Shame the Stars || Finn Wolfhard x OC

2. i realise i hate shopping

I wake up the next morning groggy, as I'm not used to sleeping in such a soft bed. I lie in bed for a good 10 minutes before I get up, admiring the light shining through the curtains to fill the huge space. My clothes have been unpacked for me, the meagre collection barely even filling up half the wardrobe.

"Grace, you up?" Marianne calls from outside the room.
"Almost."
"We're going shopping today, so get dressed and come down for breakfast." She responds. I stretch my arms and yawn widely. Once I can stand up without flopping back onto my bed, I pull on a soft grey hoodie and faded jeans. Breakfast is waiting for me downstairs, the smell of bacon wafting through the house.

'Hey Grace." Emma says. She has a plate piled high with waffles and bacon, topped with maple syrup.
"Want some waffles?"
I frown.
"What are they like? Ive never had one before." I tell her.
"You've never had a- You definitely need to have some now!" She exclaims. She passes me a plate of waffles. I cover them with a mountain of bacon but forgo the maple syrup.

"Wow, it tastes great!" I say, mouth still full of waffle. "I love it." I scarf down the rest of my breakfast and run upstairs to brush my teeth. The boys have already left for school, they have band practice, but I'm not going yet. The school still needs another week for me to do tests. I haven't had a formal education, I was homeschooled at Children's. They just need to see what i know so they can put me in the proper grade. But today Marianne is taking me shopping for some proper clothes. My old ones are practically falling apart at the seams.

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"So, is there anywhere in particular you want to go?" Marianne asks me. I shrug. I have no idea, all my clothes are second hand. Ive never been to a clothes shop before.
"We'll just look around until we find something." We walk through the shop, browsing the racks until I find something that I like. We buy mostly just jeans and t-shirts, but Marianne coerces me into buying some nice outfits.

After we exit the clothes store, Marianne takes me to an electronics shop.
"What are we doing in here?" I ask. Marianne pulls an envelope out of her pocket.
"Your social security worker gave me this to pay for a phone for you." She explains. I beam. I've dreamt of having my own phone for years and finally it's coming true. I spend longer browsing phone models to fit our budget than I did at the clothes stores. I've realised I hate shopping. Unless it's shopping for phones. After much internal debate, I settle on an iPhone 5S, relatively cheap while still having the features that are important in a phone. I go home that afternoon in a daze, majorly excited.

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When we get home, Emma gushes over my new clothes while the twins help me set up my new phone. Luckily it came with a SIM card and everything, so we (I mean they, I just watched) got it set up in a matter of minutes. (Meaning it took them half an hour to put the SIM card in until they figured out they were putting it in upside down. It went much faster from then on). They immediately start downloading apps that, according to them, "will be really cool, you know?". They put the phone numbers of the whole family on as well, which I'm grateful for. It makes me feel... included.
"Smile, this is going on Instagram! Hold up your new phone." Nick squeals. I smile for a few seconds.
"What's Instagram?" I ask. I've heard the word before but I don't know what it is.
The boys exchange glances before ripping the phone out of my hands.

"We gotta get you an account." Will says. "It's like the biggest social media platform nowadays."
"If you insist." I mumble. They argue over account names for a minute before handing my phone back to me.
"Look, you can catch up on pop culture really quickly now." Nick tells me. "I followed both of our accounts. You can like share pictures and stuff. Have a look."
I tap at the phone screen, scrolling through pictures on the boys' accounts.
"This is cool." I smile. And it is. It's a connection to the normal world, something that I'll need to catch up on.

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Rinnng! Rinnng!
My alarm goes
Today is the day of my first two tests, I think it's Maths and something else. Marianne drops me at school with the twins and Emma, who take me to see the principal.
"Bye Graaace!" Will shouts as he runs off to his friends with Nick.
Emma takes me to reception and gets me my map and room number.
"Remember, we'll meet you outside the school at 3:00 , okay?"
I nod.
"You've got your phone?"
I nod again.
"Alright, goodbye."
I wave, and look at the map, trying to work out how in the world to get to my classroom.

When I finish my tests, I meet the rest of my family out in front of the school. Marianne takes us all out for ice cream, and when we ask why, she replies with "I just thought it would be nice.". From the looks on the others' faces ice cream is a special thing, but they don't look too upset. We go home cheerful and full of ice cream, just like a normal family. For the first time in my life, I feel truly happy. Normality is all I ever wanted. Little was I to know it wasn't what I was to get.