Character Sketch

Chapter 2 - Little Black Book

         Katie shrugged off her backpack and let it fall the few inches to the table. The slight thud echoed in the quiet library study area. A girl with curly brown hair looked up at the sound. She was sitting at the table adjacent to the empty one Katie had claimed. The chair scraped along the floor as Katie pulled it out to sit down; another offending sound. The buzz of the nylon zipper hummed as she opened her backpack. Her hand grasped two text books and a three ringed binder and slid them out onto the table. Trigonometry and British Literature she weighed the two options and then as an after thought she reached back into her bag and pulled out a composition notebook. She ran her hand across the front of the notebook it was ragged with use.  Thumbing through the pages she realized it was almost full. It was an on again off again project. It had started as a way to deal with loss but had developed into writing exercises. Character sketches, anecdotal events, snippets of conversation things that had caught her attention over the past eighteen or so months. Tonight her homework could wait for a few minutes as she pulled out a pen.





Subject 1:                                      Monday, Jan 25, 2003, 8:15pm


Female, 5’4”, golden brown shoulder length hair, (natural curl?), fair complexion, make-up natural look, perhaps 10 lbs over ideal weight, college age 18-20.


Setting: sitting at large study table in college library. Back pack leaning against chair, two books on table, one open, lined paper she writes on periodically,(taking notes? Math?), extra pencil and rubber eraser.


Habits: twirls hair as she concentrates, also chews on pencil between writing.


Questions: Why study here? Lives in dorms, roommates too noisy? Expected to meet someone here? Lives off campus or at parent’s home and this is more convenient than going all the way home?


Mystery:  Why the hint of sadness in her eyes? Lost love, trouble at home, or the standard; loneliness.





         A motion in the stacks caught her attention.





Subject 2:                                                  Jan 25, 2003, 8:33pm


Male, 5’8”, black short-cropped hair, Asian ancestry, slight build, tan t-shirt and jeans, college age 19-21.


Setting: walking through the stacks at college library.


Habits: runs fingers along spines of books. (Reminds me of a boy with a stick walking beside a picket fence), he keeps shaking his head as he peruses books.


Questions:  Obvious, what is he looking for? (check what section that is later).





Mystery: American or Asian?





         Voices interrupted the quiet. A male chuckle punctuated a mumbled remark. The quiet study area is invaded by five students. Chairs scraping, books clunked down on wooden table tops and friendly banter make Katie realize she may have to find a different place to study. But first she wants to take a minute and add one more profile to her notebook.          





Subject 3:                                                    Jan 25, 2003, 8:52pm


Male, 6’2”, black hair, business-man’s hair-cut, sparkling blue eyes, square jaw line, slight five o’clock shadow, black t-shirt with a silver eagle logo and jeans, gray polar fleece jacket slung over one shoulder, oxford shoes, no socks, athletic physique, college age 20-21.


Known subject: Jake Perry, baseball, pitcher, also does track, pole-vaulting.


Setting: Entered with entourage, a group of four adoring disciples, two males, two females.  Sat at a large study table opposite subject 1, backpacks in tow must be study group.


Habits: smiles a lot, runs fingers through hair, has air of I’m drop-dead gorgeous and don’t I know it.


Questions:  oops made eye contact with subject, stalkee caught the stalker, fatal mistake elicited a blush on my part, better get back to my trig.





        “What are you studying, it looks interesting?” a voice over her shoulder said.


        Katie slammed the composition notebook closed and slipped it under her stack of unopened books. 


[Subject: Female, 5’6” brown hair with red highlights, brown eyes with a ring of yellow around pupil, gives them a green look, cute but not what you would consider beautiful or even pretty, a nice smile when she shows it, still trying to loose 15 lbs, a few freckles on her nose, just enough makeup to emphasize her eyes, forest green pullover sweater, jeans, college age 19.]


        “Actually I was about to start on my trig.”  She fumbled for the book.





        Jake pulled out the chair next to hers and sat down.


        “Hi, I’m Jake Perry.” He held his hand out.


        “I know who you are.”  She shook his hand and quickly began flipping through the pages of her trig book looking for the assignment.


        “That makes this a bit awkward because I don’t know who you are?”


        “Katie,” she said without looking up.


        “Just Katie?”


        “It’s short for Kaitlin the Gaelic version of Catherine. Sorry TMI. Katie Moore.” 


        The group at Jake’s study table stared at her and whispered among themselves.  Their scrutiny made her more uncomfortable than she already felt.


        “No, I enjoy learning the origins of names.  Moore, that’s British isn’t it?”


        “I think so.”


        “Actually I was more interested in the notebook you were so furiously writing in.  This is the one I think.”  He pulled the composition notebook from the bottom of the stack.


        “It’s personal.” She reached to take it from him.


        “Character Sketch,” he read the title she had written on the front of the notebook and then began thumbing through it.


        “Really it’s just some research I’m doing for a project.”  She tried again to take it from him and he pulled it out of her reach, still flipping the pages.


