Stacy's Stalker Chapter 5 The Notebook
Since the Winter Formal was a few weeks away and with all the meetings and discussions about it in Student Council, Stacy found herself inspired for her Fashion Project. For her Midterm final in her fashion class, she would have to draw and sketch four designs and create them by hand to be shown in the Senior Fashion Show in December.
Every spare moment she had, she took out her notebook out sketching, coloring, scribbling notes. When she was dreaming about her designs, she let her imagination run absolutely wild, and then return to edit, to eliminate the unnecessary, to refine her drawings until she was satisfied.
"I wonder what that notebook is all about?" Kenny asked curiously. They had all noted that Stacy had been drawing in it non stop for weeks. But as of yet she hadn't shared it with anybody. The band had just stopped for their 15 minute break, and Stacy took the opportunity to work on her project.
"Could be for school." Ryan theorized rationally. "Let's not jump to conclusions like last time." he gently reminded them and caused Devyn to blush. They had all remembered the last time Stacy had gotten caught up in her schoolwork, they all thought that she was going to run away only for it to be an assignment for English class.
She dug out her colored pencils and bought herself an empty notebook to draw in and kept them in her backpack for whenever inspiration would hit. It could be the colors in nature that drew her in, the architecture and shapes of the city, or even movement like dance. Singing in particular was very inspirational to her, the emotions of the songs helped guide her design an outfit that made her feel a certain way.
It was early November and unusually warm so Stacy found herself in her favorite spot, the stairs between The garage and The P*lace. She had her headphones on with the Indigo Girls cd and was humming along as she drew shapes on her paper. Ryan smiled at the sight of her happily indulging in one of her favorite things to do. It had been awhile since he had seen her this relaxed.
He was pleased when she invited him to join her on the steps. As much as he wanted to see her drawings, he was more interested in watching her. She seemed to be working hard, and inspired. He didn't want to interrupt. He often felt the same way when he was working on music. Instead, he pulled the headphones gently off her head to listen to what had captured her attention.
It was a female duo with both folk and rock influences he concluded, and he found that he liked them, and was surprised that Stacy did. Her music and influences were beginning to change, had been since she had turned sixteen actually. Her music style has evolved as well as her image, evidenced by her new fashionable outfits that were more mature, certainly drawing his attention.
She was still the sweet, kind, talented person he had known for what felt like forever, but there was now a more passionate, driven, confident person also.
"What are you working on?" Ryan finally broke the silence, leaning over her shoulder.
"My fashion midterm project." She answered without looking up, choosing to shade in the designs. "I have to draw four pieces and then design them by hand to be in the Senior Fashion Show."
He whistled. "That sounds like a lot of work. Will you show them to me when you're finished?" She flushed under his interest in her dreams. She had always loved listening to him when he would play his own songs for her before he went to Julliard. She nodded quickly as she noticed it was time to get inside to rehearse.
Too Busy
"It's only the first day of the week, " Stacy complained, tired already, as she switched her books at her locker, halfway through the day. She was beginning to freak out about college and handling the workload there when she was struggling with her high school obligations. She had two tests and two projects due in the next week. She had been up late studying for her music theory test on Wednesday.
"Don't forget the Glee Club afterschool." Kenny reminded her as he passed her on her way to class, and he was on his way to gym class.
She racked her brain to remember what the Glee Club meeting was for. "Right, Glee Club." 'How could she forget? She was the leader, for pete's sake.' she sighed, tiredly as she finally remembered the club was singing at the town's anniversary celebration on Sunday in Sunset Park.
The day only got worse, when she ran into Richie in music theory class. "Stacy, see you at Student Council 8th period? He questioned the Student Council President. She played it off, hoping he would buy her act, "Sure thing. 8th period." She confirmed, as she hurried to the design lab to work on her project, skipping lunch.
Despite the busy schedule lately, she was excited about Glee Club performing for the town's anniversary celebration. They were singing a few songs, and though there had been quite a loud discussion about what to sing, they eventually settled on three. They would lead off with "I'm Still Standing" , followed by "True Colors", and closing with "Imagine".
