"Get up! Get up!" Hopper yells, throwing my bedroom door open.
"Ok!" I yell, ripping my covers off and rolling out of bed. I stumble into the kitchen where Eleven sits at the dinner table eating Eggo waffles.
"Good morning, Four," Eleven says, mouth full of Eggos.
I grumble and sit down at the table, dropping my head into my hands.
"Should of went to bed early, huh?" Hopper remarks, grabbing a beer from the fridge.
"Shouldn't have started drinking at a young age, huh?" I comment, making Eleven giggle even though she didn't quite understand what my comment meant.
"Listen here smart mouth, you need to show me respect because technically I'm your legal guardian now," He points at me for a second before opening his beer.
I glance at the clock on the wall. "I need to go get ready," I say, pushing myself away from the table and making my way back to my bedroom.
I put on a white shirt, high waisted pants with a black belt, white tennis shoes, and to tie it all together a black and white flannel.
When I'm done, I go to our shared bathroom, and look at my hair. My blonde curls are all over the place, so I throw them up into a bun. Little curls of my hair fall around my face.
I brush my teeth and do the other stuff I need to do. I walk out of the bathroom to see Eleven sitting literally 5 inches away from the tv on the floor.
"Eleven, don't sit so close to the tv," I say as I walk passed her. She ignores me and watches the tv carefully.
"Four, I want one," she tells me.
On the screen, there is a bright Coca-Cola commercial. I sigh, "Ok El. I'll get you some on my way back from school."
She nods and looks back at the tv.
"Bye, Hopper!" I yell, swiftly opening the door and stepping out. I walk through the yard, stepping over the trip wire, and making my way to my black 1967 Chevy Impala.
When I climb in, I take a moment to relish my car. Hopper found it used and cheap, so he bought it for me.
Turning my car on, I start driving to school. At school I pull into my usual parking spot. I grab my backpack from the backseat of my car and put it on as I get out. When I get out of my car, a new vehicle flies through the parking lot. The blue Camaro pulls into the empty spot parallel to my car.
A girl with red hair quickly gets out of the car, slamming the door, and skateboarding away. She looks to be about Eleven and the 4 boys' age. The license plate has California as its state.
I watch as a boy my age gets out of the car. He's wearing jeans, a white shirt, and a jean jacket. He also has a mullet. There is a cigarette in his mouth.
He slams his car door shut and starts to walk towards the school building, tossing his lit cigarette to the side.
All the girls that were leaning on their cars stare at him. They each whisper to each other and twirl strands of their permed hair.
I decided now was a good time to make my way to first period English. When I step through the gates of hell -the front doors- I notice Nancy talking with her friends. She looks at me and we send each other small smiles before she turns back and continues her story.
I keep walking and make awkward eye contact with Jonathan, who is standing by his locker. We both send each other awkward smiles.
I pass Steve and he says, "Hey, Cass."
"Hey," I mumble, walking passed him to my class. Steve, Jonathan, Nancy and I have been through a lot the past year, and in all honesty, I trust all three of them with my life. I turn left and walk into my classroom, going straight to my seat in the very back. I drop my black bag on the floor and slide into my seat.
The bell rings and everyone rushes into the classroom. The teacher goes straight to the front of the room when the new boy steps through the room's threshold.
"Class, I would like to introduce a new student. His name is William Hargrove-" she's cut off by the boy. "Uh, Ma'am, I like to be called Billy." She nods to him in understanding and continues, "Billy is our new student. I would like each of you to treat him with kindness and respect and make him feel at home in Hawkins. Billy, you can sit on the left of Cassidy, in the back. She's the small, blonde," She points to me and I slightly lower my head.
He looks at me with a smirk and slides into the desk next to me. Instinctively, I pull on my left flannel sleeve, double checking to see if my tattoo is covered.
Mrs. Young starts her lesson, and I immediately tune out, already knowing what she's about to talk about. In Hawkins Lab, I was taught proper English and other subjects. At the age of 15, I technically became a high school graduate, but Hopper said it would be better for me to go to school. Eleven, however, had to stay home because of her lack of speech skills. El is also at higher risk with the "bad men." Eleven has a harder time controlling her powers. Speaking of powers, I have telekinesis and astral projection. Eleven can do this too and if we hold hands, we can do it together.
"So, Cassidy, she always talk this much?" Billy whispers, leaning over.
I glance at him then at the teacher, who is writing on the chalkboard. "Most of the time, but I just tune her out."
He laughs quietly at my comment, turning back to the teacher.
—————
4th period Science
I walk into Chemistry and sit at my lab table. Everyone comes in and sits with their partners at their tables. I glance at the seat to my left, which is where my partner would sit, if I had one.
Everyone gets settled in their seats and the infamous new kid walks in.
Mr. Tanner escorts Billy. "Billy, you can sit with Cassidy. She's the little, blonde girl in the back," He tells him. I frown, annoyed that everyone refers to me as little.
Billy smirks and walks toward me, setting his bag on the floor as he climbs onto the stool beside me.
"We meet again," he winks at me. A small smile forms on my face as I look towards the front of the class.
"You don't talk much, do you?" He asks, blue eyes staring deep into my soul.
"I do. I just don't know what to talk about," I shrug, my green eyes glance at him before going back to looking at the front of the room.
"Are you going to the Halloween party in a few days?" He asks, leaning a little closer so we can whisper comfortably.
