Tʜᴇ Fᴏʀɢᴏᴛᴛᴇɴ- Bᴀʀʙᴀʀᴀ Hᴏʟʟᴀɴᴅ

ᑭᗩᖇT ᗴᒪᗴᐯᗴᑎ

Barbara didn't return to school the next day.
The sun beamed but the atmosphere was still chilly as Nancy paced around behind the bleachers, massaging her temples as she dove deeper into her pit of worry. Steve stood across from his girlfriend, a thin layer of sweat covering his face from the result of sports practice.
"I'm sure she's fine, Nancy. Probably just skipping again."

His girlfriend paused and stared him dead in the eyes. "Barbara doesn't just skip- not with no warning."

Cold air drafted through the space. "But she did the other week."

The girl tapped her foot impatiently while crossing together her arms. "Yeah, but the difference is that she called me, Steve. She said she was ill and she called."

Steve Harrington was unaware of the previous happenings between the two girls and it made Nancy quite uneasy. Yes, her best friend had just ended it with her- but it wasn't right... it wasn't Barbara.

"Well, I wouldn't lose sleep over it, she's your friend Nance, she won't leave you in the dark forever."

The word 'friend' replayed in her mind. It still felt like the correct thing to say. "We had an argument yesterday morning." The statement displayed itself quietly, almost ashamed.
"About what?" Steve leaned against the wall, suddenly interested.

"It doesn't matter, but it wasn't like her, at all. She didn't mean what she said, I'm sure of it. Out of all people, Barbara Holland would not throw twelve years of friendship down the drain just like that."

Her boyfriend blinked, opening his mouth with no speech. "Erh, well I don't know what to say then. Call her, perhaps?"
Nancy nodded, and without warning, weaved her way under the bleachers and headed over to the pay-phone in the school quad.

The space was busy, having it been lunch break, but thankfully, there was no apparent queue for the only communication service out of that hell-hole. Rolling in an unpolished quarter, Nancy waited for the tone to ring.

-

Barbara stared up at the ceiling in her bedroom, not making movement to the constant ringing in her right ear. She had no idea who was calling, and in that moment, frankly didn't care. Hearing the annoying shrill changed her mind though, and she answered the phone only to quieten the noise.

"Barb?" Came the static-filled voice from the other end of the receiver, morphing slightly from the service.
Barbara recognised the voice immediately and opened her mouth to answer, but then remembered that she was meant to be holding a grudge.
"Nancy."

"Barb, why aren't you at school? I've been worried sick." Her tone sounded serious, alarmed, and Barb wasn't sure how to answer.

"Because I'm at home. Why are you concerned anyway?"

"I'm concerned because I care about you, Barbara. Do you really think that I believed anything you said yesterday?"

Silence resumed.

"Did you not?"

"No, of course not. I know you didn't mean it, you wouldn't do something like that. You wouldn't do any of this. You're ill, and as much as I hate to say it, maybe some time off school would be the best for you anyway."

Barbara blinked, suddenly feeling a lot better about the situation. She had a second chance, and after a moment of thought, it didn't take long to realise that she was going to take it.
"Thank you, Nancy."

A loud beeping on the other end of the telephone alerted the girls' that the minute of paid calling was coming to a close, so they both said their goodbyes.
"If I'm not at school for a while, you'll know where I'll be."

"Alright Barb, call me if you need anything."

The line went flat and Barbara placed her pastel blue phone back into its cradle. The feeling of making up so soon felt strange but necessary. With all that was going on, losing Nancy, even if only for one day, was the worst of the load.