Dear Sister Page 4

  Jessica hardly knew what to say, she was so angry. “My sister is not a flirt!”

  “OK, OK. But she certainly seems different.”

  “She is not,” Jessica snapped angrily. “She’s been under a lot of tension lately, but she is not different. She’s exactly the same.”

  Jessica walked away from Cara, trying to convince herself that what she had said was the truth. But she was afraid it wasn’t.

  Cara Walker had unwittingly suggested what was bothering Jessica most. She had been circling around it all evening, feeling it, but unwilling to say or even think it.

  Elizabeth had somehow turned into her, Jessica! She was even out-Jessica-ing her. It couldn’t happen. It must not be allowed to happen.

  If she’s Jessica, she agonized, then who am I?

  She chased the confusing thoughts out of her mind by hurrying around and taking care of the party. She became a demon at work, getting ice cubes, cleaning tables, mopping spilled sodas. Keeping busy helped a lot. Still, every time she passed Elizabeth, she was startled all over again to see the lively, glowing face of her sister lighting up the party.

  By the end of the party, everyone was looking at Jessica and Elizabeth and whispering. Everyone knew something was wrong.

  Everyone, that is, except Elizabeth. She chattered on brilliantly and unknowingly until the last.

  What seemed to Jessica like a million years later, the party finally ended. When the last person had left, she closed the front door and turned to her sister. “Liz,” she said. “I want to talk to you.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes fluttered. “Jessie, is my face flushed?”

  “What?”

  “I guess it’s nothing. I seem to have the most horrible headache coming on.”

  Jessica felt alarm growing inside her. She wondered if Elizabeth was having a relapse. “What’s the matter, Lizzie?” she asked quickly.

  “It’s probably nothing. I just feel a little woozy.”

  “Oh, please, go lie down,” said Jessica.

  “Well, maybe I’d better—if you don’t mind,” said Elizabeth, and the next moment she shot up the stairs two at a time.

  Jessica hurried around the pool and the patio, cleaning things up. I hope she’s all right, she thought.

  It wasn’t until she was almost finished that Jessica realized she had done all the work for the party. She had set up, dashed around like a servant all evening, and then cleaned everything afterward.

  The only thing Elizabeth had done was decide to have the party.

  Stop it, she told herself. Elizabeth would have done the same thing for her. She was just tired.

  Sure, said another inner voice. She was really a decrepit wreck when she hopped up the stairs like a little rabbit about two seconds after saying she had a splitting headache. Every time there’d been work to do that day, Elizabeth had developed a sudden problem.

  Jessica understood all these tricks well enough because she had used every one of them time and again on her sister.

  And then she froze. The same frightening sensation swept through her. “Is it possible? Has Elizabeth turned into me?”

  Five

  Jessica let herself in through the back door, relieved to be home. It had been one crazy day—all of it bad. She’d be lucky to get a decent grade on her English test, but that wasn’t what was really upsetting her. Being unprepared for a test was not unusual for her. But it was for Elizabeth, and Jessica was sure her sister hadn’t cracked a book all week.

  “How could she have time for studying when she’s on the phone with guys most of the time?” she asked herself aloud. “Then of course there has to be time for manicures, pedicures, doing her hair—” She stopped herself in midsentence and glanced around the empty kitchen.

  “I’m talking to myself,” she said in amazement. “I’m coming so unglued that I am actually talking to myself.” She poured a tall glass of orange juice. “What I should be doing is talking to somebody else about Liz. But who?”

  Todd? No, he was still at basketball practice. Their parents? They hadn’t seen Elizabeth in action at the pool party the week before, and besides, Jessica didn’t want to worry them.

  Steven! she thought, reaching for the wall phone. Big brother to the rescue, right? Wrong. Jessica hung up the phone without dialing her brother’s number at the university.

  What in the world would she say to him? “Hey, Steve, Liz is flirting with every good-looking guy in Sweet Valley. Do something about it.” She groaned. He’d just accuse her of being jealous. So would anyone else, for that matter.

