"I'll take you back," Todd offered. "Right now."

"I have my keys, Liz," Jessica said. "You can get yours tomorrow."

"No, someone might take them. I've got to get them now."

"Well, you can drop me off first, Todd. I'm tired," Jessica declared grumpily.

But Todd had already turned around and was headed back to the center of town. Jessica could only fume silently in the backseat.

If Jessica's anger was merely smoldering now, the next sight that greeted her made it blaze. When they returned to the restaurant, the black Porsche was parked right out in front.

Elizabeth's instincts had been right. "We'll be out in a minute," she told Jessica as Todd pulled in behind Bruce's car and helped her out. "Oh, look who's still here!" she added.

Jessica didn't need the prompting. Quickly recovering from her surprise at seeing the car, she announced, "I'll come in with you." She was out of the car and marching toward Guido's before Elizabeth could say a word.

As the two sisters entered the restaurant, they saw that the party was still going strong, and it looked as if they'd been the only ones to leave. Except for one person, that is, who'd also left and then returned. Only he'd brought along a visitor. Holding court at a table with Ken and John and their dates was Bruce-and an attractive redhead.

Jessica glared at the table. For a split second Elizabeth was afraid Jessica might have gone into shock, and immediately she regretted the drastic step she had taken to make her sister see the light.

But Elizabeth had underestimated her twin. Jessica wasn't in shock at all. The fog she'd been enveloped by had simply lifted, and she was now standing there looking for the first time at the real Bruce Patman. As a sly smile slowly stole over her face, she mapped out the stages of her revenge. The old Jessica was back. And Bruce Patman was finally going to see her in action.

Fourteen.

Jessica marched up to the table. "Well, well, I see I'm not the only one who had a mad urge for another slice of Guido's pizza."

Bruce's face turned white at the mere sound of the voice. "Jessica, what a pleasant surprise. Uh, I'd like you to meet Aline Montgomery. She's a-a friend of the family."

"Friend?" Jessica questioned. "I'd say she looks more like a grandma to me. You did say you were going to see your grandmother, didn't you, Bruce?"

"Yeah," he admitted, "but-but-"

Ignoring him, Jessica turned her attention to the redhead. "Hi, Grandma. I see you made a quick recovery. Must be Guido's magic pizza." She picked up the pie from the table and examined it closely. "Who would have thought this simple pizza could turn a sickly old lady into a pretty young girl?" Then she turned to Bruce. "And you, poor birthday boy. You've turned so terribly pale. It looks like you could use some of Guido's miracle cure, too. Take that, Bruce Patman!"

Before he had a chance to react, Jessica threw the gooey mixture right in his face. "And here's a little something to wash it down with." She grabbed a pitcher of soda and poured it over Bruce's head.

Bruce made a grab for Jessica's hand. "Hey, calm down, baby!"

"Don't 'baby' me, Bruce," she snapped. "Don't think I'm dumb enough to have missed the point of your little act tonight. Well, I've got a surprise for you. We're through!" As Jessica picked up another pitcher of soda from a nearby table, Bruce-in his scramble to get out of the line of fire-stumbled right into the artificial waterfall at the back of the pizzeria.

The sight of Sweet Valley's most eligible senior dripping wet and covered with pizza was too much for Jessica. She began to giggle, and soon she was nearly doubled over with laughter. After a moment of stunned silence, the rest of the crowd joined in. It was a new experience for all of them. They'd never seen Bruce Patman so humiliated by anyone.

Jessica then turned to Winston and smiled. "I believe I owe you a date," she said. "Let's go." Taking the startled boy by the arm, she marched him out the door toward his car.

"Excuse me for one second, Win," she said once they were outside. She walked right over to the black Porsche. "I have one more bit of unfinished business to take care of." Without another word, she set about letting the air out of all four tires. Winston didn't make a move to stop her, delighted that Bruce was finally getting just what he deserved.

Back in Guido's, after the excitement had died down, Todd and Elizabeth had taken some empty seats next to Robin. Shaking his head, Todd remarked, "I'll bet anything she won't even thank you for this."

Elizabeth shrugged, unconcerned. "It doesn't matter, Todd. What's important is that the old Jessica is back-and that she had enough sense to throw Bruce Patman out of her life. That's thanks enough for me."

"Excuse me, Liz," Robin interrupted hesitantly. "I don't mean to be a pain, but..."

"Sure, Robin, what's up?"

"I was just wondering.... The Pi Beta Alpha meeting is coming up this week, and I wanted to know if you were going."

