Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2010 5:35:27 GMT -5
This is my latest venture, a crossover of the two best YA book series EVER - The BSC and SVH! I have been posting the book in installments on my website, What Winston Saw, but thought you guys might like a look, a critique and [hopefully] a laugh!
For the first three chapters, go to:
winstonegbert.wordpress.com/when-lila-met-stacey-a-sweet-valley-babysitter%E2%80%99s-club-crossover/
Here is chapter 1
STONEYBROOK
Elizabeth Wakefield glanced at the silver wristwatch on her left hand and sighed. It was four minutes past five o’clock, and the end of another exhausting day at the Stoneybrook News. Four minutes past five and already the Stoneybrook Fountain was casting long shadows over Belairs in the centre of the mall.
She pushed her chair back and sighed. It was days like this she missed her hometown of Sweet Valley, California: missed the lingering sunshine and barefoot nights spent spinning to the strains of the Droids at the Beach Disco. She missed her long-time companion, Enid Rollins, and despised swapping her post as editor-in-chief of the SV Tribune for feel-good stories about diabetic mathematicians graudating from SMS. But most of all, she missed Jessica. Her twin, her other half, created in her own size-six, sun-streaked blonde-haired likness. Her best friend.
But the thought of her handsome boyfriend Todd Wilkins, with his warm, coffee-coloured eyes brought her back. An electric shock ran through her slim body as she thought of his chiseled jaw and generous biceps and the way they gave her such comfort. She knew his job offer as head basketball coach for SMS had been too good to turn down, and she had been almost as excited as he was when he’d announced the move. So excited, in fact, that she’d handed in her resignation at the Tribune that very day. And now, here she was, 6000 miles away, replacing the Box Tree Café and Palomar House with cheap take-out from Uncle Ed’s.
This is my life now, she thought with steely resolve. I have to make it.
Elizabeth pushed back her chair. At Sweet Valley she wouldn’t even be contemplating leaving the office yet – not until she’d gotten the scoop on the latest breaking tragedy in her neighbourhood, or listened to environmental editor Dawn Schafer rabbiting on about the pollution at Secca Lake. In other words, not till midnight. But now, she couldn’t wait to rush back to the two bedroom townhouse on Bradford Court she and Todd had been renting, to the solace of her own room, and curl up with her favourite Amanda Howard mystery.
“Bye, Mallory,” she called to the chirpy intern, who was frantically bent over the photocopier.
“See ya, Lizzie!” breathed Mallory, her frizzy red hair flapping about her face.
“You seem flustered,” murmured Elizabeth, resisting the urge to pat the junior’s shoulder over her oversized cream crochet sweater. “Is anything wrong?” A look of concern crossed her face.
“The usual.” said Mallory blankly, making a face. “I told Kristy I’d be at her place by six. She said something about having an awesome idea. It’s all over twitter.”
She slid her thick glasses up her nose.
“Oh and Liz – could you review the work experience applications from these kids from SHS? They’re in 9th grade – maybe we could put them to work.”
* * *
At 6:59pm, Todd’s black BMW crunched up the gravel driveway.
“You’re late,” Elizabeth said, flatly as he waltzed into the kitchen. She snatched his keys impatiently, and threw then down on the Spanish-tiled bench-top.
A look of regret flashed across Todd’s tanned face. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, engulfing her in a hug. “I was helping Laine mark her fourth grader’s geography project. It’s about anti-whaling.”
“She’s a qualified teacher,” Elizabeth snapped bitterly. “I’m sure she can handle it – besides, who cares about saving the whales?”
Todd did, but he let the comment slide.
“And that’s not all,” she continued. “You were late last night as well, and the night before that you and Ken were positively drunk at the Basher’s baseball final. I moved here for you, Todd Wilkins! Its time you started pulling your weight.” She slammed his casserole, now luke-warm, down on the table.
Todd sighed as he watched her sashay into her bedroom, probably to rearrange her desk-top or categorize her life plans for the next month. His girlfriend was having major adjustment problems. He opened up a copy of Sports Illustrated and sat down on the trundle bed he slept on downstairs. He’d been stupid to assume that once they’d moved in together Liz would be over her loss-of-virginity-phobia. Still, it didn’t really seem like the night to bring it up, somehow.
