Roger was still standing at the winner's podium as the crowd began filing slowly out of the stadium. While it was true that he was savoring his moment of glory as long as he could, he was also using the vantage point to try to find Olivia.

Unable to do so, he stepped off the platform and began walking toward the stadium bleachers. A large crowd of Sweet Valley faithfuls began to surround him.

"I knew you could do it, Roger." The compliment came from Mr. Pendergast, who broke through the crowd to shake the boy's hand. Roger was surprised he'd even come to the race. Maybe the guy had a soft spot after all. "Of course I expect to see you back at work on Monday."

"Of course," Roger grumbled. In an attempt to lose his boss in the crowd, he turned around-only to find himself eyeball to eyeball with Lila.

"Congratulations, Roger! I'm so proud of you." She was looking at him in the same adoring fashion as after the qualifying race. "I always knew you'd win," she gushed, making a great display of kissing him full and hard on the lips. "I never lost faith in you. Never."

Roger wanted to ask her where her faith was when he'd confessed he couldn't afford to run, but he saw no point in showing the crowd that she was lying. It didn't matter anymore, anyway.

Lila continued to chatter away as she followed him across the infield. "I've taken the liberty of inviting some of my closest friends to a party in your honor," she told him. "It starts at five. At my place. And don't forget to bring your bathing suit. You might as well bring your clothes for the dance, too. There's plenty of room to change."

Roger stopped walking and looked at her with disgust. She was so sure of herself, so positively sure that there was nothing in the world he'd rather do than go to a stupid party at her pool. "Sorry, Lila. I can't make it."

Her jaw dropped. "What can you be doing that's more important?" she asked indignantly.

"Frankly, it's none of your business," he said. The experiences of the past week had made him realize what kind of values were truly important to him. And they didn't always come with big price tags. Lila wasn't worth another instant of his time. "I'll see you later." He left her standing amid the other well-wishers.

Pulling himself away from the crowd, he headed toward the stadium stands. There, sitting alone, was Olivia. He took the small girl in his arms and twirled her in the air. "We did it!" he shouted, lowering her to give her a kiss.

"What do you mean, we?" she said. "That was you out there, running your heart out. How do you feel?"

"Never better," he said. "And I couldn't have done it all without you. I thought you knew that."

"I do," she said, grinning. "But I like to hear it anyway."

"How come you weren't out there?" he asked, pointing to the crowd on the infield.

"Crowds bother me. I was content to wait. My patience is unlimited," she said.

"I hope you were patient enough not to have made plans for this evening. I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend it with than you."

"What about your fans?" she asked.

"They wouldn't have cared a thing about me if I'd lost," he said. "But I have a pretty good hunch you'd still have been sitting here waiting for me. Am I right?"

Shyly she nodded.

"I know it's taken me a while, but I've finally come to realize who my true friends are." He kissed her softly on the forehead. Then he flashed a wicked grin. "That was a kiss of friendship. Now I'll show you the kiss I really want to give you." Lowering his mouth over hers, he pressed firmly yet tenderly on her lips. She responded in kind, letting him know his affection was definitely not one-sided.

It didn't go unnoticed. Elizabeth and Todd had been following Roger in an effort to congratulate him, but now they moved away discreetly. "Maybe we'll see him at the dance," Elizabeth said softly.

"I don't know, Liz. The way those two are going at it, I wouldn't be surprised if we found them still here on Monday morning."

Elizabeth chuckled. "If you don't mind, I'm going to catch up with Jessica and head home with her. I think she needs the company. See you tonight."

Elizabeth found Jessica a few minutes later, walking casually toward the parking lot with Cara Walker. "Mind if I come along with you?" she asked.

"Liz, we were just talking about Roger and Olivia. I can't believe that boy's passing up Lila for her." Jessica looked shocked. "Did you see them back there?"

"Yes, but I've known about them for a couple of days now. I knew Roger was running, too."

"And you didn't tell me?" Jessica sounded deeply hurt.

Cara punched her friend lightly on the shoulder. "Come on, Jess. Liz knows you'd have told the whole school. It would have spoiled everything."

"Not you, too?" Jessica cried. But she wasn't really hurt. "I'd have killed to have gotten a look at Lila's face when she saw them," Jessica went on. "But I couldn't find her anyplace."