        “How long have you been doing this?  Never mind here’s the first one. It’s nice you dated them.”





“Subject 1,” he read aloud. “May 22, 2001, 4:20pm, Female: 5’4” brown hair with streaks of gray at the temple, cut in a bob, a few wrinkles around the eyes, mostly laugh lines, dress black with red roses pattern, nice and plump, age 45.


“Known subject: Aunt KD, Dad’s younger sister, traveled here from North Carolina, married, 5 kids.


“Setting: Our house, funeral over, dinner at church over, now just immediate family. Mom’s upstairs in her room.  Elizabeth, Michael, Jeremy and Sarah napping somewhere in the house. Aunt KD in kitchen putting up food.  We have lots of food from extended family and friends. Too much food. She is smiling to herself.


“Questions:  What is she thinking about, some memory of her and Dad?  Will she miss him as much as I do?  How will I get through High School Graduation without him?


“Mystery: Are all the stories Dad told about her true?” Jake looked up at Katie.


“I’m sorry you’re right it was personal. I’m really sorry.”  He started to hand her back the notebook.


Katie felt the anger and the sorrow well up in her as she reached for the notebook.


“Wait a minute.”  He pulled his hand back and opened the notebook to the last entry and read it to himself. “Hey now that’s not very flattering, ‘drop-dead gorgeous and don’t I know it.’ That makes me sound conceited.”


“I just write what I see,” was the sharpest comeback she could come up with.


“No questions? No mystery?”


“No just a simple observation.”





“Maybe you’d like to do more in depth research with this subject?”  He picked up her pen and wrote: Jake Perry, 1273 University Park Way, Apt 5-C, 555-2134, under his entry in her notebook.


“How do you know I’m not a potential stalker?”


She looked at his handwriting in her notebook. If he assumed she would be flattered he was wrong she only felt violated. This was a game to him and she wasn’t playing.


“Obviously that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”


“Sorry, you are out of my league.” She wondered if she had brought this on herself. After all she. . . no it was a harmless exercise and he was just a handsome boy flirting with a plain girl.


“So, Katie Moore, how can I prove I’m not.”


“Maybe I’ll put that under ‘Mystery’.”  She pulled up the sleeve of her sweater and gave a cursory look at her watch. “Looks like its time for me to go.”


She took the notebook from his hand and put it in her backpack and began gathering up her other books.


“A phone number?” he asked.


“Sorry, I don’t give out personal information to strangers.”


“Aw, but when we first met you said you knew me.”


“I meant I knew of you, two different things.”


She stood and slung her backpack over her shoulder barely missing him with the bag. She stood over him with her back to his friends.


“Look,” she said, “your friends are waiting and there is a pretty girl sitting at the table across from yours that would probably just love to end up in your little black book. I’m not some great beauty that would be so much eye candy hanging on your arm. Therefore I don’t know what your game is but I don’t want to play. Okay?”


She headed toward the stairs without looking back.








Jake had never been put down so thoroughly in his life.  He hadn’t meant to pick her up. She was right she wasn’t beautiful in the traditional sense, but her eyes were a crazy shade of green and she had an open unguarded expression which caught his attention when he turned to see who was staring at him.  Then his curiosity had gotten the better of him when he saw her writing furiously in that notebook.  He had expected a little harmless flirtation. Most girls fell all over themselves if he approached them, but he had hurt her somehow, he could feel the anger and pain radiating off her as she stalked off.


He went over to the table where his friends sat. Brian, a fellow baseball player, Calvin, his roommate and Barbara and Monica their current girlfriends stared at him with varying expressions of humor and incredulity.


“If I’m not back in 30 minutes will you guys make sure my backpack makes it back to my apartment?”


“Oh come on Jake, she’s not worth this,” Barbara said.


“Nobody shuts down Jake Perry,” Calvin chimed in.


“Brian, do me a favor and get the number of that girl sitting alone at that table over there.” Jake added.


“Excuse me.” Barbara chided.


“Just do it.”  Jake kept eye contact with Brian.


“Okay man.”


Jake took the stairs two at time and realized when he got up to the ground floor he couldn’t possibly guess what door she had used to exit the library. He headed to the parking lot where he had parked his jeep.  If she had already left in a car he may never find her.  Movement at the bicycle rack caught his eye. Katie was wrapping the cable of her bicycle lock around the seat post.  His first inclination was to run down there to try to talk to her. On second thought it seemed better to follow her because then he would at least know where she lived.





‘Why am I doing this?’ Jake wondered. ‘No body shuts down Jake Perry,’ Calvin’s words rang in his head.  Jake knew that wasn’t the whole reason.  The first entry in her Character Sketch book had gotten to him.  It was the hook and now he wanted to know more. Plus she had made that crack about his little black book. Who actually carried one of those anymore? Well he would show her and get his own form of revenge.  Even without her address it would be easy to get her phone number from the student directory. Kaitlin Moore would become an entry in his ‘little black book’.