He loved Liz, he did, and he had for at least ten years. Fourteen, actually – since that first night he’d kissed her at a bowling alley in the sixth grade. He’d been there for her – through countless fights with her sister, the earthquake, two kidnappings and an evil doppelganger coming to SV and trying to steal her life. He’d forgiven her the fifteen times she’d cheated on him in their high-school junior year – with Bruce Patman, two Frenchmen, a werewolf and a psychotic face-transplanter nonetheless. And so he knew he’d just have to suck it up and get over her clingy separation anxiety for awhile. Before he did something he’d regret.
* * *
The Tower Clock was just striking nine as Elizabeth breezed through her first assignment of the day. “Local Girl Wins Nobel Prize in Mathematics.” It was about a dowdy looking Japanese girl called Janine Kishi. Elizabeth doubted she would be any better than Winston Egbert, Sweet Valley’s resident math whiz.
Elizabeth peered over her desk to the mousy brunette answering the phones. Mary-Anne, she’d heard someone call her. Elizabeth watched with a mixture of curiosity and pity as the girl hitched up her white knee-high socks and flicked an imaginary speck of dust off her patent leather flats. She didn’t look a day older than twenty.
“What’s her story?” she whispered to Mallory, pointing a perfectly manicured nail at the secretary.
“Oh, you mean Mary-Anne Spier,” chirped Mallory. “I’ve known her since we were kids. Her father is a lawyer – he practices all kinds of law, like your dad I think – and her step-mom is this total scatterbrain. Probably all the pot. Her real mum died when she was a baby – which probably means she inhabits the railroad underneath the place where they all live now on Burnt Hill Road. It was built in 1794, you know…”
Elizabeth shook her head. Poor Mary-Anne! Not only was she from a completely anuclear family, but a house without Spanish tiling was not at all conducive to a successful life. No wonder this girl was only a secretary.
She turned back to Mallory, who was still prattling
“- Oh and her father still forbids her to date. She’s still seeing Logan though, he brings her lunch sometimes and they go ice-skating, or they visit the Prezziosos..”
Elizabeth was saved by a phone call at her desk. It was Mary-Anne.
“Hi,” whispered the receptionist shyly. “The SHS students are here for their orientation. I knew you’d be happy to take care of them. Also, one of them is Mallory’s sister.” Elizabeth exhaled slowly. Probably the most words this girl had ever uttered – and she’d spoken them to Elizabeth! She thought back to Lynne Henry, a pathologically bashful introvert from Sweet Valley High School, whom Elizabeth with all her patience had managed to unshell. She’d even landed the girl a boyfriend. Project time!
“Shannon,” she called to the office’s resident job-filler. “Finish proof-reading my piece while I show the students around.” Elizabeth stepped out into the main lobby, gawking at Mary-Anne as she passed the front desk.
Outside stood a pair of high school girls. The taller, a raven-haired teen, was looking at the floor. The other, a petite blonde wearing oversized, purple-rimmed glasses, stuck out her hand. Elizabeth resisted a smirk as she watched the fifteen year old skittering on a too-large pair of court shoes, practically swimming in a black blazer.
“My name is Karen Brewer,” she announced. “Grand-daughter of the famous ghost, Ben Brewer, and step-sister of Kristy- she’s running for the local council. She lent me this outfit she bought in New York, from Bloomingdales.” She whipped out a navy blue pocketbook. “These are my numbers. Most days you can catch me on this number, but every second weekend I’m at the big house. I’m a two-two.”
Elizabeth smiled and turned her attention to the other ninth-grader, and gasped. An involuntary shudder ran down her spine. The face that stared back at her was so like her own – from the smooth tanned skin to the dimple in her left cheek. Elizabeth took a step back, and the girl’s eyes bored into hers like a glittering knife.
“I’m Margo,” rasped the girl. “Margo Pike.”
* * *
Elizabeth tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep. She was missing Jessica terribly, and she couldn’t stop thinking about the strange new student. But most of all, her thoughts were occupied by the poor receptionist from the News. Fancy growing up without a mother – and with a hippie stepmother at that! Elizabeth felt a pang of yearning for her hometown as she thought of the soothing arms of her own mother, Alice, an interior designer, who was more like a big sister than a parent. Finally she tossed off her baby blue comforter. She wished Todd was awake – she could really use an ear right now.
