"…and then he had the audacity to offer me his disgusting used shirt, so I said absolutely not, and then he tried to tell me it was clean but I could literally see the-"
"Oh my God Jackie, do you ever shut up" Billy said, having let her go on for the whole car journey so far.
She looked at him dumbfounded, "You asked me what happened!"
"Yea but I wasn't wanting a fucking year long run down. Jesus.", He teased, knowing exactly how to wind her up.
Max sat quietly in the backseat, her legs folded and head pressed against the door, eyes barely catching on the scenery that rushed past her vision. She'd perfected the art of tuning out the twins' conversations over the years.
Jackie's glare at Billy flickered down momentarily as her eyes caught the bright orange paper that peeked out of his pocket. With a flash she reached out to grab it, Billy swerved the car slightly in reflex at the sharp movement of her hand as she got hold of it. She opened the fold and a small squeal emitted from her throat.
"Oh my god. Why didn't you tell me earlier? jerk." Jackie exclaimed, turning the Halloween invite over in a dramatic flair.
"Thought you knew about it." Billy said with a shrug.
"Not about this I didn't", she read the invite again, "why didn't I get one?" her disappointment evident in her voice and frown, Billy looked over to her briefly.
"Why do you even care, it's not a big deal" He brushed her off.
"Not a big deal?!" She nearly yelled, "It's Halloween!"
He looked her in the eyes, seeing the excitement brewing already. "Jackie, How many times do we have to have this conversation. Halloween has always ended up with you crying in a corner somewhere and I'm the one that has to deal with it."
She gasped, "it does not!"
"It doesn't? hm let's see, last year: Arne didn't show up, the year before that dad wouldn't let you wear your Pam from chainsaw massacre costume – which somehow got me in trouble for letting you watch it. The year before that was your tantrum over the broken tiara, if I recall Susan couldn't fix it and I had to go find you a new one before you had a full-on meltdown. OH! Then there was the year that-"
"OK!" Her yell made the young girl in the back jump in fright. "I get your point, but! None of those were my fault."
Billy scoffed, rolling his eyes so intensely they might've stayed at the back of his head
"This year is different. I know it will be", she stated this as fact. Her brother didn't believe it for even a second. Jackie suddenly gasped sitting up straight in her seat, "I need a costume. I don't even know what to wear. You know a little bit of preparation time wouldn't hurt but no! You spring this on me and now I have no time. Oh god, this is a disaster" She threw herself back in the seat, Billy laughed, more in awe of how she managed to turn this on him. "No. There is time. Turn around, we're going into town"
"No, we're going home."
"Billy. Turn this car around.", His eyes remained on the road.
"No."
She sighed, "Please." he could almost feel the fluttering of her batting eyelids as it was part of the routine. He tightened his jaw and turned his head for a mere second.
"Fine. But we're stopping by the diner first, I'm starving." He quickly turned the car, Jackie couldn't contain the beaming smile on her face as she pulled out her notebook to brainstorm ideas.
"Oi, Red riding hood, any ideas?" She suddenly turned towards Maxine, who'd thought the pair forgot she was even there.
"Um, I don't know…" Max was caught off guard.
"Helpful." Jackie sighed.
"I mean, Carrie could be cool" Max said, catching a look at the book peeking out of her bag.
"hm, you know what, you might be onto something", Jackie began jotting down anything and everything that came to mind, her brow furrowed in intense concentration.
"Just nothing stupid alright, or messy- you're not coming in my car covered in fake blood" Billy then said, seeing how eagerly Jackie was writing. "And nothing slutty either" he made an extra point, seeing her write down 'fast times?' in bold on the page.
"Did I ask you? No." She poked Billy in the cheek, earning herself a sharp glare.
"Can you drop me off at the arcade?" Max piped up from the back while she had the chance in a rare moment of silence from her sister.
"Sure" Jackie muttered absentmindedly, gaining another look from her brother.
"This isn't a god damn taxi service." He bit out, at both the girls.
Jackie ignored him, "but you're dropping me off at the store first, I need more time to visualize.". Max caught Billy's glare from the rear vision mirror, and he caught her eyes rolling as she slid further into her seat.
