Elizabeth didn't want to think about what Bruce and her sister were doing on that dark, deserted path. She wanted to forget she'd seen the car.

But Robin wouldn't let her. "Hey, isn't that Bruce Patman's car?" she cried as they passed the gleaming vehicle. "I wonder what it's doing down here. He and Jessica were going out tonight, weren't they, Liz?"

"Yes, Robin."

"They make a really super-looking couple, don't you think?" Robin prattled. "But everyone in school seems down on them. I wonder why."

"Some things aren't worth wondering about," Winston muttered.

"Well, I'm really happy for Jessica. She told me she's in love with Bruce. I think that's so romantic. She's so beautiful, and he's gorgeous. They deserve each other, I'd say."

"I'd say you've said enough," Winston grumbled. "Look, Todd, would you mind taking me home first? I'm done in."

Robin sank as deeply into the seat as she could. Me and my big mouth, she berated herself. She was sure she'd just thrown any chance she might have had with Winston right out the window.

A short while later, after dropping off Winston and Robin, Todd pulled up in front of Elizabeth's house. They exchanged a kiss-it was warm and loving, and Elizabeth found it comforting. Todd always seems to know what I need, she told herself. Then she fell into the crook of Todd's arm. "I'm glad you understand about tonight. I had no idea the place was such a dive."

"I didn't mind, really. I just feel sorry for The Droids. Their first big date-and it's a bust."

"Yeah, a disappointing night for a lot of people."

"Like our friends in the backseat?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Poor Win. I don't ever remember seeing him so quiet. Maybe I shouldn't have talked him into coming."

"Nah, even a bad night out is better than a lonely night at home. Though, if you ask me, he didn't even give Robin a chance."

"Win made it very clear to me that he wasn't interested in her. I invited him along because I thought it'd help him take his mind off Jessica."

Todd sighed. "It figures she's at the bottom of this. That girl causes more trouble than anyone I've ever known."

"Oh, it's not her fault she doesn't love him. He's had a thing for her for way too long."

"He's wasting his time."

"I know. But he can't get her out of his system." She sighed. "Funny, it sounds exactly like Jessica's feelings about Bruce."

"But Jessica's doing something about her feelings. Ask anybody." Elizabeth shot him a questioning look, and Todd turned away quickly. He felt he'd said more than he wanted to and hoped she would change the subject.

But there was no way she could let that remark slip by. "Just what do you mean by that, Todd?" she demanded. He remained silent, but Elizabeth was persistent. "You're hiding something from me, aren't you?" She pulled away from him and directed her piercing stare at him.

Todd gave in under her gaze. "I didn't want to tell you," he began, "but your sister is getting quite a reputation around school. Bruce has been making it very clear that he's getting everything he wants out of her. And whenever he wants it, too."

Elizabeth put her hands to her ears. "I don't believe it, Todd. Jessica would never be like that!"

Todd considered this. "Bruce could be exaggerating," he said after a pause. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"Yes, that's it," Elizabeth agreed eagerly. "He must be exaggerating. That's so rotten! Jessica would die if she knew she was being talked about like that."

"I don't know, Liz. She's so starry-eyed over him, I don't think she'd care."

"Oh, that Bruce Patman. If I didn't hate him before, I certainly do now. He's turned her into a completely different person. I mean, when she's not out with him, she's practically a hermit. Whenever I ask her to come someplace with me, she says she has to stay home in case Bruce calls. 'What if I miss him?' she asked me the other night. Do you believe that? Can you imagine my sister waiting for a boy to call?"

"Not the Jessica I know and hate."

Elizabeth ignored his last remark. "And then finally he did call-just to tell her he'd see her tonight. Todd, you should have seen the look on her face. It was as if someone had just crowned her Miss America. She looked so-so satisfied. And for what? A lousy phone call!"

"Well, wait a second, Liz. She really cares about the guy. Of course she's going to be happy to see him. Not everything Jessica does or feels for him is horrible!" Todd fondly cupped Elizabeth's chin in his hand. "Don't you feel good when I call?"

Gently Elizabeth gave Todd a soft kiss then thoughtfully responded, "Of course I do, and you're right. I should try to be more understanding. It's just that she's getting so carried away."

"Yes, well, she's got it bad for him."

Elizabeth leaned back in her seat dejectedly. "I tell you, Todd, he's like an evil wizard, out to twist her into anything he wants. And the worst part is, she's letting him. I wish there were something I could do to stop her."

"You've already tried-and look where it's gotten you."

