Elizabeth Betrayed Read online

  Elizabeth started the engine and gave her twin a look. "You could be a little nicer about it, you know. Maybe it isn't what you'd want to do, but it happens to be really important to Penny."

  "Oh, I know," Jessica said with a sigh. "I didn't mean to sound so nasty. It's just that I had this big fight with Annie Whitman today and it's put me in a really bad mood."

  Elizabeth pulled the Jeep out of the parking lot and into traffic. "With Annie? What about? I thought you two were good friends."

  "Were is the right word." Jessica made a face. "She says she'll never speak to me again." As they headed toward home Jessica told Elizabeth about the scene she had had with Annie. "It was just awful," she finished. "You'd think the whole thing was my fault, the way she described it."

  "It does sound like maybe she overreacted," Elizabeth said carefully. "But if you think about it, Jess, she does have a point. Friends should tell each other things like that. I mean, what are friends for?"

  Jessica moaned. "But it's because she's my friend that I didn't say anything. I know what happens when you tell people things they don't want to hear. They get upset, and then the next thing you know, they're mad at you."

  "Annie couldn't be much madder at you than she is right now," Elizabeth pointed out. "The truth is the truth. You can't go wrong by telling the truth." She glanced at her twin. "After all, honesty is the best policy."

  Two

  Olivia hadn't taken two steps past the doorway of Sweet Valley High on Tuesday morning when Jennifer Mitchell, another writer for The Oracle, rushed up to her. "Have you heard?" she asked excitedly. "Penny's appointed Elizabeth editor-in-chief while she's in Washington!"

  Olivia couldn't respond at first. Jennifer's words echoed in her head: Penny's appointed Elizabeth editor-in-chief. Finally, realizing that Jennifer was waiting for her to say something, Olivia swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and managed a smile. "That's great," she said, hoping she sounded more enthusiastic than she felt. "That means it'll be business as usual."

  Why are you so surprised? Olivia asked herself after Jennifer was gone. Rod was right. You knew it was going to be Elizabeth; there was never any contest.

  Olivia had covered a few more feet in the direction of her locker when John Pfeifer, The Oracle's sports editor and Jennifer Mitchell's boyfriend, called to her. "Did you hear about Elizabeth?" he shouted.

  Olivia decided not to pretend that she didn't know what he was talking about. She nodded, forcing the smile back to her face. "Yes," she said. "It's terrific." And then, afraid she might cry, she bolted away from him, in exactly the direction she didn't want to be going.

  Olivia took deep breaths and tried to calm herself down as she hurried along. Stop it, she ordered. You're acting like a little kid. You know that if you were Penny, you would have chosen Elizabeth, too. And besides, Elizabeth is your friend. You should be happy for her.

  By the time Olivia finally reached her locker, she was feeling better. She was going to try to be happy for Elizabeth, she really was. When she saw Elizabeth, she would congratulate her warmly and sincerely.

  "There you are," said a voice right behind her. Olivia turned around. It was Rod. "I've been looking for you everywhere. Have you heard about Elizabeth?"

  Olivia nodded.

  He leaned against the lockers while she got out her books. "It's about time Elizabeth had a chance to show what she can really do," he said.

  Olivia threw her jacket into her locker and slammed it shut. I wonder when I'm going to have a chance to show what I can do, she asked herself.

  "You've got to help me, Liz," Jessica said as she burst into the kitchen on Wednesday morning. "I'm counting on you."

  Elizabeth looked up from the book she was reading. "I don't like the sound of that," she said with a laugh. "Every time you say you need my help, I wind up in trouble."

  Jessica dropped into her chair and gave her sister an exasperated look. She was perfectly willing to admit that once or twice some idea of hers had gotten Elizabeth into a tiny little scrape, but her twin always acted as though trouble were Jessica's middle name. Jessica waved the cereal box at Elizabeth. "It's nothing like that. I just need you to help me come up with some excuse for not going to the dirt bike race with Sam on Saturday." Sam Woodruff, Jessica's boyfriend, was a serious dirt bike racer. This meant that Jessica was a serious dirt bike race spectator, whether she liked it or not.

