SVH10-Wrong Kind of Girl (4 page)

Cara Walker sailed through the first cheer as if she'd never left the team. Jessica was congratulating herself on coaching her friend when Annie Whitman stepped forward and began her routine.

All that was required for the first routine was a simple cheer, but Annie performed with a grace that made the cheer extra special. She added flourishes and fancy moves that some of the girls on the squad had been working on for months.

"Go, Gladiators!" Annie yelled, leaping through every motion with precision and ease. It was apparent to everyone watching, except perhaps Jessica, that Annie was quite simply the most talented new girl there, and one of the prettiest as well. She finished off by dashing across the floor into two cartwheels and sailing high into a final, breathtaking back flip that made even Maria Santelli proud.

Applause exploded in the gym. Annie, her face flushed with excitement and happiness, returned to her place among the hopefuls, who heaped congratulations upon her. Jessica's face

was possibly the only one in the gym that wasn't happy.

The glow of Annie's triumph was still floating in the air when Sandra Bacon jogged to the center of the gym with her group and stepped out to take her turn. Jessica watched her hopefully and was pleased to see Sandy move quite satisfactorily through the cheer.

Ricky Capaldo circulated among the five cheerleaders, collecting the sheets with their choices for the twenty-five semifinalists. Passing Annie, he gave her a broad and encouraging smile.

"Great going, Miss Flashdance," he joked.

Annie blushed prettily.

Ricky made his way through the crowd of eager girls, seated himself on a bench, and began tallying the votes. Cara Walker was in, as was Sandra Bacon, and, of course, Annie Whitman.

"Hey, Jess," said Ricky, "you forgot to put Annie's name on your sheet."

"Who?" said Jessica.

"Annie Whitman. Everybody put her name down. You must have forgotten."

"I didn't forget, Ricky," said Jessica.

Just then, Annie came running up to them, glowing and happy.

"Is that all for today?" she said. "Because I have a date."

I'll bet you have,
Jessica thought angrily.

"Yep, that's it," Ricky said warmly. "The list will be posted tomorrow."

Annie flashed a smile at Jessica, then hurried back toward the stands.

Jessica watched her in annoyance. She saw Annie move up the steps to join handsome Tim Bradley.

"But he's a senior, and she's only a sophomore," Jessica muttered. She was mildly interested in Tim herself and had thought he was there to watch her and maybe to buy her a Coke afterward. But there he was, leaving with Easy Annie!

She turned to see Helen sitting beside her, checking the selections.

"You'd better keep an eye on your brother, Helen," Jessica hissed.

"What?" Helen said, looking toward the stands. Tim and Annie were standing close together.

"Do you see who he's with?"

"Annie Whitman?"

"Don't you care if your brother runs around with the school tramp?" Jessica snapped.

Helen Bradley frowned unhappily as she watched Tim and Annie leaving the gym together. "I have heard the rumors," she said.

"They aren't rumors," Jessica said, and to herself she made a vow:
Easy Annie will never be on the cheerleading squad, and that's final!

While Jessica watched Tim and Annie, someone had her eye on Jessica. And that someone had a pretty good idea of what was going

through Jessica's head.
She's really got it in for Annie,
Elizabeth thought.
And I can't think of a single way to change her mind.

"I want you to know it's been really fantastic talking with you, Liz," Enid joked lightly.

Elizabeth continued staring at Jessica in silence.

"I mean, I'm so glad you brought me along to keep you company."

Still there was no response from Elizabeth.

"Hey! Earth to Wakefield. Come in, Wakefield." Enid practically shouted, giving Elizabeth a gentle poke in the ribs. "Liz, what
is
the matter? Watching tryouts is supposed to be fun."

"Everything's fine, Enid." Elizabeth forced a small smile. "I mean, I
am
having fun. Especially watching Annie Whitman. She's terrific, isn't she?"

"Yeah, terrific, Liz, so why that very
un
terrific look on your face?"

"What look?" Elizabeth asked a little too sharply.

"Like you just saw something black and creepy crawl across the floor or maybe overheard a plot to destroy the world--that look."

Elizabeth giggled. "You're a nut, Enid Rollins."

"That's me all right, old Zany Rollins," Enid said dryly. "Seriously, Liz, you look upset. And you were watching Jessica, not Annie. What's your sister up to this time?"

