Sweet Valley Twins #2: Teacher's Pet
While digging through my box of “Sweet Valley Kids” and “Baby Sitters Club” books, I happened to find, stuck between two BSC books, “Sweet Valley Twins #2: Teacher’s Pet.” Oh joy of joys, another un-summarized Sweet Valley book!
Well, until now.
Remember in SVT #1 when Jessica got yelled at by her ballet teacher? Yeah. Same teacher is back. In fact, about 60% of the 103-page book takes place at Madame Andre’s ballet studio, where Elizabeth is the star and Jessica is the scenery. As a kid, I always wanted to be Elizabeth because I viewed Jessica as shallow and pretensions. I still do, in fact, which is why I stopped reading the “Sweet Valley Twins” series past this book. But after re-reading this literary classic, I actually sympathize with Jessica. I went through middle school and high school with a girl who was the Lord’s gift to music, and every time there was a violin solo, she got it. I’d practice for a month, play my heart out at the audition, and it would go to her instead. I remember coming home from school in tears that she got yet another solo. (So I started auditioning for the school plays and kicked her butt by getting the lead parts she also tried out for. But that’s another story.)
The book begins with Jessica bitching that all Madame Andre wants the girls to do is practice dancing. Who does Madame think she is? Jessica whines expresses several times that all she does is practice her dance steps, yet goes unnoticed in the class. Jessica lives to dance, while Elizabeth hogs all the glory. The girls then rush off to dance lessons, as Madame has just called telling them to come to the studio. Just called? This teacher expects her student to just drop everything because she demands is? That would never fly with my parents. But, whatever, it’s Sweet Valley. So the girls head out on their bikes (because with high gas prices their parents refuse to drive them-wait, wrong decade), and they arrive to the studio just in time to find their entire class of thirteen people there, as well. (Because apparently none of their families have lives, either, and all they do is sit around waiting for Madame to call an emergency dance lesson.)
Madame tells everyone to do their warm-ups on the barre, and Jessica is quick to stand next to Amy Sutton-who is the worst dancer in the class. The Rule of Ballet Class dictates that by standing next to Awkward Amy, Princess Jessica will surely be seen as superior. That’s like wishing all of your friends to be fat so you’ll look skinny. It’s logical, shallow-minded thinking that should work, yet it seems all Madame’s radar narrows in on is Amy’s poor posture. The fact her plan has backfired infuriates Jessica, and she spends the rest of the warm-up bickering under her breath like the caddy bitch we all know she’s going to mature into.
After the warm-up is finished, Madame finally explains why she’s disrupted everyone’s weekend: In three weeks there’s going to be a dance recital, and all thirteen students get to audition. Now, I’m a musician, and the fact that a recital’s coming up in three weeks and no parts have been assigned raises a red flag. At my music center, we give students at least two to three months notice when a recital’s scheduled. This gives all students time to pick a piece and practice, not to mention enough time for parents to mark it on the calendar and ensure there’s no scheduling conflicts. But given the fact that everyone can drop what they’re doing and come to a last-minute dance lesson, three weeks notice is clearly more than enough time. Whatever, moving on.
So a recital’s coming up in three weeks, their class will be dancing the dance from Coppelia (a ballet about a doll that people think is real), and there’s an audition next week at three o’clock for the lead, Swanilda, and four additional solos. Everyone else will be labeled as “YOU SUCK!” and thrown into the chorus-just like that violin-solo-hogging bitch from my high school. Who wants the part of Chorus Member #4? Certainly not Princess Jessica! She’s a Unicorn, after all! Her eyes are on the prize: the lead solo. She envisions herself dancing, “captured by the romance” (direct quote), dancing like she’s never danced before. (“She’s a maniac! Maniac!...”) But then, dun-dun-DUN! Madame makes eye contact with Elizabeth and smiles. And oh does that make Jessica’s blood boil! Damn her sister for being teacher’s pet!
