Free SVH05-All Night Long by Francine Pascal

Elizabeth sat up a bit straighter. It might be nice to have a new assignment to immerse herself in. Something good and distracting.
    "How would you like to cover the surfing competition this weekend?" Mr. Collins suggested.
    "I would love to!" Elizabeth replied, perking up considerably. "I even already have an angle in mind," she added, thinking of the Will Chase-Sonny Callahan rivalry. "But what about John?"
    John Pfeiffer was the sports editor for The Oracle and usually covered events like this one.
    Mr. Collins gave Elizabeth a wry smile. "John told me this morning that he won't be able to make it. They're holding a tennis tournament at the country club the same day, which the Patmans are sponsoring. Bruce is, of course, the top seed."
    "Of course," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes.
    "Mr. Patman, in his capacity as chairman of the school board, passed down the word that he would be pretty upset if coverage of a legitimate sporting event was preempted by a bunch of, quote, longhaired stoners in seal suits, unquote."
    "Did you get that on the record?" Elizabeth asked hungrily.
    "Unfortunately, no." Mr. Collins stood and pushed up the already rolled sleeves of his oxford shirt. "But you gotta love that guy for the unapologetic Mr. Monopoly attitude. The man knows who he is and sticks with it."
    Elizabeth snorted a laugh.
    "Anyway, if you want the assignment, it's yours," Mr. Collins said with a smile. "If nothing else, it's the perfect excuse to spend your entire Saturday at the beach."
    "True," Elizabeth said.
    "So, are you in?"
    Elizabeth took a deep breath, her heart feeling heavy. She and Todd were supposed to go to the competition together-pack a picnic, cheer for Will, hang out all day. The idea of going there alone and potentially bumping into him made her insides squirm, but what was she going to do? Refuse a great assignment and let Mr. Collins down in the process? Not likely. She wasn't about to let guy trouble get in the way of her job.
    "All right. I'm in," she told Mr. Collins with a
    resolute nod. "I'll start the preliminary interviews this afternoon."
    "Good." He started to go, but paused when Elizabeth looked back at her blank screen and sighed. "Are you sure you're okay? I could give you a ride home if you need one."
    "No. It's all right," Elizabeth mumbled, avoiding his gaze. "I have my car. Maybe I'll just drive home with the top down. I could probably use some air."
    "Good idea. Go home and rest. You can start on the surfing thing tomorrow," Mr. Collins said.
    Elizabeth finally gave in and admitted to herself that she wasn't going to be getting any work done. She gathered her books and started for the door, wondering if she would find Jessica at home, or a legion of police cars delivering the news that something awful had happened. On her way through the door, she was so distracted she collided with Olivia Davidson, who was carrying a huge stack of notebooks-all of which ended up on the floor.
    "I'm so sorry!" Elizabeth blurted out, crouching to the floor to help Olivia gather her things. "I didn't even see you there."
    "No worries!" Olivia grinned good-naturedly, her
    brown curls peeping out from underneath a vibrant purple scarf. "I'm supposed to be reviewing all the new recycled-paper notebooks for my column, so you've just helped me test how well they hold up to wear and tear."
    "Well, glad I could help, then," Elizabeth said, forcing a smile. She handed a few notebooks over and they both stood.
    "I just saw Todd on his way to football practice. He barely even looked at me when I said hi," Olivia said as she straightened the stack of books.
    "Everything okay with him?"
    Elizabeth swallowed hard. "We had a fight."
    Instantly, her eyes stung with tears. Just saying the words upset her all over again. She really had to get a grip.
    "Oh, is that all?" Olivia said, waving a hand.
    "You guys will work it out in no time."
    "Do you really think so?" Elizabeth asked, willing to grab on to any slim thread of