Enid was all too familiar with Jessica's schemes, having been the target of one of them not too long ago. She wouldn't trust Jessica Wakefield as far as she could throw a truck.

"Oh, you know Jess--always up to something," Elizabeth joked. But inside she was worried. Once Jessica had made up her mind, there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

Four

Ricky Capaldo had never in his life felt so popular and so disliked at one instant. Word spread almost before he had the first thumbtack into the bulletin board in front of the girls' gym. He was immediately engulfed by half the females at Sweet Valley High, pushing and yelling as they fought to see which names were on the list. To those hopefuls who had been cut, Ricky became the object of intense outrage. But the twenty-five who made it were bouncing with joy, several of them hugging and kissing the shy, blushing squad manager.

"Hey, I don't even get to vote," Ricky protested, to no avail.

Elizabeth was making her way down the corridor in time to see Ricky surrounded by the happy girls. Annie Whitman's arms were around his neck, and she gave him a kiss.

"I think I'll post a list every day," Ricky said, laughing.

Turning around, Annie spotted Elizabeth and immediately ran over to give her a hug, too.

"Liz, I made it," Annie squealed. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Elizabeth laughed happily. "Yes, it sure is."

"I've still got to make the other cuts, though," said Annie, falling in step with Elizabeth. "Do you think you could possibly help me again? We've got a monster test coming up."

"Sure," Elizabeth answered. "Just say when."

"Well, let's see," Annie said, apparently doing a mental run-through of her busy schedule. "Tonight--no, I have a date tonight."

"Don't forget that I'm the 'Eyes and Ears' of Sweet Valley High," Elizabeth said. "Can I write that you and Tim Bradley are an item?"

"Tim Bradley?" Annie said casually. "Oh, I saw him once, but I'm not really interested."

Elizabeth marveled at the swiftness of Annie Whitman's romances. She had thought Tim was the very latest of Annie's boyfriends.

"Who then?" Elizabeth asked teasingly. "Ricky?"

Annie turned an astonished face upon Elizabeth. "Ricky Capaldo?" she said, wide-eyed.

"Well, the way you kissed him back there ..."

Annie giggled. "I was just carried away! I never thought of Ricky as a boyfriend, you know? He always seems like--I don't know, just a pal."

Elizabeth nodded slowly. Most of the girls liked Ricky a lot, but as sort of a buddy.

"Well, then, who's the lucky guy?" Elizabeth was almost afraid to find out.

Annie smiled mysteriously. "Promise not to tell?"

"Remember, I'm a reporter," Elizabeth teased again.

Annie blushed. "OK, but don't let anybody know where you got this. I've got a date with Billy and Rick."

"Huh?"

Annie laughed and her eyes danced. "Billy's taking me to the Dairi Burger, and then later on Rick Andover is taking me to the beach for a late swim."

Elizabeth studied Annie in amazement. Here was a girl fighting to keep her grades up so she could make the cheering squad, but she had two dates. She already had a bad reputation but was perfectly willing to have an item in
The Oracle
about her going out with two guys, one of them a dropout with a really bad name around town.

"Annie," said Elizabeth, "you're a wonder."

Annie smiled, taking it as a compliment. "Boys I can handle. It's math that's a pain in the neck."

Annie waved and walked off down the corridor. "We'll set something up later, OK?"

"Fine," Elizabeth called after her.

Elizabeth didn't print the item about Annie's "double-date." Instead, she put in the names of the girls who had made the first cut on the cheering squad and mentioned that Annie Whitman, Cara Walker, and Sandy Bacon looked like the favorites.

The story in
The Oracle
had seemed to Elizabeth a fairly ordinary item, until she was pounced upon a few days later by a furious Jessica.

"Elizabeth Wakefield," Jessica declared as they were getting ready for school, "aren't there any rules in journalism about printing the truth?"

"Pardon me?" Elizabeth said, tuning in to her twin sister's building anger.

"What do you mean by saying that Easy Annie is one of the favorites to make the cheerleading squad?"

"Jess, everybody thought she was terrific."

"Not everybody! Not some of the more important members of the squad."

"OK. So you don't like her. Did you hear the applause she got?"