Mrs. Wakefield picks the girls up from dance lessons (loading the bikes in the back of the van is never mentioned, so I can only assume the twins donated them to the studio), and Elizabeth immediately tells her mother all about the sudden recital and the auditions. Jessica bursts her sister’s bubble by complaining that Madame doesn’t like her and is always praising Elizabeth. The twins start fighting, with Mrs. Wakefield taking the diplomatic safe route, stating both girls are wonderful dancers and that Madame is lucky to have them both. Jessica sees right through the bullshit, storms out of the mini-van and runs into the house to go cry in her room. She wonders if Madame is still holding a grudge because she showed up to her first lessons in that Purple Rain back-up dancer garb. That was weeks ago, though. Madame couldn’t possibly still be holding a grudge, right? Well, considering this psycho woman appears to be the Queen of Last Minute, holding a grudge against an eleven-year-old who has since learned her lesson isn’t too far fetched. Elizabeth tries talking to her sister, but Jessica just continues to explode about being unfairly treated.
So mastermind Elizabeth comes up with a solution: She and Jessica should teach Amy how to dance. If Amy learns how to dance, then Madame would spend less time yelling at Amy and more time noticing Jessica. (Course, maybe if Jessica stopped dancing next to Amy, the same could happen, but that’s too easy.) Jessica thinks it’s a brilliant idea, and can’t wait for Madame to finally notice her.
The next day at school, Princess Jessica blabs to the Unicorns all about the recital and the lead part. Pompous Lila announces that Jessica will get the part solely because she’s a Unicorn. Minion Ellen gleefully decides that all the Unicorns will attend the recital and cheer louder than anyone. (Somebody smack Ellen, please.) Then it’s announced there’s a special Unicorn meeting after school. Jessica knows there’s something she was supposed to do after school, but can’t remember what it was.
That something was to teach Amy how to dance. Elizabeth proposes the idea to Amy, and Amy-who apparently is writing a story about the recital for the school newspaper-gladly accepts without calling home and checking with her parents first. After school, Elizabeth and Amy wait for Jessica before leaving to head for home. But Jessica is a no-show. So the girls head home and get right down to business. They change into their practice clothes (Amy conveniently bringing them to school with her) and Elizabeth begins teaching her. Amy’s still having trouble, but appreciates the help.
Meanwhile, Jessica’s at that all-important Unicorns meeting where the hot topic is eight-grader Ross Bradley is growing a mustache. Give Jessica credit; she had wanted to leave to go home, but Lila was going to talking about an upcoming Halloween party, and that’s more important than keeping a promise. When Jessica finally does make it home, Elizabeth is angry that her twin backed out on Amy’s dance lessons. The twins bicker, and Jessica yells at Elizabeth for being the teacher’s pet again, which makes Elizabeth cry.
Next day at ballet class, Madame continues to praise Elizabeth as God’s gift to dancing, and then compliments Amy on improving. Amy grins and explains it’s all thanks to Elizabeth, to which Madame turns around and commends Elizabeth again. Jessica then grabs a knife-er, cries that if she hadn’t gone to the Unicorn meeting, it would have been her Madame would be falling over. Feeling Elizabeth has betrayed her, Jessica does the only logical thing: She refuses to speak to her twin.
The silent treatment continues for the next few days. Then Saturday, the day of the big audition, arrives. Elizabeth and her mother go out to the mall shopping while Jessica stays home-she tells herself she needs all the time to practice. Then the phone rings. Low and behold, it’s Madame World Revolves Around Me. At first she mistakes Jessica for Elizabeth (which pisses Jessica off), but then tells her she’s moving the audition time from three o’clock in the afternoon to eleven o’clock in the morning (because apparently she’s got a hot date, or something). Jessica is thrilled. Elizabeth is out with Mom; there’s no way her sister will be back in time to make the lessons. And since this book was written before cell phones existed, there’s no way for Jessica to get in touch with them. So she grabs her belongings and rushes out the door to catch the bus because she donated her bike to the dance studio. Before she leaves, she has a moment of kindness and leaves a note on the refrigerator telling Elizabeth of the audition time change.
Jessica arrives at the studio, and everyone is wondering where Elizabeth is. When it’s Elizabeth’s turn to dance, Jessica announces that she isn’t there, explaining she has no idea where her sister is, that perhaps Elizabeth wasn’t interested in auditioning. Madame is heartbroken, and tells Jessica to go instead. It’s her moment to shine, and Jessica dances like there’s no tomorrow.
