the pollywog

✧

. . . I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, cherry bomb!"

The lyrics slipped from their lips, jumping around and skipping to the song they listened to not too long ago. With their hands intertwined together, flashing their matching nail polish, Rue and Max walked to school together from their sleepover.

Despite Max's protests, the two shared Rue's bed. At first, they were on their backs, inches away from each other as they stared at the dark roof. That only lasted for a few minutes before they said fuck it. Rue had her head snuggled by Max's shoulder, and her nose would brush by her neck every once in a while. Max didn't seem to mind because every time she would pull Rue closer, wrapping her arms around the girl's waist.

Since neither of them knew how to cook, they decided cereal for breakfast would be fine. After getting changed with the loud music of The Runaways, Max and Rue were off for another school day.

Rue held onto her bike with her free hand, watching as Max nodded her head to the nonexistent music. Butterflies were set loose in her tummy at the sight of the girl wearing her clothes. Max rocked Rue's yellow sweater, and the girl couldn't help but think that she should let Max keep it. It looked better on her anyway.

She chewed on her lip to suppress her smile from growing more. Rue looked down at her shoes; she wore low green converse, baggy blue jeans, a brown shirt that belonged to her mother in the 70s and a green hoodie to match her shoes. Max had chosen her outfit, making sure Rue got the point that earthy colours looked best on her, green and brown particularly.

"Hello, world, I'm your wild girl . . . I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, cherry bomb!"

They only settled down when they reached the school grounds, where the chatter from other students filled, and they were no longer alone. Rue locked her bike away, and their hands, swinging in the air again.

"Rue!" The two girls stopped and turned around to see Will Byers running up to them, "Oh, hi Max!" he greeted the ginger.

"Hey, Will," Max smiled at him, "are you feeling any better?"

Will furrowed his eyebrows before nodding. It was as if he had forgotten all about last night. "Oh, yeah, totally."

"Great! You gave us quite a scare last night." Max punched his shoulder in a friendly manner.

The small boy let out a forced laugh, rubbing the spot where Max had hit him. "No, yeah, I'm fine, it's all good — " he turned to Rue, " — Your dad drove me today — "

"Oh, no," Rue groaned, "he didn't tell you any more bath stories did he?"

Will chuckled, shaking his head, "No, not this time. But you left this at my house," he began to rummage through his bag before pulling out a baseball cap. "Here,"

"Oh, thanks?" she took it gingerly, not seeing why Will had given it to her when he could have left it in her dad's car.

"I like your lunch box," Max pointed, staring at the metal Ghostbusters themed box.

Will went a beat red for a second, thinking she was making fun of him before she continued.

"They're cool, I guess. I liked the movie. Egon was my favourite."

The boy blinked, caught off guard. But he quickly jumped back to say: "I was Egon for Halloween yesterday!"

Max's eyes widened, "Shit, really? I knew you guys were them, but I didn't think you chose characters."

"Of course we did, we're not amateurs," said a new voice, and Lucas had walked into their conversation. "Will, Rue, MadMax," he greeted with a boyish grin and nod.

"More like nerds," Max snorted, but she quickly stopped after seeing the look on Rue's face. "Sorry,"

"We should start heading instead," Rue started, turning in on her heels.

"Actually, I need to talk to Lucas for a second," Max tugged on her hand before letting go, "I'll see you in class, though."

"Oh, okay," Rue said and followed Will inside the school. Walking down the halls, Rue started a conversation with Will about the movie "The Terminator," to pull him away from the stares everyone gave him.

For a boy who died and came back to life, you'd think he'd be one of the most popular kids, but no. The topic was popular, and Will Byers was like the laughing stock of the school.

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

"Phineas was a railroad worker in 1848 who had a nightmarish accident," Mr. Clarke explained the day's lesson to the class. "A large iron rod was driven completely through his head," He drew on the sheet that projected to the board. "Phineas miraculously survived. He seemed fine."

