[COMPLETED UNTIL SEASON 5]
Ana Thompson always seems to wind up in the strangest predicaments...
A perpetual victim of Murphy's Law, Ana finds herself arriving in Hawkins, Indiana just prior to the events of November 6th, 1983.
And, just prior to f...
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TO SAY Ana Thompson wasn't in the mood come November 1st was an understatement. She had walked into school that next day, daring any staff member or student to trifle with her. Surly would have been the more appropriate word for her mood that morning. Ana hadn't slept and the permanent scowl marring her face should have warned off any who dared approach.
Some people can't take a hint, though, not even when it's smacking them in the face.
She spent each period lecturing about idioms, and the examples seemed unusually pointed. "For example, adding insult to injury. It means making a bad situation worse. Giving someone the cold shoulder is another way of saying you're ignoring them. And the phrase, it's the last straw, is another way of implying you're done with the situation. Y'all in the back, am I boring you?"
It took Dustin, Lucas, Will, Mike, and Max a few moments to realize she was talking directly to them. The group had been too busy whispering and messing around with Dustin's backpack to bother paying attention to their teacher's lesson.
When Ana was told she would be moving up to 8th grade along with her previous year's students, she thought it would be a blessing, no starting over from scratch. Now, as her eyes burned holes into their inattentive bodies, she thought that maybe their comfort level with her was actually a curse. And the new girl, Max, when had she even become a member of their crew?
The group muttered their apologies, but she wasn't having it. "All of you, see me after class." It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order.
So, once the bell rang, releasing the other students, the disruptive five begrudgingly made their way up to the front of the room where their agitated teacher was waiting behind her desk.
Poor Mike Wheeler, she thought as they approached. He still didn't know his seemingly absent girlfriend was closer than he realized. Now wasn't the time for that revelation, though.
"What's the deal?" Ana asked simply, with arms crossed.
At once, they all tried to stutter out an excuse for their distracted behavior, but none were providing a valid justification .
"Enough!" She said with a wave of the hand, effectively silencing their incoherent rambling. "The truth, out with it."
The whole group looked to Dustin for an answer. It was his discovery that got them into this situation after all. "I found a pollywog," he announced beaming as though it explained everything. "You wanna see it?"
Not really, Ana thought. Instead, she let out an exasperated sigh and said, "alright."
Dustin pulled the Ghostbusters contraption she had seen him carry around on Halloween out of his backpack. He was practically shaking with nerdy excitement.
The creature he produced from its depths looked more like an overgrown slug to her than anything else. "I named him d'Artagnan, Dart for short," Dustin said proudly while lovingly cradling the thing in his hands.
The creature looked...sticky. Was that the right word for it? Maybe slimy would have been a better adjective for the wriggling thing encased in his palms.
"Three Musketeers, nice," Ana chuckled inspecting it further.
"Would you like to hold him?" The offer got her to back away quickly.
"No, I don't mess with things that squirm or scurry." It was true, all manner of slippery creatures could keep their distance, as far as Ana was concerned.
"Do you know what he might be?" Max questioned, causing all five students to look towards their teacher in hopefulness.
"Sorry, guys. I teach English for a reason. That's a question you'll have to ask Mr. Clarke." They all looked disappointed by her answer, heads hanging as the hopefulness drained from their youthful faces.
"We're showing him today, after school," Lucas added, and that answer satisfied Ana.
"Solid plan. Now, off to class you go." She said, waving them out her classroom door.
The harmonious sound of the final bell ringing at the end of the day meant that Ana could finally drop the act of pretending to care what happened around her. She just needed to drop one form off in the front office, and she would be off scott free for the day.
Walking down the hallway, Ana fantasized about what to do with her evening. Maybe she could jailbreak Eleven, wasn't like Hopper would be home to stop her. Or maybe she could just slash his tires in a righteous act of delinquency. What was he going to do, arrest her for destruction of government property? She'd dare him to try.
Probably wouldn't be that easy, she eventually conceded, before bumping straight into a much smaller body. The force of their impact knocking the other person to the ground.
"Jesus, I'm sorry," Ana said, offering her hand to help the individual off the floor. It wasn't until her unfortunate victim was back on their feet that Ana got a good look at their face. Well, I'll be damned. "Eleven?"
It took a moment for Ana's body to catch up to her mind, but once it finally did, she was pulling the younger girl into the closest empty classroom and out of sight. "What're you doing here? Does Hopper know you're here? Has anyone seen you?" Her questions were coming fast and furious.
When Eleven made no attempt to answer, Ana exhaled slowly. "You came to see Mike." It was more of a statement than an inquiry, but the girl nodded her head in confirmation nonetheless.
Ana had to debate with herself, then, on what to do next. Was it the safest idea? Probably not. Was it fair that Eleven had been restricted from seeing him before? Definitely not. What harm could it cause? Now, that was the question.
In the end, Ana figured the girl had already made it this far out of the cabin, what damage could a little more time away cause?
Peaking her head out the doorway, Ana checked the hallway for any passersbys. There were none. It appeared everyone had cleared off with the final bell, so the two carefully ventured out in search of the Wheeler boy.
Ana made a silent prayer that they wouldn't run into anyone of consequence during their search.
The boy in question had ultimately been located inside the gym, but he was not alone. Hesitating just outside the door, Ana and Eleven watched Max and Mike interact on the other side.
"It's probably best if we wait until he's by himself," Ana tried to reason, but her words were falling on deaf ears. The only thing Eleven could focus on was the image of Mike with another girl.
When, the redhead was unceremoniously knocked off her skateboard, Ana knew trouble was brewing. She couldn't say she blamed Eleven, though. Seeing the boy she liked with another girl would encourage pettiness in anyone, especially someone with the powers to do something about it.
But, seeing Mike help the other girl up off the ground, holding her hand in the process, had to bring with it a pang that hurt worse than anger.
Then, suddenly, Eleven was gone. Poof, disappeared like a magician into a cloud of smoke.
The younger girl had to have used her powers, that was the only explanation Ana could come up with because she was standing next to her one moment and then she had vanished the next.
This was some teenage drama level angst that Ana hadn't been prepared to participate in at the start of her day. However, she went off in search of the upset little fugitive anyway, checking classrooms, hallways and bathrooms. Knowing good and well she'd get blamed by Hopper should anything bad happen to his would-be prisoner.
Her hunt was cut short by the sound of Lucas Sinclair screaming, though.
