Argyle (AR64LE) : A STRANGER THINGS Story

Chapter Four : Hang In There

"Two, but only one's got running water." Jonathan sighs and he even musters some raised eyebrows to go with it. I'm then given the upstairs tour and I think it must be the motion of going upwards that suddenly eases the tension in my downstairs, because I don't need to use The John anymore.

"Sorry, my dude. I think it's a false alarm." I say as we stop in the hallway. "Must be the soda bubbles in my Pineapple Crush working their way down." Jonathan makes a face like he understands the logic, even though it probably doesn't make sense scientifically.

We then kinda look at each other awkwardly in this hallway, and I figure he wants to hang here for a while. Which I'm totally down for, because it's a chill hallway even though there's just a bunch of doors to look at. I try to lean my foot on the wall behind me to get more situated to chat, but I totally misjudge where I'm standing because my foot accidentally kicks a door open. Again.

I get that freaking out feeling when you're about to fall straight on your ass, but I save myself with my sweet slip-on vans that grip the carpet like a cheetah. Jonathan runs up like he was gonna catch me if I was about to plant it and he says, "Damn! That's my bad, again. I should have warned you I left my door open." I'm a little out of it because of the head rush, so I give him two okay signs.

And I've got the double vision going. But after a few seconds, two Jonathans become one again and I get to take in the full view of his room. The first thing that catches my eye is an Evil Dead poster, which earns Jonathan a shaka sign straight up, "Groovy! A classic movie, my dude."

"Thanks." He says, looking it over. "It came out 4 years ago. So I'm not sure if it's a classic yet." He might be right about that, but I tell him, "It's a cult classic, for sure." And he agrees, "For sure! Bruce Campbell as Ash will go down as one of the greatest dudes in horror history." I figure he must be really into that stuff, but he's also got a gnarly stereo set up and record collection.

I spot an album he's currently got out, that's not what I expected, "Cool! The Breakfast Club Soundtrack. Now this movie is definitely an instant classic." But Jonathan is kinda embarrassed, like I found a dirty magazine under his bed and he tries to assure me, "That's my brother's. I borrowed it because..." and his beady eyes wander over to a photo by his bed of him and some permed up babe. Right on, Jonathan. "Say no more. I've got a type too and Ally Sheedy awakened me to it."

Jonathan must have misunderstood me, because he's totally grossed out. "Sure, I was maybe listening to that because I was thinking about my girlfriend. But it wasn't like... I wasn't doing..."

Oh, shit! That is not what I meant, but I'm not going to pass judgment since he brought it up. "It's alright, my dude. What you do in your room, when you're home alone, is nobody's business."

"No! It's cool!" he huffs as he drops into a seat. "I don't mind talking about it. My girlfriend, Nancy. She was supposed to visit this week with her family. But there were some last minute change of plans, and her folks were left hosting Thanksgiving for their whole family coming in from all over."

That's weird, I totally forgot it was Thanksgiving Break. I just thought it was like a teachers strike. Anyway, I must have zoned out for a sec, because Jonathan got up and he's staring out his window.