"Sure," said Jessica. "All her boyfriends. That's about two hundred right there. And I'm not the only one. Helen Bradley is on to her now, too."

"Uh-oh," said Elizabeth. "Did Tim Bradley tell her something?"

"Only everything. That Easy Annie lived up to her nickname all the way, that's all." Jessica rummaged through her twin's closet until she found the blouse she was looking for.

"I'm sorry, Jess," Elizabeth said. "But I report what I see, and Annie was the most popular girl to try out. Those are facts."

"Yes, and she'll never make the squad. That's another fact," Jessica snapped.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know."

Jessica disappeared into the bathroom,

slamming the door before Elizabeth could question her further.
Maybe Annie will get so interested in some guy that she'll forget about cheerleading,
Elizabeth thought.
Sure, and maybe the Pacific Ocean will dry up and become a desert,
she added to herself.

Elizabeth was on the front lawn one afternoon when Annie dashed up to her, hugged her, and said, "I got an A on the math test! I think I'll nominate you for Woman of the Year!"

Despite her many dates, Annie seemed to have gotten the hang of math. Elizabeth had gone to Annie's apartment two more times to coach her, each time hiding her visit from Jessica.

She thought back to the last session and sighed out loud. She and Annie had just taken out their books when the doorbell rang. Annie got up to open the door, and Elizabeth could see a tiny gray-haired woman standing in the hallway.

"Annie, dear," the old lady said timidly, "I'm afraid I've misplaced my glasses, again."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Jorgenson." Annie put her arm around the woman's shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. "I always find them for you, don't I?" Annie turned back to Elizabeth. "I shouldn't be more than a few minutes. Would you mind waiting?" she asked apologetically.

Elizabeth smiled. "Go ahead. Of course I'll wait. I've got some work of my own to look at while you're on the great hunt."

A minute after Annie dashed out to Mrs.

Jorgenson's rescue, Elizabeth heard a key turn in the lock.
Oh, no,
she thought.
Just what I need, a chat with Mrs. Whitman and call-me-Johnny.
She had managed to avoid being alone with them since the first tutoring session. They both made her nervous.

"Hi, kitten, I'm home!" Mrs. Whitman called out as sire whirled into the room. Seeing Elizabeth sitting on the white sofa, Mrs. Whitman flashed her a brilliant smile. "Hi, um ..." A frown crossed her face. "Now don't tell me. I know you. You're--ah, you're--"

"Elizabeth Wakefield, Mrs. Whitman." Thank goodness Johnny wasn't with her, Elizabeth thought.

There was another brilliant smile. "Of course. Annie's pretty friend with the pretty name."

Hurry back, Annie, please,
Elizabeth prayed to herself.

"Where's my baby?" Mrs. Whitman asked.

Relieved to be off the subject of her pretty name, Elizabeth told her that Annie had gone down the hall to help out a neighbor.

"Oh, I bet it's that loony old Mrs. Jorgenson," Mrs. Whitman said in disgust. "Why Annie lets that old lady bother her is beyond me. She'd be better off staying here with a nice friend like you. And I'm going to tell her how rude she's being," Mrs. Whitman concluded. The smell of liquor mixed with the scent of her perfume.

"No, it's all right, Mrs. Whitman. Really it is," Elizabeth protested. "I think it's nice of

Annie to help out like that."
You could probably learn something from your daughter,
she added silently.

"Well, of course," said Mrs. Whitman, changing her viewpoint at once. "That's my Annie. She's so sweet, so generous with her time. I've always encouraged her to be kind to everyone."

I'll bet you have,
Elizabeth thought as she watched Mrs. Whitman sink gracefully into a dark blue, velour-covered chair. The blue was a perfect backdrop for Mrs. Whitman's white slacks and long-sleeved, white silk shirt. No one could deny that she had the looks and poise of a professional model.

"Tell me about you and Annie, Elizabeth. Have you been good friends a long time?" The bright smile was back on her lips.

Elizabeth winced at being put on the spot like that.

"Well, Mrs. Whitman, Annie and I have
known
each other for about a year. I like Annie, but I don't know if you could say we're really good friends."

As she saw the disappointed look on Mrs. Whitman's face, Elizabeth quickly added, "Annie's a year younger than I am, you know. I'm sure her
good
friends are girls her own age."