𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐄, mike wheeler

001

THE VANISHING OF WILL BYERS

NOVEMBER 6TH, 1983
HAWKINS, INDIANA

MELANIE HARRINGTON WAS not one to care about anything. At least, that's what others saw. Everyone saw her as a girl who didn't give a fuck; the younger sister of King Harrington. But Melanie cared a lot.

As she walked down the halls of Hawkins Middle School, she couldn't help but wonder  if people thought good or bad about her. Was she a popular stuck-up snob, or was she a kind soul with a bad reputation?

Melanie never failed to take notice of one group in particular: the Hawkins Middle AV Club. Four nerdy boys that were outcast and bullied.

That day, Melanie needed somewhere to be other than her home, seeing as her brother was having another one of his 'great parties' while their parents were out of town.

Usually, Melanie would just go hang by the local quarry down the street from their house, but today, she had a new goal in mind:

Hangout with the Hawkins Middle AV Club.

Would this give her a worse reputation? Would this bring her popularity status down? Sure, but Melanie didn't care.

Being popular wasn't all that great to her. She never felt like she had any true friends, just people wanting to rise above the others walking amongst each other.

The AV Club seemed like great, loyal friends, and that's all Melanie wanted at the moment. Melanie wanted friends, not popularity.

The bell rings, signifying the end of class and the end of the school day. Everybody packs up their things to leave, except the AV Club. They all had excited looks on their faces.

The deemed nerds, Will Byers, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, and Mike Wheeler watch as everybody rushes through the classroom door. All except one.

Melanie walks to Mr. Clarke's desk, and he supposes she would just ask one quick question then leave, as she normally would seeing as science was most definitely not her strong suit. She also rarely paid attention.

"Mr. Clarke?"

"Yes, Melanie?" She cringed a bit at the name, nobody have ever calling her that besides teachers, but she didn't let it show.

"I was wondering if I could attend the AV Club meeting today? I wanna get a feel, but I'm considering joining." Melanie lied, she was great at that. She didn't want to join, she just didn't want to go to the quarry.

The boys peaked up once they heard her ask if she could attend, before looking at one another. Shock was written all over their faces. Why would the most popular girl in school want to attend the lamest club in Hawkins?

"Why, of course you can! Although, I barely run them, so listen to the boys, alright?" Mr. Clarke says, a bit too excited. Melanie nods, and turns to face them. Their jaws hung low, and Mr. Clarke walked out.

Melanie guessed that was normal, because that didn't seem to be what they were shocked about.

As silence rose amongst them, Melanie took the chance to analyze every boy sitting in front of her.

Lucas Sinclair; everybody bullies him for the way he looks. Melanie always feels bad for him, because she would hate being judged for how she looks. He's a sweet kid from what she can tell, and doesn't deserve any of the bullying he gets.

Dustin Henderson; he gets bullied for his condition. Melanie doesn't know much about it, but she does know that he's missing a few bones. He also has a lisp when he talks, and people make fun of him for that as well. He looks like such a sweet and kind soul, and Melanie really wants to be his friend.