STICKS AND STONES ↝ S. HARRINGTON

[2]

It was quiet in the Henderson house at dinnertime, save for the occasional sounds of the family cat, Mews, meowing softly in the other room. Anna pushed her spaghetti around her plate, her appetite having long vanished with the news of Will's disappearance, or the search party in the woods that night to look for him.

Dustin had hardly spoken a word since the two had arrived home, the polar opposite of the twelve year old's usually too-chatty demeanor, and his appetite modeled that of his sister's as his own plate seemed untouched. Meanwhile, Claudia looked back and forth between her two children, the frown on her face growing as she took in their somber expressions.

"They're going to find him." Claudia tried to assure them, and Anna looked up, giving her a small smile in return as she nodded. She reached forward, taking both Anna and Dustin's hands in her own. "But for now, I'm just glad the two of you are safe."

"You're right, Mom." Anna agreed. "They'll find him." she set her fork down, giving up on the rest of her plate as she went to wrap up the leftovers to put in the fridge. "I'm not really hungry, and I've got this impossible chemistry test to study for, so I think I'm going to turn in a little early tonight to get some work done. Is that okay?"

"Of course, dear," Claudia said, moving back to her own dish. "Study hard, alright?"

Anna nodded, making her way out of the kitchen and into her bedroom. Once the door was shut behind her, she moved to her stereo, hitting play on the David Bowie tape still resting inside from that morning and turning it up just high enough to drown out any noise coming from her room, including the click of the lock on the door sliding into place to keep her mother out.

Anna moved to her closet, swapping the shirt she'd worn to school for an old Hawkins High t-shirt and pulling a plain black hoodie overtop of it. Grabbing the tennis shoes from her closet floor, she quickly laced them up, looking up at the alarm clock sitting on her dresser to read that it was only a few minutes until she was set to meet Becca and Landon at the corner of Cornwallis and Old Cherry. She unlatched her bedroom window, pushing it upwards and climbing through, where she landed on the damp grass outside.

She looked back at the living room window a small distance from her own, backing away slowly to see Claudia's attention focused on the TV against the wall, not noticing the figure growing further and further away from sight until Anna rounded the corner of the house and disappeared from view. Anna sighed as soon as the coast was clear, but as she set foot on Cornwallis Street and turned around, she nearly bumped into Dustin, who stood poised and ready to hop onto his bicycle, which Mr. Sinclair had dropped off before dinner.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a hushed whisper, not wanting Claudia to hear them from inside.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Dustin hissed back. "We're going to look for Will. What are you doing?"

"Becca, Landon, and I are going to join the search party the cops are putting together." Anna explained. "You on the other hand are going back inside before Mom realizes either of us are missing, much less both of us."

"Bullshit," Dustin insisted. "You can't make me go home."

"Dusty, you heard the cops." Anna said. "It's not safe out there."

"Which is exactly why we need to help Will." Dustin retorted. "If I have to go home, so do you, and he needs us." The frown deepened on Anna's face. "You know I'm right, Anna. Please let me help Will."

"Dustin, I'm not kidding." she insisted.

"Neither am I."

Anna stared her brother down, his gaze looking back at her with the same intensity, of the same pair of eyes they'd both inherited from their mother. "Alright, fine." she sighed. "Just... please be careful? I can't have you go missing too, Mom would kill me."