The Perfect Girl (Sweet Valley High Book 74)

by Francine Pascal

  "It was really nice meeting you, Robin," Vicky said when she rejoined them. "Maybe I'll see you again."

  "Great," Robin said, near tears.

  After George and Vicky left, Robin leaned back against the door. She was so relieved they were finally gone.

  This was the longest night of my life, Robin said to herself. The longest and the worst.

  Five

  Robin was picking at her breakfast the next morning when George came over. He chatted politely with Mrs. Wilson and sat down with them at the kitchen table.

  "I'll leave you two alone," Mrs. Wilson said after a few minutes as she tactfully got up from her chair.

  When her mother had gone, Robin continued to stare at her untouched bowl of cereal. She waited for George to speak.

  "Well?"

  "Well what?" Robin replied. She looked up to meet George's eyes and set her chin at a stubborn angle.

  "What happened last night?" he asked. He sounded hurt. "I was really embarrassed, Robin. You acted so strange."

  Robin fiddled with her spoon. "Strange?"

  "Yeah, strange." George frowned. "As if you were angry or something."

  Robin shrugged. "Maybe you shouldn't have brought another girl on our date."

  "But you know what happened. Hal was supposed to come with us, but at the last minute he had to cancel. I couldn't just dump Vicky."

  Robin didn't answer. Finding out that the girl George was so enthusiastic about was gorgeous and sophisticated had thrown her off balance. She felt hurt and frightened. People like Vicky never had to suffer the kind of humiliation Robin had to suffer. They were born beautiful and lucky. And people like me are born to lose, even if things go right for a while.

  "Robin?"

  Robin couldn't look at George. The fear of losing him so overwhelmed her that she could not even talk.

  "Listen, why won't you say something? I just don't get it," George said, his voice rising angrily. "You were so rude to Vicky last night, when all she was trying to do was be friendly. You practically cut her dead every time she opened her mouth."

  "I did not," Robin whispered.

  "I really thought you two would get along. I thought you had a lot in common."

  Like you, Robin thought.

  "Apparently you were wrong." Robin looked steadily at George, trying to hide her anxiety. "I'm sorry, but I don't like her. I don't pretend to like people. That's all."

  George shook his head, perplexed. "But why? What's not to like?"

  Robin's stomach rolled over. It was obvious George thought there was plenty to like about Vicky. And he was probably right.

  "Do I have to have a reason?" Robin said softly. She looked away. It was too painful to look at George, knowing she was losing him.

  "I just don't get it." George stood up and walked to the back door. "I have to get back to school. I'll call you."

  Robin sat perfectly still until he was gone. She was going to lose George to Vicky. She was sure of it.

  She scraped her chair back, stood up, and went over to the counter. Her mother had left out a package of sticky buns, and Robin yanked open a drawer for a knife. But just as she was about to cut into the sweet pastry, she pictured Vicky: slim, elegant, and glamorous.

  Robin swallowed the sour taste in her mouth and put the knife away. No wonder George liked Vicky. She probably kept that figure by avoiding anything remotely fattening. Robin let her hands drop to her sides, and she touched her hips. Was it her imagination, or did her legs seem a little chunky?

  Frowning, Robin hurried upstairs to the bathroom and pulled the scale to the middle of the floor. She held her breath and stepped onto it.

  "Oh, no!" she gasped. "Three pounds!"

  No wonder George is beginning to look at other girls!

  Robin angrily scolded herself for having gotten so sloppy and careless. Lately she had indulged in french fries, pizza, and chocolate cake. She had gotten out of the habit of weighing each food decision carefully. Now it was clearly time to get back on a real diet.

  "No more fattening food," she said out loud in a firm voice.

  Robin went into her room and took a sheet of paper from her desk drawer. Starting today she was going to get organized, get a grip on her life. She outlined a strict diet to follow: no breakfast, plain salad for lunch, and a very light dinner. And most importantly, no snacks. She wrote WATER at the top of the page in block capitals. Filling up on water was the best way she knew to hide hunger pangs and lose weight.

  To put her plan into action, Robin went back into the bathroom and drank three glasses of tap water. When she was done, she put the glass down and smiled at herself.

