Picture of Debby Ryan as Stacy
Video of choreography Seven's used during basketball game
Seven
Next morning's sun illuminates from my window as I prepare for school. Grabbing my bag, my attention drifts to my cellphone. I look to see a bunch of text messages, I tap on the most recent one, from Ava.
Ava: Did you hear about the bear attack at school? Everyone's losing their minds about it..
Apparently Ben got attacked by it and broke his arm.
My brows furrow in confusion, a bear attack? On school grounds?
Seven: How does a bear get on school property without anyone knowing?
Ava: I dunno, but it sounds a lot like Mr. Red, if you ask me..
I think about the crow incident yesterday with Cody and Jocelyn, and flinch. Something about this did not settle well with me. I head out the house, a sound from the shed catches my awareness. I'm at the shed door when I hear it clearly, a bunch of scurrying inside. I brace myself as the door flies open, a dusty crow angrily harping over me.
I screech in shock as the bird slowly flutters to the work table, its wing dangling awkwardly.
"Wait, you're the bird that Jocelyn back-handed?" I take a cautious step towards it, its feathers puffing out in suspicion.
"It's okay, pájarita, I won't hurt you," I give a warm smile as it cocks its head to the side, ruffling its feathers. It hops into my palm, nestling in my hand.
"Hilda, seems like we got a new friend!" I bellow over to the enthusiastic hound. She barks in response. I see a nest of sticks on the top of the cabinet and carefully rest the crow on it. She chirped in comfort.
"Hmm, I should give her a name, what d'ya think, Hilda?" I collaborate on a few pet names before settling on, Morrighan.
I look around to see an unfamiliar brown letter resting on the tabletop. Intrigued, I pick up the letter and scan over it. Did Morrighan bring it with her?
I read over the crumpled letter, the signature is from a Mr. Goddard E. Fillius, dated on September, 29, 1871. The letter itself only spiraled me into confusion, so I simply pin the letter on the backboard. I feed Hilda and Morrighan and head off to school.
...
School breezes by as the students are riled up with the upcoming basketball game. I step outside to catch Stacy with the rest of the cheer squad.
"Qué onda, Stacy!" She smiles at me in excitement.
"Hey, Seven! Ready to watch Westchester take down Anderton High?" I roll my eyes, smirking.
"As if, you know sports bore me. I'd only be cheering Andy, to be honest," She laughs as she shake her pom poms. Its silent between us, besides the chatter of the cheer squad.
"I wanted to talk to you, about the bear attack everyone's talking about," Her brows knit together.
"You don't think its...Redfield, right? I mean, two animal attacks in less than 24 hours is no coincidence," My eyes widen. I heard about one attack but, two?!
"Wait, what do you mean two attacks?" She looks at me in shock.
"You didn't hear about Mr. Cooper? Apparently, yesterday someone hid a snake in his desk and it bit him, he's in the hospital," I mentally curse as I was too foolish to realize the substitute teacher replacing him today. "Lucas was there and he called the police and everything,"
I sigh," You can make that 3 animal attacks," I quickly fill her in on what happened yesterday with the crows.
"Hey, Stace, game-time, lets go," Britney cuts me off. I roll my eyes.
"In a second!" Stacy calls back, Britney gives a smirk.
"Oh? Well, Coach has been saying you're on thin ice lately, so you might want to hurry on.." Stacy gives an exasperated sigh.
"We'll all meet up tomorrow, before we go see Dan at the hospital. Try to relax and focus on the game," She hesitated, before nodding. I gave her a hug, consoling her as we part.
I head into the full gymnasium, I look around for familiar faces, then see Noah, Ava, Lily, and Lucas sitting in the front row. Lucas has an empty seat beside him, and I leave a mental note to castrate Ava for her doings.
I stroll to them just as the game gets underway.
"Hola," I say in a sing-song tone. They all give their hello's as I turn to Lucas.
"Everything okay?" I ask. He looked conflicted, which was understandable, being from what I've heard today.
"I'm...fine," He lies, though I don't press on as I interlace my fingers with his. I feel him physically relax, he gives me a warm smile.
"This spot taken, by any chance," I look up to see Connor standing above me.
"Knock yourself out, mate," I give him a smile as he sits beside me. Down on the other side of the gym, I spot Stacy with the rest of the cheer squad. Connor waves at her, and she sticks her tongue out at him, smiling.
"Brat," he mutters playfully.
"You two are adorable," I laugh.
"We try, seems the game's getting ready to begin," the two teams oppose each other, in position for the jump ball.
Our team takes possession, one of the players trapped by an Anderton defender. I spot Andy beside them, clearly wide open.
"Drew, over here!" I hear Andy call out. He seems to ignore him, but ends up losing the ball in the process.
The Anderton Cougar's manage to score a basket. The Wolves retrieves the ball, but time goes by as the game plays out.
"Is it just me, or is the team not passing to your friend over there?" Connor asks.
"It's definitely not you," I deadpan. Andy looks as if he's ready to snap.
The second half of the game comes to an end as Andy gets more and more furious. I look to the scoreboard to see we're losing by 10. Joy..