Rue, like always, was writing down notes. She wasn't focused on the class, though, her mind wandering off towards the window. Birds flew past with a twittering song at the tip of the beaks.

"And physically — yes, he was fine. But his injury consulted complete change in his personality . . . "

Rue ran a hand through her hair before her fingers played with the ends. She looked down at the hazel coloured strands. Her hair was getting so long . . .

Mr. Clarke's words faded away as she turned to look for a scrunchie in her bag.

Just as Rue had finished pulling her hair into a quick bun — which wasn't very neat but messy as strands flew out and some fell to her face — the door burst open.

Dustin Henderson ran into the classroom out of breath. "I am so sorry, Mr. Clarke," he rushed to his desk by the front of the class. "Really, I'm so sorry. Please continue with the class." Dustin struggled to take off his bag, making a scene in front of the class.

His cheeks went red in embarrassment, "Really — continue please," he pleads, finally sitting back down.

Rue smiled softly at the boy's flustered actions before picking up her pencil once again.

". . . Although, it wasn't a crowbar, it was a rod, as I said . . ." Mr. Clarke continued.

Rue looked up and turned around to a soft tap on her shoulder. When she did, she saw Max pointing at Dustin, who was trying to get their attention. "A.V club, lunch!" he whisper-yelled across the class.

"Dustin!" Their teacher called.

The curly-headed boy whipped back around. "Yes, my lord?"

"Would you care to join the class now?"

"Please, yes!" he started to dig in his bag.

Mr. Clarke sighed, "The case of Phineas Gage."

"Phineas Gage," he echoed.

"Page 104."

"104. 104."

"And focus."

"Focusing. Focusing," Dustin repeated, then turning back around to the girls. "A.V club," he whispered again. Both Rue and Max gave him a thumbs up, earning a big pearly smile from him.

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

"I was really hoping to have those cookies at the cafeteria today," Rue pouted as she walked between Will and Max towards the A.V club room.

Lucas hummed from next to Will, nodding. "Me too, they're always so soft and warm — "

Rue beamed, pointing at him, "And in the middle — "

"The best part!" Lucas exclaimed.

"That's what I've been saying!"

Will and Max held amused grins as the two talked about the famous chocolate chip cookies.

"Maybe Dustin will make this quick and we can still make it," Will offered, opening the A.V club door.

"He better," Max muttered, and Lucas and Rue hummed in agreement.

The four of them walked into the room to find Dustin and Mike already waiting for them.

The six eighth-graders leaned forward on the table, staring down at what contained Dustin's box from his Ghostbusters' costume. "His name is D'Artagnan," he said, picking up a slug that was inside. "Cute, right?"

"I think we have different definitions of 'cute.'" Max gagged at the sight of it.

"Dustin," Rue started, scrunching her nose as she tried to find the words. "I — he's — " pursing her lips, she looked over at Will for help. The boy only shrugged, which wasn't any help at all.

"He's . . ." she huffed, "I'm sorry, I can't lie to you. That looks like a rotten Twinkie someone dropped in snot."

"D'Artagnan?" Mike said slowly, lost from the choice of name.

"Dart for short," Dustin said with a big smile.

Rue didn't know if she should be amazed by the creature or disgusted. It was fascinating to look at. She's never seen anything like it as 'Dart' made soft noises in Dustin's hand.

"And he was in your trash?" Max asked.

Dustin nodded, "Foraging for food," his eyes brightened as he looked from Dart to Max. "'You wanna hold him?"

"No," she declined quickly, stumbled away from Dustin, "no, no," she shook her head.

However, Dustin didn't seem to understand what 'no' meant as he placed Dart on Max's hands.

"Oh, God!" she squirmed, "he's slimy!" she exclaimed, rushing to pass it to Lucas.

"Ugh, he's like a living booger!" he groaned, passing it to Will, who only gagged and gave it to Rue.

Rue froze for a moment, feeling Dart wiggle in her hands. She giggled softly. He tickled as he squirmed in her palms. Rue raised her hands to get a better look at the little guy. Maybe she was judging too quickly. The little thing was harmless.

