Regina's Legacy by Pascal Francine

Author:Pascal, Francine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-26T16:00:00+00:00

The instant the final bell rang on Monday, Elizabeth sprinted for Todd's locker. "Come on!" she cried, grabbing her boyfriend's arm. "Let's beat the rush leaving the parking lot."

"Whoa! Can't I even get the books I need for my homework tonight?"

"Nope."

"But, Liz—"

"I'm kidding about the books," she told him and smiled. "But I'm not kidding about being in a hurry!"

Todd grinned. "All right. I'm ready. Lead the way!"

Tugging Todd's hand, Elizabeth led him to the car. Todd put the key in the ignition and turned it. Nothing happened.

"Don't do this to me," he said under his breath. He turned the key again. Still nothing.

"Quit kidding around!" Elizabeth begged.

"I'm not kidding," Todd protested. "It won't start."

Elizabeth wanted to scream. She had had to wait all weekend to go to Mr. Sutton's darkroom and enlarge the photograph. Now it looked as if she might not get there today, either.

She bounced impatiently in her seat. "Why won't it start? Can't you do something?"

"I'm trying! I think there's something wrong with one of the ignition coils. I usually manage to get it going eventually. I guess I'll have to take it back to the dealership for some work. At least it's still under warranty."

Just as Elizabeth thought she would explode, Todd turned the key one more time, and the engine rumbled slowly into life. Todd gave her the thumbs-up sign. "Here we go!"

It was just as well Todd was driving, Elizabeth thought as they headed downtown. She would have had a hard time staying within the speed limit.

Todd parked the BMW on Main Street in front of Mr. Sutton's photography studio. The two hurried inside.

Mr. Sutton, who was working at a light table, looked up as Elizabeth and Todd entered. "Hi there, Liz. Nice to see you again!"

"Hello, Mr. Sutton. Do you know Todd Wilkins?"

Mr. Sutton shook Todd's hand. "Of course. Everyone knows the star of the Sweet Valley High basketball team!"

"Thanks for letting us come by," Elizabeth said. "I hope this isn't an inconvenience for you."

"Not at all," Mr. Sutton assured her. "The darkroom's all yours. Help yourself to anything and everything and just give a holler if you need help."

From Elizabeth's point of view, the arrangement was perfect. She had hoped to get away without showing the photograph of the three men to Mr. Sutton, and it appeared that he wasn't going to ask any questions about her urgent project.

"What should I do?" Todd asked Elizabeth as she prepared to make the enlargement.

"Just cross your fingers."

Focusing the enlarger, she zeroed in on the three men. Then she exposed the eight-by-ten print, timing it by the second hand on her watch.

She and Todd both held their breath as the print developed. "It's done," Elizabeth announced. "Now for the stop bath, and the fixer, and the rinse." After that was finished, she lifted the print from the last basin. "Let's take a look!"

Together they peered at the still-wet photograph. The lettering on the T-shirt was clearer, but still not clear enough. "I can't read it," Todd confessed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.