"Booooooo, somebody score already!" I cringe as Cody's rambunctious voice can be heard a few rows behind me. The cheerleaders try their normal routines, but I can see Stacy clearly's losing faith, Britney seemed irritated as we lose ball after ball.
Andy's now watching the ball with the intensity of an eagle, a Cougar player tries cross-cutting but Andy pounces, stealing the ball! He hustles towards the enemy basket and in a desperate attempt, shoots the ball as a defender knocks him aside. He falls, but the ball swishes into the basket. The crowd roars in excitement. I stand to my feet, proudly shouting at the top of my lungs.
"Andy, mejor que trabajes, you better work!" I chuckle to myself as my friends, with the exception of Ava, stand, cheering.
Half-time rings as Andy manages to carry the team, they're falling behind only 4 points.
Stacy rushes to me, slightly out of breath. She pulls me aside the gym.
"What's wrong, aren't you guys supposed to perform your routine?" I ask, she shakes her head feverishly.
"The squad isn't on par as they usually are. Only a handful of us know the choreography where's the rest are just lacking. If we go through with it, we'll end up looking horrible!"
"Uh, no offense, Stacy, but why're you telling me?" I question, my eyes widen as I back away slowly.
"No," I say firmly.
"C'mon, Seven! You're the best dancer I know!" I shake my head, "You'd be boosting the morale on everyone! The basketball team, the crowd, the squad! Por favor.." She practically begs me. I roll my eyes as she persists, finally giving in.
"Okay! Okay!" I quickly strut towards Lucas, whispering in his ear. He gives me an incredulous look, but I brush it off as he rushes to the podium. He takes the mic in hand.
"Ladies and Gents, we have a surprising performance coming up. In spite of the usual cheer squad's choreo, we have Seven dancing for us. Break a leg, Seven!" Mixed reactions from the crowd, some claps, a snobby "Boo" from Britney and her clique as I take my position in the full center of the court. I mess up my hair intentionally, giving a sensual vibe as the music begins.
Throughout the choreography I give flashy smiles and witty hairography as the crowd gets riled up. I glance slightly to see Britney looking at me with her jaw slacked open. I hear my friends cheering as I get to the chorus, Lucas' wide grin makes my heart pump as I send him a wink. Even if I slightly forgot a step, I played it off with a smile, ending in a jaw-dropping split as the song dies down.
The gym erupts in applause as I bow, heading back to my seat on the bleachers as the basketball team return to the court.
"That was amazing, Seven!" Lily says.
"You sure can dance!" Connor chimes in agreement.
"And, work some hair," Ava gives me a grin. Stacy gives me a sassy snap, while Britney relaxes her shocked face.
"For a lack of words, Seven. You totally didn't make a complete fool of yourself," she says as her and Stacy saunter back to their spots. I turn to Lucas, who's shocked face seemed static.
"Lucas, you alright there, amigo?" I laugh, he shakes himself.
"It's just..I never seen you dance like that.." he points out.
"Like what? Sexy?" I watch as pink tinge burn his cheeks, he adverts his gaze as I laugh again. "Don't worry, Lucas-cariño, I have more tricks up my sleeve. I can teach you, if you want." I flash him a smile, he chokes on spit as I focus my gaze on the game.
The final 15 seconds of the game leaves us in anxiety, we need 1 point to break the tie and win the game. Tom captures the ball. He passes it to Andy, but he's intercepted as a Cougar roughly shoves him. Luckily, the referee signals Andy for a single free-throw.
I see them line up, Andy takes a deep breath and takes aim. The ball soars into the air, inch by inch...
And lands straight in the basket.
The gym erupts in cheers as we rush from the bleachers, I rush Andy in a hug, laughing.
His sweat-plastered body returns my hug as he chuckles.
"All hail King Kang!" everyone chants. His team lifts him to the sky as they head to the locker room. A smile spreads on my face as I group up with my friends.
I go outside to see them all together.
"Hey, guys," I say.
"Ah, there goes Fancy Footwork, now blessing us with his presence," Ava jokes, jabbing me in the ribs playfully. We hang around for a few minutes 'til it gets a tad late.
I turn to Lucas, who's staring blankly in the night sky. "Lucas? Can you give me a ride home?" I wave my hand in front of him and he blinked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure," I bid my farewells as we hop in his car.
A few minute in the drive pass by as we sit in an awkward silence.
"So...I heard what happened, with Mr. Cooper," Lucas stiffens. He opens his mouth to respond, but closes it back. He sighs.
"I, kind of don't want to talk about it, at the moment. Sorry,"
"It's fine," I reassure him. It was a scary situation so I don't blame him.
"So," he starts. "Mind telling me where you learned to seduce people with dance moves like earlier?" I blush.
"Self-taught, I watched a few YouTube videos and picked up on a few routines of songs that I like," He nods, then smirks.
"Self-taught, huh? Is there any secrets you mind sharing?" he flirts.
"I don't kiss and tell, Mi querido," I boop him on the nose as we both laugh. Shortly, we pull up at my house.
