Love Stinks
The Love Bet
September 1990
Look who's scheming now!
Do opposites attract?
Dana Larson is fed up with love! She tells Elizabeth Wakefield and Todd Wilkins that she prefers singing with her band, The Droids, to wasting her time on dates.
Aaron Dallas is fed up, too. He insists that soccer is more important to him than girls.
But Elizabeth has a plan to make Dana and Aaron fall in love- with each other! Todd reluctantly agrees to help, but he bets Elizabeth that she won't succeed. After all, Dana is a rock singer and Aaron is a jock. Everything Dana likes, Aaron hates-and vice versa! Elizabeth thinks she's creating the match of the decade, but Todd thinks she's headed for a matchmaking disaster!
The Love Bet is one of those books I would classify as a classic kind of SVH story. The stakes aren't terribly high, as we don't have actual stardom on the line, there are no supernatural creatures lurking in the shadows, and the Wakefield twins are scheming. I'm not sure I'd consider the book itself a classic, but the kind of story it tells definitely is.
After an informal party at Patty Gilbert's where both Dana Larson and Aaron Dallas declare just how much love stinks, Todd accidentally gives Elizabeth the idea to hook them up, even if it's just to keep them from going on (and on and on) about how much they're not interested in love. Liz thinks it's perfect but Todd isn't entirely sold on it, though he agrees to help with one condition: if Operation Pair-Up fails, Liz grants him three wishes and if it succeeds, he'll grant Liz three wishes.
Liz wastes no time in setting up Phase One. She enlists Penny, Enid, and Olivia to help her get this match up and running. Olivia's a little skeptical due to just how different Aaron and Dana seem to be. He's sporty, she's punk rock, he's got a temper and a half (wait, we're supposed to forget that, right?) passionate and she's pretty laid back (if you say so)... It's funny that Liz is willing to call the whole thing off if Olivia of all people thinks it's just too out there. Is it because Liv is known for being out there and a little kooky or is it because Liz respects her opinion more than say, Todd's? Discuss amongst yourselves.
Anyway, Liv agrees to help since it's not the worst idea ever, and Phase One kicks off with Penny wanting Dana to stop by The Oracle and make sure the lyrics to her song from Patty's party are accurate. The song was such a hit that Penny wants to put them in the next issue of the paper, you see. When Dana stops by, Liz just happens to be telling the others about how Aaron just could not stop asking questions about Dana after the party. She shuts up as soon as she 'sees' Dana and Dana is too polite to just flat out ask wtf is going on. Truthfully, I could see Dana just asking Liz what's up rather than being too polite not to, but to be fair, Dana's characterization has always been on the thin side, so I'll let it slide.
The other part of Phase One is being carried out by Todd, Winston, and Neil Freemount in the boy's locker room before gym. Todd mentions, very loudly, that they'll never believe who Dana has a crush on, and then changes the subject as soon as Aaron turns the corner. Todd's sure Aaron will bust them because everything sounds so corny and fake but the ego boost of having Dana interested in him is enough to dull Aaron's senses.
The next day, Liz sees Aaron and Dana blush at one another by the pay phones (I feel so old all of a sudden!) and is sure Phase One is a success! Enid confirms this by saying if they weren't at least a little interested, they wouldn't blush, they'd yawn. Phase Two involves Todd asking Aaron to go to the movies with him and Liz while Liz invites Dana. Both let their friend know the other will be bringing a friend. My favorite throwaway bit is that Aaron is so used to Enid being the friend in question that he hollers at Todd when he misses the turn for Enid's street. Aww. Sadly, it is almost immediately followed by the date where Dana and Aaron, who barely know each other at this point, share a soda at the movie theater. I've never been one of those people who readily shares a drink with someone, especially someone I don't know. Ick.
Anyway, Dana and Aaron both really like the movie and proving he's more than a pretty face, Aaron's able to carry on a decent post-movie review with Dana about it. The two seem to really be hitting it off before Aaron compliments Dana on her "love sucks" song and suddenly the two are back to awkward silences.
Wtf are you doing, Dallas? You seem interested in the girl and there's absolutely no reason to bring up your mutual "love sucks" policy right then. My only consolation is that he's just as baffled at his behavior as everyone else is. Woo.
Now's as good a time as any to shift gears and discuss our B plot in which there's a Battle of the Bands happening at SVH in a few weeks. Hosted by a local radio station, three bands have challenged The Droids to the aforementioned BotB, with the winner going to LA for the weekend and being an opening act at a "hip music club."
