Racing Hearts

by Francine Pascal

  “Talk up this party with the gang, Lila. But make sure everyone realizes it’s a tribute to the coach. I just have a feeling that’s the key to convincing Roger to come.”

  “I think it just might work, Jess,” Lila said.

  “I think so, too,” Jessica said. But her thoughts were already focused on how she could make the most of the moment with Dennis. True, it would be Lila’s party, and the attention would be centered on Lila and Roger, but Jessica had a way of fixing that, too. She could see it now. Everyone who was anyone—from her sorority sisters to the guys on the boys’ tennis team—would be gathered around Lila’s lushly landscaped swimming pool. Right in the center of things would be Lila, making sure everyone was aware that Roger was the object of her affection. Then, as the hors d’oeuvres were being passed around, Jessica could casually mention to Cara how nice it was that Roger got time off from cleaning toilets to come to this affair. Within minutes everyone would be looking at Lila strangely—and she’d try to discover why. Soon she’d be off hiding in embarrassment, trying to figure out how to get out of this one. That would set the stage for Jessica’s introduction of Dennis and her taking over as star of the party. Jessica giggled inwardly in anticipation of the event. “I’ll start making calls now if you want,” Jessica offered.

  “Oh, that’d be terrific,” Lila gushed. “I don’t know what I’d do without a friend like you.”

  Jessica hung up then, and before she had a chance to make any calls, the phone rang again. She picked it up the same time as Elizabeth did, but when she discovered the call was not for her, Jessica hung up.

  After Elizabeth got off the phone, Jessica walked into her sister’s room. “Liz, has the gossip column gone to press yet?” she asked, an innocent lilt to her voice.

  “I still have a couple of days. Why? Do you have something for me?”

  “Only the biggest news of the year. Lila’s going to have a tribute to Coach Schultz right before the dance on Saturday. All the best people will be there. It should be the party to end all parties.”

  From the smirk on her sister’s face, Elizabeth could tell that Jessica was up to no good. “Thanks for telling me, but why should I rush it into this week’s column? Parties usually make news after they’ve happened, not before.”

  “This is different,” Jessica insisted. “This party is exactly what I need. It’s the perfect place for me to introduce Dennis to everyone.”

  “Hmm, and I’ll bet it’s the perfect setting for Roger and Lila, too. I imagine you can’t wait to see them together at the party,” Elizabeth noted dryly. “But I wouldn’t count on it. My hunch is that it’ll never come off.”

  “It has to,” Jessica said. “Roger might make an excuse to her about a regular party, but he can’t pass this up. Look how disappointed in him the coach would be.”

  “I think the coach is going to be even more disappointed than you think. Because I don’t think Roger’s going to run in the race at all.”

  Jessica’s jaw dropped. “You know this for a fact?”

  “I was just on the phone with Olivia Davidson. She said Roger told her his boss won’t give him the time off. So you can forget about your plan, Jess. It’s not going to happen.”

  “Don’t you think there’s any chance you could be wrong, Liz?”

  “Why? So you could get a laugh out of seeing Lila and Roger together? Olivia said Roger’s really worried you’ll tell the whole school you saw him.”

  Jessica bypassed the issue. “My big concern is getting the chance to introduce Dennis. If Roger doesn’t run, Lila won’t have the party, and it’ll ruin everything. Liz, isn’t there something we can do? Roger’s got to be in the race!”

  Elizabeth stifled a giggle. She agreed with Jessica, even if her twin’s motives were less than honorable. Roger’s running would be a boon to Sweet Valley, and more people than the coach and Jessica and Lila would be disappointed if he failed to show up. “I want to see him run, too,” Elizabeth said. “And maybe there’s a way to make it happen.” Struck with a thought, she got out of her desk chair and headed out to the hallway.

  “Where are you going?” Jessica asked.

  “I’ve got a brainstorm,” Elizabeth said. “And if it works, you’ll see Roger on the starting line—and at Lila’s party—on Saturday.”

