In My Blood

Episode 3 - Loads Of Bullshit

   "So did you and Hargrove do it after school?" Charity questioned me when I took my assigned seat at the cheerleading lunch table. She had changed her normal makeup to dark orange colors to celebrate the holiday, bringing out her eyes. Diana at me as I sat down next to her, also wondering the answer.

"Oh, Billy?" I realized. I never learned his last name until that moment. "No, he just wanted to talk. Remember how you mentioned that I looked tired? He was just curious."

"Interesting," the blonde girl mused. "No funny business?"

"Hey, you already had your eyes set on him," I pointed out with a smile. "Wasn't about to screw that up for you."

"Atta girl," Charity grinned. I jerked my head slightly, pointing to the two freshmen standing behind her almost paralyzed in fear. Her smile fell and was replaced with an annoyed look. "Did you lose something, ladies?"

"We... we got what y-you wanted," one of them stuttered, pulling a file out of their backpack. Charity held her hand up, and they put it carefully into her palm so that she could grab it. "Does this m-mean we get a spot on the cheer team next year?" Charity's blood-red nails helped her open the file, and she smiled to herself as she read the hidden information.

"I'll bump your name up on Coach Duke's list." The two girls cheered silently to each other before scurrying off, and Charity set the file down on the table. The other cheerleaders at the table engaged in conversation with each other, knowing the classified information she had received was just for Diana and me to learn. "While you and Billy had your little... talk, Diana helped me work on a little project."

"Remember Barbara Holland?" Diana asked me in excitement. I nodded slowly as I felt my heartbeat start to accelerate. "I, like everyone else, thought she ran away, but damn was I wrong!"

"I think it's total shit," Charity told me, leaning forward. "And after all that weird stuff that happened last year with that Byers kid also disappearing, I bet she went wherever he went. They buried a fake body, so it's totally possible."

"Yeah, totally," I agreed, remembering the funeral. I forgot that she even showed.

"So one of those girls' dads works at the morgue, and she stole the paperwork they had for the dummy. The government sent it in!" She pushed a paper to Diana, who stared at it with wide eyes.

"No way," she gasped. I peered over her shoulder to get a closer look. "I never even knew we had a lab in Hawkins!" Sure enough, the Hawkins Laboratory logo was printed at the bottom. "It's our very own Scooby-Doo mystery!"

"Girls, think about it," Charity said, pulling the paper back in the file before anyone else at the table could see it. Our voices were low enough that they wouldn't be able to hear us well. "What if we find her? Imagine the publicity. Three amazing and beautiful cheerleaders going against government lies to find the truth and bringing back a missing girl."