The High School War

  THE HIGH SCHOOL WAR

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  To Jonathan David Rubin

  The second kiss was even more passionate than the first. Jessica felt herself being transported. As long as this kiss lasts, Christian and I really are the only two people in the world, she thought.

  She was swept away by the delirious pleasure of the moment, but not so completely that she didn't notice a movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone had entered the foyer of the restaurant. The host, or a waiter, Jessica thought distractedly, too happy to be embarrassed. Oh, well. Nothing this good could last forever.

  With a delicious, regretful sigh, she opened her eyes a little wider, looking past Christian's shoulder. Then she focused on the figure standing in the doorway, and her heart stopped beating.

  A rangy, broad-shouldered blond guy in khakis and a blue polo shirt stood just inside the entrance to the cafe, an expression of mingled shock, hurt, and anger contorting his handsome face.

  Jessica's heart started up again, but now it was hammering with guilt and horror. She tore herself from Christian's embrace.

  "Ken!" she cried.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 1

  Sixteen-year-old Jessica Wakefield's eyelids fluttered. I must have fainted, she thought, feeling dizzy and confused. She struggled to sit up, her fingernails scraping cold, hard gravel. Where am I? she wondered groggily. What happened?

  She was dimly aware of the chaos whirling around her. People raced past in the night, their footsteps pounding on the pavement. There were urgent shouts, and sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer. That's right, Jessica remembered. I'm in the vacant lot next to the warehouse. The dance. The fight!

  Gradually, her blue-green eyes came into focus. A dark-haired boy in a ripped Palisades High School T-shirt knelt next to her. Jessica stared into his face as if seeing it for the first time, even though every feature was intimately familiar to her. "Christian," she whispered.

  "Hey, Gorman, let's get out of here!" someone yelled. "The cops are coming—we'll all get busted."

  Christian Gorman shot a glance over his shoulder. As the police cars drew closer, the boys who'd been involved in the Sweet Valley High–Palisades High brawl scattered. Jessica glimpsed her boyfriend, Ken Matthews, being dragged off by Bruce Patman. Only Christian hung back.

  He turned once again to Jessica, his handsome face pale. Blood dripped from a cut on his cheekbone. "Meet me at the beach tomorrow morning," he said hoarsely.

  Jessica knew she should say no. With her own eyes she'd just seen Christian punch out Ken. To her utter dismay she'd discovered that the mysterious boy she'd met on the beach one magical dawn—the boy who was teaching her to surf, the boy she'd fallen madly, secretly in love with—was from Palisades. Not only that, but he was actually the leader of the gang that was feuding with her own Sweet Valley classmates and friends. He's the enemy, she reminded herself. I should hate him. I should tell him I never want to see him again.

  Instead, still staring into Christian's smoky blue eyes, she nodded weakly. "Tomorrow," she agreed. "Now, go. You have to get out of here!"

  Christian hesitated a moment longer, his hand strong and supportive on Jessica's arm. Then, as the flashing lights of a squad car neared the parking lot, he leaped to his feet and sprinted off, melting into the darkness.

  Elizabeth Wakefield fought her way through the crowded party. The Droids, a popular Sweet Valley High rock band, were cranking out one of their liveliest tunes. But even with the music blasting, the renovated warehouse the two high schools had rented for the masked costume ball still seemed gloomy and unwelcoming. Elizabeth sighed when she remembered all the work that had gone into the streamers and balloons draped festively from the rafters. Nobody was dancing and no one mingled. Instead, students clustered together in strictly segregated groups: Sweet Valley on one side, Palisades on the other.

  Elizabeth caught snatches of conversation—rumors flew faster than the wind gusting through the open door at the rear of the warehouse. "A huge fight," one student exclaimed.

  "Palisades High started it," said her companion.

  "And Sweet Valley's outnumbered!" another person contributed.

  Elizabeth's best friend, Enid Rollins, hurried with her to the exit. "I'm glad we called the police," Elizabeth told Enid, relieved to hear the sound of approaching sirens. "I knew there'd be trouble when the guys went outside. Bruce and Todd and the rest of the gang have been out for blood ever since the Palisades bunch nailed their houses with toilet paper and eggs."