* * *
On Thursday at noon, Todd drove up to the Stoneybrook News Building, just a ten minute drive through the quiet neighbourhood from the school where he worked. He had an hour’s lunch break with no playground duty, and was determined to take Elizabeth out for lunch at Burger Bite. He’d even bought a bouquet of yellow daisies, her favourite.
He sauntered into the small office, the acrid smell of fresh ink mingling with the bitter fumes of instant coffee.
“Elizabeth Wakefield?” he asked the mousy receptionist. The brunette looked up from the fax machine she was hunched over and managed a small smile.
“You must be Todd,” she stated, blushing. She motioned toward Liz’s office with a small smile.
“Todd!” cried his girlfriend as he entered the room. She flung her arms around his neck. Well, this was a nice surprise. A bit more of the old Liz and less of this uptight prude he’d been living with. Oh, wait.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she continued, without taking a breath. “I’ve invited Mary-Anne out for lunch with us. Her boyfriend, Logan, is coming too.”
“But Liz,” he whined, “I thought it was just going to be us!” He’d been looking forward to sharing a salty-chocolate kiss with her over French fries.
“Todd!” she cajoled him, “Mary-Anne needs us – she’s not only super shy, but she has a stepmum. C’mon.” She whisked him away, and collected Mary-Anne at the desk.
“Bye Elizabeth,” someone chirped. She couldn’t decide if it was Mallory or Karen Brewer. She didn’t care – Todd was back under the thumb, she had a new project friend, and the office staff were definitely starting to warm to her. Stoneybrook wasn’t looking so bad after all.
Elizabeth almost skipped into the parking lot – but something made her turn around. She stopped short and scanned the concrete exterior of the newspaper office. And then she saw her – the raven-haired girl with the piercing blue eyes was staring at her from behind the bathroom window, her breath creating misty shapes across the frosted pane. Margo, Elizabeth breathed. The girl raised one hand in a mock wave. Elizabeth shuddered and clutched Todd’s tanned arm. She wasn’t in Sweet Valley anymore.
For the first three chapters, go to:
winstonegbert.wordpress.com/when-lila-met-stacey-a-sweet-valley-babysitter%E2%80%99s-club-crossover/
Here is chapter 1
STONEYBROOK
Elizabeth Wakefield glanced at the silver wristwatch on her left hand and sighed. It was four minutes past five o’clock, and the end of another exhausting day at the Stoneybrook News. Four minutes past five and already the Stoneybrook Fountain was casting long shadows over Belairs in the centre of the mall.
She pushed her chair back and sighed. It was days like this she missed her hometown of Sweet Valley, California: missed the lingering sunshine and barefoot nights spent spinning to the strains of the Droids at the Beach Disco. She missed her long-time companion, Enid Rollins, and despised swapping her post as editor-in-chief of the SV Tribune for feel-good stories about diabetic mathematicians graudating from SMS. But most of all, she missed Jessica. Her twin, her other half, created in her own size-six, sun-streaked blonde-haired likness. Her best friend.
But the thought of her handsome boyfriend Todd Wilkins, with his warm, coffee-coloured eyes brought her back. An electric shock ran through her slim body as she thought of his chiseled jaw and generous biceps and the way they gave her such comfort. She knew his job offer as head basketball coach for SMS had been too good to turn down, and she had been almost as excited as he was when he’d announced the move. So excited, in fact, that she’d handed in her resignation at the Tribune that very day. And now, here she was, 6000 miles away, replacing the Box Tree Café and Palomar House with cheap take-out from Uncle Ed’s.
This is my life now, she thought with steely resolve. I have to make it.
Elizabeth pushed back her chair. At Sweet Valley she wouldn’t even be contemplating leaving the office yet – not until she’d gotten the scoop on the latest breaking tragedy in her neighbourhood, or listened to environmental editor Dawn Schafer rabbiting on about the pollution at Secca Lake. In other words, not till midnight. But now, she couldn’t wait to rush back to the two bedroom townhouse on Bradford Court she and Todd had been renting, to the solace of her own room, and curl up with her favourite Amanda Howard mystery.
