April 3, 2009
When you’re caught stalking, tell him you’re currently doing a qualitative study entitled, “Perilous Streets: The different strategies of teens to sense and react on threats along the road”.
“That final throw you did on Saturday was wicked,” Matt told Nick in words that showed just how impressed he was. “That was the Koshi Guruma, right? Damn, those moves made me wish I learned judo instead of taekwondo.”
Koshi Guruma was a judo throwing technique also called the Hip Wheel where the attacker forced his opponent to bend a little, allowing him to grasp his opponent’s head with his right arm. While doing this, he would turn his right hip inwards past the opponent’s right hip, and his legs would follow in a series of steps toward the same direction. Once this new position had been achieved, the attacker would bend forward, lifting his opponent’s body from the ground. The last step was to rotate the body clockwise therefore throwing his opponent to the ground.
The two of them were on their way to Nick’s place (a full floor condo unit in the RCL Tower in the Financial District with a sound-proof studio that Q25 Music sometimes used for the musicians they handled) for band practice. Quarter To Five had to adjust their practice sessions in the past two weeks due to the judo tournament that ended two days ago. Today would be the first time in weeks that Nick could join the band from start to finish.
“Yeah, it was,” Nick replied, distracted.
“And that Reverse Side Kick could’ve permanently damaged your opponent’s face,” Matt said casually while looking at his friend’s preoccupied expression.
“I guess,” Nick answered, his mind still somewhere else.
Matt burst out laughing then slapped Nick on the back.
“I hope that’s a girl in your head or I would never again believe you’re the judo team’s captain,” Matt told his band mate. “When did you guys start using a taekwondo technique?”
Matt’s shoulders began to shake with laughter again.
Nick silenced him with his judo captain’s look and then sighed.
“It is a girl,” he muttered. Matt almost grinned from ear to ear when Nick continued: “Rachelle.”
That name instantly made Matt serious.
“What about her?”
Nick saw Matt’s I’ll-kill-anyone-who-dares-to-hurt-my-sister look and immediately tried to calm him down.
“Relax, Matt,” he said to reassure his friend. “It’s nothing serious. For real.”
Matt responded with an incredulous snort. “It’s Rachelle we’re talking about and it’s you who’s worrying about her. It could only be serious.”
Nick knew that there was no way Matt would let the issue go now that his attention was piqued so he decided to go and tell him. “Yeah well,” he began, “I hadn’t been able to talk to her since Friday—we were both busy—”
“Judo and pictorials,” Matt interrupted with a nod.
Nick agreed then continued, “And the thing is, I heard some things that are probably not good news.”
“And these are?”
There was something tight with his friend’s expression and for a moment, he worried about his reaction. On one hand, Matt needed to know.
“First off, Rachelle seemed to have been photographed kissing Keith Hartman,” he revealed in as casual a tone as possible.
“What?” Matt roared. “Hartman? Full Volume’s vocalist? That Hartman?” He had stopped in his tracks and was either running his hand through his hair or waving his hands all over in agitation. Gray clouds started to form in the skies of Heartlake City.
Nick had stopped as well. He stared at Matt gravely and answered, “One and the same.”
“Shit!”
The vocalist had a famous temper and it was starting to reveal itself as he began to pace.
“Chill, Matt. It may not be true. I haven’t seen any picture.”
“This is not something to ‘chill’ about and you know it,” Matt snapped, hands on his hips. “Ha! My sister and that son of a bitch. Lovely,” he said derisively.
“Maybe we should talk this through in the studio,” Nick suggested, trying to push Matt to get going. If they continued this conversation in the middle of the sidewalk, Matt’s upset tirade would surely get them arrested for public disturbances. The people in the Financial District rather liked to keep their “serious business” kind of peace and left all the wild activities to the Leisure and Cultural districts. Matt’s outburst didn’t have anything to do with “serious business”. And then there was that soon-to-be rain shower.
“Damn! Sometimes I want to strangle my sister for being so reckless.” He shook his head. “No, make that ‘most of the time’.”
Nick gave a small laugh. “Believe me, sometimes, I do too.”
“What are we going to do with her?” Matt asked exasperatedly.
“Don’t ask me, you’re the brother.”
“And you’re the best friend.”
“Damn.”
They both grinned then laughed at the incredible situation Rachelle had dropped them into. Full Volume and Quarter To Five had been rival bands since both were just starting years ago—when Matt was still in middle school. Complicated events had led the band leaders to hate each other’s guts for the longest time. This kind of news was sure to create uproar among both bands’ fans—especially now that they were all hoping for both of the bands’ debuts. Rachelle sure knew how to make an already complicated situation worse.