…
12:17am, Wednesday 31st of October
4819 Cherry Lane, Hargrove residence
Max lay in bed, her eyes peeling open to the harsh yellow light from across the room.
"Hey, can you turn that off now? I can't sleep." She lifted her head to look towards her sister's bed. Not an ounce of acknowledgement on the older girl's face as her head bopped along to whatever music was playing through her giant headset connected to her record player. Her attention drawn to the needle and thread held in her hand as she carefully but poorly sewed the words 'pink ladies' on the back of a shiny pink jacket.
"Jackie?" Max's tone becoming frustrated. Her sister had been doing that for the past 2 hours while Max was left to toss and turn in bed. As Jackie's brought the jacket right up to her eyes with a look of extreme concentration, Max let out a heavy sigh throwing her head under her pillow in an effort to block out the light.
Sleep finally came for the young girl, the same couldn't be said for Jackie who was now having to undo her last hour of work as she'd forgotten to put the "D" before the "I" in ladies. Distracted and frustrated, her hands moved hurriedly, eager to finish before she had to reset her record for the third time.
"Shit", the needle pricked her finger, not enough for it to hurt but enough to cause it to bleed. With a slump of her shoulders Jackie discarded her music and sewing and with slow, heavy steps made her way to the bathroom. "Where the hell is it?", she whispered to herself head buried in the cabinet under the sink where she thought Susan kept the first aid kit.
The only sound heard throughout the sleeping house was the repetitive dripping of the kitchen tap not fully turned off. A couple of crimson red flecks decorated the sink from her careless movements as Jackie finally got a hold of the small green box of plasters at the back of the bathroom cupboard. The discomfort in her minuscule wound was more than she wanted at 2:00 in the morning. She sheepishly opened the packet and dressed her small cut.
The sound of the grinding metal gate outside sent an uneasy chill down Jackie's spine. It tore into the complete silence of the house and had Jackie's gaze draw towards the small bathroom window. Her ears perked as her mind fully woke up, awaiting another sound but nothing came. With the silence, she turned back towards the mirror in front of her, shaking her head and slamming shut the first aid box that sat to the side of the sink.
Then, ripping through the silence again, an unmistakable growling noise made its way through the crack in the window. The room suddenly seemed darker, and the air cooler. The chill down her spine completely captured Jackie's body as she froze where she stood. She must've stood like that for a minute, maybe two before the same growl screeched out again only this time it had her bolting out of the room and sprinting for her own. She shut the door in such a manner it was a miracle no one woke up. With no time to think she climbed into her bed, pulling the covers right up below her eyes with space enough to anxiously spy at the door.
She lay there, not blinking and barely breathing as her mind began racing with fear. Her eyes stayed locked on the door until she heard the click of her record finishing on the player beside her. She cautiously turned her head, her gaze naturally settling on her stepsister who slept soundly on the bed across the room, her head completely buried underneath a pillow leaving a trail of red hair spilling out from beneath. Distracted by her stepsisters strange sleeping position, Jackie's mind was grounded for a moment, one long enough for her breathing to slow down and her body to unfreeze.
"You're so stupid." She whispered to herself, sitting back up. It would've been a cat, or a dog. Nothing to get that spooked over. In an instant she was back to normal, resetting her record and picking up where she left off with her sewing, only this time she'd be sure to get the spelling right.
.
The bark of a dog being walked down the lane woke Max up just before sunrise. A slight pang of pain shot through her neck as she came out from under the pillow she'd nestled under. The yellow lamp light still lit the room as the young girl sat up. Jackie was fast asleep, still in an upright position. A soft snore emitted from her nose as her head hung slumped and the chunky headphones had fallen to her lap. Max wondered if she'd finished her sewing, unable to see it as the jacket sat bunched in Jackie's clenched hand, the needle still in the other. She rolled off the bed, knowing there wasn't any point in trying to sleep an extra hour. After throwing on a pair of jeans, a plain yellow top and her black hand-me-down jumper, Max grabbed her skateboard and left the room, making a quiet exit through the backdoor.
