THE TOWER ━ stranger things

06.

chapter six — the unraveling spool of chaos

JUNE 28, 1985

Robin and Irene strolled in silence side by side, listening to the rustling of the trees. They'd just got off the bus and were walking the small rest of the way. A soft breeze swept across their faces as their feet scraped lightly against the pavement. They were seeing who could kick the farthest pebble.

"Robin?" Irene's voice filled the silence, she looked up at the stars, glancing forward every now and then to prevent herself from tripping.

"Hm?"

"Do you ever feel..." She paused vocally and physically as she tried to find the right words to encapsulate her thoughts, "Different? Like no matter what you do, you'll just never...fit? But you try anyway because you want so badly to feel normal because it's been ingrained in you by the world, since you were young, that if you didn't meet society's standards you'd be outcasted. You ever feel like that?" She asked and started walking again. Robin gulped, staring at the girl as she walked ahead.

Irene stopped and looked back, noticing how her friends' face paled, "Oh no I totally freaked you out didn't I? I'm sorry, it was just weighing on my mind and–"

"No, you didn't freak me out. I just–I completely understand where you're coming from." Robin finally spoke up and Irene met her gaze, her shoulders relaxing, "It's almost like when you try to "be normal" everyone thinks you're acting different but then when you're yourself it still isn't good enough and it this endless sucky cycle." She went on and Irene nodded her head furiously.

"Totally! It makes zero sense." She said and the two of them laughed as they walked side by side again. A comfortable stillness blanketed both of them and before they knew it, or at least before Robin did, they were in front of the Vasquez home. Irene smiled at the silhouette that was standing outside with her brother, perched against the light blue Volvo 240 parked in their driveway.

Samuel Brady was the sweetest firecracker Irene had ever met. He worked at a record store downtown and was the first person to befriend her brother. She was surprised that someone as nice as Sam would ever want to be friends with Mateo but she thought that maybe he saw a side of him she didn't. They did share many interests and were the same age so it partially made sense. Nonetheless, she enjoyed every time he came over because he was always talking her ear off about song recommendations and praising whatever she baked.

"Hey Sam!"

"Hey, hermit." He smiled as he threw a wave at her. Hermit was a nickname he coined for her, because she hardly talked to him when he first started hanging around her brother. She always scrunched her face when he called her by it, but secretly she didn't mind.

"You're Robin Buckley right?" Sam asked, pointing to the girl standing beside Irene, "You play a mean trumpet...you still in band?" He asked and she nodded, suddenly recognizing the face.

"Yeah...you were the dude that played that killer flute solo at the '84 pep rally for the championship football game." She said brightly and Sam gave her a half shrug with a smug grin, "Everyone was talking about that for a whole three months." Irene watched the interaction with a smile.

"Didn't get me into many parties but, hey! You win some, you lose some." He joked before the two said their 'goodbyes' and departed from him, walking towards the front door. Irene jiggled the knob and then pushed it open.

Holding her hands out in front of her, she said, "Welcome to Casa Vasquez." Robin matched her grin and watched as she took her shoes off whilst tossing her bag on the couch. The former followed suit, placing her bag down slowly before Irene grabbed her hand and pulled her towards her room.