  Nine

  The following morning Elizabeth was standing by her locker talking with Enid when Roger came whizzing down the corridor. “Roger, stop! I’ve got to talk to you,” she called.

  Roger was nearly up at the next bank of lockers when he turned around. “What’s up?”

  “Enid, could you excuse us a moment?” Her friend backed off gracefully as Elizabeth led Roger toward an unoccupied stretch of hallway. “I know Jessica saw you last night. I wanted to let you know that I spoke to her and she’s promised not to say a word about you.”

  “Can you trust her?” Roger asked.

  “She’s my sister,” Elizabeth said. “When she gives her word to me, she means it.”

  Roger shook his head. “I’m glad to hear that, Liz. And I appreciate what you’ve done for me. But I think Lila’s going to find out today anyway. As soon as I can, I’m going to go to Coach Schultz and tell him I’m dropping out of the race. The truth is I never wanted to run in the first place. It was just an ego thing for me, to see if I could do it. Well, I proved I can, and that’s good enough for me. If it’s not good enough for anyone else around here, that’s tough.”

  “You don’t really mean that, Roger,” Elizabeth said.

  “Hey, don’t put words in my mouth,” he said, his voice rising in anger. “This school doesn’t need me, anyway. You’ve got Bruce Patman. That should be enough for anyone.”

  Elizabeth kept her voice low. “I wasn’t trying to put words in your mouth,” she explained. “What I meant to say was that I know you’re afraid of losing your job.”

  “Olivia tell you?”

  Elizabeth nodded. “But I think there’s a way you can run and keep your job at the same time.”

  Roger looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Sure, and Santa Claus really comes down the chimney at Christmas. Maybe miracles happen in your life, Liz, but not in mine. The fantasy is over for me. At least the part about the race.”

  As Roger walked off, his eyes downcast, Elizabeth made a move to go after him but then changed her mind. Maybe she shouldn’t tell him her father was going to plead his case with Mr. Pendergast. It was better not to offer him false hope, just in case things didn’t work out.

  Before heading to Coach Schultz’s office, Roger went to his locker and took out and carefully folded the sweat suit the principal had given him. He didn’t feel right keeping it any longer, and he planned to return it to Mr. Cooper after his meeting with the coach.

  Roger should have had plenty of time to take care of everything before his first class, but he hadn’t counted on running into Lila. She looked particularly attractive that day in a pale, close-fitting linen dress cut low in the back.

  “Roger, I’m so glad I caught you. I have the most marvelous news to tell you.”

  “I have something to tell you, too,” he said. His nervousness clearly apparent, he let the sweat suit topple to the floor.

  Lila picked it up. “What are you carrying that around for?” she queried.

  He took a deep breath. “I’m returning the suit.”

  “Why? Don’t you like the fit? I thought it looked great on you.”

  “The fit has nothing to do with it. I didn’t buy this suit, Lila. The principal gave it to me, a sort of thanks for winning the trials the other day.”

  “So why are you giving it back?”

  “Lila”—he looked into her brown eyes, trying to read her thoughts—”how important is it to you that I run in the Bart?”

  “What a silly question, Roger.”

  “Is it? Would your feelings about me change if I didn’t run in the race?”

  Lila snorted. “I’m not going to answer that, Ro
ger, because I can’t think of a single reason why you wouldn’t run. It’s only the most prestigious sporting event of the year.”

  Roger was beginning to feel sick inside. He had the awful feeling that Lila had already given him the answer he didn’t want to hear, but he had to continue. She’d know soon enough, anyway.

  “Well, I have a very good reason for not running,” he told her. “I work in an office building, Lila. Every day from three to nine and all day Saturday you’ll find me there, making sure that all the wastepaper baskets are emptied and all the floors are shining.”

  Lila couldn’t hide the feeling of disgust that began to run through her. “You’re a cleaning boy!”