The air outside was fresh. Brown and green painted the road in leaves that crunched under the wheel of Max's board. She let her mind remain silent as she focused on landing a 360 spin. She heard a bark, the same that woke her up and her eyes travelled to a man with a dog making their way back down the lane. He gave Max a kind smile and friendly wave as he passed while his dog, who was roaming off its lead bounded towards her, tailing wagging in curiosity. Max knelt immediately, patting the dog who returned its affections with long licks up the side of her face. She giggled as the she knocked Max to the ground from her kneeling position.
The old man, who Max now recognized from the house a few doors down, called out to the dog. "Lucky! C'mon girl, get back here." He walked over to the pair with a strong limp in his step. "Sorry about that, she gets excited with new people."
"That's ok" Max giggled again, as the dog made another leap for her face. "She's a sweetheart, isn't that right" She spoke to the dog, who was happily soaking in the attention.
The man looked at them with a smile, "It's getting harder by the day to get out for these walks with her. She seems to be getting more energetic with age, same can't be said for her poor ol' owner", he said with a fading chuckle. "If you ever feel like it, I'm sure she'd love to walk with someone that doesn't struggle to keep up with her."
Max beamed at the idea, a wide and genuine smile gracing her young face. "I'd love to! How does that sound Lucky? Wanna go walking later, aww of course you do.", her answer received was another lick up the face.
"Well, I think we should be off now, homes waiting with a hot cup of coffee. Feel free to come grab her anytime you want, she'd love the company". With another kind smile the old man and dog set off down the lane. They were out of sight before Max realized she hadn't asked for the man's name, or even found out which house they belonged to. It was a small street; she was sure she'd find out. She stayed outside, practicing on her board until the streams of golden sunlight forced their way through the hazy morning fog. It wasn't until her mother called out from the back door, inviting her inside for breakfast that she finally gave up on her trick.
…
The school hallways were lined with fake cobwebs, hanging miniature ghosts and an arrangement of black and orange paper decorations, the enthusiastic buzz of conversation was filling Hawkins high with an unshakeable feeling of excitement.
Not basking in that excited was Nancy Wheeler, sitting at her desk in room 13, 5 minutes early as always. She seemed to be the only student in the class, or even the school who was not deep in conversation about the night ahead as she sat alone preparing her notes for the lesson to come. She felt the furthest thing from excited. The uneasy tension and thick sadness traced her every thought she had since her dinner the night before. She couldn't stop thinking about Barb, and the never-ending suffering Barb's parents were going through. The hope that gleamed in their eyes last night haunted Nancy and no matter how many times Steve, Jonathan or even her brother Mike had tried to tell her over the year that what happened to Barb was not her fault, she knew deep down she'd never believe them.
The click of heels distracted her long enough to draw her eyes up to the door as she was still not use to the sound of Jackie Hargrove entering a room. Nancy was quick to notice that the girl looked slightly more disheveled today, in both her appearance and her sheepish movement through the groupings of students caught up in conversation. She wore a knee length denim skirt with a pastel pink colored blouse that was adorned with bring blue, purple and orange flowers. Overtop, she had a bright pink sweater vest that contrasted with a pair of bright orange kitten heel shoes. Her curly hair was pinned back on either side with matching butterfly clips, allowing Nancy to see the paleness of the girls face and the sleepy haze that glazed her eyes. It was like she'd tried to compensate for her dreary expression by using any and every color she could find in her wardrobe. In truth, Jackie was half asleep when she dressed herself this morning, not even getting a look in the mirror before her brother was dragging her out of the door as her late-night arts n crafts session had her missing several wake up calls.
The color of Jackie's outfit was almost comically different from the dark grey, red and black of the boy walking right on her heels through the small sea of students. He, unintentionally, caught Nancy's gaze as she followed his figure all the way to the seat next to hers.
"Hey." Nancy greeted, the tension in her shoulders softening ever so slightly, not that she noticed.
"Hi.", an all too familiar soft smile on Jonathan's lips.
"How was last night? He asked, politely.
Nancy took a second, "Fine. How was your night?", her turned to him.
