Jeopardy- Stranger Things

Chapter Twenty

November 9th, 1983

George was already up and dressed by the time Nick hauled her ass out of bed. She heard him in the kitchen making his breakfast as he headed for the shower. By the time she was out and dressed and had made her way into the kitchen to get her own breakfast, he had finished eating and was even washing his plate. Nick narrowed her eyes at him, sure he was up to no good. He just smiled at her and headed back into his bedroom, now doubt packing his bag for the school day ahead.

George waited like an obedient puppy while Nick ate her toast. He had indeed packed his bag and stat at the table with it resting by his feet. Nick ate slowly as she suspiciously eyed him. He was just smiling innocently at her. He was definitely up to something.

George practically jumped out of the car when Nick pulled up outside Hakins' Middle school. She had to slam on the breaks as he tossed his seat belt off while she was still driving.

"I'm going to Mike's after school!" He called out over his shoulder as he ran into school. What was he up to?

*

Nick trudged up the path from the main exit that lead to the parking lot after school had ended. She clutched her books and binders to her chest and rested her chin on top, having drained all her energy trying not to punch anyone, namely anyone from the Harrington gang. Her head rose slightly as she heard distant raised voices. Nick looked up across the parking lot to see, speak of the devil, none other than Harrington and co.

Tommy and Carol were perched on the hood of Jonathan's car and Steve stood in front of him, waving his hands and pointing his finger at Jonathan's chest like a standoff. Nick almost lost her balance as she literally felt a whoosh of wind pass her as Nancy stormed up to the parking lot.

Nick halted, freezing in place halfway along the path. Steve was fuming, if Nick squinted she was sure she could see steam coming out of his ears. It was a dangerous combination that Tommy and Carol were both smiling, revelling in the chaos.

Jonathan hunched his shoulders and looked as uncomfortable as ever. Nancy was also fuming and had stood half in between Steve and Jonathan. The standoff now became a Mexican standoff. Nick knew that walking through that to get to her car was a suicide mission.

Nick was a good couple of meters away from them all but they were shouting so furiously loudly at each other that she heard the odd sentence as clearly as if they were standing right next to her, talking straight into her ear.

"Here's the leading lady." Tommy chided.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nancy snapped, defensively folding her arms. Jonathan lowered his head.

"This creep was spying on us last night."

What? Nick thought. What the hell was going on?

Nick took a step forward. She'd been waiting around long enough. She needed to get to her car and go to work. This was ridiculous. She should be able to walk through the school she went to without worrying about her safety. Right? Nick hesitated and was glad she did when she saw Jonathan step forward and Tommy confront him. He aggressively put out an arm and slammed the side of it into Jonathan's chest. Jonathan's arms flailed, desperately trying to get at Steve but Tommy held him back.

"Hey, Tommy, Tommy." Steve called, perfectly calmly but his clear voice carried on the wind and Nick heard him even from where she was standing. It made her shiver. It was brutal how calm he was when Jonathan was clearly doing everything in his power to stop whatever it was that Steve was doing. Nick understood what was happening, even though she was too far away to make everything out. She'd been in Jonathan's place before. People like Steve walked all over people like her and Jonathan. That was why his voice was so calm. Because he didn't have to worry about a thing. He was in control and he knew it.

Steve called Tommy off and he back away. Nick saw Jonathan physically relax. Steve held out his hand and Nick could just about make out what he was holding. It was Jonathan's camera. As soon as Jonathan reached out for, as soon as his arm even flinched, Steve let go. The camera crashed to the floor and pieces scattered all over the tarmac. Nick heard the smash. The severity of it practically echoed. Tommy laughed, a malicious cackle. Steve just stood there, in front of Jonathan and just watched his face fall. Steve knew he'd won.

Nick marched forward, determined now to leave before any of them saw her. She knew she'd be next if they did. Steve turned away and began walking back down the path, Tommy and Carol not far behind him. It wasn't long before Nancy too turned and left. All Jonathan could do was stand and stare and the pieces of his camera scattered carelessly on the ground. But Nick did care. She knew what it meant, not just to Jonathan but symbolically. People like them had no power in Hawkins High, everyone else just walked all over them.

"Hey." She said softly as she reached Jonathan. He didn't move. His eyes flicked up to look at her but that was the extent of his enthusiasm.

Nick bent down and started to collect up all the broken pieces of his camera. She had no idea what half this stuff was or if all the individual pieces could be replaced but it was the least she could do help. Slowly, Jonathan bent down too and started to join her in picking up the pieces of his broken dream. The only time Nick had ever seen Jonathan around school was when he was ducking into the darkroom to develop his photos. With the two of them working together, it couldn't have been more than a minute until everything salvagable had been collected. Nick tipped what she had picked up into Jonathan's cupped hands and rose to her feet. He stood up and hung his head sheepishly. No one said a word but the sentiment was there. Nick smiled weakly and went to her car. She opened the passenger side door and chucked in her bag. Jonathan met her eye as she walked around to the side of the car and Nick thought she caught a faint trace of a smile.

"Thanks." He said, his voice barely above a whisper and hung his head again, shuffling his feet. Nick nodded in response, unsure if he saw or not before getting in her car, starting the engine and driving off.