CONFESSIONS OF STELLA MALONE

Author's Note: So, when I was writing this chapter and the following chapter that will be posted up shortly, I realized that they go together because the plot of the chapters are similar. So in this case, this is Part One of the third chapter of the story. And to anyone who's confused, this chapter and the previous chapters are all accounted with Stella's Sucky Day. You know, I almost entitled this story as Stella's Sucky Day, but found it waaaaaaay too immature, even on my account. Okay, I'll shut up. Thanks for reading, have a nice day.


Chapter Three
PART ONE

I never did make it to Central Park. Well, not until the end of the day at least.

After Macy called with good news of her upcoming arrival, I decided that the best I could do to make up for lost times was to give her a good old New York welcome. And that involved the one very best thing to do in NYC- shopping.

Lunchtime came around, quickly surprising me that the beginning of my day was already gone. My day would have started earlier if The View had decided not to do such a kick-ass story on Tiger Woods. I decided since this was my first day of being an unemployed, single woman that I would take advantage of it and make it a good day. Matching my Armani Exchange white trousers with a V-necked, mustard colored Gucci silk blouse that went well against the color of my hair, I paired it with shoes that were a tad simpler for walking purposes- a nice pair of Christian Louboutin suede ankle boots. The Denny & George scarf wrapped around my neck was just an added bonus.

I left my apartment with an even better looking purse in tow and around one o'clock. I left and made what I thought to be the stupidest decision ever made in my twenty-three year old life…

Do you ever have one of those days where you wake up feeling great, hair looks great, and ate a great meal? Then you'd obviously think you would have a great day ahead of you, right? But then it turns out to be the suckiest, crappiest, shittiest day of your life and you wondered what the hell went wrong?

Well, it was just another of these days in the life of Stella Marie Malone.

And, it all happened because of this. It was such a beautiful day outside. The wind was blowing, the trees were swaying with the breeze, children were laughing… New York environment hadn't been this nice in a few weeks. Instead of taking my car or some sort of transportation like all workaholics and sane people do, I decided a nice stroll would suffice instead. No rush. It seemed like a good idea…at that time.

The cool September breeze flew by. God, this was going to be a good day. So down to business. How can I make this New York trip the trip of a lifetime for Macy?

As I walked down the busy streets of Manhattan, idea after idea came popping in my mind. Some were good, some were bad, and some…let's just say I would never think again. Ooh, I could do the ultimate best friend package and get her a new wardrobe complete with a massage, facial, mani/pedi, and dinner at the exclusive Per Se Restaurante! But she did mention it was Nick's birthday and that she needed a personal stylist…Wait a minute, stylist for what? She was an official A-list dresser. She probably needed something for the night of Nick's birthday…my eyes grew wide. Okay, mind out of the gutter. Oh, sick. To me I felt like their crazy mother sometimes and those two were like a little brother and like a little, baby sister who was having her own baby. Maybe we should do something the whole family would enjoy?

Eh, whatever. As I turned right onto Fifth Avenue, I felt a hand grab my shoulder.

"Excuse me, kind lady?" A man said with a rough voice. His face was dirty and his clothes were no better. He was dressed in rags of clothes which looked really outdated. "Spare me some change? Please, Miss?"

A small smile grew as I took out my wallet. "Oh, why not?" I said brightly seeing a way to help others. As soon as he saw the crumpled five dollar bill, a toothy grin escaped from his lip. "Oh, thank you ma'am! You've made my day!"

He walked, more like skipped, away buying God knows what with it. I re-adjusted my purse. Time to go shopping! And what do you know? I was standing right outside of Saks Fifth! Could this day get any better?

I inhaled the familiar scent of everything designer as soon as I walked in ready to enjoy the many levels of Saks Fifth Avenue. The other amazing thing about the store was that I had made a close friend there, and not just some fake A-lister in the entertainment world, but a real, genuine friend. I looked around for Natalie. Natalie was a sales associate at Saks, whose main job was to see that the customer received a friendly welcome as soon as his or her designer shoe stepped into the store. Nat was quiet and shy, yes, but she was also very polite.

