Double Love, chapter 9

It was one of those mornings that made Elizabeth think her sister had been a bird in a former life. Jessica was chirping away nonstop at the breakfast table.

"Didn't I tell you, Miss Sourpuss, that it would all blow over?" Jessica burbled over her Rice Krispies. "Why, the entire school has totally forgotten about you and Rick."

"About who and who?"

"I mean about Rick and me. Nobody has said a word to me about it in days."

"How nice for you, Jess. They've talked to me about it. Practically all anybody talks about is me going to Kelly's and what I did with Rick."

"Who said that?"

“Actually, Jessica, you're right. Nobody talks about it. They just hint! They talk to each other about it, but when I walk up, they stop. I'm a walking conversation stopper."

"I think you're just imagining things."

"No I'm not, Jessica. Enid filled me in. Everybody's talking about me and Rick, and they all believe it. On Wednesday there was a big message on the blackboard in the Oracle office when I walked in, too."

Jessica leaned forward. "What did it say?" she asked, as though it were some juicy gossip about somebody else.

"It said: 'Scoop! Big-shot editor Wakefield makes news! Why isn't it in the paper?'"

"That is vile," Jessica snapped. "You're not the editor! It isn't your decision to print such a story."

Elizabeth shook her head in dismay. "Jessica, sometimes I truly do wonder about you."

"Lizzie, I promise that anytime I hear anybody say anything about you, I'll set them straight."

Elizabeth stared forlornly out the window at the peaceful swimming pool. Wouldn't it be nice to sit out there all day and not have to face anyone at Sweet Valley High?

"Are there people you're worried about?" Jessica asked anxiously. "Because I'll tell them, if there are."

If only someone could convince Todd Wilkins of the truth. Elizabeth felt tears forming behind her eyes. Enid had told her about their trip to the beach and how Todd had heard all the lurid details and believed them. How could he?

"No," said Elizabeth. "Anybody who would believe things about me without even finding out the truth isn't anybody I care about."

"You're not going to tell Mom and Dad on me?"

"Jessica, you know I'd never do something like that to you."

Jessica gazed at her wonderful sister, and a wave of love flooded through her. She grabbed Elizabeth and hugged her.

"You're so wonderful to me, Lizzie! Sometimes I think I don't deserve it!"

In Elizabeth's mood, that was all it took for the tears to flow. She wept, hugging Jessica as hard as she could. "Oh, Jessie, you're wonderful, too. You deserve everything. Everybody loves you, and they should."

"Lizzie-you're crying!"

"It's all right, Jessie. I'm just upset-about Steve and-things." And she hurried from the kitchen to fix her face. She would show none of this at school. Elizabeth Wakefield would hold her head high.

Actually, the gossip about the Kelly's Roadhouse fiasco did seem to be dying down. When Elizabeth got to school that day, the corridors were buzzing with a new and much more serious crisis-the Gladiators' football field. George Fowler-Lila Fowler's father-was throwing the school off the field, the rumor said. He was one of the richest men in Sweet Valley already, and he wanted to take over the football field to put up a factory. Now the big mystery of the football field made sense.

"George Fowler is stealing our football field," lanky, dark-haired Winston Egbert told Elizabeth breathlessly. For once, he didn't appear to be joking.

"No, you idiot," said Dana Larson, who was walking by. Dana was the lead singer for the Droids, Sweet Valley High's hottest rock band. "It's the Patmans. Bruce Patman's father has bought the land, and he's going to put in an amusement park."

"An amusement park?" said Winston, astounded. "Hey, that wouldn't be so bad!" He turned and dashed down the corridor. "Hey, did you hear? Bruce Patman's father is building a Disneyland on the football field."

Elizabeth, from her experience as a reporter for The Oracle, knew there was no sense believing the distorted rumors circulating through the halls. She headed for the newspaper office and Mr. Collins.

"Mr. Collins," she said, "what's going on? I've heard crazy rumors."

"They're not rumors, Elizabeth," said Mr. Collins, looking grim. "They're true enough."

