swedish relatives and mouthbreathers

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

During the past couple of days, Alina had grown used to the steady rhythm of her bike on the street being alongside three others. Their bikes glided along the street yet again, and the presence of the others beside them was strangely comforting. Alina found herself watching Eleven, who was staring at the people on the streets, watching the cars go by with big eyes. Alina knew she hadn't seen so many people before, living sheltered in the Lab, so all of this was an entire new experience for her.

Eleven's hands were clutched protectively around Mike's waist, and even though Mike could be rude to her, Alina felt a rush of fondness for the both of them, for the friend she'd made that she was somehow connected to, and the boy she was determined to make like her. Because Mike wasn't a bad person. He had good intentions—probably better than half of the kids in Hawkins Middle. And he was determined. Determined to prove that the boy whose body they'd all seen last night was somehow still out there.

They arrived at Hawkins Middle, the place four of them were supposed to be, anyway, and dismounted their bikes, wheeling them into the ports. The outside of Hawkins Middle was barren, all of the other kids most likely inside, stuck in lessons about math or English but their minds elsewhere. A week ago, Alina would've been one of them. An ordinary kid. But now nothing about her was ordinary, even without the growing suspicion she had that something was off inside of her.

Lucas, Mike, Dustin, Eleven, and Alina began to head down the halls to the AV Room, where they would find Mr. Clarke's Heathkit Ham Shack. Their feet squeaked on the polished floor tiles as they walked, Alina's curls bouncing as she did so, before she turned to Dustin.

"I've never been in the AV Room before," she remarked. "Is it cool?"

Dustin smiled. "It's really cool. Hey, maybe, after all of this is over, you can join the club with us."

Alina's face brightened. "I'd love that."

She still had no idea if she should believe Mike. The idea of a Will Byers who was still alive seemed far-fetched somehow, as if she'd already gotten used to the idea of a world without him. But, of course, she hadn't. She was just too afraid to get her hopes up.

"Okay, remember," Mike instructed the group. "If anyone sees us, look sad."

As a confused El watched as Dustin and Lucas mocked crying, trailing fingers down their cheeks, the PA system crackled. "Attention students, there will be an assembly to honor Will Byers in the gymnasium now. Do not go to fourth period."

Honoring Will Byers. Honoring a boy most of the students at Hawkins Middle had made fun of, ignored, or pretended he didn't exist. Alina gritted her teeth. She used to be one of those students, and Will's disappearance—and perhaps death—had taught her a lesson.

They arrived at the AV room, and Mike jiggled the doorknob, but it didn't budge. He sighed. "It's locked."

"What?" Lucas pushed past Mike and tried to open the door himself, to the same results.

"Hey, do you think you could open it?" Dustin asked Eleven. "With your powers?"

"Move over." Alina rolled her eyes and pulled out the paper clips she used for picking locks from her pocket. "I can do this."

Before anyone could respond, however, a different voice spoke, causing them all to jump.

"Boys?"

Mr. Clarke stared down at them, confusion etched upon his face. He was wearing one of his usual sweater vests, his eyes swollen from crying. Alina remembered how much Mr. Clarke had liked Will. He was one of his favorite students. He must've been devastated to learn of his loss last night. Or... his fake loss. That depended on if you believed the news or what Mike had claimed.

Alina was still switching back and forth.

"Hey," said Lucas, his voice cracking. He was leaning against the door, trying to look as if he hadn't just been trying to break in.

Mr. Clarke's eyes flicked over each one in turn. "Assembly's about to start," he said cautiously.

"We know," said Mike, looking down at his feet. "We're just... you know."

"Upset," Lucas added with half of a smile, before his eyes widened and he immediately assumed an expression of mourning, glancing sadly down and blinking, trying to get tears to form in his eyes.

Amateur. Alina pinched her thigh, hard, which certainly got the waterworks flowing. "Y-yeah," she pitched her voice and looked at her shoes. "Very upset."

"Yeah," said Dustin, "d-definitely upset."

"We need some alone time," said Mike.

"To... cry."

Alina resisted the urge to roll her eyes by pinching herself again. She let a couple of tears roll down her cheeks and glanced up at Mr. Clarke, who, instead of being the usual geeky science teacher she usually saw him as, was just another obstacle. Another person who was getting in the way, who was preventing them from doing things that mattered. If Will was still alive.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "They're really upset. And I am, too, but I didn't know Will as well as they did. They're... they're trying to process things, and I want to help them."

"Yeah," said Mr. Clarke, nodding his head a little as he took in their "mourning faces." "Listen. I get it. I do. I know how hard this is, but let's just be there for Will, huh?"

Alina gritted her teeth but didn't say anything, although she knew they were wasting time. But Mr. Clarke wasn't done. He rummaged through his pockets while he spoke. "And then..." he produced a key ring and tossed it to Mike, who caught it, surprised, "the Heathkit is all yours for the rest of the day. What do you say?"

Although the boys were perking up at this good news, Alina didn't quit the act, letting more tears roll down her face. She was so concentrated on looking upset that she actually jumped when Mr. Clarke addressed her.

"I don't think I've seen you around the boys before, Alina. You finally making friends?"

Alina nodded. "Yeah. I'm—I'm helping them. In this hard time."

Mr. Clarke nodded. "That is very kind of you. Now," he turned to Eleven. "I don't believe we've met. What's your name?"