  "That's it, Wilson," she said. "You're not letting Vicky get George. No way."

  Plans for Super Sundae were moving full steam ahead. The cheerleaders met at lunch every day to give their progress reports.

  "Party Warehouse is donating a whole case of picnic bowls," Annie said. "You know, they're really for chili. And each case has five hundred bowls."

  "Wow!" Jessica cheered. "We could sell five hundred shares of the sundae!"

  Robin picked at her salad. The idea of all that ice cream was nauseating. With a grim scowl she speared a cucumber slice with her fork.

  "Robin, how can you stand it?" Cara asked. "Salad with no dressing?"

  "It tastes fine to me," Robin said lightly. She glanced at the grilled cheese sandwich on the table in front of Cara and did a quick calculation. Cara's lunch probably had a good five or six hundred calories, not to mention about a zillion grams of fat.

  "You asked about the plastic spoons, too, didn't you?" Jessica asked Annie.

  Annie shook her head. "No, I thought someone else was doing that. Didn't Sandy say she would?"

  "I said I'd find out about the kiddie pools," Sandra corrected her.

  "No, I'm doing that," Jessica said.

  Robin straightened up in her chair. "Hey, come on, you guys. We have to be more organized than this. We'll never pull off the Super Sundae if we keep messing up."

  Robin opened her notebook to where she'd stapled her typewritten notes on the Super Sundae. She scanned them quickly. "Annie, since you've already talked to the Party Warehouse people, you should go back and ask about the spoons. Sandy, you go with her."

  Several heads turned toward her, wearing identical expressions of surprise.

  "Yes, sir." Annie saluted.

  "I just want to be organized, that's all. Somebody has to be."

  "OK, OK." Annie didn't want Robin to get any more upset than she already was.

  Robin suppressed an irritated sigh. She knew it would be up to her to do the majority of the planning for the fund-raiser. Most of the cheerleaders would be content to leave things to the last minute, and some, like Amy Sutton, seemed completely uninterested.

  "I just don't want anything to get screwed up," Robin said for emphasis.

  Jessica rolled her eyes. "Fine, Robin. If you want to be the dictator, go right ahead."

  As everyone fell back into conversation Robin touched Sandy's arm. "I didn't mean to sound so bossy," she told her quietly.

  "That's all right. Forget it. Listen, I'm going to get on line. Want anything? Dessert?"

  Robin looked down at the salad on her plate. The word dessert sounded like music to her ears. She had been good since starting her diet. And she really was hungry. Her stomach gave a little growl of complaint as if to remind her how little she had eaten in the past couple of days. What difference would a few cookies make?

  "Hey, Robin. Have you heard from George lately?"

  Robin stared at Jessica. "Why?"

  "Just asking," Jessica said breezily. "I wondered how his flying class is going."

  The truth was that George hadn't called in days. And the silence was driving Robin crazy. She knew he was spending time with Vicky. Too much time, as far as Robin was concerned.

  "Robin?" Sandy repeated. "Do you want anything from the lunch line?"

  "No," Robin said throu
gh clenched teeth. "I don't want anything. Thanks."

  "You're sure?"

  "I said, I don't want anything!" she snapped.

  "OK, OK, you don't have to bite my head off." Sandy grinned and walked away.

  Frowning, Robin put a slice of tomato in her mouth and chewed slowly. The salad was all that she was going to eat until dinnertime, and she wanted to make it last. Still, she knew it wasn't going to fill up her stomach, and it definitely wasn't going to fill up that hollow feeling in her heart.

  "How's this?" Elizabeth asked, putting the new issue of The Oracle down in front of Jessica.

  Jessica snatched it up excitedly. "Hey, great! Front page!"

  The headline read

  SVH Cheerleaders Sastisfy Sweet Tooth for New Gym.

  The varsity cheerleaders, led by Jessica Wakefield and Robin Wilson, have announced their latest fund-raising event: a record-breaking ice-cream sundae. Tickets for a share of the "Super Sundae" will go on sale next week.