Ticked that Liz is trying to hook Dana up with her backup date Aaron, Jessica chooses not to sabotage Operation Pair-Up and instead decides to help one of the other bands beat The Droids so she can tag along to LA and meet some really hot rock guys. She tries to convince Amy and Lila that being roadies is the best way to do this, but for once, I gotta agree with Amy who says it's not worth the time and effort. Amy knows it's going to be actual work and wants no part of it. Lila's inclined to agree with us but Jessica points out that maybe they'll meet Jaime Peters, or some other equally hot musician and Lila reluctantly agrees.
Jess immediately seeks out Andy Jenkins, whose new band Baja Beat sounds like it'll be the band most likely to beat the Droids. Andy's good on help but suggests she talk to Spy Lazarus of Spontaneous Combustion. Take a moment to fully let those names sink in. Jessica debates dropping her plan but then we'd be lacking a B plot, so she calls Spy and the following day, she and Lila brave Wentworth Avenue in the bad part of town. To the surprise of absolutely NO ONE, Spy is neither hot nor is he charming, and the rest of the band is equally disappointing.
Part of what keeps this book from being an absolute classic is that there's no way I'd buy Jessica and Lila doing this for more than one afternoon for a non-hot band that simply wasn't any good. All it would take is one band member being decently attractive OR the band being good, even if it wasn't their kind of music. But Jessica's few mentions of the music itself aren't encouraging and none of the guys are anywhere near likable so why would Jessica think they had a chance in hell of beating The Droids? She wouldn't and this plot line fizzles because there's no incentive for her to keep playing roadie. It's not like Liz knows and will tease her for being a flake. Amy's not into the plan enough to ever been seen or mentioned again and Lila's not about to mock the idea of bowing out if it means she doesn't have to hang around a buncha guys she's not interested in while also expected to do manual labor. The only reason this plot line continues is we need Jessica to botch the setup of their instruments so that The Droids will win the Battle of the Bands later.
Back to Dana and Aaron. Liz and Todd invite them to an outdoor jazz concert and while Aaron knows nothing about jazz, he does get to ask Dana what she likes about jazz and the two start bonding again. He mentions it sounds a bit similar to soccer and Dana listens as he explains and then the ghosty tries to convince us that Dana doesn't go to soccer or football games, ever. Soccer, I'll totally buy as true but I'd bet money we've seen Dana at a football game in the series thus far. Anyway, Aaron and Dana continue flirting and she promises to come to the next home soccer match while he promises to go to the Battle of the Bands to cheer her on. She clarifies -AS FRIENDS and things get awkward again. Oi.
Still, at the game, Dana gets caught up in the frenzy and they make eyes at one another in time for Aaron to help lead the team to victory. After the game, at the DB, Aaron and Dana continue to make eyes at one another and Liz is pretty sure that soon they won't need any help in the love department. Still, she and Todd invite Dana and Aaron to a play at the Civic Center and then...
Todd goes rogue and slips a card from Aaron into Dana's locker. Dana's initial impulse is to laugh at the cheesiness of it until she reads the card and decides she wants to go declare her love, or at least serious interest, to Aaron. Liz reads the card and immediately identifies Todd's handwriting and tries to get Dana to pump the brakes. Dana eventually agrees and things seem to be going well until Liz and Todd have to drop out of the double date when Mr. Collins has the stupidest emergency run to LA ever, leaving Liz to babysit his son, Teddy.
Dana and Aaron have such a good time at the play that they prolong the night by stopping at the Box Tree Cafe for dessert... where Dana confesses how she feels and mentions the card. Which Aaron knows nothing about. When she shows him the card, he also immediately IDs Todd's handwriting. Dana puts two and two together and comes up with five. She concludes, to herself, that Liz and Todd were meddling but instead of assuming Aaron feels the same way, she's sure she's the only one looking like a jackass. Y'know, since she just started to open her heart and admit her feelings based on a card he didn't even send. Humiliated, Dana runs out on Aaron and takes a cab home where she promptly calls Liz and chews her out for meddling.
Liz is shocked that someone was able to piece together her oh so clever plot (not really, but she is a bit taken aback by the verbal attack) and then realizes Dana must've mentioned the card to Aaron. So she yells at Todd who yells back at her that the whole thing was stupid and she gets it into her head he was sabotaging the whole thing so he'd win the bet.
Oi with the poodles already, guys.
So Dana's not talking to Aaron, Liz, or Todd. Todd's not talking to Liz. And Liz is desperately trying to patch things up with Dana who ignores her and then shoots her down when Liz does manage to catch up to her.
I'm a bit confused as to why Liz things Todd should apologize to her when she attacked him first and also why Aaron doesn't confront Todd, especially since he freakin' identified Todd's handwriting on the card. But it takes a week for Todd to explain to Aaron, who has no idea why the girl he liked is suddenly not talking to him, what he and Liz were up to and why Dana's flipped her lid. As soon as Aaron finds out, he goes to make things right with Dana. Naturally this all happens at the Battle of the Bands.
