Sweet Valley High #24: Memories

Steven Wakefield is still trying to get over the death of his girlfriend Tricia Martin. Then again, given that it took 130+ books to finish off a school year, it’s probably only been a few weeks since she died. Her sister Betsy keeps riding him, trying to convince him that it is too soon for him to start dating again. He really likes Cara Walker, but decides that he should focus on Tricia’s memory.

Even though Liz is usually the one that gets in the middle of other people’s lives, here she thinks that Betsy is right. She basically wants her brother to sit around, mope, cry and not move on. Jessica is the one that wants him to get back on the horse and start dating again. He keeps coming home from school, but spends the whole time with Betsy moping over Tricia.

Cara approaches him at a party and he completely blows her off. When Jessica suggests she call him, she decides that she needs to just back off and give him time. His friend Artie sees her at a party and thinks she looks pretty cute. He asks Steven if it is okay for him to ask her out and he says he doesn’t care. The more he thinks about it though, the more the idea of Cara out with someone else really bothers him. He calls her thinking that she’s on a date, but she admits that she doesn’t really want to go out with anyone.

Steven asks her out on a date and when she suggests they go to a big party at Bruce Patman’s house, he asks if she minds just being alone with him.

He picks her up, she cooks and they take a picnic lunch out. They have a long talk and he realizes that he really likes Cara and she’s changed a lot since her parents’ divorce. When he discovers that her birthday is coming up, he offers to take her out on the town and even pick the restaurant.

Steven shows up with a birthday gift of a book by her favorite author and she announces that she made reservations at the Valley Inn. He tells her that he went there once with his family, but doesn’t tell her that he went there on his last date with Tricia. He keeps having flashbacks of their date and eventually runs out of the restaurant, leaving her there alone.

Steven tells her the truth and apologizes for the way he acted. Cara accepts his apology, but explains that she thinks he needs more time before he dates again. He goes to Liz because eventually everyone goes to Liz and tells her that he really likes Cara, but is lost. Liz goes to Betsy, explains how he feels and somehow makes it all better. Apparently Betsy thinks that it is perfectly fine for her to be too drunk/high to even see her sister before she died and to be completely moving on with her life, but god forbid Steven even dance with another woman.

Cara and Steven both get a letter telling them to go to the clock at the high school. Teddy Collins rides by and presents each one with a small package. Cara has one with a sketch of Steven and he gets a sketch of her. He realizes that only Betsy could draw like that and Cara points to a note hanging out. The note tells Steven that Betsy was wrong and he should move on with his life. They kiss and everything is fine.

Two different B-plots happen in this book. In one, Liz sees a good looking guy at the mall that looks just like Todd, who just went back to Vermont. She follows him all over the place, until she finds herself face to face with him before a big volleyball match against Big Mesa. She, Jess and some other people play against his team, but she plays badly because she can’t stop staring at him. Jess helps her snap out of it and they win the meet.

He comes up to her later and kind of asks (demands actually) that she meet him at the big dance after the match. She goes all ga-ga for him, until she realizes that he’s kind of a jerk. She decides that just because he looks like Todd, he doesn’t have to be like Todd. She ditches him for Winston and then Jessica does the same thing, making him look like a dipstick.

The other B-plot surrounds Jessica, who hears that Winston has a famous director uncle coming into town. She makes Winston her new best friend, pretends like she’s interested in him, volunteers as his partner for an English assignment and constantly invites herself over to his house. She finally meets his uncle and acts like typical Jess, only to discover that the director uncle couldn’t make it and she’s been schmoozing a city planner.