"Well, this is me.." Lucas offers me a hug, but I smirk. I sneakily place a kiss on his cheek before quickly scurrying out the car. I turn back to see his entire face heat up as he drives off.
I make a quick trip to the shed, wanting to check up on Hilda and Morrighan. I open the door and hear a caw as Morrighan dives to the top of my head. She rests there, while I laugh.
"Nice to see you feeling more better to fly, pequeño," she flies back to her resting area. I peer up to see another familiar brown letter resting nearside her. I reach to grab it, but she flares up her feathers, glaring at me.
"Ugh, give me that, it might be important!" she caws in protest. An idea pops in my brain as I scourge in my bag. I find an unopened pack of trail mix, pouring the contents in my palm I offer her a nut. She observes it for a second before consuming the nuts and fruit, I take the opportunity to snatch the letter and read it.
I read the letter, then frown...the author mentioned a dark entity plaguing the town and how everyone knew what it was, but never spoke of its name. For better or worse, it strikes familiarity. I shake my head, pinning the letter near the first. I refill Hilda's dog bowl before shutting the shed, heading inside my house.
...
Stacy
I glance in the reflection of the bathroom mirror as I try to conceal my puffy eyes. I let out a shaky breath as I hold in the tears that threaten to spill, I don't know how much of this torture I can take, it's bound to break me.
I sigh, rubbing my temples, but flinch when Britney sits her purse heavily beside me.
"Jumpy much? Though I wouldn't be surprised, seeing as how you made a complete embarrassment of yourself in front of the entire school, inviting Seven to dance in our place."
I glare at Britney, hands balling in fists.
"You know what, Britney, I've just about had it with you! I'm done being your lackey!" I yell at her.
"You don't say? Well, guess I'll be sending the video off to the news station, I'm sure they'll get a kick out of it," she gives a threatening smile, holding her phone towards me.
She rests a manicured nail on my shoulder. "You know, Stacy, I super-thank you for helping me out lately, and as your friend I feel as though we should take our relationship to the next level. Your parents are out of town, right. You know what that means, right?" she wiggles her brows and gives a smirk.
"Party at Stacy's house!" she exclaims as my face drops in horror.
"Britney, no! If my parent's find out about they'll kill me!" She rolls her eyes.
"And if they watch this video on Channel 9 news, they'll castrate you. Now which is it?" I find all possible excuses, then sigh in defeat.
"Party at my place," she grins.
"Great! I got a ton of planning to do so I'll text you the details later, 'kay? Byeeeeeeeeee," She hurries out the bathroom, and the tears that I've been forcing back let out. I lean against the wall, sinking to my knees as I wrap my arms around them. What am I gonna do? A familiar blood-curdling scream pierces the air as I flip to my feet, rushing outside. Was that Britney?
I burst through the back doors to see Britney standing in fear. I peak over to see a skeleton dog, growling at her. Wasn't that one of those wood dogs Seven seen in the woods days ago?!
It makes a dash at her, it grabs her purse with its unhinging mouth as she high-tails to her car. It chases after her, purse still in its clutches, as it leaves scratches at her car door.
"Stacy!" she notices me watching in horror and yells at me. "Don't just stand there! H-Help me!" The beast sees me and turns its burning amber eyes at me. I fist at my keys as I hold onto my mini-mace. The mutt stares at me, its mouth curve into a...smile? The contents in Britney's purse spill out, her phone tumbling towards my feet.
"Is this some kind of joke?! Did you dress up some idiot dog into attacking me?!" Britney's furious, she tries exiting her car but the mangled door wont budge. I slowly bend over and pick up Britney's unlocked phone. She finally steps out, grabbing her ruined purse.
"Wait 'til everyone sees the video, you're totally busted!" She seethes.
"Oh? You mean this video?!" I thumb over the video, swiftly hitting the delete button.
"No!" she screams. I was about to toss her phone back, but I hear a ping as a pop-up text message comes up. Being nosy, I click on it, scrolling through the conversation between her and Jocelyn, in it was Britney insulting different girls on the cheer squad with, explicit, content.
"Stacy, please don't-"
"Don't what, you clearly have a lot to say after slamming each and every girl on the entire cheer squad!" For the first time, Britney seemed frightened.
"Listen, Stacy...I really wasn't gonna leak that video, I'd never--"
"Never what? Embarrass me in front of the entire school? Or force me to be your slave?! Or have me buy you tacky sweaters and booties?!" I pocket her phone.
"Stacy, please! If the girls knew what I'd say then--" I smirk at her pleading.
"Then they'll totally hate you! Don't worry, hun, I know what it's like to be scared all the time. I'd hate for you to feel the same way! On second thought, I am in a party mood, but let's have it at your place instead!" She opens her mouth, but closes it immediately, sighing.
"-Fine.." She grumbles. My face lights up in a smile.
"Perfect! I'll do a bit of planning and text you the details later, Byeeeee!" I mock her as I saunter towards my car, driving off. For the first time, since this school year started, I feel liberated, and free.