Now that Steve, the cute, dorky kid from Scoops Ahoy who had taken her home and won her heart, knew her name, and she had his number, she had been reaching for every opportunity to hear him caress her name with his gentle lips. Saturday was too far away, and she needed to see him again before their first date. The perfect event had now arisen to see him in action and praise him for something other than scooping ice cream. She had made good friends with his sister, Eden, after discovering she had transferred to her history class, where she knew no one. Scottie thought she had a kind, petite look about her, and she was very knowledgeable about history, which was much to be appreciated. So within the span of two weeks, they had become the best of friends and both decided to join the girl's soccer team, much to Steve's pleasure. He had been trying to get his sister involved in an extracurricular activity, other than the weirdos' Dungeons and Dragons club; he was glad she had a friend who had a positive force on her, but he also rejoiced in the fact that he would see Scottie playing in the field during his own outdoor practices (but he said this to no one). And so the two friends had decided to watch Steve in the final match of the season.
"Come here, let's go this way," said Scottie, grabbing Eden by the wrist.
"Wha—where are we going? The door's on the other side."
"Yes, but then we'd have to pay. And we don't have jobs, sooo..."
"You've done this before, haven't you?"
"I've only ever payed once, and that's because I was an ignorant little girl who didn't know how to shake the principle's son."
"The principle's son? When—"
"I'll tell you later. Climb through that window."
"You put that stick there earlier, didn't you?"
"No you're catching on. Go, before someone sees us." They each crawled up the tree and onto the edge of the outstretched branch. Scottie peered through the window into the bathroom, then singled to Eden to move in. "No boys, we're clear."
"This is the boy's bathroom?"
"Yeah, but it's fine, they're all gone, or in stalls, but either way..." Eden shook off her surprise and crawled through the window, letting herself drop to the floor seven feet below. They ran out to the gym to grab front row seats, the better to see Steve. As they entered the gym, they saw two girls walking towards the only seats left in the front, right next to their other friends, Lola and Vivian, so they bolted for the chairs and slid into them right before the girls reached the same spot. "Booyah!" Yelled Scottie as they sulked past, making their way to the top row of uncomfortable benches.
"Oh look, there's Steve!" Said Eden, pointing him out.
"Steve!" Scottie yelled, but he didn't hear her. She stood up on her chair and yelled, "Steeeeve!" waving her arms. He looked over at them and his face broke into a grin immediately. He waved back.
"That's one way to do it," said Eden, smiling and trying to hold back a laugh.
"Wait," Lola froze. "Is this? It is!"
"Oh my gosh, you're right! This is Uptown Girl! I love this song!" Said Scottie and Eden.
"SHE'LL SEE I'M NOT SO TOUGH, JUST BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH AN UPTOWN GIRL!" They were screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs and when they couldn't take it anymore, they stood up and starting dancing in front of their seats. Vivian was laughing and shaking her head.
"I don't know you guys. What are you doing?"
"Having fun!" They shouted back at her. The DJ finished out the song (they were sure he did it just for them), before the announcer came over the loudspeaker, proclaiming the start of the game and end of the season.
"Let's hear it for the Tigers from Hawkins!" Everyone put their hands together for the team that had lost more games than they had won, but they pushed through nevertheless, hopeful for another rare victory for the scoreboard. And the game began.
Jason started with the ball and dribbled it quickly to the other side, passing it between his legs every now and then to trip up the other team. He was very good at dodging players by making eye contact with one of them and then darting to the other side so they tripped themselves up. He was responsible for getting the ball across the court, Andy and Steve were responsible for shooting it. Jason carried the ball to the goal while Chance and Patrick distracted the other players so Steve and Andy were clear. Jason tossed the ball to Andy, who jumped and scored. Yells rang out across the gym. Hawkins was up by two. The ball was checked to Jason and he ran across the court, dribbling the ball just in front of him. Steve was running beside him, darting between players, keeping himself open. Jason tossed him the ball but right as he was moving in for the shot, Carson from Podmore High, slammed into the side of him, knocking him over. Carson was fouled and Steve lined up for the free throw. He missed the first one, but scored the second with a swish. They took a time out and gathered round for a quick group meeting.
"He's doing really well," said Scottie to Eden once they had paused the game.
"I know! Sometimes Jason hogs the ball, but I think he's starting to trust Steve more, be more of a team player," replied Eden.
"Have you been watching him? You know he's with Chrissy Cunningham, right?" Lola teased.
"Oh ha ha. I don't have a crush on Jason."
"You might be the only one."
"He's really cute," chimed in Vivian.
"Really?" They all chorused.
"You are so hard to please, I've surprised he meets your standards," said Lola skeptically.
