STICKS AND STONES ↝ S. HARRINGTON

[1]

"Anna, you're going to be late!" Claudia called from the kitchen, her voice muffled through the David Bowie tape playing in Anna's stereo, and Anna quickly moved to shut off the device, grabbing her backpack from the floor and shrugging it onto one shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm coming," she assured her mother, swiftly moving into the kitchen where Dustin was finishing up his bowl of cereal before getting up to place his empty bowl and spoon in the sink.

"Anna, you should've been there last night, it was insane." Dustin said excitedly while she placed a piece of bread in the toaster. "At the end of the campaign, we were attacked by a horde of troglodytes, and the Demogorgon!"

"Wow," Anna mused, nodding as her little brother recounted the session of Dungeons and Dragons he'd played with his friends the night before. "The Demogorgon, that's intense. What happened?"

"Will cast Fireball, but we lost the dice, and then Mrs. Wheeler came down to tell us it was time to go, so that's where we had to stop, but we'll finish next weekend." Dustin explained. "If it hits, we win, but if not, we're in deep sh-" he stopped suddenly, eyes quickly moving over to see if Claudia was paying attention in the living room before looking back at Anna. "We're in deep shit." he whispered.

Anna chuckled softly as her toast finished, spreading a layer of butter on top before wrapping it in a napkin and heading to the entryway of the house to put on her jacket and shoes. "Are you sure you don't want a ride today?" she asked Dustin as he pulled on his backpack, following her to the door. "It's starting to get cold out."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Dustin assured her as they bid Claudia goodbye, and he followed his sister out into the chilly November Indiana morning air to where Dustin's bike was propped up against the garage, and Anna's car waited in the driveway. "If the snow holds out, so do we."

"Alright," she said hesitantly with a grin as she opened the car door, tossing her backpack into the passenger seat. "See you later."

Dustin waved goodbye to Anna as she climbed into the driver's seat of the vehicle, turning the key in the ignition and backing out of the driveway. As she drove down Cornwallis Street, she could see through her rearview mirror as Mike Wheeler and Lucas Sinclair rode over the hill on their bikes, right on cue to pick up Dustin on their way to school. It was a short drive to Hawkins High School, and Anna let the stereo play on low as she hummed along to the music, one hand on the steering wheel while she used the other to eat her breakfast.

Once Anna had found her usual parking spot, she hurried into school as the first bell rang, signaling that she only had five minutes left before she was late to class. She tossed her bag into her locker, pulling out her Trapper Keeper, along with her textbook and any supplies she needed for Mr. Kaminsky's first period chemistry class.

Anna headed for the ladies' restroom on her way, though she stopped short just outside the entrance when the door opened, revealing Nancy Wheeler on the other side. The girl's eyes widened as she took in Anna standing before her, her cheeks flushing a shade of pink as she quickly averted her eyes down to the ground.

"Oh!" Nancy gasped slightly before chuckling nervously. "Sorry, Anna, you scared me."

Nancy's gaze quickly darted to something in the bathroom behind her before she looked back down, moving past Anna and down the hallway to get to class. Anna's eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion as she watched Nancy leave before turning to head back into the bathroom and taking in the figure standing before her.

Steve Harrington leaned against the wall of the bathroom, picking up his backpack with a satisfied smirk on his face, though it quickly faded as he locked eyes with Anna, his confident expression replaced by one of slight embarrassment as the two looked back at one another, Steve reaching up to nervously run a hand through his hair. Anna studied the boy as she pieced together Nancy's flustered expression from earlier, mixed with the shock at seeing Anna on her way into the bathroom before she hurried off.