Sweet Valley High #135: Lila's New Flame

I have no idea what is in the Sweet Valley water supply, but it's something not good!

See, Lila just got a phone call from Bo. They went from talking on the phone all the time, having disgustingly cute phone dates where they watched the same movie while on the phone together, and sending each other love poems to hardly talking. That did not make Bo dumping her any easier though. He thinks they grew apart and that they should date people on their own coasts. Because yeah, it's so hard for two rich kids to find time for each other.

Lila starts acting down all the time, not John date rape down, but still pretty down. She doesn't even want to go shopping with Jess or see a new movie. All she wants to do is mope around the house. In the hopes of getting over Bo, she decides to burn all the love letters he sent her before falling asleep in front of the fireplace. When she wakes up, the house is on fire!

Steven is coming back to town because the ghostwriter has no clue how internships actually work. He has an internship with some local law firm and gets to take the entire semester off college just to do it as a freshman! I'm so irritated right now. Jessica wants to throw him a huge party since their parents are out of town, but good old wet blanket Elizabeth puts the kibosh on that.

When he does get back, he doesn't seem quite himself. That's when he hits the twins with some big news: Billie dumped him. It seems as though Steven decided to apply for the internship and accept it without talking to her. She made him choose between the work and her, so he chose the work. Billie moved out, didn't talk to him for a few days, and never even said goodbye. She told him that his choice was their goodbye. Ouch.

While chilling around the house, they get a call that Fowler Crest caught fire and that Lila is in the hospital. They have to go because George and Grace are on an island somewhere with no connection back to the outside world. The whole Wakefield team rush over and find Lila is okay but needs to stay there for a few days. No one really wants to tell her that she can't go home again. Jessica finally does tell her that she can't live in the house and that she can come stay with them. Lila just wonders why Steven is hanging around because she never really paid any attention to him before.

Steven heads to the law firm and gets his first assignment: tracking Lila. It turns out that they found evidence of arson at the house. Someone left gasoline on the floor. Since Lila had matches in her pocket, they somehow suspect her of starting the fire. He gets to follow her around and figure out if she actually did it.

When Lila gets out of the hospital, she refuses to stay with the Wakefields and just wants to go home. She even tells Jessica to leave and let her deal with things. One wing is completely gone and every other room has serious smoke damage. When she gets to her bedroom, she finds all her clothing destroyed and her things ruined. Everything from her clothes to her pictures are gone. Her jewelry is even melted into a big pile. She breaks down crying when she finds the metal box she stored her letters in got soaked.

Steven decides to go see Lila and talk to her. He finds her moving some of her things into the pool house. She seems happy to see him and glad to have someone willing to talk things through with her. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes that she's not just another bratty friend of his little sister. Oh, you mean like your old girlfriend Cara?

Jessica takes Lila shopping but notices that she just doesn't care. Lila Fowler no longer has any interest in shopping for ball gowns or fancy shoes. All she cares about are the basics. Once she gets some jeans and tee shirts, she's done. Jessica keeps convincing her to do some more shopping and winds up with bags of stuff that Lila doesn't want. Even Liz points out that everything “they” bought is really stuff that Jessica liked.

Steven finds himself trapped between two worlds. On the one hand, Lila is a sweet girl and seems innocent, but on the other hand, evidence keeps piling up against her. The police find a can of gasoline in her car, but she says the chauffeur sometimes drives her car and probably put it there. His boss seems convinced that she's a poor little rich girl who just wanted attention. Steven puts together a diagram that shows someone deliberately set three different fires around the house and around her exact location, but it's still not proof that she's innocent.

Even though neither twin knows, the two start spending a lot of time together, like a lot. Elizabeth worries that he's too sad over Billie dumping him and pushes him into having a movie night with her and Todd. When Lila invites him to dinner to thank him for all his help, he blows Liz off. Liz calls the DA, despite Todd begging her to drop it, and keeps worrying about where he is and what he's doing.

Steven feels super uncomfortable when Lila shows up in a fancy dress and takes him to a fancy French restaurant. Over dinner, she tells him about all her travels, which makes him think that she's seen more than he ever will. She surprises him by telling him that she actually preferred digging for oysters on a beach than hobnobbing with royalty in the big city. The date leaves him even more confused than ever, especially when Lila grabs a box of matches on the way out the door. She explains that she wants to start a new memory box.

