Chapter Text
Today marks exactly 6 months since I moved to Hawkins, 6 months going to that dump of a school, 6 months in that shit house, 6 months living in this small town of hillbillies.
But, as my mother always told me, in life we have to enjoy even the simplest joys, and I wonder what those joys might be. I think I can include the few friends I've made in this place, I mean, they aren't really my friends, but they're the closest thing I'll have to friendships in this place. They don't bother me, they treat me well and they like D&D as much as I do, I honestly have nothing to complain about, I mean, I do, but I'll leave that for another time.
I woke up late again, for the same reason as always: I had a nightmare in the middle of the night, I couldn't sleep, and I finally fell asleep 30 minutes before the alarm went off. It's become a cycle.
I finally muster the courage to get out of bed. I go to the bathroom and find the door closed.
Olivia.
I let out a sigh and knock on the door.
"Can't you see there are people in here?" she replies mockingly, and I can almost see her inside rolling her eyes.
Since we moved to this place, living with her has gone from bad to worse. She's never been a model older sister, but now it seems like she's trying hard not to be.
"Come on, Oli, I need to get ready for school," I reply, knocking on the door again.
"Who told you not to wake up on time? Now you wait until I'm finished," she shouts.
I think I've never wanted to kill someone so badly in my entire life.
One thing I've learned during this time is that arguing with her is pointless; the only thing that works in cases like this is calling Dad.
I run downstairs quickly, and luckily, my father is still having coffee and hasn't left for work yet. Normally he'd already be on his way to the police station at this hour, but it seems that wasn't the case today.
"Dad, I'm so happy to see you!" I say with the biggest smile I can muster.
"What do you want, Charles?"
Charles. My dad must be the only person who doesn't call me Charlie.
"Olivia doesn't want to come out of the bathroom."
My dad rolls his eyes, but heads towards the stairs, and I follow him. I love seeing Olivia get into trouble.
When we get there, the door is wide open. She probably overheard the conversation and came out of the bathroom in time. That was another thing I should have learned in the meantime: Olivia's ease in getting out of trouble. Whether at school, at home, on the street, she always comes out on top in the end. Sometimes I wish I were more like her.
"Seriously, couldn't you wait a few minutes?" My dad sighs.
"She must have overheard the conversation and that's why she came out of the bathroom. I'm sure if I hadn't talked to you, she wouldn't have come out."
"Okay, okay." That's his way of saying he's fed up with the conversation. "I have to go to the police station, a lot of work awaits me, take care you two, I love you."
He turns towards the stairs and leaves. And I can finally get ready.
I lock the front door and walk to my sister's car. She has a white 1982 Mustang, she got it when she turned 16, my expectations are high for what car I'll get next year.
"I shouldn't even give you a ride, Charlie, not after you ratted me out to Dad. " she replies angrily.
I so wanted to answer her rudely, but I depend on her for a ride if I don't want to go by bike, which I honestly never want to. So I settle for smiling and apologizing for what happened. It's one humiliation after another just to avoid going by bike. Thank goodness I only have one year left until I get my much-desired driver's license.
I get in the car and the door slams shut behind me. A boring pop song is playing on the radio, and it's driving me crazy.
"Could you turn that thing off? Or, I don't know, at least turn it down. It's giving me a headache."
"It's not that thing, it's Madonna. That's what happens when you only listen to rock; you'll never know what real music is." She rolls her eyes until a hint of concern appears on her face.
"Having a migraine again?"
Even though Olivia isn't the best sister, she still worries about me (sometimes), and as much as I appreciate that gesture, I don't like it at all.
"No, but if I keep listening to this crap, I will. Besides, any rock in the world is better than that."
"You're a complete idiot, Charlie, but I'm serious, maybe you should find a solution for this, go to a doctor or something, it's not normal. I mean, I can go with you, or you can talk to Dad, or I can talk to him..."
"Can you stop acting like my mother? She's dead, and you're not her."
Her face hardened into a frown and she turned forward, starting to drive. There was only one subject Olivia hated to have mentioned, and that was our dead mother. I confess I feel bad bringing it up, but she deserved it, I hate when she tries to act like a mother to me.
