SVH05-All Night Long (11 page)

Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from laughing in her sister's face. "So is that why you stopped us?" she asked impatiently. "To apologize?"

"Uh, well... not exactly," Jessica replied, having the sense, at least, to blush. "You're never going to believe this! They're going to give me another

chance to take the test. Mr. Russo said he could tell how sick I was on Monday and he figured that was why I crashed and burned. Can you believe it?"

"Really?" Elizabeth asked, so surprised she forgot she was angry.

"Yeah! Were you sick on Monday?" Jessica asked, her brows knitting.

"No. Just upset. I'd just broken up with Todd, remember?" Elizabeth said. Her sister's short memory was almost as legendary as her mood swings.

"Oh, yeah. Right," Jessica said with a wave of her hand. "Well that looks like it's all worked out, huh?" she added, noting Elizabeth's and Todd's entwined fingers.

"Looks like," Todd replied, amused.

"That's great that you can take the test again, Jess," Elizabeth said.

"Great? It's incredible!" Jessica trilled.

"And in case you were wondering, I forgive you," Elizabeth added. "Even though you don't really deserve it."

Jessica laughed. "Oh, please. You know I never mean the things I say when I get mad. I was just

letting off steam. I know you'd never sabotage me on purpose."

Elizabeth felt Todd's grip on her hand tighten and she knew what he was thinking-that Jessica had purposely tried to sabotage
their
relationship at the beginning of the year. But she was grateful that he managed not to voice his thoughts. The last thing she could handle right then was another Jessica versus Todd standoff.

"Well, you'd better study this time," Elizabeth warned her sister. "If you fail, I don't think they're going to let you take it over
again."

"Yes,
Mom,"
Jessica said.

"So we're back together... you're back together...," Todd said, swinging his and Liz's hands back and forth. "I think we should celebrate. Maybe ice cream at Casey's after practice?"

"I am
so
there!" Jessica said enthusiastically. "I have been craving their mocha almond, like,
all
week. Where should I meet--"

"Oh, that's too bad that you can't come with us, Jess," Todd interrupted, feigning disappointment. Elizabeth pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at the mischievous glint in his eyes, not to

mention the confused expression on Jessica's face.

"But I know how it is when you've got a lot of studying to do. You have to make the hard sacrifices."

He tugged on Elizabeth's hand and led her away.

"I'll bring you back something to go!" she called over her shoulder to her sister. "Hopefully it won't melt on the way."

"Thanks a lot," Jessica said sarcastically, glowering at them as they went.

"Don't mention it!" Elizabeth sang out.

She and Todd both laughed as she settled into the crook of his arm and they turned the corner on their way to class.

***

CHAPTER
13

The beach was packed by the time Todd and Elizabeth arrived on Saturday morning. Luckily, Enid and George--who had come into town from boarding school for the competition-had saved them a place near the water where the view was unobstructed. Now all Todd and Liz had to do was find them in the crowd-no easy task considering all the beach umbrellas and sun tents blocking their view of the shoreline.

"There are too many people here," Elizabeth said into her cell as she and Todd wove their way

around beach blankets and chairs. Elizabeth stepped on some poor woman's hand and, as she turned to apologize, tripped over a little kid with a bucket and a shovel. "Sorry! Sorry!" she murmured. "Enid, give me something to go on before I maul anyone else."

"I see you!" Enid's voice rang in her ear.

"Okay, well that doesn't help me," Elizabeth joked.

"Sorry. Here. I'm waving that big straw hat my grandmother gave me."

Elizabeth scanned the throng near the water and saw the hat waving manically in the air.

"There they are!" she told Todd, relieved.

"Finally," Todd muttered. "I was about to pack it in."

By the time they dropped their things in the sand next to their friends, Elizabeth had to take a deep breath to calm her frazzled nerves. It worked quickly, though, what with the clear blue sky, the salty Pacific air, and the buzz of excitement around her. Coming in off the water was a light breeze, which would keep the salivating crowd from getting too hot. It was the perfect day for the

competition. Elizabeth yanked her notebook and pencils out of her bag to start making some notes about the atmosphere.