'Fine." He responded, seeing it in her eyes she didn't want to be asked further, "So, do you know what you're dressing up as tonight? I've overheard of at least 4 different Sandy and Danny couples. I think originality is a complex too difficult for some to comprehend. I don't know it all seems so…"
His words drifted over her head as the movement of Dean Stryver, the golden-haired vice-captain of the football team, caught her eye as he slowly maneuvered his way to the seated Jackie Hargrove, who was too busy writing in the journal in front of her to acknowledge the approaching boy. He stood in silence for a moment at the front of her desk, his eyes looking up and down Jackie's figure with a look that made Nancy queasy. She completely tuned out Jonathan's voice as she tried to catch the conversation at the desk a few seats over.
"Hey. You're the new girl?" He began, awkwardly knocking his hand against her desk to gain her attention.
"Duh." She responded without hesitation, her focus remaining on the page in front of her.
"I'm Dean, you're Jackie is that right?", he put his hands in his jacket pockets while she just nodded. "Well Jackie, I can't help but notice you seem a bit lonely over here. On behalf of my fellow classmates, I'm sorry no one's made the effort to talk to you yet. You seem like someone that knows how to have fun." Jackie was never good at reading people, his pretentious tone lost on her as she took his words genuinely and finally looked up to him as he continued. "You know, if you ever need help getting around our small town, I'm known to be a really good guide." He was also Hawkins high's poster boy for sleaze. "I could show you all the hidden spots, places only real insiders know." An arrogant smirk crossed his face.
Jackie looked him up and down, taking in the green and yellow sports jacket he wore that looked a size too small, made to stretch over the muscles of his arms. His yellow hair wisped on the top of his head, small curls emerging despite his efforts to gel it down. She didn't see the hidden look behind his hazel eyes as he turned his head briefly to the group of students at the front of the room. Her eyes followed, noticing the 3 boys that wore the same sports jacket he did, and the 2 girls at their side in cheerleading uniforms. Jackie saw that all their faces mirrored the same smirk that this boy in front of her had. The small gesture was abundant in those qualities that she strived to master. Confidence and popularity.
She quickly saw this as an opportunity. Looking Dean in the eye, she attempted to turn on a charming gleam in her own as she sat up a bit taller in her seat. "Only if you take me to dinner first", a cheeky smile lined her lips.
His smirk only increased, "I think we're going to get along just fine.", he winked at her, which for some reason sent a small shiver of unease to Jackie's stomach that she opted to ignore.
Nancy, who was still completely tuned in to their conversation, could see what Jackie couldn't, she could see that Dean's eyes were only looking for one thing and it was the one thing he'd gotten from almost half the girls at the school. She'd seen this routine twice before in this class alone, his words reading like a script.
"So, you're from the big city? Well, how about this weekend I pick you up in my dad's Porsche, and we could catch a movie, maybe stop by all the lookout points? They're nice and empty, if you know where you're going that is" His sickly tone was enough to make even Jackie uncomfortable, as her confident gaze faltered a slight look of panic flicked past her features while Dean looked towards his group again. It was a moment that Nancy didn't miss. "I could uh, show you my big city, if you know what I mean…"
"Hey, knock it off Dean. It's not funny" Nancy barked across the room at him, Jonathan only just realizing her attention was elsewhere.
"Do you make a habit of eavesdropping Wheeler?" His smirk dropped, as he looked over to her with sharp eyes, as if she'd scared away his prey, and it seemed she had. Jackie's moment of confidence slipped away, and her hardened shell returned with her eyes locking back on the page in front of her. "So, what do you think?" He focused back on Jackie, who this time did not reply, leaving him in an awkward moment with students watching intently on either side of them. "Whatever, was just trying to be nice." He moved stiffly, with a cool look on his face to hide his frustration as he made his way back to his friends, all besides themselves with laughter at his failure of a pick-up.
"What was that?" Jonathan asked, breaking Nancy's attention away from trying to read Jackie's now blank expression.
"Huh?" She asked, slowly pulling her gaze towards his confused features. "Dean's a jerk.", she simply said, shrugging her shoulders. It was the only answer she felt she needed to give; Jonathan just nodded.
The voices across the class began to die down as Mrs. Phillips made a flustered entrance to the room, "Sorry everyone, I lost track of the time. If we could all be seated, we will get straight into it. Thank you." She huffed, out of breath as she placed her bags and books on her desk. The lively buzz of the room took a couple of moments to fade, as she stood patiently at the front before launching into her lesson.