"Um, I don't know, my friend Nancy wants me to go with her," I tell him, shrugging again. It's only been 4 hours and he's already been invited.
"You should go. I'll be there," he says, winking and smiling at me.
I roll my eyes and look down at the table.
I here a soft scoff from my left. "You don't like me much," Billy states.
"You make a lot of observations, but that isn't true. I don't even know you," I whisper, messing with my fingers.
The class went by pretty fast, ending with Billy getting scolded at for talking with a popular girl named Tina across the room.
Lunch was slow. I sat with Nancy and Steve. I didn't get a plate of food, so I was just sitting there listening to Steve's friends talk. I glance up from Carol's dramatic story and make eye contact with Billy. He's sitting right in the middle of all of the other popular kids, a few seats away.
Why is he looking at me? Of all people.
I'm the first to break eye contact.
—————
The second that the last bell rings, I'm up from my seat and rushing out the door. Quickly, I walk through the hallway and out the big double doors.
As soon as I'm out, I speed walk to my car. When I get there I see Billy is already leaning on his car smoking a cigarette.
"Well, well, well, little miss Cassie's in a rush," he teases.
"Well, well, well, Billy's in someone's else's business, again," I remark, walking passed him to my car.
"Oh, come on. We could be good friends, Cassidy," he says, throwing his cigarette on the ground and twisting his boot heel on it.
"Like you would ever be friends with a freak like me," I whisper to myself.
"What was that?" He asks.
"I whispered it for a reason," I say, spinning around to look at him.
"Have you thought about that Halloween party?" Billy asks, ignoring my comment.
"Why do you want me to go so bad?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Because, I mean, technically you were my first friend in this hell hole of a town, and you seem like you would be fun when you loosen up," he says, leaning against the trunk of his car. "Nice car by the way."
"Thank you. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning, Cali." I say, climbing into my car and driving away.
As I drive, I find myself smiling uncontrollably. A little crush on Billy Hargrove?
Impossible
I drive around for a little bit before remembering I have to get Eleven Coca-Cola. I drive to the closest general store.
I park my car and get out with my wallet. When I walk inside, I make my way to the back of the store and grab a 6 pack of glass Coca-Cola bottles.
To my right, I notice a familiar mullet lingering where the beer bottles are. I side eye Billy as he looks around and shoves two bottles into his inner jean jacket pockets.
I roll my eyes and step into the candy bar section. I grab a Snickers bar and make my way to the cash register. As I put my things onto the table, I hear someone get in line behind me. I pay for my things, grab the bag, and walk out the door. I wait patiently for Billy to walk out. He has a singular bottle of Coca-Cola in his hand.
"Cassie, I didn't see you there," he says, stopping a few steps in front of me.
"What were you in there buying?" I ask, rocking back and forth on my feet.
"Just this bottle of Coke," he smiles charmingly and lifts his bottle a little higher.
"Interesting," I say. I take a step forward. We are so close, I can feel his warm breath on my face. Keeping eye contact, my hand reaches into his inside pocket in his jean jacket on the right side, grabbing the bottle that was on that side. I pull the bottle out and step away.
His eyes go wide and his cheeks turn a little red.
"Cheers," I say, smirking and lifting the bottle a little bit. I walk back to my car, smiling in pure satisfaction.
On my way home, I crack open the beer bottle with the small bottle opener attached to my key chain.
As I drive, I take small sips of it. By the time I'm home there is only one drink left, so I down it and drop it into my backseat's floorboard.
I leave my backpack in the passenger seat, since I have no homework. Turning my car off, I get the store bag, hop out, and walk towards the house. I jump over the trip wire. At the house, I do mine and Eleven's secret knock.
After a second I yell, "It's me El!"
Another moment passes and the door opens. Eleven peers out and looks at me before opening the door wide and letting me in.
She looks at my bag expectantly, patiently waiting for me to reveal the contents inside.
"I got you your Coca-Cola," I tell her, pulling out the 6 pack of glass bottles and placing them on the kitchen table.
"Thank you, Four," she says, sitting at the table and pulling one out of the pack. I mentally cringe at the name and pull out a bottle opener from a drawer in the kitchen.
"Yeah. You're welcome. By the way, you only need one Coke a day," I say, putting the rest in the fridge.
An angered growl like noise comes from her. "No," she says. Eleven has had a very short temper since we moved in with Hopper. I suspect she's so irritable because she spends her days alone watching tv every single day.
"Excuse me?" I turn to look at her and put my hands on my hips.
"I want more," she says glaring at me.
"No. Eleven, you only need one. You also have to share those with Hopper and I," I tell her.
She throws her hand out and her cap lid goes flying at my face. Thinking quickly, I catch it and hold it in my fist.
"Eleven!" I yell, slapping the cap back onto the wooden table. "That was not ok! You can't just act like this!"
She scoffs and pushes herself from the table, grabbing her Coke and walking to her room. When she gets to her room, I see her wave her hand in the air, door slamming soon after.
I slump down at the table, laying my head down and sighing. I hear the door open, so I quickly look up, only to find Hopper.
"Why the hell was the door unlocked?" He asks loudly.
"Shit, I must have not locked it when I came in. Sorry," I say, tiredly laying my head back down into my arms on the table.
"It's... fine. Just remember next time," Hopper's boots echo beside me, and I hear the fridge door open then close. I assume he was grabbing a beer.
"I'm going to bed," I say, standing up and retreating to my room with my candy bar.