Sweet Valley's two most powerful families, the Patmans and the Fowlers, were at each other's throats again, and the high school was caught in the middle. The Patman-Fowler feud-pitting the old, established Henry Wilson Patman and his canning industry money against George Fowler and his new money made through silicon chips-was going to be fought out on the Gladiators' football field.

"The school had leased the field from the city, but the lease ran out recently," said Mr. Collins. "Now George Fowler is trying to buy the land so he can put up a new factory."

"Right across from the school?" said Elizabeth, aghast.

"That's what he wants. The Fowlers judge everything by how they can make more money."

"But where would the Gladiators play football?"

"I don't think that interests George Fowler, Liz."

"But I heard the Patmans want the field, Mr. Collins."

"Oh, yes, they do. When they heard George Fowler was going to buy the land for a factory, they went into shock. They've gotten a court injunction to block the sale. They don't want a factory there."

"Well, good," said Elizabeth. "Then we support the Patmans."

"Wrong, Elizabeth. The Patmans don't want the Gladiators on the field either. They want to plant a formal English garden, the way it was in 1916 when it was part of the Vanderhorn estate."

"Who were the Vanderhorns?"

"The Vanderhorns were one of the original families in Sweet Valley."

"So?"

"Bruce Patman's mother was a Vanderhorn."

"My goodness," said Elizabeth. "What a mess."

"Yes. And I'm afraid it's all yours."

"Mine?" Elizabeth felt her pulse racing. She had never been given a story this big before.

"Yes. John is busy with the game against Palisades High. If we ever get to play it. So this one's all yours."

"You mean we might not be able to use the field for the Palisades game, Mr. Collins?"

"As of right now, Elizabeth, nobody can use the field for anything. The Fowlers have claimed it, and the Patmans' court injunction keeps everybody off the land until this is settled."

"But the team has to practice!"

"Not on their own field, Elizabeth. Have fun."

Court injunctions might keep school officials and even big shots like the Patmans and the Fowlers off a disputed football field, but they were useless against the student body of Sweet Valley High. By lunchtime the rumors had totally engulfed the school. Kids were milling around in front on the steps and spilling over onto the lawn.

In the middle of the throng was Ken Matthews, the powerful blond captain of the Gladiators' football team. Next to him was Todd Wilkins and some of the other school jocks. All eyes were turned to them. Something had to be done.

"What are we going to do, Kenny?" somebody yelled. "They can't take our field."

"OK, calm down," Ken said, gazing out over the crowd. "Don't worry. Number one, the Gladiators have never lost anything without a fight!"

A roar of approval greeted this comment.

"And, number two," Todd added, "we need that field more than anyone else. They can build a factory or a garden anyplace!"

"Right on," somebody yelled.

"And it's ours!" Ken shouted.

Another roar from the assembled students.

Looking out the cafeteria window, Mrs. Waller, the school dietitian, saw the rally building in size. She put down her clipboard and hurried down the corridor to the gym.

"Coach!" Mrs. Waller called out.

Coach Schultz looked up from the play diagrams he was working on in preparation for the big game against the Palisades Pumas.

"What's the matter, Mrs. Waller?"

"Coach, I think we've got trouble. The football team is out in front of the school, and they're all worked up."

"My team?" said Coach Schultz, getting up quickly.

"Kenny Matthews is in the middle of it."

"What are we waiting for?"

And together, Coach Schultz and Mrs. Waller hurried upstairs toward the principal's office.

"Chrome Dome's going to have a fit," said Mrs. Waller.

"My boys won't do anything wrong," said Coach Schultz. "They're just high-spirited."

They swept into Mr. Cooper's office in time to hear the announcement on the school's intercom system.

"Coach Schultz, please report to the principal's office!"

"What are we going to do?" Jessica shouted, having pushed through the crowd to head up the cheerleaders.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," Todd yelled. "We're going to stage a sit-in right on the football field!"

A cheer went up.

"If they want to build anything on this field, they're going to have to build it on top of us," Ken shouted to the crowd.

