my baby

twenty .

september 18 , 1984 . 9:45 am

"The projects are due in two weeks!" Mr. Clarke announced to the class as they scurried out as fast eas possible. The bell had rang, ending third period. I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed over to Mr. Clarke's desk.

"Mr. Clarke?" I asked. He looked up from his desk and smiled.

"Ah! My star pupil, what question do you have?"

I smiled back. "The project, you say it has to relate to something in our every day lives?"

He nodded, giving me assurance. "You got it. There's a lot of freedom in this project, after all."

"Thank you," I told him. Mr. Clarke nodded his head, no problem. I walked out the class and into the hallway to fourth period. On the way there, I saw Billy walking to his class. Instead of smirking down at me, or complimenting my ass, he walked straight past me. As if I was a ghost. I frowned upon his passing. That was weird. Then again, Rosie, you guys kissed. You told him you can't do it. Of course it's going to be awkward. Whether or not he has feelings for you, you warded them off.

I sighed and jammed my locker door shut once retrieving my books. Immediately, as I turned around, I bumped into a mousy-headed girl. Both our books bounced on the floor. I went wide-eyed. "I'm so sorry!" I gushed. Quickly, as to make as less attention as possible, I picked up our books together.

"It's fine," She told me, sweetly. I looked up to look at her pretty face. I knew her, from...from...

"You're in my French class, right?" I asked. I studied her doe-like eyes and long eyelashes. Her hair was neatly curled and nearly brushed past her shoulders. She smiled.

"Nancy, it's Nancy. Nancy Wheeler. You're Rosie, right?" She asked me innocently.

"Rose, yeah." I nodded. "Now I remember you."

She giggled softly. "Walk with me to French?"

I smiled again at her and shook my head to approve. "You...work at The Hawkins Post right?" I asked. Nancy Wheeler, I've heard of her before. Her name was on the tip of my tongue. A thin, pretty-faced girl, who seemed to withstand a lot of backlash over dating some Jonathan kid, was a total sweetheart. Not to mention, her French was nearly perfect.

"I do," She sighed, almost painfully. I cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Guess it's not the best job," I shrugged,"to be with all those guys in there."

Together, the two of us sat down in French and held our conversation until Mrs. Webster came in. "Definitely not. My boyfriend got me the job. Instead of writing out all the stories in Hawkins and solving cases and-and getting my name out there-" Nancy sighed and clicked her pen,"-I'm picking up sandwiches for a bunch of jerks to snack on."

I smiled sadly. "You seem like a great writer," I began. "Just give it time."

"That's the thing..." Nancy trailed on. The teacher had come in, but only paid attention to her desk and where her missing worksheets were. I saw Alex in the back of the room cutting them up with scissors. "I try so hard. I even tried getting mention of Josh Worthhall in the paper. That didn't work."

I bit my lip. "Josh Worthhall. Candice's brother?"

She nodded carefully. "That's the one. There's...been a lot of speculation he's the one responsible. Been missing since the night Candice has been, too. Whoever left that car tip, though, really helped. We have a lead, or so I've heard."

"That's really good." I said. "I don't know much about Josh...I don't have a say in that."

She sighed and scribbled some words on her paper. "Nobody really does. People say he's crazy, and a psycho. Some say he's even...killed her."

I shook my head. She agreed with me. "I doubt that. I think he's just a misunderstood kid. When something interesting happens in Hawkins, it just blows up. Gossip runs wild."

Gossip. I thought back to Billy sleeping with seventeen people and, more than one at once. It was official, to believe that those rumors were lies. However, it was clear to me he wasn't a virgin. I couldn't just act like I didn't see those condoms in the glove box.

"Keep trying, Nancy," I persisted. "You'll get your name out there, I promise."

"Thanks, Rose." She blushed. By this time, Mrs. Webster found Alex with the papers and threatened to suspend him. The two of us laughed. Free period today, I guess.