Elizabeth Wakefield has always thought that Brian boyd, the class bully, was bad news. He's mean and loud - nothing but trouble. As far as she's concerned, Sweet Valley Middle School would be better off without him! Then she learns a terrible secret about Brian: He's been taken away from his parents because they physically abuse him.
Elizabeth and her friends are horrified,ad so are some Middle School parents when they see how scared and upset their kids are. When Brian is sent to a school closer to his new home, there's a big sigh of relief.
Now Elizabeth has finally gotten her wish - the school is rid of Brian. So why does she still feel so rotten?

The alley that ran behind the Wakefield house was home to few stray cats, which Jessica was always feeding. And it wasn't unusual to hear the cats meowing or having the occasional fight. But for some reason, tonight it sounded like one of them was crying. That's rediculous, Elizabeth told herself. Cat's don't cry. Or at least not the same way people do.
She pushed her chair back from her desk and peered out her bedroom window, but she couldn't make out anything in the alley. She went downstairs, out the back door, and crossed the pation by the pool. There was a tall wooden fence seperating the Wakefields' yard from the ally. Elizabeth carefully begn to climb it, putting her foot on a toehold halfway up.
When she peered over the top of the fence, Elizabeth saw a boy in the alley, on top of a stack of old magazines waiting to be recycled. The boy's head was buried in his hands, and he was sobbing. Elizabeth stared at his figure, his dark hair, and his black leather high-top sneakers. She couldn't elieve her eyes. It was Brian Boyd!

Is there basketball in Elizabeth's future? Battle of the Cheerleaders