After 10 minutes of speaking, Mrs. Phillips had already lost the attention of most her students, "I hope that we can get started on the presentations soon, if you need more time, you can come speak-"
Her speech halted by the clash of the door being thrown against the door. The loud footsteps of a pair of scuffed black high tops dragged across the floor. The tall, lanky figure that wore them slowly moved towards the only empty seat at the far back corner of the class.
"Nice of you to join us Mr. Munson"
The young boy paid no attention to the teacher's words. Slumping down in his seat with a huff, a worn-out black backpack thrown in a heap on the floor below his desk. Looks of judgement followed him the whole way as peering students' faces became marked with aversion. The teacher quickly moved back to speaking, this type of entrance was something she'd gotten use to in the past years.
As the class moved into it's last quarter, they were given the chance to work on their projects. Mrs. Phillips went to speak to the boy who'd arrived more than fashionably late, using a stern tone that was reserved only for him; it did the trick. With whatever she was saying he was up in a single movement and slowly meandered his way towards the girl at the desk the teacher had gestured to.
The scraping noise of a chair grinding across the floor had Jackie wince in discomfort and she dragged her head up to the source who'd now slumped into the seat that sat next to hers. It was a tall figure, with shaggy curly hair that fell to just below his ears. Untamed and unclean, the brown locks fanned over his face, hiding his less than enthused reaction to being in class. He wore a long sleeve black shirt, with a band logo that Jackie didn't recognize; over the top was a red and black flannel shirt that both smelt and looked like it hadn't been washed in months; same could be said for the pair of jeans he wore, that fit him like they were a size too big.
"Can I help you?" She spat out, less than impressed by his careless movements and scruffy appearance. The boy, who now sat with a hunch in his shoulders and arms folded across his chest, looked at her with an unreadable expression. A small smirk grew on his face as he opened his mouth to speak,
"Jackie, this is the boy I was telling you about. Eddie, this is Jackie your new project partner" Mrs. Phillips stepped in before the boy could answer, she recognized the look on the boy's face all too well. "I'll leave you two to get to know each other. I suggest getting on quick as time is running out, but remember" her gaze directed at Jackie, "if you need help, please, just ask."
Eddie's eyes had not left Jackie's, nor did hers leave his. They appeared locked in a battle of who could appear less impressed by the other. Jackie's face showing a look of unmistakable disgust, while Eddie's was one of pure calculation. Neither acknowledged the teacher's awkward goodbye as she chose to ignore the standoff. It lasted just under a minute before the girl gave up first with a subtle groan of annoyance, turning back to her notebook at her desk. She felt the eyes of students in front, looking up to see the yellow haired boy whose name she now couldn't remember laughing while looking her way with the cheerleader who sat next to him. The girl leant over, whispering something in his ear that only made him laugh harder.
"So, you're the new girl people are talking about? Nice to put a face to all the chat.", his tone was teasing, not the malice that Jackie had expected from his cold calculating gaze. It confused her. "Don't worry, I haven't heard anything too bad, I mean nothing original at least, I wouldn't expect anything else from all these airheads."
"Airheads?" She asked, before thinking.
"Oh, you know, people with nothing in their heads except air. Thought that one was pretty self-explanatory" He chuckled, looking at her not so amused expression before continuing, "the wannabe popstars, trust fund sport-stars, oh and can't forget the 'better than thou' scholarship sweethearts of Hawkins high." He gestured across the room with exaggeration, pointing to each group that he was referring to. His last point was directed towards Nancy, who Jackie recognized as the girl who got the guy to walk away from her earlier.
"They don't seem like airheads to me." Jackie retorted, far too defensively for Eddie's liking. He looked at her again, that calculation back behind his eyes.
Jackie tensed, feeling an extreme discomfort under his gaze that lingered in the awkward silence that settled over the pair. She decided to change the topic, "We're doing John Kennedy's presidency, with a focus on the influence of Jackie Kennedy. I've started on the layout and was thinking of doing it like a-"
"The Kennedys? Are you kidding?" He rolled his eyes, slumping heavily further into his seat.
"What do you-"
"Actually, no I could've guessed that from the look at you, you do seem like a walking cliché."