  Mrs. Wakefield looked over her coffee cup at Jessica, but didn't say anything.

  "Me?" Elizabeth started laughing. "Why me? You're the one with all the schemes and plans."

  Jessica nibbled on a cornflake. "Yeah, but you're the creative one. You're the writer." She gazed musingly at her spoon. "I need something simple but original."

  "You mean something he hasn't heard before."

  Jessica ignored her. "Something totally convincing."

  "Forget it," Elizabeth said. She held up the book in her hands. "I need to hold on to all the creative ability I have if I'm ever going to understand the use of visual imagery in literature and painting enough to be able to write an essay on it."

  Mrs. Wakefield put down her cup with a clatter. "Might I be so bold as to ask the real reason you don't want to go watch Sam race?" she asked Jessica.

  Jessica shrugged. "Sure. I'm tired of standing up to my ankles in mud all by myself while he rides around having a good time all afternoon."

  "And Lila wants you to go shopping with her," Elizabeth guessed.

  Jessica glared at her. Sometimes it was very difficult having a twin. A twin wasn't like a regular sister. A twin could practically read your mind. At least hers could.

  "Why don't you just tell Sam the truth?" Mrs. Wakefield asked. "I'm sure he'd understand."

  "Tell him the truth?" Jessica rolled her eyes. "Mom, I can't tell him the truth. What kind of person do you think I am? I don't want to hurt his feelings. He thinks I love watching him race."

  Elizabeth smirked. "I wonder where he got that idea from."

  "Well, of course he got it from me," Jessica said. "I'm not going to tell my boyfriend that his favorite activity in the world puts me to sleep faster than watching a movie with subtitles. What if he finds someone who likes it as much as he does? Then where will I be?"

  Mrs. Wakefield picked up her coffee cup again. "Well, you're not being very honest with him, that's for sure," she said. "And you don't build a strong relationship on excuses. You build it on truthfulness and trust."

  Jessica groaned. "You're way behind the times, Mom. These days, excuses work just fine."

  Ever since Penny had asked Elizabeth to stand in for her at the paper, Elizabeth hadn't been able to think of much else. Editor-in-chief! Even though she had taken over for Penny once before when Penny was out sick, this time seemed different and more important. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop fantasizing about it. It filled her mind as she got ready for school in the morning and while she did her homework in the evening. While she ate, she pictured herself winning a special award for her first issue. She pretended she was being asked to join the staff of the L.A. Times while she got ready for bed.

  And at that moment, as she walked to class with Todd, she was daydreaming about being asked to take on the editorship of The Oracle permanently because Penny had decided to stay in Washington.

  "Elizabeth." Todd gave her a shake. "Elizabeth, did you hear me? I can have lunch with you today after all. I promised Hal Sylvester I'd help him study for our math test, but he and our teacher are both out with the flu."

  Elizabeth brought herself back to reality with an effort. She turned to him with a puzzled expression. "Flu? Who has the flu?"

  Todd shook his head. "Earth to Elizabeth Wakefield," he teased. "Are you the only person in this school who doesn't know that the flu's going around? Haven't you noticed that your classes are a little emptier today than they were yesterday?"

  Elizabeth frowned. She had been paying so little attention to everything for the last day or so that she probably wouldn't have noticed if her classes were completely empty "Of course I've noticed," she fibbed. "I'm a trained journalist. I don't miss anything."

  They stopped in front of her English class, and Todd gave her a quick kiss. "Just make sure you don't miss anything Mr. Collins tells you," Todd warned her with a grin. "Quarter grade reports are coming up.

  "Don't worry," Elizabeth promised. "I'm having so much trouble with this essay he assigned that I may memorize every word he says."

  But only minutes after Mr. Collins began his lecture, Elizabeth had forgotten what she had said to Todd. While Mr. Collins talked about symbols and imagination, she found herself doing some imagining of her own. She imagined it was Wednesday, the afternoon the paper was put together and delivered to the printer. Mr. Collins, The Oracle's faculty adviser, was going through the final layout with her. Elizabeth, he was saying in her mind, I can hardly believe what a perfect and professional job you've done. You're obviously a natural.

