SVH09-Racing Hearts

Racing Hearts (Sweet Valley High #9)

Kate William

(From The Back Cover) RACING HEARTS

Love on the run
...

Roger Barrett has always had a hopeless crush on glamorous, wealthy Lila Fowler. The only attention Lila ever pays to him, though, is to make fun of him in front of her friends. But why shouldn't she, he thinks. After all, he's clumsy and shy and works secretly as a janitor after school.

When Roger wins the qualifying heat for a big race, he becomes a school celebrity overnight. And to his surprise, even Lila starts to chase after him. But Roger knows if he runs in the race finals, he'll lose his job. Will Lila still notice him when he's no longer a star?

RACING HEARTS

Lila turned on the sweetness in her voice. "Roger, I've seen the way you run. I bet you're faster than anyone in school." She batted her eyelashes as she gazed at him.

"You really think so?" Roger asked. His voice betrayed his nervousness at actually speaking to his dream girl.

"I bet you're even faster than Bruce Patman. And, Roger," Lila added, making her voice husky, "I'd love to see you beat
him.
You ought to enter the race."

"I can't." Roger heaved a deep sigh.

Lila widened her eyes in disbelief. "And I thought you were such a strong, forceful person. I'm disappointed in you."

In an instant Roger realized that right now he meant nothing to Lila, but if he ran and won, there was a chance of changing that.

"You're right, Lila," he said with conviction. "I should be in the race." He hopped over the wire fence and dashed toward the starting blocks.

Bantam Books in the Sweet Valley High Series Ask your bookseller for the books you have missed

#1 DOUBLE LOVE

#2 SECRETS

#3 PLAYING WITH FIRE

#4 POWER PLAY

#5 ALL NIGHT LONG

#6 DANGEROUS LOVE

#7 DEAR SISTER

#8 HEARTBREAKER

#9 RACING HEARTS

RACING HEARTS

Written by

Kate William

Created by

FRANCINE PASCAL

BANTAM BOOKS TORONTO * NEW YORK * LONDON * SYDNEY

RL 7, IL age 12 and up

RACING HEARTS

A Bantam Book June 1984

Sweet Valley High is a trademark of Francine Pascal

Conceived by Francine Pascal

Produced by Cloverdale Press Inc., 133 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10003

Cover art by James Mathewuse

All rights reserved.

Copyright
© 1984
by Francine Pascal.

Cover art copyright
©
1984 by Cloverdale Press Inc.

This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by
mimeograph or any other means, without permission.

For information address: Bantam Books, Inc.

ISBN
0-553-24131-1

Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words
"Bantam
Books" and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S.
Patent and Trademark
Office and in other countries.
Marca Registrada. Bantam
Books, Inc., 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, New
York
10103.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

O 0987654321

To Debra Spector

(This Page Is Blank.)

One

"Jessica, I've been looking all over the house for you," Elizabeth Wakefield told her identical twin sister. "Mom wants you downstairs right away. She's making pancakes."

Jessica continued to stand before the full-length mirror in her parents' bedroom, admiring the way she looked in her mother's chocolate-brown suit. "I'll be down in a second. What do you think, Liz? I know brown's not my usual color, but I think it's a good color for business, don't you?"

Elizabeth sat down on her parents' king-size bed, eyeing her twin as if she were an alien who had just crawled out of a spaceship. The color
did
go well with Jessica's blond hair and tanned, flawless complexion, and the lines of the suit showed off the slender, shapely legs that were a mirror image of Elizabeth's own. But to say that Jessica wasn't the business-suit

type would have been the understatement of the decade.

"What's this all about?" Elizabeth asked. "Your role in the next school play?"

Elizabeth regretted her words as soon as they were out of her mouth. The week before, her twin had seen her world come tumbling down like a house of straw in a windstorm. Jessica had not only suffered the humiliation of losing surf champ Bill Chase to another girl, but she'd also discovered that the movie producer she'd been certain had come to watch her in the school play had barely even noticed her. It seemed he'd been scouting Bill instead. It wasn't so much that Jessica had cared about either Bill or a movie career, but the embarrassment of being shot down twice in one night was too much for even the self-assured Jessica to bear. Elizabeth couldn't remember ever seeing her twin so crushed, and now, she realized, her thoughtless remark had probably only made Jessica feel worse.

"Oh, Jess, I'm sorry," Elizabeth lamented instantly.

Jessica turned around as she took off the tailored jacket and flung it carelessly on the bed. "Sorry about what? My not going to Hollywood?" As if to emphasize her complete lack of interest, Jessica casually ran her slender fingers through her shoulder-length hair before unbuttoning her mother's cream-colored blouse.

2

"It's no big deal. I hear they're all a bunch of phonies anyway."

"Come on, Jess, you don't really mean that," Elizabeth said as she placed the jacket on a wooden hanger.

"Yes, I do," Jessica said, continuing to undress as she spoke. "I was thinking about it, Liz, and all the guy ever said was that he was offering Bill a screen test. I'll bet you anything they take him to L.A., stick a camera in front of his face, and send him home the same day. Sounds like a big waste of time to me." Jessica donned a pair of blue running shorts and matching tank top.

Elizabeth picked up the rest of her mother's suit and hung it back in the closet. "And what does that have to do with modeling Mom's clothes? You usually spend Sunday mornings between the sheets."

"Too excited to sleep this morning. I've got at
least
three hundred and thirty-seven things to do."

"But aren't you going to the beach with Cara?"

