[2] A Game Of Survival ➳ ST (S2) 💙

|05| Compliments Left, Right And Centre

Chapter 5!

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Christine felt like her scalp was about to split and peel off of her skull. She glowered in the vanity mirror, glaring at the twenty-odd curlers that had been wrestled into her hair. She huffed, then winced in pain. Moving made the pins stab her in the head.

"It's your own fault," Nancy reminded her. Christine could see her laughing in the reflection.

She huffed again, accepting the pain. This had been a terrible fucking idea.

As promised, Christine had come over to the Wheelers to get ready for the party. Mrs. Wheeler had picked her up after dinner, once everyone's homework was done and Christine had packed a bag. It just had the essentials—her costume, some makeup, and some candy that she'd snuck from the bowl by the door.

The moment she'd pulled her clothes out on the bed, Nancy had laughed.

"Seriously?"

"What?" Christine demanded. "I had to give my Jonathan my other costume."

"I know. But you've worn that like six times already."

"I so have not," Christine said defensively. She flattened the tan shirt and shook out the flaps of her hat; the backpack had squashed in the sides. "Raiders of the Lost Ark has only been out for like, three years."

"You've worn it at least two Halloweens, Dustin's birthday party, and to the theater when you went to see the second one."

"...that's still not six..." Nancy laughed again, making Christine throw up her arms. "Screw you, okay? It's comfortable!"

"Fine! I'm shutting up!"

That didn't really instill Christine with confidence, but Nancy kept her word. She let Christine get dressed in peace, focusing on her own outfit instead. Nancy and Steve were going as Joel and Lana from Risky Business, and Mrs. Wheeler had found Nancy the perfect white sweater and sewn a black ribbon around the neck. Even the cuffs looked identical to the movie.

It was no surprise that Nancy looked perfect. The only surprise was that Mrs. Wheeler was letting her out of the house dressed as a fictional prostitute in the first place. But when she came up to Nancy's room to check on them, she practically squealed in delight.

"Oh, you look amazing!" she cheered, twirling Nancy around. "I just love the way this fits you. Ah! It looks so good!"

"Mom," Nancy giggled, rolling her eyes. "You made it."

"I know. But I'm allowed to celebrate." She kissed her daughter on the cheek and beamed at her in the mirror. "You look stunning, Nancy. You and Steve are going to be incredible."

Nancy shifted in discomfort, and gave her mother a sheepish smile. "Thanks, Mom."

"What about you, Chrissy?" Mrs. Wheeler asked, turning to where Christine was lounging on the bed. "Do you need any help getting dressed?"

"Nope! I'm ready to go."

"Oh..." Her smile faltered, eyes flitting over her outfit. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize..."

"She's Indiana Jones," Nancy reminded her. "The Harrison Ford movies?"

"Right! No, of course, I just—I thought you girls were going as leading ladies together. Wouldn't that be so cute? You could be Sam Baker, or Stacy Hamilton or—oh! You could be Wonder Woman! You like comic books, right?"

"This is all I had on short notice," said Christine. She straightened her hat protectively. "Trust me, this is a lot more flattering than the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man."