Just as she finishes her routine, who should run through the studio door? Elizabeth! It seems they returned home because Mrs. Wakefield had left her credit cards at home (left her credit cards at home?) and they saw Jessica’s note. Madame weeps tears of joy (okay, so I over exaggerated, but if it’s not clear by now this woman has a big ol’ crush on eleven-year-old Lizzie, then I haven’t done my job as a summarizer). She tells Elizabeth to quickly get changed because “everyone wants to see you dance.” Everyone? I can think of one person who doesn’t. I’ll give you a hint: she’s the one that looks exactly like Elizabeth but is livid.
So Elizabeth dances, Madame squees, and then it’s announced that on Tuesday, the casting list will be posted. Jessica figures that since Elizabeth arrived, all hopes of her having the lead have been terminated, and she promptly goes home to wallow in her angst. While Jessica is crying her eyes out, the phone rings for Elizabeth. It’s Amy, telling how happy she was that Elizabeth made it to the auditions. It’s then that Elizabeth learns Jessica hadn’t told Madame she’d gone shopping with their Mom, instead stating that Elizabeth hadn’t been interested in auditioning. Elizabeth hangs up with Amy, then goes to her room to cry.
The twins maturely avoid each other for the rest of the weekend.
On Tuesday, at the end of their lesson, Madame Worships The Ground Elizabeth Walks On announces who has been cast in which part. As predicted, Elizabeth gets the lead while Jessica is cast as Chorus Member #4. So how does Elizabeth celebrate? She goes into the dressing room and screams at Jessica for attempting to sabotage her audition, then proudly declares she got the part anyway. Jessica retorts that even if Elizabeth hadn’t auditioned she would have gotten the part regardless. Jessica screams that she’s a better dancer of the two, and Elizabeth cries. Soon the entire class is in the dressing room, hoisting Elizabeth up and screaming victory chants. Or something resembling that. While the entire class is chanting Elizabeth’s name, Jessica sneaks out the back door. A few minutes later Madame comes running into the room crying. It’s a tragedy! Someone has stolen Coppelia! (That would be the doll from the ballet that everyone thinks is real.) While the entire class panics and begins helping Madame looking for it, Jessica smiles smugly, figuring everyone got what they deserved.
Still forgetting to get her bike and not having enough bus fare, Jessica walks home by herself then runs up to her room. Elizabeth arrives later and tells her mother she got the solo. Mom’s thrilled, but upset that she and Jessica both couldn’t get the solo. (Um, wouldn’t that be called a duet?) Mrs. Wakefield eventually goes to speak with Jessica, asking her why she thinks Madame is being unfair. Jessica explodes at her mother, but Mrs. Wakefield simply thinks Jessica is upset for not getting what she wanted, and ends their conversation with that ever-popular parent, “I hope I won’t have to talk with you about this again” sentence. This only makes Jessica feel worse.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth is completely convinced Jessica stole the doll, to the point she loses sleep over it. When she gets to school the next day, Caroline Pearce informs her that the Unicorns are spreading rumors that Elizabeth got the lead because she’s the teacher’s pet. Elizabeth knows it’s Jessica fueling the rumors out of jealousy, and declares, “THIS! IS! SPARTA!”-er, “This is war!” At the end of the day, Elizabeth goes down to the basement to practice her dance steps, but Jessica won’t let her. They scream, Elizabeth cries, and both Mr. Wakefield (his first appearance in the book, by the way) and Mrs. Wakefield have a talk with Jessica about being rude to her sister. The world is against Jessica.
More fighting, more bickering, blah, blah, blah. Then one afternoon Elizabeth is practicing in the basement, and Jessica notices that her sister doesn’t have one of the moves for her solo dance down. So Jessica takes it upon herself to show Elizabeth the step, and helps her to perfect it. It’s then that Elizabeth notices, ZOMG! Jessica can DANCE! It’s a miracle! But then she wonders why Madame gave her the lead instead of Jessica. Could it be she is the teacher’s pet? That could explain why Madame has that framed picture of her in her office. (Okay, totally made that up, but it wouldn’t surprise me at this point if it were true.) Elizabeth then decides she doesn’t want to be apart of anything that hurts Jessica. (But as future novels prove, this is a one-time vow.) She decides then and there to find a way to give Jessica the lead in the recital.
