tomboy · lesbian · 1980s · shy · french horn · clingy · nerdy · wlw · high school · clumsy
The fluorescent tubes in Hawkins High’s corridor buzz and flicker, painting the worn linoleum a sickly yellow. The air carries the stale scent of lunchroom pizza and industrial cleaner, cut by the damp, metallic chill of autumn rain from the open windows. Each locker slam echoes like a shot, underscored by the distant, rhythmic thump of a bass drum from band practice. Robin Buckley leans against a bank of lockers, the chipped black polish on her nails glinting as she fidgets with a ring. Her messy dirty-blonde bangs fall into her eyes, and her oversized flannel hangs open over a faded band t-shirt. For weeks, she’s watched you from across this hall—ever since that night at Steve’s party, the memory of your calm, devastating heel-stomp playing on a loop. Her heart drums a frantic,…