Dana and Aaron make up and then kiss and all is right with the world... almost. Dana and Aaron agree they have two more things to do before everything is settled. One, The Droids need to win the contest and two, they need to get Todd and Liz back together.
B plot wrap-up time! Jessica is still working as the band's roadie even though Wheels has asked her out, they all keep calling her chick despite her mentioning how she doesn't like it, and then he pinches her ass during set-up... in front of the whole school. Really? You expect me to believe Jessica Fucking Wakefield wouldn't immediately kick his ass or at least intentionally set the amps to blow up? Really?
More than that, you expect me to believe that Lila would go to the trouble of faking a sprained wrist to get out of having to set up for the Battle? Pfft. Lila just wouldn't show up til after the set up was complete, wave to Jess and smirk from the stands. Seriously.
But no, Lila fakes a sprained wrist, leaving Jessica to set up by herself. Naturally Jessica messes up because she's ticked at Lila and also doesn't really care as she hurriedly plugs things in the wrong way. The amps blow out and while the crowd appreciates the fireworks, The Droids win by a landslide.
If you're shocked by this, you must be new to Earth. Welcome to the hellscape.
At school on Monday, Liz and Todd both find cards in their lockers instructing them to meet up after school under the clock. Each assumes the other has made the first move but when they realize neither sent the cards, Dana and Aaron drive by, waving and honking.
Liz has won the bet and she wastes her wishes by asking for them to never have such a silly argument again (that won't last), for them to be as happy as they are right now always (ha), and for the biggest, best kiss NOW. So I guess maybe she got one out of three. Probably should've held out for the dozen roses, having him do her chores, and carry her books for a week.
We end on the set-up for the next book with Charlie Cashman bullying Andy Jenkins for no obvious reason other than Charlie's an asshole. Probably a racist asshole.
Trivia:
Quote Me:
"I think you're wrong!" Elizabeth protested, and at the exact same time Jessica declared, "I know exactly what you mean!" - ladies and gents, our entry to the identical opposites portion of the book. pg 4
"Jaime Peters!" Amy exclaimed. "Forget it! He's totally over the hill. He's practically old enough to be your father."
"He is not," Jessica denied hotly.
"He's a man," Lila breathed, her eyes dreamy.
She stole a glance at him. It almost looked as if he were there as Todd's date. He was sitting closer to Todd than Elizabeth was! - Aaron, you can be friends and still sit next to a girl. p60
"I tell you what. I'll be an incredibly generous, unselfish friend and give you first dibs on him!"
"Thanks," Lila said loftily, "but if he has eyes, I won't need your help." - Jessica and I both love Lila's modesty. p83
"Well, don't blame me. I didn't force you to be a roadie." - Jess, honey, you kinda did. p107
Never again would she interfere in someone else's affairs, even if it was with the best of intentions. - brb, laughing forever at the thought of Liz actually keeping true to this. p119/120
"I still think falling in love is stupid," Dana remarked, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. "But who says you have to be smart all the time?" p137
Fashion Club:
She was wearing a velvet miniskirt with a cropped jacket, black tights, and lace-up ankle boots, and she looked fantastic. - Dana's outfit while waiting on the pay phones, p18/19
She was wearing tight, shiny knee-length black bicycle shorts, and a big pink-and-black checked T-shirt. - Dana's outfit for the movies. p36/37
Jessica had worn a black mini and a cute cropped black top. - Jess is also wearing stockings but they already have a run in them because being a roadie is hard on cute clothes. p130
Music and lyrics by Dana Larson:
I'm fed up with love, don't know what I was thinking of, letting romance fog my mind and waste my precious time.
I like The Love Bet, but it's mostly because I like seeing Dana and Aaron fall in love (or like) inspite of themselves. We don't really see a ton of Todd and Liz scheming, though what we do see is cute, and the less said about the stupidity of Jessica's drawn-out scheme, the better. But it's a fun read that probably deserves a better cover. Why does Todd always look so old? I guess it could be worse- he could look as old as Bill and Ken usually do.
But also, it's weird that Todd and Aaron are presented as such close friends, right? Because Aaron and Jeffrey were best friends and yet the sheer number of Aaron prefers Todd to Dana jokes I could make throughout this book is staggering, so the two are meant to be close. Which SVT will back up, I guess, but SVH has always presented Winston or Ken as Todd's best guy friend.
September 1990
Look who's scheming now!
Do opposites attract?
Dana Larson is fed up with love! She tells Elizabeth Wakefield and Todd Wilkins that she prefers singing with her band, The Droids, to wasting her time on dates.
Aaron Dallas is fed up, too. He insists that soccer is more important to him than girls.
