Elijah Brooks's life is turned upside down when his best friend Will Byers goes missing one night. Teaming up with an unlikely group of friends, Eli finds himself transforming from a quiet bookworm to a courageous adventurer willing to do anything f...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THE DAY STRETCHED ON LIKE MOLASSES, yet slightly sweeter as Eli noticed a particular raven-haired boy padding towards him. His smile made Eli realize the day felt more like honey, even with his father's strange disappearances and his sisters' investigating brewing persistently in his mind.
"Hey Eli," Mike greeted the boy softly, and it wasn't until then did Eli remember the stinging from last night. How he had almost spewed one of his finest secrets to the boy carelessly, had almost made him hate the Brooks boy. His stomach gurgled with queasiness now, the Halloween night fresh in his head.
"Hey," Eli offered back with a shaky voice, feeling stupid and nervous and curious all at the same time. Eli and Mike usually trekked the halls together during period transitions, especially if they were headed to the same class. But lunch had consumed the school's corridors as everyone shuffled towards the cafeteria or outside to the court.
"You got any lunch plans?"
"Just listening to Rene talk for thirty minutes. The usual," Eli gave him his usual dimpled smile, but his aching chest was hardly keeping him breathing on the inside.
"Perfect! She's gonna be there too."
"Huh?" Eli wondered, the dimples falling from his face in confusion.
Mike's hand was wrapped around Eli's sleeved wrist, and Eli wished there was a way to make his body stop rattling with warmth from such quick touches. "Dustin's scheduled an AV Club meeting."
"But I'm not in AV Club," Eli pointed out with another puzzled look, and yet his cheeks still creased with another smile.
"Neither is Rene," Mike fired back. "I don't know. It sounded pretty important, and I wanted you to come."
"You did or Dustin did?" Eli questioned, knowing the answer he wanted.
"I did," Mike chuckled, and the Brooks boy didn't have enough time to mentally squirm over the reply, as the Wheeler was already turning the knob on the club room door and shuffling him inside.
"Eli! Where the heck is Eve! I didn't see her in social studies," Rene groaned, immediately badgering the meek curly-headed boy.
"She's, um...sick. Must've been whatever you guys ate last night," Eli shrugged, hoping the lie was feasible as he shouldered his way through towards the table centered in the room. The box from Dustin's Ghostbuster costume shook slightly, a light chittering playing from inside its small walls.
"What's going on here?" Max demanded, and it was then that Eli realized she stood amongst the other party members, offering only a nod of her chin at the Brooks boy.
