Clean cut American kid ~ Stranger things

CHAPTER FIVE

"What did he want?" Steve asks me when I climb into the passenger seat of his car.

"Nothing, he was just being an idiot."

"Are you all right?"

I turn to look at him. He's got a wary look on his face and he's got a weighty grip on the steering wheel. I furrow my eyebrows.

"Why wouldn't I be? Are you?" I return the question. My brother knows how much shit I can handle. Talking to the school prick shouldn't be enough to have him worry about me. He looses the grip on the wheel and runs his hands over his face and then through his hair.

"Yeah, it's just..." He stops and lets out a loud sigh. "I was studying with Nance earlier..."

"Oh trouble in paradise?" I tease him and roll my eyes. He reaches over and grabs a gentle but secure hold on my wrist.

"No Sherry. I'm serious, some shit went down last year. Big shit, but everything is fine now, except Nance who's all worked up about it again. I wish we could just move on from it."

He puts the car in drive and rolls out from the school grounds. I look at him with narrow eyes and try to decipher what he is trying to tell me.

"You committed felonies?" I ask. Steve chew on his lips while keeping his eyes on the road. I raise my eyebrows in astonishment. Has the golden boy sunk below me?

"We did things we had to, it was survival."

"I wish you would just spit it out. You've hinted enough."

"I know, but I want to keep you out of it." He pauses and sighs for the hundredth time during the car ride. "My point is that I'm a bit on edge and I want you to be all right so I suggest you keep out of trouble."

I don't answer. I've heard that final line too many times. It sparks my curiosity more. It's how I work. The less my business it is the more I want to be in the middle of it. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is what lights a fire in me. I live for those moments. I'm curious to know what happened last year. It's obvious that Steve wants to keep me out of it and I know that I should listen to him when he is being this serious. We'll see how it goes.

***

I spend the afternoon laying on the couch and lazily flipping through channels on the telly. At this point I've given up on actually trying to find something to watch and instead mindlessly pressing buttons on the remote. The different pictures on the screen combines into a grey smoothie accompanied by a low buzz each time I switch to the next channel. Half of a word allows to slip before it's interrupted by a 'bzzt' and something else replaces it.

I'm awakened from my musing by very familiar music outside. A smile spreads across my face and I reach my arms up and stretch to wake my halfway sleeping body. Once the tv is off and my black chucks are on I call upstairs to my brother.

"I'm leaving!"

I hear rushed steps and a muted "wait" before he arrives at the top of the stairs.

"What do you think?" He asks and holds his hands out.

I stare blankly at him and try to decipher what he is getting at. I don't get it. He's not holding anything. He looks normal except for the fact that he's wearing sunglasses in October and indoors. He seems to read my confusion and throws his hands up with an exasperated sigh.

"For gods sake Sherry, it's halloween!"

Oh right. He is wearing a halloween costume.

"You look the same as you always do, except from the sunnies."