𝙴𝚕𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗 ~ 𝙴𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚡

《𝟸𝟺》

August 26, 1985
9:35 AM

The bell rang again, making El startle and look around in a slight panic before she realised that the sound signaled the end of the lesson. She's gonna have to get used to this. The noise was way too similar to the one they used in the Hawkinds lab to announce errors. The same sound that was filling the white corridors when she was escaping. No. She can't allow her senses to get the best of her now. It was just a school bell. So, she gulped down her fears before she was met with Dustin and Lucas's confused eyes. The two were keeping an eye on her the entire class. They were making sure she understood everything Mrs. Heidi said, even though she wasn't talking in spanish yet. She asked how their summer was and they spent the 40 minutes talking about things close to that topic together with introducing themselves. Of course, when it was Dustin's turn to tell his summer story, it didn't consist of fighting his friend's posessed brother or a 30 feet tall monster from another dimension. Instead, he chose to talk about his summer camp. Luckily for El, the bell rang before it was her turn to speak.

~ "You okay? You look pale." Lucas asked and El just nodded with a neutral expression. Honestly, she was feeling nervous from the moment Hopper woke her up in the morning, even though she knew that she didn't really have any reason to. The school was great so far. But she felt this weird knot in her stomach that wouldn't go away. Maybe it was because she was outside of her comfort-zone, between all these people and anything could happen. But she knew she just had to get used to this.

~ "Alright. Let's go then." Dustin said before the two boys headed out of the class with the brunette following them. Meanwhile, Max was rushing through the crowded corridors, wanting to be in front of El's class as soon as possible. She accidentally bumped into a student with her shoulder from time to time, her mind focused only on getting there on time. When she finally found the right  door, she sighed when she saw El already waiting at her, stood by the wall with Dustin and Lucas. She put on a smile though, walking closer to them.

~ "Hey guys. So? How was Spanish?" She greeted the boys but immediately turned her attention back to El.

~ "It was good. Mrs. Heidi asked us about our summer." El answered, smiling lightly. Max snorted.

~ "Yeah, same. They always ask that the first day. What did you talk about?"

~ "The class ended before I could talk." El shrugged, but was actually quite grateful for not having to speak.

~ "Yeah. She was lucky." Lucas said, trying to enter the conversation the girls seemed to focus only on eachother until now.

~ "I see. Well, we should go now. We have Art together so...see ya'll at lunch?" Max asked, wanting to get away with El for a bit. The fact that Lucas knew about everything she was trying to keep secret wasn't helping her to feel calm around him at all.

~ "Um...yeah. Seeya then." Lucas nodded and waved to them before walking away with Dustin and disappearing into the crowd. Max then turned to the brunette and gave her a soft smile that El reciprocated.

~ "Come on. Art is always fun. You'll see." Max assured the other before linking their arms and walking with El  to Art class. Once they walked into the classroom, the brunette started looking around. The room was decorated with the student's best works which contained of paintings of landscapes, self-portraits and some abstractions together with still life drawings. The room was very colourful thanks to them and made El feel calmer.

~ "What do you think?" Asked Max with a smile when she noticed how El looked at everything with interest.

~ "Pretty." Was all the brunette let out, going with Max to one of the desks by the window. Luckily, there were two empty seats so they could sit close to each other. Max took the seat in front of El's, so she now turned to her on her chair, waiting until she's done looking around the room. And while El was zoned out, Max had the time to take notice of how beautiful she actually looked at the moment. The ends of her honey brown curls brushing the tops of her shoulders so gently. Her soft, hazel eyes absorbing anything they can find. Her lips with that cute cupid's bow, parting in awe...I should stop...thought Max, who realised how weird she must be looking. She rather started tapping her desk with her index finger and looked around too. Max was never one of the artsy kids, but she still enjoyed the classes. It was relaxing. She then heard the bell again and that was enough to get El out of her daze and make her look at Max with a light sigh. Max noticed the girl's discomfort and decided to ask about it.

~ "What's wrong?"

~ "It's okay. It's just the bell. I have to get used to it." El waved it off, not really wanting to speak about the reason why.

~ "Oh, yeah it's annoying. But sometimes it's a life-saver trust me." Max said, remembering the bunch of times she forgot that she had to go to another class. Then the teacher barged into the class. It was a thin woman in her fourties. She had a nice smile and overall looked like a very relaxed person.

~ "Good morning class. I'm Mrs. Bennett and I'm gonna be, as you can see, your Art teacher this year. Now, since it's the first day, I wanted to spend this lesson doing something that includes your summer in it. So today, you're gonna be drawing a portrait of the person you've spent the most time with." The teacher explained, looking around the class for any protests, but heard none. Some students just nodded. El smiled lightly, immediately knowing who she's gonna be painting.

~ "I hear no whining. Let's get to work." The woman shrugged, smiling and walking around the class with the stack of papers in her arms, handing one to each student. When El got her's, she looked at it, brushing her fingers across the soft material.

~ "Try to cover as much of the canvas as possible. Every white spot should be painted over. Try to remember as many details as you can about the person. Do your best." Mrs. Bennett made sure to let them know before grabbing red, blue, yellow, black and white paint with some brushes and placing it on an empty desk in the center of the class. Max got up and went to get some paint and a brush for herself, followed by El. The brunette was worried though. There weren't the rigt colours that she needed, but she took the paint that was there anyway, pouring a bit of each on a piece of plastic square that everyone else got too. When she had everything and sat back down, she looked at Max who was already sat in front of her. The brunette leaned over her desk and gently tapped her shoulder. When Max felt that, she turned around with curious eyes.

~ "Um...can I paint you?" El asked with  a little smile, making the redhead widen her eyes in surprise.

~ "...Me?"

~ "Yeah." El chuckled, the other's reaction amusing her.

~ "Y-yeah! I mean...sure. Of course you can paint me. I...actually wanted to...paint you too but I wasn't sure if it wouldn't be...weird or something. I don't know why-" Max started rambling with a smile that was itching to become bigger. El giggled.

~ "Why wouldn't I want you to paint me? We can paint each other. Just...um." El suddenly didn't know how to say what she wanted to do, so she got up and moved her and Max's desks together.

~ "Great idea. Yeah...awesome Ellie." The redhead nodded and helped El move the desks and chairs, sitting on one side of her desk. El sat in her desk in front of the other with a smile and took her brush, dipping it in the yellow paint.