The next day, Elizabeth finds the perfect solution: She’ll fake a twisted ankle. That way Jessica will have to dance the solo dance. What an amazing idea! Elizabeth calls Amy and ropes her into the conspiracy. Amy supports her friend, but thinks she’s making a mistake. Elizabeth doesn’t care; it’s totally worth it because Jessica has been nothing but kind to her for three weeks and this is the only way Elizabeth can repay her for her kindness.
But Jessica pulls a fast one and announces she’s maturely not going to the recital. Steven mocks her, Jessica gets furious, then changes her mind to shut her brother up. So much for that.
The day of the recital, the Wakefield van pulls up in front of the high school. As the family pours out of the van, Elizabeth enacts on her plan, and an Oscar-winning performance convinces everyone she’s truly injured. She “implores” (yes, implores, direct quote) Jessica to dance for her. No need to tell Jessica twice. She grabs Elizabeth’s costume, and she’s off.
Deciding to sit with her parents, Elizabeth and the rest of the Wakefields head inside towards the auditorium. But Amy appears of out nowhere. Since Coppelia has mysteriously gone missing, Amy, who can’t dance to save her life, volunteered to play the part of the inanimate doll. But since Elizabeth sacrificed the lead for her sister, Amy feels Elizabeth should be Coppelia instead. That way she can still, at the very least, be on the stage as her sister dances. Forgetting she’s supposed to be injured, she and Amy run off towards backstage so Elizabeth can get into costume.
After a few routines, it’s their class’s turn to dance. Elizabeth plays the part of the stiff doll while the Chorus dances on stage. Then the solo dancers appear, followed by Jessica’s big moment. Elizabeth watches her sister float across the stage, dancing better than Elizabeth could ever hope to. The audience gives Jessica “thunderous applause” (which would have been much louder had the Unicorn’s arrived), and Jessica is ecstatic.
Then Madame Thinks Elizabeth Is Better Than Oxygen runs down the aisle to Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield and beings singing Elizabeth’s praises.
“Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield!” she called. “Please wait a moment!” She began to pump Mr. Wakefield’s hand the instant she reached them. “Congratulations! I must tell you, she is fabulous! A unique talent! My star pupil and she’s never been better! I assure you that Elizabeth is the best Swanilda we ever had!”
“I think you made a mistake, Madame [My Daughter’s Been Telling The Truth All Along],” Mrs. Wakefield said quietly. “That was not Elizabeth.”
Madame Andre’s eyes grew wide. “What! Not Elizabeth! What on earth do you mean?”
“Elizabeth hurt her ankle outside in the parking lot, and Jessica took her place. There wasn’t time to explain to you then. It was too close to the performance.”
“Surely it can’t be,” said Madame Andre. [“Yes, it is,” Mrs. Wakefield said. “And don’t call me Shirley.”] She was shaking her head in disbelief. “Jessica could never dance that well! Oh, my…” Her words trailed off and her face clouded with sadness. “It is obvious that she can. How could I have been so blind? Excuse me, but I must find her and tell her how wonderful she was!”
After realizing her love for Elizabeth had blinded her judgment, Madame I’m Such An Idiot apologizes to Jessica, telling her, “I thought that Jessica was not serious at all about her ballet, but now I see how wrong I was.” She asks for forgiveness, which neither girl ever gives because Amy shows up and interrupts the Hallmark Moment. She confesses she’s the one that stole Copellia in the first place. Amy admits she stole the doll because she’s a horrible dancer, and figured if the doll went missing, she could volunteer to be Copellia instead of a chorus member. Madame’s heart grew three sizes that day as she tells Amy: “…I am not angry with you. After all, not everyone is like Jessica-born to dance.”
Layin’ it on a little thick there, eh Madame?
And finally, the book comes to a close, ending with a chapter to set-up book three… which I don’t have, so I won’t recap the chapter and get your hopes up.