“Bye, Mallory,” she called to the chirpy intern, who was frantically bent over the photocopier.
“See ya, Lizzie!” breathed Mallory, her frizzy red hair flapping about her face.
“You seem flustered,” murmured Elizabeth, resisting the urge to pat the junior’s shoulder over her oversized cream crochet sweater. “Is anything wrong?” A look of concern crossed her face.
“The usual.” said Mallory blankly, making a face. “I told Kristy I’d be at her place by six. She said something about having an awesome idea. It’s all over twitter.”
She slid her thick glasses up her nose.
“Oh and Liz – could you review the work experience applications from these kids from SHS? They’re in 9th grade – maybe we could put them to work.”
* * *
At 6:59pm, Todd’s black BMW crunched up the gravel driveway.
“You’re late,” Elizabeth said, flatly as he waltzed into the kitchen. She snatched his keys impatiently, and threw then down on the Spanish-tiled bench-top.
A look of regret flashed across Todd’s tanned face. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, engulfing her in a hug. “I was helping Laine mark her fourth grader’s geography project. It’s about anti-whaling.”
“She’s a qualified teacher,” Elizabeth snapped bitterly. “I’m sure she can handle it – besides, who cares about saving the whales?”
Todd did, but he let the comment slide.
“And that’s not all,” she continued. “You were late last night as well, and the night before that you and Ken were positively drunk at the Basher’s baseball final. I moved here for you, Todd Wilkins! Its time you started pulling your weight.” She slammed his casserole, now luke-warm, down on the table.
Todd sighed as he watched her sashay into her bedroom, probably to rearrange her desk-top or categorize her life plans for the next month. His girlfriend was having major adjustment problems. He opened up a copy of Sports Illustrated and sat down on the trundle bed he slept on downstairs. He’d been stupid to assume that once they’d moved in together Liz would be over her loss-of-virginity-phobia. Still, it didn’t really seem like the night to bring it up, somehow.
He loved Liz, he did, and he had for at least ten years. Fourteen, actually – since that first night he’d kissed her at a bowling alley in the sixth grade. He’d been there for her – through countless fights with her sister, the earthquake, two kidnappings and an evil doppelganger coming to SV and trying to steal her life. He’d forgiven her the fifteen times she’d cheated on him in their high-school junior year – with Bruce Patman, two Frenchmen, a werewolf and a psychotic face-transplanter nonetheless. And so he knew he’d just have to suck it up and get over her clingy separation anxiety for awhile. Before he did something he’d regret.
* * *
The Tower Clock was just striking nine as Elizabeth breezed through her first assignment of the day. “Local Girl Wins Nobel Prize in Mathematics.” It was about a dowdy looking Japanese girl called Janine Kishi. Elizabeth doubted she would be any better than Winston Egbert, Sweet Valley’s resident math whiz.
Elizabeth peered over her desk to the mousy brunette answering the phones. Mary-Anne, she’d heard someone call her. Elizabeth watched with a mixture of curiosity and pity as the girl hitched up her white knee-high socks and flicked an imaginary speck of dust off her patent leather flats. She didn’t look a day older than twenty.
“What’s her story?” she whispered to Mallory, pointing a perfectly manicured nail at the secretary.
“Oh, you mean Mary-Anne Spier,” chirped Mallory. “I’ve known her since we were kids. Her father is a lawyer – he practices all kinds of law, like your dad I think – and her step-mom is this total scatterbrain. Probably all the pot. Her real mum died when she was a baby – which probably means she inhabits the railroad underneath the place where they all live now on Burnt Hill Road. It was built in 1794, you know…”
Elizabeth shook her head. Poor Mary-Anne! Not only was she from a completely anuclear family, but a house without Spanish tiling was not at all conducive to a successful life. No wonder this girl was only a secretary.
She turned back to Mallory, who was still prattling
“- Oh and her father still forbids her to date. She’s still seeing Logan though, he brings her lunch sometimes and they go ice-skating, or they visit the Prezziosos..”
Elizabeth was saved by a phone call at her desk. It was Mary-Anne.
