brontide ; stranger things

THREE

Logolepsy (n.)

an obsession with words

-Collie's Word of the Day #324

•••

   THE next morning, Collie smiled as she draped a white sheet over Eleven's head and adjusted it so she could see through the holes she'd just cut. The two sat in their shared room on Collie's bed, sunlight filtering through the window.

  "There," Collie said, smoothing down the sheet. Eleven examined herself, then suddenly jumped playfully at Collie and said,

  "Boo."

  "Very scary," Collie laughed, helping the girl up off the bed. "You like it?" Eleven nodded and watched as Collie opened the bedroom door and gestured. "Go show him."

  Silently, Eleven padded to the kitchen where Hopper was making breakfast with his back to her. He turned and jumped upon seeing her, letting out a startled cry,

  "Oh, Jesus!" Collie giggled as she came from around the corner and joined them, setting out the plates at the table.

  "Ghost," stated Eleven as she stared up at Hopper.

  "Yeah, I see that," he replied, glancing at Collie. Watching him move about the kitchen, Eleven announced,

  "Halloween."

  "Sure is." Hopper nodded, setting down the food at the table. "But now it's breakfast, okay? Come on, let's eat."

  "They wouldn't see me," Eleven said. Collie sighed heavily, knowing that she wanted dearly to go trick-or-treating.

  Hopper glanced to Eleven and asked, "Who wouldn't see you?"

  "The bad men," Eleven said, following him around like a puppy. Hopper sat at the table and motioned for the girls to sit, Eleven pulling the sheet off so she could eat.

  "What are you talking about?" Hopper asked as Collie averted her eyes. She knew Eleven was pushing her luck.

  "Trick-or-treat," the young girl said firmly. Hopper was silent, looking between Eleven and Collie with narrowed eyes. At last, he questioned,

  "You want to go trick-or-treating?" Eleven nodded. Hopper huffed and stood. "You know the rules."

  "Yes, but-" Eleven tried as Collie stood and added,

  "She just wants-"

  "I don't care!" Hopper said sternly, taking them both by the arm and making them look up at him. "I don't care. You go out there, ghost or not, it's a risk. We don't take risks. Alright? They're stupid. And?" He waited expectantly. After a moment, Eleven and Collie replied in unison,

  "We're not stupid." Hopper stared at the two intently.

  "Exactly." He nodded. "Now sit and eat. Your food's getting cold." They all sat, Eleven crossing her arms angrily and Collie looking down at her lap. Hopper glanced between the pair of pouting girls, then sighed and rubbed his temple.

  "Look," he breathed, "how about I get off early tonight, I'll buy us a bunch of candy, and we'll sit around and get fat? I'll pick Collie up around nine-thirty, and we can watch a scary movie together. How's that for a compromise?"

  "Sure," Collie agreed, though Eleven furrowed her brows in confusion as she leaned forward.

  "Com-Compromise?" she asked. Hopper stared at her.

  "Com-pro-mise," he sounded out. "It's something that's kinda in-between. Like half-way happy." Eleven continued to frown, though she asked,

  "Home by... 5-1-5?" Collie glanced to Hopper, raising her eyebrows in a 'you-better' look.

  "Five-fifteen? Sure. Yeah," he said. Eleven looked down, then questioned softly,

  "Promise?" Hopper tilted his head, nodding.

  "Yes. I promise." Eleven glanced to Collie, then smiled a bit at the older girl.

  "Half-way happy," she said.

  When they were finished, the girls retreated to their room and shut the door behind them so Collie could finish getting ready. Eleven plopped down on her bed and watched Collie fix her hair for a moment, then leaped up and grabbed one of the three journals sitting by the elder girl's bed.

  Eleven padded over and poked Collie in the side, holding the book out.

  "Word of the day," Eleven told her. Collie smiled and took the journal, leading her over to the bed. They sat as Collie flipped through the pages filled with dozens of words, humming.

  "Here we go," she said and held the book so Eleven could see. "Logolepsy." Eleven echoed,

  "Lo-go-lepsy."

  "Good." Collie grinned and ruffled her curly mop of hair. "It means an obsession with words." Eleven looked up and asked,

  "Like you?" Letting a laugh escape her mouth, Collie sighed and nodded.

  "Yeah," she replied, "like me." Eleven's face slowly fell and she leaned into Collie, who rubbed her back. "What's wrong?"

  "Mike," she said shortly. Collie exhaled heavily and stared ahead. She knew she missed Mike and desperately wanted to go see him, but Hopper wouldn't allow it. He always replied with the same thing: 'Soon.'

  "I know," Collie breathed softly. "He misses you too." Eleven buried her face into Collie's side and said,

  "You get to see Jonathan. You get to go outside." Collie looked down at her and tilted her head up so Eleven looked at her.

  "Yes," she replied slowly, "but I also have to go to the lab and be tested. I still have to try to control my outbursts. You know that." Eleven huffed and looked away, silent. They were both quiet until Collie pulled in a breath and stood, taking the younger girl's hands and pulling her to her feet.

  "Hey, chin up!" She smiled as Eleven stared at her. "Tonight's gonna be fun! Candy, scary movie? You gonna get scared?" Eleven tried to fight it, but a small smile crept to her face and at last she replied,

  "No." Collie tilted her head and put on a dramatic expression, questioning,

  "Oh really? What if we pick a really scary movie? You won't get scared then?" Eleven shook her head.

  "No." Collie raised her hands in a claw-like gesture and stalked closer.

  "What if there's... ghosts? Or zombies? What if there's... clowns?" With each suggestion, Eleven's grin widened and she repeated,

  "No, no, no!" With a playful roar, Collie lifted Eleven onto the bed and began to tickle her, adoring the girl's giggles and laughs.

  Knocks on the door startled them and Collie pulled back, allowing Eleven to regain her breath as Hopper called,

  "Time to go, kid." With a rueful sigh, Collie grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, opening the door and ruffling Eleven's hair.

  "I'll be back tonight, okay?" The younger girl nodded and watched as Hopper and Collie headed out the door and left her in the cabin yet again, alone with just her thoughts and the dust that collected on the shelves.