A helicopter thrummed and Stacey only caught brief moments of the loud sound of the spinning rotor. The gusts of wind. Flashes of light and people watching her with solemn faces.
She could smell it before she even opened her eyes. She was in the hospital. Again. She did a lot of sleeping. At one stage, there was an angry, shouting man who blamed her for the loss of his daughter. He couldn't find her anywhere. The guards stopped him from getting close. Thieren's cold voice interrupted the man's shouting and then led him out of the room to talk. It was quiet again after that.
Sometimes, she'd wake to find Thieren by her bed, working on a laptop, reading papers or on the phone. Sometimes, he'd be just holding her hand while piano music played. And sometimes, he'd have fallen asleep in a chair by her side.
Care staff and her bodyguards blinked in and out of existence. And then Stacey started feeling better. She was able to stay up for longer. Then she had therapy again. It seemed to only be a very short time before she found herself in a new facility where the Let Me Entertain You program was now being filmed.
Her tution classes recommenced and she lived in the dormitory with the three girls she had previously met in Whistledown, Chastity, Vera and Zanity. They all got along better than Stacey had expected and took care of her when she was too exhausted to move.
"The streaming exams are coming up this weekend," Chastity wrung an embroidered handkerchief in her hands, sniffing and wiping her eyes intermittently. "I'm so scared I'll flop and be eliminated."
"Remind me again about the different streams?" Stacey asked, picking up a crispy fried chip of some starchy tubers that were definitely not potatoes but just as addictive. Vera had introduced them to her and they had become one of her favourite new snacks.
"Don't eat anymore after that packet," Zanity scolded Stacey, passing her a cup of freshly brewed floral tea. "It's not good for your skin. They aren't nutritious or healthy."
"There are five streams you can get into. Acting, stunt work, dance, individual artist or group work," Vera said, stealing a few chips from Stacey. "Most people might get into two streams, or specialise in one stream. Pity you who has to pass all five exams or receive a public spanking."
"Pity there's no music stream," Chastity said. "If there was, you'd ace it, Stacey. But then, I guess that's what your individual artist exam is going to involve."
"I can't believe they'd be so hard on you. You haven't even properly recovered yet," Zanity wrinkled her nose. "People with brain injuries can take a long time to get better. Why do they have to put so much pressure on you when you're still unwell?"
"I did lose the program a lot of time and money," Stacey said gloomily, stuffing her mouth full. "Whatever it is I did."
"None of that was even your fault," Chastity protested. "Everyone knows that. You were just a scapegoat."
"On both accounts," Zanity agreed. "Both for the battle and the Pear Blossoms fiasco."
"Don't forget she's also taking her HSC exams at the same time," Vera pointed out, stealing a few more chips, "and is expected to get above 85 out of the 99.99 standardised marks or receive more love from the paddle."
"Thanks," Stacey made a face at Vera and sipped her tea. She'd have gulped it, but the tea was still scalding hot. "I needed to be reminded of that."
"Just sayin'," Vera shrugged. "I'd pity you more if only your genius brain wasn't so crazy talented. You learn way too fast and study way too hard. One of these days, you're going to get sick and collapse."
"Hopefully only after the program is over. All this hard work is doing wonders for my figure, which is why they've been trying to make me eat more," Stacey waved a hand in the air.
"You've been freaking everyone out," Zanity shook a finger. "The doctor even told us to keep an eye on you. You keep losing weight every week and he said you're losing too much weight in too small a timeframe. It's not good for you."
"Can't help it," Stacey shrugged. "I'm already eating more."
"More junk food," Zanity scoffed.
"Meh," Stacey reached for a fruit to munch on next and changed the topic. "So what streams are you gals aiming for?"
"I'm hoping to get into the acting stream," Chastity said, still dabbing her eyes. "If not, then the group stream. I don't want to get eliminated."
"I'm going for the individual artist stream," Zanity said, pushing a plate of cakes and pastries toward Stacey.
"Me too," Vera said. "It'd be great if I qualified for double streams. Like dance and individual. Acting and individual streams would be good too."
"Yeah," Zanity agreed. "If you were still a part of the competition, what do you think you'd go for, Stacey?"
"Group or individual artist," Stacey lifted on shoulder and cocked her head to one side. She put her foot up on the chair only for Zanity to slap it back down.
"Be more ladylike," Zanity scolded.
"Yes, ma'am," Stacey suddenly sat in a poker straight, exaggerated pose, making the other girls laugh. "It'd be cool to become a triple threat - you know, a singer, dancer, actress."
"You can keep dreaming," Chastity sniffed and blew her nose. "You've barely finished getting basic classical dance moves down, not to mention any of the other dance styles. How are you going to pass the dance streaming exam?"
"She's already doing her best, ok?" Zanity scowled. "If she starts fainting again from overworking herself while practising, she might have to quit the program altogether. Then she'd be living with her husband and having babies before she's even ready for it."
"I don't think things would happen that fast," Stacey protested, waving her hands.
"It might. I heard the men find it hard to hold themselves back anymore once they're married," Vera said, finishing the chips, "and looking at the quality of Stacey's husband, he's definitely a more than five times a night type of man. One poll I saw actually had him as a twelve times a night type of guy with high satisfaction levels for his wife."
"Stop," Stacey held out her hands and then hid her burning face in her hands. "That many times a night would kill a woman. Besides, the cameras are still running. This type of conversation isn't appropriate."
"Don't worry," Vera patted Stacey's shoulder with a straight face. "They'll just cut this bit out. I'll bet he can't wait for the program to be over so that he can have the formal ceremony and reception, and then get his virgin wife into bed."
"Argh," Stacey threw her fruit core in the bin and ran out the room to escape Vera's vulgar teasing. "I'm going back to practice some more."