Jackie gasped; taken back by the quick switch in his tone and his interruptions. She felt the bite that he had intended, and it made her blood start to boil.
"Excuse me? I don't know who-"
"Must say it is a bold move wearing your Halloween costume to school. What were you going as, a rainbow? Don't think I've seen this one before" He leaned forward slightly, eyes now drifted downwards and across her outfit. Jackie closed ranks, crossing her arms tightly across her chest and sending a daggered glare his way. "Ah wait Let me guess, disco Barbie? oh sorry actually, I know, Madonna's next music video, ah that's the one."
She opened her mouth to answer, but he didn't even give her the chance. "Where are you from anyway? Clearly not round here-"
"California." She snapped out, making it her turn to interrupt him.
He locked on her eyes again, smirking at the frustration in her gaze. It was his specialty. Eddie slumped back in his chair, copying her position and folding his arms tightly over his own chest.
Silence settled over them again, and Eddie basked in the awkward tension he'd created. Suddenly, he reached for the notebook in front of Jackie, her reflex's not fast enough as her arms clambered in a fruitless effort to get in back. He did not move from his seat but rather held the book up high, out of her reach as she did not think to stand up and retrieve it.
"Mr. Munson." Mrs. Phillips called from the front, drawing the eyes of other students towards the pair, Jackie leaning almost entirely over Eddie who sat with a devious smile on his face.
"Yes ma'am?" He asked, not relenting as Jackie continued to reach for the book, unaware of the silence that settled over the rest of the classroom. He turned his face and saw the rare but incredibly stern look on the teachers face. Rolling his eyes, he slowly brought his arm back down, slamming the book back on the table in front of a now exasperated Jackie who snatched it up. As the other students turned back to their own business, whispers and laughs could be heard, now all too familiar to Jackie in her barely 2 days of school.
She took the moment to collect herself, before glaring once again at the shaggy haired boy at her side, "Cut it out. I actually care about passing this class, so if you don't mind-"
"Relax barbie, just having some fun." He said while carelessly ripping an empty page from her book, crumpling it up into a ball and he began throwing it in the air, "Besides, Mrs. Phillips over there will give you a C just for showing up. Hence why I'm here"
Jackie looked at him with a dumbfounded look on her face, before quickly hitting away the ball of paper while it was midair, "I'm trying to get more than a C. I plan on getting a real job and making something of my life, unlike you who by the looks of things would be content being in the dropout club for the rest of your life. In fact, that seems like it'd be a step up for you" An amused smirk fell upon his lips again, which only frustrated Jackie more, "It might surprise you to know that some of us actually want a future so…" She dramatically opened her notes to her highly decorated project planning, "how about you stop asking stupid questions and help me out."
Eddie took one look at the doddles of flowers and hearts across the page, scoffed and leaned forward to speak quietly to the girl. "Since you're so passionate about having a future, and the Kennedys, I will graciously and humbly let you do the planning, the research, and the questions. I'll do the gluing and sticking stuff down, that way Mrs. Phillips will get off my back, and you don't have suffer with my presence any longer, kay?"
"That's not-"
"Great. Sounds good.", he stood abruptly, the chair loudly clanging onto the ground from his movements.
"But-"
"No, honestly it would be my pleasure. Now if you need me, which you obviously don't, I'll be over there, doing whatever it is that dropouts do to pass the time", he walked away, leaving her without a chance to say anything further. She was bubbling with an anger that was becoming harder to push down. It was this very feeling that had her look back to him, another glare at the ready to throw his way but Eddie was already slumped back at his own desk, pulling out a book that appeared to be covered in drawings and random scribbles. His hair cascaded over his eyes, blocking his view from her as he began writing intently inside.
Jackie was left beyond frustrated. She was stuck staring, or more so glaring, for minutes before turning towards the front. She was about to stand and storm straight out of the room before she heard Dean and the cheerleader still hadn't stopped laughing so instead, she sunk into her seat, desperate to block out the sounds around her. Why was this happening, she'd never dealt with this before. Her thoughts ran on a loop. Why wasn't Billy having these problems. What would he do? He wouldn't be this embarrassing that's for sure, or at least he wouldn't let himself be embarrassed. But she wasn't embarrassing, Jackie wasn't doing anything wrong so it must not be Jackie they're laughing at; she just couldn't understand it. Suddenly she came to the only logical conclusion, it must be that boy. That's it, that curly haired freak is the reason they're laughing. And Jackie wasn't going to let herself be embarrassed by a freak.
