Sweet Valley High $60: That Fatal Night
Sweet Valley High #60: That Fatal Night
“That Fatal Night” tells the story of what happens to Ken Matthews after he's in a car crash. The cover question asks, “Will Ken's life be ruined in one tragic moment?” I hadn't read this one, and I was all excited because I thought someone was going to die. But disclaimer: no one does. Very bad time for the ghost writers to realize some words have multiple definitions!
Todd and Elizabeth are at a football game. The Sweet Valley High Gladiators are losing, but Todd tells us they're undefeated so they can't lose. Todd does not understand the distinction between “undefeated” and “invincible,” I guess. Liz notes that Amy Sutton is paying an awful lot of attention to quarterback Ken Matthews. That Amy is really subtle, no?
Ken does something fabulous; I sort of zone out at football so I can't repeat it to you. But everyone is happy, like he defused a bomb or something. Terri Adams watches him do this with a bunch of sporty people from SVH, which includes Oracle sports editor John Pfeifer (hiss!). Terri is in charge of keeping statistics for the football team (is this really a job? I went to a girls school) and has a huge crush on Ken. She's excited to be invited to Amy Sutton's celebratory party because she thinks Ken will be there.
At the party, Amy kisses Ken. Terri is sad. Ken is uncomfortable; he hasn't been dating Amy that long. Amy fetches Ken a drink, which doesn't sound like Amy to me. She gets him orange juice. I think this is only in here so we're hit over the head with the fact that he's not drinking alcohol. But it's odd he's not drinking punch or soda right? Is this a brunch party?
Ken offers to drive Winston and Maria home. Winston's bug is in the shop so they were going to take the bus, but Ken is too nice to let friends of his take the bus (The bus!)! Oh, and also Amy is making him uncomfortable. Terri, after crying in the bathroom, decides it's time for her to go home. She asks Winston for a lift, not realizing Ken will be the driver.
It starts to rain while Ken is driving. He drops Winston and Maria off. Only Terri and he are left in the car. Terri is in love. When they arrive at Terri's house she invites him in because she thinks it's raining too hard for driving. Ken says he has to get back to Amy's party, and takes off.
Ken is thinking about how wonderful Terri is when another car comes careening down a hill in his lane. He drives to swerve, but hits a tree.
Jessica's date to the party turns out to be a jerk (big surprise) so she asks Liz and Todd for a ride home. On the way, they encounter an accident. Gee, I wonder who it could be. Liz recognizes it as Ken's car from the “Honk if You Love the Gladiators” bumper sticker (no, I'm not making that up). They see Ken taken away in a stretcher and are told his full name is Kenneth by the police officer, who apparently just likes to spout his full name and address to the rubberneckers. Unlike the Gladiators, the SV Police are not very good.
Amy is thinking about how great it will be when Ken is famous and she's his girlfriend, when Jess, Liz and Todd (the trio of doom!) return to the party. They tell Amy the other driver was drunk. But the next day, when Winston shows up to talk to her, he tells her Terri was the last to see Ken before the accident. Amy decides the whole thing was Terri's fault. ...I don't even have words for the crazy. She wasn't even there!
Jessica and Amy go to Fowler Memorial Hospital. They see Ken's parents who say Ken will live. But they say the doctors will not let Jessica and Amy visit Ken because they're not family. Amy is relieved. She was going to send Jessica in alone because she doesn't like hospitals. Some girlfriend! Amy hopes the accident will not affect his football playing. Jessica tells Amy she should just be relieved he's alive, not all worried about football. You know you're weird when Jessica Wakefield is more sensible than you.
Monday, Terri arrives at school unaware of what happened to Ken. She's been thinking about him all weekend though. She finds out what happened when she overhears Amy insisting to all her friends that Ken would be fine if “that girl Terri” didn't make him take her home. Terri feels horrible. She thinks if only she made him stay or if she didn't bail out of the party, he would be fine. Except Ken was taking Winston and Maria home anyway and you weren't the drunk guy who hit him!
Amy goes to see Ken and he's got bandages covering his face. He can't see her. Then when they take the bandages off, he still can't see her. He's blind! Surprise! You'd think the doctors might have noticed that before. But no, the doctors here are almost as good as the police officers.
The doctors think he might regain his vision when the swelling in his brain goes down. Until then, they're going to release him. What? You're just going to just let him walk around with swelling in his brain? I'm not a doctor but I'm not sure that's a good idea.
