"Who cares about teaching?" Jessica muttered, her mouth dry.

  "Maybe now you won't think this class is such a waste after all," Lila teased her.

  "Waste?" Jessica asked, her blue-green eyes wide with disbelief. She had fallen in love with a real European man—and quite simply the most gorgeous European man in the whole world. "Waste?" she repeated senselessly. "Lila Fowler, you're the best friend in the whole world!"

  Jessica had never paid as close attention to anything as she did to Jean-Pierre's lesson in the next half hour. She mixed white wine and vinegar and a pinch of sugar and salt into the brownish-yellow powder her hammering had produced—all just as Jean-Pierre instructed—and the whole time all she could think about was falling madly in love with him and flying back to France with him, living in one of those wonderful châteaus, and kissing him under the Eiffel Tower.

  But much as Jessica loved to daydream, she was far too practical to think of Jean-Pierre only in terms of France.

  The Eiffel Tower was one thing. But what Jessica really had on her mind was the dance coming up in a few weeks. Jessica had been racking her brains, trying to think of someone interesting to go with, and now this gorgeous creature had just fallen into her lap.

  If it kills me, I've got to learn to do this right, Jessica told herself, stirring the unappetizing mixture before her as hard as she could. Because if the way to Jean-Pierre's heart is through his stomach, I've got my work cut out for me!

  "You don't mind stopping by Robin Wilson's house on the way home, do you?" Jessica asked sweetly, hopping into the passenger seat of Lila's lime-green Triumph.

  Lila wrinkled her nose. "What do you want with Robin?" she demanded.

  "She is the co-captain of the cheerleading squad," Jessica pointed out, tucking her mason jar of mustard under her feet as she swung the car door closed. "And I've got to let her know we're changing cheerleading practice tonight. Come on, Lila. It's just a few blocks out of the way."

  "All right," Lila grumbled, turning the key in the ignition. "Did Cara tell you that Robin broke up with Allen this weekend?" she added a moment later, backing the car out of the parking space.

  "You're kidding," Jessica said, unwrapping a stick of gum. "What for? I thought they were crazy about each other?"

  "Some other guy," Lila said with a shrug. "Cara only found out because she's Allen's lab partner in chemistry. But he wouldn't tell her who the guy was. Cara figures he doesn't know himself."

  "Hmm," Jessica said thoughtfully. "You don't suppose—"

  "Don't suppose what?" Lila demanded.

  Jessica shook her head. "Never mind," she said. "Hey, slow down! You're going to go past it!" she warned. They had just come to Robin Wilson's house, and Jessica's eyes narrowed as she saw the light-blue GTO in the driveway. She'd know that car anywhere, Jessica thought uneasily. It was George Warren's.

  And there was George, walking down Robin's front walk toward the driveway.

  "Never mind, Lila," Jessica said. "I can tell Robin about cheerleading later. Let's get out of here."

  "What's the matter, Jess?" Lila asked, surprised.

  "Nothing," Jessica said shortly.

  "You don't think George Warren is the reason Robin and Allen broke up, do you?" Lila pressed her.

  Jessica bit her lip. "Did Cara tell you what Robin did at Secca Lake yesterday? She passed out cold when the crew carried George to the ambulance on a stretcher."

  As she drove Lila glanced quickly at Jessica. "It looks like a closed case, then, Jess. Why else would George be at Robin's right now?"

  "Still," Jessica added indignantly, "you'd think he'd wait till Enid was out of the hospital to start cheating on her!"

  Lila shrugged. Cheating was still a sore subject with her. "Don't let it bother you," she said. "You're going to have your hands full with Jean-Pierre. Remember?"

  Jessica smiled, but her blue-green eyes were serious. She didn't like what she had just seen one bit. And she had a feeling that Elizabeth was going to like it a whole lot less.

  George turned his GTO down a tree-lined side street in Sweet Valley, oblivious to the beauty of the sunlight streaming through the lush foliage. His mother had urged him to stay home that afternoon. "Dr. MacGregor said you need a lot of rest," she'd told him. But George couldn't sleep. The pills he'd taken the previous night had knocked him out for a few hours, but he'd slept fitfully, waking from terrible dreams with feelings of confusion and horror.