“Maybe it wasn’t Rachelle,” Matt said hopefully once they stopped laughing at themselves.
“Let’s hope so.”
They continued their way to Nick’s place and were discussing their plans for today’s practice when Nick felt that familiar sensation of being followed. It was starting to become a nuisance. That stalker. They were almost at the RCL when at the last turn, he told Matt in a soft voice: “That person’s at it again.”
“The guy you told me about?” Matt clarified, although his expression showed that he already knew that they had someone trailing them. As indifferently as they could, they tried to walk slowly and stopped. Their pursuer did the same.
Nick’s lips thinned before he answered, “Yeah. He hasn’t done anything dangerous, but he’s getting on my nerves.”
They started walking again.
“Are you handling it alone or do you need my help?”
“He’ll get suspicious if we do something seemingly unnecessary,” Nick said, conceptualizing a plan in his head. After a few seconds, “Here’s what we’re going to do.”
*****
Grace would give everything not to be the one assigned to this particular assignment. She could handle something risky—like doing a report on how to feed a crocodile in a zoo—but certainly not anything that would force her to talk to Nick Cleveland. Yes, she had a crush on him and this was her chance of a lifetime; but he was really an intimidating person and asking for an interview about his private life was not the way to make him a bit more approachable.
When Haley told her about her new project on Tuesday the previous week, she couldn’t hide her shock.
“What?” Grace felt herself choking. On what, she didn’t know. “Rachelle has something to do with this, doesn’t she?”
“Well,” Haley said thoughtfully, sitting back down on her chair at the round table, “when she stopped by, I somehow told her of our problems with readership. She came up with the idea of an article about Nick but I was the one who decided that you’re the person to do it.”
“Why?” She knew something like this was going to happen. You just didn’t befriend Rachelle Harlow and not expect to get your life altered.
Haley gave her an arched eyebrow. “Aside from the fact that you’re the Features editor?”
Grace nodded. She still couldn’t trust herself to speak without a screech in her voice.
“I like the way you write. Everybody does. And you never failed at any writing assignment, no matter how tough.”
Grace sat opposite Haley at the table and asked, “How many days to I have?” It was already the last week of September and they were to release an issue at the end of the week.
“We use your article for October. You know our rules, Grace. You submit an initial article to me on Friday but by next week, I’d be expecting a major update. Things nobody knew before. Do an interview. Follow him around if that gets you a story.”
The EIC started putting check marks on an imaginary checklist in front of her.
“I want a family background complete with childhood experiences and his feelings towards his busy parents. I want a reason why he’s into judo instead of football or basketball or swimming or some other sport. I want information about his love life,” she elaborated, making Grace think that she was sinking deeper and deeper into a hellhole.
And then Haley looked straight at her. “I want everything you can force out of him by the last week of October, Grace. Everything.”
At that moment, Mike and Eric came in, ready to share their plans for the Sports and News sections of the St. James Chronicles. The meeting pushed through with Grace feeling as if she was floating in midair—not because of happiness but because of dread. This assignment was sure to bring out the worst in her. And worse still, she would be doing it in front of her long-time crush.
She tried to avoid actually talking to him from that Tuesday until today, Monday, by simply following him around or searching him over at Google. She also went on full alert when students—especially girls—from St. James walked into the 24-hour McDonald’s near the academy where she got her new part-time job every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. She could always use gossip as a source of information or leads about her project. However, these strategies could only provide her with facts and common knowledge. Nothing about his “private life” which Haley said she needed.
And so here she was, following Nick Cleveland and Rachelle’s brother (she couldn’t place his name yet) to where she thought Nick apparently lived. She’d been trying to catch him alone all afternoon in order to ask him about the interview but he was always with someone or busy and cannot be disturbed. Her decision to follow him was a desperate measure born out of her belief that if she was not able to ask him today, she wouldn’t be able to do it at all.
The brother had seemed restless and upset a while ago. They were probably having problems with the band.
She looked up at the sky and saw the thick, gray clouds. Grace thought it odd that they slowed down before the last turn to RCL Tower considering the changes in the weather. She adjusted her steps as well. She hoped that the other guy would somehow detach himself from Nick and either go first or stop at somewhere, leaving Nick alone so she could talk to him.
When she got to the corner of the street, she finally found her chance. Rachelle’s brother apparently decided he needed to get something at that 7-Eleven beside Nick’s building. And so he went off while Nick continued toward his home. She walked faster so she could reach Nick before he entered the building. Surely, he would not get visibly mad at her for asking such a huge favor from him if they talked in public. She could almost tap his shoulder when someone forcibly grabbed her from the back, covered her mouth with his hand and dragged her into the small alley between 7-Eleven and the RCL.