  "I just hope no one's hurt," Enid fretted.

  "Me, too," Elizabeth said.

  The rivalry had started heating up a few weeks ago. During the Sweet Valley High–Palisades High football game, the Palisades team had played dirty, injuring a few of Sweet Valley's best players. After the game the victorious Palisades linebacker, Greg McMullen, had insulted Sweet Valley's quarterback, Ken Matthews, and then punched him in the stomach. If their friends hadn't restrained them, Ken and Greg would have wound up fighting.

  The Sweet Valley boys had got revenge for Palisades's dirty-game tactics by spray-painting "Palisades Pumas Purr Like Kittens" on the Palisades High School football field. A few days later the Palisades boys raided Sweet Valley after dark, nailing selected houses and cars with toilet paper and eggs.

  "I guess this dance was a bad idea," Enid said to Elizabeth. "We were crazy to bring the two schools together."

  "Maybe it's not so bad out there," said Elizabeth, clinging to a faint thread of hope. "Todd has some sense. He won't let the guys do anything stupid. Maybe they're just talking things over."

  She and Enid managed to push their way through the crush and out the door into the parking lot behind the warehouse. Not seeing anyone, they ran around the side of the building. "It is a fight!" Enid shrieked.

  Sure enough, at the far end of the gravel-and-weed-filled vacant lot, a few shadowy figures grappled while others sprinted away. Elizabeth's heart thumped fearfully. Was that Todd, disappearing into the night? Ken? Bruce, Winston? In the darkness she couldn't be sure.

  A few seconds later the boys had all taken off, leaving only one person behind. A body lay prone on the gravel. "Someone's injured," Enid exclaimed. "And it looks like—"

  "A girl," said Elizabeth. A girl in a black halter dress, with long golden blond hair just like Elizabeth's. "Jessica!" Elizabeth cried.

  Elizabeth rushed to her twin's side. "Jess, are you all right?" she squeaked, her voice shrill with terror. As she cradled Jessica in her arms, Elizabeth saw that her sister's dress was splattered with drops of something shiny—blood. "What did they do to you?"

  "I'm OK," Jessica assured Elizabeth, sitting up and brushing the grit from her hands. "I just passed out or something when I saw—when I saw—" Jessica glanced down at her dress and shuddered. "That's not my blood. Someone must have dripped on me."

  Elizabeth and Enid helped Jessica to her feet. As a police car swerved into the lot, lights flashing and tires screeching, two girls joined the Sweet Valley trio: Marla Daniels and Caitlin Alexander from Palisades High School, the new friends who'd helped Elizabeth organize the dance.

  "The guys took off, huh?" said Marla.

  Caitlin stared at the blood on Jessica's dress with wide brown eyes. "It must've been a bad fight, though," she murmured.

  "I hope Doug's all right!"

  "At least it's over," said Enid.

  "Unless they ran off to finish their business somewhere else," Marla replied ominously.

  Jessica buried her face in her hands. "Liz, it was awful. When I saw Ken and—" Her voice broke on a sob.

  Elizabeth put an arm around her twin's shoulders, her own cheeks damp with tears. Just as Caitlin was worried about her boyfriend, Doug Riker, Elizabeth couldn't help wondering what had happened to Todd. Was he OK, or was that his blood staining Jessica's dress? "We'll never be able to make peace now," Elizabeth choked out, stroking Jessica's tangled hair. "Look what happened when we tried to get the two schools together! And it's all my fault."

  "It's not your fault," Enid declared. "You're not responsible, Liz. You didn't start this feud."

  "You're definitely not to blame," Marla confirmed, "but I'm afraid we're not dealing with a feud anymore. It's beyond that now. Way beyond."

  As a uniformed police officer strode toward them, Elizabeth had to agree. The peace of their idyllic southern California community had been shattered. That night the bad blood between Sweet Valley and Palisades had erupted like a long-dormant volcano. "This isn't normal high school rivalry," Elizabeth said. "It's a high school war."