  It wasn't until the bell rang that Elizabeth managed to tear herself away from her fantasy. She looked around. Her classmates were already leaving the room.

  "Don't forget," Mr. Collins was saying. "Your essays are due a week from Tuesday. No excuses."

  Rod Sullivan, who sat behind Elizabeth, leaned forward. "It's a good thing he gave us this lecture today," he said, "or I wouldn't have a clue what to do for my essay."

  Elizabeth shook her head. "Me neither," she said.

  "So here's my idea," Olivia said. She couldn't keep the excitement out of her voice. "I'm going to do a special issue of Visions on the environment." She looked from Elizabeth to Penny to Todd. She wasn't sure whether they seemed interested or puzzled. "You know," she explained. "All the poems and stories and artwork will be about the earth and its problems." She unwrapped her straw. "It seems to me that a literary magazine can be just as relevant as a newspaper. The point is to make people aware."

  "That's brilliant, Olivia!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "What a great idea!"

  "That is a great idea," Todd agreed. "I wish I had some artistic or literary talent. I'd love to do something to help the rain forests."

  Penny nodded her head. "It sounds wonderful. I wish I'd thought of it, that's for sure." She made a sympathetic face. "But I don't envy you the work you're letting yourself in for, Olivia. At least I have a staff to rely on for the paper. All you have is yourself. How are you going to get people to contribute?"

  Olivia smiled. "To tell you the truth, I've been working on that for days." She reached into her backpack and pulled out a cylinder of paper. "Here's the rough of the poster I finally came up with." She pushed her lunch aside and began to unroll the artwork. It had taken her four days to complete it, but she was proud of the results. In the center of the poster she had sketched a view of the earth from space. Above it she had printed in bold black letters: "The Planet Earth. Where Do You Stand on It?" Below the illustration were details of the issue and where contributors could send their work.

  Elizabeth pushed a strand of hair back from her face. "It looks fantastic." She looked at Olivia with open admiration. "How did you manage to do this so quickly?"

  "Oh, there was nothing to it," Olivia said, laughing. "I just didn't do anything else all week."

  It was true. From the moment on Monday afternoon when the idea for an environmental issue first came to her, Olivia's mind had been completely occupied with it. She had decided that she was going to show everyone exactly what she could do, not by sulking over her disappointment at not being asked to help with The Oracle while Penny was away, but by producing an issue of Visions that would make everyone stand up and take notice. Not only was she genuinely excited about her work, but those unpleasant feelings of jealousy and resentment that she had begun to feel toward Elizabeth had vanished completely.

  Todd gave Olivia a thumbs-up sign. "If there's anything I can do to help out, just tell me," he said. "I may not be able to write or draw, but I can type with two fingers, and I can cut and paste."

  Elizabeth bit her lip, looking thoughtful. "You know," she said slowly, "I may have a few poems that are right for this." She smiled shyly at Olivia. "I've really only just started writing poetry, but if you'd like to take a look . . ."

  Olivia was feeling so good about her project that she didn't have to pretend to be delighted by Elizabeth's offer. A contribution from Elizabeth would be wonderful, and it would probably encourage others. "Really? That would be great. When can I see them?"

  Elizabeth turned pink. "I wouldn't want you to think that I carry my poetry around with me everywhere I go," she said with a nervous laugh. "But it just so happens that the poems I'm thinking of are in my desk in the Oracle office."

  This is a sign that this project is really going to work, Olivia thought happily. "In that case, why don't you bring them to my house after school this afternoon? I'll read them right away."

  Elizabeth picked up her sandwich. "I'll be there," she said. She nodded toward Penny. "I have to have a meeting with our Washington correspondent first, but I'll come straight over after that."

  A few days earlier, if Elizabeth had told Olivia that she had to have a meeting with Penny about the newspaper, it would have made Olivia's heart sink; But not anymore. She was determined to produce the best magazine Sweet Valley High had ever seen, and that was all that mattered. Olivia began to reroll the poster. "Great," she said. "I'll be waiting."

