Jessica and AJ. were walking along the beach, hand in hand, watching the sunset. Being with him now gave Jessica a thrill of exhilaration that she knew came from being in love. She let out a sigh and sent him a warm smile.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked. His brown eyes were dark and sultry in the fading light.
Jessica grinned and kicked her bare feet through the sand. "I was just thinking how you must have thought I was the most boring person on the whole planet."
"Oh, no, I—"
"It's OK." She said, laughing and swinging their hands back and forth. "I would have thought so, too."
He tilted his head to one side and regarded her thoughtfully. "I don't get it. Why were you doing all those things if you didn't want to?"
"I thought you'd like me," she mumbled.
"What?"
She drew a deep breath and faced him squarely. "I thought you'd like me that way," she confessed. "I didn't think you'd like the way I really am."
A.J. stared at her. "Are you kidding me?"
"No. I mean, I'm usually more like—well, like Pamela, to tell you the truth."
"I don't believe it."
"It's true," she said, letting out a deep sigh. "I do a lot of nasty things." A small wave washed up over their ankles and pulled back again. She peeked up at him through her lashes, waiting to see how he would take it.
"Jessica, maybe you have your own way of doing things, but you're not like her. She has a real mean streak."
"That's true!" Jessica's eyes lingered on A.J.'s face, absorbing every detail. She had never been so happy in her life. "I guess I was acting pretty dumb," she continued. "But I had a good reason."
He grinned at her, and his intense gaze sent shivers up her spine. "What was the reason?"
"Mmm. I'll tell you later," she said slowly.
Their eyes met in the faint sunset glow. Jessica might have gone about getting A.J. in the wrong way, but it had worked out in the end—a thousand times better than she had expected.
"Come on. There's a place I want to show you," she said suddenly, heading toward his car.
"Where?"
"I'm not telling. Just drive where I say."
Her eyes dancing, Jessica directed A.J. away from the beach, through town, and up the road to Miller's Point. Every time he asked where they were going, she stubbornly refused to tell him. At last they pulled up at the overlook, and A.J. cut the engine.
"This is Miller's Point," she explained, her voice earnest and hopeful. "A lot of people come up here at night to see the lights from town."
AJ. was looking at her steadily in the darkness. "Oh, yeah?" he drawled. He moved closer to her and put one arm along the back of her seat. "Lights, huh?"
"That's right," she teased. Her pulse was racing wildly. Trying to keep her voice even, she continued, "See, isn't it a nice view?"
"Very nice."
AJ. reached out and touched Jessica's cheek. It was very still and quiet inside the car, and Jessica could hear her own heartbeat drumming in her ears. "Nice," she murmured, leaning toward him.
Their lips met in a long, lingering kiss. Finally Jessica sat back and gave A.J. a lazy smile. "We should have come here a long time ago," she said in a low, throaty voice.
He chuckled softly and nodded. "If you'd kissed me like that before, we could have been doing something else besides watching birds for the past couple of weeks."
Jessica laughed and put her arms around his neck. "Well, there aren't any birds here now," she whispered. "Let's not waste any more time."
Elizabeth and Enid walked into the lunchroom on Monday and found a crowd of their friends sitting together at a big table. "Any room for us?" Elizabeth asked, giving the group a lopsided smile.
"No, no! Go away," Winston growled. He was reading the new edition of The Oracle, which had come out that morning.
Jeffrey tossed a balled-up lunch bag at Winston and nodded to two chairs. "Come on."
"Thanks."
"Everyone's talking about Jessica winning the fashion contest," Sandra Bacon informed them. "If s so fantastic."
"Yeah, she's really excited about it," Elizabeth agreed. She glanced across the cafeteria to where her twin was seated next to A.J. at an isolated table. From the looks of things, Jessica was more excited about winning A.J. than anything else. Their heads were close together, and they were deep in conversation. As Elizabeth watched, Jessica let out a peal of laughter and shook her head.
Smiling to herself, Elizabeth reached for a copy of the newspaper and snapped it open. Usually she read all the articles before the paper went to press, but she liked to see the final edition. She always turned to her own column first.
Quickly scanning the "Eyes and Ears" column, Elizabeth kept half her attention on the conversation around her. A voice caught her ear.
"Who's J.W.?" Cara asked. "Hey, Liz?"
She looked up. "Yes?"
"In your column you say, 'Will J.W., rumored to be Sweet Valley's best ballerina, try out for the dance lead?' " Cara looked puzzled. "I know it’s not Jessica, so who's J.W.?"
"Jade Wu," Elizabeth explained. "Olivia told me she's probably the best dancer we've got. But I've never seen her dance, and I don't know if she's even interested in auditioning."
Cara nodded thoughtfully and then shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll know this week at the tryouts."
"Right." Elizabeth glanced around the cafeteria, her curiosity piqued. She didn't know anything about Jade, but she trusted Olivia's judgment. If Olivia said Jade was talented, then Elizabeth believed her. Unconsciously she searched the crowd for a glimpse of the girl. Finally she spotted her in a corner, bent over a copy of The Oracle. Jade looked concerned— almost troubled.
Shrugging, Elizabeth went back to her lunch. They'd know soon enough if Jade Wu was going to audition for the show.
On the other side of the cafeteria, Jade Wu reread the "Eyes and Ears" column for the third time. "Will J.W., rumored to be Sweet Valley's best ballerina, try out for the dance lead? Stay tuned, folks. The auditions are this week."
Feeling slightly sick, jade realized she had to be the one the column was talking about. She didn't know how Elizabeth Wakefield could know about her dancing, but it didn't matter now. What mattered was trying out for the show.
I have to get a part, she told herself fervently. Being a dancer means dancing in public.
She pictured herself pirouetting across a stage in a blaze of lights. But instantly that picture was replaced by one of her father. Traditional and conservative, her father would never agree to let her perform in a variety show. She was sure of it.
He's so Chinese, she thought. It's not fair! Doesn't he realize that I'm American? Doesn't he know this isn't the old country?
Straightening her back, Jade folded the paper and nodded decisively. She was going to get that part, no matter what her father said.
Will Jade Wu win the leading dance role in the variety show? Find out in Sweet Valley High #50, OUT OF REACH.
