[𝐈] 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗠𝗔𝗫

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─── ・ 。゚☆: *

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─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───


"𝙇𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙨, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮? 𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙡?" Dustin's loud voice came through unfortunately clear on Kathryn's walkie. So loud, in fact, that it startled her twin brother, Josh, awake. And if you knew Joshua Moore, you knew it took a lot to wake that boy. He slept like the dead. Probably better, to be honest. 

"Did you say something?" He murmured, sleepily, lifting his head. 

Kat had been fruitlessly shaking her piggy bank for the last five minutes; on the hunt for some quarters of her own. She shook her head. "Sorry. We're seeing who can find the most coin." 

"Where are you guys going?" 

"The new arcade downtown. You could come if you want." She hadn't run it over with the party, but they hadn't minded Joshua tagging along a few months before - when everything went down. 

He wrinkled his nose slightly, just enough for Kat to notice and send him a slight glare. "No thanks." 

"I'm fine, you know." She put the piggybank down and gave him an insistent glance.  It'd been nearly a year since the events with Eleven, Will's disappearance, and Kathryn's near-death experience. She had managed to put most of it behind her, but Joshua hadn't slept in his own bed since she'd gotten home from the Hospital last December.  

Their parents had tried to convince him she'd be fine just down the hall, but he'd brushed them off. Without fail,  he spent every night on the couch that their mother had put in Kat's room after it'd become clear he wasn't budging anytime soon. Even now, here he was, napping on her bed. 

He nodded. "I know. You're stronger than I am. But I still..." He trailed off, but Kat understood. He was still worried, and he still blamed - at least partly - her friends for the fact that she'd spent XMAS 83' on the couch on pain medication. 

Kathryn didn't and she really hoped he would be able to forgive them soon, too. But until then, she'd just keep inviting him. "Well, in that case, any money you could spare your favorite sister?" 

He laughed, getting up, all traces of sleep vanishing as he did. "Yeah, I'll give you a dollar. Let me grab my pig." 

He left and she picked up the walkie in time to catch the tail-end of the conversation. "... What's your haul?" Dustin was saying.

Kathryn was about to answer when Michael Wheeler's familiar voice broke the silence. "Shit! I don't know yet." 

"What do you mean you don't know yet?" 

"Sorry to interrupt," Kat started. "But I've got two dollars." Josh returned with four more quarters in hand and she grinned his way, pressing the button on the walkie again. "Scratch that, I've got three." 

It was Dustin who replied. "Yes! Nine dollars. Mike?" 

"Hold on. I'm getting some. Call Will." 

Assuming Dustin could take care of that, she pushed down the reciever and dropped it in her purse with the coins. "Mandy!" She called, rushing down the stairs, one shoe on and the other foot bare. 

"What?" Her older sister called, sounding bored.

"Can I get a ride?" Kat asked, finding Amanda on the couch in front of the TV with their parents. "Pretty please?" 

"....Fine." 

"Yes! Thank you! Best sister ever." 

"Damn right," Amanda muttered as she followed her little sister towards the door. 

"Hey! Language." 

"Sorry, dad." The teenager replied, closing the door purposefully lightly. "Alright, where to?"

"The arcade." 

─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───

The next morning at school, Kathryn was tired. She'd gotten back from the arcade early enough, but nightmares had kept her up. It was odd that she was having them again; the last time she'd gotten one had been months ago. She'd thought she was finally over them.

Still, she was trying her best to pay attention to her science teacher as he taught - "Meet the human brain." He gave them all an excited look. "I know. I know, it doesn't look like much. A little gross even, right? But consider this. There are a hundred billion cells inside of this miracle of evolution. All working as one. No, no, I did not misspeak. I did not stutter. A hundred billion." 

Everyone seemed glad for the interruption that came next. "Ah, this must be our new student." At this even Kat's head shot up as she studied the new girl with interest. She had bright red hair and a small frown on her face, which was dotted with freckles. She was really pretty; not that Kat was noticing. 

"Dustin, drum roll." Their teacher called, grinning her friend's way. Kat grinned slightly and turned her attention back to the front. "Class, please welcome, all the way from sunny California, the latest passenger to join us on our curiosity voyage, Maxine."

"It's Max." The redhead said shortly. 

"Sorry?" 

"Nobody calls me Maxine. It's Max." 

All of the members of the party suddenly glanced at each other, remembering the high score on Dig Dug from the night before. Lucas whispered, "MadMax," eyes wide. 

"Well, all aboard, Max." 

As the girl finally moved to find a seat, Kathryn realized there was an empty seat besides hers and sent Max a small wave. "You can sit here," She offered, quietly. "If you'd like." 

Max seemed to consider for a second before shrugging. "Thanks." She said, shortly. 

"Of course. " 

─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───


a | n

hello lovelies! i'm back with the first chapter of s2. it's only been ~two weeks since i updated, and it's kind of sad that i mean that unironically. but anyway! here's an update. i've decided to do slightly shorter chapters going forward; just so i don't burn myself out when i go to write. maybe that'll actually help me update sooner lmao. hope you enjoy - and if you are, i'd love to see your appreciation with votes/comments!

much love. (even for the ghost readers!)

xxxx. Juve

word count. 930, excepting a/n

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: Jul 25, 2022 ⏰

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