perfect storm

Chapter One | Thursday Morning

 February 3rd, 2022

*beep* *beep* *beep*

the monotone ringing of my alarm vibrated the surface of my bedside table. i woke up, startled, and already annoyed. "jesus christ, i need to remember to lower the volume before i fall asleep." i used all my strength to sit up in bed. i checked my phone, squinting my eyes. 6:20 AM. 30 degrees fahrenheit. i rubbed my eyes and forced myself to stand up. the outside of my window is pure white. "why does Hawkins have to be such a wasteland of ice in the winter?" i ask myself, half expecting an answer, before going to the bathroom to get ready.

 do i have the time or energy to wash my hair? no. but it's not that bad. i put my glasses on and walked back into my room. it was NOT a contacts day. i started looking for the clothes i was supposed to wash last night. fuck. of course i forgot. i looked around my chaotic, messy floor and hoped to find something acceptably clean. my favorite black jeans with identical knee rips on both sides were a contender. i picked them up. "clean enough." i sighed. i opened my closet door for a top. i skimmed through the hangers with my fingers and stopped on a black and white knit sweater with thick, horizontal stripes.

 "that'll work." i threw everything on with my shiny black doc martens. i'm really not trying to slip and fall in that frozen tundra we call 'outside in Hawkins in the winter'. i run back into the bathroom and run a comb through my curly, thick hair and brush my teeth. i went back into my room to choose a perfume for the day. i rummaged through my drawer of my drugstore and high end scents. what are we thinking? vanilla? patchouli? wait, ew, why do i have this? i fucking hate patchouli. i found a good musky scent sitting at the bottom of the drawer, quickly sprayed it on, and threw it into my bag. reapplication is a must during the day. i started grabbing all my stuff.

 Robin will be here any minute to pick me up. i shoved my laptop and binders into my backpack and quickly made sure i had everything. phone, check. keys, check. i walked over to my window and Robin had just pulled up. she sat in her deep blue mini cooper, lightly drumming on the steering wheel with her fingers. she didn't know i saw her through the window, so she beeped. my dog instantly started barking downstairs, convinced it was an axe murderer with a vengeance outside our house. why she couldn't just text me 'here', i don't know. i walked down the stairs quickly, hoping that if i was fast enough she wouldn't beep again. my mom came out of her room, rubbing her eyes. "Robin's here." she said, slightly sarcastically. "thanks mom. see you later, love you!" i pet Jack's white and brown head to try to calm him down and i left.

 i treaded carefully down my driveway, trying not to fall and crack my head open. "hey Robin!!" i said eagerly. i always look forward to seeing her, even at the ass crack of dawn. "hey Rue, what's up?" i shut the door to not let the heat out and put my bag on my lap. "the usual; tired, freezing my ass off. how about you?" she laughed. "same. this weather should be illegal." as we rode to school, we listened to robin's playlist which was surprisingly diverse. Bowie, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, you name it. about ten minutes later we pulled up to the campus. "what class do you have first again?" i asked. she rolled her eyes. "guess." "biology?" "yep." i physically winced for her. i can't imagine having to deal with our biology teacher and his impossible assignments first thing in the morning for a whole hour. "i have geometry and it's all the way across the school, so i'm going to start heading there now. love you." yes, i tell my friends i love them. it's important. i got out and waved goodbye as she parked. i walked as fast as i could without being careless and walked in the front doors.