Chapter 3

Sofia and Cherilyn have been friends since middle school. Cherilyn, or Cher, is a popular cheerleader from Hawkins High School. On the other hand, Sofia isn’t very popular and is in the debate team. She always felt out of place in Hawkins. 

When she was younger, making friends was very difficult. People were either too loud or too dumb, and she was never interested in being friends with them. In middle school, she got seated next to Cher, and ever since then Sofia started being a bit more open to getting to know new people, although she never stayed friends with most of them.

Sofia and Cher have always got along pretty well. Cher has a really explosive personality, while Sofia is more balanced. Cher takes her anger out on other people, while Sofia takes her anger on herself. This duality in their relationship always worked out well, even though sometimes Sofia wished she had no friends and only herself.

Sofia gets in her car and drives to the mall. It’s the third week of summer vacation and Cher finally convinced her to go out. She usually hangs out with Cher or with her brother, the other kids and Steve. 

At first, she didn’t like Steve. Probably because she was jealous of how many girls would have a crush on him and how little he cared about them. After hanging out a few times with him and the kids, she realized he wasn’t actually that bad.

She parks her car and enters the mall. Trying her best to avoid any people she knew, she finally found Scoops Ahoy. She knew Steve was working there but hadn’t had the energy to go there yet. Looking at the clock, it’s half past seven, just in time.

She waits in line, looking around, until she hears a familiar voice. The people in front of her walk away, revealing Robin on the other side of the counter.

“H-hi, I didn’t know you were working here!” Sofia says.

“Y-yeah, I started a month ago” Robin smiles.

Robin and Sofia had a literature class together the past school year. Two days a week Sofia would sit next to Robin, but they never really talked. Sofia felt intimidated by Robin- she always liked her style and the way she read. Robin also felt intimidated by Sofia because she wasn’t scared to speak her mind and was very pretty.

Once, a guy in their class said that people choose to be poor, and that they could just get a job. Finding that statement ridiculous, Sofia looked at Robin to see her reaction, but Robin had done the same. They blushed at the minimal eye contact. 

They had what Sofia liked to call a silent relationship. 

A few minutes later, on the same day when the guy said such thing, Robin got a wave of confidence and asked Sofia for a pink pen. When she handed the pen to Robin, their hands brushed, and Sofia blushed like crazy. That had been Robin’s boldest move all school year.

Sofia liked to see the band concerts, and Robin liked to hear the debates Sofia was in. They never said anything to each other, even though they wanted to, because if they asked out the wrong girl, their lives would be turned upside-down.

It was crazy how they knew so much about each other but had never had a conversation.

“It’s good to see you, by the way” Sofia says, after a quick pause. She scanned Robin’s face, realizing her freckles looked clearer now.

“Yeah, you too, I haven’t seen you in a while” Robin adds.

“Yeah, I’m actually here because my friend was sick of me being at home, so she forced me out” Sofia says, making Robin giggle.

“Well, what flavor do you want?” Robin asks.

“Stracciatella, please” Sofia says, while Robin gets an ice cream cone.

“Wow, so Italian” Robin says, making Sofia chuckle. “It’s on the house, don’t worry” Robin says, as Sofia opens her wallet to pay.

“Really?” Sofia asks with a smile.

“Yeah” Robin smiles, handing the ice cream to Sofia. When Sofia grabs the ice cream, her fingers brush against Robin’s, making her almost drop it.

“Thanks” Sofia says, feeling her cheeks get hotter.

She takes a seat and grabs her book, Les Misérables, and starts reading it. Robin notices it but doesn’t say anything.

Hearing a bell ring a couple times, she looks up and sees Mike, Will, Max and Lucas at the counter. “Hey guys”, she says. They turn around and say hi, but turn immediately back once they hear Steve saying “Again? Seriously?”.

“Hey homegirl” Cher says, as she takes a seat in front of Sofia.

“Hello space cadet” Sofia smiles at Cher.

“So mean, wow. I’m gonna get some ice cream” Cher says, to which Sofia nods. She stares at Robin the whole time she’s scooping ice cream for Cher. How can someone look so good while scooping ice cream? 

“Hello Henderson” Steve says, interrupting Sofia’s thoughts.

“Hey sailor” Sofia says. “How’s the job?”

“Meh, it’s okay. I see you’ve met my co-worker” he smirks. Sofia blushes, looking down.

“Uh, yeah” she looks up, “We had a class together last year, actually”.

“Really? Well, she’s called me Dingus so many times that I think I might have to change my name”

“Dingus Harrington sounds good. Accurate” Sofia says and they laugh.

“Hey Harrington, nice suit” Cher says, while taking her seat.

“Hi Cherry” he says. They dated in freshman year but had a healthy break-up (probably the only healthy break-up in Cher’s life). He’s always called her Cherry, and it doesn’t seem to bother her. They hear Robin call for Steve, so he excuses himself and goes do his job.

Cher starts to update Sofia on her life, telling her all the drama that has happened since the end of school. Sofia doesn’t really like to gossip, but Cher likes to tell it, so she just listens. She tries her best to focus on her friend, but Robin in the background keeps distracting her.