"I know." She sighed. "But you don't know how awful it is to watch your sister go through all this and not be able to do a thing about it. She's heading for a disaster. I can feel it, and if I don't find a way to show her what's really happening, I'm afraid I'll lose the real Jessica altogether!"

Eight.

EYES AND EARS.

The halls are buzzing with the news of a hot and heavy thing going on between Lila F. and a certain blond football player. Chalk up one more for Lila.... Three cheers for Lois W.! John P. showed up at her party. Guess sometimes dreams do come true.... Bill C.'s found another surf bunny.... Enid R.'s packing up her suitcases for another weekend visit with G.W.-fourth in a row, but who's counting? ... Cara W. has her eye on a basketball-playing senior. Maybe she can get him interested in something besides dribbling!... Danger: Toni J.'s now on the roads. Pedestrians beware....

Elizabeth sighed with despair after giving her latest column for The Oracle a final read. It seemed to her that it lacked its usual punch. Had her writing gone stale? she wondered. No, the breezy copy was as fast-paced and readable as always. There were plenty of tidbits on all the leading couples in school. All but one. And that, she realized, was where the trouble lay.

Elizabeth had left out the most talked-about duo in school, Jessica and Bruce. Not that there hadn't been anything to write about, she admitted grudgingly to herself. In the two weeks they had been dating, the two had been nearly inseparable around campus, sharing lunches and study periods, frequently cutting classes to sneak some loving moments in the alley behind the school cafeteria: Jessica devotedly went to every single one of Bruce's tennis practices, watching his every shot with adoring eyes. She even ran after his tennis balls as if performing a sacred duty. She spent almost every night with him as well, and when she didn't she kept a vigil by the phone, just in case he had a sudden change in plans.

During dinner the night before, Jessica had given everyone a replay of a practice game between Bruce and another player on the team. "He sounds quite good, Jessica," her father had commented. "But has he been able to beat you, yet?"

"Oh, we don't play against each other."

Ned and Alice Wakefield exchanged puzzled looks. "You mean you play doubles together?" Mr. Wakefield had asked.

"No."

"Then what?"

"I just watch," she'd declared matter-of-factly-as if it were perfectly normal for the Wakefield family's best tennis player to sit on the sidelines voluntarily.

Her father had stared at her incredulously. "But why, Jess? You love to play."

With that now familiar dreamlike look in her eyes, Jessica had said, "I'd rather watch him, Daddy. He looks so beautiful on the courts."

Mr. Wakefield had smiled at his daughter's romantic vision, while his wife had given Elizabeth a worried look.

"Didn't you two play a few sets when you first started going out?" Elizabeth had asked pointedly. "I seem to remember you were looking forward to showing him how good you are."

Jessica had snorted. "That was so juvenile of me. Besides, I could never beat him-he's very, very good."

Now, staring at her column, Elizabeth realized that if she had ever complained about the old Jessica, she'd gladly take it all back now. She couldn't stand the changes Bruce had caused in her sister. The old Jessica was fun-loving, spontaneous-and she never walked away from a good game of tennis. And, more importantly, Jessica always shared everything with her. Now, more often than not, Elizabeth had to find out about Jessica's doings from starry-eyed dinner conversations like these-and she didn't like what she was hearing. It was clear that the strong-willed twin she used to know had turned into a helpless puppet-and Bruce Patman was pulling all the strings.

DROIDS DO IT AGAIN.

By Elizabeth Wakefield (second in a continuing series) The Droids' path to rock-and-roll stardom took them this week to Marshalltown, where they performed at the Rancho East, one of the beach area's leading music spots. We're told that the Sweet Valley band proved once again that they are one of the up-and-coming groups on the rock scene, earning a standing ovation from the enthusiastic audience.

Droids' drummer Emily Mayer summed up her feelings about the show: "It was our best performance yet. Everything seemed to click, and the crowd was super. I wanted to play for them all night."

The band has been on the move since last performing in Sweet Valley. Guy Chesney, keyboardist for the group, has been busy writing original songs, three of which were introduced at Saturday's concert. "We're getting into new areas, away from the simple old love songs," he said. "Topics like alienation and loneliness. They may sound like downers, but the messages are uplifting. And of course there's still the famous Droids beat that Sweet Valleyites know us for."

Tony Conover, The Droids' new manager, plans to continue showcasing the group at clubs around the state. Next week the band returns to Sand Pines, where they made their impressive debut two weeks ago.

"Pretty good write-up, don't you think?" Guy handed the paper to Max for his inspection.

"If you like fiction." Max rolled up the paper and whacked Guy with it. "You're beginning to believe your own notices. That's bad, man."

