Julianna felt herself stir in her sleep, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
"Julie" She heard someone say, however since she was tired, she convinced herself that she was hearing things as she ignored it.
"Julie" The voice said again, this time, Julie opened her eyes. The girl jumped awake when she saw a face that she hadn't seen in a while. "Eleven."
The girl stood on the side of her bed and she looked slightly different. Her hair had grew out and it now was short with soft curls. Julianna was quick to unfold the covers over her body and get out of her bed.
"I--When did you--" Julie stammered over her words, unsure where to begin. She couldn't believe that Eleven was finally standing in front of her after not seeing her for over a year, it felt surreal.
"I've missed you" Eleven whispered, Julie could see the gloss in her eyes. "I missed you so much El, I knew you were still alive."
A tear fell down Eleven's cheek as Julie's smile started to falter, "I have to go Julie" The girl said, a frown appearing on her face. Julie shook her head with a short laugh, "But you just got here silly" She said jokingly with a giggle but stopped when she saw that Eleven was not doing the same.
Then, Eleven started to fade away, as if she was a ghost. "Eleven?"
The girl with soft curls closed her eyes, "Goodbye Julie" She whispered as she began to disappear out of thin air. "ELEVEN!"
Within seconds, the girl was gone and it was now Julie in her bedroom alone once again.
"Eleven!"
Suddenly, Julianna shot up from her bed, her chest moving up and down rapidly. She looked around her room, panting, with stray pieces of hair stuck to her face.
The red head put a hand over her chest as an attempt to slow her breathing down. She reached over to her nightstand, grabbing her glass of water and drinking from it.
She looked at the clock, seeing that it was 5:34 am. She laid down back in her with a huff.
If it was a dream, why did it feel so real?
--
THE NEXT DAY
JULIE WAS UP ready for school while the dream she had last night continued to linger in her head.
She stood in front of her mirror, running the hairbrush through her short hair a couple times. When she was satisfied, she walked over to her bed.
She got on her knees, lifting the long blanket from the bed so she could peek underneath. She grabbed a box from the bottom of her bed, pulling it on her lap.
She stared at it as the top of the box was labeled "JULIE'S PARENTS" in Nora's handwriting.
—
FLASHBACK TO THE NIGHT BEFORE
NORA WAS MUCH more sobered up now and was now making herself a late night snack in the kitchen.
Julie came downstairs, she had a towel around her neck and her hair was wet, showing that she had just finished her shower. "Hey Nora, I ran out of makeup for my tattoo."
"Oh, check the second drawer beside my bed in my room" Nora told her before the smaller girl thanked her, heading upstairs and towards Nora's room.
She opened the second drawer like she was instructed to, rumbling through the other stuff in there when she finally found a small tube of makeup.
She went to close the drawer, accidentally dropping the makeup in the process as it rolled underneath the bed. Julie got on her hands and knees so she could retrieve the makeup that fell but as she did, a black box caught her eye. She grabbed the makeup, pulling the box out from under the bed too.
Her heart dropped when she read the label made out of paper on the top, "JULIE'S PARENTS" She let out a shaky breath, staring at the box, not believing what she was looking at right now.
She stood up from the floor with the box and makeup in hand, exiting Nora's bedroom.
"Did you find it?" Nora was heard asking from the kitchen. Julie stopped at the top of the stairs, she gulped "Yup, thanks! I'm heading to bed now!"
"Goodnight!"
Julie shut her bedroom door, locking it behind her. The girl sat on her bed, hesitant to open the box. Questions and concerns racked her brain as she exhaled through her mouth.
Why did Nora have this? Better question, why did she have it hidden?
Was this really information about her real parents? She didn't remember anything about them, not even how they looked. She felt some sort of guilt that she had not been thinking much about them recently.
Then she felt sadness, sad that Nora found out something about her parents and decided to keep it a secret from Julie.
Pushing away any further thoughts, she took the top off the box, instantly revealing all sorts of folded newspapers and articles. She picked one up and unfolded it, the headline was named "MISSING GIRL"
She read further, "Six year old, Roseanne Acker, went missing on January 23, 1977. Parents have little to no description about how Roseanne must've have went missing. Jamie Acker, mother of Roseanne Acker says, 'It's like she disappeared out of thin air without a trace.'" She didn't realize she was crying until a drop of liquid splashed onto the newspaper page.
Julie dug into the box further, taking another page out. She looked at the missing poster with a little girl that had red, long hair with one hazel eyes and one green eye.
Julianna's lips tremble as she put a hand over her mouth, trying to stop herself from letting out a cry. She reached for one final page, it had rough and uneven edges, giving away the fact that it had been cut out or ripped.
It was a picture of two adults, one was a woman that had straight, red hair. Her eyes were warm brown as her features were soft.
Next to her was a guy, he had slight stubble going across his jawline as a slight mustache laid above his top lip. He had brown hair that went with his nicely shaped brows and dark brown eyes.
Were these her parents? Who's Roseanne? Was that her?
