Free SVH09-Racing Hearts by Francine Pascal Page B

what if they know? The people who find something funny about that aren't your friends and they never will be. But there are plenty of
    kids out there who'd admire you for what you're doing."
    Roger sighed. "Well, it looks as if I'm about to find out if you're right."
    "I don't plan on telling anyone, if that's what you mean," Olivia said.
    "Oh, I know you wouldn't. It's Jessica Wakefield I'm concerned about. I ran into her tonight at the office building. I'm sure she's on the phone with her friends already."
    "Even if she tells the world, I don't see that you have anything to worry about. You're a big star in school, Roger. The fact that you're helping out your family can only make you a bigger hero."
    "Well, that's the other thing I'm calling about. The star is about to fall. I can't run in the Bart. I don't have the guts to tell anyone. You're the only person who knows."
    "Why can't you run?"
    "My boss, Mr. Pendergast, is a real rat. I know he won't give me the time off on Saturday to race, let alone some time to practice during the week."
    "Have you asked him?"
    "I'm afraid to, Liv. A few weeks ago I asked him for an afternoon off so I could take my mother to the clinic. He gave me an hour off-- and even that was like pulling teeth--but then he warned me that if I asked him for any more time off, he'd consider it my resignation notice."
    "He can't do that!" Olivia declared.
    "He's the boss," Roger pointed out. "He never loses an opportunity to let me know how lucky I am to have the job. I can be replaced very easily."
    "I doubt that, Roger. But in any event, there's got to be a way to get you to run. Now it's clearer than ever that you really could use that scholarship--certainly a lot more than Bruce Patman could. Tell you what. Let me think about it and see what I can come up with."
    "Thanks, Liv. You're a good friend."
    For a long time after she got off the phone with Roger, Olivia pondered the situation. Lila or no Lila, her feelings for Roger were as strong as ever. It killed her that the only thing keeping him from a possible college education was a mean-spirited boss. She'd had enough run-ins with her superiors at the museum to know the kind of pressure he faced. Try as she did, however, she couldn't figure out a way to help him. That's why she decided to betray his confidence and call up someone who might.
    On the other side of town, in a corner bedroom of the Fowler mansion, Lila looked out her window and gazed at the twinkling lights of the Sweet Valley houses below. She was racking her brain trying to figure out what she was doing wrong. Beyond a shadow of a doubt,
    she knew Roger had a crush on her, yet he still hadn't asked her to the Bart dance. So far he'd been resisting all her hints; he'd even turned down an invitation from her. True, her interest in him had been rather sudden, given the way she used to ignore him. But all that was in the past. Everyone had misjudged Roger, and now that he'd won the race and proved he was one of them, things were going to be different. Together she and Roger would be the new golden couple in school, even more popular than the short-lived though spectacular team of Jessica Wakefield and Bruce Patman.
    There had to be some way she could ensure that she would be the one on Roger's arm at the dance. But all her efforts had failed, and she had run out of fresh ideas. So she did the only thing left to do. Grabbing the phone off her night table, she quickly dialed a number, tapping one perfectly manicured, frosted fingernail against the receiver as she waited impatiently for an answer. "Jessica?" she said. "I need your help." The girl on the other end cut her off. "Lila, it's Liz. Jessica isn't home yet." Thank goodness, Elizabeth wanted to add. Lila Fowler was the last person in the world her sister ought to be talking to at the moment. "Don't tell me she's working late again."
    "Afraid so," Elizabeth said, figuring Lila didn't
    need to hear the truth from her. "She's very