𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌 - 𝘌𝘋𝘋𝘐𝘌 𝘔𝘜𝘕𝘚𝘖𝘕

𝐎𝐍𝐄: 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆

Amanda Johnson knew not of what went on in Hawkins, and part of her never really cared. A corrupt mayor with blood on his hands, a mall fire which could not be explained convincingly, and a chemical leak from Hawkins Lab. It was all a perfect storm to prove, once more, that Hawkins was a piece of shit. The people there were never kind, and social status was more important than a minimum wage job. Of course, Amanda chose a minimum wage job over getting drunk at a party in which she didn't even know the host.

She would leave work each day with a new splotch of grease on her apron, having worn at least a dozen pairs of latex gloves, and her hair somehow in a messier state than when she had first clocked in. Working beside her was someone she could barely stand, Steve Harrington. His confidence did not match his social status, and his hair was sort of outdated. He was new, having been taught everything by Amanda.

She believed it to be unfortunate that they had graduated in the same year, and even more unfortunate that when he saw her he did not recognize her. They had interacted a few times, each being Steve asking her for homework answers. She always knew he got to live a carefree life, and maybe part of her was envious about that, but she would never admit it.

"Number seven, do you want anything else with that?" Steve questioned, leaning closer towards the teenage girl who stood behind the counter.

"Uh, no thanks. Just the number seven." The girl concluded as she held back a laugh.

To be truthful, each time Steve failed at picking up women, Amanda found it entertaining.

"One number seven coming right up. I hope I won't keep you waiting. You look nice, what do you have a date or something?" Steve questioned, sending her a confident smile.

"He's joking. In fact, why don't you go grab some more pickles?" Amanda urged him, gripping his shoulders and pushing him away.

"What? She doesn't want me to leave! You don't want me to leave, do you Stacy?" Steve called out, looking back to her as Amanda continued to push him towards the back of the store.

"My name isn't Stacy." The girl corrected, causing Amanda to let out a small chuckle.

As Amanda had finally shoved Steve into the back area, she noticed the same young boy coming into the store. Each time he came she'd get more annoyed. Instead of making any remarks against him, she simply made the girls sandwich and wrapped it.

"Amanda, is Steve here?" Dustin questioned. Amanda fought against the urge to clench her fist, hoping that Dustin would just leave. Of course he wouldn't, he was the same annoying freshman as he was two days ago.

"Steves working, Dustin. Why don't you two just schedule playdates?" Amanda sent him a rude look as she handed the girl her sandwich, receiving a thanks in return.

"I'm a freshman, there's no more playdates for me. And Steves nineteen, he already graduated." Dustin responded obliviously, causing Amanda to send him an annoyed look.

"Oh, you meant that in a- okay. Well tell him it's important. But don't say anything too over the top, like 'code red' or something. Just say-"

"Code red? Got it, I'll say code red." Amanda smirked as she watched the boy frantically tell her not to.

"I'm sorry Dustin, I can't hear you over the high pitched ringing that's coming out of your ears. Oh, do you see that? I see steam!" Amanda spoke enthusiastically, watching as the boy grew more agitated.

"You're an asshole!" Dustin shouted before exiting the store. And just seconds later, Steve emerged.

"I heard Dustin, where's Dustin?" Steve took a glance around the store before realizing that it was empty.

"He just came in here saying something about a code red. Any idea what that means?"

"Are you being serious? He said code red?"

"No, I'm kidding. By the look on your face you seem concerned. Seriously though, what's so important about the phrase 'code red?' Does it insinuate danger?" Amanda leaned against the bar, looking at Steve who was obviously frustrated.

"It means nothing, alright? We close in, what, five minutes? Let's just focus on cleaning up then." Steve's voice had seemed unamused with Amanda's actions, which partially made her feel bad. 

"Code red." Amanda mumbled as she harshly grabbed the rag which hung on a hook attached to the bar.

As Amanda arrived home, she could feel her body becoming exhausted. She'd somehow managed to get a small piece of lettuce in her hair, and had brought home the stench of deli meats. Luckily, she wouldn't have to hear any complaints today. Her parents had just left for a two weeks, visiting Amanda's aunt in Chicago. Amanda opted to stay home, insisting that she would be more useful going to work rather than sitting alone in her aunts spare bedroom. Her parents accepted her decision with no protest, and instead completely agreed. In their eyes, they'd come home to more money.

As she had finally managed to wash away the stench, she decided to calm herself with a little bit of music. After a long day of work, she'd usually go for a walk, but the forecast predicted heavy storms that night.

She hummed to the rhythm of her favorite song, And She Was. To most who learned of her favorite song, it came as a shock. Her personality did not, at all, fit her music choices. In fact, they were the opposite.

The next day was a drowsy, foggy day. The sun was not quite beating down on her, but the fog made her feel incredibly sweaty. At some point within the morning she debated not going into work, but decided that it was only a few seconds to her car, and a few seconds to the store, meaning she would end up spending less than a minute outside.

As she entered the store, Steve stood there with a straight face, his eyes wide as he stared at a random point within the store. To Amanda's guess, he was exhausted.

"Harrington, what're you doing?" Amanda shouted, causing him to flinch and look to her in a quick motion.

"What? Oh, I was just uh-"

"Don't be falling asleep on me now, I just got here. We have eight hours of this, Steve. Keep yourself awake. Go grab a coffee or something." Amanda suggested, motioning towards the back of the store.

"I guess a coffee's pretty ideal. I didn't get much sleep last night, I was up late watching movies and eating popcorn." Steve explained as he headed towards the back.

"I didn't ask for your life story, Steve. If I cared that much you'd know." Amanda called out, watching as he gave her an annoyed look.

"You're an asshole, you know that right?" Steve shot back.

"You're not the first to tell me that, and probably wont be the last."