CXVII

Although Eleven had dreaded the prospect of returning to school after the skating rink fiasco, to her surprise, the first week after spring break passes without any major setbacks.

Yes, of course: Angela is back, but she seems determined to ignore her—something much better than the constant harassment she has subjected her to since arriving in Hawkins. And although the looks of contempt from her friends are anything but pleasant, Eleven is grateful that the situation has not escalated into revenge.

No, now the problem seems to lie with her own group of friends: specifically, the way Mike sulks in the corners and refuses to stay—outside their shared classroom—in any common space with her.

"Just give him time," Max recommends during the lunch break, both of them sitting on a bench in the patio and sharing a soda can. "He'll get over it. Lucas is doing everything in his power to make him see that it just didn't work—the world isn't ending."

Eleven knows her friend is right, but the situation makes her uncomfortable anyway. "I can tell he's hurting… I didn't want to hurt him."

"Yeah, he's hurting, of course he is," Max huffs, rolling her eyes. "But half of his actions are part of a ridiculous show that seeks to guilt-trip you and, that way, make you reconsider."

Eleven cannot hide her indignation at this. "What?"

"Men, am I right? Pathetic."

She doesn't get to respond to that when someone stands in front of the two of them, forcing them to remain silent.

"Excuse me, Jane? Hi, I'm Chrissy, do you remember me?"

Of course she remembers her: she is the leader of the cheerleading team, the other person involved—although until now she doesn't know if it was on purpose—in the disappearance of her math notebook. Choosing to be cautious, she simply responds with a nod.

Chrissy, however, offers them both a shy smile.

"Uh, if it's not too much trouble, could I talk to you for a moment, Jane?"

Max is reluctant to leave her alone with a girl from a higher grade, but Eleven promises her that she will be fine.

"I'll be nearby, if you need me," Max says, looking at Chrissy, her words clearly a warning.

The girl, however, does not seem to feel intimidated; she simply occupies the place that once belonged to Max, her fine hands adjusting the skirt of her cheerleader uniform. Eleven remains silent: since she has said that she wants to talk to her, she will do her the honor of letting her go first.

Chrissy doesn't make her wait too long; inhaling a big breath of air, she blurts out:

"I owe you an apology."

"And that's why I understand if you don't want to forgive me, but I wanted you to know what happened."

Once she's said her part, Chrissy crestfallenly awaits Jane's verdict: it would be great to get her forgiveness, obviously, but she also hasn't done this to feel better about herself—although that may be a secondary benefit. No, this is about Jane: Chrissy has made a mistake, and she wants to apologize to the person she's hurt—even with the most good intentions.

"Okay," Jane suddenly murmurs.

Confused, she raises her head and turns to look at her: "Uh? 'Okay'?"

Jane smiles, then, and Chrissy notices how pretty her smile is; a smile that is far from perfect, but that predicts the best intentions. "Okay, Chrissy: I forgive you."

As soon as she bids Chrissy goodbye with a smile and a wave of her hand—Eleven would like to believe she has even made a new friend, although only time will tell—Max seems to materialize at her side.

"What happened?" she asks, worried.

Eleven tells her. After listening to her, Max lets out a whistle. "No, I definitely believe you: she doesn't seem like a girl with bad intentions."

"Because she just wanted to help?"

"Because the way she tried to help you was terribly naive and stupid," Max replies.

She guesses her friend's right: Eleven has learned only the tiniest part of what it means to survive high school, and Chrissy, though older than her, doesn't seem to know much more than she does.

However, the fact that someone treats her as a person, that they worry about her feelings enough to apologize…

No, Eleven doesn't think she can deny forgiveness to anyone who shows they have such a good heart.