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I got to school before the boys and as I walked up to the building I saw Max. "Max!" I yelled chasing after her. She rolled her eyes and kept on walking. "Max!" I caught up to her and walked next to her into the school.
"What do you want?" She asked. ouch, but I deserved it.
"I wanted to apologize for last night. I didn't mean to be rude to you it's just." I looked down trying to find the words, "It's just that I'm very protective of Will.
"I didn't mean to be offensive to him, I hope he knows that." She sighed apologetically
"He knows, and I know too but he's not one to protect himself so I try to do it for him and it's not something I like to admit but I'm trying to get better at it. I just went crazy because some kids bullied him and I think that's what made him act out."
"It's ok I think I get it. I wouldn't let someone be mean to a guy If I had a crush on him either." She nodded understanding, but she didn't
"Ew, what?"
"You do have a crush on him right?" She stopped so we could talk.
"Gross! Never." I physically shudder at the thought. gross. "He's just my friend, he's practically my brother. He's family."
"Oh, sorry I just assumed." She trailed off
"Well, guessing isn't your strong suit." I laughed and she chuckled. We resumed walking around the halls while Lucas saw us and caught up.
"Hello, ladies," Lucas said in a British accent. joining our conversation.
"Hi, Lucas," I say shortly.
"I still don't get why they call him zombie boy." I opened my mouth to tell her the same thing I told her when she first asked but she beat me to it, "I mean, I get it. He got lost in the woods for a week or something, but why is he a zombie? Because everyone thought he was dead."
"Yeah. I mean, everyone thought he died-" Lucas didn't finish before I interrupted.
"Everyone but me and Mike." I turned to look at Lucas, "I told you he was alive but noo." I turned back to Max, "Mr. I Don't Believe You over here, " I pointed at Lucas, "didn't believe me but I was right."
"Are you done?" Lucas gave me a look.
"Yup, done, sorry, continue."
"We had a funeral for him and everything." Lucas continued,
"After a week?" Max asked.
"Well you see, some other kid drowned at the quarry and we thought it was Will because his body was super decomposed," Lucas explained going over the cover story we were all trained to tell.
"What?" Max stopped to look at Lucas and me. "ok that's not funny."
"It wasn't a joke, all right? It's public knowledge. You can ask anybody." Lucas said.
"Except Will because he is really sensitive about it." I finished for Lucas. Max nodded with a scared look on her face. Then we continued walking again.
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Mr. Clarke talked about the American crowbar cade but I was too busy to care... I looked out the window thinking about El. Dammit, I'm thinking about her again. I tried to focus but couldn't so I doodled on my notes. Will turned around in his seat and I thought he was looking at me, but he wasn't. So I turned to look at what he was looking at and I saw it was Max staring at him. She tried to turn her head before he saw but I know he did.
I poked his back with my pencil lightly and he smiled and poked me back. We dueled with our pencils like mini Light-sabers but didn't get to finish the fight because Dustin slammed open the class door and very disruptively sat down at his seat.
"We have to meet. All of us. At Lunch, the AV club." Dustin whispered.
"Why?" Mike asked.
"I have something you won't believe." Dustin looked at me to see if I heard and I nodded. He turned back to Max and whisper-yelled the same thing.
"Dustin!" Mr. Clarke called out
"Yes my lord?" Dustin faced Mr. Clarke
"Would you care to join the class now?"
"Please, yes." Dustin reached for his books and notes
"The case of Phineas Gage."
"Phineas Gage," Dustin repeated
"Page 104."
"104,104"
"Focus." Mr. Clarke told Dustin.
"Focusing!" Dustin said before turning back to Max and mouthing the words again. She nodded and gave a thumbs up. He gave her a smile and a thumbs up in return
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"His name is D'Artagnan," Dustin said revealing a slimy lizard thing he put in his ghost trap. We all started as he picked it up. It didn't look like a lizard. "Cute right?" Dustin asked with his cute smile.
"Yeah, buddy...really," the thing made a weird whiny sound, "cute?"
"D'Artagnan?" Mike asked.
"Dart for short." Dustin looked up excitedly.
"Ok, he gets bonus points for the cute name," I said looking and Mike.
"And you found him in your trash?" Max asked.
"Foraging for food," Dustin explained as Dart made another noise. "Wanna hold him?" He asked Max.
"No!'
