o. john hughes
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OLIVIA CLARKE sat in the second to last row of Mr. Bishop's fourth-period chemistry class, a strand of her long brown hair coiled around her index finger. Her expression was one of utter boredom as the man continued his excruciatingly long lecture on molarity. She knew much of her science curriculum already as her father, Scott Clarke, a middle school science teacher, had been tutoring her for years. Their shared love of science, especially biology, had fueled their close relationship for Olivia's whole life.
Olivia lived in the tiny town of Hawkins, Indiana. Her social circle was small, consisting mostly of her father and four prepubescent boys she tutored. Her life was quite uneventful and drab, but she liked it that way; she seemed to prefer observing the lives of others instead of finding her own adventure. It was easier, safer, and definitely cost less.
As she sat there, a sigh on the tip of her tongue, she couldn't help but allow her eyes to wander toward a boy only one row away from her. She stared at the back of his head, his fluffy brown locks cascading down to his shoulders. He looked so effortlessly carefree and perfect sitting there in an uncomfortable metal chair. It was like he was a life-sized Ken doll that had accidentally been misplaced in a stuffy classroom that smelled of B.O. and cigarette smoke.
Olivia had been crushing on Steve Harrington, the owner of the perfect hair and stance, for almost a year now. Most of her thoughts throughout the day had been consumed by the boy and his mane. She supposed she wasn't the only girl slightly obsessed with the Harrington boy; he was the most popular kid at Hawkins High, the epitome of cliché and charming.
She had quickly realized though that her liking of the boy was a case of extreme infatuation rather than love. She didn't know what the boy was like behind closed doors, and truth be told, she was scared to find out. So, she watched from afar, too terrified to realize the boy wasn't as perfect as she had made him out to be.
Turning her gaze towards the door, her eyebrows quirked in confusion. Staring at Olivia through the door's narrow window was one of her best friends, Vincent Walterson, pulling at the insides of his cheeks and sticking out his tongue. The girl suppressed a small giggle that was rising in her throat and instead gave the boy a look of warning and concern. Peering around the classroom, she'd noticed none of the other teens had seen the goofy boy standing at the door yet.
"And you must remember," Mr. Bishop spoke, a lit cigarette dangling from his lips, "Molarity is equal to the number of moles over one liter of solution."
Almost on cue, the bell rang throughout the school, causing teen boys and girls to jump from their seats and fly out of their classrooms. Olivia slung a strap of her tan backpack over her shoulder and clutched her trapper keeper to her chest as she slipped through the door.
"Boo!" Vincent yelled from behind her, making her jump.
"God, I knew you were there, too." she sighed, beginning to walk down the hall.
"Yet, you still fell for it." Keith Cardarople, another of Olivia's friends, laughed, shoving a Cheeto into his mouth.
"Hook, line, and sinker." Robin Buckley, Olivia's only girl friend, added with a laugh. The four continued down the crowded corridor, each occasionally getting their shoulders shoved.
"Why were you three waiting outside Mr. Bishop's like a bunch of bimbos?" she asked, a small smile growing on her face.
"We skipped Marshall's Home Ec," Keith replied.
"Seriously?" she asked with a sigh.
"What? She's an eighty-year-old woman with an attention span of a goldfish, I think she was fine without us." Robin sighed. Olivia rolled her eyes, making Vincent laugh. The four continued walking, eventually reaching their lockers. Luckily, they were all only a few spaces apart.
"Hey, what were you staring at?" Vincent asked Olivia as he shoved his grey book bag into his locker.
"What do you think?" Robin asked with a laugh.
"Steve Harrington," Keith replied in a feminine voice.
"Ooooh, Steven." Vincent continued in the same tone.
"First of all, his name is Steve. Second, I wasn't staring at him. I was bored, and just happened to focus on him." Olivia sighed.
"Don't even try denying it." Robin chimed with a grin.
"You love him." Keith spoke, pointing an accusing Cheeto at the girl as he drew out the 'o' in 'love.'
"I don't," Olivia stated, slamming her locker shut. The three others followed suit and the group began to walk again.
"Yes, you do," Robin complained.
"It's infatuation. Not love," she replied calmly.
"Jesus, we need to get some John Hughes into you." Vincent groaned.
"Wait, here's a genius idea; let's go see Sixteen Candles tonight." he continued, "It'll be phat."
"As much as I'd love to see Anthony Hall holding up women's underwear in front of a sea of virgins, I'll have to pass," Olivia spoke, staring at the ground.
"What, why?" Keith asked, Cheetos dust flying from his mouth.
"I'm tutoring Dustin tonight," she answered quietly. Dustin Henderson, along with his friends, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, and Mike Wheeler, were her father's favorite students, meaning she was practically obligated by her dad to give them free tutoring lessons. Of course, they were all extremely intelligent and did not need extra studying, but that didn't stop Scott Clarke from constantly scheduling lessons.
"Really? God, that blows." Robin sighed.