“Hi,” whispered the receptionist shyly. “The SHS students are here for their orientation. I knew you’d be happy to take care of them. Also, one of them is Mallory’s sister.” Elizabeth exhaled slowly. Probably the most words this girl had ever uttered – and she’d spoken them to Elizabeth! She thought back to Lynne Henry, a pathologically bashful introvert from Sweet Valley High School, whom Elizabeth with all her patience had managed to unshell. She’d even landed the girl a boyfriend. Project time!
“Shannon,” she called to the office’s resident job-filler. “Finish proof-reading my piece while I show the students around.” Elizabeth stepped out into the main lobby, gawking at Mary-Anne as she passed the front desk.
Outside stood a pair of high school girls. The taller, a raven-haired teen, was looking at the floor. The other, a petite blonde wearing oversized, purple-rimmed glasses, stuck out her hand. Elizabeth resisted a smirk as she watched the fifteen year old skittering on a too-large pair of court shoes, practically swimming in a black blazer.
“My name is Karen Brewer,” she announced. “Grand-daughter of the famous ghost, Ben Brewer, and step-sister of Kristy- she’s running for the local council. She lent me this outfit she bought in New York, from Bloomingdales.” She whipped out a navy blue pocketbook. “These are my numbers. Most days you can catch me on this number, but every second weekend I’m at the big house. I’m a two-two.”
Elizabeth smiled and turned her attention to the other ninth-grader, and gasped. An involuntary shudder ran down her spine. The face that stared back at her was so like her own – from the smooth tanned skin to the dimple in her left cheek. Elizabeth took a step back, and the girl’s eyes bored into hers like a glittering knife.
“I’m Margo,” rasped the girl. “Margo Pike.”
* * *
Elizabeth tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep. She was missing Jessica terribly, and she couldn’t stop thinking about the strange new student. But most of all, her thoughts were occupied by the poor receptionist from the News. Fancy growing up without a mother – and with a hippie stepmother at that! Elizabeth felt a pang of yearning for her hometown as she thought of the soothing arms of her own mother, Alice, an interior designer, who was more like a big sister than a parent. Finally she tossed off her baby blue comforter. She wished Todd was awake – she could really use an ear right now.
* * *
On Thursday at noon, Todd drove up to the Stoneybrook News Building, just a ten minute drive through the quiet neighbourhood from the school where he worked. He had an hour’s lunch break with no playground duty, and was determined to take Elizabeth out for lunch at Burger Bite. He’d even bought a bouquet of yellow daisies, her favourite.
He sauntered into the small office, the acrid smell of fresh ink mingling with the bitter fumes of instant coffee.
“Elizabeth Wakefield?” he asked the mousy receptionist. The brunette looked up from the fax machine she was hunched over and managed a small smile.
“You must be Todd,” she stated, blushing. She motioned toward Liz’s office with a small smile.
“Todd!” cried his girlfriend as he entered the room. She flung her arms around his neck. Well, this was a nice surprise. A bit more of the old Liz and less of this uptight prude he’d been living with. Oh, wait.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she continued, without taking a breath. “I’ve invited Mary-Anne out for lunch with us. Her boyfriend, Logan, is coming too.”
“But Liz,” he whined, “I thought it was just going to be us!” He’d been looking forward to sharing a salty-chocolate kiss with her over French fries.
“Todd!” she cajoled him, “Mary-Anne needs us – she’s not only super shy, but she has a stepmum. C’mon.” She whisked him away, and collected Mary-Anne at the desk.
“Bye Elizabeth,” someone chirped. She couldn’t decide if it was Mallory or Karen Brewer. She didn’t care – Todd was back under the thumb, she had a new project friend, and the office staff were definitely starting to warm to her. Stoneybrook wasn’t looking so bad after all.
Elizabeth almost skipped into the parking lot – but something made her turn around. She stopped short and scanned the concrete exterior of the newspaper office. And then she saw her – the raven-haired girl with the piercing blue eyes was staring at her from behind the bathroom window, her breath creating misty shapes across the frosted pane. Margo, Elizabeth breathed. The girl raised one hand in a mock wave. Elizabeth shuddered and clutched Todd’s tanned arm. She wasn’t in Sweet Valley anymore.