And that was why I was confused as soon as I walked into Saks. Instead of coming right up to me in her usual friendly ways, I saw her there standing near her post- ignoring me. Her petite frame and Posh Spice haircut could be recognizable anywhere. But, in no way did she show any acknowledgement.

"Hey, Nat!" I called out her name and gave a small wave. The young brunette turned her attention to me and smiled weakly. I walked over to her since she wasn't too busy. Saks Fifth was never too crowded on a Monday during midday.

"Oh, hey Stella," she said quietly. The usual brightness in her voice was gone. There were dark circles underneath her eyes. And her young, cheery self was nowhere evident. She smiled weakly through her dark, eye-lined eyes. "What's up?" She shrugged casually not giving a care in the world that the newest line of Louis Vuitton purses was merely just a couple feet away from her.

I was taken aback. This was not Natalie. Usually, she'd be the one doing the talking about the latest at Saks Fifth. And not just talking about the clothes, but also the drama of it as well. Like how one cashier on the second floor found out his wife was cheating on him with another cashier on the fifth floor… Ah, you gotta love Saks Fifth.

"Oh, nothing really. Just shopping for my friend, Macy. She's coming to town in a few days with her husband," I said slyly. A grin crept on my face…

When the realization on Natalie's confused face didn't show, I quickly added, "You know Nick Lucas and his wife?" I smirked to myself knowing about Natalie's schoolgirl crush on the youngest pop star.

Natalie let out a loud gasp. I winced. Who knew such a tiny frame could make such a noise? "Nick's coming to town? Oh my God!"

And, oh my God. I thought to myself. Speaking of Macy, if anyone could scream higher than her, it'd be Natalie. "Yup," I nodded proudly. "They're coming to the city for a few days for Nick's birthday."

"Holy shit!" She said, excitedly, her brown eyes pretty much popping out of her face. Her unexpected words caused some customers to look at her. "I mean, that's amazing! Well, I hope you have fun showing them around. Well, not technically showing them around. I mean, it is Nick Lucas and surely he's been to New York before and—"

"—Natalie?" I stopped her before she could say anymore. Something had caught my attention. "Why is everyone still staring?"

Sure enough if not all, then almost all the customers and sales associates had turned to watch me and Natalie. Some had this look. That look that could 'kill a thousand horses' kind-of look. Oh no, that's when realization sunk in. They weren't looking at Natalie were they?

"Um, Stella," Natalie's timid voice began. "That's what I kind of wanted to warn you about, but in privacy." She began fiddling with her ring. "Um, when you walked in this morning—"

"Natalie, spit it out." It came out more threateningly than how I intended it to be. But, there was a feeling I had that this wouldn't be good. "What's going on?"

"Okay, um, how do I explain this?" She fiddled with her words, as well as her manicured fingers. "Everyone knows about you and Peggy Sui parting ways."

"So, what?" I interrupted. "Peggy was a complete diva. What else did everyone—"

"-wait let me finish," Natalie budged kindly. And with her sympathetic eyes, she continued to give me the worst news I could have possibly imagined. "They heard what Peggy said about you to the press…that you 'lost' your creative instincts and all."

"Okay?" I said slowly. What did that have to do with the fact that—Oh, no. Oh no, no, no, no. My eyes grew wide. Now I understood what she was trying to say.

"And they think since you 'lost' these creative instincts that you've copied your sketches from other designers. They think you're a fraud, Stel—"

"—what?" I nearly yelled! I swear, if I had been seated, I would've fallen out of me seat! By now, almost everyone on the first floor of Saks Fifth had turned to look. "They think I copied? What the hell? They should know by now all of my collections are authentic!"

My collections! I hadn't even thought about the whole Peggy Sui scandal accordingly. If everyone thought my designs were fake and copied, that meant not a cent would go towards my clothing line! Nobody would buy my designs! Which also meant, I gulped, I am going to go bankrupt.

