Free SVH04-Power Play by Francine Pascal

Lila so well?"
    "I can't answer you," Elizabeth replied firmly but reluctantly. She refused to say more. She was sure of her conviction that telling Jessica everything would be a very dangerous move. Jessica insisted angrily that her sister leave her room, and a very sorrowful Elizabeth obliged her. Jessica's fury was a burden she would just have to bear alone.
    Early the next morning Elizabeth walked to the track behind Sweet Valley High, and there was the solitary figure running in sweat clothes.
    Elizabeth sat in the bleachers and waited.
    Robin was like a machine on the track. She looked strong, almost athletic. And, as always these days, she stared straight ahead, blotting out everything else. She ran relentlessly, and it occurred to Elizabeth that perhaps she was running toward something, something only she could see.
    Finally, Robin trotted over to the bleachers and stopped. She looked at Elizabeth calmly.
    "You must have run a mile," Elizabeth said hesitantly.
    "Five miles."
    "Robin, I know it's none of my business, but how are you doing?"
    "Fine. In fact, super. Do you remember when we had to read The Iliad? Remember the part where the Greeks and Trojans came under the spell of one of the gods?"
    "Excuse me?" Elizabeth stammered, wondering if Robin really was falling apart.
    "You should read it over again," Robin said. "Especially the part where the person comes out of the spell and finally sees clearly."
    "You're not angry at me anymore?"
    "Angry? I should thank you. You're the only one of that bunch I would even talk to. But honestly, Liz, I really can't talk right now. See you later."
    And off she jogged toward the gym.
    The conversation left Elizabeth more perplexed than ever, though one thing was for sure. Robin didn't seem depressed. She was different, all right, but not in a negative way. Elizabeth was intrigued. Her reporter's mind began searching for some clue that would explain what was taking place.
    One day she walked through the cafeteria
    and sat down at a table to wait for her friend Enid. Looking around, she saw Robin sitting alone at a nearby table. Elizabeth started to speak but quickly changed her mind. The clue she had been searching for was right in front of her.
    Robin's plate, usually heaped with french fries and double burgers, now held only lettuce leaves, two tomato slices, and a hard-boiled egg. Elizabeth watched her silently, and when Robin got up to walk away, she noticed it for certain. On the track in bulky sweat clothes it wasn't obvious. But now, even in a tent dress, it was: Robin Wilson was losing weight.
    Every day before classes Elizabeth checked behind the school and always saw the lone figure circling the track in her sweat suit. Every lunchtime she noticed a subdued Robin looking a little tired and very alone, picking at a scaled- down lunch. One day a week or two later Elizabeth almost bumped into her coming down the stairs--and was astonished to realize the transformation that was occurring. The excess pounds were going rapidly, and the Robin who was emerging seemed like an entirely different girl. Elizabeth remembered the night of the dance-- Discodisaster--when she first realized that Robin had a pretty face. Now, as the weight fell away, that face was becoming more than just pretty.
    Elizabeth grinned excitedly. "Robin, you're really losing weight." .
    "Very observant," Robin responded, a note of sarcasm in her voice. "I hope you're doing it the right way Robin." Robin fixed her penetrating eyes on Elizabeth, "Liz, I may have been stupid about almost everything--the Pi Betas, Jessica, and maybe even you. But if you're asking me if I'm starving myself to death, I wouldn't give any of the PBAs the satisfaction." "Oh, Robin, I think you're terrific." The expressionless eyes seemed to glow with a momentary warmth, but then the mask returned. Nodding a goodbye, Robin hurried down the stairs.
    All the way home, Elizabeth found herself humming, her thoughts now on Todd. She'd been