"I thought you guys would never get here," Enid said, dropping down on her butt next to Elizabeth on the cotton blanket.

"I know. Thanks for holding some space for us. Looks like you've been here awhile," she added, noting the hot pink of Enid's shoulders. She yanked out her SPF 45 lotion and handed it to her friend. "Here. Put some of this on before you start looking like a cooked lobster."

"Am I red?" Enid asked, alarmed, checking over her skin. "I was trying to get a little tan."

"Liz is right. You're looking more boiled than tanned," George joked.

Enid grumbled and slathered on some of Elizabeth's lotion, then jammed her spaceship-sized hat on her head. "I hate UV rays. It's like they're conspiring to keep me pasty."

"Check it out. The surfers are paddling out for their practice runs," Todd said, looking at the waves. He whistled in appreciation. "Man, those swells couldn't be more perfect. It's like

the ocean knew this competition was happening today."

" 'The ocean knew'?" Elizabeth said with a laugh. "How very Zen of you, Todd."

"Well, I have been spending a lot of time with Will lately," Todd said.

"Speaking of Will, is he even here?" Elizabeth asked.

"Haven't seen him," Enid answered.

Elizabeth scanned the horizon, trying to pick out his familiar blond hair among the surfers in the water. Unfortunately, a few of them had long blond hair and she couldn't find Will. She turned back to the beach instead.

"Hey. Isn't that Sonny Callahan over there with Lila?" she asked, pointing toward the lifeguard's chair.

"Yeah," Todd said with a scoff. "Guess he's too good to warm up."

The dark-haired surfer didn't look the least bit tense or concerned as he straddled his board, waxing it with slow circular motions. Lila, meanwhile, chattered away, looking like a sophisticated surf groupie in her white bathing suit and colorful

sarong. Elizabeth could just imagine what Lila was saying. Knowing her, she was probably promising Sonny that her daddy would sponsor him if he won. She had always been big on throwing her father's money around to get attention from guys. And girls, for that matter.

"I really hope Cara wasn't right about Will," Enid said, smoothing some lotion onto her legs. "It would suck if he didn't show."

"Didn't show?" Todd asked, turning his attention from the waves for the first time. "She said that?"

"Apparently everyone was saying that," Elizabeth told him. "She said he was depressed or something about Sonny. That he hadn't left his room all week and wasn't going to make the competition."

"Give me a break. He's going to be here," Todd said, yanking his Gladiators football T-shirt off and tossing it onto his towel. Elizabeth was momentarily distracted by the sight of her boyfriend's perfect chest.

"How do you know?" George asked.

Elizabeth blinked and eyed Todd suspiciously.

"Yeah. How
do
you know?" she asked, shoving herself up from the blanket. "Todd, do you have some

inside info you're not telling me? Because you watched me call him ten times last night and you saw how frustrating that was. If you know something-"

"Okay! Okay!" Todd said, raising both hands in surrender. "I might know a
little
something."

Elizabeth felt as if she were about to burst from curiosity. "Well? What is it? Is he coming? Has he been depressed? Sick? What?"

"I could tell you, but then it would mess up my surprise," Todd teased, knocking Elizabeth's shoulder with his own.

"Your
surprise? What do you have to do with this?" she demanded.

Todd grinned. "You'll find out soon enough."

Elizabeth groaned and tipped her head back.

"Guys," she said to Enid.

"I know. No one will ever figure them out," Enid deadpanned.

A bullhorn blared across the beach, signaling all the surfers in from their practice runs. Instantly, dozens of boards turned toward the shore. Sonny Callahan got up and zipped his wet suit, blowing right by Lila without a word as he made his way to the big blue tent at the center of the beach.

"All surfers, please report to the main tent for final check-in. The first heat will begin in fifteen minutes!" the announcer called out.

"Whatever's going on with him, Will had better get here soon if he wants to compete," George said.

Elizabeth's heart started to pound with anticipation. Up and down the beach she spotted the SVH faithful, all of them scanning the crowd, murmuring under their breath. As the surfers trailed from the tent one by one with their competition numbers, the noise level escalated. Where was Will? After all those years of training and everyone pinning their hopes on him, was he really just going to bail?

