white rose & apple blossom - A Mileven Story

three

Mike's POV

I dressed some pajama pants and a t-shirt and dried my hair with a towel. When I was combing it, I heard my mom calling me for dinner. After all the swimming and diving, I was starving so I ran downstairs. But right when I got to the bottom of the stairs, I heard my mom whisper "Go get dressed properly, we have guests."

I got upstairs again and got into some blue jeans and a black and red striped polo. My hair was a mess as always, but that was kind of my signature already.

I got downstairs and went into the dining room to find people I didn't expect there. 

There they are. The tall man and his daughter - our neighbours. I wasn't surprised they were invited for dinner, my mom was always so welcoming. I was just nervous to meet them. Especially her.

My mom came behind me and introduced me.

- So I see you've met our guests. These are our new next-door neighbours. This is Jim Hopper and his daughter, El. 

- Nice to meet you. My name is Mike. - I said, trying not to shake while I waved at them. 

The dinner was actually fun. Mr. Hopper told us how he used to leave here in Hawkins when he was my age. He told us about all these crazy stories and I told him some of mine. Nancy talked with El and I could see them laugh from the other point of the room. She looked fun and I thought I should get to know her. I was watching them talk when El glanced at me and I looked away, embarassed. I couldn't look at her for the rest of the dinner, it would be too awkward.

After we had desert, my parents and Mr. Hopper got into the living room to talk and drink some liquor or whatever they had in that bottle they took from the cabinet. I asked El's father if it was ok if I got to know her and showed her some games and stuff and he told me he was ok with that. He wasn't that scary after all, I actually really liked him, he was like that cool uncle at parties.

I saw El looking out of the dining room's window, staring at our backyard. It was my mom's biggest pride, it was a beautiful garden in deed.

- Do you want to see it? - I asked her as I got by her side.

- Jesus, you scared me! - she said after a little jump. 

- I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! - I said, putting my hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

- Don't worry, I'm fine! I'd love to see it, yes. It looks so beautiful. - El said while smiling at the distance. 

What a beautiful smile she had. Her teeth were far from straight but that gave her an even more interesting look. Her lips were the right size for her face. She was imperfectly beautiful, those odd details only made her more unconventional but the final result was so pretty.

I told her to follow me to the backyard. As soon as we got outside, she was mesmerized. She looked at all the different flowers my mother had planted, from roses to tulips to lillies. There were lots of different ones. 

- You have no idea of how much I love flowers. - El said while smelling all of the aromas that passed by her with the summer breeze. - I know their meanings and their colors and names...

- Their meanings? - I asked.

- Yes, most flowers have meanings. For example, this rose. If you gave it to someone, it was like saying I love you. 

- That's actually fascinating. - I watched her explain more meanings and more flowers, listening to every word she said and looking at every smile she gave while thinking about a certain flower.