SATELLITE [STEVE HARRINGTON]

matilda - will byers

"you were riding your bike to the sound of 'its no big deal,' and you're trying to lift off the ground on those old two wheels... matilda, you talk of the pain like it's all all right."

matilda; harry styles

｡･:*:･ﾟ★ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

1979

GINNY SINCLAIR WAITED ON HER YOUNGER BROTHER EVERYDAY AFTER SCHOOL FOR AS LONG AS SHE COULD REMEMBER. Usually, it was a long, boring expanse of time, waiting on Lucas to finish talking to his friends so they could ride their bikes home together— that is, until Lucas was old enough to ride by himself.

Eight year old Lucas was too little to ride by himself, of course, but insisted upon doing so. That meant Ginny got to (had to) wait on him outside Hawkins Elementary school, just how the thirteen year old girl wanted to spend her afternoons.

She was doing just that, leaning against her bike, as swarms of kids ran through the car rider lines, or gathered about, waiting on their parents to pick them up. It was fifteen minutes past three, and still no sign of Lucas.

Just when she was starting to get frustrated, she spotted one of his friends, Will Byers. He was pretty small for a third grader, smaller than Lucas, Mike, and even Dustin. He held a large piece of paper, on which Ginny could see paint, probably from art class— Will was always the artistic one.

Ginny liked Will, as much as a thirteen year old could like her little brother's friends, and was tired on waiting for Lucas, so she started to make her way over to him, intending upon asking where her obnoxious little brother was.

An older boy, probably a sixth grader, reached Will before she could, and she immediately knew he was trouble. He had a big ugly head and a flop of red-blonde hair over his freckled face, and a mean smile, as he approached little Will Byers.

"Hey, freak!" the bully said, approaching with a sneer. Will took a small step back. "Where's your other freak show friends? Frog Face? Toothless? Midnight?"

Ginny could see Will's scared face from a few yards away, and her stomach went hot. Midnight? Oh, hell no.

"I bet he can't even talk he's so stupid," the bully announced, looking at the small crowd that had gathered when they heard his ugly voice. "Can you talk, freak?"

Will was so little that his backpack and ragged pants swallowed him, and all it took was one shove from the bully for him to topple over into the dirt. His painting went flying.

Ginny gritted her teeth. "Hey!" she called, angry.

The crowd parted, the various elementary schoolers scared of the thirteen year old marching through their ranks. The bully was a big kid, who couldn't be much younger than Ginny herself, but she was still taller.

She kneeled next to tiny Will Byers, helping him to his feet and brushing off the knees of his pants. "Are you okay, Will?"

He nodded frantically, his cheeks red and eyes wide.

Ginny looked at his painting, which laid on the ground in between them and the bully. Will reached for it, but she stopped him, staring the ugly bully in his eyes.

"Pick it up," she ordered.

The bully scoffed, making a face. "What?"

Ginny pointed to the painting, holding onto Will's arm firmly. "His painting. Pick it up."