  Now he was on his way back from Robin's house. He had hoped to find her at home, but no one had answered when he'd rung the bell. "It's probably just as well," George told himself. He knew what he had to tell Robin wasn't going to be easy. But he'd convinced himself that it was cowardly not to tell her in person, which was why he'd gone to her house.

  But it probably would be easier on the telephone, he told himself now. Just thinking about Robin and her reaction to what he had to tell her made tears spring to his eyes. He had never meant for this to happen, but he was deeply in love with her. And the anguish he'd experienced since the accident the day before hadn't diminished his affection.

  Still, he reminded himself, he owed Enid his life. And as long as she was in serious condition, he wasn't going to abandon her. Maybe when she was better—

  But it seemed too unfair to Enid to hope that things would ever work out between Robin and him. No, he would just have to explain to Robin that they were through for good, he told himself firmly.

  And that was exactly what he would have done that afternoon if she'd been home. Now he would have to resort to the phone. Because it just wasn't a good idea for people to see the two of them together, he decided.

  He was thinking about Lila Fowler's green Triumph. He'd seen the car slow down as he walked down the Wilson's front walk. He hadn't been able to get a good look at the girl in the passenger seat, but he'd recognized Lila's car right away. And whoever was with her was facing his direction.

  Ordinarily George couldn't have cared less about gossip. But he knew Enid would be terribly hurt if people started talking about Robin and him. And he had to do everything in his power to make sure Enid didn't get hurt any more. It was bad enough that she's paralyzed. If she thought he didn't love her on top of everything that had happened . . .

  What worried George most was Elizabeth Wakefield. He knew how much she cared about Enid, and he couldn't imagine her deliberately hurting her best friend. But he also knew how much Elizabeth respected honesty. She would despise him for faking it with Enid, he thought miserably. And Elizabeth just might tell Enid why. If only he could take back all those things he had told Elizabeth! If she didn't know how much he and Robin loved each other, everything would be so much easier!

  Well, he'd just have to convince her—and anyone else who suspected—that it was all over between Robin and him. As long as Enid was suffering, he owed her all the time and love he had.

  George sighed as he pulled the GTO into his garage. He wondered if Robin would understand when he told her it was all over between them—for now, and for good.

  "Wait a minute," Elizabeth said, sitting up on her bed and blinking at Jessica. "You saw George where?"

  It was late afternoon, and Elizabeth was trying to take a quick nap, having just come back from the hospital. As she'd been warned, she didn't get to see Enid, but at least she had been able to keep Mrs. Rollins company in the waiting room and to hear reports about how Enid looked.

  "In front of Robin's house just now," Jessica repeated, rummaging around in her bag as she plopped onto the bed next to her twin. "I hope we're having something for dinner tonight that goes with mustard," she said doubtfully, pulling the mason jar out of her bag and displaying that afternoon's project.

  "I don't believe it," Elizabeth said, her blue-green eyes darkening. "You saw George in front of Robin Wilson's house this afternoon?"

  "Liz, are you going deaf?" Jessica complained. "I told you. I was on my way back from my cooking class. Lila gave me a ride, and I asked her to stop by Robin's so I could tell her we changed cheerleading from Monday to—"

  "Jessica!" Elizabeth moaned. "Just tell me about George!"

  Jessica looked injured. "I was about to." She sniffed. "First I saw George's car in the driveway. Then I saw George himself, strolling down the front walk. I think something weird is going on."

  "Hmmm," Elizabeth murmured, sinking back on the bed. "It's kind of hard to believe," she said carefully, fighting for control as she watched her sister's face. Inwardly Elizabeth felt a flash of anger so strong she almost winced. How dare he! she thought furiously. How dare he go over and see Robin while Enid's lying helpless in that hospital bed!