Jessica suddenly realizes that Lila is so upset because she lost so many things that were important than her clothes. She goes through all her family photo albums to find photos of Lila and her friends. Liz thinks the photo album she made was really sweet and wonders if she should make one for Steven of him and Billie. Jessica points out that this is a terrible idea, Liz agrees and then wonders if she should invite Billie down for the weekend. Give it up already!

Todd and Liz go roller skating, which I'm pretty sure is something they haven't done in a long time. Steven agreed to come with them but never shows up. She keeps worrying about where he is or what he's doing. Todd finally kind of snaps and tells her to pay attention to him and not her brother.

While on his way to see Lila again, Steven finds something in her bushes. That came out dirtier than I intended. He shows her a pair of gloves with her monogram on the cuffs that were soaked in gasoline. She says she has no idea where they came from, but he makes it clear that he doesn't believe her. Lila then breaks down because someone is trying to frame her and no one cares. That makes Steven finally hug her and tell her that he believes her.

Meanwhile, we have some random new character named Devon Whitelaw on his way from Connecticut to California. His parents passed away and left him a trust fund, but he can only access it if he finds suitable guardians first. Since his Aunt Peggy and Uncle Mark live in Ohio, he figures that's a good place to start. They introduce him to their two songs and welcome him with open arms.

Aunt Peggy then tells him that he would be much more comfortable with his own room and suggests they use some of his money for it. The kids hit him up for a new dirt bike and a new motorcycle too. Devon is fine with things because he assumes all families are like that. Instead of adding a single bedroom onto the house though, they plan a whole wing with multiple rooms and a bathroom.

He later overhears his aunt and uncle talking about the three loans they took out for the renovation and how they plan on spending at least $1 million of his money. They also want to add a second wing. Peggy points out that he can go to Ohio State, which doesn't cost a lot, and that he'll still have some money after they finish.

While watching the construction, one of the workers comes up to him and makes some comments about how his family are thieves. Devon hears them talking about using even more of his money and comes up with a plan. He tells them the next day that he talked to his attorney and learned his dad owed a lot of debts. They had to use the estate to pay what they could before filing for bankruptcy and now he's broke. They freak out about how they'll be able to afford everything they did without his money. Devon pretty much just packs up and takes off to Las Vegas where another uncle lives.

Steven heads into work one day and finds a print out for a website on his desk. It goes over all the signs that someone is secretly an arsonist, which he realizes describes Lila pretty well. Though he asks everyone in the office if they left it for him, they all deny it. The DA tells him to bring it to an upcoming meeting and seems pretty smug that it's proof Lila started the fire.

Lila stops by the Wakefield house to see Steven. They have a moment, which leads to him kissing her and releasing all the feelings that built up over the last week. Jessica and Elizabeth head downstairs to watch a movie together, Jessica sees the new couple in the kitchen, and backs out in shock. She can't even explain it to Liz, so she just points to the kitchen. Liz peeks in, backs out, and the two share mutual looks of revulsion and disgust.

*Steven's internship seriously annoys me. College freshmen do not get paid internships at major law firms, and they do not get to take an entire semester off work for one!

*I totally side with Billie on this situation. Steven applied for the internship, knowing what it meant, without telling her. He then accepted it and thought she should just be happy for him. Since he apparently moved out within days, it's even more ridiculous. What was she supposed to do about their apartment? It's not like he left her time to find a roommate or a new place!

*Seriously, Steven's job is insane. He gathers all the evidence, draws a diagram of the fire, and even gets his own desk. He is an INTERN!!! There is no way that the DA would let an intern investigate this type of case or even handle the paperwork, given the Fowler name.

*Steven says that to be a good lawyer, he cannot get emotionally involved in his cases. Either he's never met Ned before or he's saying his dad is a bad lawyer.

*I thought Lila taking the matches was actually pretty sweet. Everything she saved from before was ruined in the fire, but the first memory she wanted to save was her date with Steven.

*Devon's family did a shitty thing, but he did a shitty thing too. He agreed to pay for the renovation, knew they took out three loans to cover all the costs, and still left them holding the bill.

*The end was a little too cheesy for me. How many times has Jessica gone after a relative of one of her friends? Yet somehow, the twins are both disgusted by the idea of their brother kissing Lila.

*The description of Fowler Crest was pretty impressive. I had a bad fire in an old apartment that destroyed the living room, dining room, and bathroom. My bedroom kind of survived because I had the door shut, and the door was shut to my kitchen too. The descriptions in this book were right on point.