Liz and Jess show up and they have a card for Ken at school. Jess is all “read it now, Ken.” Could someone maybe alert them that he's blind? Parents? Doctors? Police officers on the side of the road of the accident? How awkward. Anyway, guess who else doesn't know Ken is blind? Amy. She shows up to visit and when Jessica tells her, she freaks out and leaves, saying not to tell Ken she was there.
At school, Amy confronts Terri and shouts at her that it's her fault that Ken is blind. Amy's a really swell person. Liz shows up to comfort Terri and Terri begs Liz to help her see Ken. She wants to beg his forgiveness or make out with himsomething.
Liz brings Terri to the rehabilitation center, where Ken is learning to live like a blind person while his brain is all swollen. She cries and apologizes and he, of course, says it's not her fault. Then they almost kiss but are interrupted by Ken's “counselor.” This term makes me think of camp. Blind camp! It's gonna be big.
A month later, Ken is about to be released from blind camp. Tomorrow, he is going to start at Sweet Valley High again. But he's still a little bitter and upset, which is very understandable because he's blind. At school, Winston has to lead Ken around so he doesn't bump into things and people. Winston's a good friend, not a lot of people would be like “Sure! I'll be your guide-dog!”
You know who's not a good friend? That Amy Sutton. She has one class with Ken and she greets him, then totally blows him off. She could've at least waited a week or a day or something. She says it's all “too much for her to handle” but that would be more believable if she ever actually attempted to handle it.
Ken manages to find his way to the football field. He sits to brood and be sad, when he overhears Scott talking. Scott is now quarterback of the football team and guess who wants to go out with him? Amy. She's a real peach.
Then Terri comes over. She's sweet and they talk about football. Ken is genuinely interested in how the team is doing without him. If it were me I wouldn't want to hear about it, but he wants them to win even without him, I guess. Ken is too nice to live in Sweet Valley.
Terri calls Liz and says she's worried about Ken. She doesn't understand why he'll be okay one minute and then upset the next. Liz says to get into his head she should wear a blindfold. Really? Really?!? How about she just try to be supportive and understanding that he's going through a lot? Not be pedantic and trip over things in her house for no reason?
The next day, Liz and Enid organize a welcome home party for Ken in the cafeteria at lunch. They get a cake (paid for by Bruce Patman) and gather people around. Liz hears about Amy and Scott and tells Amy not to come a ruin the party. But she does anyway, because she's Amy. She is cold to Ken in front of everyone and he feels humiliated. Great, humiliate the blind man, because he needs more emotional baggage to deal with.
After school, Terri does the blindfold thing. Apparently, people really depend on their sight. Who'd have guessed? Afterwards, she calls Ken and invites him to the beach. They go, and it's a nice date or whatever. She takes him to a deserted beach and they walk along the water. He says he misses running on the beach and she says he still can do that and runs next to him. It's all misty and water-colored.
Terri invites Ken to go to the last(?) football game of the season. She says he doesn't to if he doesn't want to, but she thought he'd enjoy it. She promises to give him a play-by-play, which she is is apparently good at because Ken says she makes in interesting. The Gladiators lose, and their undefeated season is over.
Afterwards, they go for another run on the beach. I guess Ken likes to run a lot. He and I could not be more different. He has the urge to kiss Terri but thinks she won't want to kiss him because he's blind or whatever.
Terri takes Ken to a Droids concert. She has failed a test of some sort because she had been so busy helping Ken. She talks to John Pfeifer (boo!) about this for about five minutes. And is surprised to find Ken is mad at her for “abandoning” him when she comes back. She thinks Ken is being moody but really he was probably just afraid she'd get raped! Good for you, Ken, don't let her talk to that asshole!
Terri calls Liz to ask for advice. What is Liz? The Dear Abby for Blind Men and the Women Who Love Them? Liz thinks Terri should stop doing so much stuff for Ken, or else he'll never learn to do it for himself. Liz should apply this theory to her relationship with Jessica.
When Terri tries to tell Ken this however, he thinks she is abandoning him (much as Amy did) and is upset. They fight. She tells him he has to stop feeling sorry for himself and then she says that she loves him and storms out. I love a good storm out, don't you?
Ken feels like a dick. He realizes he loves Terri too! But when he calls her house to apologize, she's not there. Ken realizes he has to start doing things for himself. So he goes outside and takes the bus (the bus!) to the beach, without anyone's help. Terri is naturally at the beach crying over her broken relationship, when Ken arrives.
They kiss. And, apparently, Terri's kisses are made of MAGIC. Because as the sun begins to set behind them, Ken realizes he CAN SEE THE LIGHT. His sight is comin' back! Thank god he won't have to take the bus (the bus!) anymore.
