#paladigm

𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐫𝐨𝐰

i. 

          veronica and mike were born roughly a week apart in april of 1971. while they did attend the same school their entire lives, the most one knew about the other was whatever minor observations made in school or offhand comments made over the years by singular shared thread at this time: will byers.          the first major interaction between the two would be the 1982 hawkins middle school science fair. veronica had entered late, dragging her feet with her parents request for her to be more involved, and took first prize. mike was, justifiably, annoyed about it. outside of that, the two did not interact further.

ii. 

          with will’s disappearance, veronica stepped out of the sidelines to make an effort to find her cousin. in doing so, she inserted herself as something of a middle man ( a rogue ) between her aunt joyce and her cousin’s group of friends. veronica and mike formed an allyship over the week of will’s disappearance.

iii. 

          over the year following will’s return, veronica and mike grew close. veronica’s newfound concern and care for her cousin propped her in as an unofficial member of the party. mike’s distress about eleven paired with will’s ongoing recovery left the relatively unscathed sawyer to try a hand at comforting both. this time would sprout a friendship, and attachment, between the two: homework together, a shared interest in writing and swapping their own work to commend or critique, veronica more or less enjoying her time with the boys and especially with mike. throughout the events of this season, veronica still acts as something of a middle man between the byers and the party while primarily sticking beside mike as a natural consequence of the newfound attachment.

iv.

❛            GUARANTEE  ALL  YOU  NEED  TO  DO          is  sit  back——          ❜          a  gentle  tug  at  mike’s  shoulders  until  he  reclines  into  the  couch.          ❛          take  a  load  off——          ❜          a  quick  scoot  around  to  pull  his  sneakered  soles  onto  their  makeshift  footrest  of  a  table     :     he  crosses  mike’s  legs  as  a  casual  afterthought  before  joining  him  with  a  more  enthusiastic  bound  onto  the  couch,   a  jolt  of  the  mattress  when  he  lands.

❛            ——and  not  think  about  it  all  day   !          ❜

                           ❛  𝐍𝐎  𝐎𝐍𝐄  𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐄  𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄  𝐘𝐄𝐓   ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶   𝐇𝐔𝐇 ?  ❜    long  red  hair  flows  freely  in  the  chilly  air  of  a  late  february  afternoon  .  cheeks  ,  still  a  bit  flushed  from  the  uphill  skate  that  is  maple  street  .   she  stands  across  from  mike  wheeler  ,  with  her  arms  across  her  chest   at  the  front  door  of  the  wheeler  house   —      with  it ‘ s  perfectly  immaculate  lawn  ,  identical  in  essence  to  all  of  the  houses  on  maple  street  .    

billy ‘ s  music  blasting  from  down  the  hall  ,  making  thin  walls  tremble  ,  along  with  neil ‘ s  teeth  grit  ,  and  his  fist  clench  ----  her  mother  ,  always  complacent  .  her  modestly  downcast  eyes  flipping  through  the  pages  of  some  home - decor  magazine  .  tuning  out  the  life  around  her  ,  and  dreaming  of  the  one  she  never  got  to  have  .  some  days , it  was  easier  to  get  out  of  the  house  than  others  ---  on  days  like  today  you  got  out  while  you  still  could  . 

refusing  to  give  him  the  opportunity  to  close  the  door  in  her  face  ,  she  steps  around  mike  and  into  the  house  .  pictures  hang  on  the  walls  ,  and  whatever  mrs .  wheeler  is  cooking  for  dinner  is  bound  to  be  delicious  .  god  ,  she ‘ d  bet  good  money  on  them  owning  a  golden  retriever  .  picture  perfect  .  she  muses  ,  that  nothing  like  what  is  brewing  thirteen  blocks  away   in  rundown cherry  street  could  ever  happen  here 

“ look ,   you   don’t   have   to   like   me ,   but   they   happen   to   think   i’m   pretty   cool .  ”

dear diary, i don’t think will’s friend mike likes me too much.

       MIKE  WHEELER,  to  veronica,  is, most  importantly because of it’s rarity, someone  she  relates  to.  he’s  the  first  person  that  she  can  see  any  of  herself  in.  in  her  eyes,  he’s  plenty  like  her  but  better.  mike  fits  where  veronica  doesn’t  ;  he  prefers  the  lead,  he  can  easily  form  bonds  and  genuine  connections  with  the  people  around  him,  and  he  takes  these  relationships  with  a  seriousness  and  drive  that  veronica  barely  musters  to  have  in  herself (  let  alone  others  ). 

he seemed pretty mad about the science fair and i guess i feel bad. i didn’t even want to do it in the first place and i’m sure they worked pretty hard on their entry.

      she  thinks  he’s  gangly  and  all  limbs  —  winter  pale  all  year  round  with  a  heap  of  pitch,  mushroom  top  hair  on  his  head  to  balance  and  contrast.  veronica's  definitely  written  that  he’s  the  nicest  looking  boy  in  school  and  she  might  resent  him  a  little  bit  for  time  she’s  spent  thinking  about  that.  if  she  could  make  one,  minor  adjustment,  she’d  straighten  out  his  posture  or  knock  him  down  a  few  inches  to  spare  her  own  height. any  and  all  physical  awkwardness  is  played  up  as  endearing  in  her  eyes.

i overheard mr. clark call it a political move so i take it back. i don’t feel that bad, mike can hate me for all i care.

     veronica  sees  mike  as  a  very  honest,  brave,  and  genuinely  kind  person  so  it’s  not  a  surprise  that  she  admires  him  as  much  as  she  does.  there’s  nothing  really  that  she  places  above  being  an  authentic,  good  person  and  mike  really  embodies  that  for  her.  anything  he  says  is  taken  to  heart  and  into  consideration.  he’s  her  first  real  friend  so  he’s  someone  that  she’s  always  going  to  think  of  in  an  extremely  positive  light.

❝     ‘ FRIENDS   DON’T   LIE ’ .     ❞          his  voice  carries ,    &    yet  the  tone  is  softer ,    discreet ,    subject  touched  upon  a  most  precious  one          (     water  he’s  learned  to  tread  carefully     )          &    elbows  come  to  casually  rest  on  his  thighs  ;     he  CRAVES  a  cigarette .          ❝     it’s   a   good   concept .     ❞          gaze  SHIFTS ,     almost  elusive  as  hopper  ponders .          ❝     you   taught   her   that ,   didn’t   you     ?     ❞