  According to Jessica Wakefield, "This ice-cream sundae is the coolest thing we've ever done." All of the ice cream and utensils are being donated by area merchants, most notably Izzy's Incredible. Proceeds will go toward the fund for a new gym floor. To be a part of this record-setting event, buy a share in the Super Sundae. Don't get left out.

  "That's fabulous, Liz! I bet everyone in Sweet Valley is going to buy a share. It'll be great."

  "I hope so." Elizabeth smiled. "Do you think it's a good article?"

  "Good? It's stellar," Jessica proclaimed proudly. "You're the best."

  Elizabeth grinned. "And you ain't seen nothing yet. The Sweet Valley News got a copy of the article this morning. And Enid's mother showed it to her boyfriend, Richard Cernak."

  Jessica's jaw dropped. "He works at the TV station, doesn't he?"

  Elizabeth nodded. "He won't promise the Super Sundae will be on the news," Elizabeth explained hastily. "But it might be."

  "It's going to be amazing, Liz! I can't wait."

  Robin listened to the distant ringing at the other end of the telephone line. There was no answer at George's room. There had been no answer each time she had tried in the past two days. The ringing went on and on while she stared into space. Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, she counted.

  With a sick feeling Robin hung up the phone. He was with Vicky. She was sure of it.

  "Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Wilson called.

  Robin heard her two younger brothers, Troy and Adam, galloping down the stairs. She walked to the kitchen and sat at the table.

  "I'm starved," Troy said, grasping his fork for emphasis.

  "Me, too," said Adam. "What's for dinner?"

  "Roast chicken and potatoes."

  Robin ignored her brothers. She crossed her arms and sank further into her gloomy mood. The thought of George and Vicky together drove her crazy, but she just couldn't get them out of her mind. It was infuriating to be so far away from George. She felt helpless to stop whatever was going on. When her mother put a plate of chicken, potatoes, and carrots in front of her, Robin snapped back to reality.

  "I don't want this much," she said quickly. She pushed the plate away. No matter how delicious it looked, no matter how hungry she felt, she was not going to eat.

  Mrs. Wilson poured her a glass of milk. "Just eat as much as you want, then."

  "Do these carrots have butter on them?" Robin asked suspiciously.

  "Margarine, yes," her mother replied. "The way I always make them."

  Robin shook her head. "I can't eat them. Sorry, Mom."

  Robin examined the chicken carefully, picking at it with her knife and fork. The skin was golden brown and crisp, but Robin knew it was mostly fat. She wouldn't touch that. An intense frown of concentration creased her forehead as she segregated the food into different areas on her plate. When she had finished, nearly everything was on the "don't eat" side.

  "Aren't you hungry, Robin?" Mrs. Wilson asked in surprise. "You're usually famished by dinnertime."

  Robin winced. Famished was just another word for greedy. It was definitely time to cut back on her food intake.

  "I'm on a diet," Robin explained as she handed her glass of milk to Troy. He took it without comment.

  "A diet, dear?" Mrs. Wilson frowned. "You look just fine to me."

  Robin let out a small gasp of exasperation. "That's what you used to say when I was fat, Mom. No matter how much of a pudge I was, you always said I looked just fine."

  "But you did," Mrs. Wilson insisted.

  "Are you saying you like me fat?" Robin asked in shock. She stared at her mother with growing resentment. "Do you actually want me to get fat again?"

  Her mother looked startled. "I didn't say—"

  "It's hard enough to diet," Robin went on angrily. "It would be nice if you didn't keep shoving fattening food in front of me."

  Nobody spoke. Robin felt her stomach gnawing at her, and the savory smell of the chicken made her mouth water. But she was not going to eat. There was too much on her mind already. She just couldn't add one more worry, like how many pounds this dinner was going to mean. The anxiety she felt about everything else was enough to overpower the hunger.

  "I'm not hungry anymore."

  Robin stood up, leaving her dinner untouched, and left the room.

  Six

  Elizabeth grabbed her books and her shoulder bag and ran out the door just as Jessica started beeping the horn.

  "Hurry up!" Jessica called out. "We'll be late for school."

  "Since when do you worry about being late?" Elizabeth teased as she climbed into the Fiat.

  "Oh, Liz. You must be the wittiest person in the world."