But Elizabeth has a plan to make Dana and Aaron fall in love- with each other! Todd reluctantly agrees to help, but he bets Elizabeth that she won't succeed. After all, Dana is a rock singer and Aaron is a jock. Everything Dana likes, Aaron hates-and vice versa! Elizabeth thinks she's creating the match of the decade, but Todd thinks she's headed for a matchmaking disaster!
The Love Bet is one of those books I would classify as a classic kind of SVH story. The stakes aren't terribly high, as we don't have actual stardom on the line, there are no supernatural creatures lurking in the shadows, and the Wakefield twins are scheming. I'm not sure I'd consider the book itself a classic, but the kind of story it tells definitely is.
After an informal party at Patty Gilbert's where both Dana Larson and Aaron Dallas declare just how much love stinks, Todd accidentally gives Elizabeth the idea to hook them up, even if it's just to keep them from going on (and on and on) about how much they're not interested in love. Liz thinks it's perfect but Todd isn't entirely sold on it, though he agrees to help with one condition: if Operation Pair-Up fails, Liz grants him three wishes and if it succeeds, he'll grant Liz three wishes.
Liz wastes no time in setting up Phase One. She enlists Penny, Enid, and Olivia to help her get this match up and running. Olivia's a little skeptical due to just how different Aaron and Dana seem to be. He's sporty, she's punk rock, he's got a temper and a half (wait, we're supposed to forget that, right?) passionate and she's pretty laid back (if you say so)... It's funny that Liz is willing to call the whole thing off if Olivia of all people thinks it's just too out there. Is it because Liv is known for being out there and a little kooky or is it because Liz respects her opinion more than say, Todd's? Discuss amongst yourselves.
Anyway, Liv agrees to help since it's not the worst idea ever, and Phase One kicks off with Penny wanting Dana to stop by The Oracle and make sure the lyrics to her song from Patty's party are accurate. The song was such a hit that Penny wants to put them in the next issue of the paper, you see. When Dana stops by, Liz just happens to be telling the others about how Aaron just could not stop asking questions about Dana after the party. She shuts up as soon as she 'sees' Dana and Dana is too polite to just flat out ask wtf is going on. Truthfully, I could see Dana just asking Liz what's up rather than being too polite not to, but to be fair, Dana's characterization has always been on the thin side, so I'll let it slide.
The other part of Phase One is being carried out by Todd, Winston, and Neil Freemount in the boy's locker room before gym. Todd mentions, very loudly, that they'll never believe who Dana has a crush on, and then changes the subject as soon as Aaron turns the corner. Todd's sure Aaron will bust them because everything sounds so corny and fake but the ego boost of having Dana interested in him is enough to dull Aaron's senses.
The next day, Liz sees Aaron and Dana blush at one another by the pay phones (I feel so old all of a sudden!) and is sure Phase One is a success! Enid confirms this by saying if they weren't at least a little interested, they wouldn't blush, they'd yawn. Phase Two involves Todd asking Aaron to go to the movies with him and Liz while Liz invites Dana. Both let their friend know the other will be bringing a friend. My favorite throwaway bit is that Aaron is so used to Enid being the friend in question that he hollers at Todd when he misses the turn for Enid's street. Aww. Sadly, it is almost immediately followed by the date where Dana and Aaron, who barely know each other at this point, share a soda at the movie theater. I've never been one of those people who readily shares a drink with someone, especially someone I don't know. Ick.
Anyway, Dana and Aaron both really like the movie and proving he's more than a pretty face, Aaron's able to carry on a decent post-movie review with Dana about it. The two seem to really be hitting it off before Aaron compliments Dana on her "love sucks" song and suddenly the two are back to awkward silences.
Wtf are you doing, Dallas? You seem interested in the girl and there's absolutely no reason to bring up your mutual "love sucks" policy right then. My only consolation is that he's just as baffled at his behavior as everyone else is. Woo.
Now's as good a time as any to shift gears and discuss our B plot in which there's a Battle of the Bands happening at SVH in a few weeks. Hosted by a local radio station, three bands have challenged The Droids to the aforementioned BotB, with the winner going to LA for the weekend and being an opening act at a "hip music club."
Ticked that Liz is trying to hook Dana up with her backup date Aaron, Jessica chooses not to sabotage Operation Pair-Up and instead decides to help one of the other bands beat The Droids so she can tag along to LA and meet some really hot rock guys. She tries to convince Amy and Lila that being roadies is the best way to do this, but for once, I gotta agree with Amy who says it's not worth the time and effort. Amy knows it's going to be actual work and wants no part of it. Lila's inclined to agree with us but Jessica points out that maybe they'll meet Jaime Peters, or some other equally hot musician and Lila reluctantly agrees.
