After school, I head to the clearing. I've already finished all my homework, I do every day in study hall. That way, I can just go home and get stoned. I see Eddie shrug off his leather jacket.
"Thanks for meeting me out here." I smile. I pull a 20 from my bag.
"Why are you nice to me? Aren't you afraid of your reputation getting messed up?"
"I'm nice to you because you're a good person, Eddie, I don't care what other people think, I'm nice to everyone." I shrug. "You going to the pep rally tomorrow morning?" I ask him, trying to change the topic.
"Yeah, I guess I am. You said you're doing a new routine, right?" I nod.
"Even got to pick the music this time."
"What'd you pick? Wait, let me guess, Madonna?"
"Nope, you'll see." I smirk. This time, they aren't having the band play for the pep rally. I created a cassette of the song to play it. Principal Higgins approved it.
"So you want a half?"
"Please, and thank you." I smile, handing him the bill.
"All set. I hope the song you picked is good."
"I will say it's a bit heavier than last year." I slide the weed into my purse and pull out my keys. Nancy will be done with the paper in 5 minutes, so to avoid being caught, I need to go. "Thanks, Eddie, I gotta run."
"See ya later." I meet Nancy at my car.
"We're gonna make a stop by family video, I'm gonna grab a movie to watch once Holly falls asleep."
"Fine."
Once Holly falls asleep, I head up to my bedroom. I grab the ground up weed and pack my pipe full. I climb onto the roof outside my window and light the bowl up. The last year has been insane. Between Will Byers' disappearance, reappearance, and the other people who have disappeared, I'm constantly on edge. I climb back in and walk to Nancy's room. I knock on her door and wait for her to answer.
"What's up?"
"Is Steve taking you to school in the morning?"
"Yeah, he is."
"OK, cool, I'll see you at school, good night." I pull my fall uniform out of my gym bag and set it on my desk. I make sure my window and curtains are closed before stripping down to my panties and slipping into bed. I'm the lucky kid with their own bathroom, meaning I don't have to leave my room.
Early in the morning, I wake up to my alarm. 5:25 in the morning always comes too quickly. I go into my bathroom and shower washing my hair. Today, since I will be the center of attention for at least part of the pep rally, I plan to do my hair differently than usual. Unlike my mom, I don't have a perm or the blonde hair she shares with my sisters. I took after my dad with black hair like my brother. I wrap my hair in one towel and dry off with another, leaving my skin slightly damp and lotioning my skin. I have a very specific routine when there's a pep rally or game, and it's lead to all the wins we've gotten, at least in my mind. I pulled on my panties and bra before adding mousse to my hair and blowdrying it upside down. I use my curling iron to give myself big voluminous curls before teasing the crown of my head and pulling my hair into a high ponytail and adding the green bow. I do my green eyeshadow and other makeup. I'm the spitting image of my mother with my father's dark hair. I pull on my uniform and black shorts. I'm the only one on the squad who wears black shorts as captain and flyer. I pile on the mascara before pulling on my white socks and trainers. It's barely 6:30, which means only my mom is awake. I head downstairs to the kitchen and make myself oatmeal.
"How was the dinner?"
"It was fine, boring. How did the kids behave?"
"Well, Mike and his friends were pretty calm, Nancy was in her room once she got home from her date with Steve, and Holly was an angel."
"You have them covered. Thank you for being so responsible."
"You're welcome?" I never had a choice but to be responsible. My dad comes out of their room fully dressed for work.
"Little heavy on the makeup there, Jack."
"Dad, this is how girls dress and wear their makeup now it's not the 50's." I roll my eyes, hastily eating my oatmeal. I toss my purse on my shoulder. "Gotta motor or I'll be late. See you later." I say rinsing my dishes. I make it to school and rush to the gym.
"Ms. Wheeler, you're early." Ms. Kelly smiles.
"Yes ma'am, gotta be ready for the pep rally at 8. I was going to see if they needed help decorating the gym for it."
"I think it's all set. But the rest of the squad is here."
"Then we can do a couple of practices to the music." I say, pulling out the cassette. I head over to the audio area. A boom box hooked up to the auxiliary speaker system, Jonathan Byers, is in charge of it.
"Hey Jonathan, here is the cassette with the music for our routine. The cheer squad is gonna do a few practices to it."
"Yeah, just Cue me when you're ready."
"So the way it's planned is Principal Higgins is going to introduce this year's cheer squad. We run in and start the routine." He nods. "I'll cue you when we're in position." I walk over to the squad. "We're gonna do a few practices to the music. Starting from our entrance. Let's go." We all head to the locker room and run into the gym, stopping where we start the routine. "Hit it!" I yell across the gym. The song starts with the drums and bass. Our routine goes as planned, me being lifted up when Vince calls out '1,2,3,4' and completing the drop when he starts singing. We finish the whole piece right in time with the song. "Excellent job!" I praise as Jonathan stops and rewinds the tape. "Let's go through it again."