"Come on he doesn't bite!" Dustin out Dart in her hands while she refused.
"Oh, God, He's slimy." She said passing Dart off to Lucas,
"Ugh, he's like a living booger." Lucas passed him to Will who sat across from Lucas.
"Ugh, oh, God!" Will passed Dart to me.
"Ew!" Mike held out his hand for Dart, "Wait- he's kinda cute. But he's slimy! But kinda cute." I said going back and forth until Mike took the thing away from me.
"What is he?"Mike asked.
"My question exactly." HE grabbed a handful of books and dropped them on the counter. "At first I thought he was some type of pollywog."
"Pollywog?" Max asked.
"Another word for tadpole," I explained quickly. She formed an O shape with her mouth.
"Tadpole is the larval stage of a toad." Dustin started to explain
"I know what a tadpole is."
"Alright, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right? Wee, Dart, he isn't. He doesn't need water."
"Yeah, but aren't there non-aquatic pollywogs?" Lucas asked.
"Terrestrial pollywogs? Yep. Two to be exact, Indriana Semipalmata and Adenomera andreae. One's from India, one's from South America. So how did one end up in my trash?"
"Maybe some scientist brought it here, and it escaped?" Max asked.
"Do you guys see that?" Mike asked. "Looks like something is moving inside of it." Mike lowered the lamp closer to the thing
The unidentified thing screeched and made us all back away from it. It tried to run off the table but Dustin caught it. "I got you, little guy. I know you don't like that. It's ok." he said down at the thing before looking back up at us. "That's another thing. Reptiles, they're cold-blooded. Ectothermic, right? They love heat, the sum. Dart hates it. It hurts him."
"So if he's not a pollywog or a reptile..." Lucas trailed off
"Then I've discovered a new species!" Dustin exclaimed smiling. I looked over at Will and he looked terrified. I was about to ask him what was wrong but the bell rang signaling the end of lunch.
"We gotta show him to Mr. Clarke," Lucas told Dustin.
"No, what if he steals my discovery?
"He's not gonna steal your discovery."
"You know, I'm thinking of calling it Dustonious Pollywogus."
"Too long of a name." I joked.
"What do you think?" Dustin asked Max
"I think you're an idiot." She teased.
"You know when I become rich and famous for this one day, don't come crawling back to me saying, 'oh my god Dustin, I'm so sorry for being mean to you back in 8th grade. oh my god' " Dustin mocked in a higher sassy voice. And I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
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"All right first let's just clarify that this is my discovery, not yours," Dustin said to Mr. Carke. We have waited here for five minutes waiting for Dustin to show Mr. Clarke. I already had my head rested on my teacher's desk while waiting for Dustin to show his Pollywog thing.
"Dustin, Jesus! Just show him." Lucas finally yelled.
"Thank you for saying it," I said to Lucas.
"I'm just trying to clarify-"
"Dustin!" Max said.
The door opened suddenly as Mike yelled for Dustin to stop. "I'm really sorry Mr. Clarke it was just a stupid prank," Mike said scooping up the makeshift trap in his arms.
"What are you doing?" Dustin asked.
"We need to go. right now Right now!" Mike yelled. He ran through the halls with the boys and Max. I lazily walked out the door.
"Y/N, what is going on?" Mr. Clarke asked.
"Dude, if I knew what they were doing I probably wouldn't tag along. But I don't know...so I'm going with them." I walked out of the class and into the AV club.
Max banged her fist on the door and asked to come into the room but Mike declined. "Can I come in?" I asked jokingly because I just got to the door. but the door suddenly opened and I was pulled through until Mike shut and locked it again.
"How come she gets to go in?" Max's muffled voice spoke.
"What's going on?" I asked but I was shushed.
"Will saw something that looked like Dart last year?" Lucas asked.
"Kind of, but there was no tail," Will said shyly.
"But then he heard it again yesterday. The exact same sound." Mike spoke for Will.
"Oh shit, seriously?" I asked Will and he nodded.
"Why didn't you tell us before?" Dustin asked annoyed.
"I wasn't sure." Will defended.
"So it's a coincidence?" Dustin argued.
"Or maybe not," Mike said about to speak but I stopped him.
