#5 Sneaking Out
There is great excitement in the land of Sweet Valley when tickets for Johnny Buck’s concert go on sale, Bruce Patman naturally has some, and Jess and Liz are determined to go to the concert this year. Liz remembers how they were too young the year before, but they still got to see The Buck outside his hotel. She remembers how he threw his cap at the crowd and she caught it - and was basically forced to give it up to Jessica. Jess is convinced she will get to meet him this year, and has even written to him asking him to be an honorary member of the Unicorns - because everyone knows that a rock star like the Buck will naturally be thrilled to be a member of the prettiest most popular GIRLS of Sweet Valley.!?!
Much to their horror Steven tells them that Mr and Mrs Wakefield - in a fit of good parenting - have decided the twins are once more too young to attend the concert alone. Steven even tried to convince their parents to get extra tickets so that they could go with the twins, but Mr Wakefield is out of town and Mrs Wakefield has loads of work to do. Jess suggests going with Steven and his date, but Mrs Wakefield vetoes this, saying that it’s Steven’s first date with this girl and he won’t want his sisters hanging around. Liz is naturally nauseatingly accepting of this - she resolves to be extra mature this year to prove to their parents that they are grownup enough to go next year. Jess is having none of it and is determined to go to the concert come hell or high water!
Jess realises she doesn’t have enough cash for the tickets and tries to borrow $25 from Liz who tells her she has spent all her money on her mom’s birthday present - a pair of gold hoop earrings. Next, Jess lures Liz’s best friend Amy to the house under the guise of practicing cheerleading moves, and Liz is only just in time to stop Jess flogging a purple shirt to Amy (come on Amy, like Jess would willingly spend time with you?) The family go off to Casey’s for an ice-cream and Jess finds ‘the perfect advert’ that is going to solve all her problems! The job is for a dog sitter, and the pay is conveniently $25, the price of the ticket!
Despite the fact that Jess apparently hates dogs and is terrified of them (isn’t she the one that bought Prince Albert in SVH??? Huh?? CONTINUITY!!), she goes off to the interview with sweet and elderly Mrs Bramble. The dog in question is the fat and elderly cocker spaniel Sally, and swallowing her revulsion, Jess manages to get the job - and her salary paid up front - as she tells Mrs Bramble that she wants to buy her mom a birthday present.
Next day at school, Jess reveals to the Unicorns that she is meeting Johnny backstage, and that she has asked him to be a Unicorn. They are all really impressed and most of the Unicorns confess that their parents also think they are too young to go. Janet acts all superior about going and tells Jess that there isn’t space in the car for her, but Lila steps in and invites Jess to stay over at her house that night, and a lift to the concert. Jess confides in Liz who agrees not to tell her parents about Jess’s plan. Jess also gives Mrs Wakefield a big sob story about poor Mrs Bramble and Sally, and gets her permission (and mega brownie points) to have Sally for the next few days while Mrs Bramble is away. Mrs Wakefield doesn’t want to discourage this new kindness and thoughtfulness that Jess is displaying - hee hee.
Naturally, Jess manages to get out of most of the looking after Sally, with most of the burden falling on Liz and Steve. It’s amazing how often she has early starts while she is dog sitting - even more amazing is how eager she is to actually get up early!! She’s also thrilled when Bruce invites her to get a Coke at intermission at the concert.
Jess eventually has to take Sally out for a walk (no-one else is around for her to manipulate) and everyone in the neighbourhood praises and admires Sally except for their new neighbour Brooke Dennis who actually kicks Sally. The dog then runs after a cat and trees it, much to the neighbour’s annoyance. After eventually rescuing the cat, Jess gets home to an impatient phone call from Lila demanding that she come over and get ready. Jess borrows Liz’s new dance dress and the earrings she bought for her mother’s birthday. She then gets a call from Mrs Bramble saying that she’s going to be late back! Oh noes!
Jess decides that she has fulfilled her requirements and earned her money, so she ties Sally up outside (she has just given her a lot of water and realises she will need to pee) and leaves for Lila’s. Once Jess has left, Sally spots her foe (Tabatha the cat) and breaks free and runs off after her. Liz comes back, gets the note Jess has left for her, and realises that Sally is missing. Dun dun dun…
She goes off to Lila’s and is told that the girls will only be back at about half eight (Wow concerts end early in the States!!!) Liz enlists Amy to help her look for Sally but to no avail, that dog is GONE! Liz is pissed with Jessica, but realises that Jess didn’t do it intentionally, but was just negligent and irresponsible as usual. She gets home to see Mrs Wakefield’s car pulling in and realises she has to confess to her mother.
Meanwhile, at the concert, Jess sees several girls wearing the same cap that she got from the Buck and realises that it wasn’t a special gift for her after all. After nearly getting trampled and losing her friends, she gets an autographed pic of the Buck. Luckily for Jess, Lila sends the boy back to look for her and she tries to gloss over the big friendship with the Buck by saying he gave her a specially autographed picture. Her bluff is called when Janet remarks scornfully that she bought the same autographed photo in the shop. BURN!!
Liz tells Mrs Wakefield that Sally is missing, and just then Mrs Bramble turns up wanting her dog, and with a gift for Jess. The pair is forced to tell Mrs Bramble that her dog is lost, and she breaks down in tears. Desperate to protect her sister, Liz stalls and suggests that they drive around and call for Sally. Eventually is a last desperate move, Liz suggests they try Mrs Bramble’s house, where they find that Sally is home, having gained access through her dog door.
Mrs Wakefield is really pissed at Jess and drives over to Lila’s where Liz runs in to warn Jess that she’s in BIG trouble. She’s furious to see Jess in her new dress, and even more enraged when she sees that Jess has lost one of the earrings she bought for her mother. She tells Jess she’s expected to pay Mrs Bramble back, and that she can’t lend Jess the money. Mrs Wakefield (still unaware that Jess sneaked off to the concert) reprimands her and really guilt trips her and sends her off to apologise to Mrs Bramble.
Mrs Bramble is really sweet to Jess but lays it on with a trowel, going on about how Sally is all se has left blah blah blah. Jess tells Mrs Bramble that she can’t pay her back, and still thinking that Jess bought her mom a present with the money, she is all understanding. Jess feels so bad that she confesses all to Mrs Bramble, who tells her about some misdemeanours in her own past. She tells Jess that she doesn’t want the money back, but that she can pay off her debt by walking Sally every day - for a MONTH!!!
Jess then apologises to Liz and they open the present that Mrs Bramble gave her. It turns out to be earrings, and Jess gives them to Liz as a substitute for the earrings she lost. After being all apologetic and stuff and being forgiven by Liz, Jess tries her luck by asking Liz to help her walk Sally. Thankfully, for once, Liz puts her foot down and refuses. We then have the intro into the next book THE NEW GIRL where Jess is telling Liz about their nasty new neighbour who was so unpleasant to Sally.