  “I prefer the term janitor,” he said, an unexpected feeling of pride coming over him. “We’re not all born rich. I don’t like being poor any more than you’d like it. That’s why I’m working my fingers off at this job. All that talk about wanting to be a doctor is true, Lila. I want that more than anything, and one way or another I’m going to make it. If it takes missing the Bart, it’s a sacrifice I’m prepared to make. I don’t need the prestige that comes with running in the race, but I do need the money from my job.” Roger could see that the sparkle was gone from Lila’s eyes. “Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?”

  Roger’s integrity was admirable, but Lila wanted nothing to do with it. Sacrifice was a word that wasn’t in her vocabulary. She certainly hoped no one else knew about his job. “Oh, it was nothing important,” Lila said, her party plans now ruined.

  “Somehow I’m not surprised,” Roger said, feeling both angry and hurt. “I realize you’ve just answered all my questions. See you around, Lila. I’ve got some people to talk to.”

  But the coach would have to wait, Roger thought as the warning bell rang. Forced to rely on his speed, he dashed down the hall and up the stairs to his first-period class, getting there with plenty of time to spare.

  * * *

  Later that morning, still carrying his sweat suit, Roger stood trembling before Coach Schultz. The white-haired coach was at his desk poring over a large ledger book. Without even looking up, he addressed his visitor. “Have a seat, Roger,” he said, his voice showing a friendliness he seldom revealed to his students. “I was just looking over some records from around the state. Do you realize your qualifying time was the fourth-fastest mile ever run by a high schooler?”

  Roger didn’t acknowledge the question. “Coach, I have something to tell you.”

  “Of course you realize with a little practice you can improve on that mark. When am I going to see you out there, boy?” The coach looked up, the friendliness draining from his face.

  “Oh, please, Coach Schultz, you just don’t understand why I can’t be at practice,” Roger said. “And even worse, why I won’t be able to run on Saturday.”

  “Did you sprain your ankle? Come down with viral pneumonia? Get an excuse from the president of the United States?” The coach’s typical gruffness was back in full form. “Because those are about the only excuses I’d accept from you.” The coach rose, and even though he was a fairly short man, he loomed over Roger, making the boy feel about as big as an ant—and just as powerless.

  “It—it’s none of those, sir,” Roger said haltingly. “It’s tearing me apart. I know how much I’m letting you and the school down. But you see, sir, I have a job that I can’t afford to lose.”

  Coach Schultz relaxed visibly. “Is that all?” he said. “That’s no problem, my boy.”

  “You don’t understand, Coach. My boss—”

  The coach cut him off. “A fella by the name of Pendergast, right?” Coach Schultz returned to his chair and faced Roger, who looked totally confused. “Talked to him this morning, as a matter of fact. He’s a little fella, isn’t he? Kind of like a weasel?”

  Roger chuckled. “That’s one way of putting it.”

  The coach nodded. “Could tell from his voice. Funny how even over the phone—”

  “Excuse me, sir,” Roger interrupted. “Are you telling me you called my boss this morning?”

  “No, he called me. Wanted to let me know he wasn’t going to stand in the way of you running in the Bart. He said he was going to let you come in an hour late the rest of the week and was giving you all day Saturday off.”

  “I don’t believe it,” Roger said, shaking his head. “That doesn’t sound like Mr. Pendergast at all.”

  “Maybe you don’t know him as well as you think. Did you realize he went to school with Jack Ralston? He knows how important the Bart is. When he heard you were eligible, he was surprised you hadn’t gone to talk to him about it. You won’t have any problems with him.”

  The unexpected news was slowly sinking in. “I can really run?” Roger said disbelievingly.

  “I’m counting on you to,” the coach warned.

  Roger smiled. “Don’t worry, sir. I’ll be there,” he said, his newfound excitement reflected in his voice. “Not only will I give Patman a run for his money—I might even break four minutes!”

  “That’s the spirit!”

  Roger stood up. “I don’t know how to thank you, sir. I’m very grateful.”

  “For what?”

  “For explaining everything to Mr. Pendergast, of course.”