"I doubt it," Elizabeth said. "I haven't been to a meeting in ages. Matter of fact, I'd forgotten all about it."

"Gee, that's too bad."

Elizabeth looked at Robin questioningly. "Why should it matter to you if I'm at the meeting?"

"I know you don't think Jessica's been a very good friend to me, but this meeting will prove just how much of a friend she is."

"How?"

"She's going to put my name up for membership."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Robin smiled mysteriously. "She promised-and it's one promise I know she's going to keep."

Elizabeth wished Robin wouldn't put so much faith in Jessica. She was willing to bet anything her sister had no intention of keeping that promise. More times than she could remember, Jessica had told her how the chubby girl did not fit in with the sleek PBA image. Why would she do a complete about-face now and push for her membership? Elizabeth couldn't come up with a reason, and she could only figure that Jessica would conveniently forget until long after the meeting had passed, at which point she would be filled with apologies-apologies that would do Robin little good.

But Robin didn't need Jessica to pledge, Elizabeth realized. And then and there she made a decision.

"I think I'll be at that meeting after all," she told Robin. She'd be there to pick up the pieces if Jessica let down her friend. She'd nominate Robin for membership-and there would be nothing Jessica could do to stop her. It would probably throw the club, and Jessica, into an absolute uproar. But they all deserved the pressure, Elizabeth told herself, not realizing the chaos she was about to create.

Can Liz outwit her scheming twin and make Robin a Pi Beta? Find out in Sweet Valley High #4, POWER PLAY.

Power Play.

Pascal, Francine.

Dear Reader, The minute I came up with the idea of Sweet Valley High, now thirty years ago, I knew it was perfect. But I knew it needed something else. And that something else was girl power. Unlike the Sleeping Beauty version of romance novels, where the heroine has to wait for the wake-up kiss, in my series the girls would drive the action. And there would be two of them; the good and the bad in all of us.

After that all I needed were the stories. With my three daughters and my own teenage years to draw on, I had endless possibilities. I started with a bible where I developed the characters, the school, and the town, and then began writing the stories for first twelve books, and then twelve more and more and more until I had written 144 stories. And then with the help of other writers, they became the 144 books of the Sweet Valley High series, which more than 100 million fans have loved.

And now it's all back as e-books for a whole new generation of teenagers who want to lose themselves in the world of Sweet Valley, the fantasy of the eighties, and the best high school no one ever went to.

And for the grown women who want to look back at the love of their high school lives and revel in the nostalgia of life with the most incredible twins, read away.

Sincerely, Francine Pascal.

One.

Elizabeth Wakefield didn't know how messy things would get with Robin Wilson and the sorority pledging, until she was in too deep to back out.

It happened, as so many things seemed to, because of Jessica, her twin sister, who had just been elected president of Pi Beta Alpha, the snobbiest sorority at Sweet Valley High. Elizabeth was a member, too, but she hardly ever went to meetings. She didn't like the club's style and was too busy writing the "Eyes and Ears" column for the school paper to give the members much of her time.

"Eyes and Ears" was a regular feature, filled with hot, fun items about the students at Sweet Valley High. Sources remained anonymous. Even the identity of the writer herself had at first been a secret, though by now everyone knew it was Elizabeth.

The column was always humorous and light. Elizabeth had been very careful to stay away from any topic that could be mean or hurtful, even before anyone knew who was writing the column. Mr. Collins, the faculty adviser, had warned her early on about the dangers of anonymous power. It was advice Elizabeth would recall when she confronted another kind of anonymous power-one that threatened to tear Robin Wilson and the Pi Betas apart.

Robin believed herself to be Jessica's best friend, which was, at best, a dangerous assumption. Elizabeth became acutely aware of the fact one day when the phone in the kitchen rang and it was Robin Wilson's mother trying to locate her daughter.

"Gee, Mrs. Wilson, I haven't seen her."

"Is this Elizabeth? I think Robin is on her way over there with some things she's delivering for your sister."

"Oh," said Elizabeth, frowning. It was just like Jessica to use Robin as a messenger.

"If she shows up, ask her to call home, will you, dear?"

"Of course, Mrs. Wilson," Elizabeth said.

And then, silence. Although the conversation seemed to be over, Mrs. Wilson didn't hang up. Elizabeth could almost hear her on the other end of the line, making up her mind to say more.