She was less excited for the Student Council meeting at the end of the day. Lately it had become a battle between Justin and Adam on what the council would choose, from fundraisers and charities, to school and community events.
Justin was the Student Council Secretary and Adam was the Treasurer. It was up to Stacy, and Becky, the Vice President, to keep the peace and make sure all the student representatives had their voices heard, and that their decisions were made for the best interest of the entire school community. Even their supervisor had difficulty reining the boys in sometimes.
This meeting would be no different. Their agenda had been to finalize the details of the Winter Formal, and brainstorm some school wide events for the Spring and mark their next meeting on the calendar. It wouldn't be just the four of them though, student council reps from each homeroom of each grade would attend as well.
Adam and Justin were rivals in pretty much everything. Justin was the President of the Drama Club, Adam head of the Debate team. Adam played defense on the Varsity Hockey team and Justin was on the school's tennis team. And their GPAs were top in their class as they battled for Valedictorian, the loser would be the Salutatorian. Both of them planned on going to Ivy League colleges.
The most pressing thing on her mind was her fashion project that was due in a few weeks. She had finished eight sketches, now she had to narrow it down to four and then create them. Her notebook had colors and styles of fabric choices for each sketch, including prices and stores, and the accessories for each.
And then her photography teacher had surprised them with a photo diary due after the holidays, thankfully, with the theme of "Then and Now". Ryan had suggested that she use old pictures of the band and new ones for the photo part of the project. For the writing part, she would explain the differences in the photos and the differences of photo taking.
Right now though, she had to focus on rehearsal, and since she was a little early maybe she could indulge in a milkshake. She could always count on the band to pull her out of a bad mood.
Before she made it to the counter, she was stopped by Richie. "Hey Stacy"! He called out to her as she entered the P*lace.
"What's up Richie?" she asked kindly, as she joined him at the table. "This." He pointed to all the papers strewn about, highlighters and pencils and flashcards piled up. "Music theory test?" she confirmed. "Me too." Stacy pulled out her own binder out of her backpack and tried to get the younger teen on track for their upcoming test, her milkshake forgotten. They traded information back and forth, questioning each other, and reviewing key terms.
Before long the rest of the band had showed up, and Stacy forced herself to push her studying and headache aside.
"You okay, Stacy?" Kenny wondered as he was the next one to enter. "Yeah, just a headache. The Student Council Meeting was brutal." She sighed, rubbing her forehead and Richie nodded in agreement. He didn't think they actually got much accomplished and another meeting had been scheduled, much to Stacy's annoyance.
Before she could explain further, the other girls arrived and Ryan and Riley emerged from Riley's office. Kenny was already on stage, with Stacy and Richie following more slowly behind him, as the younger girls passed them excited for rehearsal.
Ryan was playing with the lights to find the perfect setting for Saturday. He adjusted the sound levels as the band practiced their set.
Stacy could feel the sweat building up on her neck and forehead as the heat of the lights beamed down on her. Because of the dancing and singing, she was quickly getting overheated. Even her hands felt clammy as she struggled to not let the microphone slip. She carefully placed it back in its mic stand, content to just stand and sing into the microphone.
Her blue eyes blinked quickly, trying to focus on the suddenly blurry sheet music on her music stand. If only she could close her eyes right now, maybe this wave of dizziness would pass. Luckily, Devyn was still practicing her solo, so maybe she would feel better before it was her turn.
Ryan watched the band from his perch at the soundboard. Watched her. She looked pale, exhausted and as her hands clutched her mic stand tightly, he worried when she started to sway, like she was about to..
Before he could finish that thought, he had jumped off his stool and rushed onto the stage, interrupting Devyn's song as he made it to Stacy as she stumbled, catching her before she fell to the stage. The rest of the band was stunned at the sudden drama on the stage.
She was warm and trembling, her breathing heavy. She seemed out of it as he called her name. "Stacy?" He called gently. "Stace?" he repeated more firmly, holding his cool hands against her warm face, waiting for her blue eyes to look into his.