  But Jessica knew jealousy wasn’t the problem. There was no longer any doubt in her mind. Elizabeth had changed. It’s my fault, Jessica admitted. I was thoughtless and selfish the night of Enid’s party, and because of that, Elizabeth got hurt, spent all that time in the hospital, and now this. And not just at Enid’s. I was always selfish. I acted just like—Elizabeth’s acting now!

  Just then Elizabeth slammed the back door, stomped across the floor, scuffing its shiny surface with her boot heels, and tossed her books on the table. “What an absolutely gruesome day!” she said, frowning fiercely.

  Jessica stared at her, fascinated.

  “If all you’re going to do is stare at me, take your face someplace else!”

  “I didn’t mean to stare, Liz. I was just—”

  “Staring!”

  “Look, I don’t mean to butt in, but I really think you ought to slow down a bit.”

  “Slow down? You’ve got to be kidding. You’ve been telling me for years that I’ve been hanging out with kids so dull that you need No-Doz just to be in the same room with them. You were right, Jess. From now on, thanks to you, I’m living in the fast lane!” Elizabeth dashed out of the room. “Got to change,” she called over her shoulder.

  “Did you hear that, Dr. Frankenstein?” Jessica muttered. “You’re not the only one who created a monster.”

  * * *

  “Thanks, honey. You can take the salad in.” Alice Wakefield smiled at Elizabeth’s retreating back and turned to Jessica.

  “Isn’t it wonderful to have Liz at home again?”

  “Yeah, sure, Mom,” Jessica answered.

  Talk at the dinner table that night was light. Alice Wakefield asked the girls how things were at school.

  “Just fine,” Elizabeth said in a soft voice.

  Jessica nearly choked on a cherry tomato.

  “Jessica, are you all right?” Her father began pounding her on her back.

  “Yeah, I suppose,” she finally croaked. Privately, she thought she’d never be all right again. Everyone knew Elizabeth was in trouble at school. Everyone except her parents, that is.

  Jessica was still thinking about her sister when Ned Wakefield dropped the bombshell.

  “The Percys are going to be in Europe for a few weeks for some kind of computer conference, and we’re going to have some houseguests,” he said brightly. Alice Wakefield nodded in agreement.

  The Percys? Jessica frowned. Weren’t they the ones with—

  “The Percys’ twelve-year-old twin girls are going to stay with us while their parents are away,” her father said. “Won’t that be fun?”

  An openmouthed Jessica stared at her father.

  “Fun?” Elizabeth sputtered. “A broken leg would be more fun than baby-sitting those two little twerps.”

  Alice Wakefield gave her daughter a look of surprise. “Elizabeth, I hardly expected—”

  “Hey, Liz,” Jessica jumped in quickly. “It won’t be so bad. Like having kid sisters in a way. We’ll let them do all our chores.”

  “Jessica!”

  “Kidding, Mom. Just kidding, honest.”

  “That’s my girl.” Ned Wakefield beamed.

  Jessica didn’t know whether to laugh or scream. She certainly didn’t want those two little brats around. But she’d pulled a perfect Elizabeth by sticking up for them.

  Finally, Elizabeth said, “If Jess can cope with them, I guess I can
, too.”

  The Wakefield parents exchanged proud smiles.

  “You girls always come through for us,” Alice said. “To show my appreciation, I’ll clean up the kitchen tonight. Why don’t you girls get an early start on your homework while your father goes over to the Percys’ to pick up the twins?”

  Half an hour later, Elizabeth and Jessica came back downstairs to meet the Percy twins. Although the Percys were friends of their parents, Elizabeth and Jessica had never met them. The twins were fragile, dark-haired girls with large brown eyes set in small, solemn faces. They were wearing identical gray jumpers and long-sleeved white blouses, and they were clutching identical black flute cases.

  Jessica took one look at them and decided to move to San Francisco at the earliest possible moment. She plastered a smile on her face and said, “Hi.” She had to strain her ears to hear them answer softly, in unison, “Hello.”

  Elizabeth muttered something that sounded like “Hello,” then excused herself, muttering something else that sounded like “Homework.”

