"Your sister's got the whole gang over," she explained. Outside, there was a scream, followed by a splash. "If you ask me, it sounds like they're rehearsing the Pearl Harbor scene from From Here to Eternity."

"I'd better get into my suit before all the water's gone," Elizabeth said, bolting for the stairs.

"Todd's out there, too," her mother called after her.

Todd! Elizabeth's mouth went dry, and her heart beat at a quickened pace. She hadn't seen much of him these past few days-both of them had been so busy-and she'd really missed him. She felt a little silly now about the way she'd doubted him. She'd made such a big thing out of Todd's being nice to an old girlfriend.

She imagined confronting him with her fears. Todd would laugh and tell her how crazy she was for thinking he could be in love with someone else-even someone as gorgeous as Patsy. He'd take her in his arms and with one kiss blot out all the misery of this past week.

Elizabeth hurriedly slipped into her striped two-piece bathing suit and snatched a towel from the bathroom she shared with her sister. After giving her reflection a quick once-over in the mirror on her way out the door, she ended up yanking the rubber band off her ponytail. There. With her hair shimmering loose about her shoulders, she looked much more seductive. More like Jessica, she decided, a twinkle of secret amusement creeping into her eyes.

Wild shrieks and a tumult of splashing greeted her as she stepped out through the sliding glass patio door. She was momentarily blinded by the sun's glare, but then the scene before her sharpened into focus.

Elizabeth gave a muffled cry at what she saw. There was Todd, crouching over Patsy as she lay stretched in golden, queenly splendor on the chaise longue. She was on her stomach, and the back tie to her bikini top was undone. Todd was rubbing suntan lotion on her back with slow, circular strokes.

At that moment he looked up, and his eyes met Elizabeth's. He stood up as if to greet her, but she'd already fled back inside.

Seven.

"Liz, please, talk to me. I want to know what the heck is going on!"

Todd's concerned voice filtered through the locked bedroom door, causing Elizabeth to spill a fresh torrent of tears. Why was he pretending to be so innocent? Did he think she was blind?

"I don't want to talk!" came her reply, muffled by the pillow she had pulled over her head. "And I'm canceling our date for tonight!"

But Todd wasn't the type to give up easily. "Liz, this is crazy. You've been acting really strange these past few days. Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm just fine!"

"Look, if it's because I was rubbing suntan oil on Patsy's back..."

So he knew she wasn't blind after all! "Rub all you like. I couldn't care less!"

"Liz, this is really crazy," he repeated. "It was just a little sun-"

But Elizabeth had shut out his feeble explanations with her pillow. She couldn't bear to listen to any more. The evidence had been right there before her eyes.

Even so, she longed to believe Todd, to let herself be convinced it was all a hideous mistake. But it was useless. She might have inherited her looks from her mother, but her rock-hard sense of logic had come straight from her father. It was logical for Todd to fall in love with Patsy. And there were simply too many places in Todd's life where Patsy fit in just a little too neatly.

Gingerly she lifted the pillow from her head. The thud of receding footsteps sounded Todd's retreat. For some reason that only made her feel worse. She felt abandoned, even though she was the one who had told him to leave. She couldn't help thinking that if he really cared, he would have tried a little harder to convince her.

Abruptly the door to the bathroom that connected the twins' bedrooms burst open. Jessica, dripping wet, hurtled across the room to throw her arms around her sister.

"I was coming up for extra towels, and I saw Todd. He said you'd locked yourself in your room and wouldn't talk to anyone. But I know you couldn't have meant me! Oh, Liz, what is it? Did you two have a fight?"

Todd was wrong about Jessica, Elizabeth thought. Her sister really did have a good heart, even if it didn't always seem that way. Still, she was quick to disengage herself from Jessica's damp embrace.

"I guess you can't call it an argument when you're not even speaking to someone," she sniffled, brushing the wetness from her cheeks.

"Todd must have done something really awful to make you feel this way. You know, I've always suspected he was kind of a rat."

Elizabeth wasn't sure she liked hearing Todd called a rat, even if she did feel like boiling him in oil at the moment.

She sighed. "I guess I really shouldn't blame Todd so much. I mean, Patsy is-is-well, look at her. What boy wouldn't be attracted to her?"

"Todd and Patsy?" Jessica's eyes widened. "I didn't know anything was going on between them."

"Todd used to go out with her before he met me. Before she moved away."

"How come I'm just now finding all this out? For heaven's sake, Liz, why didn't you tell me sooner?" She made it plain how hurt she was that Elizabeth hadn't confided in her.

Suddenly the tables had turned, and Elizabeth was consoling Jessica. "I'm sorry, Jess. I wanted to tell you. It's just that-well, you've been so busy with the play and all. It seems like I hardly see you anymore."

