Saved

Twenty-Seven

Allison had spent the entire week learning as much as she could about high school graduations, specifically how they worked in Hawkins. She had asked Hopper a million questions, and he had happily told her about all of the town's traditions, one of them being the huge party that went on at Lover's Lake after the actual graduation ceremony.

She had come to learn that Steve would be graduating alongside Billy and decided to use that as her cover story, insisting that she wanted to see Steve graduate. Hopper didn't doubt her for a second, even taking the initiative to find out the exact time of the ceremony so that she could attend. 

As Friday afternoon arrived, Allison put on the brand new swimsuit that Hopper had bought her for the party at the lake, and then stepped into a simple, flowery sundress, throwing a jean jacket on top. Once she was ready, she left her room, waving at Eleven who was seated on the couch, before continuing out onto the front porch, where Hopper was waiting patiently.

The moment he noticed her stepping out of the cabin, he stood up, holding the keys to his truck out towards Allison and giving them a light shake. He chuckled as she stared at him in confusion, tilting her head slightly.

"I was thinking it might be time to teach you how to drive.", he explained, insisting that she take the keys. After a moment's hesitation, she snatched them from his hand and rushed towards the truck, where she flung the door open with her mind and jumped into the driver's seat. 

Hopper let out a groan as he hoisted himself into the passenger seat, shifting around until he had made himself comfortable. Allison was practically vibrating beside him as she clutched the keys tightly and waited for further instruction.

"Alright, go ahead and put the keys in the ignition-", he hadn't even gotten the chance to take a breath as Allison shoved the keys in and turned them, causing the engine to turn over and begin to rumble. "Good. Now, keep your foot on the brakes, put the truck in drive, and slowly ease your foot off the pedal...woah...easy!", the truck lurched forward suddenly and Allison slammed back on the brakes in a panic.

After several deep breaths, a lot of patience, and encouraging words from Hopper she was able to successfully pull out of the driveway and onto the main road. The drive to the high school was a long one as Allison drove below the speed limit and slammed on the breaks on every sharp corner they met. Driving was a lot harder when she wasn't using her powers to do so, but she was determined to learn.

When they finally arrived at the school, they were both relieved to see that everyone else had already gone around to the football field, knowing that it would make it much easier for her to sneak into the crowd undetected. Once Allison had safely put the truck in park, they both jumped out and stood face to face in the empty parking lot, while Hopper gave her one of his speeches about being safe.

After saying their goodbyes, Allison ran around the side of the school towards the football field, where a temporary stage had been set up, with row upon row of folding chairs facing towards it. The majority of the chairs were full, with the odd group of people standing around talking amongst themselves. As Allison spotted an empty seat in the back row, she began to make her way towards it.

"Excuse me!", a shrill woman's voice called out, forcing her to stop in her tracks.

"Yes?", she asked nervously, her heart pounding loudly in her ears as she turned to face a table where a well-dressed, middle-aged woman sat alone.

"Sorry to bother you, Dear. I just need to know the last name of the person that you're here for.", the woman explained, her gentle smile putting Allison's mind at ease. 

"Oh...um...Hargrove.", she whispered, stepping closer to the table, so that those nearby wouldn't overhear her. The woman nodded, running her finger down the list of names in front of her until she landed on, HARGROVE, WILLIAM.