  Sweet Valley High's star quarterback, Ken Matthews, ran swiftly through the dark alley, his arms pumping as though he were sprinting down the football field to make a touchdown. Tall, long-legged Todd Wilkins kept pace at Ken's side. Ahead of them, Bruce Patman hurdled a fallen trash can, then dodged left down a deserted street. "Where on earth are we going, Patman?" Todd called.

  Bruce slowed slightly so Todd, Ken, and
the other Sweet Valley High boys who'd fought with Palisades could catch up to him. "I staked out the area this afternoon," Bruce panted. "There's an abandoned warehouse another quarter mile down the road with some windows broken on the ground floor. C'mon, we're almost there."

  A few minutes later the boys collapsed inside the warehouse, huffing and puffing. Bruce took a flashlight from his pocket and scanned their faces. Aaron Dallas had a black eye. Football player Zack Johnson's nose was bleeding. Todd's jaw was bruised and swollen, while Ronnie Edwards's cheek was scraped raw. Ken himself could feel blood dripping down his chin from a split lip.

  Only one of the Sweet Valley boys appeared to have escaped unhurt. "How'd you manage to stay so clean and pretty?" Bruce asked Winston Egbert sarcastically.

  Class clown Winston Egbert flashed his trademark grin, though his eyes were somber. "I'm a lover, not a fighter," he kidded. "Seriously, though. I was in there with you guys, but I was trying to break things up." He pointed to Bruce's bloody nose. "Guess you were too busy getting pounded by that bum from Palisades to hear me yelling at you to cool it."

  "For your information, I didn't get pounded," Bruce snapped. "I gave as good as I got. Another thirty seconds and that guy would've been history.''

  Ken punched the floor, cursing under his breath. "When you were dragging me off," he muttered to Todd, "I saw that Palisades guy, the one who jumped me. I'm pretty sure he went over to Jessica and said something to her. You should've let me stay with her, man."

  "You heard the sirens," Todd reasoned. He massaged his ankle, which had been in a walking cast until just a week ago, after he'd broken it during a basketball game. "We were about to get into major trouble. Would you rather be in jail right now?"

  Ken scowled. "But she fainted or something. She didn't look too good." He lifted a hand to his face, gingerly touching his split lip, and his blood boiled with frustration. He punched the floor again. "I hate not getting a chance to finish what I started. All I can say is, if that guy said something crude to Jessica, he's going to hear from me."

  Todd rested a hand on Ken's shoulder. "Take it easy, Matthews. I'm sure Jess is OK."

  Ken tried to tune back in to Bruce, who'd been ranting and raving ever since they'd reached the hideout. One word in particular seized Ken's attention. ". . . revenge," Bruce was saying. "They roughed us up tonight because they outnumbered us, and they caught us off guard—we weren't going to stoop so low as to start anything at a stupid school dance. Then the cops came before we could get back on our feet and really fight back. But next time . . ."

  "Next time?" Winston raked a hand through his rumpled brown hair. "Do we really want a rematch?"

  "You bet," declared Bruce. "I want to get my hands on the jerk who gave me this bloody nose."

  "I don't know." Todd rubbed his bruised jaw. "Maybe we should let the whole thing drop. We hate Palisades, they hate us—leave it at that. What's the point of beating each other to a pulp?"

  "Todd's right," Winston agreed. "Besides, if they did this much damage to us during a fight the police broke up before it even really got started, we'd get killed in an all-out rumble."

  Todd held up his hands. "Whoa. I didn't say we should back down."

  Winston's comment hit a nerve with Ken, too. "Yeah, are you saying you don't think we could beat them?" he demanded, sitting up straight.

  Winston shrugged. "No, but in my humble opinion, we'd be better off—"

  "We'll be better off when we waste those guys, once and for all," Bruce interrupted.

  Todd's eyes flashed sparks. "They won't stand a chance against us in a fair fight."

  All around the room, the declaration was echoed. Instead of cooling the fire, Winston had stoked it hotter. "They'll be sorry they ever set foot in Sweet Valley," Ronnie predicted fiercely.

  "But they're not going to be safe even if they stay in Palisades," Bruce growled. "I say it's time to carry the battle back to their home turf."

