The High School War by Pascal Francine

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

Chapter 8

The morning was misty and cool, with barely any wind, and no waves. Instead of surfing, Jessica and Christian cuddled on an inflatable mattress in the back of his VW bus.

"We shouldn't meet here anymore, now that Ken knows this is where I come to surf," said Jessica.

"You'll have to let me take you out on a real date, then," Christian replied. "How about this Saturday night?"

Jessica snuggled next to him under the blanket. "Sounds good. I didn't think you'd make it this morning, with your tires slashed and all."

"Two of the tires just got nicked—only one of them was really punctured. I patched it and pumped it back up. Somebody had a crummy knife," Christian said dryly.

"I'm so sorry," said Jessica, rubbing her hand in gentle circles on his bare chest. "I can't believe they did that to you. I mean, those guys are my friends." She wrinkled her forehead, confused. "At least they used to be."

Christian clenched his jaw. "Yeah, well, I'm sorry, too, and not just because of the damage to my VW. You know what this means, Jess."

She nodded miserably. "There's no way you'll be able to stop the war."

"I was going to talk to my buddies after the game last night," said Christian, "but when we got to the parking lot and saw all those cars with flat tires . . ." He whistled. "Man, you should have heard them. You should've heard me. I was steamed, too."

"So the war will go on and on." Jessica pressed herself close to Christian for comfort. "Palisades will get back at Sweet Valley, and then Sweet Valley will get back at Palisades, and the violence will get worse and worse. And where does that leave us?"

"I don't know, but I'm not planning to let you go." Christian's arms tightened around her. "No matter what happens."

"What about when your friends retaliate for the tire slashing?" Jessica imagined Christian with a knife, slashing tires. Or worse, fighting with Ken again. She shuddered. "You're their leader. They'll expect you to be first in line to get revenge against Sweet Valley."

"Well, I won't do it," declared Christian. "I'm through with the violence."

"But what will the other guys think?"

"I don't care what they think." Christian gazed into Jessica's eyes. "Don't you see? Falling in love with you has given me a new perspective on everything. The rivalry between our schools? It's meaningless. And if taking a stand means losing friends, then that's just the way it goes. You're more important," he said with quiet conviction.

Jessica nodded mutely, leaning her head against Christian's chest and listening to the strong, rhythmic beat of his heart. She felt the same way. She'd give up all her Sweet Valley friends for Christian if she had to. Would it come to that, though? Was it just a matter of time before her allegiance was put to the test? How was this all going to end?

Elizabeth and Todd stood near Elizabeth's locker before school on Wednesday morning, listening to Chrome Dome Cooper's announcement over the loudspeaker.

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