It felt like forever until she responded. "Yeah, I'm okay." She tried to stand up, but his arms wouldn't let her go. "You almost passed out Stace." He was kneeling on the ground in front of the chair Kenny had made her sit in. He was worried. She was sweaty and warm, and looked exhausted even after a weekend.
"Did you ever get to lunch?" Richie asked, remembering she had left Glee Club headed in the wrong direction. She had said something about her fashion project she had to work on.
Ryan was sure he was not going to like her answer. If her looks were anything to go by, he would say she missed breakfast and lunch.
"Connie, can you get something for Stacy to eat?" Ryan directed the youngest member, who quickly ran to Riley at the counter.
"Richie, can you run the rest of rehearsal?" Ryan asked the second oldest member of the band quietly, as Stacy slowly picked at a sandwich Riley had put together for her. "I'm going to take Stacy home."
He nodded his agreement, worry creasing his face over their leader. Ryan would have to be sure to call him later to let him know how she was doing.
He waited a few minutes until she finished half of the sandwich, and after some color returned to her face, and as his hands felt her face she felt cooler. "You're going home." He insisted, and fear hit him when she didn't fight him to stay. She gave a weak smile to the group as Ryan led her out to his car. She was pretty quiet on the way to her house, and he let her just relax for now.
"Stacy, where are your parents?" Ryan asked, annoyed. It seemed like everytime he brought her home, they were never there. He followed her inside her house, and when he saw it was empty yet again, he was determined to stay.
He made her sit on the couch, while he got some water from the kitchen, insisting she drink while he ordered some food.
When he returned, Stacy was ready to answer. "Dad is away at his alma mater Notre Dame for their rivalry game against USC. It just happened to be the same weekend as my aunt's 50th birthday in California." She explained nonchalantly.
"Why are they away so much?" Ryan wondered curiously. Who was around to help Stacy navigate this stress of senior year, make sure she was okay?
"My Dad always goes every year with his college roommates, and my mom went to be with her sister. I don't blame them." She insisted that she was fine.
"No offense, but you didn't look fine this afternoon." Ryan remarked honestly. "I was so scared you were going to pass out." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She felt terrible making him worry so much.
Stacy recognized his worry and fear for her because they were such great friends and it felt like they were becoming so much more than that. It felt better to not feel alone. "I'm sorry, I will try to not allow myself to get so wrapped up in stuff that I forget to take care of myself." She promised to him, reassuring him. Maybe once she could figure out who was bothering her, she could figure out her feelings for Ryan.
"You can always come to me, Stace." He promised. He could feel her nod as her head was nestled on his chest, his arm around her shoulder.
The doorbell rang and he retrieved the Chinese food and organized it on plates and brought it in to the living room where Stacy had already turned on "Full House''. He had never seen it, but she seemed to enjoy it, and was distracted by it. He sent her to bed early for a senior, but knowing she needed the extra rest for the busy weeks ahead.
Ryan flipped through the channels, checking on the sports scores before finally going to sleep himself. He got a pretty good night's sleep considering he had slept on a couch. He must have imagined her kiss his forehead later that night and when we woke up the next morning there was a blanket covering him. She had let him sleep in, leaving him a note by his jacket he had thrown over a kitchen chair.
Today was Wednesday and she had her design conference with today, as she went into her backpack for her notebook. They were two weeks away from their final project. 50% of the grade would be the designs and the other half would be the actual hand made designs in their fashion show. When she emptied it and there was no sign of her notebook, she began to panic.
Thinking back, she realized she had arrived to Glee Club early and had taken it out to sketch before class started. 'I must have left it there.' she moaned, annoyed. Now she would have to walk almost all the way back across the campus to get it. She signed out with her teacher, and retraced her steps.
Mr .Finn, her Glee Club advisor, was in the room during his planning period when she knocked on the door. "Hey Stacy, can I help you?" He asked one of his favorite and most talented students. He had even tried to recruit her to some ensemble choirs but she was too busy with the band. He was happy though to hear that she was going to minor in music at college.