The drive to school was silent; she turned off the music right after my complaint. I don't doubt it was because she was afraid of actually giving me a headache. The only thing you could hear in the car was the sound of water droplets running from her hair onto her cheerleader outfit.
My sister was a cheerleader, which is a huge irony of fate, since I must be one of the least popular people in that school. I mean, you can't be totally forgettable when you're new in town, your sister is a veteran cheerleader, and your dad is the new town sheriff. But I was weird enough for them to know who I am and not want to have any contact with me. Actually, I think in normal situations, I would be a target of bullying, but thanks to my sister, none of them bothered me. In fact, they were all very polite to me, because it would look bad to do that to the brother of the girl they want to fuck, right?
We finally stopped in the parking lot and went our separate ways without saying goodbye.
The classes were incredibly boring. I joked that I had a headache this morning, and now, ironically, I actually do. As a result, the classes seemed even more boring than usual, and I couldn't pay attention in any of them. It wouldn't surprise me if my grades dropped even further.
As soon as I left the last class, I saw Olivia leaning against the lockers with her friend Chrissy and Chrissy's boyfriend, Jason. Honestly, Chrissy is probably the only friend of my sister's that I like. She's nice, not a jerk, and not one of those girls desperate for popularity. She's popular for being who she is, and I find that surprising. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about Jason. I can't like him. Even though he's not a jerk to me, he is to the people I hang out with, so it's hard to have any sympathy for him, even though he treats me well.
Olivia stares at me with a "come here" look, and I obey.
"Hey Charlie, how's it going?"Chrissy says cheerfully, she always talks to me cheerfully.
"Hey Charlie?" Jason says with a strange mix of seriousness and friendliness.
"Hi, everything's fine.' I reply dryly to both of them. "What do you want, Oli?"
"Could you be a little more polite? Or at least pretend to be in public?"
"Spare me the small talk, what do you want"
"So, I don't think I'll be able to give you a ride today, can you go home alone"
Even if I said no, it's not like she's going to change her plans (whatever they are) to do me the favor of taking me home. So I cut to the chase and say yes.
"Great, it's just that we're going to a party today." She replies as if she owes me an explanation.
Since I don't care enough to ask questions about it, I just nod my head to show that I understand.
"Do you want to go, Charlie?“ Jason asks, probably out of politeness.
Before I could answer, Olivia cut me off. "Charlie going to parties?" She laughs before continuing. "It’s easier for pigs to fly." The laughter returns from her mouth.
Normally I would have called, but she’s not lying, I have absolutely no interest in going to those little parties for athletes and cheerleaders.
"Yeah, it’s really not my thing." I shrug.
"That’s a shame. It would be nice to see you there, maybe next time." Chrissy replies, and I can feel the disappointment emanating from her.
"Yeah, maybe." I know, and there won’t be a next time, and they know it too.
I take the opportunity and withdraw from the conversation; it’s not like I have anything to say to them, or any desire to talk to them. That was enough for today.
Thanks to my asshole sister, I have to find someone to give me a ride home.
As soon as I got away from my sister and her friends, I headed for the exit, and by some miracle I managed to spot my goldmine. Mike, Dustin, and Lucas were talking when I arrived; they all seemed quite excited. It's even strange to see Lucas there; lately he's been hanging out more with my sister's idiot friends, but it seems that wasn't the case today.
"Hey guys, what were you talking about?" I try to sound cheerful, but it doesn't seem to have much effect.
"Mike was talking for the thousandth time about how excited he is for the trip to California, and that there are only 2 days left" Dustin replied, rolling his eyes.
I perfectly understood Dustin's discontent with this subject; Wheeler had been talking about the same thing all week, about how anxious he was for the trip to California, where he would finally see his girlfriend. It was getting on my nerves.
"Dustin's just jealous because he'll never see his girlfriend again" Mike argued, shrugging.
"Look, with all due respect, I'm not jealous of your relationship at all, especially since my relationship with Suzie-boo is much better. Besides, my relationship with her goes far beyond face-to-face interaction; you wouldn't understand."
