Jeopardy- Stranger Things

Chapter Eight

November 6th, 1983

"Mike!" His mother called from upstairs, "Mike!" She called out again but the boys were all too busy trying to find the dice. All except Dustin who had his hands clamped to his head and was repeating the words "oh my god" in panic.

"Mike." Karen Wheeler shouted from the top of the stairs as she opened the door to the basement.

"Mom! We're in the middle of a campaign!" Mike protested, briefly looking up at her before resuming his quest for the dice.

"Don't you mean the end, you've gone fifteen minutes over." She grumbled, tapping her watch impatiently.

"Mom, wait!" Mike called her as she turned to leave. She lingered in the doorway and gave him a stern and disapproving look. "Just twenty more minutes?"

"It's a school night, Michael." She persisted. Mike gulped. She had used his full name, that usually meant he was in trouble. "You can finish next weekend."

"But that'll ruin the flow!" Mike protested. He ran a hand through his hair, grabbing handfuls of it in annoyance. "That campaign took weeks to plan and then I had to fit George in so he could play. This is his first game as one of the party and he can't even finish it." Mike whined, appealing to his mother's sense of comradery. It failed.

"He can finish it next weekend." He persisted. Mike groaned and stomped back down the stairs.

"I found it!" Will said triumphantly, holding the dice up. Mike still had his back to them and Lucas quickly snatched it away.

"Does a seven count?" Will asked and Lucas look horrified. He shook his head distastefully.

"Did Mike see it?" He whispered. Will shook his head. "Then it doesn't count." Lucas replied, carelessly tossing the dice back on the table.

After hearing Mike's argument with his mother, George grabbed his bag and made of the stairs.

"What number was it?" He asked Will and they took the stairs together.

"Seven." Will said glumly and grimaced. George shrugged sadly.

"I'll avenge you." George smirked as they reached the top of the stairs. Will stopped and smiled. "See you at school!" George called out as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and made for the back door.

"Off already? Wait up and we'll bike together." Dustin asked, holding the slice of pizza in his hand.

"Can't." George shrugged, "I have to meet my sister and I'm already twenty minutes late. See ya monday!" He called out as the back door swung shut. George ran at a lollop across the front lawn to where he'd discarded his bike. He fixed the light at the front and back and tapped it when it flickered. By the time he'd started pedaling for hom, his front light and sorted itself out.

*

Nick guided herself in and switched off the engine when she was satisfied she was parked outside her house. She'd spent the last twenty minutes or so edge forward at a snail's pace to make sure she didn't drive straight through their living room. As she got out, she heard the familiar clicking of gears changing of a bike and saw the soft glow of George's bike light shine over her shoes as he pedaled up.

"Hey kiddo!" Nick greeted, flicking the house key over on her keychain as she reached the porch. George ran up alongside her. "How'd the campaign go?" She asked while wrestling with the door.

"The demogorgon made waffles out of us." George groaned as he ran ahead of her once she'd wriggled the door open. He dumped his bag ont he hall and headed into the kitchen, flicking the lights on.

"What? The demogorgon?! On your first campaign?" Nick shouted in mock outrage. George poked his head out of the kitchen into the hall way just to raise his eyebrows at her. "Well, how'd it end at least?" She asked after sticking her tongue out at him just because.

"It didn't. Mike's mum told us we had to leave."

Nick laughed as she kicked her shoes off in the hall and came into the kitchen to join George. He'd already got the boxed up leftovers out of the fridge and emptied them onto two plates.

"You should ask them to play over here. You won't get that problem with our mum..."

"You get that job?" George asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject after a depressing silence had befallen them.

"Yeah. Joyce seemed really nice, that's Will's mum by the way. She was more than happy to give me the evening shift so she can get home to pick up Will. She says I start tomorrow." Nick beamed as she carried the plates over to the kitchen table. George shoveled the food down and had finished his meal before Nick had even had two mouthfuls. The wall clock in the kitchen ticked oddly loudly announcing to them that it was past ten on a school night. Nick glanced up at the clock and back at George several times before he got the hint. His shoulders slumped and he stuck his bottom lip out.

"Oh, come on." Nick coaxed, "The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner you can arrange another D&D game tomorrow." She bargained, raising an eyebrow. George tried hard not to smile but it crept onto his face anyway as he dashed into his bedroom. Nick finished the rest of her dinner in silence that was only disturbed by the ticking of the clock.

Nick took both plates from the table and left them in the sink to soak, she'd get the rest of it tomorrow morning. She crossed the room to the light switch on her way to bed. She was just about to reach for the switch when the light flickered off. She flicked the switch three times but nothing happened. It wasn't until Nick stared at it, brows furrowed in confusion before it flickered back on, increasing in intensity until Nick was forced to shut her eyes it was so bright. Then everything went back to normal. The light stayed on at its usual brightness. Nick flicked the switch and it went off. She shrugged, must be something odd with the wiring.