"I think I left my design notebook here during the first period." She explained anxiously. She began looking around, feeling her heart race as there was no sign of it. 'What was she going to do?' she thought worriedly. She left the room and headed to her other classes she had earlier and checked there too and her locker just in case. She was determined not to cry, but she really wanted to. She practically slept walked through the rest of school, worried about her missing notebook, and unable to concentrate on any of her other classes.
Kenny was unusually fidgety as he waited for Stacy to arrive for rehearsal. He had run out of school as soon as the last bell rang so he could beat her to the P*lace. He did not want to have to tell Stacy what he had to tell her. And when she walked in looking so despondent, his heart sunk further.
"Hey Stacy!" He announced with false cheer, getting her attention. "Oh. Hey Kenny." She said flatly, her expression not brightening even a little at the milkshake he was holding out for her.
"What's wrong?" He asked, hoping for an opening to bring up her notebook. He still held a slim glimmer of hope that it hadn't been hers.
"I lost my design notebook for fashion class!" she complained, her head in her hands as she sat at the counter. "My final is in two weeks." She sighed, finally sipping her milkshake. The clock over the counter told him he only had a few minutes before the rest of the band would arrive to tell her.
"I think I may have your notebook." He explained slowly, nervous as her head lifted quickly and hopefully. "You do?" She perked up. He took a deep breath before he burst her happiness.
"Well, um Katie actually found it." Kenny continued, "And she gave it to me to give to you."
"Kenny, you're a lifesaver!" Stacy shouted, excited. 'Why wasn't he moving?' she wondered cautiously. "You might not be so happy to see it when I give it to you." He mumbled as he grabbed his backpack.
"Katie found it in the cafeteria in the 6th period." He stated, as he pulled out the damp notebook and handed it to the disbelieving girl. He had wrapped it in paper towels to help dry it out.
"What happened to it?" She whispered in shock. "It's practically ruined!" Tears threatened to pour down her face. She held the book delicately in her hands. When the doors started to open, she threw the notebook into her backpack and rushed out to the bathroom to be alone.
Kenny sat at the counter, sad for his friend, oblivious to the sounds of the rest of the group coming in. He eventually joined the others on stage, stalling to give Stacy more time to recover. She was only five minutes late, though he could tell she had been crying, her cheeks were dry now. She was focused and intense, her usually bubbly personality very much subdued. The group made it through the rehearsal even without her enthusiasm with Devyn and Richie looking at her in concern.
Ryan looked at the worried faces of her bandmates hoping they could tell him what was bothering her. She had raced out as soon as they finished rehearsing, and he had to know the reason why. And the rest of the band, with the exception of Connie, didn't seem too surprised.
"Katie found her design book at lunch. Stacy apparently left it behind in glee club but when she found it was damaged." Kenny explained crestfallen. They all knew how important that book was to Stacy. She had spent hours and hours on her sketches.
Ryan could only pray that some of it was salvageable. "She said it looked like someone spilled soda all over it." The freshman continued.
Soda? Ryan thought stunned. He knew Stacy preferred to get her caffeine through coffee. Plus she drank lots of water to protect her voice. Soda was usually a last choice of beverage for Stacy. But not many people knew that though, he considered thoughtfully.
"Start at the beginning…" Ryan insisted, he wanted every detail. Something did not make sense. Kenny told the story as it happened according to Katie.
Earlier that day…
"Hey Kenny!" Katie, a quiet sophomore who sang alto in the glee club called unexpectedly. Surprised, he turned to the girl. She looked nervous, anxious he thought, worried.
"Hi Katie. What's up?" He noticed she waited until the room had cleared before she continued speaking.
"I found this at lunch, and I think it's Stacy's." She softly explained as she pulled out the familiar notebook out of her bag. Kenny was shocked at its appearance-the white pages were colored by dark liquid of some kind, causing the edges to curl.
Frowning, he examined it further, dismayed to see all the colors of her designs had bled and it was almost impossible to read, let alone hand in for a major grade.
"Why didn't you give it to her?" Kenny wondered,seeing as Stacy had just left five minutes ago with the rest of the glee club.