She noticed that both of her parents had brown eyes which sparked her interest based on how she had different colored eyes than the both of them.
Julie peeked at the clock, seeing that it was getting late. She placed the top back onto the box, lifting her blanket to shove it under the bed. She turned of her light, getting into the bed afterwards. She pulled the blanket over her body, staring at her bland ceiling with a huff.
—
PRESENT TIME
JULIE HELD THE BOX in her hand, deciding to ask Nora about what she knew about her parents. She also hoped to possibly persuade Nora into bringing her to meet her parents for the first time in ages.
"JULIE!" She could hear Nora shout from downstairs. She picked up her school bag and hung one of the strap over her shoulder, "COMING!" She shouted back, leaving her bedroom and heading downstairs with the box.
Nora was starting to head for the garage door when Julie made it to the first floor but Julie called out to her, "Nora, can we talk?"
Nora turned, but once she saw the box in Julianna's hand, her expression changed to something that Julie couldn't read well.
"Where'd you get that?" Her tone was different, which scared Julie a bit, a cold chill running down her spine as the younger girl was suddenly nervous. "Your room, under your bed. I just wanted to--"
"You went through my room? Not cool, Jules" Nora's brows furrowed as she moved forward, going to snatch the box from Julie but the younger girl kept her grip on the box.
"Keeping a box full of information about my parents is not cool" Julie retorted, yanking the box towards her but Nora wouldn't let go. "There's a reason I kept it from you!"
Julie let go of the box, letting Nora take it, "And what is that?"
"That doesn't matter," Nora dismissed, "What does matter is that you went in my room and looked through my things!" Nora shouted as Julie shook her head in disbelief.
"I thought we were telling each other everything from now on, Nora" She said quietly before the older sister scoffed, folding her arms, "Jules, I'm the one in charge. You are the child meaning you don't need to know everything" Nora snapped, walking past the girl and heading to the trash can. Julie was taken aback, not knowing what to say next.
She felt a warm tear run down her cheek before she used her hand to wipe it away, "I--" Her voice cracked, turning to face Nora "If keeping secrets is what you want to do... then fine by me."
It was the last thing she said before she stomped out of the house and into the garage. Nora was supposed to drive her to school that day Julie came up with the last minute decision to ride her bike instead.
As she pedaled down the street, she was able to let her tears freely stream down her face, letting the wind wipe them away for her.
Julianna had never been yelled at by Nora like that before. She didn't know why Nora was so upset with her for wanting to know about her parents but she was very upset with Nora.
Julianna tried to recollect herself, hoping that her day at school would be better than the bad morning that she was already experiencing.
--
"...A LARGE IRON ROD was driven completely through his head. Phineas miraculously survived. He seemed fine. And physically, yes, he was--" Julie twirled her pencil around her finger, the side of her head resting on her knuckle.
The lesson that Mr. Clarke was giving was suddenly interrupted by the door opening, loudly hitting the wall as a discombulated Dustin made his entrance.
Dustin panted, out of breath, "I am so sorry, Mr Clarke. Please continue with the class" Dustin made his way over to his seat, quickly sitting down.
Mr. Clarke disregarded Dustin's abrupt appearance, continuing his lecture as Dustin turned towards the group and everyone gathered in to hear what the boy had to say.
"We have to meet, all of us. At Lunch, AV Club" Dustin instructed, Mike's brows turned in confusion, "Why?" He whispered back. "I have something to show you that you won't believe" Dustin told them as they all nodded and turned back towards the lesson.
Dustin turned around to face Max who was all the way back in the classroom. "AV Club. Lunch" He tried to whisper to Max but it didn't come out as a whisper, making the whole class hear the message he tried to relay, luckily, none of them cared enough.
"Dustin." Mr Clarke called sternly, making Dustin whip around to face the teacher. "Yes, my Lord?" Julie saw Mike's eye roll as the boy scoffed at Dustin's choice of words towards the teacher.
"Would you care to join the class now?"
"Please, yes" Dustin said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out his textbook , flipping through the pages.
"The case of Phineas Gage" Mr Clarke told him.
"Phineas Gage" Dustin repeated back.
"Page 104."
"104" He flipped towards the page. "Focus" Mr Clarke told him, lastly. "Focusing" Dustin gave a thumbs up before Mr. Clarke continued with the lesson once again.
--
NORA SLAMMED HER car door shut as she reached her school, still bothered about the argument she had with Julie that morning.
A part of her felt bad for snapping at her younger sister, something she had never done before. Nora didn't want to admit why she was so bad at Julie to anyone.
"Careful, you might hurt the car" A person joked from behind her as she turned to see Daniel approaching her. "Hey" She said plainly, Daniel able to pick up on her tone immediately. "What's wrong?"
She started to walk towards the school with Daniel following next to her, "Nothing, just family troubles" She exhaled, using a hand to run her fingers through her hair. Daniel nodded, silence consuming them for a second.