Jess immediately seeks out Andy Jenkins, whose new band Baja Beat sounds like it'll be the band most likely to beat the Droids. Andy's good on help but suggests she talk to Spy Lazarus of Spontaneous Combustion. Take a moment to fully let those names sink in. Jessica debates dropping her plan but then we'd be lacking a B plot, so she calls Spy and the following day, she and Lila brave Wentworth Avenue in the bad part of town. To the surprise of absolutely NO ONE, Spy is neither hot nor is he charming, and the rest of the band is equally disappointing.
Part of what keeps this book from being an absolute classic is that there's no way I'd buy Jessica and Lila doing this for more than one afternoon for a non-hot band that simply wasn't any good. All it would take is one band member being decently attractive OR the band being good, even if it wasn't their kind of music. But Jessica's few mentions of the music itself aren't encouraging and none of the guys are anywhere near likable so why would Jessica think they had a chance in hell of beating The Droids? She wouldn't and this plot line fizzles because there's no incentive for her to keep playing roadie. It's not like Liz knows and will tease her for being a flake. Amy's not into the plan enough to ever been seen or mentioned again and Lila's not about to mock the idea of bowing out if it means she doesn't have to hang around a buncha guys she's not interested in while also expected to do manual labor. The only reason this plot line continues is we need Jessica to botch the setup of their instruments so that The Droids will win the Battle of the Bands later.
Back to Dana and Aaron. Liz and Todd invite them to an outdoor jazz concert and while Aaron knows nothing about jazz, he does get to ask Dana what she likes about jazz and the two start bonding again. He mentions it sounds a bit similar to soccer and Dana listens as he explains and then the ghosty tries to convince us that Dana doesn't go to soccer or football games, ever. Soccer, I'll totally buy as true but I'd bet money we've seen Dana at a football game in the series thus far. Anyway, Aaron and Dana continue flirting and she promises to come to the next home soccer match while he promises to go to the Battle of the Bands to cheer her on. She clarifies -AS FRIENDS and things get awkward again. Oi.
Still, at the game, Dana gets caught up in the frenzy and they make eyes at one another in time for Aaron to help lead the team to victory. After the game, at the DB, Aaron and Dana continue to make eyes at one another and Liz is pretty sure that soon they won't need any help in the love department. Still, she and Todd invite Dana and Aaron to a play at the Civic Center and then...
Todd goes rogue and slips a card from Aaron into Dana's locker. Dana's initial impulse is to laugh at the cheesiness of it until she reads the card and decides she wants to go declare her love, or at least serious interest, to Aaron. Liz reads the card and immediately identifies Todd's handwriting and tries to get Dana to pump the brakes. Dana eventually agrees and things seem to be going well until Liz and Todd have to drop out of the double date when Mr. Collins has the stupidest emergency run to LA ever, leaving Liz to babysit his son, Teddy.
Dana and Aaron have such a good time at the play that they prolong the night by stopping at the Box Tree Cafe for dessert... where Dana confesses how she feels and mentions the card. Which Aaron knows nothing about. When she shows him the card, he also immediately IDs Todd's handwriting. Dana puts two and two together and comes up with five. She concludes, to herself, that Liz and Todd were meddling but instead of assuming Aaron feels the same way, she's sure she's the only one looking like a jackass. Y'know, since she just started to open her heart and admit her feelings based on a card he didn't even send. Humiliated, Dana runs out on Aaron and takes a cab home where she promptly calls Liz and chews her out for meddling.
Liz is shocked that someone was able to piece together her oh so clever plot (not really, but she is a bit taken aback by the verbal attack) and then realizes Dana must've mentioned the card to Aaron. So she yells at Todd who yells back at her that the whole thing was stupid and she gets it into her head he was sabotaging the whole thing so he'd win the bet.
Oi with the poodles already, guys.
So Dana's not talking to Aaron, Liz, or Todd. Todd's not talking to Liz. And Liz is desperately trying to patch things up with Dana who ignores her and then shoots her down when Liz does manage to catch up to her.
I'm a bit confused as to why Liz things Todd should apologize to her when she attacked him first and also why Aaron doesn't confront Todd, especially since he freakin' identified Todd's handwriting on the card. But it takes a week for Todd to explain to Aaron, who has no idea why the girl he liked is suddenly not talking to him, what he and Liz were up to and why Dana's flipped her lid. As soon as Aaron finds out, he goes to make things right with Dana. Naturally this all happens at the Battle of the Bands.
Dana and Aaron make up and then kiss and all is right with the world... almost. Dana and Aaron agree they have two more things to do before everything is settled. One, The Droids need to win the contest and two, they need to get Todd and Liz back together.
