"Go, Sweet Valley, go!" Elizabeth Wake field was shouting so loud she thought her lungs would burst.
Squeezing her boyfriend Todd Wilkin's hand, she jumped up from her seat to get a better view of the football field.
The Sweet Valley High Gladiators were trailing the Palisades Pumas by four points.
The Pumas had just fumbled, and Sweet Valley had recovered the ball. There was only one minute left in the game—one precious minute to turn the score around!
On the field, quarterback Ken Matthews signaled for a time out, The referee's whistle blew, and Ken trotted over to the sidelines to talk to Coach Schultz.
Her heart still pounding, Elizabeth sat back down and ran a hand through her silky blond hair, "Todd, do you think Ken will be able to pull it off?"
"Are you kidding? The Pumas don't stand a chance against Ken.
A huge grin spread across Todd's handsome face. "Besides, we've been undefeated all year.
We can't blow it no, right?"
"Right," Elizabeth replied with a nervous nod. Then she turned back to the field and yelled, "Come on, Gladiators!"
On the sidelines the cheerleaders were going wild. "Run to the left, pass it to right! Sweet Valley, Sweet Valley! Fight, fight, fight!" They chanted.
Elizabeth's twin sister, Jessica, was leading the cheers, and the crowd responded eagerly.
Jessica's red and white pom–poms twirled through the air as she jumped.
With her sparkling blue-green eyes and sun streaked blond hair, Jessica Wakefield was the mirror image of Elizabeth.
They had the same perfect features, the same smooth completions—even the same tiny dimples in their left cheeks when they simled.
Despite their physical similarities, the twins were different in almost every other way, how ever.
Elizabeth was a serious person. She wanted to be a writer one day, and she was honing her skills by working on the staff of The Oracle, Sweet Valley High's newspapaer.
Dedicated and hardworking, she always seemed to have her feet planted firmly on the ground.
Elizabeth's friends and family were confident that they could count on her for anything, anytime.
If Elizabeth Wakefield made a promise, she would keep it.
If she said she would be somewhere, she'd be there—on time.
Jessica Wakefield liked to live it up—all the time.
She could only stay interested in something or someone for a very short period.
She god bored quickly, and she absolutely couldn't imagine staying with any one guy for long.
Wherever she was, Jessica always liked to be the center of attention.
She wanted to be famous when she grew up—for what, she wasn't sure, but she had lot of big plans.
When Jessica was involved in one of her schemes, she could be thoughtless toward the people closest to her, especially Elizabeth, whom she often took for granted.
Still, when Jessica apologized with that dazzling smile of hers, it was impossible to stay angry with her.
Looking at her twin leading the cheers now, Elizabeth couldn't help being proud. Jessica added so much to the social life at Sweet Valley High.
The school wouldn't be the same without her.
"What's with Amy? She looks worried," Tood said, referring to the cheerleader next to Jessica.
"You're right. She does," Elizabeth agreed.
Although Amy Sutton was going through the motions of the cheers, she kept biting her lip and turning around to check out the huddle at the bench.
"I guess she's worried for Ken," Elizabeth said.
With his record for pass completions and an undefeated season well underway, Ken. Matthews had attracted the interest of scouts from several major colleges.
Everyone knew they were in the stands, watching the game.
"Why? Are Ken and Amy an item?" Todd asked, putting an arm around Elizabeth shoulder.
She leaned against him and sighed.
"Well, they're not a major item like we are," she said, a twinkle in her eye.
"But Amy's hoping they will be soon. At least that's what Jessica says."
"That's strange. I never would have pictured the together," Todd said.
"Ken doesn't seem that interested in having a girlfriend.
"Well, I guess Amy's out to change his mind," Elizabeth said.
"You know Amy—she's as boy crazy as they come.
And Ken had come back onto the field, and the team was huddling at their thirty-yard line.
"Looks like Ken's telling his teammates the plan," Todd said.
"I'd hate to be in his shoes right now. Those guys are under so much pressure.
But if anyone can handle it, Ken can," Todd said confidently.
Suddenly the whistle blew, and play resumed.
"Go for it, guys!" Todd shouted as the Gladiators lined up against their opponent.
Elizabeth clutched Todd's hand as Ken dropped back to pass.
"Complete!" she cried happily as Scott Trost caught the ball and scooted out of bounds stoping the clock with forty seconds left.
"Whoa, look at that," Todd yelled a moment later.
Ken had completed another long pass down field, and the ball was on the Pumas' fifteen yard line!
"Five seconds," Todd said, looking up at the game clock. "We've only got time for one more play."
"I know," Elizabeth murmured. She was also nervous she could hardly watch.
With the snap of the ball, Ken swung for a receiver, but they were all covered.
A Palisades linerback broke through Ken's pass protection and came right at him.
Instantly Ken scrambled to the right, and the player missed him.
Before the Pumas could react, Ken picked up his speed and shot through a hole in the defensive line.
When another player came at him he faked a move to the left.