"It's not that bad. I like the boys." Olivia replied.
"Don't tell me you'll replace us with the twerps," Vincent asked in mock concern.
"I don't know," she replied, trailing off as a large smile took over her face. Vincent gasped, a fake look of hurt on his face. She began to giggle, but her laughter faded as they rounded a corner. Right in front of them were Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler, their lips locked in a strangely passionate kiss.
Olivia didn't want to admit it, but her heart broke at the scene. She knew her jealousy was petty and that she shouldn't be so upset, but boy, did it sting.
"Hey, how about tomorrow?" Vincent suddenly asked, stepping in front of Olivia.
"What?" she questioned in confusion.
"What if we see the movie tomorrow?" he specified.
"Tomorrow is Halloween." she sighed, trying to forget about what she just saw.
"And?" Robin inquired.
"That means us four and my dad are going to be in my living room, stuffing our faces with candy while we watch horror movie reruns." she laughed.
"What if we didn't do that this year?" Vincent asked.
"But I've been looking forward to that," Keith whined.
"Hear me out; what if we went to Tina's party?" he suggested. The three others groaned immediately, each rolling their eyes as they entered the cafeteria.
"No, no, seriously!" he exclaimed.
"Tina Goldfelder's Halloween party? Sorry, I don't think so." Olivia scoffed. Tina threw a Halloween bash each year, and each year, the four had skipped it.
"Come on! We're juniors!" he pleaded as he picked up a red tray.
"Say, if we were to go to this party," Robin began, "wouldn't we need, you know, invitations?"
"It's a house party. We don't need invitations." Vincent replied, rolling his eyes.
"I'm in," Keith spoke as he grabbed a fresh bag of Cheetos from a basket full of chips placed on the lunch line.
"What?" Robin and Olivia asked at the same time in total surprise.
"Free food, hot girls. Sounds good to me." he shrugged.
"You just said you were looking forward to our annual Halloween celebration!" Olivia insisted.
"That was then, this is now," he responded, handing an angry-looking lunch lady a five-dollar bill.
"See, Keith gets it." Vincent smiled.
"You two are insufferable." Robin huffed as they sat down at their usual table.
"Come on! It'll be fun." Vincent repeated.
"Fine." Olivia sighed, finally giving in to her friend. She knew he'd break her down at some point, and she was getting tired of arguing.
"I guess I'll go," Robin added, plopping a fry into her mouth.
"Oh, this is going to be so rad."
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"AND RIGHT there is?" Olivia Clarke asked Dustin Henderson, pointing towards a small, wiry vein-like string on a diagram of a frog.
"The carotid artery. I'm not five," he replied, scoffing lightly.
"Well, then. Aren't you cute?" she quipped. She sat at Dustin's desk in his room, miscellaneous science textbooks placed all around the two.
"Oh, God, you're so lame." Dustin suddenly sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"Excuse me?" Olivia questioned in shock. She tried her best to stifle her giggles as she looked at the curly-haired boy.
"You're a junior in high school. You should be at a party or something, not tutoring a thirteen-year-old boy who, by the way, already knows the anatomy of a frog," he explained.
"For your information, I enjoy tutoring you," she muttered.
"Olivia, I canceled plans to be here." Dustin continued, trying not to laugh.
"You know how to make a girl feel wanted, Dusty-Poo." she chided in a fake cheery voice, "Hey, how come your friends aren't huge dickwads?"
"Ok, ouch." he groaned, looking down at the frog diagram.
"Come on, you know what I mean!" she begged, swaying slightly in her spinning-chair.
"Maybe it's because they've all had major crushes on you," he spoke innocently, cocking his head. Olivia burst out into laughter, nearly falling off her chair.
"I know that, Dustin! There's only so many times you can 'accidentally' graze my hand before it gets creepy." she exclaimed through fits of giggles. Dustin, too, began to join in, his face frozen in utter happiness.
"Olivia, dear, your dad's here." Claudia Henderson, Dustin's mother, spoke softly, peeking her head through the door.
"Thank you, Miss Henderson," Olivia replied, quickly composing herself as she began to gather her things.
"I can't believe you failed your driver's test." Dustin laughed as soon as his mother was out of sight. It was true; Olivia was so nervous she'd nearly crashed the car.
"Yeah, don't remind me." she grimaced.
"Oh, I'll make sure you remember," he said, trying to look menacing. Olivia stuck out her tongue at the boy, causing him to laugh.
"Bye, Olivia!" Dustin grinned as the girl began to walk out of his room.
"Bye, Dusty-Poo." she smiled, a small giggle escaping her throat.
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winter speaks!
hey guys! I have a love-hate relationship with this chapter rn. i feel like it sucks, but also i like it?? anyways, if you were wondering, yes i stole that snippet of dustin and olivia's convo from tatbilb. i thought it fit. anyways, i'm sorry for the cringe, love you all, i'm going to sleep!