  Penny checked off the last thing on her list. "Well, I guess we've covered everything," she said.

  Elizabeth looked at the notes she had taken. Even though she had acted as editor-in-chief once before, and even though she knew how the paper worked as well as Penny herself did, seeing everything she had to do written down like that made her feel a little panicky.

  Penny leaned over and touched her arm. "Don't look so worried." She laughed. "I know you can handle it. You'll be fine."

  Elizabeth tried to look as confident as Penny sounded. She had been going around in a dream, imagining everyone praising her for her amazing editorial ability, but the reality was that she was taking on an enormous job. "I hope you're right," she said. "But somehow, the thought of having all this responsibility without you around . . ." Elizabeth made a face. "It's a little like performing on a trapeze without a net."

  "But you do have a net," Penny said. "If you run into any trouble, just ask Olivia for help."

  A warm rush of relief spread over Elizabeth. Olivia! Of course!

  "I thought of asking her to give you a hand myself," Penny was saying, "but she has so much to do as it is that I didn't want to put any extra pressure on her. You know how conscientious she is. People are always dumping things on her because they know she'll do them, and do them well."

  Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it," she said. "With all the work she does on Visions, sometimes I think she makes me look lazy."

  Penny shook her head in admiration. "I really don't know how she does it. It's hard enough coming up with ideas for the paper."

  Elizabeth picked up her books. "I bet Olivia's going to be really famous someday," she said. She tossed back her hair. "And you and I are going to tell everyone that we knew her when."

  Elizabeth sat at the Davidsons' kitchen table, watching Olivia read through her poems. She had been there for over an hour already, but they had so much to talk about that the time had gone by quickly. I really should try to spend more time with Olivia, Elizabeth said to herself. She's not only intelligent, but also one of the most interesting people I know.

  "These are really good," Olivia said at last. "Especially for a beginner." She held up two of the poems. "I won't be able to tell if these are absolutely right for this issue until I've got more material together, but if you don't mind, I'd like to hold on to them."

  "Mind? I'm thrilled!"

  "And of course, if you want to write some more in the meantime . . ."

  "Don't encourage me," Elizabeth said. "Now that I've started, I'm always writing poems. I don't know why, but I enjoy it almost more than anything."

  "Really?" Olivia looked suddenly shy. "Me, too."

  "You?" Elizabeth tried to hide her surprise. Olivia was The Oracle's arts editor, she ran Visions, and she was Sweet Valley High's most talented painter. Elizabeth couldn't help wondering how she found the time to write poetry as well.

  Olivia shrugged. "I don't usually tell anyone, if you want to know the truth. But sometimes I just have to stop whatever else I'm doing because an idea comes to me out of the blue." She laughed. "Don't you remember that time I got into trouble in gym because I just walked off the volleyball court?"

  Elizabeth grinned. "We had a twenty-minute lecture on sportsmanship and team spirit because of you."

  Olivia shook her head wryly. "I know it sounds insane, but I was suddenly overcome by an idea for a poem about motion."

  Elizabeth laughed. "And all this time I thought you were just a terrific artist!"

  "Painting's my first passion, but I love poetry, too." Olivia said, looking down, shyly.

  Why should anyone feel embarrassed about writing poems? Elizabeth wondered. Especially someone like Olivia. Knowing how intense she was, and what a perfectionist, Elizabeth guessed that her work was probably very good.

  "I don't understand, though," Elizabeth said. "Why don't you want to tell anyone?"

  Olivia shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I guess it's because I used to write a lot of poems when I was little and everyone at school always teased me about them. You know what kids are like. And now . . . well, most people don't take poetry very seriously." She laughed. "Even Rod. I think he thinks poetry is all about daffodils and things like that."

  "I know what you mean," Elizabeth said. She made a face. "I live with Jessica Wakefield, remember. She'd rather read the back of a cereal box than a poem."

  Olivia looked down at her hands and cleared her throat. "I don't suppose you—I mean, if you have a few minutes . . . I don't want you to think that you have to . . ."

  Elizabeth couldn't help laughing. "Olivia, are you trying to ask me if I'd read some of your poems?"