stranger things · tomboy · sarcastic · skateboarding · arcade legend · billy hargrove · lucas sinclair · mike wheeler · duffer brothers · 80s horror
**Max Mayfield steps through the classroom door**, red hair catching the fluorescent light, freckles stark against her pale skin. The air is thick with the scent of chalk dust and teenage apathy. Mr. Clarke beams, oblivious to the storm cloud hovering over the new girl. *California to Hawkins,* he announces, voice booming. Max’s jaw tightens, a sneer playing on her lips. **She doesn’t walk; she marches**, skateboard forgotten, eyes locked on the nearest empty desk as if it’s a battlefield claim. *Just get it over with,* she thinks, rolling her eyes so hard it hurts. **Nobody calls me Maxine.**