CAN'T GET OVER YOU [ NANCY WHEELER ]

[ 01 ] bathroom chats.

▎CAN'T GET OVER YOU. CHAPTER ONE.

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SUMMERTIME at Hawkins High was always terrible. The hallway air was suffocatingly humid, clothes got smaller and tighter, and sitting in class felt like sitting in a sauna while dressed in a snowsuit.

Holly ran a hand down her face, trying to wipe the quickly accumulating sweat beading on her forehead and cupids bow. Her teacher droned on, clearly basking in the cool breeze from the fan on her desk.

Holly heaved a sigh, sitting up straight so her sweaty back didn't have to touch the chair. She ran a hair through her hair, making a face at the damp-with-sweat roots and shaking the locks out of place in an attempt to form any type of breeze. Finally, she gave up and lazily raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Joels?" the woman asked, placing her hands atop her desk. The fan in front of her blew her greying hair away from her face, and Holly wished to switch places with the older woman.

"Can I use the bathroom?" Holly asked, and she could hear the drowsiness in her voice.

Mrs Gales' face turned disapproving, "can't you wait? Class is done in eight minutes."

"It's an emergency, Mrs Gales," Holly lied with a small, innocent smile. The woman sighed, rubbing her temple as she thought. "Yes, Holly, that's fine."

Relief flowed through the brunette as she stood, trying her best to ignore the male stares at her exposed legs as she walked. With a roll of her eyes, she tugged the fraying ends of her jean shorts further down her thighs.

After opening the door to the hallway, she turned around to face the class. Mrs Gales was teaching again, but a few eyes were still stuck to Holly like a piece of old gum to a shoe. She could recognize a familiar pair of lustful eyes -- a pair that belonged to Tommy H.

Her eyes hardened as his turned hungry, smirking up at the girl. She gave a small, sickly sweet smile, flipping him off as she did so. The few giggles that bubbled around him made him glare back at the girl, eyes rolling and turning his attention back to the front of the room.

The bathroom was an escape. An escape from the students around her, from the annoying teachers and from the increasing headache she felt pounding against her skull.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Holly let out a small breath. The eyeliner she applied in the morning was now almost entirely gone, except for the faint smudge of it underneath her eye. Her hair stuck to her neck with sweat, and the dark circles that were seemingly always adorning her eyes were ever-present. She splashed her face with tap water. The cold water shocking her system felt exhilarating. She did it once more before pulling a pack of cigarettes from her pocket.