I really didn't understand. He'd been dating a girl he kissed at summer camp for months; she lived in Utah, so he barely saw her, and they only talked through video calls. How can a relationship last if you don't even see your girlfriend? Mike's relationship wasn't any different, but at least he could visit her, and she used to live in Hawkins, so there was a justification.
But what did I know about relationships anyway? I've never had a girlfriend, and to be honest, I have absolutely no desire to get into one, and I've had opportunities, some girls have approached me before, but none of them sparked my interest. I don't see the slightest appeal in having a girlfriend.
"We wouldn't understand" Mike said, holding back a laugh, joined by Lucas.
"I don't know what you're laughing at, Lucas, you don't even have a girlfriend anymore."
Silence settled in the air; I think Dustin had gone too far.
"First of all, Dustin, Max and I broke up, but we're going to get back together, I know it." His tone didn't exude much confidence.
"And look, I'm not the only single one, Charlie here doesn't have a girlfriend either." He said, pointing at me.
"Don't drag me into your mess," I said, laughing, and the laughter continued between them.
"The conversation is good, but what I really came here to do is ask for a ride. My idiot sister isn't available today, so I'm depending on the kindness of one of you," I said pleadingly.
"I'd even like to help, my dear Charlie, but I'm on a bicycle" Dustin replied awkwardly.
"And I have to take care of some things, I'm not going home now." Lucas finished.
Mike and Dustin looked at each other. They weren't idiots, neither was I, Lucas wasn't going to take care of anything, he was going to the party.
"Look Charlie, I think I can help you with that, Nancy is going to give me a ride home, I think she can give you a ride home too, if you want."
"Seriously Mike? Of course I want to." I said relieved.
I followed Mike towards his sister's car, Lucas and Dustin went the opposite way.
We arrived there quickly, Nancy had an irritated expression.
"What's wrong Mike? I've been waiting for 20 minutes, any longer and you'll be without a ride home." She said huffing.
"Okay, okay, sorry, I was trying to help a friend, Charlie here needs a ride home." He nodded towards me, only then did Nancy seem to notice me.
Her expression softened when she saw me. In these long months in Hawkins, I never got around to talking to Nancy; she knows I'm part of her brother's group of friends, she always greets me when she sees me, but it never goes beyond that.
"Of course, just give me directions, Charlie."
The trip continued with me giving directions, Nancy was driving, huffing and puffing; I think she wasn't too happy about having to give me a ride, and I felt guilty about it. Wheeler must have noticed his sister's displeasure, since he started chatting to lighten the mood.
"So Charlie, now that you've lived here for six months, what's your verdict on the place?" Mike seemed genuinely curious.
As much as I wanted to be honest with him, he didn't deserve it; I mean, he always tried to be nice to me, he even remembered the day I moved.
"Monotonous, very monotonous." Something in Mike's expression changed, and Nancy gave him a slight glance. It seemed they disagreed with my opinion, which was crazy; Hawkins was boring.
"It's not that boring," Mike retorted.
"Well, I disagree," I said, laughing.
The conversation ended, and we continued in silence until we arrived at my house. "Thank you so much for the ride, Nancy. Sorry for wasting your time. If you want, I'll pay for the gas." I replied, unbuckling my seatbelt.
"It's alright, Charlie, no need. It's not far from my house, and I already knew the way." She stopped talking, seemingly deciding whether to continue or not.
"My ex-boyfriend doesn't live far from your house." She confessed.
Now I understood why she didn't want to continue the conversation.
"I understand, thanks anyway. I wish Oli was more like you." I replied, opening the car door and waving goodbye to Mike.
"Oli?" She looked at me. "Olivia Chang? The new sheriff's daughter?"
"Yes, my sister." I said as if it were obvious.
I mean, to me it was. There couldn't have been more than 10 asian people in Hawkins, and I went to and from school in Olivia's car. And it's not like they'd think she was my girlfriend, as if Oli would date a nerd.
"Oh yeah, I didn't know." Her lips pursed. "We take some classes together."
That reaction didn't surprise me at all; Olivia was popular, all the popular kids liked her, but the other students weren't exactly fans of hers. Nancy was one of those students, apparently.
"Poor you." Nancy could be seen holding back a laugh, her expression softening.
I waved goodbye to them again and went inside. Finally, that day was over.