teenage tragedy (Max Mayfield)

3. two

Cammie's head rested on Max's shoulder as the two of them, Eleven, Mike, Will and Lucas hid behind a wall in Dustin's house while he was in his bedroom investigating the toys Eleven was powering to move into the living room.

Dustin had just got back from camp after a month, so they'd all decided to scare him.

The first toy robot crept into sight and the teenagers quickly shuffled around the wall to come out behind Dustin and scare him.

"Now," Mike whispered.

Eleven stopped moving the robots, wiping her nose with her sleeve. They crept out behind Dustin, who was staring at the robots on the floor, and Lucas held up three fingers. He counted them down to one, then nodded.

Will, Max and Cammie blew loudly on their party horns, while Lucas, Mike and Eleven pulled their party poppers. Dustin screamed, turning around to face them and spraying the hairspray he'd taken for protection directly into Lucas' eyes.

Cammie laughed loudly as Lucas screamed, making Max and Will laugh, too.

"That's so fucking funny," Cammie laughed.

Dustin grinned at Mike, Will, Eleven and Cammie as he showed them the things he'd made at camp.

"I call it... the Forever Clock. All right? Powered by wind. Very useful in the apocalypse. Then, I give you... the Slammer," Dustin held up two inventions and they nodded. He smiled. "Pretty neat, huh? But this... this is my masterpiece," he said. He unzipped a duffle bag and motioned for them to look inside. "I would like you to meet... Cerebro," he said.

"What exactly are we looking at here?" Mike asked, staring at the different parts in the bag.

"An unassembled, one-of-a-kind, battery-powered radio tower," Dustin said.

"So, it's a... a ham radio," Will said.

"A what?" El said.

"The Cadillac of ham radios. This baby carries a crystal-clear connection over vast distances. I'm talking North Pole to South. I can talk to my girlfriend whenever and wherever I choose," Dustin grinned.

"Girlfriend?" the four others chorused.

"Wait, so her name is Suzie?" Mike asked, leading them out of Dustin's bedroom and towards the front door.

"Suzie with a z. She's from Utah," Dustin said.

"Girls go to science camp?" Will asked. Cammie shrugged.

"I wouldn't go," she said. "I like school and stuff, but not that much," she said.

"Suzie does. She's a genius," Dustin said.

"Is she cute?" Will asked.

"Think Phoebe Cates, only hotter," Dustin said.

"You're fucking lying. Phoebe Cates is hot. Capital H, like Max," Cammie scoffed.

"What's going on?" Max peered out of the kitchen where she was washing the hairspray out of Lucas' eyes. "I heard Cammie call Phoebe Cates hot, then me," Max said.

"You are hot," Cammie grinned at her girlfriend.

Max rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face made Cammie beam.

"We're going to talk to Dustin's girlfriend," Will said, opening the front door.

Max and Lucas gasped, looking at Dustin with raised eyebrows.