"I can't believe it! I just can't believe it!" Elizabeth Wakefield squealed as she burst into the bedroom of her sister, Jessica.
"What is it?" Jessica asked, peering at the piece of paper in Elizabeth's hand. She wondered vaguely what her twin was so excited about. She didn't usually get this hopped up over anything--except maybe report cards. And they had already received their final seventh grade report cards. In fact, they had received them quite a while ago. It was already late July, and--as far as Jessica was concerned--the summer was practically over. But what else could be on that paper that would make Elizabeth squeal and burst into Jessica's room just as she was in the middle of the all-important task of choosing a bathing suit to wear at Lila Fowler's house?
"It's a letter from Rain Forest Friends," Elizabeth said, her face flushed with excitement. "I've been accepted to the program--I'm going to build houses in Costa Rica for all of August!"
Jessica snatched the paper out of Elizabeth's hand and scanned the letter. It was true. Her twin was going to Costa Rica.
"That's . . . ," Jessica said, "terrific." She hoped she didn't sound too insincere. She wanted to be happy for her sister, but . . .
"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked, looking concerned. "Are you OK?"
Jessica's eyes grew wide. Honestly, sometimes she just didn't understand Elizabeth at all. Even though they looked exactly alike on the outside, with long blond hair and blue-green eyes, on the inside the two girls were very different.
Jessica lived for parties, boy talk, glamour, and hanging out with the cool people--like Lila and her other friends in the Unicorn Club. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was more studious. She loved to read, write, and spend time with her friends one-on-one or in small groups. But despite their differences, the sisters had always been best friends. They understood each other better than anyone else could. Usually.
Unlike now. How could Elizabeth not know what was wrong?
"It's just that--we'll be apart for so long if you go to Costa Rica," Jessica said quietly, staring her sister in the eye.
"Oh," Elizabeth said, her eyebrows drawing together. "I hadn't even thought of that."
The two sisters looked at each other for a moment.
Elizabeth brightened suddenly. "I know!" she said. "You can come with me!"
Jessica smiled sadly. "I think it's too late to apply. And anyway, you know I wouldn't like doing that kind of thing--building houses in the rain forest or whatever."
Elizabeth frowned, but Jessica knew that her twin understood what she meant. Jessica wouldn't like spending the summer in Costa Rica any more than Elizabeth would want to miss out on it. That was just the way things were. The twins were going to be apart for the first time in . . . forever.
"I'll miss you," Jessica said.
"I'll miss you too," Elizabeth said, and stepped forward. Jessica wrapped her arms around her sister, and they hugged for a while.
"What am I going to do without you?" Jessica wailed. "Sweet Valley will be so boring! I'll have nothing to do."
"Right," Elizabeth said with a laugh. "You'll be totally bored going to parties and hanging out. Besides," she added brightly, "we'll spend plenty of time together next year, right?"
"Right," Jessica replied, giving her sister a watery smile. "That's for certain, at least." Jessica was relieved at the thought that she and her sister would definitely be in the same school for eighth grade. Rumors had been flying that Sweet Valley was redistricting the schools next year--and possibly sending half of the students at Sweet Valley Middle School and half of the students at Secca Lake Middle School to an all-new junior high, called Sweet Valley Junior High. The way Jessica figured it, that meant it was entirely possible that she would be separated from many of her friends. But no matter how they split everyone up--by address, or by last name, or whatever--she would definitely still be with Elizabeth.
"Hey, help me out," Jessica said, eager to change the subject. "Which bathing suit do you think I should wear to Lila's?" She gestured to the two that were laid out on her bed, a pink one-piece and a bikini with yellow daisies on it.
"I thought you and I were going to the library today," Elizabeth said.
"Ohmigosh!" Jessica gasped. "I'm so sorry, Lizzie, I totally forgot! Could we do it tomorrow?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "I can't believe that you forgot we were going to the library. Honestly, Jess sometimes you're such a space cadet."
"Thanks a lot, Elizabeth. Look--I'm sorry I forgot we were supposed to go to the boring old library today. But all the Unicorns are going to be at Lila's--"
"You always hang with the Unicorns," Elizabeth countered, obviously exasperated.
Jessica went silent. What was that supposed to mean? The Unicorns were her friends--who else was she supposed to hang with? Besides, this could be their last summer together as a club. If they got split up because of the rezoning next year--who knew what could happen? Jessica was tempted to explain all of this to her sister, but she didn't really feel like talking about it. Thinking about getting separated from her friends was too upsetting. Besides, Elizabeth would get over this. She always did. "I'm sorry," Jessica said lamely.
"Never mind," Elizabeth replied, giving her head a shake. "Go ahead. I know you didn't forget on purpose. But I want to go to the library today to get some books on Costa Rica. Maybe we can do something else tomorrow."
"OK," Jessica said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Great."
"And I like the pink one," Elizabeth added.
"The pink it is." Jessica picked up the one-piece bathing suit and smiled.
"Have a good time," Elizabeth said. "I'm going to call Maria and see if she wants to go to the library. I can't wait to tell her about Rain Forest Friends!"
"I'm sure she'll be really happy for you." Jessica tried to smile. "Just like I am."
"Jessica? Jessica! Earth to Jessica!" Mandy Miller said with a laugh.
"Huh?" Jessica asked, looking up at Mandy. "Sorry. Did I miss something?" she asked a little sheepishly.
"It's your turn," Kimberly Haver said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh," Jessica said, desperately trying to remember the question she was supposed to answer. No doubt about it, Jessica was spaced out. She just couldn't stop thinking about spending the rest of the summer apart from her twin--and possibly spending the rest of the school year apart from all her friends. The end of summer would be here in no time!
Jessica was sunning herself beside Lila's pool, along with all her closest friends, the Unicorns. They had been playing a game where they tried to guess one another's favorite foods and stuff like that. Unfortunately Jessica wasn't having any fun--she was way too distracted. But she didn't want her friends to know that. If only she could remember the question they had just asked her . . .
"I give up," Jessica said finally. "What's the answer?"
"Jessica!" Ellen Riteman squealed. "My favorite ice-cream flavor is mint chocolate chip! How could you forget that--I always order it when we go to Casey's."
"Oh, right," Jessica said. It was true. Lately Ellen had been on a mint chocolate chip bonanza. So had Rachel Grant, for that matter. And Jessica would have gotten the question right--if she had heard it.
The Unicorns went on to the next question, and Jessica gazed into space again. She stared at the sunlight glinting off the clear water in the pool. Suddenly Jessica narrowed her eyes. At the very bottom of the pool she thought she saw a face. A woman's face, with smooth dark hair that floated around her like a halo. A Native American's face, perhaps. As Jessica watched, the dark eyes opened and looked directly at her. Startled, Jessica blinked and looked closer, only the face had disappeared.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