The truth was, Jessica was usually too involved in her own romantic exploits to pay much attention to Elizabeth's. But she had always resented the relationship between Todd and her sister. There were two big reasons why. Number one: In the beginning she'd wanted him for herself, and he'd passed her over for Elizabeth. Number two: He monopolized entirely too much of her sister's time.

"Hmmm." Jessica stared down at the bedspread, plucking at a loose thread. "Now that you mention it, I have noticed Todd spending a lot of time with Patsy at rehearsals. They must have been pretty close, huh?"

Elizabeth's heart dropped down another notch. It was one thing to have suspicions, another to have them confirmed.

"Oh, but I'm sure it doesn't mean anything," Jessica was quick to throw in. "Maybe he's just being nice because she's sort of new and stuff. He probably doesn't even want to, only he feels obligated."

"Obligated? Jess, have you really looked at Patsy? Can you imagine any guy feeling obligated to be nice to her?"

"I guess you're right. But honestly, Liz, there's no reason to go off the deep end about it. There are other things besides looks."

Elizabeth groaned and rolled over onto her back. "Right now I can't think of any."

"Anyway," Jessica plowed on mercilessly, "if he really is in love with her, it's probably just temporary. You know, like a crush. I'm sure it'll pass."

"Jess!" Elizabeth sat bolt upright. "Do you really think he's in love with her?"

Jessica lifted her shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. "How would I know? But if you ask me, it does look kind of suspicious."

Elizabeth moaned and buried her face in her pillow once again. How was it that whenever Jessica tried to console her, she always ended up feeling worse?

Writing was one of the few things that made Elizabeth feel better when she was really down. It had always been that way, since the day she'd started filling the pages of her very first diary, when she was nine or ten. Now she not only kept a journal faithfully but also worked as a reporter and columnist for The Oracle, the school paper. At the moment her article on summer job opportunities was coming along nicely.

After crying her eyes out over Todd for nearly an hour, Elizabeth decided to spend the rest of the afternoon working on the article as an antidote to her misery. It was a poor substitute for Todd, but it was certainly better than sitting around feeling sorry for herself.

Her father had promised to get her an interview with the man who owned the building his office was in. Mr. Pendergast often hired teenagers, though it was rumored he only did so to save money. Elizabeth knew he worked on Saturdays, so on impulse she decided to drive over there. If he wasn't too busy, maybe he wouldn't mind talking to her for a few minutes.

Fortunately, her dad didn't mind letting her use the Fiat, since it was for a good cause. His office was a four-story gray building just off Calico Drive, only ten minutes away. Elizabeth parked the little red convertible in front, then made her way through the heavy plate-glass door. The first thing she noticed was the sharp, damp smell of disinfectant.

A boy dressed in dark green overalls was swabbing the floor with a wet mop. A janitor's pushcart full of cleaning supplies was angled alongside him. As Elizabeth walked in, the boy looked up at her in surprise. She was equally surprised. It was Roger Barrett!

"L-Liz," he stammered. "W-w-what are you doing here?"

She grinned. "I should be asking you the same thing. How come you never mentioned you worked in my dad's building? You're the one I should be interviewing for my article."

"No! Please, I-I don't want anyone to-" He stopped, his gaze dropping down to the scuffed toes of his shoes.

Roger's reaction took Elizabeth by surprise. Had she said something wrong? He almost seemed afraid of her. Then she looked at his flaming cheeks, and she knew what it was. He was embarrassed to be working as a janitor.

"I think it's great," she said softly. "I'll bet there are at least fifty kids who would love to trade places with you. There aren't really all that many good jobs for kids our age in Sweet Valley."

Roger shook his head. "I doubt it. I'll bet most of them wouldn't be caught dead doing what I do."

"I don't see what's wrong with it."

"Please, Liz, just don't tell anyone you saw me," he begged. "I-I have my reasons. Besides, they'd only make fun of me if they knew."

"I think you're wrong," Elizabeth said. "I really admire you for what you're doing. Not everyone has enough ambition to get a job on top of their schoolwork and everything else."

"Ambition?" he said in surprise. His gray eyes, magnified by his glasses, appeared startled. "I have to work. If I didn't, my family wouldn't be able to pay the rent!" It was apparent he hadn't meant to blurt his secret; the words had just slipped out. He hung his head in shame.

Elizabeth touched his arm. "I'm sorry, Roger, I didn't know. Of course I won't say anything. I still don't think you have anything to be embarrassed about, though. In fact, you should be proud of yourself. I'm sure your family is."

Roger offered her a weak smile. "Thanks, Liz. I really appreciate it. I always figured you were the type who would understand."