Another cheer went up, and the students began rushing across the great lawn toward the field.

"Come on!" Jessica yelled, piloting the cheerleaders.

"Follow me, Gladiators," Ken shouted.

And just like an army of Roman warriors, the student body cascaded across the campus, pouring out of the school, dropping everything, racing to take possession of the football field.

Inside his office Mr. Cooper watched in frustration.

"We've got to stop them!" he said.

But nobody could stop the rush of students now.

Elizabeth ran behind them, furiously taking notes on her steno pad about what was now the most exciting story ever to hit campus. And there was Todd, right in the middle of it all. By the time she got to the field, a group of angry kids had cornered Lila Fowler and Bruce Patman, the children of the two families involved.

"Hey, Fowler, what's with you?" Winston Egbert demanded of Lila. "Isn't your father rich enough already?"

"You leave my father out of this!" Lila screamed.

"A factory-how gross." Bruce Patman sneered. "That's all the Fowlers think of-grubby newcomers!"

"Listen to Mr. Two-Face," spat Winston.

"Yeah, your father wants some look-but-don't-touch garden," said Emily Mayer.

"Watch your face, Emily," Bruce said. "A garden would be an improvement over this mud shop. Besides, all the practice in the world won't help those lousy Gladiators!"

"You're a traitor, Patman!" somebody yelled.

"Where's your school spirit?" Jessica yelled at him.

"Aw, save it, Wakefield!"

"You and your family don't care about Sweet Valley High. You're a disgrace!" Jessica yelled.

"Hey, when it comes to having a disgrace in the family, Jessica Wakefield, just consider your dear sister, the pub crawler. And I do mean crawler!"

Elizabeth was taking notes when she heard it, and her face went bright red. Instantly she felt all eyes on her.

"You leave my sister out of this!" Jessica yelled.

"Why should we?" said Lila Fowler. "You're all treating Bruce and me like we're lepers! I thought you were a friend of mine, Jessica Wakefield."

"Lila, I am, but-"

"But, my backside," said Bruce. "And when it comes to a disgraceful family, Wakefield, how about your father and Marianna West-that trampy broad he's fooling around with."

“Now, just a minute," Elizabeth said, stepping forward. "Marianna West works for my father's law firm."

"Yeah? Where? On the couch, maybe?" Bruce sneered.

"You liar!"

Bruce laughed. "Sure! Your father spends all his time running around with a sexy woman, and you call that 'working for the firm.'"

"They're working together-to stop you," Elizabeth shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Go put it in the paper!"

"Never mind that," Todd was saying, pushing his way to the front. "We're interested in saving the field. I think that's enough out of you," he told Bruce.

"OK," Ken shouted, climbing up onto the bleacher seats and addressing them all. "Are we giving up the field?"

"No!" came the roaring response.

"Are they putting up a factory?"

"No!"

"A garden?"

"No!"

"Come on, everybody," Jessica shouted. "The Gladiator cheer!"

She leaped down onto the track and led everybody in a Sweet Valley fight song.

Elizabeth frantically took notes, watching Todd from the corner of her eye.

This was the biggest story she had ever been given, but still Elizabeth kept hearing the hateful words Bruce Patman had flung out about her father and Marianna West.

Suddenly, as if seeing a missing puzzle piece falling into place, Elizabeth remembered the day the previous week when she'd accidentally walked into her parents' room while they were in the midst of an argument. Not an argument, really. They weren't shouting at each other or anything like that. It was more of a heated discussion. Her mother had seemed tense, and her father had worn an uncharacteristic frown.

She'd only caught the tail end of their conversation, but it had brought a sour taste to her mouth nevertheless.

"I never said my work was more important than yours," Ned Wakefield had argued in a voice straining to remain patient. "What I said was that it would be nice if we saw more of you...."

It might have been just a minor complaint. Their mother had been working longer hours than usual lately, due to a special design project she was involved in. But the incident bothered Elizabeth because her parents almost never argued.