"is there a number we can call for your parents?" mike asks. "where's your hair? do you have cancer?" dustin asks. "did you run away?" i ask. "are you in some kind of trouble?" mike asks. "is that blood?" lucas asks and leans in to touch the girl. mike slaps his hand. "stop it! you're freaking her out!" i say. "she's freaking me out!" lucas argues. "i bet she's deaf." dustin says. he claps in her face and she flinches. "not deaf." dustin says defeated. "all right that's enough all right? she's scared and cold." mike says and walks off. he comes back with clothes and hangs them to me. "here these are clean okay?" i say walking closer to her. she grabs the clothes and looks at them. she stand up and takes mikes jacket off. she starts to take her shirt off. "no, no, no!" all the boys yell. mike holds her hands down and the other boys turn away. "oh my god. oh my god." dustin says. "see. over there." mike points to a room, "that's the bathroom. privacy, get it?" mike says. the girl looks confused. she grabs the clothes and walks to the bathroom. "that was.." i say. "insane." lucas says. mike walks over to us. "this is mental." dustin says. "at least she can talk." i say. "she said "no" and "yes" mikes three year old sister says more." lucas says. "she tried to get naked." dustin says. "there's something seriously wrong with her." lucas says. "like wrong in the head." he adds. "she just went like." dustin acts like he's taking his shirt off but he ends up knocking his hat off. "i bet she escaped from pennhurst." lucas says. "from where?" i ask. "from the nuthouse in kerley county." lucas explains to me. "you got a lot of family there?" dustin asks smiling. "bite me. seriously though, think about it. that would explain her shaved hair and why she's so crazy." lucas says. "why she went like.." dustin says and mimicks her again. "she's an escapee is the point. she's probably a psycho." lucas says. "like michael myers." dustin says. "exactly!" lucas says. "so you just want to leave her out in that storm?" mike asks. "yes! we went out to find will not another problem." lucas says. "i think we should tell your mom." i say. "i second that." dustin says. "who's crazy now!" mike says. i shrink back. "how's that crazy?" lucas asks. "cause, we weren't supposed to be oht tonight, remember?" mike says. "so?" lucas says. "so if i tell my mom, and she tells your mom, and your mom, and your dad." mike says. "oh man." dustin says. "our houses become alcatraz." i say. "exactly we'll never find will." mike says. dustin mimicks the girl again. "all right, here's the plan. she sleeps here tonight." mike says. "you're letting a girl." dustin says. "just listen! in the morning she sneaks around my house, goes to the front door and rings my doorbell. my mom will answer and know exactly what to do. she'll send her back to pennhurst or wherever she comes from. we'll be totally in the clear. and tomorrow night, we go back out. and this time, we find will." mike says. we all look at eachother.
dustin lucas and i walk up the stairs. "you really think she's psycho?" dustin asks. "wouldn't want her in my house." lucas says and continues up the stairs. dustin says. "mental." he says and walks up the stairs. i follow after him. "hey dustin do you think you could ride home with me. our houses are only a few blocks away." i say. "sure." he says.
——
an announcement goes over the loud speaker saying that there will be an assembly for will. lucas dustin and i walk into science and set out books down. "oh this is weird." dustin says seeing that mikes gone. "he's never this late." dustin says. "i'm telling you his stupid plan failed." lucas says. "i thought you liked his plan." i say. "yeah but obviously it dead stupid or he'd be here." lucas says. "if his mom found out a girl spent the night." dustin says. "he's in deep shit right now." i say continuing dustins sentence. "hey, what if she slept naked." dustin says and hits lucas's arm. "oh my god she didn't." lucas says. "oh if mrs wheeler tells my parents." dustin says and puts his head in his hands. "no way. mike would never rat us out." lucas says. "i don't know." dustin says. "all gay matter is after school the freak will be back in the loony bin, and we can focus on what really matters, finding will." lucas says. mr clarke begins teaching and we open our textbooks.