  Elizabeth had promised herself that she would give Goerge a chance for Enid's sake. It was one thing when she first found out George and Robin were seeing each other. That was bad enough. A phantom photographer had been submitting pictures to The Oracle, the school newspaper for which Elizabeth was a columnist. One of the pictures had shown George and Robin in an embrace. At first Elizabeth could hardly believe her eyes. But the day before, when she had gone out to the airfield to watch George get his diploma from his flying class, she knew it was true. There was no denying the way George and Robin were acting around each other. They were clearly in love.

  At first Elizabeth had been furious, but when she listened to the couple, she realized they had a genuine conflict. Their affection for each other was legitimate, and they both knew that Enid would have to be told.

  But now that the accident had occurred, Elizabeth didn't see how George could break the news to Enid. It would kill Enid, absolutely kill her, if she found out that George was in love with someone else. Elizabeth would never have believed that George would be low enough to keep seeing Robin while Enid was in the hospital. It was horrible! It made her so angry it was all she could do to keep her self-control.

  And she wouldn't have kept her anger bottled up inside her if it weren't for Enid. If George was still seeing Robin, he must be doing in on the sly, Elizabeth decided. That was bad enough as far as she was concerned. But if Enid found out—if people started gossiping about George and Robin—

  "Maybe we should keep quiet about it, Jess," she said finally. "It would be terrible if Enid heard about it."

  Jessica looked indignant. "I wasn't going to tell anyone!" she protested. "Only you. But I'll tell you something, Liz. I'm not sure I'll be able to even look Robin Wilson in the face."

  Elizabeth sighed. "I know what you mean," she agreed reluctantly. "To tell you the truth, Jess, the whole thing makes me so angry I could just—"

  "Spit?" Jessica volunteered helpfully.

  Elizabeth shook her head and burst out laughing. "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind," she told her twin. "Come on," she added. "Let's go see what'll go with mustard for dinner. I don't suppose hot dogs count as gourmet?"

  "I don't know," Jessica said, looking worried. "What's French for hot dogs?"

  Elizabeth got up from her bed and followed her twin downstairs. Secretly she couldn't help agreeing with Jessica. She wasn't looking forward to seeing Robin at school the next day. It was going to be pretty hard to act as though nothing was wrong. Her best friend was lying helpless in the hospital, and from what Jessica had just told her, it looked as if all George cared about was having more free time to spend with Robin.

  It wasn't going to be easy to look either George or Robin in the eye without blowing up, Elizabeth thought. Not easy at all.

  Four

  "So you really think Robin's been seeing George behind Enid's back?" Cara asked, pushing her tray aside so she could put her elbows on the cafeteria table.

  Jessica shrugged. "It sure seems that way, doesn't it?"

  "I think that's absolutely foul!" Cara exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Poor Enid," she added. "Do they have any more news about her condition?"

  "It doesn't sound too good," Jessica said mournfully, taking the wrapper off a Popsicle. Jessica's sympathy for Enid Rollins was a recent development. Before the plane crash Jessica had had several conversations with her sister about her choice of friends, and Enid got most of the criticism. In Jessica's opinion Enid Rollins was just plain boring.

  But the accident had changed Enid in Jessica's eyes. Now Sweet Valley High was buzzing with talk about Enid—everyone wondered how she was feeling, if there was any progress, any hope. It was all terribly exciting, and naturally Jessica, as the twin sister of Enid's very best friend, was right at the center of all the speculation.

  Moreover, Jessica really did feel sorry for Enid. She had never thought much of George Warren one way or another, but now she was prepared to see him as a villain.

  And Robin Wilson, whom Jessica had become rather fond of over the past few months, suddenly seemed like an evil temptress. Robin certainly had come far this year, Jessica had to admit. At the beginning of the year, she'd been plump and plain and a virtual nothing. When she'd tried to pledge Pi Beta Alpha, the popular sorority Jessica headed, Jessica had blackballed her.

  A strict diet-and-exercise regime had helped Robin to become one of the prettiest girls in the junior class. Since Robin had been elected co-captain of the cheerleading squad, she and Jessica had been thrown together fairly often. And Jessica enjoyed her company.

  But when Jessica went on a rampage, there was no stopping her. Fair's fair, she told herself. Robin shouldn't see George behind Enid's back. And that's all there is to it.