Then there's just foreshadowing for the next book, Boy Trouble, and that's it.
“That Fatal Night” tells the story of what happens to Ken Matthews after he's in a car crash. The cover question asks, “Will Ken's life be ruined in one tragic moment?” I hadn't read this one, and I was all excited because I thought someone was going to die. But disclaimer: no one does. Very bad time for the ghost writers to realize some words have multiple definitions!
Todd and Elizabeth are at a football game. The Sweet Valley High Gladiators are losing, but Todd tells us they're undefeated so they can't lose. Todd does not understand the distinction between “undefeated” and “invincible,” I guess. Liz notes that Amy Sutton is paying an awful lot of attention to quarterback Ken Matthews. That Amy is really subtle, no?
Ken does something fabulous; I sort of zone out at football so I can't repeat it to you. But everyone is happy, like he defused a bomb or something. Terri Adams watches him do this with a bunch of sporty people from SVH, which includes Oracle sports editor John Pfeifer (hiss!). Terri is in charge of keeping statistics for the football team (is this really a job? I went to a girls school) and has a huge crush on Ken. She's excited to be invited to Amy Sutton's celebratory party because she thinks Ken will be there.
At the party, Amy kisses Ken. Terri is sad. Ken is uncomfortable; he hasn't been dating Amy that long. Amy fetches Ken a drink, which doesn't sound like Amy to me. She gets him orange juice. I think this is only in here so we're hit over the head with the fact that he's not drinking alcohol. But it's odd he's not drinking punch or soda right? Is this a brunch party?
Ken offers to drive Winston and Maria home. Winston's bug is in the shop so they were going to take the bus, but Ken is too nice to let friends of his take the bus (The bus!)! Oh, and also Amy is making him uncomfortable. Terri, after crying in the bathroom, decides it's time for her to go home. She asks Winston for a lift, not realizing Ken will be the driver.
It starts to rain while Ken is driving. He drops Winston and Maria off. Only Terri and he are left in the car. Terri is in love. When they arrive at Terri's house she invites him in because she thinks it's raining too hard for driving. Ken says he has to get back to Amy's party, and takes off.
Ken is thinking about how wonderful Terri is when another car comes careening down a hill in his lane. He drives to swerve, but hits a tree.
Jessica's date to the party turns out to be a jerk (big surprise) so she asks Liz and Todd for a ride home. On the way, they encounter an accident. Gee, I wonder who it could be. Liz recognizes it as Ken's car from the “Honk if You Love the Gladiators” bumper sticker (no, I'm not making that up). They see Ken taken away in a stretcher and are told his full name is Kenneth by the police officer, who apparently just likes to spout his full name and address to the rubberneckers. Unlike the Gladiators, the SV Police are not very good.
Amy is thinking about how great it will be when Ken is famous and she's his girlfriend, when Jess, Liz and Todd (the trio of doom!) return to the party. They tell Amy the other driver was drunk. But the next day, when Winston shows up to talk to her, he tells her Terri was the last to see Ken before the accident. Amy decides the whole thing was Terri's fault. ...I don't even have words for the crazy. She wasn't even there!
Jessica and Amy go to Fowler Memorial Hospital. They see Ken's parents who say Ken will live. But they say the doctors will not let Jessica and Amy visit Ken because they're not family. Amy is relieved. She was going to send Jessica in alone because she doesn't like hospitals. Some girlfriend! Amy hopes the accident will not affect his football playing. Jessica tells Amy she should just be relieved he's alive, not all worried about football. You know you're weird when Jessica Wakefield is more sensible than you.
Monday, Terri arrives at school unaware of what happened to Ken. She's been thinking about him all weekend though. She finds out what happened when she overhears Amy insisting to all her friends that Ken would be fine if “that girl Terri” didn't make him take her home. Terri feels horrible. She thinks if only she made him stay or if she didn't bail out of the party, he would be fine. Except Ken was taking Winston and Maria home anyway and you weren't the drunk guy who hit him!
Amy goes to see Ken and he's got bandages covering his face. He can't see her. Then when they take the bandages off, he still can't see her. He's blind! Surprise! You'd think the doctors might have noticed that before. But no, the doctors here are almost as good as the police officers.
The doctors think he might regain his vision when the swelling in his brain goes down. Until then, they're going to release him. What? You're just going to just let him walk around with swelling in his brain? I'm not a doctor but I'm not sure that's a good idea.
Liz and Jess show up and they have a card for Ken at school. Jess is all “read it now, Ken.” Could someone maybe alert them that he's blind? Parents? Doctors? Police officers on the side of the road of the accident? How awkward. Anyway, guess who else doesn't know Ken is blind? Amy. She shows up to visit and when Jessica tells her, she freaks out and leaves, saying not to tell Ken she was there.