B plot wrap-up time! Jessica is still working as the band's roadie even though Wheels has asked her out, they all keep calling her chick despite her mentioning how she doesn't like it, and then he pinches her ass during set-up... in front of the whole school. Really? You expect me to believe Jessica Fucking Wakefield wouldn't immediately kick his ass or at least intentionally set the amps to blow up? Really?
More than that, you expect me to believe that Lila would go to the trouble of faking a sprained wrist to get out of having to set up for the Battle? Pfft. Lila just wouldn't show up til after the set up was complete, wave to Jess and smirk from the stands. Seriously.
But no, Lila fakes a sprained wrist, leaving Jessica to set up by herself. Naturally Jessica messes up because she's ticked at Lila and also doesn't really care as she hurriedly plugs things in the wrong way. The amps blow out and while the crowd appreciates the fireworks, The Droids win by a landslide.
If you're shocked by this, you must be new to Earth. Welcome to the hellscape.
At school on Monday, Liz and Todd both find cards in their lockers instructing them to meet up after school under the clock. Each assumes the other has made the first move but when they realize neither sent the cards, Dana and Aaron drive by, waving and honking.
Liz has won the bet and she wastes her wishes by asking for them to never have such a silly argument again (that won't last), for them to be as happy as they are right now always (ha), and for the biggest, best kiss NOW. So I guess maybe she got one out of three. Probably should've held out for the dozen roses, having him do her chores, and carry her books for a week.
We end on the set-up for the next book with Charlie Cashman bullying Andy Jenkins for no obvious reason other than Charlie's an asshole. Probably a racist asshole.
Trivia:
- Andy Jenkins formed a new band at SVH called Baja Beat.
- Andy is dating Patty Gilbert's cousin, Tracy, and both of them are juniors at SVH. Also, Andy is black, which is gonna be a thing in the next book, I'm sure.
- Patty throws an "informal" party to celebrate her boyfriend Jim coming back for the weekend. She's also described as one of the most popular students at SVH.
- Jessica is not thrilled that Brent and Dana broke up, as she doesn't like it when her plans don't work out. I assume Brent is supposed to be Brett from Who's Who and he ended up with Suzanne Hanlon anyway.
- Dana claims there are other bands at SVH besides The Droids and that there's always room for more but seriously, can you name another one off the top of your head? No? Me neither and I know at least one's been mentioned and I keep a stupid amount of SVH trivia in my head. Point is, bands are welcome to try and topple The Droids but it ain't gonna happen.
- Dana's got brown eyes in case you wondered.
- Heather Sanford, Aaron's girlfriend, moved away recently and apparently they did not attempt the long distance relationship. Aaron hasn't been the same since she left.
- Patty's party ends at midnight, but Liz's curfew isn't til around 12:30, so she and Todd go to Miller's Point to makeout.
- Todd agrees to help get Dana and Aaron together, but if they fail, Todd gets three wishes from Liz and if they succeed, Liz gets three wishes granted by Todd.
- Todd jokes that one of his wishes will be Liz washing and waxing his car.
- Operation Pair-Up is what Liz keeps calling the love bet.
- Penny took the time to write down Dana's lyrics to her song, "Fed Up With Love" from Patty's party. Impressed because she did this on the spur of the moment and it had to be longhand because, y'know, a time before cellphones.
- Liz enlists Penny, Enid, and Olivia to help her with her side of Operation Pair-Up.
- Todd enlists Winston and Neil Freemount with his side of the bet.
- Phase One involves Liz saying Aaron asked a million questions about Dana, while Todd lets Aaron overhear that Dana's got a new crush on someone but does not say who it is.
- Phase Two has Todd and Liz invite Aaron and Dana to The Plaza Theatre to see Adam's Rib.
- The boys have been playing hockey in gym lately.
- Jessica overhears the Operation Pair-Up planning and is bewildered. She wonders why not bother trying to fix up Winston and Lila if you're going for weirdest couple. She's not thrilled that Liz is actively trying to pair up one of her backup dates with someone other than Jessica herself.
- According a lime green poster, a local radio station is hosting a Battle of the Bands in three weeks at the SVH gym. Baja Beat, Spontaneous Combustion, and the Suede Men challenge The Droids. Winner gets an all expenses weekend to L.A. to be opening act at a "hip music club."
- Jessica suggests being roadies for one of the BotB bands but Lila and Amy point out it's going to be an awful lot of work. Amy bows out entirely but Lila is convinced when Jessica points out that Lila's fond of long haired rocker types and maybe they'll meet Jaime Peters in L.A. when their band wins.
- The Plaza Theatre is a beautiful art deco theater built in the 1920's that's been renovated and shows old classics.
- Dana loves old movies and especially loves Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.
- Liz tells Dana that she's got a real gift, musically, and Dana mentally agrees. I like that Dana knows she's good at her music and doesn't try and play it off.
