HENDERSON iii || M.Mayfield

4.1

Etta got off her bike, and saw Max getting off the
bus. She waved at her, Max gave a nod before the
councillors called her over.

Etta sighed, heading into the gymnasium to sit with
Mike and Dustin for the pep rally.

Etta rolled her eyes at the cheer leaders. She hated
alot of them as they usually made fun of her new,
so called 'hippie' style.

"Look, I'm not saying my girlfriend is better than
yours." Dustin said as Max came over, standing
beside Etta.

"Hey." Etta whispered awkwardly.

"Hey." Max greeted with a small smile.

"It's that Suzie is, like, a certified genius." Dustin
stated as they clapped.

"Definitely doesn't sound like you think she's better
Dustin." Etta said sarcastically, Dustin stuck his
tongue out at her.

"You do realise El has saved the world twice, right?"
Mike argued making Etta roll her eyes.

"And yet you still have a C in Spanish." Dustin shot
back.

"Boys." Etta sighed, watching as the cheer leaders
finished, allowing the jocks to appear. "And here
come the douchebags."

"And let's hear it for your tigers!" The announcer exclaimed.

They ripped through a banner, the crowd cheering.
Etta only clapped as Lucas came out, giving a fake
smile as she glared at the rest of the basketball
team.

"Good morning, Hawkins High!" Jason, the head
Jock, greeted. "First off.. Hey. First off, I'd like to
thank each and everyone of you. Without your
support, we wouldn't be here. Give yourselves a big
hand."

Everyone cheered, Etta just rolled her eyes in
annoyance. She wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"And of course, I have to give a special shout out to
the best and the prettiest fans of all time, the tiger
cheer squad!" Jason cheered. "Chrissy.. Chrissy, I
love you babe."

"Aww!" The crowd gushed as Etta looked down. She
missed being with someone. She missed Max.

"You know. I think I can speak for all of us when i
say its been a tough year for Hawkins." Jason stated
and Star clenched her jaw. He had no idea. "So
much loss. And sometimes I wonder, how much loss
can one community take? In dark days like this, we
need something to believe in."

"It's such bullshit that he thinks him and his douchebag crew- not including Lucas- can boost our
spirits." Etta whispered angrily making her friends
smile.

"So, last night, when we were down by ten points at
half to Christian Academy, I looked at my team, and I
said, 'think of jack'. Think of Melissa, think of
Heather." Jason said and Star sighed in annoyance.
"Think of Billy."

Etta looked at Max, knowing hearing his name would
hurt the girl. Max looked at her, and glanced back
down. Etta touched her pinky with Max's but was
rejected, Etta frowned at this.

"Think about our heroic chief, Jim Hopper." Etta's
eyes watered at this, thinking of Eleven. "Think
about each and every one of our friends that
perished in that fire. What did they die for?"

"Please, don't say what I think you're going." Etta
gritted.

"For us to lose to some... to some crap school?"
Jason asked and Etta took in a sharp breath. He
said it. "No."

"No!" The crowd said.

"For us to return home with our heads hung low in
defeat?" He questioned. "No!" The crowd repeated
this. "No. Let's win this game. Let's win this game
for them. And that's exactly what we did."