Jessica shook her head emphatically.

Elizabeth remained puzzled. Cara Walker was her sister's best friend. "What's the matter? You two have another fight?"

"No, sister dear. What I'm trying to tell you is that I'm no longer interested in spending idle hours in the sun gossiping with my girlfriends. It's
sooo
juvenile."

Elizabeth reached over and grabbed her sister's arm. "OK, Jess, what's up
now?"

"I was going to tell you over breakfast, but I've decided it's time I stopped being so frivolous with my life. I should be thinking about the future."

Elizabeth stared at her sister in amazement. Was this really her twin who was saying these words? "Since when have you cared about life after high school?" Elizabeth questioned.

Jessica plopped down on the bed. "The more I thought about this Hollywood thing, the more I realized how little planning for the future I've actually done. Neither have most of my friends, for that matter. So I decided now is the time to begin," she said. "To get a head start on everyone else," she added in typical Jessica Wakefield fashion.

"Isn't this a bit sudden?" Elizabeth asked. "Last week you were ready to be an actress, now you say it's something else. How do you know you won't change your mind and forget it all as soon as you go outside and see what a nice day it is?"

Jessica brushed aside her sister's doubting words. "Look, Liz, sometimes an idea strikes you, and you just know it's the right thing to do. You're a perfect example. Didn't you just realize one day that you were going to be a writer?"

Elizabeth fell silent. She never talked much

about her writing to anyone, with the exception of Mr. Collins, the faculty adviser of
The Oracle,
Sweet Valley High's school newspaper. "It didn't exactly happen like that," Elizabeth said. "But
my
goal is beside the point. I just can't help wondering if this new focus on a career is only something to occupy your time while you're between boys."

"That's where you're dead wrong, Elizabeth Wakefield," Jessica said, flashing her sister a look of indignation. "I'm serious about this. I never said I was giving up boys. But I've got to think about other things, too. I've just come to realize there's more to life than drive-ins on Saturday nights and beach parties every Sunday afternoon."

Elizabeth was still dubious. It wasn't the first time she'd heard her sister resolve to change her ways. "All I can say is I'll believe it when I see it."

Jessica got up from the bed. "Thanks a lot, Elizabeth," she spat out angrily. "You know, I expected a little more encouragement from you. I thought you'd be thrilled that I'd finally decided to set some goals for myself. Isn't that what you've been trying to get me to do for ages?"

"Well, yes," Elizabeth admitted.

"So why can't you believe I'm ready to start?"

She didn't know how Jessica did it, but somehow Elizabeth had managed to wind up on the

defensive once again. Nevertheless, there was something about the conviction she heard in Jessica's voice that made her willing to give her sister the benefit of the doubt. "I'm sorry, Jess. I guess I'm feeling a little like one of the townspeople in the story of the boy who cried wolf. But if'you're serious and if there's anything I can do to help, just give a yell."

"Thanks. I knew I could count on you, Liz." Jessica hugged her sister impulsively. "Now, didn't you say something about a nice hot stack of pancakes?"

Elizabeth gasped. "Mom's going to kill us!" she cried. "The pancakes will be ice cold by now."

But Jessica knew better. Linking her arm through Elizabeth's, she slowly and calmly led her sister down the carpeted stairs. "I'll bet Mom waited." She inhaled deeply. "I don't smell a thing."

Jessica was right, Elizabeth noted as the two walked into the spacious, tiled kitchen. Her parents were sitting quietly at opposite ends of the table reading the newspaper and nursing their coffee. The batter, a special Wakefield family recipe, was on the counter next to the grill, waiting for the girls' arrival.

Not wanting to disturb her mother, who appeared totally caught up in the editorial section, Elizabeth began to make the pancakes herself. That's why she didn't see the expression on

her parents' faces when Jessica dropped her bombshell.

"Daddy, I have a big favor to ask," Jessica said firmly. "I want an after-school job in your office. And I want to start tomorrow."

Two

"Do you believe this weather?" Lila Fowler complained bitterly the following morning.

Jessica took off her yellow rain slicker and shook it gently before hanging it up in her locker. The morning's sudden downpour had caught the weather forecasters by surprise, flooded the streets of Sweet Valley, and dampened a lot of spirits. Cara Walker was so convinced the rain would aggravate her budding cold that she'd decided to stay home that morning.

But Jessica wasn't disturbed. "Oh, Lila," she said, "don't tell me you're upset about a little water. Afraid it's going to make your hair frizz?"

"Jessica, sometimes you really get to me," Lila said, trying to straighten out her wavy brown hair with her fingers. "Just because your hair is frizzproof doesn't mean you can't have some sympathy for other people's problems."

Jessica gave Lila a once-over. Most girls would sell their soul to have Lila's problems, she thought. Wearing the latest designer blouse and a pair of jeans that outlined every inch of her trimly shaped legs, Lila was the envy of many girls at Sweet Valley High. Even the rain hadn't hurt, adding a fullness to her wavy hair that Jessica could seldom achieve with her curling iron. "You look great," Jessica told her. "Really, I don't think you have anything to worry about." She smiled slyly. "You're not trying to make a good impression on anyone in particular, are you?"

Lila returned the sly smile. Pretty and smart-- not to mention the daughter of one of Sweet Valley's richest men--Lila was never lacking for male attention. But in her opinion, few of them were good enough for her. "No, I'm between boyfriends--just like you, Jessica." She couldn't resist getting in a dig.