VEILED MYSTERIES ↝ S. HARRINGTON [1]

[2]

Riley rushed around the room, making sure everything was in her bag and ready to go before making a mad dash to the kitchen to pour herself a bowl of cereal for that morning. Her uncle watched from the entryway as the teenager scrambled to get everything ready in time while he pinned on his sheriff's badge, his eyes bloodshot from what she could only guess was another hangover from the night before.

"Relax, kid," he chided, lighting a cigarette, and she looked over at him from her bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. "Don't forget to breathe, alright?"

Riley scoffed. "I'm breathing." she said, though she made no efforts to slow down as she quickly ate her breakfast. "I just don't want to be late."

"Everything's going to be fine," he assured her as she placed her bowl in the sink, and he grabbed the keys to his truck from the bowl while she laced up her boots.

Riley followed him out of the house and into the chilly November air where his truck waited in the driveway. She climbed into the passenger seat, shutting the door behind her as he started the vehicle, the engine roaring to life as he turned onto the main road.

Riley watched as they drove through the downtown area she'd walked through the day before, and the unfamiliar roads beyond it on their way to the high school. She'd spent the entire night before tossing and turning at the thought of being the new student in the middle of the semester, something she'd never experienced, as she'd spent the first fifteen years of her life living in Bridgeport. All she knew was the copy of her class schedule that sat inside the Trapper Keeper resting in her bag, and that she was due to meet her tour guide in front of the school at eight sharp.

"Alright, here we are," Hopper spoke up as they pulled in front of Hawkins High School, the hustle and bustle of students moving into the building already chaotic. "Have a great day, okay? Try not to worry too much, just breathe."

"Yeah," she said, nodding and shooting him a nervous grin. "See you after school."

Riley hopped out of the truck, slamming the door behind her as she began to move through the crowds of unfamiliar faces into the entryway. She wasn't quite sure what her tour guide looked like, or how she was supposed to find them, and only hoped that she would stick out from the crowd for them to find her as she watched the clock above the door move from 7:59 to 8:00.

"Are you Riley?" a voice spoke up from behind her, and she quickly spun around to see a blonde girl behind her, hair pulled up into a high ponytail as she beamed back at her with a friendly smile.

"Y-yeah, that's me." she stammered a bit, readjusting the backpack strap on her shoulder.

"I'm Kelly Grandy," she introduced herself. "I'll be your tour guide."

"Nice to meet you," she said, looking around at the sea of teenagers around them. "Are mornings always this crazy?"

Kelly chuckled slightly. "Welcome to Hawkins." she said simply as she began to lead Riley down the hallway. "So where are you from?"

"Connecticut," Riley explained as she walked behind Kelly, the two girls moving past a group of athletes with their gym bags slung over their shoulders. "Are you from Hawkins?"

"Born and raised," Kelly confirmed as they turned a corner, a row of classrooms now in front of them. "According to your schedule, this wing has all of your core classes," she explained, unfolding a copy of Riley's schedule as she scanned through the list. "Pretty much everything except for art, lunch, and gym will be here, and your locker's not far away either."

"Well, that's handy," Riley mused as Kelly led her over to a locker near the end of one of the rows, studying the combination on the piece of paper before turning the dial until the locker came open.