Excuse me now while I go write some angst poetry about all the memories of that solo-stealing girl from High School.
Well, until now.
Remember in SVT #1 when Jessica got yelled at by her ballet teacher? Yeah. Same teacher is back. In fact, about 60% of the 103-page book takes place at Madame Andre’s ballet studio, where Elizabeth is the star and Jessica is the scenery. As a kid, I always wanted to be Elizabeth because I viewed Jessica as shallow and pretensions. I still do, in fact, which is why I stopped reading the “Sweet Valley Twins” series past this book. But after re-reading this literary classic, I actually sympathize with Jessica. I went through middle school and high school with a girl who was the Lord’s gift to music, and every time there was a violin solo, she got it. I’d practice for a month, play my heart out at the audition, and it would go to her instead. I remember coming home from school in tears that she got yet another solo. (So I started auditioning for the school plays and kicked her butt by getting the lead parts she also tried out for. But that’s another story.)
The book begins with Jessica bitching that all Madame Andre wants the girls to do is practice dancing. Who does Madame think she is? Jessica whines expresses several times that all she does is practice her dance steps, yet goes unnoticed in the class. Jessica lives to dance, while Elizabeth hogs all the glory. The girls then rush off to dance lessons, as Madame has just called telling them to come to the studio. Just called? This teacher expects her student to just drop everything because she demands is? That would never fly with my parents. But, whatever, it’s Sweet Valley. So the girls head out on their bikes (because with high gas prices their parents refuse to drive them-wait, wrong decade), and they arrive to the studio just in time to find their entire class of thirteen people there, as well. (Because apparently none of their families have lives, either, and all they do is sit around waiting for Madame to call an emergency dance lesson.)
Madame tells everyone to do their warm-ups on the barre, and Jessica is quick to stand next to Amy Sutton-who is the worst dancer in the class. The Rule of Ballet Class dictates that by standing next to Awkward Amy, Princess Jessica will surely be seen as superior. That’s like wishing all of your friends to be fat so you’ll look skinny. It’s logical, shallow-minded thinking that should work, yet it seems all Madame’s radar narrows in on is Amy’s poor posture. The fact her plan has backfired infuriates Jessica, and she spends the rest of the warm-up bickering under her breath like the caddy bitch we all know she’s going to mature into.
After the warm-up is finished, Madame finally explains why she’s disrupted everyone’s weekend: In three weeks there’s going to be a dance recital, and all thirteen students get to audition. Now, I’m a musician, and the fact that a recital’s coming up in three weeks and no parts have been assigned raises a red flag. At my music center, we give students at least two to three months notice when a recital’s scheduled. This gives all students time to pick a piece and practice, not to mention enough time for parents to mark it on the calendar and ensure there’s no scheduling conflicts. But given the fact that everyone can drop what they’re doing and come to a last-minute dance lesson, three weeks notice is clearly more than enough time. Whatever, moving on.
So a recital’s coming up in three weeks, their class will be dancing the dance from Coppelia (a ballet about a doll that people think is real), and there’s an audition next week at three o’clock for the lead, Swanilda, and four additional solos. Everyone else will be labeled as “YOU SUCK!” and thrown into the chorus-just like that violin-solo-hogging bitch from my high school. Who wants the part of Chorus Member #4? Certainly not Princess Jessica! She’s a Unicorn, after all! Her eyes are on the prize: the lead solo. She envisions herself dancing, “captured by the romance” (direct quote), dancing like she’s never danced before. (“She’s a maniac! Maniac!...”) But then, dun-dun-DUN! Madame makes eye contact with Elizabeth and smiles. And oh does that make Jessica’s blood boil! Damn her sister for being teacher’s pet!