"And, and that's not all, Stella." Natalie looked almost fearful to deliver the last piece of news, as if someone would eat her alive if she said one more word. Mainly meaning, me. "Peggy told everyone you copied off of her and that's the real reason why she fired you," she whispered with a slight rush.

I grew silent. Fury was going through my veins. I could feel it. I could feel my face getting redder, my hands shaking tremendously, and my stomach flipping at about a hundred times per hour. A mix of anger and frustration and sadness went through me. My reputation was ruined. Everything would be gone. My clothing line would probably be boycott. No one would buy clothing from a 'fraud'. I wanted to punch something—really hard.

"Well t-they can believe all the lies they want to believe," I swallowed out as controllably as I could. I could feel the stinging in my eye. By now, everyone was looking whether they were customers or sales associates or merely just spectators peering in the window. Everyone had stopped what they were doing. And I was positive everyone was listening onto me and Natalie's conversation. This was embarrassing.

I turned to leave without another word coming out of my mouth. I felt Natalie grab my arm. Oh no. Was there more bad news? Hadn't there been enough? Instead of another bad report coming out of her mouth came, a sincere apology came out instead. She muttered a quick 'I'm so sorry' before turning back to her work. I understood. If a manager or head-honcho saw who Nat was talking to, she'd be in some deep water.

Well, so much for Saks Fifth Avenue. As quickly and quietly as I could, I exited the store I once loved most and continued down Fifth. There was no way I could stay in that store. Everyone believed the made up story about the Stella Malone Collection. I was in the midst of a scandal!

After I made the escape from Saks, I continued down the roads of trendy boutiques and stopped in front of Versace. I began to fear what Versace would have thought of me. I smiled a little as I saw the new pumps featured in the window. And right next to the pumps was a 'sale' sign. Versace never had any sales! This officially made my day! Macy would love some new shoes! After all, she could beat anyone with her killer shoe collection. A smile came as I started to push against the door of Versace. Suddenly, I stopped as awareness came across my mind. I couldn't go in there! In fact, I couldn't go anywhere!

Everyone knew about the scandal! What was I thinking of stepping foot in there? This probably meant more death glares and tears of so-called betrayal would form if I did. I took a deep breath debating whether or not I would show my face at Versace. It was Versace after all.

Oh, what the hell. I shrugged. People could believe what they wanted. So what? I'm still a style star.

Plus, Versace was a close second to making any sad day turn into a good one. And trust me, this was most definitely, already a sad day.

I walked into the store taking a deep breath. All I knew was just to expect the same occurrence that had happened at Saks. Surprisingly, no one turned to look. And thank God too.

The previous heels in the window caught my eye once again. I smiled. Hmm, I would be getting those in a size eight and a size nine. One for Macy and one for me, obviously. I browsed again with my eyes for what else I could find. Seriously, this was like a girl's dream right here. A gasp escaped my mouth as I saw what was ahead of me. Versace Rimless Shield Sunglasses- Sale $190.90.

I would definitely be taking a pair of those. It wasn't everyday that these glasses cost almost half priced. The sales associate at the counter smiled as she saw the sunglasses in my right hand and the two pairs of heels in the other. That was when I noticed. Oh shit, everyone slowly began to turn their attention towards me. They recognized me, didn't they? Okay, play it cool. Play it cool. Take a deep breath. Just move quickly, I told myself. Try not to make a big scene. Hopefully, nobody recognizes me. If I could just quickly get those shoes and glasses-

"Oh my God, Stella Malone? Is that you?"

You've got to be kidding me! Who in their right mind would yell my name? Whoever that was, that son of a b—

"Amy?"

A tall, perky brunette graced her way towards me. The scantily clad figure of Amy Budo was recognizable anywhere—even in high school. Her foul smelling perfume graced my presence. Immediately, I knew which scent she wore. I just won't reveal what it was for the sake of their reputation and my safety.