"I thought the news would be better from a friend." She declared thoughtfully. Kenny had to admit she had a point, he just wished he wasn't the friend to deliver the bad news.
"Thanks for saving it, you didn't have to do it. I doubt Stacy can still use it." Kenny stated sadly. "It's better than nothing." Katie replied sheepishly. "It could be evidence." She noted cryptically. Kenny was confused, 'What did that mean?'
"I think she's outside." Richie informed him, pointing him to the street and he knew exactly where he would find her. Well, technically he heard her before he saw her, her sobs filling the alley with her sadness.
"Damn it," he muttered in annoyance. He knew something was bothering her throughout rehearsal, but she had insisted she was fine. No matter what, he determined fiercely, he was going to get to the root of her problem once and for all.
His breath felt constricted with worry as his feet moved faster to find her. He was brought up short at the sight of her hunched over, her face in her hands as her body was wracked with her sobs. Sure and steady, he reached his arms for her, pulling her into his body as he sat down on the stairs next to her.
He was patient, allowing her to cry it out. "What is it, Stace?" he whispered softly. She allowed herself to relax into his warm embrace as his hands trailed up and down her back gently. She wished she could stay there and ignore the fact that her world wasn't spiraling around her.
Ryan was certain she wasn't telling him everything, but he could see the cracks in her usually sunny demeanor as she tried to hold herself together. He had never seen her the way she had been behaving the last few weeks.
Reluctantly she pulled the destroyed item from her backpack, her hands shaking. The notebook was stained and damp, all the hard work inside practically non-existent. His heart sank when he realized what it was.
Her design notebook, the one she was constantly drawing in, the one he had been privileged to see when she shared it with him one late night after rehearsal, and the project that was due in less than two weeks when she had her fashion show and counted as a final grade for the semester.
She was super talented and had been so proud to show off her designs. He had seen them first hand as she updated the group's wardrobe for their Saturday concerts.
As soon as their Saturday night concert was over, she raced back to the backstage room immediately after hanging up her costume. She headed to the familiar work area of a vanity where she had left her design notebook, the deadline looming over her.
She had been working tremendously hard on redoing her entire fashion portfolio before its due date. At first, she had cried about all her hard work that had been destroyed before she decided to refocus her efforts with a more positive attitude. She could either give up or start over, and she could try to find some inspiration to complete it.
Stacy had lost track of how many cups of coffee she had consumed once she got into her design mode as she called it, when she got so lost in her drawings she could lose track of time easily. Pages upon pages of colorful lines and shapes were filled up by her imagination.
As soon as the rest of the kids had gone home, and the clean up was finished from the concert, he went in search of Stacy. She had been stressing about her design project for the last few days since her first one had been ruined. Her deadline was quickly approaching.
His eyes widened when he took in the scene in front of him. First, was the amount of coffee she had apparently consumed. Second, was the intensity of her blue eyes as her hands floated over the blank pages effortlessly, designs coming to life.
"Come on, " he murmured lightly, "we're going to have to walk off some of that caffeine you just inhaled." He gently removed the sketch book from her hands, and placed it safely in her backpack much to her relief before placing the bag over his shoulder. Ryan turned off the lights of the backstage dressing room now that it was nearing 11 o'clock at night, them being the last two left in the building. They left hand in hand and headed to the park across the street.
They walked in comfortable silence as he felt her relax in the silent calm of the night. Hopefully after the long walk she would be able to sleep despite all the caffeine she had drank.
"Stace, you're a genius!" He shouted in excitement, as an idea began to take shape in his mind. He had been struggling for some new ideas to give to Riley for Friday and Sunday nights, and now he finally had one. He had stopped suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk.
"Why?" she laughed curiously, at his sudden outburst. She had been the one stressed out not him, as she was trying to figure out what he was talking about.
"A coffee house." He stated simply, grinning. "A Friday night coffee house with lots of different musical numbers." He explained, suddenly inspired. She tore out a blank page from her notebook so he could write down his ideas before they were forgotten.
"Why don't you ask Amy and Todd to play at the coffee house?" Stacy suggested, liking his two friends she had met a few weeks ago after one of their concerts.