𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝙶𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝙷𝚞𝚛𝚝

𝟶𝟸𝟶

June 29, 1984

It's been almost a month since school got out and since then Stephanie got a job at the town pool, mainly to keep herself busy. Dustin was away at summer camp and the silent house was driving Stephanie up the walls. Despite the small stores downtown being essentially abandoned due to the mega shopping mall, the pool was as busy as ever.

The only other thing on Stephanie's mind this summer was college. This was the summer before her senior year and she needed to go on some college tours before it was too late. The teen had little grasp of what she wanted to do with her life or where she wanted to go, but she knew that she needed to be close to home in case anything were to happen to her brother.

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The Henderson house was silent when Stephanie woke up, slamming her alarm out of habit. Her eyes focused on the blinking default noon instead of 7:00 like she had set her alarm to since she started work. She jolted out of bed and ran into the living room, which held the only non-electrical clock in the house.

8:30.

She had to be at work at 9.

She only gave herself two hours each morning because she didn't want to feel rushed. And half of the time she had forgotten to wash her uniform, so she would throw it in the dryer in the mornings as she got ready. Luckily today was not one of those days. Stephanie grabbed her bathing suit from the chair in her room, lathered on a shit ton of sunscreen, and threw on a random pair of shorts and one of Steve's t-shirts that were lying on her floor. She practically flew back into the living room as she slipped on her flip-flops and went to grab the car keys off of the hook, only to find that they weren't there.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Stephanie grumbled as she searched the living room and kitchen when she found a note on the fridge from her mother.

'Picking up Dustin from camp at 7. Have fun at work. :) -Mom'

"Ugh, and just when I thought things couldn't get worse." Stephanie tried to think of a last-ditch effort to get to work on time. Nancy would already be at work with Jonathan, and so would Steve, so they're out. A rapid knocking from the front door snapped the teen from her thoughts. She opened the door to find Mike, Will, Lucas, El, and Max all standing there, giddy as can be.

"Hey, kiddos, what's up? You know Dustin's not back yet right?" Stephanie's only seen the kids a few times, but every time she had seen them, all they could ask about is when Dustin was coming home.

"Yeah but he's coming home today. Right?" Lucas asked, holding a rolled-up sign in his hands. Stephanie nodded in response.

"Can we surprise him?" Mike asked, knowing full well that no one else was in the house.

"I've gotta get to work, but sure. As long as you shitheads don't break anything." Stephanie pointed a finger at each kid. One by one. They all nodded in agreement as they flooded the house, talking amongst themselves. That's when an idea dawned on Stephanie.

"Hey Max," The redhead turned to look at the teen. "Is your brother still home?" Max nodded suspiciously. "Can you dial your home number for me? I need a ride."

"Yeah sure, but be careful around him." Max walked over to the Henderson house phone and dialed her home phone number.

"I know, this isn't my first rodeo with him don't forget." Stephanie smiled at the redhead as she handed the teen the phone. Max returned to her boyfriend and the others as the phone started to ring.

"Billy Hargrove speaking." Billy's obnoxious voice answered the phone.

"Billy. Its Stephanie. Listen my mom took our car and everyone I know is already at work. I was hoping you could give me a ride." Stephanie cringed as she spoke, not thinking before the words poured out of her mouth.