That evening, Jessica had trouble sleeping again. She gazed around her darkened room and wondered what was keeping her awake. Elizabeth was home, and she had gone to bed at 8:30 like she used to. So what was bothering her so much that she was sacrificing her precious beauty sleep?

Jessica frowned. The wall was shaking. It must be another earthquake. There were lots of them in California.

But why was only that wall shaking?

Maybe Elizabeth was having a seizure in the other room! Or getting kidnapped by aliens! Jessica leapt to her feet and catapulted herself across the room. "I'm coming Lizzie," she whispered, flinging Elizabeth's door open.

Jessica's aqua eyes widened and her red lips formed a perfect "O" of horror.

"Bruce Patman?" She gasped. "And Rick Andover?"

The head of a third guy that Jessica didn't know popped up from under the blankets. "Don't forget me!"

Jessica didn't know how to describe what was going on in Liz's room, well in English. She might know a couple words in French but she wasn't sure she could use those in a young adult book either.

Elizabeth pouted at the interruption. "What do you want, Jessica?" she asked pushing her hair back. She smiled coyly, a slutty expression on her lovely face. "Wanna join in?"

"But Liz!" Jessica wailed. "You aren't married yet! And you aren't a Mormon either!"

Liz laughed a satanic laugh. "Then close the door, little Jessie, or I'll say I'm you."

Jessica slammed the door to her room shut, shaking profusely. She stormed over to the radio and turned it up, but she couldn't take her mind off of what was happening in that room.

"Oh, Lizzie," she whispered. "What's wrong with you?" She couldn't believe this. Liz was ruining both of their lives. Her fun was always utterly ruined when she went to parties because she had to worry about Elizabeth. She had no social life anymore.

So what am I going to do now? She asked, and her eyes fell on her unfinished homework.

Clenching her hands into fists, she walked over to it. Slowly, she pulled her chair out and sat down, ignoring the cobwebs that brushed her long, tanned legs. She forced herself to ignore the rhythmic beat of Elizabeth's headboard hitting the wall.

She picked up her pencil. She began to write and shook her head in amazement. For the first time in all her sixteen years, she was doing her homework.

………………………………...

The next morning, Jessica glanced at her clock and realized that she'd overslept. Annoyed, she stormed out of bed and threw open the door to Liz's room. Why hadn't Elizabeth woken her up?

"Li-" Jessica began, but stopped short when she realized Elizabeth wasn't alone.

"Time for me to go now, little Jessica," Bruce said, smirking at her, lounging at Elizabeth's desk, dressed in only a pair of red silken briefs. "Maybe you'll get your chance next time."

"In your dreams!" Jessica shouted at him.

"Shhh!" Bruce warned her. "You don't want to wake up your parents. What will they do if they find out you had a sleepover with your new boyfriend?"

"Ew!" Jessica replied, wrinkling up her nose. "Besides, it wasn't me! It was Liz!"

Bruce shook his head and smiled patiently at her. "Do you really think your parents will believe that Elizabeth let a boy spend the night? If they come in here, both of us will blame you for my presence. Then you'll just look like a liar…again."

Jessica turned away, her hands clenched into fists and her face turning red. He had a point there. She contemplated hitting Bruce so hard that he died and then beating Elizabeth senseless with his dead body.

"Then you'll be grounded. Probably for a whole month. You'll have to give up cheerleading practice."

Jessica wished that she had the strength to scream out that she didn't care, but she couldn't help it, she did care! Her lower lip trembled. No cheerleading practice! Grounded for a month! After a whole month, all of her clothes would be out of date and then Lila would laugh at her!

"You probably don't want to say anything," Bruce advised her. He carefully creaked open Elizabeth's bedroom door and glanced out into the hallway before slipping down the hall. Jessica gazed morosely at his well muscled ass and noticed with barely any surprise that that the letters 1BRUCE1 were inscribed on the back of his red silken briefs.

Jessica pushed open the door to her room and stood there for a moment and stared into space. When had she stopped getting everything she wanted? How had everything changed so quickly?

Then she realized they were running very late. "Liz! Get up, we have to go to school!" She yelled, banging on the door. When there was no response from Elizabeth's room, she yanked the door open again. "Liz! Get out of bed!" She shouted.

One long, tanned middle finger rose up from the tangle of blankets.

"Fine," Jessica muttered. "At least you're awake." She went back to her room to get dressed.

Jessica grabbed her backpack, but that emptiness was still there. Something important was missing. Now what?

Jessica noticed something shiny sitting on the desk. She walked over to it like she expected it to explode.

She picked it up with the tips of her trembling fingers. That horrible ticking sound continued.

She closed her eyes and a tear of anguish rolled down one smooth cheek.

She fastened the watch around her wrist.

………………………………...

"Liz," Jessica said listlessly. "Let me drive the Fiat."

"Nope," Elizabeth smiled, looking remarkably fresh after her late night. "Mom doesn't want you driving after you put that dent in the car."

"It was just a little dent," Jessica barely protested.

"It cost two hundred dollars to fix," Elizabeth reminded her, unbuttoning another button on her blouse and sliding her bra out of one of the armholes.

"Oh fine," Jessica sighed. "Who cares?" She strapped in and stared out the window. The car pulled carefully out onto the sunny street and rolled to the end of the block. Then Elizabeth threw her bra out the window and floored it.

Jessica screamed.

Liz was hanging out the window, flashing the passing cars and periodically making gang signs. Jessica grabbed the wheel, fighting to keep from shutting her eyes with pure fright.

She caught sight of her reflection in the rearview mirror and realized that all those hours on the beach were ruined. Her face was ashen, in fact she looked as white as a ghost.

Jessica pulled into the parking lot at Sweet Valley High. She practically fell out of the car after opening it. She grabbed her backpack and took a couple of deep breaths, waiting for her long tanned legs to stop shaking. "Come on, Liz," she managed to say. "Let's go to school."

She barely jumped back in time as the Fiat jumped into reverse and roared away. "School, Jessica?" Elizabeth asked, raising an eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding!"

"But-how am I going to get home?" Jessica whimpered.

"Walk," Elizabeth giggled. "Like I did all those times you left me at school without a ride!" She nodded her head thoughtfully as if something had just occurred to her. "You could probably use the exercise."

Jessica's mouth opened and closed. Was Liz calling her fat?

"I am not fat, Elizabeth Wakefield!" She screamed, her hands on her hips.

"Sure you're not, Little Jessica," Bruce called, circling by in his Porsche, waving to a bunch of sophomore girls on the front lawn, and then speeding back out the school gates. Elizabeth rolled away after him. They were headed for the beach!

Jessica stood there for a moment in despair. Elizabeth had just called her fat, in front of the whole school!

"I'm not fat!" She screamed at the sophomores, who were staring at her.

Then her eyes fell on the only person who might be able to help.

"Todd!" She cried, racing to his beat up pick-up truck. "Follow them!"

Todd nodded, coming to attention. He grimly put the truck into drive.

"And hurry!" Jessica added, checking her watch. "We only have five minutes until the bell rings!"