Veilbound (Eddie Munson x OC)

Part I - Chapter 1: Fractured Beginnings

Hawkins, Indiana, 1985

It was almost the end of August, a hot, not-so-peaceful summer in Hawkins. For Carrie, that summer seemed to fly by, almost as if she didn't remember much of it, except for the sad events at the mall. And there she was again at school, in the counselor's office.

It was senior year and there was a lot of pressure from her father for her to get into a prestigious university. This was why she tried to excel in everything she did, like cheerleading. Being good at a sport meant more opportunities.

At that moment, in that office, looking out the window, Carrie felt a hole in her stomach. Would she be able to make her father proud? She wanted to go to university so badly, but sometimes it was as if it wasn't her idea at all, as if someone had planted that idea in her head as if it wasn't her conviction. You could easily say that her father had influenced her all her life to be like that, to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor or something like that, so she obeyed and did her best.

"Have you done this before?" the counselor asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Sorry?" Carrie replied, getting so lost in the middle of the conversation that the counselor had read Carrie's file for the tenth time and it was getting so repetitive. "I mean, I don't understand, what else can I do? I have good grades and I'm on the cheerleading squad, that should be something."

"It's not that this is not good enough, but if you do more extracurricular activities like learning another language, volunteering, or tutoring, it would be even better for you."

Carrie let the idea sink in for a moment before considering the idea of tutoring. She already spoke three languages, and volunteering was just not her thing. "Who could I possibly tutor?" she began to consider the offer. She wanted to do everything she could to make it to university.

"Some of your classmates need help with their courses to graduate. You must know someone in your class, a friend, or another senior that you can help."

The thought of having to spend time with someone new and teach them made her anxious. Of course, she knew some of her friends needed help, but some were too stubborn and proud to admit it and accept help. Perhaps it would take some persuasion to convince them.

"Okay," Carrie finally said. "If you think tutoring can help, I'm in."

As they talked, the counselor noticed that Carrie kept picking at her fingernails and biting her lower lip. She seemed very nervous about something. It wasn't the first time she'd noticed this behavior, and the only answer Carrie could give her was that she wasn't sleeping very well because of all the stress.

But in reality, and something she wasn't ready to share with her, Carrie had that felt so real, so frightening, that she woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep.

"Have you told your father?" The counselor thought that since he was a doctor, he might be able to prescribe something to help her.

"No, really..." she hesitated. "Maybe it's nothing." In truth, she hadn't been able to because he was always busy at the hospital, and the few times she was able to talk to him, she preferred to talk about something else.

"I think I'm stressed, and the lack of sleep doesn't help at all," Carrie stopped picking at her nails and pulled the sleeves of her cardigan up to her hands. "Don't worry about me."

The counselor smiled at her. "If you need someone to talk to about it, you know you can. I'm here for you."

Carrie thanked her but assured her that she was fine. She picked up her books and was ready to leave the office. Before she did so, the counselor told her that she needed to get in touch with a student and try other extracurricular activities. Carrie left the office nervous and with a million things on her mind. No matter who she ended up tutoring, what other extracurricular activities could she do to have more on her side to apply to college?