Then, Mike took Dart from her, earning a bewildered "Hey!" from the girl.

"What is he?"

"My questions exactly," Dustin said with a grin. He pulled out books from his bag as Mike put Dart in the middle of a rolled-up belt. "At first, I thought it was some type of pollywog," Dustin explained.

"Pollywog?"

"It's another word for tadpole," he explained to Max, who nodded.

"A tadpole is a larval stage of the toad — "

"I—I know what a tadpole is," she made a face as she looked over at Rue with a face that screamed; can you believe this guy?

Rue shook her head, holding back a laugh before turning her attention back to Dustin. She zipped up her hoodie, tugging on the sleeves, covering her hands.

"Alright, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right?" he told them, earning nods from everyone. "Well, Dart he isn't. He doesn't need water."

"Yeah, but aren't there non-aquatic pollywogs?" Lucas asked.

"Terrestrial polliwogs? Yep. Two, to be exact." he opened his book to a page about Indirana Semipalmate.

Rue took a few steps back to stand next to Will, who looked about three shades paler than usually, "Are you okay?" she whispered to him, placing her covered hand on his shoulder.

"Uh, yeah," he hummed. "It's just gross."

"Do you guys see that?" Mike cut Max off, who was talking.

Everyone got closer to see what he was talking about, Rue squished between Will and Mike, who said, "Looks like something's moving inside of it."

"Is he pregnant?" Rue asked the first thing that popped into her head.

Mike scoffed from beside her, "It's a boy."

Rue frowned, feeling stupid. She moved the lamp so she could get a better look at what Mike was talking about but soon regretted it as Dart began screeching, making everyone jump back.

"I'm sorry!"

Dart crawled his way over the belt, almost falling off the table before Dustin caught him and rocked him like a baby. "It's okay, It's okay. I got you, little guy."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Rue rambled, her fingers fidgeting with her sleeves. "I'm sorry, I—I didn't mean to — "

"It's okay, Rue," Dustin smiled at her, "there's another thing. Reptiles, they're cold-blooded. Ectothermic, right?" he began to explain, "They love heat, the sun. Dart hates it. It hurts him."

"So, if he's not a pollywog," Lucas started, "or a reptile — "

" — Then I've discovered a new species," Dustin said.

The bell rang, making them all jump. "Oh, no! Rue! The cookies!" Lucas exclaimed.

Rue's eyes widened, and she rushed to grab her bag, Lucas following her as they ran out of the room. "Do you think it's too late? Are they all gone?"

They ran around students who made their way to class, rushing towards the cafeteria.

Lucas and Rue only slowed down when they saw Troy Walsh and his friend James Dante walking out, both of them having handfuls of the cookies they craved.

"Lunch ended," Troy said with a mocking tone, "or did you not hear the bell?"

Lucas growled at him, but Rue pulled him away and into the cafeteria, but to their dismay, the cookie stand was empty. Nothing but crumbs.

"Damn," Lucas huffed, throwing his hands in the air.

Rue frowned, patting his back, "We'll get them tomorrow, yeah?"

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

"This is the reason why I was late for class," Dustin beamed, placing the box from his costume on the table.

Mr. Clarke nodded and stared at the box. "Pretty neat, do these door function?" he asked, running his fingers over the paint.

"Yeah, obviously — but it's not about the trap, it's what's inside." Dustin began to explain how what's inside belongs to him, wasting time. Mr. Clarke didn't notice as he paid close attention to what one of his best students was saying.

Dustin!" Rue blurted out, making him look over at her, "show him!"

She was growing impatient with his stalling. She wanted to see her teacher's reaction to the creature inside the trap; if he'd be amazed or disgusted? Suspend Dustin for bringing such a thing to school grounds? The question ran through her mind, and the suspense was killing her.

"I'm just clarifying — "

"Dustin!" Max and Lucas shouted, agreeing with Rue.

Dustin nodded, "Right, okay fine." He mumbled.

