Loss - Lucas Sinclair

Madmax (Part 2)

"Meet the human brain." Mr. Clarke smiled setting down a replica of a brain. "I know. I know, it doesn't look like much. A little gross even, right? But consider this. There are a hundred billion cells inside of this miracle of evolution. All working as one."

The four boys that sat in a clumped towards the front of the room looked at each other with the same excited faces. Everyone around them was barely paying attention but Mr. Clarke didn't care, or he hardly noticed due to him being so into his lecture.

"No, no, I did not misspeak. I did not stutter." Mr. Clarke continued with his eyes shining with excitement. "A hundred billion."

The sound of a door opening and closing captured everyone's attention, even Mr. Clarke.

The principal walked into the room with a fiery red head girl behind him. She looked around the classroom with everybody's eyes on her and started to look uncomfortable with all the attention.

"Ah, this must be our new student." Mr. Clarke smiled at her kindly.

"Indeed, it is." The principal stated before walking out of the room. "All yours."

The new girl tried to head over to an open seat towards the back of the class but Mr. Clarke made her stay in her spot for a second.

"All right. Hold up. You don't get away that easy. Come on up. Don't be shy." He turned to Dustin. "Dustin, drum roll."

Dustin with a grin on his face, closed his book and started tapping on it.

"Class, please welcome, all the way from sunny California." Mr Clarke announced to the class. "The latest passenger to join us on our curiosity voyage, Maxine."

Dustin stopped the drumroll as Max turned to Mr. Clarke to correct him.

"It's Max." She said quietly.

"Sorry?" Mr. Clarke asked as the smile melted off of Dustin's face.

"Nobody calls me Maxine. It's Max."

"Mad Max." Lucas whispered to Dustin with wide eyes.

"Well, all aboard, Max." Mr. Clarke said letting her go to the empty seat in the back.

As she sat down he continued the lesson but this time the boys really didn't pay attention. They were too busy looking at Max with curiosity. Max must have felt the eyes on her as she looked outside the window because she turned towards them, making the boys quickly turn away.

This is going to be interesting. Lucas thought.

***

"There's no way that's Mad Max." Mike said looking through the chain link fence.

The boys had decided to do their own investigation and were now staring at Max across the school yard.

"Yeah. Girls don't play video games." Will agreed with Mike.

"And even if they did, you can't get 750,000 points on Dig Dug. It's impossible."

"But her name is Max." Lucas pointed out the obvious.

"So what?"

"So," he turned to look at Mike, "how many Maxes do you know?"

Mike shrugged and looked at the girl who was trying to do tricks on her skateboard. "I don't know."

"Zero." Lucas answered for him. "That's how many."

"Yeah, and she shows up at school the day after someone with her same name breaks our top score." Dustin added. "I mean, you kidding me?"

"Exactly." Lucas nodded. "So she's gotta be Mad Max. She gotta be."

"And plus she skateboards, so she's pretty awesome." Dustin smiled.

Lucas shook his head and rolled his eyes at his friend. Of course Dustin would fall in love immediately.

"Awesome?" Mike glared at Dustin. "You haven't even spoken a word to her."

"I don't have to. I mean, look at her." Dustin looked towards the place where Max had been skating at, only to see she was no longer in sight. "Shit, I've lost the target."

"Oh! There." Will pointed towards the entrance of the school building where the redhead threw away something and went inside.

Dustin looked back at the group before starting to run towards the garbage can with the others not far behind him. As he reached the garbage can he drove in head first looking for the trash she threw away.

"Dude." Lucas squinted with repulsion at him even though he couldn't see it. He turned around in time to see a group of girls walking pass them. Each one of the three boys tried to hide Dustin while giving them a friendly wave. That didn't stop the weird looks towards them.

"Got it." Dustin celebrated after a minute of looking through the trash. "There we go."

He tried to get the paper he pulled out as flat as possible.

"Stop spying on me, creeps." The boys read in unison.

"Well, shit." Dustin muttered under his breaths looking a little defeated.

"William Byers." A new voice broke into the conversation. The boys turned around to face their principal standing before them. "Your mother's here."

They watched as Will followed their principal into the school. They ran over to a place where they could see Joyce leaning in her car, waiting for Will.

A few minutes passed and Will came into sight with a saddened expression.

"You guys think he's okay?" Dustin asked, voicing his worry for their friend.

"He's always weird when he has to go in." Lucas sighed shaking his head.

"I don't know." Mike said with his eyes following Will. "He's quiet today."

Lucas shrugged. "He's always quiet."

That was the truth. Will wasn't the same after he had gotten back from the Upside Down. He started to get closed off and no one could really blame him.

They all had changed since the events of last fall.

Authors note
I am so sorry that I haven't been posting lately. I have been busy and I just never got around to writing this book.

Good news: I did update on Letters to El!

More good news: I will hopefully be updating this more!

Until next time!

Love ya!!❤️❤️❤️