"She's probably recovering in private," Elizabeth said. "By tonight I'm sure she'll be calling him Bugs again and putting him down."

"But the rest of us won't be laughing anymore," Jessica said. "He's not such a bad guy when you get right down to it-though I'd never want to go out with him." She giggled.

"It's good to see you smiling," Elizabeth said, "after what happened last night."

Cara cut her off. "Jess, didn't you tell Liz about Kevin?"

"Kevin who?" Elizabeth asked.

"My date for the dance tonight," Jessica said casually. "During the break between races, one of the Springbrook cheerleaders-Kevin Borden-came over to compliment me on a cheer. Well, one thing led to another, and-"

"And he asked you out," Elizabeth finished her sister's sentence. "Somehow I knew it wouldn't take you long to get over Dennis."

"Dennis who?" Jessica said with another giggle.

"Jessica! There you are!" Annie Whitman tugged at Jessica's uniform and practically had to stand in front of her to get her to stop. "I tried to get your attention earlier, but I guess you couldn't hear me with all that noise."

"I guess not," Jessica said, annoyed that she hadn't been totally successful in avoiding the sexy sophomore. She continued to walk, and Annie had no choice but to walk with her.

"You look busy, so I won't keep you," Annie said. "I just want to let you know I'm free to try out for the cheerleading squad."

"According to the school rules everyone is," Jessica had to admit. Even easy girls like you, she almost added.

"Not if you're flunking. I was in trouble with two of my classes but not anymore. Are there going to be practice sessions before the tryouts?"

Jessica sighed. "Yes, Annie. The details will be in the next issue of The Oracle." How do I get rid of this girl? she wondered.

"Great. I know all the cheers by heart, but there are a couple of steps I'm a little unsure of." She moved ahead of the twins and Cara. "Like I said, I don't want to keep you. See you at tryouts." Waving goodbye, she walked off toward the bus stop.

"Good luck, Annie," Elizabeth called after her.

"Why'd you say that?" Jessica asked her sister.

"I like to see hard work rewarded," she answered. "It paid off for Roger today. It'd be nice if the same thing happened to Annie."

"Why?" Jessica said angrily. "So she could use her cheerleading uniform as an added lure for the boys?"

"Annie's not like that," Elizabeth said.

Jessica snorted. "Where have you been, big sister? On Jupiter? That girl's got to hold the school record for most dates! If 'date' is the right word for what Annie does."

"I didn't know you were keeping track," Elizabeth noted.

"I keep my eye on every girl who expresses an interest in joining the squad," Jessica said. "Every single cheerleader is a public representative of our school, and it's my job to make sure they're deserving of the honor."

"And you think Annie's not deserving?" Elizabeth asked.

"Think, nothing! I know that girl is just a whole lot of bad news," Jessica declared.

Elizabeth shook her head. It was clear that Annie was going to have trouble with her sister. "But if she knows all the cheers and does them well, you've got to take her, don't you?"

Jessica stopped and put her hands on her hips. "Liz, I don't have to do anything I don't want to do. But I'm willing to bet anything she chickens out when it comes time for tryouts." Jessica chuckled. "At least she should if she knows what's good for her."

Annie was really in for it, Elizabeth fretted, recognizing that hard tone in Jessica's voice. She'd sneaked around the rules once to deny membership in her sorority to a girl she didn't like, so it wouldn't be surprising if she did something similar to Annie when it came to the cheerleading squad. Elizabeth saw nothing but trouble ahead for the shapely, unsuspecting Annie Whitman. Big trouble.

What trouble is in store for Annie? Find out in Sweet Valley High #10, WRONG KIND OF GIRL.

Wrong Kind of Girl.

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.

To Don and Char Flynn.

One.

As she looked over the list of girls who had signed up to try out for the cheerleading squad, Jessica Wakefield purred like a satisfied cat. As co-captain of the squad, Jessica felt she was where she belonged-in charge of everything. Strictly speaking, Robin Wilson was also a co-captain, but Jessica had been heading the squad longer, and Robin pretty much let Jessica run things as she wished.

"Look at all these names!" Jessica told her twin sister Elizabeth. "Everybody wants to be a cheerleader."

