#md001

while lucas had never actually played on the hawkins middle basketball court, it was easier to sneak in here than hawkins high because of the fault back door they hadn’t fixed since he and the others had graduated. sometimes, he just preferred the feel of the hardwood to the concrete of the neighborhood court while he practiced his free throws. and also? once he finished his one hundred shots, he’d creep down the hall and spend some time in mr. clarke’s classroom. he’d done this a few times since the funeral, like by just being in the space scott clarke had occupied he might be able to absorb more of his knowledge and kindness simply by osmosis. 

he’d just shot -and made- his hundredth foul shot, so lucas collected the basketball and headed out of the gym and down the corridor, dribbling the ball along the tiled floor as he went. these hallways were full of memories. that was the bathroom where dart had escaped to. there was the av club room where he and the rest of the party had spent countless afternoons trying to talk to people in california, never knowing that one day they might dream of moving there. and at the end of the hall? that was mr. clarke’s classroom. this was where he’d scribbled out his d&d character sheet, where he’d first laid eyes on max mayfield, where he, dustin, and the others had done that project on dinosaurs in full costume. it was the one place in this school he felt the most free to just be lucas. and he needed that space now more than ever.

today, though, the door to mr. clarke’s classroom was open. that had never happened before. lucas hesitated, catching the ball in his hands and holding it. was that...music? and why was the light on? suddenly, lucas wished he’d brought more than the wrist rocket with him today. he crept along the corridor, sticking close to the lockers, until he reached the open doorway and poked his head inside. there was a stranger in the science classroom and he was putting mr. clarke’s things into boxes. planting the basketball on his hip, lucas cleared his throat and spoke in a loud, clear voice. “what the fuck are you doing with mr. clarke’s stuff?”