Marigold Lonsdale was like the sun; a bright shining attention grabbing beautiful thing and if you got too close, you burned. She was the very thing many people gravitated towards naturally, always the centre of attention and desire. Daisy Lonsdale was like the moon; she was cold, distant and sometimes turned dark. Although, the two girls were opposites, they were a matching set. So, when the sun ran away, it tilted the balance in the universe of Hawkins and the moon was left utterly alone.

The monotone voice of Mr. Kaminsky filtered through the classroom, most students clocking down notes, some reading through the heavy textbook. Dottie Fields had been staring dreamily out the windows that overlooked the student carpark. Her thoughts were filled with the lunch special in the cafeteria and how pretty Nancy Wheeler looked today. She wasn't even thinking about the horrible ordeal that had occurred in the corridor earlier that day with the footballers. Things like that usually didn't affect her, mostly. Her mother had taught her from a very young age that she should rise above such things regarding racism and stupid small minded boys. Daisy Lonsdale was doodling away in her chemistry textbook, defacing the outdated pictures. She was not remotely paying attention, a rather familiar habit with all her classes now, a part from visual arts.

"Defacing school library property, I dare say that's a detention." Mr. Kaminsky, a snippy, overweight and balding man, suddenly stood in front of Daisy's desk, staring down at her handiwork with a scowl.

Daisy admired her work, "I think the moustache really brightens up the page, sir."

The doodle hovered over an innocent young boy in the middle of a science experiment, holding up a test tub filled with liquid, a Bunsen burner beside him. Daisy always joked about the poor paid models in school textbooks, displaying how fun science could be with this strange dead look in their eyes. With black pen, a little speech bubble stated the boy's thought, I'm dead inside, science sucks and I don't get paid enough for this crap. Mr. Kaminsky was not so impressed and slammed down an exam paper on her desk.

"See me after class, Miss Lonsdale." His words were clipped before he was stalking away, handing out more recently marked exam papers. Daisy flipped over the page, staring at the bright red F printed on the page.

Dottie learned over, spotting the failing grade. She knew Daisy's grades had been slipping for months now, but didn't really know how to try and help. Dottie knew how mundane high school seemed now, how a tragic situation could change somebody's prospective. Daisy Lonsdale indeed found high school trivial now. "I think the moustache really works, yeah." her friend noted quietly with a smile.

After class was finally over, the bell sounding through the building, Daisy was shuffling towards Mr. Kaminsky's desk up front of the classroom. Dottie had promised to meet her later in the cafeteria, having to stop by the library to exchange some books. Most students had cleared out by now, nobody wanting to stay late to write down homework that wouldn't get touched over the upcoming weekend. Nancy Wheeler hovered by their teacher's desk too, a little confused why Mr. Kaminsky had called her up when she had aced her exam paper. "What's up, sir?" Daisy questioned casually.

Nancy sent her a little look with her comment. "Mr. Kaminsky, I'm a little confused..."

Mr. Kaminsky drummed his fat fingers along his desk. "Miss Lonsdale, you're failing my class."

"Don't take it personally, I'm failing all my classes." Daisy shrugged casually.

Her teacher didn't even crack a smile, Daisy finding him beyond boring. Nancy Wheeler didn't even blink with the girl's smart-ass statement. Although, she couldn't possibly imagine failing any of her classes, it was not surprising for Daisy Lonsdale, who had fallen behind since her sister had left town. "Despite your lack of interest in chemistry, I'm pairing you up with Miss Wheeler here, who is the brightest student in the class, for tutoring."

A silence sounded in the classroom, Daisy shooting the overachieving pretty Nancy Wheeler a horrible glare, her arms crossing over her chest. "No offence, sir, what makes you think I'm interested in private tutoring from the teacher's pet? With all due respect, well not really, but anyway, you can't force me into tutoring."

Mr. Kaminsky was smiling cruelly though, shifting forward in his chair. "That's actually something I can indeed do, Miss Lonsdale." Daisy went to protest but her teacher put up a finger, silencing her. "I've spoken with the principle and your mother. If you do not make an attempt in studying with Miss Wheeler and improving your grades, you'll be expelled."

