Drew Nance Book 2: "The Hidden Staircase" by Bobbie J. Cabot Chapter Eight: The Concert and the Fan / The Stalker and the Stalkee

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Drew tried to track down the Freshman or Sophomore that was stalking her. She printed a picture from her surveillance cameras’ SD cards and asked for Sabrina’s help to quietly identify him. She was sure Sabrina knew enough people among the Freshmen and Sophomores to identify the guy.

It turned out that Drew didn’t need to do anything else – Sabrina knew the guy.

“Yeah, you’re right - that guy’s a Sophomore. That’s Screech Powers. We just call him ‘Screech.’ His brother has a car he got from an estate auction. Screech thought it’s some kind of super-car, and is better than yours. He borrows it all the time and he’d make the tires squeal when he drives it. So, ‘Screech.’”

“Jeeze! Another motor head.”

Sabrina giggled. “Look who’s talking? Betcha there’s a picture of you in that outfit you wore in that race on the wall of every car freak in school, including Screech’s.”

“God!”

Sabrina giggled. “Did you get the ownership of Phil’s car transferred to your name?”

“Ah, no.”

“You did race for pinks, right?”

“Yeah, but transferring the car’s title isn’t automatic. You have to have the New York State DMV approve the transfer by processing the registration papers, submit the bill of sale or transfer of ownership, et cetera et cetera.” She sighed.

“It’s not automatic?”

“’Course not.”

“I’ve always wondered - why ‘pink?’”

“California title certificates used to be pink. They’re not anymore, but that’s how the term ‘racing for pinks’ began.”

“I thought it was because it was a girl thing.”

“Well, no...” Drew shrugged.

Sabrina laughed. “Well, anyway. Why are you asking about Screech?”

“Can I tell you something?” Drew whispered conspiratorially.

“Yes.”

“Screech has been hanging around my house. I think he’s been stalking me.”

Sabrina looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Stalking?”

“Yeah. He’s been seen creeping around my house without me knowing. I just wanted to talk to him about it. Try to clear things up, and tell him to stop.”

“Oh...”

“He could have knocked on the door, you know, and said hi, but he didn’t. I just wanted him to know that I know.”

Drew, of course, knew that Sabrina was stalking her, too. Not exactly “stalking” though, but Drew knew that Sabrina kept on passing by and standing in front of her house, but not coming over and actually saying hello.

Sabrina gulped. “If Drew knew about Screech,” she thought, “then she surely knows about me...”

“Do you know where he lives?” Drew asked.

“I can look it up.”

“Can you? Maybe you can go with me – I plan to visit him this afternoon.”

“Ummm, okay?”

“Coolness.”

Sabrina was excited. It was the first time for her to be riding in Drew’s little blue convertible. She heard that Drew calls her car “Tiger” and Sabrina started referring to it as “Tiger” as well.

Sabrina felt a little too underdressed – she wanted to look good for Drew, and here she was, just shorts, sneakers and a tight little tanktop. But Drew said she looked super-sexy. Sabrina giggled at that, but still wished she was a little more dressed up.

She wished, for the umpteenth time that she had a little more up top. She couldn’t help but envy Drew’s C’s, and kept sneaking looks at her.

As for Drew, she wore a tight, long-sleeved Henley, a flippy pleated skirt that ended well above the knee, and pointy cowboy boots. Sabrina thought that Drew’s outfit seemed just as simple as hers, but with the designer labels, the color combinations and Drew’s figure, it was so much better than hers.

For some people, looking beautiful just came automatically. What can you do, she thought, and just basked in the glow of Drew’s beauty and charm.

She kept on asking inconsequential questions just so she could keep on hearing Drew talk, but they were already pulling up to Screech’s house.

Drew sighed. “Well. Here we are.”

“What’s the plan?” Sabrina asked.

“Well, I just need to tell him directly, and then leave it to him.”

“You think he’ll quit stalking you?”

Drew shrugged. “I don’t know. But all I can do is tell him I know what he’s been doing, that I don’t like it, and that he should stop.”

“Will that be enough?”

“Who knows. But I have to leave it to his conscience that he stops. If he doesn’t then I’ll take legal action.”

“You’re being too nice, Drew.”

Drew stopped and looked at her. “You think so? Actually, Sabrina, if the guy wants to do it, he’ll continue doing it. I think people know what’s right or wrong, and it depends on him if he wants to do right or not. Legal action is only necessary if he doesn’t want to do right. But I need to give him a chance to choose voluntarily. You know what I mean?”

The way Drew looked at her made Sabrina realize that she knew. But why this? Was she torturing her? They walked up to the Powers’ door.

