STICKS AND STONES ↝ S. HARRINGTON

[7]

"Fear not, for I am with you." The voice of Charles, the town pastor, rang out through the Hawkins Cemetery that morning, over the congregation gathered to pay their respects and remember the life of William Byers. "Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Anna glanced around the scene before her, at the small crowd gathered of Hawkins residents, made up of a number of classmates of Will's from Hawkins Middle School, to adults that had known Will's parents, Joyce and Lonnie, and finally, where she stood gathered with Becca, Landon, and Nancy, behind Dustin and the other boys. The crowd gathered around a small casket, with Will's school picture propped up on an easel nearby for all to see.

"Wait 'til we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral." Anna could hear Dustin mutter to Mike and Lucas, gesturing towards where a younger blonde girl stood holding on tightly to a white rose, a single tear falling down her cheek.

Anna's eyebrows furrowed slightly at Dustin's words, and when her younger brother turned around and locked eyes with her, the smile soon fell off his face and his eyes widened at the realization that she had been listening. "I-I mean, we talk to him, sometimes. In case he can still hear us." he quickly corrected in a small voice, turning back towards the service and dropping his gaze to the floor, reaching up as if to wipe away a tear.

Anna's gaze remained on Dustin, who'd been acting finicky all morning, in a stark contrast to how he'd been since the night he'd come back from the quarry. When she caught him impatiently tapping his foot during breakfast, or whistling "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash while brushing his hair, he'd passed it off as simply being restless, wanting to go pay respects to his friend, but he was acting strange, even for him. The boy whose heart had been shattered at the loss of his best friend was gone, with the brother she knew seeming to resurface, even if it was cause for some alarm.

As the pastor's sermon came to a close and the casket was slowly lowered into the ground, Anna followed Becca and Landon to the front, roses held in each of their hands as they let them fall on top of the wooden box. "Goodbye, Will," Anna murmured, letting go of the yellow rose as she wiped away a tear that had managed to escape, her eyes now searching out where the Byers family still stood near their chairs. While Jonathan, Michelle, and their dad were speaking to those offering condolences, Joyce simply stood with her arms crossed, staring down at the casket.

"I couldn't imagine what she must be going through," Becca said, shaking her head softly.

"It's horrible," Landon agreed, his gaze falling down to the watch adorning his wrist. "Shit, I've gotta go. I'm gonna be late for work, but give Mrs. Byers and the others my condolences?"

"We will," Anna assured him as he nodded, tugging off his tie as he began to run back towards where he'd parked his mother's car in the parking lot.

"Hey," a voice spoke up behind them, and they turned to see Michelle standing with Jonathan and Nancy hot on her heels.

"Hi," Becca said, pulling Michelle into a hug. "I'm so sorry," she said, releasing the girl and moving on to Jonathan, who hugged her back with a small smile.

"Thank you," Michelle said, glancing around to make sure nobody else was in earshot before gesturing to a more secluded place against the gate. "Could we talk to you both for a second? It's about Barb, and maybe Will too."

"Yeah, of course," Anna said, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion as they followed after them, ducking down in front of the gate so as not to be seen. "What's going on, did they find Barb?"

"No," Nancy said. "But we might've found something that can help." she opened her purse, pulling out a few papers, and from the pile, she pulled out a photograph, passing it to Anna. "The other night, when Jonathan was taking pictures at the party, he took this one of Barb sitting on the diving board. Do either of you recognize what, or who, might be standing behind her?"