STICKS AND STONES ↝ S. HARRINGTON

[22]

As Anna pulled into the parking lot for Hawkins High that morning, she found her usual spot next to Steve's BMW, seeing him inside along with Nancy and Becca, the three of them staring down at a piece of paper in Steve's hands as Steve ran a frustrated hand through his hair. As she shifted her car into park, killing the engine, the three of them noticed the girl's arrival, hopping out of the BMW to join her.

"Hey," Anna greeted, her smile flickering briefly as she noticed Steve crumpling up the piece of paper to shove into his backpack. "Everything going okay with your essay?"

"It will be," Nancy assured her, shooting Steve a reassuring smile as he finally nodded in agreement. "A little tweaking, but it's going to be great."

"If you say so," Steve murmured half-heartedly, the slamming doors of a vehicle pulling their attention from a few rows over, where Landon climbed out of the passenger side of Eddie's van, the long-haired boy in tow as Landon walked over towards them.

"Morning all," Landon greeted, a smile etched onto his face that Anna had been seeing more and more lately, though she couldn't quite put a finger on why.

"Morning," the others chorused, Anna's eyes finding that of the boy behind Landon.

"Hi Eddie," Anna greeted, the metalhead simply nodding in response.

"Henderson," Eddie greeted back before turning to Landon. "Alright man, I'm off to find my adventurers. I need to see one about a new character for a campaign we're starting next semester. Later,"

"Later, man," Landon nodded as Eddie bid the others goodbye, heading over towards where a group of boys stood by the front door of the school all adorned in matching Hellfire Club shirts, similar to the one Eddie wore.

"I take it your mom's date with Wayne went okay last night?" Becca guessed, eyeing Eddie's retreating form.

"Yeah, she said it went well," he agreed with a slight shrug. "She seems happy, and I no longer have to take the bus, so it's a win win."

Tires squealing echoed through the parking lot as an engine began to rev, and the teenagers all looked to where an unfamiliar blue Camaro was speeding up the hill, pulling into a parking spot and slamming to a stop. Anna's eyebrows pinched together as she looked at the car, trying to gauge who might be inside, but the only thing she could make out about the vehicle was a California license plate.

"California?" Becca asked, her gaze following Anna's down to the license plate. "Who's-?"

Before Becca could finish her sentence, the door flew open to the Camaro and out stepped a boy Anna had never seen before. He was adorned in a white tank top with a denim jacket and jeans, and had a blonde mullet that reached to just about his shoulders, a cigarette resting between two fingers. From the passenger side came a redheaded girl about Dustin's age in a red jacket and jeans, who skateboarded away from the boy in the direction of the middle school without so much as a goodbye. He glanced in her direction briefly before turning back towards the high school, tossing the cigarette in the grass and beginning to make his way down the hill towards the building.

"Who is that?" Becca spoke up again, studying the boy as he crossed the parking lot, nearly reaching the front doors of the high school.

Anna shrugged. "I've never seen him before." she said.

Becca smirked as the boy went inside, finally disappearing from view. "Well, we might have to change that."

"Gross," Steve sighed, rolling his eyes. "Let's keep this PG, Rebecca."

Becca chuckled, throwing one arm over Anna's shoulders and the other over Landon's as she led them back towards the school, bidding goodbye to Steve and Nancy, who still lingered in the parking lot. As the morning progressed at Hawkins High, Anna noticed the conversation splitting between two subjects: the new boy she'd seen outside that morning, a California native by the name of Billy Hargrove, and plans for tomorrow night's Halloween festivities. While she hadn't known yet where she and her friends would end up that evening, they'd already chosen their costumes, which were sure not to disappoint.