Sabrina rang the bell and a middle-aged lady opened the door. “Yes?”

“Hi. Mrs. Powers?”

“That’s me. How can I help you girls?”

“Hi. I’m Sabrina. This is Drew. I’m one of Sam’s classmates. Is Sam around?”

“Oh! Well, come on in, my dear.”

Sabrina and Drew stepped in.

Mrs. Powers gestured to the couch. “Have a seat. I’ll go call him. Sam!” She went upstairs to fetch him presumably, and Sabrina and Drew sat down.

It was a cozy, comfy living room with a large TV on one end. A magazine rack stood on the side, piled high with various fashion, sports and car magazines. Sabrina gravitated to the fashion mags and Drew to the car magazines.

“Nice place,” Drew commented as she leafed through a magazine. “Very homey and cozy.”

“First time for me to be here myself,” Sabrina said.

“His mom seems to be normal,” Drew commented.

“What do you mean by normal?”

Drew gave Sabrina a razzberry.

Mrs. Powers came back. “Sam’s coming down. In the meantime, can I get you girls something? Juice or a Pepsi?”

“Diet Pepsi?”

“I think I have a couple of diet Cokes?”

“That’d be great Mrs. Powers. Thank you.”

Mrs. Powers left and came back with a couple of ice-cold Coke Zeroes and a bowl of Snyder’s sourdough pretzels. “I’ll leave you two, then. I’m sure Sam will be down shortly.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Powers.”

Drew nibbled on a pretzel and sipped her Coke from a straw. But in fifteen minutes, he still wasn’t down. “He’s taking his time, huh?” Drew commented.

“I sort of understand.” Sabrina said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sure he saw us coming up in your little blue car. He probably got nervous and is probably going through outfits right now.”

“Nahhh. That’s not true.”

“I’m sure of it, Drew.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’ll tell you later. Here he comes.”

Screech came downstairs full of awkwardness and nervous energy. Sabrina was right. He was dressed in a pair of chinos and sneakers, a long-sleeved Henley and wore it like a sweater over a dark-red polo shirt. He had combed his hair, and was actually looking pretty okay.

“Hey, guys,” he said and waved awkwardly. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Sam,” Sabrina said. “You know Drew?”

“Everybody knows Drew. Hi, Drew,” he said. He sat down in front of them.

“Hey, Sam,” Drew said. “Is your mom around?”

“Oh, she’s probably out back, messing around in her little garden. Why?”

“Well, I have some stuff to talk to you about, that I’m sure you don’t want your mom to hear.”

From there she recounted what she saw in their cameras. She explained that her dad was an executive in a big company, and they had to have surveillance cameras. In the cameras, she found pictures of him hanging around their house.

In order to save him from embarrassing himself by denying it, Drew brought out some pictures she printed on her computer. On one was Screech looking into their living room window, and other pictures of him creeping around their house.

Drew, being kind, didn’t even ask why he was there, and just asked him to stop. She said she’ll make sure that the video and pictures won’t be seen by anyone, not even by her dad, but if he didn’t stop stalking her, she’s gonna show it to her dad, and from there they’d take legal action.

He was about to protest that he wasn’t stalking her, but Drew raised a peremptory hand.

“You don’t have to say anything, Sam. Whatever the circumstances may have been, I’m not gonna try and argue. I just want it to stop. Okay?”

“Drew, I didn’t...”

“Okay?”

Drew looked at him. Kind but relentless, nevertheless.

“...Okay...”

“You know, I’m a pretty casual kind of a girl,” Drew said. “You can always come up and say hi, you know. It’s cool.”

“Okay, Drew.”

Drew tried to change the topic.

“Bri was saying you got a cool car?”

He brightened visibly. “Yeah! ...well it’s my older brother’s car, actually, but he’s gone and signed up for the army, and he’s given it to me. Wanna go see?”

“Sure!” Drew said, and the two of them followed him to their garage.

“Tadahhh!” Screech said, and whipped off the dust cover. He revealed a 1966 black-and-gray Dodge Charger, with small, chrome accents and a flat-black hood with scoop.

“Wow!” Drew enthused, and looked through the car’s interior and peeked underneath the hood. Sabrina politely accompanied them and tried to look interested while they talked cars. Screech even proudly stated that his Charger could give Drew’s “supercar” a run for its money.

“Supercar,” Drew chuckled. “My little Tiger’s hardly a supercar.”

When they finished their little chat, they agreed on a little race-off sometime, but not a street race. They’ll do it in a proper racetrack. And Screech insisted on no strings attached – no racing for pinks or anything, and Drew laughed.