“Hello? Earth to Sofia!” Cher says.

“S-Sorry, keep going.” Sofia says, feeling embarrassed. Cher keeps talking and suddenly the lights go out. She hears Steve and Robin talking, but instead she focuses on her breathing. She’s always feared the dark, ever since she was little.

After a minute, the lights turn back on and Sofia sighs in relief.

The next day, Sofia wakes up at 9am, which is early for her, and quickly gets dressed. Her mother is working, so she has to pick her brother up from summer camp.

“This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over.” Dustin says, already in the car. “This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over.” He says after a quick pause. “I repeat: This is goddamn Gold Leader-“

“Dusty!” Sofia shouts.

“What?” he shouts back.

“Relax! For fucks’ sake.” she says, back to her normal tone.

“I’m in range. They should be answering.”

“You’ve been away a whole month. Maybe they just…forgot.” she glances at her brother, who seems disappointed. “Talk to me! How was camp?”

“It was amazing and, I- um, I have a girlfriend now” Dustin replies.

“Really! That’s so cool, what’s her name?” Sofia asks, excited for her brother.

“Suzie. She’s like a super genius, and hotter than Phoebe Cates.”

“No way”

“Yup, she’s my dream girl” he says, with a smile on his face.

“I’m glad you’re happy Dusty, you deserve it” she says. He talks about his inventions and the “cerebro” he built, and how he’s going to use it to talk to Suzie and background buthis friends.

Pulling up at their house, Sofia says “Look, I’m going to do the groceries. Do you need anything?”

“I need hair spray”

“Okay, see you later, love ya!” she shouts as he makes his way to the door.

“Love you too!” he shouts back.

Sofia drives to Melvald’s General Store, noticing how deserted the streets were. She makes a mental note to write about it in her diary. She pulls up, gets her bag, and walks in.

“Hi Joyce” she says, as Joyce puts a sales poster up. “Need help?”

“Oh, no thanks sweetie” Joyce says with a smile.

Joyce and her mother went to school together, so they’ve known each other for a while. Sometimes they have dinner together, little school reunions and Sofia always enjoys talking to Joyce. When Will went missing she and her mother were one of the first people to talk to her and comfort her, and for that Joyce was eternally grateful.

A few minutes after Sofia starts to do her grocery shopping, Hopper comes in. They say hi to each other and then he and Joyce start talking. Sofia focuses on the music in the background, but tunes in as she hears Joyce saying “kissing, right?”. I can’t believe Cher corrupted me into hearing other people’s gossip.

Sofia moves to the aisle where Hopper and Joyce are, hearing the conversation.

“You can’t just force them apart. I mean, they’re not little kids anymore, Hop. They’re teenagers” Joyce says.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but hear your conversation” Sofia says. “If you order them around like a cop, then they’re gonna rebel. It’s just what we do. Have you never seen movies?”

“So what, I’m just supposed to let them do whatever they want?” Hopper asks, furring his eyebrows.

“No, I didn’t say that. I just think you should talk to them. Not yelling, not ordering, just talk to them. You know, like they’re actual human beings” Sofia says, walking to the cash register.

Hopper sits in silence while Sofia pays for the groceries. Sofia says goodbye and drives home. Material Girl starts playing on the radio, and she hums the song until she gets home. She parks and gets the grocery bags. Closing the trunk, Mike, Will, El, Max, Lucas and Dustin rush out of the door, with a bunch of weird stuff.

“Where are you guys going?” Sofia asks, confused.

“To talk to Dustin’s girlfriend” Mike says, as they walk away.

“Thanks for the help!” she says sarcastically, smiling at the group.

Later that night, Dustin arrived home. Their mother was already asleep, so Sofia decided to check on him. Sofia knocks on the door, and Dustin gives her permission to come in.

“Hey, you good?” Sofia asks, noticing the strange look on her brother’s face.

“They ditched me” he says, looking sad.

“What?!” Sofia shouts. “On your first day back? What the hell?”

“I know, but it’s their loss” he says, now with a smirk on his face.

“Why?” Sofia asks, curious, as her brother grabs his walkman. She sits down in his bed.

“I intercepted a secret Russian communication” he whispers.

“What? You sure?” Sofia asks, in the same tone as her brother’s, not understanding if he’s joking or not.

“I think so, I mean, I’m no expert in Russian… but you’re really good at languages…”

“You want me to… translate… a secret Russian communication…?” Sofia asks, confused.

“Yup, but tomorrow, with Steve” Dustin says, as he puts his walkman in his bag.

“Like he’s gonna help” she mutters, making Dustin chuckle.

“You two would make a great couple” he says, and Sofia rolls her eyes.

“How many times do I gotta tell you-”

“I don’t like Steve” he mimics her, finishing her sentence. 

They laugh and decide to watch a movie together. He lays down on the sofa, placing his legs on top of her lap. They eat Cheetos and drink Coke while watching Saturday Night Fever. 

When she realizes he fell asleep, she covers him up with a blanket and says “‘Night Dusty”, turning the light off.