake. I just edit on the screen and print a perfect page. I love it!"

  "You're so easily pleased," Jessica joked. "As for me, I need a little more adventure in my life than writing the perfect page."

  "We're still recovering from your last adventure with Club X," Sam reminded her. "Do you think you could give your loved ones at least a week of peace and quiet?"

  "Sure," Jessica said, laughing. "I said I needed a job, not an adventure."

  The conversation turned back to Elizabeth's victory in the world of journalism, and Jessica let her attention drift to the conversation going on next to her. Jessica and Elizabeth had invited a few friends to their house for an informal get-together. It was great to kick back and relax. That's why Jessica was so surprised when Lila got up to leave.

  "You're not leaving so early, are you?" Amy Sutton asked Lila as she stood up.

  "Stuff to do," Lila commented offhandedly. "Nothing I'm thrilled about doing, that's for sure."

  "Homework?"

  "No way. I wouldn't let homework keep me from socializing," Lila declared.

  That's typical, Jessica thought. Lila Fowler was one of the richest and most popular girls in town, and she never let schoolwork interfere with her social life. Come to think of it, neither did Jessica.

  "No," Lila continued. "I have to write a letter to this dippy cousin of mine in New York. I've been putting it off for weeks. We don't have a thing in common, and we're barely on speaking terms, but our parents insist that we correspond for the sake of the family."

  "How dull," Amy said. "That's almost as bad as the letter I've been putting off writing."

  Jessica leaned closer, the glimmer of an idea beginning to form in her mind. "What's yours about?" she asked.

  "My great-aunt knitted me a ridiculous orange-and-green sweater for my birthday, and I have to write her a thank-you letter. The trouble is, it's hard to be sincere about something that makes me look like the Great Pumpkin. I wish I could talk someone into writing the letter for me. I'd even pay them!"

  "Me, too," Lila said. "Writing to Cousin Pete is a huge wast
e of my time. I'd gladly pay someone else to write the letters."

  "I might as well go, too," Amy said, standing up.

  "Need a lift?" Lila asked. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you come over to my house? We can commiserate about writing those letters."

  Jessica raised one eyebrow thoughtfully as Lila and Amy left. Maybe this was it, the idea she had been hoping for. A letter-writing service! Why hadn't she thought of it before? If Amy and Lila hated writing letters and were willing to pay someone to do it for them, there must be dozens of others like them who would also pay.

  How much could she charge for letters? she wondered. Three, four, five dollars? At that rate, how many letters would it take to buy the CD player for the Jeep and the gloves for Sam? Quick calculations told her that the letter-writing service was a great idea!

  There was only one tiny, little problem. Jessica didn't like to write letters any more than the next person. In fact, unless it was an occasional humorous piece for The Oracle, Jessica didn't like to write at all. She glanced over at Elizabeth, who was still extolling the virtues of her new word processor.

  But she knew someone who did.

  Elizabeth noticed Jessica's calculating look but decided to ignore it. Jessica was always planning some scheme and sooner or later she would tell her sister. That was the way it had always been between the twins. Though they had identical features, their personalities were as different as night and day. Elizabeth was the steady one; Jessica had flighty written all over her.

  But when it came to support, Elizabeth and Jessica were always there for each other, and they had each done their share of pulling the other out of a scrape or two—or three. That's why Elizabeth knew Jessica wouldn't keep her in the dark for long about the idea that was clearly hatching in her fertile imagination.

  Right now, though, Elizabeth was more concerned about Shelley Novak. Shelley and her boyfriend, Jim Roberts, had just arrived at the Wakefields', and Shelley looked distracted.

  "So, how's the girls' basketball team shaping up?" Elizabeth asked when Shelley and Jim joined the group. "I was watching you at practice last week, and your offensive line looks fantastic."

  "Thanks," Shelley said, smiling.

  "So, are you ready for the first state championship playoff game this weekend?" Elizabeth asked.

  "I hope so! Coach Tilman is counting on us. And he's working us pretty hard, too. We still need to play more as a team instead of as a bunch of individual players. The coach is drilling pass maneuvers into us for hours a day!"

  Jessica laughed. "That doesn't leave much time for a social life."

  Shelley's smile slipped for a split second. "Not really, but we try our best, don't we, Jim?"

  Jim nodded. "The only way I get to see her anymore is to show up at practices and games."

  "Have you finished all the photos for the yearbook yet?" Todd asked.

  "No. And I've been spending so much time in the darkroom lately, I've begun to think I'm a creature of the night," Jim said.

  Everybody laughed. Except Shelley, Elizabeth noticed.

