At 6:15 sharp, Elle Hopper cracked open the door of the main office. Her new school was old, with crumbling brick walls, chipping paint hidden behind posters announcing the homecoming dance, cobwebs decorating every nook and cranny. It seemed strange and haunted, like there were secrets around every corner, and El was undoubtedly excited. Cautiously sticking her head into the room, she looked around and, seeing nobody, padded to the empty desk, eyes darting around to take in the bright green walls and framed yellow painting of a football uniform-clad cartoon crocodile. "Interesting," she mused, adjusting her scrunchie and wondering what she should do.
Awkwardly shifting from foot to foot, the girl debated on knocking on the door labeled "Principal." I mean, she did have an appointment. For some reason, he had scheduled it for two hours before school, but, being an early riser, it didn't matter much to Elle. Preoccupied with her thoughts, she almost didn't notice said door swing open, revealing a large, bald man followed by a boy around her age. The man's face split into a smile as he saw her standing there. He all but sprinted to her side, shaking her hand with such vigor that she felt her body jerk up and down.
"Hello! I'm Principal Anderson, welcome to Hawkins Boarding School!" the man crowed, leaning just a little to close. Elle shifted backwards, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "It's such an honor to meet you, let alone to have such a brilliant student attend our school!" Awkwardly looking past her over principal, the brunette glanced at the boy standing a few feet away. He was handsome, staring at the scene with an amused grin, lazily leaning against a desk, his varsity jacket slung over his shoulder. Meeting her eyes, his smirk only widened and Elle's face reddened, her gaze jerking back to the bald man's.
"Uhh, thank you sir, but I'm not that smart," she answered cheerfully, pushing away her embarrassment. "I just wanted to grab my schedule and possibly ask for a tour of campus. This school is a lot bigger than my old one."
"A tour? That's a good idea, why don't I set you up wi―"
"I can show her around," the tall boy interjected, striding over to stand next to the two. Elle turned to him. "Really? Thanks, it'll be a big help and…" The girl trailed off, seeing the principal shaking his head.
"No, I'm sorry, but Miss Hopper you do not want to associate yourself with this boy," Mr. Anderson stated, acting completely different from the overly-nice man he'd been a second ago. The principal drew himself up to his full height, just a few inches below the boy's, meeting his glare threateningly.
The boy's eyes hardened, though his smirk stayed firmly in place. "And why is that, Anderson?" he asked quietly. Angrily.
The bald man turned back to Elle, blatantly ignoring the teen. "He has a certain reputation that a bright young girl like yourself wouldn't want to get mixed up in. With the amount of trouble he causes, it'll be a surprise if Mr. Wheeler amounts to anything at all in his life."
Elle gasped sharply. Who was this, this bastard, to say things like that?
At 6:35 sharp, Elle Hopper shouted her feelings to the world, grabbed the boy's arm and simultaneously dragged him out the door while flipping off her brand new principal.