the scientist // billy hargrove

O n e

Jade startled awake to the sound of her alarm. She groaned and stretched, noticing she had slept in her clothes from the day before and had her book in her lap. The Shining. She was considered weird for liking Stephen King books.

"Jade!" Dustin busted into his sister's room. "You need to- good, you're already dressed. I need a ride to school, y'know the chain broke on my bike."

"Go start up some damn coffee," she said, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. Dustin left and she put on her boots, makeup, and black leather jacket, deciding not to change her clothes. Jade snatched the book and the keys to her '67 Impala then stuffed it into her bag.

"Coffee, Dusty?" She flicked his hat off his head and went over to the coffee pot.

"I don't know how you drink that stuff," Dustin shook his head. Jade took a sip and sighed.

"Any other friend I'm picking up?"

"About that..."

"You told everyone I would, didn't you?" Jade rested her hand on the strap of her bag and used the hand holding the mug to point to Dustin. "You're lucky I don't feed you to the demons I supposedly possess. Let's go so we can get them in time."

"Bye, mom," Dustin whispered, careful not to wake our sleeping mother but still wanting to say, "bye."

Jade sped down the road with the windows rolled down and belting the lyrics to What's Love Got to Do with It. She had the volume at its max point. She only listened to it to annoy the boys, otherwise she'd be listening to the sweet sound of the Scorpions. She smiled at Dustin through the mirror as she pulled into Lucas's driveway. He didn't live far, especially with how fast Jade drives. Jade pointed at Lucas.

"I've been thinking about my own protection! Come on, Sinclair!" He sighed knowing she wouldn't let him into her car until he sang along. Last year she waited twenty minutes for him to join in, causing them to nearly be late for school.

"-feel this way, oh, oh, oh," Lucas mumbled as the door unlocked. Dustin laughed his ass off and moved so Lucas could join him. The same thing happened when Jade picked up Mike and Will. Jonathan has his own car and apparently Steve Harrington the "omg, fuck me, please, boy" picked up Nancy. Will sat in the passenger seat next to her and looked real pale. He's been different since coming back from the upside down.

"Willywill, do I need to pull over for you?" He shook his head.

"Just first day jitters, I guess."

First day jitters, my ass.

Jade had caught Will crying once from all the pictures that had been stuffed in the wheels of his bike or in his mailbox of how he's the zombie boy and he should be dead. Kids are little bitches. That's at least what Jade considered them except the golden boys her brother hung out with. Jade found a spot and turned off her car.

"You boys ready to start hell?" She smiled. The boys in the back started cheering and she leaned over to Will. "If anyone, and I mean anyone, gives you shit, come find me. I love first day fights, anyway." All of the boys left and waved.

Jade sat on the hood of her impala and began to read, playing her favorite song in her head, until she realized it wasn't in her head. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked up from her book to see a beautiful Camaro pulling in near her Impala, blasting Rock You Like a Hurricane. A red head girl who was very pretty in a simple way got out of the car with a skateboard and started skating to school. On the other side of the car stepped a guy with a brunette mullet and a cigarette in his mouth. When he turned to Jade's direction she saw that he was the first to actually pull off a mullet. His shirt was white and had a jean jacket over it and he wore jeans and boots like most people did here. He was tan and had some facial hair and the way he was built made you question how he was in high school and not at work or something. He even had an earring. He stomped out his cigarette and practically stormed to the school. Jade sighed in annoyance at all the girls freaking out about him and his ass.
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The first Stephen King book I read was It and I bought it today so I haven't even finished it yet. 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 I plan on reading the Shining, Carrie, Misery, The Long Walk, and Gerald's Game after I finish this one.
Rock You Like a Hurricane actually is my favorite song and the first time I discovered mullets could look good was Nicholas Hamilton as Henry Bowers in the 2017 It. Then I watched Stranger Things and was like, "holy shit, another guy can actually pull it off."