Tʜᴇ Fᴏʀɢᴏᴛᴛᴇɴ- Bᴀʀʙᴀʀᴀ Hᴏʟʟᴀɴᴅ

ᑭᗩᖇT ᗴIᘜᕼT

The morning after, Barbara didn't refuse breakfast. Having actually been busy with something interesting, she didn't have the time to think about the rejection of a meal. Before she knew it, a rounded plate sat in-front of her and a bite was taken.
Mr and Mrs Holland were secretly delighted, as much as they tried to hide it, glad that their daughter was finally on the mend. Barbara wasn't actually on the mend in the slightest, but it was a start.

Birds chirped outside the windowsill, tapping their minuscule claws on the plastic. It bothered the girl, but she had to focus more on the task at hand, not her distracting surroundings.
Barbara took another discreet breath before forcing another bite. The realisation of the action had returned, and it was slowing her down. The lack of energy was back, and so was the insomnia. Her father noticed.

"Barb, are you feeling alright?" He asked slowly, placing down his fork full of eggs.
Barbara looked up from her similar egg-on-toast.
"Me? Yeah- yeah I'm fine."

She could practically sense her mother pull some sort of 'I'm worried' face from behind, and with a click, the grill was shut off.
Padded footsteps shuffled over, and her mother took her occupancy on the spare wooden chair. A pause silenced the room, then came a deep breath. "We're worried about you, Barbara."

The young Holland rolled her eyes slightly. It was good to know that they cared, that they wanted to help, but she didn't need the hassle. The Holland's had always been an understanding family, would do anything for someone in need, and right in that moment, Barbara wished against their kind nature.
"Well there's no need to be, mom. I promise."

And just like that, a promise had been broken. That was one of the two friend's most golden rules- never lie. However, the guilt was soon deceased as Barbara remembered that Nancy didn't care for their other rule, so she had the option to lack the effort on one too. Assumably.

-

The nights continued exactly the same way as the previous- no sleep, research, research... research. Meals were still being refused, only taking the offer a few minutes away from serious illness. Barbara was aware of the side affects of not having a substantial meal, and it was quite terrifying. The body will begin to increase the production of different vital substances, leaving the person stressed and angry. Your metabolism slows down, making you gain weight or making it harder for you to lose weight, causing your body to start using it's own proteins to keep you alive. A cycle that never ends well, no matter how long you fight it. Her best option was to keep eating, slowly but surely, so that's what she was doing. Annoyingly though, the consumption intake was still under the regular.

As she walked to school, deep thoughts resumed their track. The struggles with the 'runaway orphans' seemed to occupy all of those said thoughts, and it was quite fascinating to look deeper into. Mind control seemed to be the obvious eye-catcher here, along with multiple reports of telekinesis, all being reported since Brenner's rise to power in 1960. Apparently though, he was working towards his target before any of this had even begun.

A truck sped past the girl, leaving her stumbling slightly on the path. She had zoned out and didn't even realise. Possible running over could've occurred, and she wouldn't of even known until it was too late to dodge. Barbara realised that she really needed to fix herself in any way possible before she was cut short of safety once again. It was a dangerous time to be a Holland.

The distant sign reading Hawkins High blurred into focus, and Barbara sped up her actions for the last pace. It was time to worry about other things than just finding out the truth of the past and present- It was time to worry about school.