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alina's sacrifice
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. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧
"When do people make these decisions?" Dustin moaned as they stepped inside the school. His face was bright red as he gazed around at the other students in Hawkins Middle, none of whom were wearing costumes. As they turned from grabbing their books out of their lockers, they let out laughs at the sight of the boys in their beige uniforms, hefty packs strapped to their shoulders. Then they turned to whisper to their friends, who in turn looked at them, and suddenly it was like the entire student body was looking at Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will.
Alina, who was walking beside them, had to suffer some of the attention, but soon the eyes of the student body moved away from her and back onto her friends. Continuously, she found herself clenching and unclenching her fists, every laugh rattling into her bones. The walks to her locker usually weren't bad—it was navigating to class she had trouble with—but today, with everyone's eyes on them, it was a struggle to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Just breathe, Alina. It's not a big deal. They're looking at them, not you.
She turned to look at Lucas, who was staring down at his shoes, embarrassment etched onto his face. A twinge of pity went through her for all of her friends just as Will spoke miserably.
"Everyone dressed up last year."
"It's a conspiracy," said Dustin, his face tomato red now, "I'm telling you."
Alina looked around and had to agree. "I don't understand," she said, surveying the crowd. "I thought everyone here loved Halloween. They're still going to go trick-or-treating, right?"
"I don't know," shrugged Mike, before speaking to his fellow Ghostbusters. "Just be cool."
That was when a voice rang out across the hallway. "Who you gonna call? The nerds!"
It was Daniel's voice. Of course it was his. Alina noticed him leaning against a locker, snickering at the sight of her friends, and couldn't help but raise her middle finger in his direction, which made his mouth drop open. She wouldn't stand up for herself, but she'd always, always stand up for her friends. No matter what. And the sight of his face gave Alina an idea.
