#oc: phoebe huynh

[splinteredmercies]

SPRING CLEANING ‘24 ␥ Phoebe Huynh (2/?)

fandom: stranger things

pairing: eventual and implied chrissy cunningham/phoebe huynh (oc)

author's note: originally written during the summer of '22, this hasn't seen the light of say other than a friend or two i've sent it to. it was also the time when i challenged myself to write in present tense. i planned it to be a one-shot like almost everything else i've written in the last two years. phoebe and chrissy are the definition of those middle school female friendships you never truly recover from, lol.

word count: 598

It’s the September of 1979. The Huynhs have moved from sunny California to dreary Indiana to open a nail salon in the heart of Hawkins, and Phoebe is entering sixth grade at the local middle school.

Phoebe’s schedule shows her first class is U.S. History with Mrs. Cassandra Callahan. Phoebe makes her way to the class—trying and failing to ignore how she’s the only Asian person in the building and how all the students stare and whisper.

The stares and whispers are worse when she’s one of the first students in the classroom. Her peers make a lousy attempt at sneaking glances at her while she is busy observing the classroom and Mrs. Callahan.

Mrs. Callahan is younger than the cluster of teachers hanging around their doorways in the Social Studies hallway. She’s newlywed, going off how she fiddles with the simple but shiny gold band on her left ring finger and stares at it with a sparkling gaze. Wispy strands of blonde hair fall around her face, and Phoebe can tell she has bright and eager blue eyes.

The bell rings, and Mrs. Callahan walks to her desk with a sunny smile. “Good morning, everyone! Since it’s the first day of school, we’ll do some ice-breakers before going over the syllabus and the class rules and expectations.”

Everyone is quiet except for the occasional shuffle as the kids move around in their seats. Mrs. Callahan brightens at the lack of groans and complaints. She picks up a clipboard with a pencil. “I’m going to call roll.”

Mrs. Callahan makes her way quickly through the list, but her confidence wavers through the H section.

“H-U-Y-N-H? I’m so sorry I can’t pronounce this—” Mrs. Callahan’s voice is high-pitched and hesitant when her eyes fall upon Phoebe. “How do you pronounce your last name, sweetie?”

Something about how Mrs. Callahan says “sweetie” aggravates Phoebe, but she swallows her pride, plasters on a saccharine smile, and gives her the correct pronunciation.

“Oh, I’m never gonna get that correct,” Mrs. Callahan mumbles, scribbling something down on the page.

In front of her, a girl turns around. The sudden motion makes the straw-colored hair in a ponytail whip around her face. “Hi, I’m Chrissy! I like your nail polish color!”

Phoebe looks down at her hands. The polish—a soft pink by the name of “Pink Almond”—had been applied by her mother during their mother-daughter bonding time she insisted on every Saturday night. Her mother had chosen the color, saying that neutrals and soft polishes on her natural nails suited Phoebe for the upcoming school year, and she promised they’d go back to experimenting with the bolder set of trendy colors during the summer.

“Thank you,” Phoebe replies with a clipped, polite tone. She looks back at Chrissy with the hopes the other girl understands she’s hesitant to talk to her and cools down the cheerfulness. It’s simply too early for this.

“Can I see your schedule? I want to see how many classes we have together.”

Phoebe feels like Chrissy is staking her claim on her. And, strangely, finds she doesn’t mind at all. She passes Chrissy her schedule and watches as the girl skims it.

“Sweet! We have basically all our classes together.” Chrissy seems excited at the thought but hesitates at Phoebe’s stony silence. “I was going to ask if you wanted to stick together, but if you—I mean, you don’t have to say yes—”

“No,” Phoebe interrupts. A smile tugs at her lips, one more sincere than the one aimed at Mrs. Callahan earlier. “We can stick together.”

#karla’s spring cleaning ‘24 #oc: phoebe huynh #karla’s plot bunnies #tv: stranger things #stranger things #chrissy cunningham #drabble