  “I didn’t explain a thing to him. He already knew—and somehow he had a hunch you’d be coming in here today ready to back out of the race.”

  “Then who—?” Roger let the rest of the question hang in the air as he realized who his guardian angel was.

  “I can’t answer that, but someone’s looking out for your interests. Now, can I expect to see you there?”

  Roger’s enthusiasm was boundless. “I’ll be there after school,” he promised. “And, Coach, I know you want to go out a winner. I intend to help you do it.”

  “Go out where? You putting me out to pasture, Roger?”

  “Coach, we all know about it, how much pain you’re in and how you’re hanging in till after the race.”

  “What are you talking about, Roger?”

  “Why, your retirement, sir. It’s all over school how you’re going to be leaving Sweet Valley after the race.”

  The coach scratched his head. “Maybe you’d better sit down and tell me about this. As far as I’m concerned, I’m going nowhere.”

  Roger leaned against the desk. “You mean you’re not sick?”

  “Never been sick a day in my life. In fact, I had a checkup just last week. The doctor said I have the body of a thirty-year-old—and at my age that’s pretty good. So where’d you hear I was leaving?”

  “I don’t remember exactly who was the first to tell me. But I heard you’d announced your retirement at the last board meeting.”

  The small office began to vibrate with the coach’s laughter. “Is that what the kids are saying?” he asked, still laughing. “Someone out there’s got a vivid imagination.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m not sick, and I’m not leaving, Roger. I threw one of my usual tantrums at the board, threatening to quit if they didn’t cough up funds for redoing the football field. I put on a show like that about once a year—and as usual it worked. I got the money I requested, and the board got to keep me on. Someone must have heard about the meeting and taken it too seriously.” He began to chuckle again. “But how it got twisted into my impending demise sure beats me.”

  Roger smiled. “I’m so glad you’re all right, sir,” he said, rising. “And if it’s OK with you, I’d still like to dedicate this race to you.”

  “If that’s what it takes to make you run faster, it’s fine with me,” the coach said.

  Roger walked out of the coach’s office ready to believe in Santa Claus coming down the chimney—and in the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, too. True, he had his work cut out for him, but he felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He now had the race and his job and even time to go to the dance afterward. He might not stand a chance of going with Lila, but som
ehow that didn’t seem so important anymore.

  Quickening his pace, he ran down the hall to the cafeteria. He had some unfinished business to attend to.

  Ten

  Too excited to eat, Roger bypassed the cafeteria line and headed out to the patio. Scanning the crowded tables, he spotted the person he wanted to see, the person he felt was most responsible for enabling him to run.

  He ran up to Elizabeth Wakefield and gave her a big kiss. “Thanks a million, Liz,” he said.

  Todd Wilkins, sitting next to Elizabeth, gave him a funny look. “Hey buddy, that’s my girl.” He didn’t seem really angry, though.

  “Todd, that was merely a kiss of gratitude. Because of your girlfriend, I’m going to be able to run on Saturday.”

  “I never thought there was any question of that,” Todd said.

  “I’ll explain later,” Elizabeth told him. “Roger, how did you find out?”

  “I just came from Coach Schultz’s office.” Roger took a seat opposite her. “He said someone spoke to Mr. Pendergast, and I figured it had to have been you.”

  “You’re partially right. Actually, my father was the one who convinced him to give you the time off.”

  “It’s funny,” Roger continued. “I never figured him to be such a sports fan.”

  Elizabeth looked stunned. “Sports fan, hah. Did you know, Roger, that there’s a state law that requires Mr. Pendergast to give you vacation time? Not to mention sick days. He had to give you the time off, as I’m sure Dad pointed out to him. Sometimes it pays to be a lawyer.”

  “I don’t know how I’m going to thank your father,” Roger said. “He really put himself on the line for me.”

  “Don’t worry about it. He doesn’t like Mr. Pendergast any more than you do. But if you want to do something for him, you can win on Saturday. My dad is a sports fan, and he’s rooting for you all the way.”