Elizabeth felt so sorry for Roger, she temporarily forgot her own misery. Roger really wasn't someone she knew well-they shared only one class, chemistry-but she felt as if she were seeing a side of him no one else knew. She would never forget the shamed, fearful look in his eyes.

Obviously she wasn't the only one with a problem.

Eight.

Jessica fluttered about backstage like someone who'd just been asked to give a command performance at the White House.

"I'm so nervous, I could just die!" she hissed to Lila. "Why didn't anyone ever tell me DeeDee's father was a Hollywood agent?"

Lila rolled her eyes. "Who would have believed it?" Everyone knew who Lila's father was, so she never had that problem. George Fowler was one of the richest men in Sweet Valley.

"You're right, she's not exactly the Hollywood type, is she?" Jessica clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle.

"Shhh, she'll hear you." Lila shot a warning glance over to where DeeDee was standing, talking with her father, who had decided to drop in on a special lunchtime rehearsal. The entire cast had been given special permission to cut the class just before lunch since there was a special teachers' meeting in the auditorium after school that day. "Anyway, I don't see what you're so nervous about. It's only a rehearsal."

"Easy for you to say. You're not playing the lead."

"Do you have to rub it in?" Lila stuck her nose in the air and patted the cloud of silky brown hair that swirled about her shoulders. With a perfectly straight face, she added, "Actually, if you want to know the truth, they offered me the lead role in Raiders of the Lost Ark before Karen Allen-but I had to turn it down."

"Harrison Ford was too much for you, right?" Jessica played along.

"No, of course not." She wrinkled her pert nose. "Harry and I got along fine. It's just that I hate snakes."

Jessica recalled the scene in the movie in which the hero and heroine were dropped into an Egyptian tomb full of snakes. Ugh! Had they really used live snakes? Maybe there was more to being an actress than she'd considered. Still, it would be fun. Jessica smiled as a new thought occurred to her. If she were a star, she would have the perfect double-Elizabeth. They could use her sister for the stunts, and it would leave her free for the juicy stuff, like kissing Harrison. She closed her eyes, imagining what it would be like....

"Hey!" Lila nudged Jessica. "I was only kidding, you know. I think you're really getting serious about all this star business."

"Why not?" Jessica demanded. "Even Jessica Lange had to start somewhere."

"Yeah," Lila twittered, "and you know where that was. King Kong's hairy hand. I can just see it now-King Kong II, starring Jessica Wakefield." She smacked her palms together. "Oops, splat!"

Both girls collapsed in giggles. They were rescued from complete hysteria by the intervention of Mr. Jaworski, announcing that it was curtain time.

Immediately Jessica was transformed into the tragic heroine once again. She wafted onstage to join hands with Bill, whom she gazed up at with an adoring expression, as if he'd just switched faces with Harrison Ford.

"Oh, Bud, don't let them keep us apart...."

DeeDee was bursting with the good news when she returned from walking her father back to his car.

"Guess what, everybody? My father loved it! He said it was practically professional. But the best part is"-she took a deep breath, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth-"he saw someone he thinks is really talented. I mean really talented, like maybe this person could be in the movies!"

"Who?" Jessica practically shrieked.

"He wouldn't say. He was very mysterious about it. He's afraid it would make the person too nervous."

"How can he keep us in suspense like this?" Jessica cried. "It's-it's cruel and inhuman!"

"It's just until the end of the week," DeeDee hastened to explain. "He's bringing this producer friend of his to see the play on opening night. And get this-it's the same guy who discovered Matt Dillon! He's known for finding new talent."

Jessica was jumping up and down as if a fire had been lit under her. "Ooooh, I can't stand it! Didn't he give you a hint? Just one little hint?"

"You mean something like, she has blond hair and blue eyes, and she could be the next Jessica Lange?" Lila broke in, giving her friend an amused grin.

"Oh, stop it!" Jessica wailed. "Of course I don't think it's me. Why on earth would he pick me? I'm the worst one in the whole play!"

As usual, Bill rushed to her defense. "The best, you mean. I can't think of anyone else it could be."

"Thanks, Bill," she demurred. "But I'm positive you're wrong."

"Well, we won't know anything until Saturday night," DeeDee said quickly. "You don't know my dad when it comes to keeping a secret. Nobody could get it out of him. I can hardly wait to find out who it is!"

In her excitement DeeDee threw her arms around Bill. Bill looked embarrassed, but not half as embarrassed as DeeDee was when she realized what she'd done. She took a hasty step backward, nearly falling over a stack of scenery that was propped up behind her. Acting on reflex, Bill reached out to steady her. His touch was like a delicious shock; her skin tingled with awareness. She only hoped Bill wouldn't notice that she was blushing.