  As soon as the Percy twins were settled in Steven’s room, Ned and Alice Wakefield left for an evening of bridge.

  While the twins were unpacking, Jessica finally got a moment alone with Elizabeth. “Liz, I know this is going to be a real bummer. But we can handle it, right?” Liz, please say right!

  “You’ve got to be kidding, Jess.” Elizabeth’s eyes flashed with anger. “Can you believe those two? And their names, Jean and Joan. Their parents must be real morons.”

  “We can do it, Liz,” Jessica insisted. “Remember what you’ve always told me? When we work together, we can do anything.”

  “I said that?”

  “Sure.” She must have said it, Jessica thought. It sounded just like something Elizabeth would have said—once.

  “OK, Jess, we’ll work together, I guess.”

  Jessica hugged her in relief. “Terrific, Liz. Did I tell you about my absolutely sensational plans for tonight? I’m giving Danny Stauffer a second chance. He’s taking me to the drive-in!”

  “What’s playing?”

  “Who cares? Did I ever tell you about the front seat in Danny’s car? It slides back and reclines and—and I probably don’t have to draw you a picture, do I?”

  “No, Jess, pictures aren’t necessary. Have fun,” she added, going into her room.

  Happy and relieved, Jessica went to get ready for what she knew was going to be a memorable evening. She would have been anything but happy if she’d known what was going on in Elizabeth’s room.

  As Jessica changed into black pants and a low-cut blouse, Elizabeth was slipping into a new miniskirt even shorter than the green one that hung in her closet. Fifteen minutes later she checked herself out in the full-length mirror. Her blue-green eyes glowed sexily, emphasized by perfect makeup. Her long, sun-streaked blond hair swung gracefully around her shoulders.

  “Not bad, Liz,” she said aloud. “Not bad at all.”

  As she stepped out into the hall, she carefully stepped over the extra-long phone cord. Jessica had carried the hallway phone into her room, and Elizabeth could hear Jessica saying, “Ohhhh, Danny, do you really think we could do that?” Her voice was very breathy.

  Elizabeth went down the hall to Steven’s room and stuck her head in the doorway. The quiet Percy twins had finished unpacking and were sitting on the bed.

  “Hi, kids, how are you doing?”

  “Fine,” they said in unison.

  “Great. I thought my mom might be in here, but I guess she’s downstairs.”

  “She went out,” Jean said.

  “With your father to play bridge,” Joan added.

  “Darn! I forgot all about that.”

  “Are you going to stay with us?”

  “Me? No!” Softening her voice a little, she explained. “I have a date. And so does Jess,” she added in a whisper.

  Jean and Joan looked at each other with a combination of confusion and panic. Were they going to be left alone their first night in a strange house?

  “Hey, don’t worry. We’ll think of something. Come on.” Without a word the Percy twins followed Elizabeth into the hall and down the stairs into the living room.

  “Look, kids, Jess is going to the movies tonight. Do you like drive-ins?”

  Joan and Jean nodded solemnly.

  “She won’t mind if you tag along with her, OK?”

  More nods.

  Elizabeth started for the front door, then stopped. “One more thing. Tell Jessica I’m really sorry and that I’ll make it up to her.” As she went out the door, she said, “Tell Jess that something vitally important came up.”

  Six

  Jessica hummed as she put the finishing touches on her makeup. She added a bit more blusher and lip gloss and then looked critically at her face in the mirror. The twenty minutes she had spent doing her eyes had been worth it.

  She checked the way her black pants and red blouse showed off her slender figure. “Good thing you lost those two pounds, Jess,” she told herself. “Dan wouldn’t want to put his arms around a blimpo.”

  Then she grabbed her purse and sailed out of the room. As she went past Elizabeth’s room, Jessica felt a twinge of guilt. She shouldn’t be sticking Elizabeth with the twins, she thought. But it had been so long since she’d had any fun. She’d make it up to her sister, she promised silently.

  Jean and Joan Percy were sitting in the living room, just where Elizabeth had left them. As soon as she saw them, Jessica lost her happy smile and almost lost her temper. What in the world were those two little creeps doing in the living room when she had a date coming? They were definitely not part of the image she wanted to present to Danny.

