Eddie Munson - Novel Like

002 - Home of the Tigers

I woke to the sound of my alarm clock screaming on the nightstand. I hit the 'OFF' button with a little too much aggression and rolled to my side, rubbing my eyes. I was not a morning person, and I had only gotten about four hours of sleep from the constant worry of starting at a new school.

I hated school. I typically never struggled in classes and maintained decent grades. But people were mean. I was normally picked on for being the quiet new girl, or for the way that I looked. I wasn't overweight. I hadn't actually stepped on a scale in years for the sake of my mental health, but I couldn't weigh more than 140 pounds. I was 5'4'' on a good day, blonde hair, blue eyes, and I had curves.

It's funny, when guys complemented my 'nice tits' or 'tight ass' I was sexy. But when I turned them down or gave them the finger, I was suddenly a fat ass. Boys sucked, but girls...girls are viscous.

I slowly made my way to the bathroom, washed my face, brushed my teeth, attempted to wrangle my hair, and applied a little mascara and concealer before heading to my closet. I didn't own a lot of clothing. It was never practical when moving, so I had a lot of simple staple pieces that I could mix and match to form different outfits.

It was October and starting to get chilly here in Hawkins, so I went with my distressed jeans, loose black cardigan, and converse. I added a few pieces of simple jewelry that my mom had given me over the years and looked in the mirror.

This is as good as it's gonna get.

I walked into the kitchen to find Uncle Dave sitting at the table reading the paper and drinking from a cup of coffee. I poured myself a cup and sat down next to him.

"Good morning, you look nice." He said between sips.

"Thanks" I shrugged.

He started to say something but was interrupted by the honking of a car outside. "That must be my ride." I muttered as I stood up grabbing my book and bag.

"Have a good day, Ali. Try and make the best of it." He encouraged with a smile. "I'll still be at the shop when you get out of school if you want to stop by."

I walked down the steps of the front porch to a maroon BMW backed in the driveway. Robin hung her head out the window. "Good morning sunshine! Your chariot awaits." She joked as I slid into the back of the car and buckled my seat belt.

When I looked up, I met eyes with an attractive guy with Farrah Fawcett hair. "You must be Allison" he charmed with a bright smile.

He was an attractive guy. Brown hair, nice build, but not really my type. Not that I could really say I had a type. We never stayed around long enough for me to even make friends, much less a boyfriend. How could I even know what my type was?

"And you must be The Hair...I-uh mean Steve, right?" I blushed, feeling a little embarrassed. "Call me Ali."

Robin burst into laughter and Steve glared at her before turning back to me. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. It's nice to finally put a face to the name Robin won't shut up about."

"That's because she rocks and is going to fit in well with our group of misfits!" She glanced back, giving me a wink.

Then as if they'd known me for years, they continued a conversation that I think had started before I got in. Something about Boobies. Admittedly, I was too consumed in my own anxious thoughts to fully listen.

My name suddenly pulled me to the present. "Isn't that right Ali?"

"Huh? I'm sorry I was kind of—"

"Spaced out and worried about this lame ass school." Robin finished for me.

I set my head on the back of the seat. "Actually, I was trying to figure out where the boobies came in" I giggled.

Robin reached back and squeezed my hand as we pulled into the parking lot of the school. It was your typical run of the mill high school. Red brick that looked slightly run down with the words Hawkins High in big green letters painted across the front of the building. It was smaller than I was expecting, maybe that meant less chance of getting lost.

Yeah, right.

Robin quickly jumped out of the front seat and as I made my exit Steve lightly grabbed my arm. "Seriously Ali, try not to be too nervous, they're going to love you...and if they don't, I'll kick their ass" he smirked.

"Aren't you coming with us?" I questioned.

"Oh no, I graduated last year. I just drop Robin off on my way to work."

Noticing that he was still gently holding my forearm, "Oh—okay, well thank you, and thanks for the ride too, I really appreciate it."

"No problem at all. Will you need a ride after school too?" he asked.

"Uh—Sure, if you could drop me off at the record store, that would be great."

"I'll be here! See you at 3:00 Ali" he added, squeezing my forearm before letting go and turning away.

I got out of the car and walked over to Robin. "I'll drop you off at the office so that you can meet with the counselor and get your schedule and locker number. I'll also show you where you can meet me after so I can help you find your other classes."

I took a deep breath and let my feet follow her.

Here goes nothing.