Freak Skater // Eddie Munson

The Hierarchy

Y/N's POV:

A reddish brown leaf blows just by my feet as I round the corner on Risley street. Technically, autumn hasn't even started yet, but the sky is grey, and all the leaves have begun to fall, so everyone just assumes it's autumn now.

Walking to school in the mornings is always the worst, especially when the weather is astronomically shitty, and you don't even own a pair of gloves. My head lifts as a kid I recognise from school crosses the street, and heads right towards me. I quickly avert my gaze.

The kid scoffs and barges past me instead, muttering something that sounds agonisingly close to the word 'weirdo,' and disappears into the video store just a few blocks away. He was probably gonna be late for school, but I shrugs as I continue to walk with my back turned away from the video store.

Hawkins High was full of ignorant assholes, and, hypothetically speaking, there is no point in questioning their motives. There's always going to be some kind of ranking system in any kind of society - the royalty at the very top, their minions just below them, the mediocrity, and the 'freaks.'

At least, that's what Jason Carver calls anyone who speaks out against him.

He definitely thinks he's some kind of God amongst men, and his ego is probably roughly around the size of a landmark skyscraper. I mostly try to stay out of his way - mainly because he was too much of a pathetic joke for me to handle, and also because he's capable of ruining lives.

His girlfriend (Chrissy Cunningham) on the other hand, is actually quite nice. She has a decent sense of humour, she doesn't treat the people below her like absolute shit, and she, surprisingly, took a shot at befriending me. I would've said yes if her boyfriend wasn't lurking so close to us.

Chrissy is pretty, and smart, and kind - you know, all the usual stuff, but I couldn't really risk getting my ass beaten by Jason over a friendship request.
Before I've even really realised it, I've already reached Hawkins High, and then I slip into the moving crowd.

I didn't bring my skateboard to school today, simply because the last time I did that, it ended up being snapped in half. Turns out the tape from the drawers in my kitchen can't fix everything, and it's looking pretty messed up. That's extremely typical, getting my shit broken, but I don't mind too much.

The large split in the middle of my skateboard inspired me to try to redesign it, and now it maybe looks better than before. But I wasn't stupid enough to take the new model to school, so it's been left behind today.

As I slip into the seat pushed against the back desk, the girl sat next to me shifts her seat away from me, and I dimly recognise her as Jason's ex girlfriend. The teacher stood with his back turned away from the class begins to trace his chalk along the whiteboard, and my mind drifts elsewhere.

My pen slips from my fingers, and I turn to the girl sat next to me, nudging her. "Hey, d'you know what's he's saying? I wanna make notes." She gives me a disgusted look, her carefully made up face turning sour in quick succession. "Ew, don't touch me, you homo freak," she hisses, and I draw back.

I roll my eyes at her, just about to reply with something, but the teacher at the front had turned away from the board, his tiny brown eyes landing on me. "Is there something you would like to share with the class, y/n?" I sigh, picking up my pen again. "No, sir. There isn't anything I'd like to say."

The teacher gives me a triumphant look, his tie bobbing slightly as he turned away again. "Then shut up. My class isn't social time." A low giggle arises from the rest of the class, and the girl sat next to me kicks my ankle. "Freak," she whispers again, and I ignore her.

That nickname is really overused.

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I'm sat at the only available table at lunch, and some random guy from the chess club is sat opposite me. I think his name might be James or something, but we're not talking so it doesn't really matter. The cafeteria is rife with conversation, the table harbouring the basketball team, of course, making the most noise. Jason Carver's showing off about something, but I'm not sure if anyone was actually listening.

Instead of watching him, I allow myself to settle on watching the table where the dnd club was sat around. Their 'leader' was a senior named Eddie Munson, and if anyone was a real weirdo, it would be him. I don't know...he's just really strange, and not in a good way either. I don't have anything against him though, he seems cool.

Eddie was speaking in excited tones to the rest of his club (though some may call it a cult) his arms waving and flapping. I wasn't really picking up any of his words, but then something really weird happened. Eddie hopped onto the table he was previously sat at, and began walking on it.

I blinked at the scene before me, looking around, and, sure enough, everyone else was staring at him too. He began spewing some nonsense about god knows what, and someone actually shouted the words 'sit down!' at him. He didn't even acknowledge them though, and continued to talk.

Jason Carver immediately contradicted him, but I was too embarrassed about what Eddie had just done to care about what he had said. Alright, I'm all for going against the patriarchy, but what Eddie had just done was giving me hives.

The argument had ended with Eddie pulling a face at Jason, and Jason calling him a freak again. It was surprisingly entertaining, and, as I picked at the loose threads on my knitted grey sweater, I was maybe even impressed with Eddie's daring. But maybe not.

The cafeteria argument was probably the most interesting part of my day, and that naturally made it the centrepiece for low conversation.

I was so grateful when the last bell rang.

I rushed out of the school gates, my bag hung loosely in my right hand, and immediately caught sight of Jason Carver and his group. My heart dropped.

Shit.