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CHAPTER FOUR INTERROGATION
Alex found herself sitting in the armchair beside Mike, Lucas, and Dustin, who had all squished onto the single tiny couch in the Principal's office. They had surrendered the chair to her instantly, each one of them afraid to be in such close proximity to Alex. She glared at the ground in front of her as the boys' voices overlapped in all scrambling to answer the questions that were presented before them. Alex, however, stayed silent. It was a state in which she had become acquainted with recently; she had come to know some of its many faces now, ever-changing, it always loomed somewhere in the distance, ready to swallow the buzzing world.
Finally, tired of the clamor from the boys, the man in khaki — Chief Jim Hopper — threw his hands up, silencing the overexcited boys. "Okay, okay, okay. One at a time, all right?"
There wasn't a lot to say about Jim Hopper; of course, almost everyone had heard the tragic backstory of the gruff police chief. He had once been married and with a daughter, a happy picture-perfect family living up in New York City. That was until his daughter had been diagnosed with cancer. Despite the chemotherapy, she didn't survive and had died sometime later. After a rough divorce, Hopper had turned to alcoholism to cope with his grief and moved to the small town of Hawkins, Indiana in an effort to escape the grim reality in which he lived. Except, in a town like Hawkins, there is no escaping from your past or from your future. News spreads like wildfire in a town like Hawkins, and a spark is only fanned into a flame as whispers travel from mouth to mouth. Privacy is something alien to Hawkins because, in a town so dull and boring, people depend on the misfortune and triumphs of others in order to survive in the mundane town.
Alex's silence had little to do with the presence of the police and what she knew about them, but more about why they were there, sitting across from them. She wasn't still didn't know why she had been taken along with Mike, Lucas, and Dustin; but she supposed it looped back around to the fear theory. They were desperate to find Will, who had disappeared, a concept that Alex was still trying to wrap her head around. They were so desperate to bring Hawkins back to normal, they would question anyone as long as it made the slightest bit of sense; after all, she had the weakest connection to Will out of the four children in the office, but they relied on the hope that even the smallest thing could help bring the boy home. The thought of there actually being such horrors in a town where so little happens would cause an uproar of panic, parents would keep their children under lock and key, people would eye others with suspicion, fingers would be pointed, and accusations carelessly made until the danger passed and Hawkins returned to its innocent, perfect state once more.
"You've been awfully quiet." She felt the eyes of the police chief boring into her as she stared at the spot in between her shoes, and looked up to meet his gaze. Alex only stared back, unchallenged and undaunted, daring him to hold her gaze until the chief finally broke that long stare and looked away.