"Thanks for bringing me home and all that stuff last night" She changed the topic as Daniel smiled, "No problem, i had a lot of fun" Daniel told her, his dimples making Nora's stomach flip.
Nora felt her face get hot as she looked away, hiding the grin on her face, "Yeah, me too" She replied, her tone was low, nearly quiet.
The bell rung, letting them know that it was time for them to get to class. Nora sighed, "Well, time to fail this math test today" She shrugged before Daniel turned towards her. "What period do you take it?"
"Last."
"Then I'll help you study during lunch."
Nora opened her mouth to protest but Daniel had already began to walk away. She stopped walking, watching him leave as she was unaware of the smile that was spread across her face.
--
IT WAS NOW lunchtime. The group couldn't wait to see what it is that Dustin so desperately needed to show them as they all made their way to the AV room, following Dustin.
Mike glanced at Julie, he noticed that the girl had been mostly quiet all day. He was concerned since she usually was very talkative, "You okay?" He whispered to her as they followed Dustin. "Yeah, I'm fine" She answered back quickly, rubbing her nose.
"Are you sure?" Mike asked, not quite convinced. She rubbed her nose once again, Mike noticed this time but dismissed it, "Yup!" She told him before walking faster to catch up with the others.
Once they reached the AV room, Dustin put the contraption he had to go with his Ghostbusters outfit on the table. He clicked a button, making the doors open as everyone looked inside.
Inside, looked like some type of sluggish creature as it moved around inside the contraption, making chittering noises. "His name is D'Artagnan" Dustin told them as Ashton furrowed his brows.
"You gave it a name?" He ridiculed, a look of disgust on his face. Dustin reached into the contraption, pulling the creature out with no reaction. "Cute right?" He looked at the others, only to see the distaste look on their faces. "D'Artagnan?" Mike questioned before Dustin nodded, "Dart for short."
"And he was in your trash?" Max asked, still shocked from the unknown creature Dustin held, "Foraging for food" Dustin finished with a grin.
"You wanna hold him?" He asked Max before the red head girl quickly starts to shake her head, "No, no, no" Dustin didn't listen to her protests, continuing to lure the creature towards Max until it was now in her hands.
Her face turned in disgust, "Ugh, ew! He's slimy!" Max past the creature on to Lucas. The boy's nose wrinkled, "Ew, it's like a slimy booger!" He gave it to Julie, "Ew! Ew! Take him!" She exclaimed in disgust, handing it to Will and then wiping her hands on her pants.
"Ugh, oh, God!" He grimaces, giving Dart to Mike. Mike, however, held onto the creature, a slightly intrigued look on his face. "What is he?" Mike questioned aloud, Dustin grinned, "My question exactly."
He went into his backpack, pulling out a couple books and slamming them onto the table. "At first, I thought it was some type of pollywog" Dustin began before Max interrupted, "Pollywog?"
"It's another word for a tadpole. A tadpole is the larval stage of a--"
"I know what a tadpole is" Max stopped him, scoffing. Dustin nodded, "Alright, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right?" Dustin explained as he flipped to a page in one of the many books he had.
"Well Dart, he isn't. He doesn't need water" Dustin said which made everyone else more confused. "Yeah, but aren't there nonaquatic pollywogs?" Lucas asked.
"Terrestrial pollywogs? Yep. Two to be exact" Dustin answered, flipping to another page in the same book.
"Indirana semipalmata and the Adenomera andreae. One's from India, one's from South American" Dustin told them, "So then how did this one end up in your trash?" Ashton questioned out loud, Dustin pointed a finger at him, "Exactly!"
"Maybe some scientists brought it here and it escaped?" Max theorized, shrugging her shoulders. Mike sat up, "Wait guys, do you see that? Looks like something's moving inside of it."
Everyone stopped, moving in to get a closer look as Mike moved the lamp and shined it on the creature only for it to screech loudly, making everyone gasp and jump back.
Dart went to jump off the table before Dustin caught it, "It's okay, it's okay" Dustin cooed, muttering things to the creature.
Everyone shared a concerned look, worried for Dustin who is treating some unknown creature as a household pet.
"And there's another thing," He looked up at the group, "Reptiles, they're cold-blooded, Ectothermic, right? They love the heat, the sun. Dart hates it, it hurts him."
"Sooo if he's not a pollywog or reptile..." Lucas started to trail off. "Then I've discovered a new species" Dustin finished for him before the curly headed boy began to pet the creature that chittered and made noises.
No one noticing the disturbed look on Will's face.
author's note!
Kind of a short chapter but it'll be worth it because the next will be semi long. Very very exciting to write about the upcoming chapters and I hope you guys enjoy reading it just as much as I enjoy writing it.
Recap: Julie has a dream about seeing Eleven. The two sisters get into a fight when Julie discovered that Nora had been researching her parents without telling her. Dustin finds some odd creature in his trash and shares it with the others.
Fun Fact: Math is Daniel's best and favorite subject.
See you guys in the next update!!!