"Oh my God, Stella Malone! How have you been? I bet you've just been doing well, haven't you?" That fake voice. Ah, some things just didn't change. She tossed her extensions out of her face before turning to face me again waiting for my reply.

"I've been well, working in and out of the city. You know, the usual perks of being a stylist." I offered diligently. Even five years later, this chick still pressed the wrong buttons. There was something about her that just screamed 'fake'.

"But, you're not a stylist, well—anymore at least. I mean, haven't you read the papers?"

I can't believe that her clueless face just stated the most obvious thing. She stared at me blankly waiting for an explanation. Okay, so she wasn't the slowest person out there, but she most definitely wasn't the brightest…nor modest.

"Actually, I'm Nick Lucas' personal stylist now," I found myself saying of her former boyfriend. What in the world was I saying? Before I could stop myself, more words came out of my mouth. "Yeah, after me and Peggy split, I became Nick's stylist once again. It's good having him back in my life." I added nonchalantly. Great, I was becoming fake with my words as much as she was just fake, period. "In fact, he and Macy are coming here next week!"

Her dark eyes grew wider. Another déjà vu. First Natalie, then Amy? Damn, what was with these twenty-something year old girls and Nick Lucas? Even in high school, he already had twenty-year olds saying what a handsome man he would one day become. He wasn't that cute…at least compared to his brother J-

"Oh good! You're not with that ghastly woman anymore. What was her name? Piglet So or something?" Amy rolled her eyes. She began playing with her nails. "Ugh, I could never understand how you could tolerate her. I swear, its girls like her…"

Yep. Mhmm. Exactly. Girls like her. Wait, did she just compare Peggy Sui to Piglet?

"Hey listen, Stells. I've got to run, but I need a huge favor now since you're free from Piglet-"

"-Peggy."

"Peggy, then…. Whatever," She corrected rolling her eyes. "But, like I said. I need a favor, you know- friend to friend?"

"Amy, I uh-, hate to break it to you, but we were never friends," I informed her as kindly as I could. She looked at me as deer in headlights. Well, what? Truth hurts.

Amy shook her hair pretending not to hear what I just said. "Okay then. If it's cold, hard cash that you want? I was wondering if you could have an outfit ready for me for Friday night. It's an art gala in SoHo. You still have your old number right? So, I'll get someone right away to call you with the details!" Her polished nails glistened as she waved goodbye followed by an army of matching scantily clad girls.

I breathed a sigh of relief now that she was gone. Oh, God. Did I just lie to her and say I was Nick's personal stylist? What was I thinking? This was Amy Budo we were talking about! She was nearly as bad as Piglet, I mean Peggy Sui! If she found out I was lying about my job, she'd tell the press and the press would have another field day with it

Okay, breathe.

Breathe.

Fuck. I'm going to go broke. I can just feel it.

Breathe?

Okay, it's not working.

Maybe if I just tell Nick what happened and explained, he could help with the situation and, and maybe—

Maybe what, though? I couldn't ask him to lie for me and say I was his personal stylist. I hadn't been his stylist in four years! He had that new Christopher working for him. Who, I'd say, was pretty darn good with his job.

Sighing, I took the three items to the counter. The lady smiled as I handed her my credit card. Whatever was making her happy, could that please just make me happy too? I felt miserable.

But, no. I couldn't and I wouldn't ask Nick to lie. It was my problem. I'd just have to hope that Amy would somehow miraculously forget that I ever mentioned who my client was. A sinking feeling caught in the pit of my stomach. I didn't want to live like this- making up stories just to cover up my failure of a career.

I took the bags from the sales associate and hurriedly exited the store. I checked the time. Blackberry read 3:03PM. Oh crap! I had a date with Henry my cat at Central Park in less than thirty minutes. After all, I did promise him a stroll.


I don't know why my chapter endings are referring to that cat. I actually hate cats...Review please? Tell me about the story, about your feedback, about your life, about how you love/hate cats?

July 1, 2010: I have started a new Wizards of Waverly Place story called "Renaissance". Go check it out!