  Aaron jumped to his feet. "Justice," he shouted. "That's all we're after!"

  Adrenaline coursed through Ken's veins. He remembered the jolt of pain as the Palisades guy's fist crashed into his face. He pictured Jessica, limp and helpless, forced to listen to crude insults. And I still owe them for what they did to my players during the football game, Ken thought. Bryce's concussion and Rick's messed-up knee. He agreed with Bruce completely. They couldn't just sit around and talk about revenge. It was their duty to take action. Their pride, and the pride of Sweet Valley, was at stake.

  "Justice," Ken repeated, his voice ringing strong and clear in the cavernous warehouse.

  There were now three police cars pulled up next to the warehouse where the dance was being held. The parking lot was packed with students who'd flooded outside, drawn by the shouts and the sirens. An officer lifted a bullhorn to his mouth. "The party's over, kids," he bellowed. "Get in your cars and go on home."

  There were grumbles of protest, but almost immediately the crowd began to disperse. I've got to get out of here, Jessica thought. But she couldn't seem to lift her feet to walk away from the scene of the fight. Still reeling from what she'd just learned, she felt as if she might faint again at any moment.

  Christian Gorman went to Palisades High School. He was one of them!

  Was there any way she could have known that? It had all started so innocently. One day at Ocean Bay, watching the Rock-TV host interviewing some surfers, she and Lila had made a playful bet. Jessica had determined to learn to surf so she could enter a Rock-TV-sponsored contest. Lila, meanwhile, had promised to wear hot pink zinc oxide on her nose for a week if Jessica won the grand prize, an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii. If Jessica lost, she'd have to wear a wet suit to school.

  I waxed Steven's old surfboard, Jessica recalled, and dragged myself out there at dawn that first morning. I had no idea what I was doing and the very first wave wiped me out. She'd thought the board was gone for good, but then Christian had sauntered up with it and asked, "Were you looking for this?"

  He was drop-dead gorgeous, with ocean blue eyes, wavy dark hair, and a deeply tanned, muscular body. The attraction had been instantaneous, and mutual. When he'd offered to give her surfing lessons, it hadn't even occurred to her to refuse. They'd started meeting at the beach every morning before school, and soon they weren't just talking about how to ride a wave. They were talking about love. It had been like an unbelievably sexy, romantic fantasy—only it was real. When she'd least expected it, the boy of her dreams had walked, living and breathing, into her life.

  The first time he kissed me, I knew it was wrong, Jessica remembered with a pang. She'd felt terrible cheating on Ken, especially after what had happened when she and Elizabeth had recently visited their older brother, Steven, at Sweet Valley University. While she'd been away, Jessica had gotten involved with a boy named Zack Marsden. Ken had been pretty hurt about her dating someone else, and she'd sworn it would never happen again. But her feelings for Christian were irresistible.

  Still, even though she knew she was playing with fire, Jessica had been lulled into a feeling of security. She and Christian had agreed to tell each other very few personal details—she knew next to nothing about where he lived, what school he went to, what his family was like. They existed for each other only in the magic of those mornings as they paddled their boards out into the surf, then later basked on the sand in each other's arms.

  Their romance had been secret, apart from the real world. Now Jessica's eyes burned with unshed tears. If only it could have stayed that way. If only the magic, the illusion, could have lasted forever.

  A voice broke into her reverie. "I didn't see anything, Officer," Elizabeth was saying, "but I think my sister might have."

  Jessica blinked. The Sweet Valley policeman was turning toward her. Oh, no, thought Jessica, taking a giant step backward. Why did I stick around? I can't talk to the police!

  She whirled, preparing to scurry after the rest of the departing students, and ran smack into another police officer. The woman grasped Jessica's arm in a gentle but firm grip. "If you don't mind coming to the station with us, miss, we'd like to take a statement from you," the policewoman said. "You appear to be the only eyewitness."

  Jessica groaned silently, but there was no point protesting—she was cornered. Within seconds she found herself swiftly ushered into one of the squad cars with Elizabeth. The officer gunned the engine, and, lights flashing, they sped toward police headquarters in downtown Sweet Valley.