“Are you scared or something, Sam?” Drew said, and poked him in a friendly way.

The two of them left in a friendly way as well, and Screech said he’ll see them in school.

“That went well, I think,” Drew said as she drove away. “But, now, I’m gonna have to have a little race,” she giggled. “Oh, well.”

“You didn’t want to race?” Sabrina said.

“Well, not really. But I don’t mind. I think it’ll be fun.”

Before Drew brought Sabrina home, she said they should have a little snack. They decided on the Staten Island Mall, which was about a fifteen-minute drive from where they were.

After parking in the fairly full parking lot, the two of them decided on Applebee’s. Drew said she hasn’t been to an Applebee’s for a long time and was hoping for a change.

“We just need to be sure to tip eighteen percent,” Sabrina giggled, referring to that thing that was all over the internet before.

The mall’s Applebee’s was mostly empty – only one other table was occupied, and those people were already leaving as the waitress came to take Drew's and Sabrina's order.

Drew ordered a brownie, a “churros s’mores” and a “triple chocolate meltdown,” and two large tumblers of ice water to chase them down, as well as two forks.

Sabrina couldn’t stop smiling as they shared the brownie, s’mores and cake. Normally, she wouldn’t be eating so much sugar but she didn’t mind so long as she was with Drew. She’ll just spend an hour on her mom’s treadmill tonight and tomorrow, she thought.

It was a pleasant couple of hours, and she got to know Drew more, although it ended up with her talking more about herself than Drew. A few customers came and went, so they were more-or-less alone. It was the mid-afternoon lull, and only a few came in to eat.

As for Drew, it was fascinating to hear how... similar Sabrina was to the other girls she knew. After thinking that, Drew felt guilty that she was objectifying Sabrina, that she had labeled Sabrina a “lesbian,” attaching all the lez stereotypes to her, rather than just thinking of her as just a person. Besides, whatever stereotype she had in her head about lesbians was probably wrong anyway.

But whatever she thought of Sabrina, it was clear that the girl was hung up on her. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but she had to make it clear to Sabrina that she was straight, but at the same time to think of her as a friend. Drew didn’t refer to Sabrina’s infatuation with her, and only dropped comments about her being straight, and they being just friends just as part of their conversation, but Sabrina picked up on what she was saying nevertheless.

Drew could feel the fun feeling they had to start to disappear. Sabrina’s expression was clearly a sad one, but Drew moved over to give her a hug.

“I will always be on your side, Sabrina,” Drew said. “Always.”

Drew knew she made a mistake when she said that because Sabrina started crying.

“Please, Bri,” Drew said. “Don’t.” She didn’t know what else to do so she just kept on hugging her. She knew enough of girls now that she just had to let her friend cry it out, so she remained quiet.

When Sabrina’s sniffles had petered out, Drew knew the worst of it was over now. She reached for her purse, took out a packet of tissues. Sabrina blew her nose and wiped her eyes, giving Drew a grateful but sad smile.

Drew took a couple of tissues and dabbed at Sabrina’s cheeks, getting rid of the ruined makeup. She asked for a glass of warm water from a passing waitress.

She looked around and noted that there were still no other customers in the restaurant and decided it was okay. “Can I?” Drew asked Sabrina. Sabrina didn’t know what Drew meant but she nodded nevertheless.

Drew brought out a little white jar of Eve Lom Cleanser from her bag and used her fingers to rub a generous amount on Sabrina’s face.

Just like most Islander girls, Sabrina’s makeup was, well, “generous” was the most polite word that Drew thought of. But she didn’t say anything and just slathered the cold cream on Sabrina. When Drew was done, she then used a tissue to gently wipe the cold cream away, and took away Sabrina’s makeup with it.

She then got another tissue, dipped it in the water and wiped away the remaining cold cream.

Sabrina looked at Drew, extremely surprised that Drew was actually cleaning her face, but she let her do it. She sneaked looks around the restaurant. She was relieved to note that no one was around to see Drew and her.

After Drew was done, she took her compact and allowed Sabrina to take a look at her work.

“You know,” Drew said conversationally, “it’s a shame that you hide how pretty you are under all that makeup.”

If it was some other person, Sabrina would be very insulted, but it was Drew, and she put it in such a mild and friendly way that Sabrina actually considered her words constructively.

“You actually look better like that,” Drew said. “You know - clean and fresh and shining.” She then paused. “Can I try something?” She said after a moment.

“What do you mean?”

Drew smiled cheerily. “Just trust me.”

Drew then wiped Sabrina’s face a little more, grabbed Sabrina’s purse (which surprised Sabrina but she didn’t stop her), looked around and brought out her eyelash, eyeshadow and face powder. Drew then got her own purse and brought out her blush, eyebrow pencil, lip gloss and a little pointy brush applicator.