  "Hey, congratulations on your harassment article," Shelley said, changing the subject. "The whole school is still buzzing about it. Do you think the administration will let you have more control over what goes into the paper now?"

  "Definitely," Elizabeth replied. "But I don't have any new controversial articles planned, if that's what you mean!"

  Shelley frowned. "I have an idea for you. How about student athletes on drugs? Remember what happened to Tony Esteban? Annie Whitman told me the other day that since he got clean, he's been giving a lot of talks at junior high schools, trying to discourage kids from taking steroids and other drugs to build themselves up. According to Tony, the problem is getting worse."

  Jessica nodded thoughtfully. "I talked to Annie the other day, too," she said. "She told me that Tony is so tied up with giving talks that she hardly sees him anymore. She said that if she didn't know better, she would think he was seeing someone else!"

  There was an awkward silence. Elizabeth noted Shelley's flushed face and Jim's fingers nervously tapping his leg. She decided to follow Shelley's example of a moment before and change the subject.

  "There must be a huge need for kids to hear horror stories from someone who knows about drugs firsthand," she said. "Maybe we do need an article in the paper. You know, Olivia Davidson was talking about a poem on drug abuse someone submitted for Visions, her literary magazine. It doesn't hurt to remind people about important issues every few months or so. What do you think, Jess?"

  Jessica grinned. "I think you're the best writer around, Liz. If anyone can do an article on such a sensitive subject, you can. In fact, I'm sure you could write just about anything someone asked you to write."

  "Thanks," Elizabeth said, taken slightly aback. Usually when Jessica came out with a big compliment like that, she was trying to butter someone up. Elizabeth took a sip of her soda and chewed on a piece of ice, waiting for Jessica to reveal what was really on her mind, but Jessica didn't oblige her. Instead, she turned to Sam and started talking about the dirt bike race he was going to be in the following weekend.

  "So what are your plans for tonight, the last night before the first playoff game?" Todd asked Shelley and Jim.

  Jim looked at his watch. "Uh-oh. I'd better get going," he said, standing up. "In fact, I only meant to stop by and say hello. I have a ton of enlargements to make tonight and a report to finish for World History."

  "It's a shame when schoolwork interferes with your photography, isn't it?" Todd joked.

  Jim shook his head forlornly. "Yeah," he agreed. "Don't these teachers realize that we have better things to do with our time than study?"

  As Jim stood up to leave Shelley put her hand on his arm. "I thought we were going to go out together later tonight," she said softly, biting her bottom lip.

  "Gosh, I'm sorry, Shel," Jim said. "I'm so swamped that I doubt I'll get any sleep as it is. Want me to give you a ride home?"

  "Sure," Shelley said, her shoulders slumped.

  Elizabeth watched the couple as they headed for the front door. Shelley was definitely dragging her feet, and Elizabeth wondered whether there was more to her friend's mood than one broken date.

  "Something is wrong with Shelley," she whispered to Todd. "She seemed really uncomfortable tonight. Why don't you try to catch her at basketball practice tomorrow and see if she'll talk to you?"

  "OK," Todd said, glancing after the couple. "But it looks as if they're just experiencing the time crunch, like everyone else. There simply aren't enough hours in the day for some of us."

  "That's for sure," Jessica added. "Between school and cheerleading practice and a dozen other activities, I don't know when I'm going to find time to start a business."

  "OK, Jess. Talk!" Elizabeth said when their friends had all gone home and they were alone. "You've been hinting around about something all night."

  Jessica knew it was time to launch into her sales pitch. "Well," she began, "you know I've been thinking about getting a job to make a little extra spending money . . . "

  "Yes. So?"

  "While everyone was here earlier, I had an idea. What about a letter-writing service?" Jessica paused for a quick breath. "I heard Lila and Amy talking about how they had to write letters to relatives and how they would gladly pay someone else to do it for them, and I thought if Amy and Lila were willing to pay, then there must be dozens of others out there who hate writing letters, too.

  "Anyway, I thought we could advertise and offer to write the letters for those people for a fee—and we would make them happy, save them time, and make a quick profit in the process."

  Elizabeth smiled. "It sounds like a great idea."

  "Look, I know you think this is just another one of my hare-brained schemes," Jessica raced on, "but I've thought about this seriously. I think it could really work. We could get a post office box so no one knows who's behind the service, because we might want to be anonymous, you know. And we could put up posters all over town and at school. Isn't there anything you'd like to buy with some extra money?"

  Elizabeth laughed. "Jessica, if you would stop talking for a minute and listen, you'd realize that I said I think your idea is a good one," she teased. "You're so busy trying to convince me, you didn't even hear me say yes!"