"Ok y'all shut up for a minute it's my turn to sound smart. Ok, so this theory first came to me when Max said that some scientist might have brought Dart here and he escaped. but then I thought scientists don't usually work here. But they do! The lab. What if the scientist from the lab brought Dart from the upside-down! But Dart got out somehow like ran away... Oh my god, what if Dart is a baby Demogorgon?" I say sounding smart. I am so proud of myself for figuring that out. I deserve ice cream for that. Yay me
"That is the stupidest theory I've ever heard." Dustin shot me down rolling his eyes. Well damn, the kinda hurt me. I flipped him off and Dustin returned the gesture
"Well, it's not all bad. What if when Will was in the Upside-down he somehow acquired true sight?" Mike theorized.
"True sight?" Lucas asked. He looked at me for an answer while I shrugged,
"It gives you the ability to see into the arterial pain," Dustin explained quickly.
"Elaborate." Lucas gestured his hand in circles to support his words
"Maybe these episodes that Will keeps having aren't really flashbacks at all?" We all looked up at Mike in a questioning way. "Maybe they're real! Maybe somehow Will can see into the Upside-Down?"
"So that would mean?" Lucas asked
"Dart is from the Upside-Down." Mike explained.
"I told you. You owe me ice cream!" I say pointing at Dustin.
"It's October and freezing?" Dustin gave me a funny look.
"It's a dessert for all year round," I say defensively.
"We have to take him to Hopper," Lucas said seriously.
"I agree."
"No! NO way we take him to Hopper, Dart's as good as dead," Dustin said protectively of his new pet.
"Maybe he should be dead." Mike snapped at Dustin.
"How could you say that?" Dustin asked offended.
"How could you not? He's from the Upside-Down!"
"Maybe. But even if he is it doesn't automatically mean that he's bad."
"That's like saying just because someone's from the death star doesn't make them bad."
"We have a bond." Dustin sighed, defeated.
"A bond? Just cause he likes nougat?" Mike continued to argue not letting the topic go.
"No, because he trusts me!" Dustin snapped again.
"He trusts you?" Lucas asked giving a questioning look to Dustin.
"Yes! I promised that I would take care of h-" Dustin didn't get to finish because Dart had made an ugly screeching noise from inside the trap.
The trap box started to move and jump. Dart screeched louder each time he moved the trap. The box fell over and Mike grabbed the nearest thing, a microphone for our old heath kit, as a weapon.
"Don't hurt him," Dustin yelled
"Only if he attacks!" Mike yelled back.
"Just open it already!" Lucas started to yell.
"Lucas, don't you watch movies? Dustin doesn't open it!" I yell hiding behind Lucas.
Dustin ignored me and opened the trap doors and Dart rolled out. He ... changed. His back was now all dark green and he was bigger. He was chunkier too. He screeched again. We started in horror as something began to move violently inside the creature before its sides opened up and two back legs shot out of the thing. Slime residue left from the process was left on the table.
"Shit!" Lucas exclaimed and well all took large steps back from the table/ Lucas grabbed on to me and I grabbed on to Him. We both held each other while screaming for Dustin to do something about his pet.
Mike decided to do something and took the microphone and made the motion to slam the object on Dart. To crush the thing. "No!" Dustin pushed Mike's arm and Mike ended up hitting the table near Dart. Dart rolled off the table and ran towards the door but it was shut so he couldn't get out.
Just as I thought that the door swung open to reveal Max who had picked the lock. God dammit, why do these things always happen to us? Max started in horror as Dart came racing toward her but skidded and turned right. Dart ran down the hall while Max watched and we ran after the creature. Dustin fell on top of Max on his way out and caused Lucas to trip and fall too. I jumped over them and raced after Dart.
"Get back here you slimy piece of shit," I muttered under my breath chasing after the rascal. Dart turned a corner and ran into the wall because I wasn't looking where I was going. I did the walk of shame back to the group.
"What was that?" Max asked.
"Dart! You let him escape." Mike started to yell but got quiet as he saw me. "Are you ok?" Mike asked as he saw my bloody nose from running into the wall.
"What happened to you?" Luas asked concerned running up to help me.
"I ran into a wall," I said embarrassed. The boys gave me a questioning look. Lucas held his sleeve under my nose to wipe up the blood while I turned to Dustin. "I'm gonna kill your stupid rodent when I find him."
End of this chapter. You guys know the drill. I don't know how soon I'll have the next chapter out so I made this one extra long. I'll try to get the next chapter out by tomorrow. We'll see -Itsbouttogodown