Chapter Text
Eleven had a love-hate relationship with mirrors. Even though she knew the boys didn’t care, even though she knew Hopper would just tell her she was beautiful as she was; she just couldn’t help but feel insecure about how she looked. She was only 14, starting high school with her friends that very day, and she felt sick to her stomach as she gave up on brushing her short hair, which had grown into what Nancy called a “pixie cut”.
“Eleven, let’s go!” Hopper’s voice rang out from his bedroom. He didn’t have to shout too loud, since she slept in the living room of his trailer until better accommodations (and a raise) were available to her father. Eleven sighed, picking at her the loose threads that poked out at the hem of her blouse as Hopper tied on his belt and put on his hat.
“Come on, kid, I don’t want you to be late for your first day of high school,” Hopper said with a hint of cheer. He paused for a second, noticing the quiet demeanor that his daughter put up whenever she was feeling down.
“Hey, don’t feel nervous about today. It’ll be just like another day of school, and you’ll still have the boys with you,” Hopper said encouragingly, patting her on the back. Eleven looked away, staring at the mirror to her side.
“Not that,” she said quietly. She looked up at her father in hesitation.
“I don’t...feel pretty. But I want to.”
“Oh, El,” Hopper sighed, crouching down in front of her. “You are pretty. Even if you don’t have long hair or super long legs like those damn supermodels you look at on TV. Just ask any of the boys; I’m sure they’ll agree with me.”
Eleven nodded, still unconvinced. “Okay.”
Hopper scratched his head as he looked at his watch and gave her a conspiring smile.
“Hey, you want to call Nancy and see if she can help you out before school starts?”
❤
Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin walked around the halls excitedly, chatting and shouting as they mapped out the courses for their schedules, seeing if they had any classes with each other(it was a trick question-they were all in honors, therefore had almost every class together, with the exception of P.E.).
“Hey, you think El has any classes with us?” Mike asked as they all walked out of their English class. Lucas nodded.
“Oh, definitely. She’s in all honors. I heard from the chief that the principal even wanted to move her up a grade, but she wanted to stay in the same classes as us, so he said no.”
“Us nerds stick together,” Dustin said with a smile. Will walked ahead and turned the corner as he nodded. He paused, only the back of his head visible as he said,
“Oh, hey El!”
The boys turned the corner in a hurry, and were taken aback by the sight of their friend.
She was wearing a lacy pink headband on top of her fluffy hair, a light pink blouse and black skirt, and black slippers with lacy stockings. She flashed them a smile, shuffling underneath the gray varsity jacket over her shoulders and walking towards them. Mike smiled at her broadly, feeling his face heat up as he looked at Eleven’s first day outfit.
“Is this why Nancy had to take me to school twenty minutes later than I wanted to?” He said jokingly. Eleven looked up at the ceiling innocently.
“Maybe.”
“Man, why do you gotta the rest of us look bad? I’m just wearing whatever was clean, and Dustin’s wearing what he’s been wearing for the past three days,” Lucas complained lightly. “Of course you have to come to school all pretty.”
Eleven rolled her eyes, secretly proud of having been complimented the way she had hoped she would be.
“She doesn’t have to dress up to look pretty, though,” Dustin said. “Right, Mike?” He said, elbowing his friend with a playful grin. Mike laughed and pushed him away, cheeks red.
“Yeah. You look pretty no matter what,” He said finally, flashing Eleven a smile. He checked his watch and sucked in a breath.
“Ten minutes! Eleven, we have to get you your schedule and find all of your classes, now!”
Grabbing her hand, Mike and the boys dragged her across the school hallway and into the gymnasium, thrilled with the idea of starting a new adventure as a group; together.