XL
In October 1984, Hawkins Middle School welcomes a new student. After Professor Clarke's awkward introduction, Maxine Mayfield—or 'Max,' as she had corrected him—goes to sit in the only free chair in the classroom: that is, the one next to Eleven.
Curious, Eleven looks at her out of the corner of her eye: she finds her new classmate's red hair extremely pretty. She wishes she could tell her, but she's afraid the compliment won't sit well with Max and she will end up being rejected by this stranger as well.
Better not say anything, she decides in the end.
However, during recess, sitting in the corner of the courtyard where she sometimes eats her mid-morning snack—today it's a peanut butter sandwich that Henry has made for her—Eleven notices she's not the only one who's taken an interest in Max: some of her classmates, whom she recognizes as Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair and Dustin Henderson, watch her carefully from a distance. Oblivious to this, Max keeps practicing tricks on her skateboard.
Eleven feels the hairs on her arm stand up. What if they plan to do something to her…? As far as she knows, those four boys in particular have never bothered anyone—on the contrary, they themselves have been victims of bullying, or so she has seen—and yet, the fact that it is another girl who is being scrutinized in this way makes her quite uncomfortable.
Determined to remedy this situation, Eleven gets up from her seat in the most subtle way possible and approaches her new classmate. "Uhm… Excuse me, can I… talk to you?"
Max completes one last spin, stops, and gets off the skateboard, which she then tucks under her arm. "Yeah?" she inquires curtly.
The icy blue eyes of her classmate make her feel self-conscious—in a certain way, they remind her of Henry's look that night.
Even so, Eleven manages to suppress the grimace threatening to contort her face. "I know… we don't know each other," Eleven stammers, "but… uhm… they're watching you."
"And you've come to tell me this?" she asks her, her face a mask of disinterest.
Eleven nods and adds hesitantly: "Sorry if I bother you… but… I didn't want it to… surprise you, I guess…"
Max doesn't take her eyes off her. Eleven realizes that she is thinking about the proper way to answer her.
Finally, the girl just passes her by. Eleven squeezes her eyes shut, mortified: while she didn't expect them to become friends, she certainly didn't think Max would stand her up in the middle of the playground, in front of the entire school.
"Aren't you coming?"
She opens her eyes again and slowly turns around. A few steps ahead, Max watches her with a confused expression.
"Uh… me?"
"Yeah, you," she says briskly, but Eleven thinks she can hear more confusion than annoyance in her words. "Come."
At her request, she follows her into the school.
"Oh, right; before that…"
Max tosses a piece of paper that Eleven hadn't noticed into the backyard trash can.
They go to the school gym, where they both take a seat on one of the stands.
"Thanks for letting me know," Max tells her then, and Eleven is surprised at the soft way she speaks now that they're alone. "I'd already noticed that they were looking at me, but I appreciate you warning me anyway."
Eleven nods. And then, because she doesn't want to give her the wrong impression, she adds: "They… aren't bad. I think. Will, I mean, his mom is… very nice… and they're… curious. But that… That wasn't right."
Max purses her lips. "Maybe you're right. But, whatever, we girls should stick together. And I thank you for that."
Eleven feels her cheeks warm at the compliment.
"What's your name?" Max asks her then. "You already know mine, but I still don't know yours."
She opens her mouth to respond when she remembers that her name isn't what Henry calls her. "Uhm… Jane," she introduces herself. "Jane Ives."
Max purses her lips as she examines her expression carefully, thoughtfully. After a few moments, she speaks again: "I wanna tell you something, but don't be mad, okay?"
Eleven feels her heart drop at her feet. Her anxiety clogs in her throat.
"Y-yes…?"
"Your name… I don't know, I see that you're… shy, but it's like that name isn't familiar to you, judging from the way you said it… You have a nickname, maybe? Look, I understand if that's the case, huh?" she declares sincerely. "Personally, I hate being called Maxine."
Eleven thinks about it for a moment. And then: "If I tell you… you can't tell anyone."
Max nods and raises her palm in what seems to mimic a solemn oath. "Promise."
"My name is Eleven," she confesses.
Max raises her eyebrows, clearly surprised. "Eleven? Like the number?" She nods in response. "Okay, that's… weird. Could I call you 'El,' maybe?"
She considers it for a moment. 'El.' It doesn't sound bad. It sounds… even affectionate. With this in mind, she smiles shyly at her and nods.
Max smiles back and offers her hand. "Nice to meet you, El."
Slowly, Eleven takes her hand. It's the first time she's made physical contact with anyone outside of the lab other than Henry.
"Nice to meet you," she murmurs, because she's afraid her voice will crack if she speaks louder, "Max."