The Ballad of Eddie Munson

Troll at the Gates

Lissa arrived at school refreshed. "Bye, mom." Lissa shut the car door.

Her mom called out before pulling away. "Wait, Liss, are you tutoring after school again?"

The night before flashed through her mind, she tried not to show the sudden distraction. "Uh, yeah."

"Not that late again I hope. You need to make sure your own studies are getting done." Mrs. Bradley's voice was soft with concern.

"I know. I'm good, mom. I'll be home by dinner."

"Call if you need a ride!"

Lissa gave a thumbs up and turned back towards the school. She anxiously touched the end of the long braid hanging over her shoulder. She couldn't help but hope to run into him, but they rarely crossed paths outside of lunch.

—

The beeping of the alarm stirred Eddie awake. He slammed his fist down on the snooze, sleepily whining into his pillow. As his brain roused, memories from the night before moved to the forefront of his mind. Rubbing his eyes, he breathed in the scent of coffee brewing in the kitchen, a soft smile pulling at his lips.

He stood in the hallway outside of his room briefly, listening for the familiar snore of his uncle before continuing about his morning. He made his way to the coffee in the kitchen area. He grabbed his favorite black mug from the cabinet and poured every drop of the small pot. He turned his back to the counter and leaned against it. Standing in only his boxers and guitar pick necklace, he sipped his coffee, still thinking of Lissa.

—

"Lissa!"

She turned, disappointed by the voice. "Hey, Chad." She proceeded to swap out books in her locker.

He leaned against the lockers next to her. "You didn't call me back yesterday. Did you get my message?"

She dropped her notebook. "Oh, yeah." Chad picked up the fallen book and handed it to her. "Thanks. I got the note when I got home, but it was kind of late."

"Yeah, it must have been. I called after dinner and your mom said you never came home." He phished.

"Yeah, well it was a busy day." Lissa closed her locker and began her walk to class. Chad followed.

"I stopped by around 4:30 to see if you wanted to get dinner, but you guys weren't there." Chad continued to pry.

Eddie rounded the corner in the school's hallway, appearing a few students behind Lissa and Chad. He used the other students as camouflage, trying to hear their conversation.

"We took a break."

"You're being weird."

She kept her eyes forward. "I don't think so."

"You've been distant since you've been hanging out with that freak."

"Tutoring. We're not hanging out."

"Then why are you so weird? Still on the rag?"

She held her books closer to her chest, her face hot. "Ugh, I'm just under a lot of stress."

"I guess tutoring a loser that can't graduate would be." Chad chuckled.

"He just doesn't care about school."

Chad put his arm around her shoulders, "I don't care about school either, but I don't need a tutor."

Eddie saw Dustin out of the corner of his eye and turned around to create distance before Dustin alerted Lissa and Chad.