- The Droids are writing all new music for the Battle, so they'll seem as new as all the other bands.
- Alas, all of Dana's new songs are bitter, sad, and/or sarcastic and not the type to win the Battle. Guess it's a good thing Lynne also writes songs for the band, huh? No, we're just going to mention that like once and then never again in this book? We're going to pretend the whole of the band's songwriting rises and falls on Dana? Okay.
- Fed Up With Love is a hit with SVH, but not the kind of song Dana wants to be known for. Kiddo, that's how all one hit wonders work. Be careful.
- Dana considers sports types to be pretty uncultured and all but calls Aaron nothing but a pretty face. Which is totally not fair as he's also been known to have an anger management problem.
- On their movie date, Aaron assumes Liz's friend will be Enid and fusses at Todd when he misses the turn for her street. Olivia is his second guess, btw.
- Aaron and Dana share a popcorn and a soda at the movie. Ick.
- After bonding over the movie, Aaron tells Dana that she's right and that falling in love is a waste of time.
- Charlie Cashman is a tall, stocky bully who is obviously being set up for the next book. Jessica wonders if anyone at all at SVH likes him.
- Spy Lazarus of Spontaneous Combustion is a senior at SVH. He spends most of his time hanging out with guys from other schools or those who aren't in school anymore. He's tall and scrawny, with very pale skin and long, dark greasy hair. He also smokes and lives at 256 Wentworth Avenue, which is in the bad part of town.
- Spy is so out of touch with the SVH social circle that he doesn't recognize either Lila or Jessica.
- Claire Middleton shows up as a new student who happens to be in Dana and Liz's history class. Liz tries to welcome her to Sweet Valley at the Dairi Burger, but Claire runs off, prompting Enid and Dana to assume she's shy. Later we learn she also runs out of history class at warp speed. She's mentioned to have long, straight dark hair.
- Liz tells Dana that Aaron kept asking about her after the movie date.
- Todd and Aaron study trigonometry at Todd's house and Todd says Dana called Liz after the movie, gushing about how much she liked Aaron. Aaron calls BS because if this is true, why does Dana keep acting like she's not interested? Todd eventually comes up with Dana wanting to save face after carrying on about being done with love, and besides, Aaron did bring up that song and killed the mood.
- Phase Three involves an outdoor jazz concert at the park.
- Dana invites DeeDee, Olivia, and Elizabeth over to her house (along with her cousin Sally) to figure out costumes for the band to wear at the competition.
- There's a decent amount of build up for what turns out to be Dana saying that the music they've been doing lately is "funky and down to earth" so why not go with a jungle motif, like leopard and tiger print shirts. It took multiple people for Dana to throw that idea out there? No one offers any other ideas before or after, beyond Liv suggesting a curtain of long, green vines if they're allowed a backdrop.
- When Aaron asks what she likes about jazz, Dana says the emotion and individuality, pointing out that even if a band is playing "golden oldies", they can infuse enough of their own personality and style into the solos to make the songs their own.
- Dana wisely chooses not to immediately confess that she's never been to a soccer or football game, though later she will admit that she's definitely never attended one of the soccer games.
- The soccer team is undefeated this year and Aaron rarely loses a face-off. The next home match is the Tuesday afternoon following the concert and SVH is playing Big Mesa. They win 6-2, with Aaron scoring half the goals. Jeffrey is never mentioned at all.
- Dana likes the look of Aaron in shorts. As someone who grew up in a fairly warm climate, I am confused by the idea that she'd never seen him in shorts before.
- Dana buys a pom-pom to wave at the soccer game.
- There's a new play at the Civic Center and Liz invites Aaron and Dana to double date with her and Todd.
- Lila likes long hair on rock guys, btw. I... don't know how I feel about that.
- Spontaneous Combustion is made up of Hal, Wheels, Pete, Spy, and Motorhead, but you can call him Motor. Wheels is on drums, Pete sings, and Motor also works on cars in his spare time. They're all pasty, lanky dudes with long, greasy hair who smoke way too much.
- By the time Jessica and Lila wind up as roadies, we're ten days away from The Battle of the Bands.
- Max's voice is deeper and rougher than Dan's, in case you needed to know.
- Liz ran to the Civic Center on her lunch break to pick up tickets to the play. Later we learn said play is about a girl named Abby who is probably, definitely, in love with her best friend Louis. Riveting, no?
- Todd sends a cheesy romantic card to Dana, from Aaron, but leaves it unsigned. Todd's handwriting is unique enough that Aaron and Liz both ID it immediately.
- At the jazz concert, btw, Dana notices that Aaron looks like he's on a date with Todd because he's sitting closer to Todd than even Elizabeth is. I had SVC flashbacks and they hurt.