At school, Amy confronts Terri and shouts at her that it's her fault that Ken is blind. Amy's a really swell person. Liz shows up to comfort Terri and Terri begs Liz to help her see Ken. She wants to beg his forgiveness or make out with himsomething.
Liz brings Terri to the rehabilitation center, where Ken is learning to live like a blind person while his brain is all swollen. She cries and apologizes and he, of course, says it's not her fault. Then they almost kiss but are interrupted by Ken's “counselor.” This term makes me think of camp. Blind camp! It's gonna be big.
A month later, Ken is about to be released from blind camp. Tomorrow, he is going to start at Sweet Valley High again. But he's still a little bitter and upset, which is very understandable because he's blind. At school, Winston has to lead Ken around so he doesn't bump into things and people. Winston's a good friend, not a lot of people would be like “Sure! I'll be your guide-dog!”
You know who's not a good friend? That Amy Sutton. She has one class with Ken and she greets him, then totally blows him off. She could've at least waited a week or a day or something. She says it's all “too much for her to handle” but that would be more believable if she ever actually attempted to handle it.
Ken manages to find his way to the football field. He sits to brood and be sad, when he overhears Scott talking. Scott is now quarterback of the football team and guess who wants to go out with him? Amy. She's a real peach.
Then Terri comes over. She's sweet and they talk about football. Ken is genuinely interested in how the team is doing without him. If it were me I wouldn't want to hear about it, but he wants them to win even without him, I guess. Ken is too nice to live in Sweet Valley.
Terri calls Liz and says she's worried about Ken. She doesn't understand why he'll be okay one minute and then upset the next. Liz says to get into his head she should wear a blindfold. Really? Really?!? How about she just try to be supportive and understanding that he's going through a lot? Not be pedantic and trip over things in her house for no reason?
The next day, Liz and Enid organize a welcome home party for Ken in the cafeteria at lunch. They get a cake (paid for by Bruce Patman) and gather people around. Liz hears about Amy and Scott and tells Amy not to come a ruin the party. But she does anyway, because she's Amy. She is cold to Ken in front of everyone and he feels humiliated. Great, humiliate the blind man, because he needs more emotional baggage to deal with.
After school, Terri does the blindfold thing. Apparently, people really depend on their sight. Who'd have guessed? Afterwards, she calls Ken and invites him to the beach. They go, and it's a nice date or whatever. She takes him to a deserted beach and they walk along the water. He says he misses running on the beach and she says he still can do that and runs next to him. It's all misty and water-colored.
Terri invites Ken to go to the last(?) football game of the season. She says he doesn't to if he doesn't want to, but she thought he'd enjoy it. She promises to give him a play-by-play, which she is is apparently good at because Ken says she makes in interesting. The Gladiators lose, and their undefeated season is over.
Afterwards, they go for another run on the beach. I guess Ken likes to run a lot. He and I could not be more different. He has the urge to kiss Terri but thinks she won't want to kiss him because he's blind or whatever.
Terri takes Ken to a Droids concert. She has failed a test of some sort because she had been so busy helping Ken. She talks to John Pfeifer (boo!) about this for about five minutes. And is surprised to find Ken is mad at her for “abandoning” him when she comes back. She thinks Ken is being moody but really he was probably just afraid she'd get raped! Good for you, Ken, don't let her talk to that asshole!
Terri calls Liz to ask for advice. What is Liz? The Dear Abby for Blind Men and the Women Who Love Them? Liz thinks Terri should stop doing so much stuff for Ken, or else he'll never learn to do it for himself. Liz should apply this theory to her relationship with Jessica.
When Terri tries to tell Ken this however, he thinks she is abandoning him (much as Amy did) and is upset. They fight. She tells him he has to stop feeling sorry for himself and then she says that she loves him and storms out. I love a good storm out, don't you?
Ken feels like a dick. He realizes he loves Terri too! But when he calls her house to apologize, she's not there. Ken realizes he has to start doing things for himself. So he goes outside and takes the bus (the bus!) to the beach, without anyone's help. Terri is naturally at the beach crying over her broken relationship, when Ken arrives.
They kiss. And, apparently, Terri's kisses are made of MAGIC. Because as the sun begins to set behind them, Ken realizes he CAN SEE THE LIGHT. His sight is comin' back! Thank god he won't have to take the bus (the bus!) anymore.
Then there's just foreshadowing for the next book, Boy Trouble, and that's it.