The High School War Read online

  In the backseat Jessica slumped, staring out the window with despondent eyes. "You appear to be the only eyewitness. . . . We'd like to take a statement . . ."

  Remembered images of the fight between Palisades and Sweet Valley High flickered through her brain, a mad ballet of swinging arms, bodies leaping and falling. She saw Christian, her new love, transformed into a frightening stranger as his fist smashed into Ken Matthews's face.

  Jessica hugged herself, clenching her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. They could ask her all the questions they liked, but she wouldn't tell them what she'd seen. She couldn't.

  Chapter 2

  Elizabeth gave Jessica's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't look so scared, Jess," she said lightly. "You're not under arrest! They just want some information."

  They were seated across from Officer Donna Claiborne's desk at the Sweet Valley police station. Now that some time had passed, Elizabeth expected her twin to have regained her composure. But Jessica didn't smile. She sat with her arms folded tightly across her chest and her shoulders hunched, her chin down and eyes averted so that her long blond hair fell in a curtain before her face. She's still shaking, Elizabeth observed with surprise.

  Elizabeth was puzzled. It really wasn't like Jessica to get so upset about something like this. The twins were identical in appearance only—when it came to personality, their father liked to say the twins were like avocados and oranges. Elizabeth focused her energy on projects, goals, relationships. She threw herself into her schoolwork and her column for the Sweet Valley High newspaper and never lost sight of her dream of becoming a professional writer. Still, she always had time for her friends, and especially her boyfriend, Todd. In contrast, Jessica's energy and interests were scattered like a handful of sand tossed into the wind. She was the daredevil sister—she'd try anything if it promised to be fun and possibly a little bit dangerous. Life was too short to play by the rules: That was Jessica's chief motto.

  The more Elizabeth thought about it, the more Jessica's fainting seemed distinctly out of character. I would've thought she'd get a kick out of the fight, be egging Ken and the guys on, Elizabeth mused. Doing her cheerleader thing.

  Officer Claiborne looked at Jessica, her pen poised. The other policeman who'd accompanied them to the station, Officer Ken McCue, joined them. "I know it's late, so we won't keep you long," Officer Claiborne promised. "We just need to fill out a report on the disturbance at the dance. Can you tell us how it started?"

  Jessica kept her eyes down and remained silent. "Actually, I was the one who dialed nine-one-one," Elizabeth said. "I was on the planning committee for the dance—we were hoping it would create some good feelings between the two schools. You know, socializing, getting to know each other. There'd been some scuffles, a few pranks. Nothing serious," she hastened to add, not wanting to get Todd and the other boys into more trouble than they were already in. "But pretty much as soon as the party started, the Palisades High guys said something to the Sweet Valley guys, a challenge or something. The next thing we knew, the guys had all gone outside. Some of the girls were worried there might be a fight, so we called the police."

  "But you didn't actually see the fight," observed Officer Claiborne, scribbling in her notebook.

  Elizabeth shook her head. "That's where Jessica comes in."

  They all waited for Jessica to speak, but she kept her lips tightly pressed together. After a minute Officer Claiborne prodded her. "Ms. Wakefield, when you entered the vacant lot next to the warehouse, was the fight still in progress?"

  Jessica hesitated a fraction of a second. "N-no," she murmured, avoiding the policewoman's penetrating gaze. "I think there were some people at the far end, but I really didn't see anything."

  "But you fainted."

  Jessica shrugged. "I just fell. I must've tripped."

  "The blood on your dress." Officer Claiborne checked her notebook. "Your sister said that you said it wasn't your blood—someone else dripped blood on you. It must have been one of the boys who was fighting. Can you tell us the names of any of the Sweet Valley students? Did you recognize any of the Palisades High boys?"

  Elizabeth held her breath. Here it comes, she thought. She'll say she saw Todd and Ken and Bruce. Then the guys will probably be arrested!

  Jessica shot a fast glance at Elizabeth. "No," she muttered. "Like I said, I didn't see any of them close-up."

  "Are you sure?" pressed Officer Claiborne. "You didn't recognize any of your schoolmates?"

  "I didn't see anything," Jessica repeated stubbornly.