"Elizabeth," Mrs. Wilson said at last, "can I ask you something? Does Robin seem-unhappy to you? I know that having you and Jessica as friends is the best thing that's happened to her since we moved to Sweet Valley. But-"

Elizabeth thought for a moment. "Well, I don't know. She seems all right to me," she said, at a loss for a better answer.

And then Elizabeth was totally astounded to hear Mrs. Wilson crying. "Oh, Elizabeth, you've got to help Robin! She's going to drop out of school!"

"What?"

"Yes! Even though she doesn't show it, she's so miserable. She's a little overweight, you know, and she thinks she's very unpopular." Mrs. Wilson took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was steadier. "Elizabeth, I know it's none of my business, but is Robin going to be asked to pledge your sorority? It would mean so much to her."

"We've gotten behind on nominations," Elizabeth said, "because the old president moved away. But now Jessica is president, and she told me that she's going to put Robin's name up at the next meeting."

"Yes, I know," Mrs. Wilson said and sighed. "But..."

"But what, Mrs. Wilson?"

"Well, Jessica is so busy, she might never get around to it. This is silly of me. Never mind, Elizabeth. Ask Robin to call home, will you? And, please, don't mention this to her. She'd be mortified."

Elizabeth hung up the phone. The conversation, however, continued to replay itself in her mind. Robin Wilson drop out of school? Why, she was one of the smartest girls at Sweet Valley! True, she was "a little overweight," as her mother had said. Much more than a little, actually. But she always seemed so cheerful and friendly.

Just then the phone rang again. It was her twin.

"Jessica Wakefield, you were supposed to be home an hour ago to help me clean the house, and you know it!" Elizabeth's anger came through loud and clear.

After listening to Jessica's breezy excuses for a moment or two, Elizabeth impatiently cut in. "You always have very, very important things to do when work is involved. What is it this time? You have to pick up your cleaning? What else?"

Again she listened, but this time an amused smile crept over her face. "You are picking up books at the library?" She was surprised her sister even knew her way there.

"OK, Jess, get here as soon as you can. Mom said the house had to be absolutely squeaky clean for her dinner party tonight."

Before Jessica could object, Elizabeth hung up, cutting her sister off in the middle of a sentence. Whenever Jessica talked that fast, Elizabeth knew she was up to something. Resisting the temptation to guess what the "something" was this time, she walked into the living room, trying to decide between vacuuming and dusting.

Elizabeth's usual sense of humor, momentarily out to lunch, returned in full force as she remembered her sister's last attempt to get out of serious work.

"Let's share the work," Jessica had said. "You clean the johns, and I'll arrange the flowers."

Alone in the living room, Elizabeth laughed out loud. One thing about Jessica-you had to give her credit for sheer nerve.

Elizabeth was plugging in the vacuum cleaner when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to find Robin Wilson, loaded down with books and dry cleaner's bags.

"Hi, Elizabeth, is Jessica home?" she asked shyly.

"What makes you think I'm not Jessica?" Elizabeth responded with friendly playfulness.

Looking awkward and uncomfortable, Robin blushed. "I don't mean to offend you, Liz, really I don't, but I'm pretty sure Jessica's never dressed like that in her life."

Elizabeth looked down at her favorite old jeans and flannel shirt and started to chuckle. "You're right, Robin. Come on in. Jess should be home pretty soon."

Robin plopped down on the sofa, rummaged around in her purse for something, and finally came up with a large chocolate bar. She unwrapped it and hungrily started munching.

"You're really lucky, Liz, having a terrific sister like Jessica." The chocolate bar was disappearing fast.

"That's me, all right, lucky Liz," she replied dryly, hypnotized by Robin's rhythmic chewing.

"Robin, doesn't eating like that make you"-don't say "fat," she warned herself-"break out?"

"Oh, no," said Robin, licking her sticky fingers. "I never get zits, just pounds. But I just wasn't meant to be slim like you and Jessica. It's got something to do with my bones-or is it my metabolism? Anyway, it's just my sad fate."

Elizabeth looked at Robin dubiously. She was convinced Robin's heaviness was due to the way she ate-especially if this was typical.

Though Elizabeth and Jessica certainly didn't have Robin's figure problems, they still watched their diets carefully. Slim, five foot six, the sisters were both beautiful: shoulder-length, sun-streaked blond hair, flashing blue-green eyes, and perfect skin. Elizabeth was four minutes older, but they were identical right down to the tiny dimple each had in her left cheek. Although they wore the same size clothes, they never dressed alike, except for identical lavalieres that they wore on gold chains around their necks. The lavalieres had been presents from their parents on the twins' sixteenth birthday.