Mrs. Wakefield picks the girls up from dance lessons (loading the bikes in the back of the van is never mentioned, so I can only assume the twins donated them to the studio), and Elizabeth immediately tells her mother all about the sudden recital and the auditions. Jessica bursts her sister’s bubble by complaining that Madame doesn’t like her and is always praising Elizabeth. The twins start fighting, with Mrs. Wakefield taking the diplomatic safe route, stating both girls are wonderful dancers and that Madame is lucky to have them both. Jessica sees right through the bullshit, storms out of the mini-van and runs into the house to go cry in her room. She wonders if Madame is still holding a grudge because she showed up to her first lessons in that Purple Rain back-up dancer garb. That was weeks ago, though. Madame couldn’t possibly still be holding a grudge, right? Well, considering this psycho woman appears to be the Queen of Last Minute, holding a grudge against an eleven-year-old who has since learned her lesson isn’t too far fetched. Elizabeth tries talking to her sister, but Jessica just continues to explode about being unfairly treated.
So mastermind Elizabeth comes up with a solution: She and Jessica should teach Amy how to dance. If Amy learns how to dance, then Madame would spend less time yelling at Amy and more time noticing Jessica. (Course, maybe if Jessica stopped dancing next to Amy, the same could happen, but that’s too easy.) Jessica thinks it’s a brilliant idea, and can’t wait for Madame to finally notice her.
The next day at school, Princess Jessica blabs to the Unicorns all about the recital and the lead part. Pompous Lila announces that Jessica will get the part solely because she’s a Unicorn. Minion Ellen gleefully decides that all the Unicorns will attend the recital and cheer louder than anyone. (Somebody smack Ellen, please.) Then it’s announced there’s a special Unicorn meeting after school. Jessica knows there’s something she was supposed to do after school, but can’t remember what it was.
That something was to teach Amy how to dance. Elizabeth proposes the idea to Amy, and Amy-who apparently is writing a story about the recital for the school newspaper-gladly accepts without calling home and checking with her parents first. After school, Elizabeth and Amy wait for Jessica before leaving to head for home. But Jessica is a no-show. So the girls head home and get right down to business. They change into their practice clothes (Amy conveniently bringing them to school with her) and Elizabeth begins teaching her. Amy’s still having trouble, but appreciates the help.
Meanwhile, Jessica’s at that all-important Unicorns meeting where the hot topic is eight-grader Ross Bradley is growing a mustache. Give Jessica credit; she had wanted to leave to go home, but Lila was going to talking about an upcoming Halloween party, and that’s more important than keeping a promise. When Jessica finally does make it home, Elizabeth is angry that her twin backed out on Amy’s dance lessons. The twins bicker, and Jessica yells at Elizabeth for being the teacher’s pet again, which makes Elizabeth cry.
Next day at ballet class, Madame continues to praise Elizabeth as God’s gift to dancing, and then compliments Amy on improving. Amy grins and explains it’s all thanks to Elizabeth, to which Madame turns around and commends Elizabeth again. Jessica then grabs a knife-er, cries that if she hadn’t gone to the Unicorn meeting, it would have been her Madame would be falling over. Feeling Elizabeth has betrayed her, Jessica does the only logical thing: She refuses to speak to her twin.
The silent treatment continues for the next few days. Then Saturday, the day of the big audition, arrives. Elizabeth and her mother go out to the mall shopping while Jessica stays home-she tells herself she needs all the time to practice. Then the phone rings. Low and behold, it’s Madame World Revolves Around Me. At first she mistakes Jessica for Elizabeth (which pisses Jessica off), but then tells her she’s moving the audition time from three o’clock in the afternoon to eleven o’clock in the morning (because apparently she’s got a hot date, or something). Jessica is thrilled. Elizabeth is out with Mom; there’s no way her sister will be back in time to make the lessons. And since this book was written before cell phones existed, there’s no way for Jessica to get in touch with them. So she grabs her belongings and rushes out the door to catch the bus because she donated her bike to the dance studio. Before she leaves, she has a moment of kindness and leaves a note on the refrigerator telling Elizabeth of the audition time change.
Jessica arrives at the studio, and everyone is wondering where Elizabeth is. When it’s Elizabeth’s turn to dance, Jessica announces that she isn’t there, explaining she has no idea where her sister is, that perhaps Elizabeth wasn’t interested in auditioning. Madame is heartbroken, and tells Jessica to go instead. It’s her moment to shine, and Jessica dances like there’s no tomorrow.