  “Well,” she said. “Well, well.” How quickly could she get rid of them? “Don’t you have some homework to do?” she asked hopefully.

  “There’s no school tomorrow,” said Jean.

  “It’s Saturday,” said Joan.

  “Great. Just my luck,” Jessica said. “Maybe you could get a head start on the work. It’s not a good idea to leave studying to the last minute, you know.” And I should know, she thought. I do most of my studying five minutes before a test.

  When the girls didn’t take her up on that suggestion, Jessica felt a touch of panic. She was determined to get them out of the living room before Danny arrived.

  “Hey, kids, I’ve got it! You could go up to Liz’s room and play whatever is in those little black cases for her. She really likes music. I mean, that would really make her night.”

  “Those are flutes,” said Jean.

  “Liz isn’t in her room,” said Joan.

  “She’s not? Where is she?” Before either twin could answer, Jessica came up with what she hoped was the right answer. “Oh, I see. She must be in the kitchen fixing a snack for you. She’s just great at that. That sister of mine is so sweet and thoughtful,” she said. And if she’s not in the kitchen, Jessica added to herself, I will be violently ill immediately.

  “Liz went out,” said Jean. “She said she had an important date.”

  “She said to tell you she was sorry and that she’d make it up to you,” Joan added. “She said you’d take us to the movies tonight.”

  “She went where? She said what?” Jessica was stunned. It couldn’t be happening to her. She didn’t deserve this kind of treatment from her sister. It was a joke, that’s what it was, an elaborate practical joke just to scare her.

  Another look at those identical serious faces and Jessica knew that Elizabeth was not going to pop into the room shouting “Gotcha.” It was a joke, all right, a deadly serious one.

  “No, no, no,” she said. “I’ve got plans for tonight, and they do not include a cast of thousands.”

  Her mind worked frantically as she paced back and forth across the room. A baby-sitter! That’s it, hire a sitter! Great, Jessica, she told herself in disgust. You’ve got exactly seventy-five cents. Not even the neighbor’s dog would sit for wages like that.

>   Jessica was ready to grab any sensible solution. Forget sensible—any solution at all would do.

  “I bet you two have stayed at home without a sitter lots of times.” Hope was still alive in Jessica’s heart.

  Both girls shook their heads, their panic now as obvious as Jessica’s.

  Jessica considered and then immediately rejected the idea of leaving them on their own. Her parents would probably ground her until she was old enough to collect Social Security checks.

  Never in all her sixteen years had Jessica Wakefield been so angry at her sister.

  How could she do this to me? she raged silently. She knew Elizabeth had been sick, desperately sick. But Jessica had been patient and loving, hadn’t she? And this was her reward?

  How am I going to get out of this mess? she asked the ceiling. Just then the front doorbell rang.

  “Oh, rats, he’s here!” She looked wildly around the room, hoping a solution might pop out of thin air.

  The doorbell sounded again.

  “It’s not fair. It’s absolutely the most unfair thing that’s ever happened to me in my entire life!” Jessica stormed as she opened the front door.

  “Why, hello there.” Even in the depths of despair, Jessica could always manage a dazzling smile.

  Tall, good-looking Danny Stauffer stepped into the foyer, returning the smile as he looked Jessica over.

  “You’re gorgeous, as usual,” he said, putting his arms around her and kissing her on the mouth long and hard.

  At that moment Jessica didn’t care if the whole world were sitting in the living room with the Percy twins. Danny Stauffer knew how to kiss a girl better than any boy Jessica had ever dated. She melted into his arms for a second kiss.

  “Jess,” he murmured.

  “Hmmmmmm?” She wanted to prolong the kiss and the feeling of his strong body against hers.

  “Jess,” he said again, shaking her slightly. “I think we’ve got company.” He was grinning and looking into the living room.

  “Company? That’s nice.” She didn’t move.

  “There are two munchkins watching us. Maybe we’d better wait till we get to the drive-in.”

  Munchkins? Watching? Rats! They were still there.