#119: Stacey's Ex-Boyfriend
Back around Valentine’s Day, Stacey was clued in to the fact that her ex-boyfriend Robert was v. depressed. She thought things were getting better for him, especially with baseball starting up, but then she finds out Robert quit the baseball team without any notice to anyone. He also tells her that he finds everything boring, doesn’t have any interests, doesn’t want to hang out with any of his friends anymore, and he thinks life is a pointless exercise in monotony. Yikes!
Stacey is concerned but isn’t quite sure how to help Robert. (Because Robert needs a therapist and Stacey is his thirteen-year-old ex-girlfriend?) She talks to some of Robert’s former friends, but they all think he’s self-absorbed and that he doesn’t care about them; they also think he’s still in love with Stacey. She’s surprised because he told her outright that he wasn’t interested in being together again. Robert gets grounded for failing grades, so Stacey volunteers to tutor him; she finds out, though, that he understands the material and is just blowing off the work. She helps Robert come up with a plan to talk to his baseball coach and get back on the team, but then he almost immediately starts blowing off practice. He cuts school one day, making Stacey worry, and then he laughs at her when she confronts him. She’s had enough! Worrying about Robert has made her physically ill.
Stacey even resorts to calling in to a radio show and asking about the situation using code names. Dr. Gupti is like, “girl, your friend is depressed and you can not handle this on your own.” (THANK YOU, DR. GUPTI.) Stacey finally confides in her mom, and later that night Robert shows up outside Stacey’s window crying and confessing that she’s right, everything is awful, he hurts inside all the time and doesn’t know why, etc. Stacey demands that Robert think of an adult he trusts and can talk to. He comes up with his coach, so Stacey takes him inside and makes Robert call his coach right then and there. It seems to help, and finally - FINALLY - Stacey can take a breath and let some of the weight fall off her shoulders.
Stacey and Robert go to the spring dance together as friends, and reaffirm that they love each other — not in a ~hubba hubba~ way, but as friends. This is great, I just hope Stacey remembers that Robert is her friend, not her responsibility. Can the adults in Stoneybrook please stand up?!
