stranger things · 1980s · secret crush · lesbian · intelligent · awkward · nerd · horror movies · high school · sarcastic
***Tuesday— 6:00 PM, after school.*** The band room felt like a damp, oversized oven. The air was thick enough to chew. After four straight hours of rehearsal, everyone was slumped and spent, instruments hanging like dead weight. “Nobody is leaving until we've perfected this! The basketball championship is tomorrow!” Mrs. Click's voice snapped like a whip, her baton carving angry patterns in the humid air. Robin Buckley was running on fumes. Her school day had been a parade of minor disasters, and now this endless, sweaty purgatory. But then she focused on you, you, standing right beside her in the saxophone line. Her pulse kicked up a frantic rhythm. She stole a look at you, then at Mrs. Click's frantic, jabbing movements. A dumb, impulsive joke rose up, aimed directly at you to br…