upside down ❦ stranger things

One.

It was a normal Monday morning in Hawkins, Indiana. It was November and the weather was rather chilly. The leaves were falling from the trees and everyone in the neighborhood had just finished taking down their Halloween decorations.

Cora woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. Since she already hit snooze three times, she decided to get up. Her little sister, Evie walked into the room.

"Mommy wanted me to tell you that she made pancakes." Her little sister said.

"Okay Evie, thanks for telling me." Cora smiled. It was a rather peaceful morning, it was quiet and sunny. Until Cora's 16 year old brother, Noah, started playing rock music on his radio with the volume turned all the way up.

"Noah! Turn it down!" She heard her mother yell. Noah obeyed and turned it down, but only a little. "I can still hear your music, Noah!" She yelled once again. This time Noah turned his radio off. "That's better. Thank you."

Cora got dressed and went downstairs. She never ate breakfast on weekdays because it's just too early to eat. She would usually just pack a granola bar to tide her over until lunch. But today, her mother had made pancakes and she just couldn't resist.

"Good morning sweetheart." Her mother greeted.

"Morning." She smiled.

"Is Will meeting you here today?"

"No, it's Monday so we're all meeting at Mike's house." Will was one of Cora's best friends. They've been through a lot together. He was even her first kiss. Long story short, they were just trying to prove he isn't "queer" like everyone thinks he is. So they kissed in front of everyone at recess. No sparks flew, they had no feelings for each other, they were just trying to prove a point. Unfortunately, that plan had failed. So Will just decided to ignore the bullies.

Mike, on the other hand, was another one of Cora's best friends. They have had a bond that is unbreakable since preschool. After school, they always go back to his house and do homework, just him and her. Over the past few months, Cora had developed feelings for him. She always kept these feelings discreet, so their friendship wouldn't be jeopardized. Cora is a very confident girl, but not with stuff like this.

What she didn't know was that he felt the same, he just chose to ignore it. Liking girls in that way was gross, but he couldn't help it. Her smile gave him butterflies and her voice gave him chills. He was just too afraid to admit it.

Cora continued eating her pancakes until they were all gone.

"Is dad already at work?" She asked.

"I'm afraid so, sweetheart." Her mother sighed. "But he told me to tell you that he loves you and he hopes you have a good day today." She smiled. Cora's father was always working, but since he has an early shift today, she should be able to see him tonight. She went upstairs and brushed her teeth and pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

"Bye mom! Love you!" She yelled once she got all her things for school together.

"Bye Cora! Have a great day!" She ran out the door and got on her bike. Mike only lived three houses down the street, so it wasn't a long bike ride. He was sitting down on his front porch reading a comic book.

"Hey, Mike!" She yelled. He looked up and saw her walking towards him, with the handles of her bike in her hands.

"Am I the first one here? I'm usually the last." She joked. They both laughed.

"I guess so." He replied with a smile. Just then Dustin and Lucas pulled into the driveway with their bikes. Lucas was Cora's next door neighbor. She wasn't as close to Lucas as she was with Mike or Will, but they were still really good friends. Dustin was also one of their close friends. They met in the forth grade. He's probably teased the most in the group because of his teeth, they're growing in but you just can't see them yet.

"Hey guys!" Dustin yelled and gave them a toothless grin.

"Hey Dustin." Cora smiled along with Mike.

"Where's Will?" Lucas questioned.

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Sorry this chapter is rather short lol