  "So how do you think we should handle Robin?" Cara asked, looking outside to the patio, where Robin was finishing her lunch.

  "Cold war," Jessica said grimly. "All out cold war. And," she added slyly, fiddling with the wrapper from her Popsicle, "maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to let everyone else in on the plan. What do you thing?"

  "I think she deserves it!" Cara exclaimed, her dark eyes sparkling. "After all," she added, getting up from the table and pushing in her chair, "it's the least we can do for poor Enid."

  "You're absolutely right," Jessica said solemnly, her eyes narrowing as she followed Cara's gaze to the patio outside.

  "Wait a minute!" Cara said. "It looks like Robin's coming over here right now!"

  "Just remember," Jessica reminded her, "cold war."

  "Jess," Robin said, pulling out a chair and sitting at their table, "I've been looking for you everywhere. Why didn't you tell me cheerleading practice got changed? I waited outside the gym for half an hour last night."

  Jessica didn't answer.

  "Is something wrong?" Robin added, looking confused.

  "Come on, Cara," Jessica said suddenly, jumping out of her chair. "I just remembered I've got to call the hospital and see how Enid's doing."

  "Don't you think that was a little harsh?" Cara whispered as they hurried away, leaving Robin staring blankly after them.

  "Not at all," she replied. "We have to do what we can to help Enid, don't we?"

  "I guess so." Cara sighed and turned to look back at Robin. Jessica's right, she told herself, and it's no use getting softhearted about the whole thing. Robin deserves everything she gets.

  But Cara had to admit that Robin looked awfully lonely and confused. And despite what Jessica had said, Cara couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her.

  It's got to be my imagination, Robin Wilson thought uneasily. Why in the world would Jessica and Cara be angry with me? But the uneasy feeling still remained.

  I'm just getting paranoid, Robin decided, looking hungrily at the ice cream Cara had left uneaten in her bowl. Robin couldn't help it—when she got lonely or upset, she ate. And right now she was lonely and upset. A few days before she had been happier than she'd ever been. And now she couldn't imagine how she was going to make it from one day to the next.

  The day George's plane had crashed had been the worst in Robin's life. Her first reaction had been sheer terror. When she saw George being carried by the ambulance crew, his face covered with blood, she couldn't care less if anyone was watching. All she knew was that George was in trouble. And the next thing she knew she was flat on the ground and someone was wiping her forehead with a cold cloth.

  When she came to, she realized she couldn't let anyone know how upset she was. So she didn't try to call the hospital until she got home. By then, George had been released, the nurse had told her. And she'd been so relieved she'd almost burst into tears then and there. But Enid . . .

  As soon as Robin learned that Enid was in serious condition, she knew that George couldn't leave her. It would be impossible. Even so, his phone call the night before had been incredibly painful.

  "We can't see each other anymore, Robin," George had said quietly. "Not at all. Not unless—" And his voice had broken off, choked with emotion. "If we run into each other, we have to act like we're just casual friends," he added. And she knew he was right.

  But the thought of never seeing George again was too painful to imagine. Robin wasn't sure which was more painful, her guilt over Enid or her sorrow over losing George. And to top it all off, she had to face Allen at school every day. He looked so miserable.

  Robin looked up and saw Elizabeth and Todd walking by. "Liz!" she called quickly.

  Elizabeth turned, her pretty face expressionless.

  "Have you heard anything about Enid?" Robin asked.

  Elizabeth sighed. "She's still about the same," she said quietly. "I'll let you know if I hear there's a change," she added, taking Todd's hand and walking away.

  Tears of pain stung Robin's eyes. Was Elizabeth mad at her, too? she wondered. That was more than she could take.

  Afraid that she was going to burst into tears any second, Robin took a deep breath, got up from her table, and headed back through the cafeteria to the food counter. "A piece of chocolate cake," she mumbled to the woman near the desserts. "Oh, and put some ice cream on top," she added miserably, digging in her pockets for some money.

  It wouldn't matter if she did get fat again, she thought glumly, taking her dessert back to the table. It didn't look as though she had any friends left to notice.