Just What I Needed | Robin Buckley

1. super freak

Nicole Jones wasn't considered a stranger to Hawkins since she had made it a tradition to come visit her grandma every summer since the age of 9. Nicole was now 17 and spending time with her grandma at her nursing home was starting to get boring quickly. The excitement she once had to play chess with the elderly or bingo nights has now vanished. Nicole was sitting with her grandma in her room bored out of her mind. Although she spent every summer in Hawkins she never really interacted with other people her age here,frankly she thought that the kids of Hawkins were weird and boring.

Nicole grew up in sunny California and her parents have always sent her away with her grandma Lucinda every summer since she was the age of 9 because they thought they deserved a break, when in reality they were just going through a divorce and didn't want her to be there when it happened.

She was only supposed to stay one summer but now they have made it a habit to send her away from sunny California to good old Hawkins.

"Grandma I'm bored when can we go out?" Nicole asked her grandmother who was prepping to go to sleep.

"Out? You want to go out? but it's already 4! you should be sleeping!"

Nicole laughed at her grandmothers words and went over to help her grandmother get tucked into bed. Lucinda looked up at the young girl and thanked her while she held onto her hand. Nicole smiled back at her before getting up to go sit in the corner where she was listening to music on her walkman her dad had gifted her right before the flight over.

"You know there's a brand new mall in town.. maybe you could get a summer job and hang out with kids your age!"

Nicole looked up from her book and pulled down her headphones letting them rest around her shoulders.

"What? And why would I do that? I come to spend time with you!" Nicole snapped back and saw her grandma give her a smile before she opened her mouth to speak again.

"Honey most of the time spent I am not even awake. Please don't waste your teen years just reading in a dull nursing home! Get a job or I'm sending you right back to your mother"

Nicole looked at her grandmother dumbfounded and tried to argue back saying she liked the dull nursing home but before she knew it she was on the city bus on her way to Starcourt mall.

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Nicole walked into the mall seeing all the bright fun colors and how lively it was, although when she looked around it seemed like she stood out even when the room was filled with a bunch of people.

You could tell she wasn't from the area based on her choice of outfit. Everyone mostly wore neutral tones or no patter at all with an occasional pop of neon print, it was the 80's after all. Back home in California it was popular to wear bright colors and that's what Nicole wore.

Bright pare of red short paired with a shirt that consisted of 2 big purple stripes, one big red stripe and a blue stripe that blended the red and purple together. Along with her white socks that went up to her calves that also had more stripes of bright colors.

The only thing neutral about her was her plain white shoes that were decorated with more colorful beads. She felt self conscious and tried not to draw anymore attention than she was already receiving.

She put on her headphones and pressed play to start the song.

"She's a very kinky girl
The kind you don't take home to mother
She will never let your spirits down
Once you get her off the street (oh, girl)"