Eleven, who was standing beside Mike, began to speak. "Eleven—"

"Eleanor!" Mike spoke so loudly that Eleven's voice was drowned out. "She's my, uh—"

"Cousin," Lucas finished.

"Second cousin," said Dustin, holding out two fingers as if Mr. Clarke didn't know what a second cousin was. Again, Alina had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Sometimes being with these boys was impossible.

"She's here for Will's funeral," clarified Mike.

"Ah," said Mr. Clarke. "Well, welcome to Hawkins Middle, Eleanor. I wish you were here under better circumstances."

"Thank you." Eleven's voice was confident as she spoke to Mr. Clarke, almost a better actor than the boys. Alina grabbed her hand and squeezed, Eleven squeezing back with a grateful smile.

"Uh, where are you from exactly?" It seemed that Mr. Clarke wasn't done questioning her.

Eleven shook her head gravely. "Bad place—"

"Sweden!" Again, Dustin spoke so loudly that Mr. Clarke was unable to hear what Eleven had just said.

"I have a lot of Swedish family," said Mike.

"She hates it there," said Dustin.

"Cold." Lucas, apparently not wanting to be left out in this catastrophe, added something entirely unnecessary. It almost made Alina laugh, but that wouldn't exactly give the right message for a girl who was supposed to be grieving her classmate's death, so she just held Eleven's hand and hoped this would be over soon.

"Subzero," Dustin finished.

Mr. Clarke looked utterly confused, but luckily, he didn't say anything about it, instead gesturing them out. "Shall we?"

"Yep!" And so they moved away from the AV Room and towards the gymnasium, for Will Byers' assembly. On the way there, Lucas leaned over to Alina.

"Where did you learn how to pick locks?"

"Self-taught," Alina whispered back. "How do you think I got El's file? I couldn't exactly walk into my dad's study."

Lucas smiled. "It's cool," he whispered, just as they reached the door to the gymnasium. Dustin slammed open the doors, and they banged against the wall, at once causing the entire student populace of Hawkins Middle's eyes to turn to them. Even the principal stopped talking, looking judgmental as he stared them down.

"Abort," Dustin whispered, embarrassed, trying to get back the way he came, but Lucas and Alina stopped him, forcing him through the doors. As the principal continued to speak, the five of them weaved their way through the student body and managed to find seats. Genuine tears began to fall as she listened, because, unlike the others, and even Lucas now, she still wasn't a hundred percent sure that Will was still alive. They'd seen his body, right?

Or...

Alina let out a gasp, remembering something she'd been told two years ago. There had been a fire at a house a long time ago, and, although most of the family had managed to escape the flame, one of their members hadn't been so lucky. The body had been found, but it was too charred and gruesome to be even recognized by the family, to have a funeral for. So, Hawkins Lab had stepped in with a solution. They'd created a fake body of the deceased person, identical to the way they had been before the fire. Hours and hours of meticulous work was put in to make sure that every scar and freckle was done (mostly) accurately.

Perhaps Will's body was not really his own. Perhaps Hawkins Lab had created a fake Will, planted him in the Quarry, and made everyone believe it was him. Perhaps Mike was right, and Will really was still out there.

But Alina almost didn't want to believe it. Sure, Will being alive would be a great thing, but accepting that he wasn't dead meant accepting that her dad had most likely played a role in faking it. And, although she barely trusted her father anymore, this was a whole new level. She didn't know if anything would ever be the same with him if it turned out to be true.

And, after the assembly, she would find out.

"Look at these fakers," Mike whispered to Lucas, who was right beside her, as Principal Coleman continued his speech.

"They probably didn't know his name 'till today," Lucas said sourly, just as giggling caught all of their attention. Higher on the bleachers, Troy was laughing quietly.

"Who is interested in this?" he whispered to James. "This is so stupid."

Alina's blood began to boil, and for a minute she was seeing red. She wanted to yell, wanted to interrupt the assembly and call these boys out for their lack of empathy. She wanted to knock their teeth out, to shove them, to give them a piece of her mind. Didn't they understand that this assembly was about a boy's death? Didn't they get that? How insensitive could they be?

Troy continued to mock the assembly, and Principal Coleman. "'Oh, he was such a great student. Oh, he's going to leave a hole in the community."

From beside Mike, Eleven clenched her jaw. "Mouthbreather."

"Pieces of shit," Alina muttered. "I'll leave a hole in their heads when I'm done with them."

Lucas grabbed her arm. His teeth were gritted, and he looked as if he wanted to knock their teeth out as well, but he remained somewhat calm. "Don't," he urged. "Not now. Or we'll never get into the AV Room."

Alina nodded, but she was still fuming, and her anger kept her distracted for the remainder of the assembly. The bell ringing was almost a blessing, and she followed Mike and Eleven down the steps to the bleachers, before noticing they were heading up to Troy and James, who were a little ahead. Probably to chew them out.

She cracked her knuckles. Finally, something she could do.

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

a/n: alina is getting even more conflicted about her dad, and it's making me wonder-- do you guys think he's good, bad, or in between? just know that being on the 'wrong' side doesn't automatically make him evil, and you'll learn more about brandon soon :)

if you've gotten this far in the book, thank you! we're about halfway through now (there are forty chapters and a prologue and an epilogue), so we've still got quite a ways to go! i hope you guys will be along with me for the rest of the ride!

'till next time!