- Mr. Collins has to go to L.A. because his father is sick, and leaves Teddy with Liz and Todd. He shows up later that night, saying his father is fine, just a bad case of the flu. Uh, Roger? You know what the flu can do to someone, right? So here's hoping his mother or someone else is around because otherwise, Roger is a shitty son.
- At the Box Tree Cafe after the play, Dana shows the card to Aaron and when he mentions it's Todd's writing, Dana concludes that Todd and Liz were toying with her and that while she fell in love with Aaron, he couldn't feel the same way. She runs off and catches a cab home, before calling the Wakefield house and yelling at Liz.
- Liz yells at Todd after being bitched out by Dana, and later Jessica comes home and blames her bad night on Liz, refusing to speak to her til Sunday morning.
- We get a Wakefield Sunday brunch mention, where Ned is making Belgian waffles and eggs anyway you want 'em. Alice is halving oranges and they all eat on the patio.
- The only class Liz and Dana share is History.
- Liz sees Todd in the hallway and thinks that if he can make the first move, she's ready to make-up. Um, Liz? You yelled at him first. You also accused him of sabotaging your bet just so he would win. You get to make the first move, love.
- Wheels asks Jessica to be his chick.
- Dana is confident that since she and the rest of The Droids have different social circles, they haven't heard about her humiliation with Aaron. Anyone else never really picture the band not hanging out together at school? Like, sure, I buy that Dana's more A list than the others, and that they all have other friends, but not hanging out at all? Does not compute.
- The line-up at the Battle of the Bands is: the Suede Men, Baja Beat, The Droids, and Spontaneous Combustion.
- Todd waits a week to admit to Aaron what he and Liz did.
- Jessica's redecorated her locker with pictures of Jaime Peters.
- Liz points out that they airbrush those photos, so he's probably got wrinkles and his hair's a wig. Jess wants to hear no part of this.
- Liz's three wishes for winning the bet are not a dozen roses, Todd doing her chores, and carrying her books for a week.
- Instead, she wants to never have a pointless argument like that again, always be together and as happy as they are right now, and the biggest, best kiss NOW.
- Todd agrees to all, and then says one Todd Wilkins Deluxe Smooch coming up. I cringed hardcore then and I still do now.
Quote Me:
"I think you're wrong!" Elizabeth protested, and at the exact same time Jessica declared, "I know exactly what you mean!" - ladies and gents, our entry to the identical opposites portion of the book. pg 4
"Jaime Peters!" Amy exclaimed. "Forget it! He's totally over the hill. He's practically old enough to be your father."
"He is not," Jessica denied hotly.
"He's a man," Lila breathed, her eyes dreamy.
She stole a glance at him. It almost looked as if he were there as Todd's date. He was sitting closer to Todd than Elizabeth was! - Aaron, you can be friends and still sit next to a girl. p60
"I tell you what. I'll be an incredibly generous, unselfish friend and give you first dibs on him!"
"Thanks," Lila said loftily, "but if he has eyes, I won't need your help." - Jessica and I both love Lila's modesty. p83
"Well, don't blame me. I didn't force you to be a roadie." - Jess, honey, you kinda did. p107
Never again would she interfere in someone else's affairs, even if it was with the best of intentions. - brb, laughing forever at the thought of Liz actually keeping true to this. p119/120
"I still think falling in love is stupid," Dana remarked, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. "But who says you have to be smart all the time?" p137
Fashion Club:
She was wearing a velvet miniskirt with a cropped jacket, black tights, and lace-up ankle boots, and she looked fantastic. - Dana's outfit while waiting on the pay phones, p18/19
She was wearing tight, shiny knee-length black bicycle shorts, and a big pink-and-black checked T-shirt. - Dana's outfit for the movies. p36/37
Jessica had worn a black mini and a cute cropped black top. - Jess is also wearing stockings but they already have a run in them because being a roadie is hard on cute clothes. p130
Music and lyrics by Dana Larson:
I'm fed up with love, don't know what I was thinking of, letting romance fog my mind and waste my precious time.
I like The Love Bet, but it's mostly because I like seeing Dana and Aaron fall in love (or like) inspite of themselves. We don't really see a ton of Todd and Liz scheming, though what we do see is cute, and the less said about the stupidity of Jessica's drawn-out scheme, the better. But it's a fun read that probably deserves a better cover. Why does Todd always look so old? I guess it could be worse- he could look as old as Bill and Ken usually do.
But also, it's weird that Todd and Aaron are presented as such close friends, right? Because Aaron and Jeffrey were best friends and yet the sheer number of Aaron prefers Todd to Dana jokes I could make throughout this book is staggering, so the two are meant to be close. Which SVT will back up, I guess, but SVH has always presented Winston or Ken as Todd's best guy friend.