Katie missed not having her car.  The cold January night air stung her cheeks and blurred her eyes with tears as she biked through campus.  It wasn’t really practical to keep her car at school when she only lived a few blocks from campus and it was just a short bus ride from anything else she might want in town.  She shared an upstairs loft apartment with her older sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s friends all called her Beth but Katie kept to the longer version because their Dad had loved the name.


Katie felt uneasiness as she turned down the alley next to the house where they lived.  She couldn’t shake the feeling of being followed that she first felt as she left campus.  She hiked the bike’s cross bar up on her shoulder to carry it up the flight of stairs to the loft.  She looked down the alley toward the street as a car pulled up in front of the house across the road and turned off its lights.  Katie felt a shiver run up her spine, a rush of adrenaline gave a boost to her ascent.


Once in her apartment she locked the door before she turned on the light.  She stood in the living area which included kitchenette, dining room and sitting room.  Two doors led off from this space.  Her sister’s door was closed so she was probably already asleep.  Elizabeth had to be up a 4:30am to make it to her job at the food services kitchen on campus to help start breakfast.





Katie’s room was in the front of the house and her window looked out onto the street where the car was parked.  Without turning on her light she looked out the window and saw a jeep parked across the street.  From this angle she couldn’t see if someone was still in it. Surely she was being silly.  She flopped down on her bed and kicked off her shoes.


Jake Perry. What a stupid name; something straight out of a romance novel.  What an arrogant jerk.  She hated men who thought it was cute to make women feel powerless.  Grabbing her notebook and keeping it out of her reach was pretty juvenile.  Reading her entries was inconsiderate and thoughtless and expecting her to fall all over herself when he asked for her number the worst form of conceit.


‘Wait,’ she thought. ‘If he is eliciting this strong of a response from me he could make a great character in a book.’


She pulled out her Character Sketch book and under his name wrote down her thoughts about him and her emotional response to his actions.


10:15 pm Questions:  How often does a guy like Jake get rejected by a girl?  How does he handle it?


Mysteries: Is this macho persona all there is to him?





        Jake watched Katie hustle up the stairs to her apartment. After a few minutes a light went on in the back of the house.  Then a dim one flickered in the front window. 1412 Maple Drive he wrote in his green address book under her name by the light of the street lamp.  Now would it be 1412 ½ or 1412 B.


         He assumed she was not a freshman since she was living off campus. He was not totally averse to dating freshman coeds, but just didn’t do it as a rule. Most of his friends felt like they were easy pickings. He liked to date girls who had been out on their own for a while, who knew how to take care of themselves. She also didn’t seem like a sorority girl, so no frat affiliation. Now why had he made that leap? She just didn’t seem like a party girl, too down to earth.


         He hadn’t done much partying his first two years of school because back then keeping his scholarship meant everything to him. He hadn’t partied these last two years because he was concentrating on finishing his degree and getting drafted by a major baseball team. His reputation with the ladies far exceeded reality, where the women were concerned. He was not about to mortgage his future for a little transient pleasure. Date them yes, but intimacy had too many pitfalls. His older brother had dropped out his first year of college when he got his girlfriend pregnant and Jake had too many plans to risk something like that happening.


          He looked back up at the window and wondered if she was sitting in the dark looking down on him. She didn’t know his car only that some jeep had pulled up across the street as she came home. Jake chuckled to himself. She had talked about her being a potential stalker and here he was stalking her.


         No he was just a guy who had wasted an evening following a girl when he should have been studying. His friends would be mad because he had deserted them.


         Why was he sitting here? Katie was right she was not the type of girl he would consider dating, but he realized she might be someone it would be interesting to get to know.





        A motion caught his eye. It came from the yard next to the house where he was parked.  He thought he saw someone come from behind a bush and slipped down the alley between the houses but he couldn’t be sure. He’d done enough detective work for tonight.  He drove by the library to see if Calvin’s car was still in the parking lot and when he didn’t see it he headed home.








He had waited in the bushes for over an hour. The cold had seeped into his bones. He wanted to catch her before she made it up into her loft apartment.  His dogged determination made him willing to wait for several hours if that’s what it took.  But a jeep pulled up as she arrived and had frustrated his plans. He needed to see the notebook she kept writing in.  She was watching him and he wanted to know why?  Anger and frustration welled up in his gut as he jogged back toward campus.








“Brian told me to give this to you.”  Calvin said as Jake walked through the door.


Jake looked down at the small scrap of paper.  It read:  Melissa Connor, High Tower Dorms, Room 816, 555-7374.


“A freshman,” Jake said. He wadded up the paper and dropped it on the floor. “Where’s the student directory?”


“Over by the phone the last time I saw it,” Calvin ensconced on the couch waved his hand in the general direction of the phone while keeping his eyes riveted to the television.


“Moore, Moore, Moore,” Jake said to himself as he ran his finger down the column of names. “No Kaitlin Moore.  Wait here’s an Elizabeth Moore at 1412 ½ Maple Drive. Kaitlin could be a middle name or she could have a sister. Ha! I got you, 555-8996. Now Miss Katie, you are in my ‘little black book’.”