Just as she finishes her routine, who should run through the studio door? Elizabeth! It seems they returned home because Mrs. Wakefield had left her credit cards at home (left her credit cards at home?) and they saw Jessica’s note. Madame weeps tears of joy (okay, so I over exaggerated, but if it’s not clear by now this woman has a big ol’ crush on eleven-year-old Lizzie, then I haven’t done my job as a summarizer). She tells Elizabeth to quickly get changed because “everyone wants to see you dance.” Everyone? I can think of one person who doesn’t. I’ll give you a hint: she’s the one that looks exactly like Elizabeth but is livid.
So Elizabeth dances, Madame squees, and then it’s announced that on Tuesday, the casting list will be posted. Jessica figures that since Elizabeth arrived, all hopes of her having the lead have been terminated, and she promptly goes home to wallow in her angst. While Jessica is crying her eyes out, the phone rings for Elizabeth. It’s Amy, telling how happy she was that Elizabeth made it to the auditions. It’s then that Elizabeth learns Jessica hadn’t told Madame she’d gone shopping with their Mom, instead stating that Elizabeth hadn’t been interested in auditioning. Elizabeth hangs up with Amy, then goes to her room to cry.
The twins maturely avoid each other for the rest of the weekend.
On Tuesday, at the end of their lesson, Madame Worships The Ground Elizabeth Walks On announces who has been cast in which part. As predicted, Elizabeth gets the lead while Jessica is cast as Chorus Member #4. So how does Elizabeth celebrate? She goes into the dressing room and screams at Jessica for attempting to sabotage her audition, then proudly declares she got the part anyway. Jessica retorts that even if Elizabeth hadn’t auditioned she would have gotten the part regardless. Jessica screams that she’s a better dancer of the two, and Elizabeth cries. Soon the entire class is in the dressing room, hoisting Elizabeth up and screaming victory chants. Or something resembling that. While the entire class is chanting Elizabeth’s name, Jessica sneaks out the back door. A few minutes later Madame comes running into the room crying. It’s a tragedy! Someone has stolen Coppelia! (That would be the doll from the ballet that everyone thinks is real.) While the entire class panics and begins helping Madame looking for it, Jessica smiles smugly, figuring everyone got what they deserved.
Still forgetting to get her bike and not having enough bus fare, Jessica walks home by herself then runs up to her room. Elizabeth arrives later and tells her mother she got the solo. Mom’s thrilled, but upset that she and Jessica both couldn’t get the solo. (Um, wouldn’t that be called a duet?) Mrs. Wakefield eventually goes to speak with Jessica, asking her why she thinks Madame is being unfair. Jessica explodes at her mother, but Mrs. Wakefield simply thinks Jessica is upset for not getting what she wanted, and ends their conversation with that ever-popular parent, “I hope I won’t have to talk with you about this again” sentence. This only makes Jessica feel worse.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth is completely convinced Jessica stole the doll, to the point she loses sleep over it. When she gets to school the next day, Caroline Pearce informs her that the Unicorns are spreading rumors that Elizabeth got the lead because she’s the teacher’s pet. Elizabeth knows it’s Jessica fueling the rumors out of jealousy, and declares, “THIS! IS! SPARTA!”-er, “This is war!” At the end of the day, Elizabeth goes down to the basement to practice her dance steps, but Jessica won’t let her. They scream, Elizabeth cries, and both Mr. Wakefield (his first appearance in the book, by the way) and Mrs. Wakefield have a talk with Jessica about being rude to her sister. The world is against Jessica.
More fighting, more bickering, blah, blah, blah. Then one afternoon Elizabeth is practicing in the basement, and Jessica notices that her sister doesn’t have one of the moves for her solo dance down. So Jessica takes it upon herself to show Elizabeth the step, and helps her to perfect it. It’s then that Elizabeth notices, ZOMG! Jessica can DANCE! It’s a miracle! But then she wonders why Madame gave her the lead instead of Jessica. Could it be she is the teacher’s pet? That could explain why Madame has that framed picture of her in her office. (Okay, totally made that up, but it wouldn’t surprise me at this point if it were true.) Elizabeth then decides she doesn’t want to be apart of anything that hurts Jessica. (But as future novels prove, this is a one-time vow.) She decides then and there to find a way to give Jessica the lead in the recital.