The player fell down as Ken zigzagged to the right and leapt straight into the end zone.
"He dit it! He dit it!" Elizabeth cried, giving Todd a hug.
The noise in the stands was deafening.
"What a win!" Todd shouted, shaking his head in desbelief.
The band broke into a victory march, and Elizabeth let out a laugh as the players leapt into one another's arms and hugged exuberantly.
"Way to go, Ken!" she yelled as Ken's teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders and carried him triumphantly around the field.
Down in the first row of the bleachers, Sweet Valley High's basketball star Shelley Novak exchange high fives whit her friend Kristin Thompson, who was well on her way to a professional tennis career.
John Pfeifer, the sports photographer for the The Oracle, was standing on his seat, snapping pictures of the celebration.
His girlfriend, Jennifer Mitchell, was standing beside him.
Sitting quietly in the middle of all the commotion, next to Shelley, was Terri Adams, a petite, pretty junior who was the Gladiators assistant statistician.
Hey eyes closed, she hugged her clipboard tightly, a dreamy smile on her lips.
That last run Ken's was his fifty-seventh of the season.
Terri always had all the facts right at hand—especially when they concerned Ken Matthews.
As she gazed at Ken being carried off the field by his teammates, she felt a familiar thrill run trough her, the same one she had felt the first time she had seen Ken.
I wasn't just his talent or good looks that attracted her.
It was whole outlook on life Ken was so easygoing, so confident.
He took charge of the most difficult situations and made them look simple.
But being out there every day at practice, Terri had watched him enough to know that his success was based on a lot of hard work.
Ken was tremendously persistent, and he never stopped pushing himself to do even better.
Now he was up where he belonged, on the shoulders of his teammates, reaping the glory he deserved.
And she was sitting in the stands, as usual watching him from afar.
She desperately wished he would notice her someday.
Not just as the assistant statistician for his team, but as somebody special.
Shelley nudged her with her elbow. "Who are you staring at?" she asked good- naturedly as if she didn't know.
All of Terri's friends knew about her crush on Ken.
Terri blushed and didn't say a word.
"Hey, everybody!" Amy Sutton shouted suddenly.
The other cheerleaders were huddled aroun Amy, still jumping up and down and waving their pom-poms.
"Party tonight—my house! Everyone's invited!"
"Excellent!" John yelled back. "We'll be there!"
"Should be a great party," Shelley said.
"There's nothing like a celebration after a big game!"
"I'm just excited I get to go to any party," Kristin said.
Her rigorous tennis schedule left her little free time, but lately she had been determined to lead what she called a "normal" life, and had been going to school events whenever she was in town.
Terri wasn't sure if she should go to the party or not.
She didn't really know Amy that well or Amy's crowd, either.
She knew Jessica Wakefield, but that was only because she had recently become friends with her sister, Elizabeth, through a project they had worked on for French class.
Out of that whole crowd, Terri probably knew Elizabeth the best.
Ken would definitely be at the party, which was another reason Terri felt nervous about going.
Even though she wasn't normally shy, Terri always seemed to freeze up whenever Ken spoke her.
"Terri!" She turned and saw Zack Johnson trotting over to her, his uniform still clean.
Zack was a sophomore linebacker, and a good one, too,
But on a team like the Gladiators, with so may talented upperclassmen, Zack spent most of his time on the bench.
"Are you coming to Amy's party?" he asked.
Terri hugged her clipboard even tighter.
"I don't know." She shrugged. "I should probably get some studying done."
"Are you kidding?" Lowering his camera, John Pfeifer stared down at her. "How can you not go?"
"He's right, Ter," Jennifer said.
"You've got to come—you're a member of the team, too," she pointed out.
"It wouldn't be the same without you," Kristin agreed.
"I mean, you're more into football than any of us!"
"Me included!" Zack teased her.
"Besides, guess what, Ter?" he added in a whisper.
"I'm going with April, and I might need your moral support."
Terri shot Zack a grin. She knew he had been trying to get the nerve to ask out April Dawson ever since the firs week of school.
"That's great, Zack!" she whispered back.
"Congratulations!!"
"So, are you going?" Shelley pressed her.
"I'm taking the car," Zack said.
"We could give you a lift, since you live so close by."
Terri tilted her head to one side and considered.
Maybe she won't know everyone at the party—but if she went, she could get to know them.
Besides, she would have plenty of time to study on Sunday.
"All right, I'll go!" she told everybody.
"Great!" John said. "The whole gang will be there then!"
Terri smiled. As much as she was looking forward to spending the evening with her friends.
She had another reason to be excited about the party.
Maybe, just maybe, she and Ken would wind up alone together for a minute or two.
And maybe she would finally get the chance to talk to him, about something other than football stats.
She might even be bold enough to tell him how she felt about him.
Stop it, Terri told herself as she stepped off the bleachers.
You're getting carried away.
But Terri had a good feeling about the party.
Anything could happen, couldn't it?