"Of course he's cute, stupid. Anyone with eyeballs can see that. Besides, he's a very nice kid. He used to throw me the ball in PE and sit next to me in class. A total jock, and totally not my type, but he's nice all the same."
"Okaaaay girl! I'm proud of you," said Scottie, high-fiving Vivian.
"For what?"
"Thinking about a boy that long."
"Pff, whatever. The game's about to start up again." They turned attention back on the game and watched it closely. Hawkins played much as before, and it was obvious Podmore was out of practice, because they were getting smoked. At the end of the first half, the Tigers were up by 12 points.
"Let's go say high to Steve," said Scottie, grabbing Eden's attention.
"Can we do that?"
"Who cares." Scottie and Eden ran over to Steve with Vivian and Lola following behind them to visit Jason. "Hiah, Harrington."
"Well hello there, Clermont."
"How do you know my last name?"
"It's on your receipt, which I've studied many a time."
"Is that so?"
"Okay, okay Clerington lovebirds, we get it," said Eden, pushing them apart.
"What, you don't like to see your big bro flirting?" Teased Steve.
"One, you're not my big bro, two, I see you flirt all the time and you haven't gotten any better. Now it's just painful."
"Ouch."
"You were playing really well out there," said Scottie.
"Good to know I have a fan," Steve smiled.
"Always."
"Come meet us at the snack bar after your game," said Eden.
"Okay."
"Good luck!" The girls called as they walked back to their seats.
The second half began shortly after. Chadwick from the other team started out with the ball. He dribble it a short ways, then tossed it to Carson who tossed it to Lance. He went for the three pointer but missed. The ball bounced off the rim and just barely avoided hitting Trace in the face. He did some sort of backbend that the crowd appreciated with gasps and then recovered immediately to run after the ball. He managed to snatch the ball away before Patrick could grab it. He turned around to shoot a three-pointer that would surely have gone in, but at that moment there was a loud creak from above them. He shot the ball, but missed completely because everyone's attention was now on the ceiling. The gym fell quiet. Then it creaked once more and caved in. Metal beams that weighed tons were crashing to the floor; most of the players and crowd had ran from the room, screaming, already, but Andy and Coach Barnabus were still inside, having helped the rest of the people escape first. Trace saw them as he was escaping and right as a giant metal beam plummeted toward them. He knocked them out of the way just in time, but was crushed underneath the beam himself. There were screams and sobs as people began to realise what had just happened in the midst of all the chaos. Trace, from Podmore High, not yet 16, had just saved the lives of two strangers from Hawkins High.
"Steve!" Eden and Scottie ran at Steve and hugged him when they saw he was okay.
"I was so worried about you!" Said Eden.
"Are you okay?" Asked Scottie.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But—"
"I know. How did this even happen?" Scottie was already crying.
"I think his name was Trace," said Eden comfortingly. "This is terrible. Do you think..." she trailed off.
"No. There's no way he survived that. The medics are there now, but it's hard to reach him under..." Almost everyone was now shedding tears, the girls sobbing, the boys had their heads bowed, heavy with silent tears and regret. But Trace's teammates were pushing through the crowd, fighting the police and medics to get past, but they wound't let them.
"Please stand back. We're doing everything we can right now to revive him, but you need to be prepared for the worst. We're doing the best we can," one of the nurses said kindly.
"Please, he's my little brother," cried Lance.
Scottie's eyes filled with even more tears at these words. Her lip was quivering and she could no longer see. She had mascara running down her face and her breathing was growing steadily faster and heavier, making her dizzy. "I...I can't do this," she gasped. Then she ran out of the gym and around the school until all of her energy was expended. She leaned against the wall, hyperventilating and crying harder than ever. "I don't know what to do. What do I do? It's not your fault, it's not your fault. But...his little brother! I can't fix this, there's no solution. I've failed. I don't know what to do." She wailed over and over again to herself, gasping between breaths. "I'm so dizzy," she said to herself, closing her eyes. "I'm so tired," she whispered, falling to one side and trying to slow her breathing.
When she awoke, the night air was cool and crisp on her face and the grass felt prickly on her body. As she lifted her head she could feel the marks ingrained in her cheek from her bracelets and the grass. She opened her tired eyes enough to see that it was still dark. Everything was quiet. The world seemed to be spinning faster than ever, and yet there was no sound. She looked around slowly, still waking up. How long had she been asleep? She couldn't tell if it was morning or night, but she did however, know that a boy had died a few hours before, for people he knew nothing about. He couldn't even drive yet, he had probably never had a girlfriend, never tasted alcohol, and now he never would. How did she work through this in her mind? It was too much, and she was still exhausted. She wanted an excuse to stop thinking, to relax and go to a better world; so she lay down and closed her eyes again so she could fall asleep in the green, dewy grass and dream of a world in which she did not exist, a word without tragedy.