Rue, Lucas and Max leaned closer as he went to press the button to open the trap. Although, just seconds before he could, Mike burst into the room, making everyone jump at his sudden entrance.

"Stop!" he yelled, running up to the desk.

"What are you doing?" Max asked through gritted teeth, only for him to ignore her.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Clarke," he began, grabbing the trap with Dart. "This was just some stupid prank — " he said quickly. "I told him to stop."

"What the hell are you doing?!" Dustin exclaimed as Mike rushed back to the door with the trap.

"We need to go," he said out of breath, "right now," he was jumping in his spot, "Right now!" his voice boomed in the classroom before he turned into a sprint.

The kids started to rush out of the room, following Mike. Halfway down the hall, Rue slowed down and turned around. She ran back into the classroom, "I'm so so sorry, Mr. Clarke, I have no idea what happened. Again, sorry for wasting your time."

Mr. Clarke smiled, shaking his head, "It's fine. I get this from their group all the time."

"Okay!" Rue nodded before running back out into the halls. She turned the corner, not having any idea where they'd gone until she heard Max's shouts.

Max banged on the door to the A.V room, "Hello?! Hello?!" she scoffed when she didn't get an answer, "Guys come on can I come in yet?!" she yelled.

"No!" Mike's voice yelled from the other side of the door.

Max grumbled, hitting the door once more before sitting down on her skateboard in defeat. She leaned her head back on the wall, staring at Rue, who slowly sat before her.

"Michael Wheeler, everybody," Max mumbled with a scoff. "What a dick."

"What are you doing?" Rue asked, crawling towards Max as she watched her pull out textbooks from her school bag.

"Why does Mike get to choose what we can or can't do?" she said after finding a paperclip in the depths of her bag.

"This is going to end badly," Rue spoke quietly, "I have a feeling."

"Loosen up a little," Max winked at her, un-assembling the wire so it could fit in the door knob's lock. "Alright," she muttered, shaking the wire a bit.

Just as Rue finished putting all Max's books back in her bag, the ginger got the door open. Loud yells were coming from behind her. Rue turned around to see the boys staring at the two of them.

Max gasped as she stared at Dart, who had grown twice his size from lunch and now had legs and arms to crawl. "What the — ? "

Dart quickly slithered between Max's legs and over to Rue. Dart jumped on her hoodie, hanging on her zipper, slowly unzipping it as his weight pulled him down.

Rue forced herself to stay calm as she slowly moved her hands up to pull Dart off her, and everything was going fine until someone screamed: "WHAT DID YOU DO?" and Dart jumped off her, falling on the floor and running off.

All the boys ran out of the room to get Dart back, only for them to trip over Max.

"No!" Dustin yelled as Dart disappeared.

Mike ran out of the room, looking around the halls, "Where did he go?"

"What was that?" Max got up from the floor.

"Dart!" Mike yelled in distress.

"What?!"

Mike whipped his head over to Rue, his face turning red in anger, "YOU let him escape!" he started to point fingers.

"I did NOT!"

"Don't lie! I saw him on your shirt! You let him go!"

"Why did you attack him?!" Dustin barked at Mike, who only rolled his eyes at what he was saying and ran off, "Don't hurt him! DON'T YOU HURT HIM! MIKE — I SWEAR — "

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

"Max, this is crazy!" Rue whispered, hugging herself as Max had walked into the boy's locker room. "Max!" she called when the door closed, and the ginger disappeared. "Max! Max, Max, Max, Max, Max — "

"Jesus, Rue," the door swung open, and Max stood there crossing her arms over her chest. "It's a locker room!"

"But — that's gross."

"Because it's the boys'?"

"Yeah,"

"I pity your future husband."

Rue could feel the heat rise to her face. She quickly looked down at the gym floor, finding it a lot more interesting. The tip of her shoe pointed at the ground, and she traced random patterns to the wood tiles. "Yeah, right," she let out a forced laugh, "my future husband..."

"What? Don't you plan to marry or something?"