Without thinking any further and guided by a newfound determination she raised from her seat and in a few quick steps she made it to her partners desk, ready with a tirade of words at the tip of her tongue.
Unfortunately for her, the school bell rang out.
The boy, who didn't even acknowledge her presence at the side of his desk stood before the bell stopped ringing. With his head still down, he roughly grabbed his bag and made a quick exit out of the door, not before shoving her shoulder with his as he passed.
Jackie was fuming. As students filed out, she returned to her desk. Irritably shoving items into her bag, wanting to go find her brother so that she could speak to someone that was sane of mind.
"Hey, are you alright? He can be a bit much sometimes", a soft voice spoke from behind Jackie. She turned swiftly, it was the girl from before, this time with an awkward looking boy a couple steps away who seemed to be avoiding Jackie's sharp eye.
"I'm fine." She just wanted to leave to room.
"If you need any help with your project, I'm almost – I mean we're almost finished with ours. I'd be happy to give you some tips, we should have ours presented by next week so it's no biggie." Nancy said, truly feeling sorry for the girl in front of her who hadn't even noticed her own eyes watering at her frustration.
Jackie took a moment, not trusting the kindness behind the girl's eyes; it's not something Jackie would've ever offered so why should she. "I said I'm fine." She replied quietly, moving for the door and ignoring every other student that remained in the class.
Jonathan let out a small laugh, "I guess you can't help everyone Nance"
"Shut up" She hit him lightly on the arm, his smile mirroring on her face again as they walked out of the classroom together.
…
"This place is such a shit hole" Billy states quietly, half under his breath as he drove, barely looking at the road.
"It's not that bad" Max replied from next to him, getting her rare spot in the front seat as Jackie lay passed out across the back. The older girls lack of sleep finally caught up to her and at some point during her exhaustive rant about her day she tired herself out enough to need a nap.
"No?" He reached down for the button, opening the window, "you smell that, Max? That's actually shit, cow shit." The unpleasant smell wafted into the car.
"I don't see any cows." She wound the window back up, getting the point he was trying to make.
"Clearly you haven't met the high school girls" Max rolls her eyes at his remark, slumping her head back on the seat. Billy glances at her, "So what? You like it here now?"
"No."
"Then why are you defending it?" He asked, annoyed.
"I'm not."
"Sure sounds like it"
"It's just we're stuck here so…"
His jaw tightened, "You're right. Were stuck here and whose fault is that", he uttered out. His own interpretation of events back home clouding his judgement.
"Yours" Max said quietly but not quiet enough. He looked at her briefly, she held her breath hoping he didn't hear the word.
"What'd you say?" He had.
"nothing" "you say it's my fault?" "no."
"You know whose fault it is. Say it." His tone now unnervingly calm, she knew not to test her luck any further, silently wishing for her stepsister to wake up but knowing those wishes were in vain. "Max. SAY IT." He turned to her suddenly, yelling with a rage that colored his face red before he slammed his foot on the accelerator, making the car jerk forward violently.
Max ignored him and his sudden mood change, until she saw the small figures of 3 young boys riding their bikes up ahead. "Billy slow down.", she recognized the ghostbusters costumes. It was the boys who'd asked her to go out this evening. The same ones that'd been following her around since she started school.
"Oh, are these your new hick friends?"
"No! no I don't know them" Her words were panicked; she could see the look that glazed Billy's eyes.
"So, I guess won't care if I hit them then huh, I get bonus points if I get 'em all in one go"
"Billy stop, it's not funny." She turned to the backseat, trying to nudge her sister awake, "Jackie, common Jackie tell him to stop". All she received was an annoyed groan from the teenager who curled further into the seat.
Billy looked at Max with an unreadable face, his hands tapping to the beat of the song as he did nothing to relent the foot on the pedal.