  Elizabeth stared at her sister, puzzled. She didn't recognize anyone, not a single person? That's not what she said before. Then all at once she thought she understood why Jessica was changing her story. She was protecting Ken.

  Elizabeth couldn't believe Jessica would lie outright to the police, but at the same time, she was immensely relieved. Todd and Ken and the other guys wouldn't get into trouble. If Jessica didn't reveal their names, there was nothing the police could do.

  After a few more minutes of futile questioning, Officer Claiborne threw up her hands. "This isn't going anywhere."

  "It looks like we'll have to chalk this up to a long-standing high-school rivalry and hope it doesn't happen again," Officer McCue confirmed.

  "Can we go now?" Jessica asked, rising from her seat.

  Officer Claiborne sighed, then nodded. "Come on. I'll drive you home."

  The twins followed the policewoman outside. After they climbed in back of the squad car, Elizabeth jiggled her sister's arm and tried to catch her eye, but Jessica just slouched in her seat, her face turned toward the window. From the side, Elizabeth could see that Jessica's cheek was damp with tears. "Jess, what's the matter?" she whispered. "You did see something, and it's really bothering you. Was it because Ken was there? Do you want to talk about it?"

  Jessica shook her head, but the tears were flowing faster.

  "It's OK," Elizabeth murmured, patting her sister's knee. "I'm sure Ken and Todd are OK. At least I hope they are," she added, her forehead wrinkling with concern. As the squad car raced through the darkness, bearing her and Jessica home to the Wakefield house on Calico Drive, Elizabeth realized that the night wasn't over yet. She wouldn't be able to fall asleep until she heard from Todd, until she found out what had really happened after the boys from the two rival high schools had left the dance . . . and she found out what Jessica had seen that had made her faint.

  "Ken! What are you doing here?" squeaked Jessica.

  Ned and Alice Wakefield had been shocked, to put it mildly, when their sixteen-year-old daughters arrived home from the dance in a police car. After telling their parents about the trip to the police station and the reason for it, Elizabeth had gone to bed. Not feeling the least bit sleepy, Jessica had rummaged in the fridge for a snack. Now she was sitting outside in the moonlight with the family's golden retriever, Prince Albert.

  She hadn't noticed Ken crossing the shadowy lawn. She put a hand to her fast-beating heart. "You scared me half to death!"

  "Sorry," Ken said. "I just couldn't head home without first coming by to make sure you were all right." When he brushed a strand of hair off her forehead, she shivered. "Are you all right? You still seem jittery."

  Jessica stepped away from him, pretending to reach for Prince Albert's collar. "Yeah, I'm fine."

  "I'm sorry you walked right into the middle of that scene." Ken's blue eyes were warm with concern. "And I'm sorry I ran away like that. But Wilkins hauled me off—the cops were coming, and it wasn't going to look too good."

  Did he notice? she wondered, her heart still pounding like a jackhammer. Did he see me and Christian? "Don't worry about it," she said.

  "I couldn't help worrying." Ken clenched his fists. "When I saw that guy . . ."

  Jessica gulped. "W-what guy?"

  "Some jerk from Palisades." Ken lifted a hand to his bruised face. "The one who belted me. Did he say something to you?"

  "N-no," Jessica stuttered. Her grip on Prince Albert's collar tightened, and the retriever yelped.

  "I could've sworn he walked right over to you." Ken peered into Jessica's face. "Are you sure he didn't make some kind of crack?"

  "He—I—I don't remember," she said weakly.

  Ken's eyes blazed. "He did, didn't he?"

  Jessica thought as fast and furiously as she could, given her distracted frame of mind. Maybe it would be better to tell him what he wanted to hear. She didn't want him to suspect she was hiding something. If Ken knew what Christian had really said—"Meet me at the beach tomorrow morning"—if he knew Christian wasn't some brutal, insulting stranger, but the boy Jessica loved . . .

  "I couldn't really hear—I was so upset seeing you fight that I practically blacked out, but I guess he said . . ." Jessica stumbled into what she hoped was a convincing lie. "Something about Sweet Valley guys being losers and I should try somebody from . . . it doesn't matter, Ken." She put a hand on his arm. "It's over."

