𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 | stranger things

one

Lauren Wheeler walked through the front door of her 5th period English literature class, her brown paper lunch sack in hand. Mr. Hauser, who was sitting at his table grading essays, sent her a kind smile when she sat down at her usual seat next to the window. The girl returned the smile before dumping the contents of her lunch onto her desk – a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple sauce pouch, baby carrots with hummus to dip them in, and two fun size packs of peanut M&M's from her leftover Halloween candy for dessert.

She scooped up some hummus with a carrot and took a bite, staring out the window at Hawkins Middle School across the street as she chewed. Her twin brother, Mike, would be having recess with his friends right now. She didn't know whether to envy them for their freedom or pity them for their childish needs.

She hadn't had recess in 2 years ever since skipping 7th and 8th grade to join her older sister, Nancy, in the 9th. Being exceptionally smart for a 11 year old came with its challenges, but she'd adapted quickly to high school and felt as if she fit right in now that she was a couple months into her sophomore year.

Almost as if she fit right in. No one wanted to be friends with the little Einstein that the teachers would always compare them to.

"Any plans for this weekend, Wren?" Mr. Hauser asked as he looked up from the paper he was grading. He clicked his red pen and set it down, folding his arms on his neatly organized desk.

Wren swallowed her bite of food before answering, "Same as usual, Mr. Hauser. I'll be recreating in my room with a book while my brother and his friends play D&D in our basement."

"Do you not care to join them?"

Wren shook her head. She always felt out of place with Mike's best friends, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, and Will Byers. Yes, they were nice to her, but she could tell when people didn't want her company. To them, she was a less-prissy Nancy Wheeler that spent all her free time studying. In other words, to them, she was weird.

"There must be someone you like to spend your free time with," Mr. Hauser said, stacking the graded papers neatly to be passed out and returned to their writer later. "What about your sister? Nancy?"

"We're not really that close," Wren mumbled, shrugging. She bit into her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was hard fitting in at Hawkins High when your little sister was tagging along after you, so it was easier to ditch her and refuse to acknowledge her existence.

The classroom door swung open. Wren turned her head and saw sophomore Robin Buckley come in. She sent the gifted kid a small smile accompanied by a wave before taking a seat and striking up a conversation with Mr. Hauser.

Wren ate the rest of her lunch, her thoughts wandering to a few different places. When she was finished, she gathered up her trash and went to dispose of it in the waste bin in the hallway. Voices at the end of the hallway caught her attention, and she saw her older sister walking down the hall with her boyfriend, the douchebag Steve Harrington, and his even douchier friends, Tommy H. and Carol.

"Is your sister really dating that dingus?"

Wren jumped when Robin appeared beside her. She looked up at the taller girl and nodded, taking a small side-step away from her. She was slightly intimidated by their height difference.

"Is he at least nice to you?" Robin asked, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

"He's the same as everyone else at this school," Wren replied. Robin quirked a brow. "He pretends I don't exist. Same as Nancy," she clarified. "For instance . . . " She forced a bright smile and waved at Nancy and Steve when they passed. "Hey, Nance, hi, Steve."