Method Acting || Joe Keery

Robin and Kaya || Bonus Chapter

It's been a month since I met Robin in the library that day. The next day I ate lunch in the cafeteria, my head deep inside the French museum's book. Imagining myself walking through the museums, maybe with Robin. Listening to her speak French. Why did her voice sound even more beautiful when she spoke in French?

I hated the cafeteria and didn't really want to go there, but I was avoiding Robin. Why? Well, because of how much I didn't want to. I couldn't wait to see her again and didn't want to freak her out by appearing far too eager.

After that, though, I went to the library, and we found each other immediately. She invited me to sit with her and went over French with me while I showed her my list of landmarks and tourist spots I wanted to visit.

Every lunch since then was spent together, planning our escape from Hawkins to Europe the minute we graduate.

It's funny how we'd both most likely been in the same library together so many times before and not ever noticed each other, and now I pick her out first before I notice anyone else in every crowded hallway.

Today, I'm once again on my way to meet her for lunch in the library. We're not exactly supposed to eat there, but Mrs James has a soft spot for us both, and we always clean up after ourselves.

As I walk through the library doors, I spot Robin straight away at the tables we usually sit at. She has headphones on and is mumbling quietly.

I sit beside her, gently touching her arm with my hand. Careful not to startle her. I know how much she tends to zone out when listening to her language tapes.

Robin turns her head to me with a grin and pulls her headphones from her ears.

"Brushing up on your French?" I ask her.

A blush appears on her cheeks, and my heart stops momentarily. My breath involuntarily hitches, and I hope she doesn't notice. I remind myself not to creep out my new friend.

"Actually... I'm pretty much fluent in French now. I'm learning Greek," She tells me.

"Oh! Well, I'm still very far behind on my French," I tell her, a little embarrassed.

Robin reaches forward to grab some of the books she has in front of her, then hands them to me.

"That's okay, you'll be better at French by the time we go, and I can translate for you when we go to Greece," She tells me a matter of factly.

We. When we go to Greece. I'm not sure at which point we silently agreed that our Europe gap year trip would be taken together, but at some point, we stopped saying "when I go" to "when we go", and I got butterflies every single time.

I look at the books she's handed me and notice they're about historical landmarks in Greece. Our roles have kind of landed as me being the unofficial tour guide while Robin will be the unofficial translator of the trip. It doesn't escape me the trust she has for me to plan where we go, nor the trust I need to have for her to be my voice.

"These are great!" I tell her, leafing through the pictures in the books. I can see why she wants to go to Greece.

"Do you want to come over after school?" She asks me, her voice dropping a little in volume.