"I can't take this," Elizabeth muttered, shielding her eyes as she looked up the beach.

"He has three minutes," George said, glancing at his watch. "Maybe Sonny had some kind of surf mafia kidnap him or something."

"Now, that would be a good story, Liz," Enid joked.

"If he doesn't show up, everyone is going to be crushed," Elizabeth said, glaring at her irritatingly silent boyfriend. Todd simply shrugged in response.

The crowd waited in suspense, necks craning as they searched for any sign of Will Chase. Elizabeth had all but given up hope and was already trying to think up a new angle for her story when a ripple of applause started at the far end of the beach by the parking lot.

"Is it him?" she asked, standing on her tiptoes.

"I can't see anything," Enid replied, jumping up as well.

The cheers worked their way down the beach until they grew to a deafening roar. Finally, the sea of bodies parted and Elizabeth caught sight of Will trotting toward the main tent, a gleaming new surfboard tucked under one arm. Elizabeth was surprised at how relieved she felt. But the last thing she wanted was to see that cocky Sonny Callahan win without so much as a challenge.

"Finally!" Todd said, clapping his hands. "I was beginning to wonder if my board would ever have a crack at those waves."

"Your board?" Elizabeth blurted out.

She glanced at Will just as he disappeared into the tent, random hands slapping his back as he went. Sure enough, she recognized the yellow and

blue surfboard that was usually propped up against the wall in Todd's room. While Todd liked to surf every once in a while, he wasn't an avid wave-chaser like some people, so when his uncle had given him the professional-grade board, he'd been afraid to take it out. Afraid he might deck and hurt himself and the board. So it had sat in his room untouched for the last year.

Todd grinned at Liz's incredulous expression.

"Well, you know I was never going to use the thing and it was such a waste with it just sitting there collecting dust. Then Will and I were talking one day and he said he'd always wanted a Tore, but he couldn't afford a custom board. I told him to come over and check mine out, so he did, and he loved it."

"So you gave it to him?" Elizabeth asked.

"I would have, but he wanted to pay for it, so we made a deal," Todd replied, rubbing his hands together. "That was how I got the rest of the money for my Ducati."

Suddenly, Elizabeth remembered Todd and Will's cryptic conversation from the last time they had all been at the beach. And it had been

Monday-the last time Will had been seen at SVH-when Todd had gleefully announced that he finally had enough cash for his dream motorcycle. It all fell into place.

"So that's what you guys were talking about," she said slowly.

"Yep," Todd said with a self-satisfied grin.

"But that still doesn't explain why he was absent all week," Enid pointed out.

"Oh, he cut school so he could practice on the new board," Todd replied.

"You knew this all week and you didn't tell me?" Elizabeth exclaimed, whacking Todd's arm with her reporter's pad.

"Ow! Well, first of all, we weren't talking most of the week, remember?" he said, causing Elizabeth to blush. "And secondly, Will swore me to secrecy. He didn't want it, oh, I don't know, ending up on the school's Web site that he wasn't really sick. He could have gotten in trouble."

"I wouldn't have reported it if he didn't want me to," Elizabeth grumbled, crossing her arms over her stomach.

Her three friends eyed one another dubiously.

"Yeah, right," they all said in unison, cracking themselves up.

"Whatever," Elizabeth said, her face burning. But she didn't argue the point any further. She knew as well as they did that if something that newsworthy had dropped into her lap, she would have
had
to report it. Otherwise, she wouldn't be a real reporter.

"And we're ready for the first heat!" the announcer called out, stealing the attention of the crowd. "Competing in this heat, Johnny Perez, Dustin Hallgren, Gavin McGee, Sonny Callahan, and Sweet Valley's own Will Chase!"

The crowd roared at the mention of Will's name.

"The competitors will enter the water at the sound of the horn."

Virtual silence took over the beach. Elizabeth held her breath. Then the horn sounded and she shouted along with the rest of the fans. The surfers ran forward and dove into the waves, paddling out to the breakers.

Will caught the first good wave. He popped up on his board effortlessly and cut a zigzag through the glassy curl, taking Elizabeth's breath away. She scribbled a few notes as Will rode the wave