It seemed perfectly logical to Jessica, of course. The cheerleaders at Sweet Valley High were the cream of the crop-the prettiest, most sought-after girls not only in the school but in the entire town of Sweet Valley, California. They included Robin Wilson, the current Miss Sweet Valley High; Helen Bradley, a stunning redhead; Jean West, a pixie brunette; and Maria Santelli, who could do back flips that took everyone's breath away. Finally, there was Jessica, who at five feet six, with a crown of glorious, sun-streaked blond hair, and those sparkling blue-green eyes, was the envy of most of the girls of Sweet Valley High.

Of course, looks were only part of it. It took more than that to make the Sweet Valley High cheering squad. You had to keep your grades up-although Jessica was the first to admit that studying wasn't her idea of world-class fun. And it didn't stop there. The cheerleaders had some indefinable style, at least the cheerleaders who could make Jessica's squad. A Sweet Valley cheerleader had to set an example for those around her. Above all, she had to have talent. Every girl on the squad was exceptional, and Jessica meant to keep it that way.

Jessica surveyed the list and waited for Elizabeth to realize the importance of the situation. Though the sisters looked exactly alike, even down to the tiny dimple in the same spot on their left cheeks, their interests were worlds apart. Jessica had tried over and over again to interest Elizabeth in the cheerleading squad. "The two of us together would be sensational!" she'd told Elizabeth at least a hundred and thirty-seven times.

But no. Where Jessica was the performer, Elizabeth was the writer. Everyone at Sweet Valley looked forward to reading Elizabeth's "Eyes and Ears" column in the school paper for the latest gossip. Her column was witty and funny and always on the mark. But never cruel. That's how Elizabeth was. And though Jessica might not always admit as much, she thought it was terrific to have a star columnist in the family.

But right then Jessica studied her sister with growing impatience. Sprawled across Elizabeth's bed, she gave a loud sigh. Her own bed and bedroom appeared as if they had been devastated by an earthquake. One of these days, Jessica was going to straighten things up. But for the moment she was too busy, and Elizabeth's bed was handy.

"Liz, how am I ever going to pick two girls out of seventy-five? Liz? Elizabeth Wakefield!"

Elizabeth calmly continued to brush her hair. "You called, Jess?"

"Really, Liz," Jessica wailed, "haven't you even the tiniest bit of school spirit?"

"Jess, you just broke my eardrum with your Kansas cyclone imitation, but I'm afraid I didn't get any details. What school spirit? What are you talking about?"

"The cheerleader selection, of course! Why do I always have to do everything myself?"

"Why? Because if anyone tried to do it, you'd be after her with a flame thrower."

"I happen to be co-captain. It's my responsibility."

"Yes, but there's no need to go overboard. There are five cheerleaders, and they all have a vote. You don't have to choose all by yourself."

Jessica frowned and made a face. "There's such a thing as tradition, you know. The co-captain has to help the others decide. They look up to me; I can't let them down. They'll all want to know who I think should be picked. And look at this," she screeched, flapping the paper again. "Seventy-five girls, three tryout sessions, and only two places to fill."

"Two?" Elizabeth echoed, giving Jessica a questioning look.

"Well, yes. We have five on the team now, and there are two vacancies."

"Jessica," said Elizabeth, "didn't you promise one of those spots to Cara Walker?"

Jessica shifted uncomfortably. "Cara is a perfect choice."

"Yes, and your very best friend."

"That's beside the point. She was a terrific cheerleader before, and she's going to be terrific again. If only she and Lila hadn't gone and pulled that dumb stunt..."

Cara and beautiful, wealthy Lila Fowler had once been on the cheering squad but were thrown off during a big game against Palisades High. They'd sabotaged the Palisades' cheering display by turning on the school sprinkler system in the middle of their performance. The two girls were finally off probation, and eligible for the squad once more, though Lila swore she would never crawl back to the team after being humiliated by the school officials. Cara, on the other hand, couldn't wait to get back into her uniform, and all the glory that went with it, despite having to face tryouts all over again. Jessica thought Cara was sure to get on the squad again. The competition might be good, but Cara was pretty and graceful. And she already knew the ropes, which was just one more thing in her favor.

"Anyway," Jessica continued, "Cara's got all the talent a cheerleader needs."