  Ken's whole body was taut with restrained fury. "No, it's not over," he declared, pulling Jessica close and pressing her against his chest. "He's not going to get away with harassing you like that. I can't believe I just left you there. What if he'd—"

  "But nothing happened. He took off like everybody else." Jessica's voice trembled. "Let's drop it. I just want to forget about tonight."

  "But look at you." Ken cupped her face in his hands. "You're shaking like a leaf. And me . . ." Anger flickered in his eyes. "We can't forget tonight. I can't. Not if I have any pride. Next chance I get, I'm putting that Palisades punk in his place. He'll be sorry he even looked at you."

  "You—you mean you're going to fight him . . . them . . . again?"

  "There's unfinished business, Jess," said Ken. "We'd be a bunch of gutless wimps if we didn't want to take them on again, some time and some place where the police won't barge in."

  Jessica stared at Ken, at the bruises, the swollen lip. Dried blood darkened his chin like razor stubble, making him look as if he'd been in a war. "War," she said aloud, remembering Elizabeth's words. "That's what this is."

  Ken nodded somberly. "And Sweet Valley's going to win. I promise you that."

  Jessica lowered her head against his chest so she wouldn't have to meet his eyes. To Ken things were so simple, so black and white. Sweet Valley High versus Palisades High, us versus them, good versus evil. But for her . . .

  Either way I lose, Jessica thought, more horrified than ever by her position. Her relationship with Ken and her illicit love for Christian had landed her smack in the middle of the high school war.

  Elizabeth was about to turn out the light when the phone on her nightstand rang. She picked it up quickly. "Hello?"

  "Liz, it's me," her boyfriend's familiar voice said.

  "Todd! Where are you?"

  "Patman's, but I'm heading home. Can I swing by your house on the way?"

  It was late, but Elizabeth decided she couldn't wait until the next day to hear the whole story from Todd in person. "My parents are asleep, so we'll have to be quiet," she cautioned. "Just let yourself in the side door."

  Ten minutes later they were curled up on the den sofa with cups of hot lemon-scented tea. Every time Elizabeth looked at Todd's bruised and swollen jaw, she winced. "Do you want an ice pack?" she asked.

  Todd shook his head, grinning wryly. "I know I'm a gruesome sight, but it's really not as bad as it looks."

  Elizabeth couldn't believe he was smiling. It's like he had a good time tonight! she thought in amazement. Out loud, she asked, "So how did it start?"

  "They came up to us at the dance, a bunch of Palisades guys—mostly from the football team. You know McMullen, the linebacker? He started in about the game the other day, taunting Ken about losing. Matthews was cool for a minute or two. Just told the guy to get lost. But then a few of the other Palisades guys started dumping on Sweet Valley, and naturally we said a few things back. Out of nowhere one of their guys shoved Aaron, and it looked like we were going to get into it right then and there. Bruce suggested we go outside to settle the question."

  Elizabeth shuddered. "I don't get it. Why did you have to fight? Why couldn't you just walk away from each other?"

  Todd looked at her as if she'd just asked the stupidest question in the history of the world. "Because you don't walk away in a situation like that, Liz. We couldn't let those Palisades bums brag about how they beat us in football and trashed our yards and then not do anything to stand up for ourselves."

  "But the rest of us were trying to have fun," said Elizabeth. "We worked hard planning that dance and—"

  "And it was a crummy idea," Todd interrupted. "I told you that right from the beginning. Why would we want to party with Palisades?"

  "Tons of people came," Elizabeth countered. "We made hundreds of dollars to give to charity."

  "Because you turned the dance into a competition by saying whichever school had the biggest turnout would get to give all the proceeds to the charity of its choice. A competition," Todd repeated emphatically. "That's the only way you're ever going to get Sweet Valley and Palisades together—in a battle of some sort."

  Elizabeth didn't want to argue the point now. Lifting a hand, she tentatively touched Todd's face. "I'm just so mad. Because you guys ruined the dance and because . . . because I was scared," she admitted. "Jessica fainted and someone splattered blood all over her, and for all I knew, you were hurt. I mean, things got rough, and they could've got rougher! What if someone had pulled a knife or a gun or something?"