Drew then started applying the makeup.

From what Sabrina saw and felt, Drew was being very restrained.

She then had Sabrina bite on a tissue with her lips.

Sabrina did so, and it took a lot of her lipstick off. Drew then started painting her lips with her lip gloss.

“Done!” she said and brought out her compact again.

Sabrina accepted it and looked at her face in the little mirror. What she saw was her face, but made up very differently. From first glance, it was like she wasn’t wearing makeup at all, but it was definitely better than her normal un-made-up face, and light years better than her usual made-up one.

Her eyebrows were just highlighted enough with Drew’s brown pencil that they now stood out from her pale skin but not too strongly. There was just a trace of green eyeshadow on her eyelids to make her green eyes look even more intense, but was so light, it was not noticeable unless one looked at it directly. It made her old eyeshadow makeup look like clown makeup.

Her cheeks looked mostly bare except for a touch of pink at the cheekbones. Overall, it looked like her face was bare but she was so much prettier than she did with her old makeup.

“Your usual style is great for when you’re cheering, but for everyday, and at school, I think this makes you look so much better. And sexier.” Drew giggled.

“I think you’re right,” Sabrina said. “Where did you learn to do this?”

“Do you know Benzaiten?”

“OMG! The beauty salon? You’re not a ‘Friend of Julian’s’ are you?” Sabrina asked. She was referring to the membership card for the beauty salon that was well known in Saint George, Brighton, Castleton Corners and fancy Todt Hill.

Drew reached into her bag and brought out her card. Sabrina examined it and saw the name “Pixie.”

“Is that your membership name?” Sabrina asked.

Drew shrugged. “That’s what Julian likes to call me.”

Sabrina noted the membership number, “B-80.”

The “Friend of Julian’s” membership cards that she’d seen before had purely numeric numbers four digits and up. But she knew Drew’s card was genuine. What she’d seen before were probably the fake ones. Those fake cards were all over in school – most girls carried them.

“Julian showed me some techniques,” Drew said, “as well as matching colors with skin tone and hair, and all that.”

Sabrina’s eyes grew large. The owner and chief stylist of Benzaiten was a famous hairdresser and beauty consultant. That’s why Ben’s always had such a long waiting list. And Drew talked about him like he was a friend. Instead of doubting Drew, Sabrina was more apt to believe it given the makeover she did, and all in a matter of minutes.

“I gotta see this,” Sabrina said, and went over to the bathroom. Drew didn’t follow and just nibbled on the leftover brownie, waiting for her to come back.

Sabrina came back after fifteen minutes. By that time, Drew had finished off the brownie. “So?” Drew giggled. “How do you like my work?”

“It’s pretty good, Drew. You gotta teach me how you did it.”

“I’m not that good, actually, but maybe we can do that sometime soon.”

Sabrina grinned shyly. “I think I’d like that.”

She sat down, got a little bit more cake, and tried to resume their chat. It started up a little awkwardly, but after a while, it was like they were back to normal. The topic of discussion was mostly about Drew’s time in Benzaiten.

Like most girl-talk that Drew has had with her friends, their chat moved on to clothes. Sabrina was very impressed with Drew’s style and asked where she shopped. Drew told her. It surprised Sabrina that much of Drew's wardrobe was just from the mall, although she had a lot of couture stuff, too.

Drew said it’s just about mixing and matching to make off-the-shelf mall stuff feel like they’re one-of-a-kind. She said that, one of these days, they should shop together.

Sabrina asked when she last shopped, and Drew said it was actually just yesterday. She shopped with Iola and Callie for their Hawaii vacation next week. Drew giggled when she said they shopped in New Jersey instead of Manhattan but they weren’t going for high-end flash – just good looking and serviceable clothes.

Sabrina felt a little coal of jealousy when Drew told her she was going on a vacation with Iola and Callie. But she knew they’re best friends, so she shouldn’t resent it, or them, but she did. Sabrina knew she needed to put herself in the right headspace. Because if she didn’t, she might just alienate Drew.

- - - - -

Their sunset drive home was mostly quiet, but Drew thought it wasn’t a bad kind of silence. She sneaked looks at Sabrina as the wind gently tousled her red hair, and Drew had to catch her breath at her beauty. Her body needed a bit more maturity compared to Iola and Callie, but only just a touch. Drew thought Sabrina was just as pretty as the afternoon sunset.

And Drew wondered if she'd have the same problem with Sabrina as she did with Callie...

- - - to be continued - - -

 

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