SEE YOU LATER | stranger things

HOLLY, JOLLY

She furrowed her eyes in confusion, but nodded, scrambling up from her seat quickly. She turned red under everyone’s gaze and swung her guitar onto her back, shoving all her stuff into her arms and walked down the steps of the music room.

“Let’s hope you’re not arrested, right?” Robin whispered as she walked past and Charlie smirked back at her with a small roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, let’s hope.”

She carried on, Mr. Hutts passed over the note as she went past, and she juggled all her stuff in one arm to grab it before pushing her way out the door. The door slammed behind her, making her wince and then she found Jonathan pushing himself off a locker and walking over to her.

“Uh, Jonathan?” she asked, looking down either side of the corridor with confusion, before staring back at the boy. “I have to go… Hopper apparently needs to talk.”

“What? Oh, no. That was me,” the boy explained quickly, taking some of the stuff from her arms to help her out a bit. “I paid an intern in the reception to give that note to Mr. Hutts. I-I assumed you were in band because I haven’t been able to find you anywhere else all day.”

“Yeah, he’s been making us prep for that game tonight,” Charlie sighed, giving him a thankful smile as she was able to move without dropping anything. “So, what was so important that you needed to commit identity theft?”

“I think my mom’s going mad,” Jonathan said, stepping back and falling against the lockers, sinking down to the floor and sitting there. Charlie frowned and walked over, sitting down next to him. “This morning… I woke up to her talking to the lights. I mean, talking to the lights!” He groaned, putting Charlie’s stuff on the ground and putting his head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Sorry, what do you mean ‘she was talking to the lights’?” Charlie asked, feeling slightly disoriented at the fast-pace they had moved on with. “Like, she was asking them questions?”

“Y-Yeah, like that, but…” Jonathan raised his head again and looked into the brunette’s eyes. “She said Will was talking to her.”

“Through the lights?” Charlie raised an eyebrow.

“It’s crazy, right? I-I-I mean, it’s just crazy,” Jonathan groaned, hitting his head back against the lockers, the metal clanging and the bell ringing for lunch overhead.

“Hey, come on. Your mom’s not crazy,” Charlie reassured, putting her hand on his shoulder gently. “Your mom is pretty much the strongest person I know. It’s just… I don’t know, grief?”

Shadows covered the two teens and some footballers stared down at them with a pointed glance. Charlie looked up at them with a steady stare while Jonathan tried to keep his eyes to the floor.

“You’re in front of our lockers,” the taller footballer said, voice low and rough.

“Is that a ‘please’ I hear?” Charlie asked up at them. “No? You don’t know manners?”

“Don’t be a bitch. Move,” the smaller footballer ordered and Charlie rolled her eyes, knowing she wouldn’t win in a fight between two pretty much fully grown men.

“Come on, Jonathan,” she said, getting up from the floor still keeping eye contact with the boys, and Jonathan scooped all his stuff into his arms, getting up along with her. “We should let dumb and dumber remember their locker combinations.”

She could hear the two boys mumbling angrily after her, but she led herself and Jonathan away and down the corridor. They pushed their way through the crowd of people, heading to the courtyard so that they could sit on a quiet picnic table outside.