  Todd wrapped his muscular arms around her and pulled her close. "No one pulled a knife or a gun, and no one got seriously hurt. A few black eyes—nothing that won't heal in a day or two."

  "The bumps and bruises will heal," said Elizabeth, "but the rivalry with Palisades won't, will it?"

  "It's worse than ever," Todd admitted grimly. "We got the worst of it in this scrap tonight, and we're all thinking in terms of revenge."

  Elizabeth snuggled closer, wishing she never had to leave the safety of Todd's arms. At the same time, the tender moment felt a little strange, given what had taken place earlier that evening. How could he be punching out some guy one minute and holding me the next? she wondered. "Revenge," she said. "What a terrible word."

  "Depends on how you look at it," Todd replied. "I'm psyched to pay Palisades back for tonight. Everybody's psyched."

  "You mean, every guy. Most of the girls have a different attitude."

  "As long as you try to see it from our point of view." Todd drew back to look deep into her eyes. "As long as we're all on the same side."

  "Of course we're on the same side," Elizabeth assured him. But she couldn't help thinking about Marla and Caitlin. Were they with their boyfriends at this very moment, listening to a different version of the same story? Were their boyfriends forcing them to prove their loyalty? Now that the school rivalry had escalated to an all-out war, would the Sweet Valley and Palisades girls be able to remain friends?

  The sky was still dark with just the faintest rim of pink in the east when Jessica crawled out of bed and began silently to dress in a swimsuit, shorts, a T-shirt, and sports sandals. She hadn't slept a wink, but her body felt taut and electrified. She'd kept her surfing a secret from everyone but Lila, so she crept downstairs, careful not to wake her parents or Elizabeth. A few minutes later, with her hot pink wet suit and her brother's old surfboard in the back of the Jeep, Jessica was speeding along empty streets toward the Pacific.

  As she neared the beach, she lifted her foot slightly from the gas pedal and let the Jeep coast more slowly. All at once she was shivering, both from the cool morning air blowing in the window and from apprehension. Will he really he there? she wondered. In the first misty, blushing light of morning, it was easy to believe that it had all been a dream: her surfing lessons, the nimble at the dance the night before, even Christian himself. Jessica thought about Ken's concern for her, and his explosive anger and desire for revenge. If he ever found out the truth . . .

  Maybe I should do a U-turn and drive back home, she told herself.

  But she continued north on the coast highway until she reached the last Sweet Valley town beach. At this early hour there was only one other vehicle in the small municipal lot: Christian's old powder blue VW van. At the sight of it, her heart somersaulted. Jessica parked the Jeep next to the van, then hauled out the surfboard, balancing it on her head as she crossed the dunes, her feet digging into the cool, damp sand.

  As always, the sight and sound and smell of the vast ocean took Jessica's breath away. Waves rolled into shore, crashing rhythmically—she felt their power vibrating up through the soles of her feet. Standing the surfboard on its nose in the sand, she looked around the deserted beach. "Christian?" she whispered, her voice lost in the sound of wind and waves.

  He emerged from the shadow of a dune, his tall, athletic body a dark silhouette against the dawn sky. Ordinarily, he would have run to her, seized her in his arms, and whirled her in a dizzy, laughing circle. This morning was different. They were different—not the same carefree young lovers they used to be.

  As she looked into Christian's sober, unsmiling face, Jessica recalled her last glimpse of him: the previous night, as she'd crumpled half fainting behind the warehouse. He goes to Palisades High, she reminded herself. He punched Ken. He was right in the middle of the fight—one of the guys who started it, maybe.

  Christian stepped closer, and a sea of conflicting emotions surged in Jessica's heart. She didn't know whether she wanted to hug him or hit him or both. Then she gazed into his eyes and saw the hope and love behind the sorrow and uncertainty. "Jessica?" Christian said, a question in his low, husky voice.

  Tears brimming, Jessica rushed forward into his arms. She buried her face against his chest, and for a long moment they clung to each other as if they were drowning. Finally Christian pulled back so he could look at her. "Jess, if I'd known you went to Sweet Valley High . . ."