"Billy come on stop it, it's not funny" She yelled. "Stop! Jackie!" they got closer, the bikes coming right into view. "Billy Stop it!" In a panic Max reached for the steering wheel, jerking the car to the side causing the brunette in the back to go slamming across the seat and into the door, a small groan of pain coming from her sleeping form. The car had narrowly avoided the young boys who'd clambered to the side of the road.
"Yeah! That was a close one huh!" Billy's enthusiasm was terrifying as he let out a crazed, max turned and immediately felt relief at seeing the 3 small ghostbusters were now standing unharmed, her eyes briefly fell to the sleeping Jackie, as she let out a sigh and fell back into her seat again. Her heartbeat slowed as Billy continued well above the 30 speed limit all the way home.
The car barely came to a stop on the grass verge of their house before Max had opened the door and ran towards the front door to put as much distance between her and the still hyped up Billy. He just laughed, the adrenalin only wavering as he parked the car and the music turned off. A light snore from the backseat reminded him that Jackie was there, he nudged her – much harder than Max had, causing her to stir slightly.
"C'mon midge, we've got a party to get ready for."
She groaned, "5 more minutes."
He shook his head and let out a laugh, the sudden slam of his car door was enough to jolt Jackie back to earth.
…
"In the grip of this cold December, you and I have reason to remember… Soldiers write the songs that soldiers sing, the songs that you and I don't sing" Jackie sung along in an off tuned pitch as she sat as close as one could to a mirror while applying her second layer of eye shadow.
Max sat quietly on Jackie's bed, a seventeen-magazine sitting unopened on her lap. She'd been following her sister around all evening, sitting silently in her shadow as if it would hide her from Billy, who only seemed more hyped by the hours passing before their party. Her voice was quiet, barely heard over the blasting record from beside the bed, "Hey Jack, I was thinking… Um well, It could be fun to, actually I don't know-"
"Spit it out red" Jackie's patience waving, struggling to pay attention to both her sister's words and the task in front of her.
"I was thinking of watching a movie later, one of the horror ones Billy got from the store, if you wanted to join when you finished at the party maybe?"
"I'm not leaving a party to come watch movies with my kid sister", the older girls tone much harsher than she meant it to be.
"Fair", Max whispered, not even trying to hide the disappointment in the word. Jackie's eyes flicked to the young girl on the bed who pretended to be reading the magazine in her hand.
"Oh come on, surely you've got better things to do on Halloween that sit around waiting for me to come back to watch movies? I mean I get it, I'm a great option but there must be something else on the list" Jackie meant well, she really did.
Max didn't look up, "well, I was invited to trick or treating but I don't know."
"Max! that's exactly what I mean. The hell are you moping around here for"
"I just don't really know the guys, they seem weird and not to mention I'm not 10 anymore, why would I go trick or treating?" She didn't want to talk the incident in the car, knowing Jackie probably wouldn't understand even if she did. She finally looked up to see Jackie had completely turned towards her from her seated position on the ground, her make up artistry put on pause.
"Ok Maxine, I need you to listen really closely alright. Eyes on me." Jackie shuffled on her knees towards the bed, making an exaggerated gesture towards her eyes. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Reputation, it's everything" Max immediately rolled her eyes with a small laugh, not prepared for one of her sister's infamous rants about popularity. "This is no joke little one. I mean it, how do you expect to get by in a town like this if you sit inside all night with no friends huh? This is your chance, they asked you Max, they want you there. Besides, dad hates scary movies there's no way he'll let you watch it." A point that Max had to agree with, he said they were grotesque and corrupting, the girls knew he was just scared. "And for the love of God, think of me. How would it look if I, God forbid, had a younger sister without any friends? Do you know what that could mean for me Maxine?" Her held a hand to her chest, the words sincere but hidden behind her own insecurity.
"Ok! Ok, I get it, but I don't even have a way to get there, they said to meet them in like 20 minutes", she said deflated checking her watch. Jackie paused, her blank eyes hiding the intensified debate in her mind.
"Up. I'll take you, but we're going now." The older girl was out of the bedroom door in a blink of an eye, before Max even had a chance to catch up. "NOW! Red, come on."
"I don't even have anything to wear!" Max yelled out, now frantically looking around the room and in the wardrobe for something, anything she could use as a costume. Jackie appeared back in the door frame, her mind slowly calculating again.
"I have an idea."