tulip [S. Harrington]

{ 14. } Badassery Badge Earned

C h a p t e r 14

BADASSERY BADGE EARNED

"IS THAT REALLY necessary, Dusty?" Tulip winced as she watched him throw the contents of Joyce's fridge out onto the kitchen floor.

"Hey, Tulip?" Dustin called as he cleared the fridge.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up," he told her before telling Steve the fridge was finally ready.

"Okay, but is this really necessary?" Steve questioned, adjusting the heavy weight of the dead demo-dog in his arms.

He tried not to gag as a line of goo dripped from its mouth to the floor.

"Jesus Christ—you too?" Dustin groaned. "Yes, it is, okay? This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery. We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog!" Dustin rose his voice in frustration as he spoke.

"Technically, it's a demo-dog, demo-dog, remember?" Tulip brought the boys' attention back on her as she told in the living room with the other kids. "You named it that because you said it was like a Demogorgon, dog hybrid... so, it kind of is a dog."

Dustin's eye twitched in irritation, "Tulip, so help me God, I'm gonna—"

"All right, all right, all right," Steve interrupted the oncoming argument, moving forward to shove the demo-dog's body into the fridge.

He turned to Dustin before he went to stuff it into the fridge, "But you're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, alright?" He told him sternly.

Dustin rolled his eyes but nodded his head nevertheless. Tulip could barely contain her laughs as she watched Steve practically throw himself into the refrigerator, his face turning red as he struggled