Daisy clicked her jaw, her eyes narrowing across at the man. "I wouldn't really care."

"I figured as much," he said. "But your darling mother might have a different opinion on that. She couldn't allow her only respectful daughter now being expelled. She has a bit of sway on the school board, you see. You'll be tutored by Miss Wheeler. No questions."

The blonde was already fuming, despising her dear mother once again. The Lonsdale family had ties in almost everything in Hawkins, curtsey of her great grandfather. She should have known her mother would play that card and knowing all too well, this was a battle her mother would not back down from, Daisy had no choice today. "Fine. Whatever." Daisy huffed out sourly, moving towards the doorway, but turned to face the man again, a smugness resting in his eyes. "You and my mother might be able to force me into tutoring, but you can't force me to pass my exams."

With those final words, Daisy was turning away again and storming from the classroom. She could feel that familiar anger bubbling away in her veins, begging to be unleashed. Swearing under her breath, she started for the art studio, the only place in school that she didn't hate. "Daisy, wait up!"

Nancy Wheeler, although not pleased with the arrangement, was not the type of girl to go against her teacher's word, not if she wanted to keep her high grades. She figured by tutoring Daisy Lonsdale, she could get in Mr. Kaminsky's good graces since his exams were impossible sometimes. "What do you want, tutor girl?" Daisy snipped out.

"Um, well just about our tutoring sessions," Nancy started, her tiny hands clutching her books to her chest, almost like they were a shield used against the world. "I'm free Sunday night, you could drop by the house. We'll go over some notes, if you want. I've got heaps of study cards—"

Daisy forced a smile. "Right." Although, she wanted to laugh in Nancy's face, declaring this whole tutoring thing was nothing but a joke, a cruel backhanded slap in the face by her mother, some sort of petty revenge, she couldn't blame Nancy Wheeler. "I'll stop by after work."

"Okay, great."

Nancy was sweet as sugar, Daisy finding the sweetness nothing but bitter in her mind. "Just peachy."

***

The art studio was quiet and lonely, nobody but Daisy Lonsdale filling up the tall desks. Ms. Flannings, a little old Scottish lady with bright orange hair and a flare for the dramatic let the young girl stay after hours to work on her art. Ms. Flannings was one of the only teachers Daisy actually liked because she didn't treat her any differently.

Many afternoons, Daisy spent her time hiding out in the art studio, liking the quiet and the loneliness and honestly, it beat hanging out at home most days. Right now, the young artist was working with water colours, something her art teacher encouraged her to dabble in. Ms. Flannings also encouraged her to branch away from just sketching, promising her painting would suit her too, but Daisy hadn't tried her hand at that just yet.

"Hey you," Dottie Fields was stepping inside the slightly cold room, her eyes skimming over the paintings that lined the back wall and the easels set up. The dark skinned girl wandered by the darkroom, noticing a lone boy busy with his own art inside. "I pinched some pudding from the cafeteria."

Daisy was smiling faintly, watching her best friend take a seat while eyeing her work, always quite impressed and intrigued with what Daisy's mind created somedays. "Comfort food, huh?"

"Well, I heard about the tutoring thing. Barb mentioned it in our history class." Dottie confessed quietly, knowing Daisy would have been fuming with the arrangement. "So, I thought pudding might ease whatever you're feeling about it. I mean, it's not the worst thing, you get to spend time with Nancy Wheeler."

The comment had been innocent enough about Nancy, but Daisy knew deep down there was more to it. "It's whatever, you know?" She was slowly coming to terms with her mother's little plan of revenge for going against her word so often. "Anyway, how are you? With everything that happened with the football guys today..."

Dottie appreciated her friend asking, "It's whatever, you know?"

Both girls smiled with the choice of words and as they opened up their chocolate puddings, the heavy door to the darkroom clinked open, their heads snapping up from the sudden break in the peaceful silence. Jonathan Byers was pausing in the doorway, his camera swinging from his neck and a stack of inky photographs in his hands. Nobody said a word, each just staring and lost in their own thoughts. Daisy Lonsdale was already wondering which photographs he was holding, while Jonathan Byers wondered how a lonely moon could grow pass the darkness without her sun.