The next day, Elizabeth finds the perfect solution: She’ll fake a twisted ankle. That way Jessica will have to dance the solo dance. What an amazing idea! Elizabeth calls Amy and ropes her into the conspiracy. Amy supports her friend, but thinks she’s making a mistake. Elizabeth doesn’t care; it’s totally worth it because Jessica has been nothing but kind to her for three weeks and this is the only way Elizabeth can repay her for her kindness.
But Jessica pulls a fast one and announces she’s maturely not going to the recital. Steven mocks her, Jessica gets furious, then changes her mind to shut her brother up. So much for that.
The day of the recital, the Wakefield van pulls up in front of the high school. As the family pours out of the van, Elizabeth enacts on her plan, and an Oscar-winning performance convinces everyone she’s truly injured. She “implores” (yes, implores, direct quote) Jessica to dance for her. No need to tell Jessica twice. She grabs Elizabeth’s costume, and she’s off.
Deciding to sit with her parents, Elizabeth and the rest of the Wakefields head inside towards the auditorium. But Amy appears of out nowhere. Since Coppelia has mysteriously gone missing, Amy, who can’t dance to save her life, volunteered to play the part of the inanimate doll. But since Elizabeth sacrificed the lead for her sister, Amy feels Elizabeth should be Coppelia instead. That way she can still, at the very least, be on the stage as her sister dances. Forgetting she’s supposed to be injured, she and Amy run off towards backstage so Elizabeth can get into costume.
After a few routines, it’s their class’s turn to dance. Elizabeth plays the part of the stiff doll while the Chorus dances on stage. Then the solo dancers appear, followed by Jessica’s big moment. Elizabeth watches her sister float across the stage, dancing better than Elizabeth could ever hope to. The audience gives Jessica “thunderous applause” (which would have been much louder had the Unicorn’s arrived), and Jessica is ecstatic.
Then Madame Thinks Elizabeth Is Better Than Oxygen runs down the aisle to Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield and beings singing Elizabeth’s praises.
“Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield!” she called. “Please wait a moment!” She began to pump Mr. Wakefield’s hand the instant she reached them. “Congratulations! I must tell you, she is fabulous! A unique talent! My star pupil and she’s never been better! I assure you that Elizabeth is the best Swanilda we ever had!”
“I think you made a mistake, Madame [My Daughter’s Been Telling The Truth All Along],” Mrs. Wakefield said quietly. “That was not Elizabeth.”
Madame Andre’s eyes grew wide. “What! Not Elizabeth! What on earth do you mean?”
“Elizabeth hurt her ankle outside in the parking lot, and Jessica took her place. There wasn’t time to explain to you then. It was too close to the performance.”
“Surely it can’t be,” said Madame Andre. [“Yes, it is,” Mrs. Wakefield said. “And don’t call me Shirley.”] She was shaking her head in disbelief. “Jessica could never dance that well! Oh, my…” Her words trailed off and her face clouded with sadness. “It is obvious that she can. How could I have been so blind? Excuse me, but I must find her and tell her how wonderful she was!”
After realizing her love for Elizabeth had blinded her judgment, Madame I’m Such An Idiot apologizes to Jessica, telling her, “I thought that Jessica was not serious at all about her ballet, but now I see how wrong I was.” She asks for forgiveness, which neither girl ever gives because Amy shows up and interrupts the Hallmark Moment. She confesses she’s the one that stole Copellia in the first place. Amy admits she stole the doll because she’s a horrible dancer, and figured if the doll went missing, she could volunteer to be Copellia instead of a chorus member. Madame’s heart grew three sizes that day as she tells Amy: “…I am not angry with you. After all, not everyone is like Jessica-born to dance.”
Layin’ it on a little thick there, eh Madame?
And finally, the book comes to a close, ending with a chapter to set-up book three… which I don’t have, so I won’t recap the chapter and get your hopes up.
Excuse me now while I go write some angst poetry about all the memories of that solo-stealing girl from High School.