"Yeah, what about that standing ovation business?" Emily came down from behind her drums and joined the boys as they seated themselves around an old table. "The place was half empty, and Liz wasn't even there, so she had to get the information from somebody. Wonder who?" She looked directly at Guy, who couldn't meet her eyes.

"It's not hurting us, right?" Guy defended his action. "What's wrong with letting everyone in school think we're really making it?"

"Nothing, except it's not true," Dan said.

Max lit up a cigarette. "Yeah, two gigs in dives like those don't qualify as success in my book. When's Tony going to get us some real dates?"

"I thought you didn't care," Emily said. Max just shrugged.

"Did someone mention Tony?" Dana came running down the stairs and took a seat with the others. "Sorry I'm late, but I was on the phone with Tony for a long time. He's in L.A. trying to line us up at more clubs." She smiled. "He says he's getting lots of positive feedback. Isn't that great?"

"Fantastic!" Emily cried. "Where are we playing next?"

"He says he'll get back to me in a day or two." Dana looked at the others. "We ready to get started?"

"Yeah, sure." Suddenly glum, Guy pulled back his chair and walked slowly to his synthesizer.

The sudden change in mood was apparent to Emily. "Are you OK, Guy?" she asked, realizing he might be reading something hurtful into Dana's conversation with Tony.

He turned instead to Dana and asked, "Why did Tony call you? I thought we agreed that I was the one he'd be dealing with."

"Maybe your line was busy," Max said sarcastically.

"I don't know why he called me," Dana answered. "But it doesn't really matter, does it, Guy?"

The frizzy-haired musician switched on his instrument and didn't say another word.

Nine.

Jessica arrived at school the following Friday wearing her cheerleading uniform. The football team was playing rival Dallas Heights High that evening, and the whole school was getting ready for the action. Although she'd missed practice for the past three weeks, Jessica was as up for the game as the rest of the squad and couldn't wait for the morning's special assembly to rally team spirit. There'd been some talk of kicking her off the squad for missing so many practices, but Jessica put her old charm to work and wheedled herself back into everybody's good graces. With the entire school planning to attend the home game, this was one event she didn't want to miss.

She ran through the packed hallway to the locker area to find Bruce, who'd been unable to take her to school that morning because his Porsche was in the shop for repairs. Finding him rummaging through his open locker, she put her hands over his eyes and whispered, "Guess who?"

"I'd know those beautiful hands anywhere. Must be my pretty little princess."

"I should have known I couldn't fool you," Jessica said, giggling.

Bruce turned around, ready to give her a goodmorning hug. But he stopped when he saw what she was wearing.

Jessica grew puzzled at the change in his expression. "What's the matter, honey?" she asked.

Bruce's scowl grew deeper. "What's the idea of that outfit?"

"You haven't gone blind all of a sudden, have you?" she teased. "It's my cheerleading outfit. I just had it cleaned. Doesn't it look nice? I wanted to look my best for the assembly and tonight's game." As soon as the words were out, Jessica realized she'd said something wrong. "What's the matter, Bruce? Haven't you ever seen a cheerleader before?"

"Who said you're going to the football game?"

Jessica looked at him disbelievingly. "It's the biggest game of the year. Of course I'm going."

"How come you didn't mention this to me?"

Jessica couldn't understand why Bruce was getting angry with her. "I-I didn't think it was necessary, honey. I mean, you know I'm on the squad, so I just assumed you knew I'd be there."

"Never assume anything with me, babe." Bruce's tone was harsh, unsympathetic. "I thought the two of us would take a drive down to the beach tonight."

"But what about the game?"

"Football bores me. And if you know what's right for us, you'll find a way to miss this game." He put his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Tell me, baby, who'd you rather be with? Me, or a bunch of chicks with fat thighs in short skirts?"

Jessica hated the hard look she saw in Bruce's eyes. Hesitating a moment, she ran her fingers nervously through her hair. "Well, if you put it that way..."

Jessica went to the assembly but asked to be excused from English class that morning because of a splitting headache. At lunchtime she passed Lila Fowler in the hall and complained of stomach cramps. By last period she was crying uncontrollably to Cara Walker. She was feeling so awful, she said, she just didn't see how she was going to be able to make it to the game.

By seven o'clock, however, she'd made a miraculous recovery. She was dressed and ready to go when Bruce picked her up for the beach.

A few days later Cara barged into the newspaper office. Ignoring the meeting in progress between Elizabeth and Mr. Collins, the faculty adviser for the paper, she walked right up between the two. "Your sister is mad," she announced.