  "Right." Elizabeth grinned and sank back into the seat. Her sister switched on the radio, and they sang along together for a few minutes.

  "Hey," Elizabeth said as she leaned forward and lowered the sound on the radio, "that looks like Robin up ahead."

  A lone figure was walking on the side of the road. Jessica slowed the car as they passed.

  "Stop. Maybe she needs a ride."

  Obediently Jessica stopped the car, and they waited a moment until Robin came abreast of them.

  "Hi," Robin said with a faint smile. "You didn't have to stop."

  "Do you want a ride to school?" Jessica asked.

  Robin shook her head. "No, thanks. I need the exercise."

  "Why?" Elizabeth gave an incredulous laugh. "Cheerleading practice and diving isn't enough exercise for you?"

  Elizabeth expected Robin to laugh along with her. But to her surprise, Robin looked deadly serious.

  "No, it's not."

  "But you must be kind of worn out. It's a long walk from your house to school." Elizabeth was beginning to feel a little bit worried. There were faint circles under Robin's eyes, and her mouth had a tired, downturned slant.

  "I'm fine, Liz, really," Robin insisted. She gave them both a bright smile. "I don't need a ride."

  "OK," Jessica said breezily as she put the car into gear again. "See you later."

  When Jessica pulled out into the road, Elizabeth cast an anxious glance back at Robin. She recalled vividly the determined expression Robin had worn when she was still heavy and had started to diet. Robin had run around the track, skipped meals, even jogged up and down the bleachers. She had been absolutely resolved.

  And Robin had that same determined expression now. But there was something else, too. There was a look of desperation in her eyes.

  "Is Robin on a diet again?"

  Jessica shrugged. "I guess so. She's been eating naked salads for lunch. No dressing."

  "But why? She's so slim already."

  "Who knows?" Jessica obviously wasn't very concerned about Robin. "She wants to be slimmer, that's all."

  "Why is everyone in this country so obsessed with being skinny?" Elizabeth said angrily. "It's not right. Girls and women are made to feel they're ugly if they don't look like models or like beauty pageant contestants."

  "Well, models and
beauty pageant contestants look good," Jessica said matter-of-factly.

  Elizabeth made a sour face. "Beauty pageants. The whole idea makes me sick. Women being judged on their bodies. It's gross, when you think about it."

  "Boy, you sure are getting carried away," Jessica said in surprise. "Don't worry about Robin. It's her business if she wants to lose weight. It doesn't make any difference to me. And it shouldn't make any difference to you."

  Nodding absently, Elizabeth looked out the window. It was Robin's business. But that didn't settle Elizabeth's worries.

  "I can sell tickets door to door in my apartment building," Annie Whitman said at lunchtime. "There are tons of kids who will want to eat ice cream!"

  "Think you can sell all five hundred tickets?" Jessica teased.

  "Close to it!"

  Robin nodded as she wrote in her notebook. "Say something catchy like, Turn in this ticket for a bowl and. a spoon.' "

  The cheerleaders were eating lunch and chatting about the Super Sundae. Elizabeth was sitting with them as an honorary member of the committee. It was her job to find out how big their sundae had to be to set a record, and to continue to direct their publicity.

  "How much do we sell the tickets for?" Cara looked inquiringly around the table.

  "A dollar," Robin said firmly. "We have to make it worthwhile for us, but not too expensive for everyone who wants a share." She glanced around the table at the other girls. "And I volunteer to handle the money, too."

  "Fine with me," Amy said. "I don't want that responsibility."

  Robin made a small, satisfied nod. Secretly she didn't trust anyone else with the money. It wasn't that the cheerleaders weren't honest. Robin just didn't think they were very reliable. It was safer for her to take charge from the start.

  "I came up with some poster designs, too," Sandy announced as she passed around some sheets of paper.

  "This is great! Look, everyone."

  Elizabeth held up one of Sandy's designs. It showed a huge ice-cream sundae with the cheerleaders standing on top. THREE CHEERS FOR SUPER SUNDAE the caption read. Below the picture were the details: the where, when, and why of the fund-raiser.

  "Fabulous," Jessica said.