——
"tell dad i went to hang out with friends." i tell troy as dustin and lucas stand behind me. "stay safe." troy tells me. "and don't touch her." troy tells the boys. we walk over to their bikes. "mines not able to hold two." dustin says. i go sit on lucas's. we bike to mike's house. i wrap my arms around lucas. we pull up to mike's house and karen let's us in. we walk into mikes room and see the girl still there, sitting on mikes bed. dustin slowly shuts mike's bedroom door. "are you out of your mind?" lucas says. "just listen to me." mike says. "you are out of your mind!" lucas yells. "she knows about will." mike says. "what do you mean she knows about will?" i ask. mike walks past me and grabs a photo. "she pointed at him, at his picture. she knew he was missing. i could tell." mike says. "you could tell?" lucas asks. "just think about it. do you really think it was a coincidence that we found her on mirkwood, the same place where will disappeared?" mike says. "that is weird." dustin says. "and she said bad people are after her. i think maybe these had people are the same ones that took will. i think she knows what happened to him." mike tells us. "then why doesn't she tell us?" lucas says and looks over at the girl. "do you know where he is?" he yells at her. "do you know where he is!" lucas says grabbing her shoulder. "stop it, you're scaring her!" i say. "she should be scared!" lucas says. "if you know where he is, tell us!" lucas says. the girl looks like she's about to cry. i sit down next to her. "this is nuts! we have to take her to your mom." lucas says to mike. "no! eleven said telling anyone adult would put us in danger." mike says. "what kind of danger?" i ask. "her name is eleven?" lucas asks. "el for short." mike says. "mike! what kind of danger?" i ask again. "danger! danger." mike says. el puts her hand on top of mine. i look at her. she points a fake gun with her fingers at me, then at herself, and then at each of the boys. "no, no, no! we're going back to plan A. we're telling your mom." lucas says. he walks to the door and tries to open it. the door slams back shut. he tries again but it slams and locks. we all turn to el and she has a bloody nose. "no." she says. she wipes her nose. i stand up.
we walk downstairs leaving el upstairs. "do all of you want to stay for dinner?" karen asks us. "may i call my dad?" i ask. "i'll talk to him, just tell me the number." she says smiling. i read off my dads number.
"all of your parent said yes. let me finish up dinner." karen says and goes back to the kitchen. the boys sit in the living room. "do you need any help?" i ask her. "no, thank you though sweetie." she tells me. i smile and nod and go sit with the boys. "we're just going to leave her up there?" i whisper to lucas. "i don't want to go anywhere near that thing." lucas says. "she's a girl, lucas." i say. "ok it's time for dinner." karen says. we all sit at the table. mike sits at the head of the table, lucas to his left, dustin to his right, and i sit next to lucas and holly. "something wrong with the meatloaf?" karen asks. "oh, no, i had two bologna sandwiches for lunch." dustin says smiling. "i don't know why." he adds. "me, too." lucas says. "it's delicious, mommy." nancy says. "yeah it's great mrs wheeler." i tell her and then turn to the boys to give them a dirty look. "thank you." karen says. "so, there's this special assembly thing tonight.. for will at the school field. barb's driving." nancy says. "why am i just hearing about this?" karen asks. "i thought you knew." nancy says. "i told you, i don't want you out after dark until will is found." karen says. "i know, i know but it'd be super weird if i'm not there. i mean, everyone's going." nancy says. karen sighs. "just..be back by 10. why don't you take the kids too?" she says. "no." mike says. all the boys shake their heads. "don't you think you should be there? for will?" karen asks. i look up and see el walk down the stairs. i tense up. mike accidentally spits his milk out. dustin slams his fist on the table. holly whines. "sorry. spasm." dustin says. mike wipes the milk off of his face. holly whimpers and leans down in her chair. "it's okay holly." karen says.
the boys and i get up to clean our plates off. we walk to the basement. "el?" mike asks. "no adults. just us and some meatloaf." i say carrying a tray. i sit the tray infront of her. i sit down and mike sits on his knees in front of her. "don't worry. they won't tell anyone about you." mike says referring to dustin and lucas. "they promise. right?" i say looking back at them. "we never would've upset you if we knew you had superpowers." dustin says. mike turns around and slaps him. "ow!" dustin says. "what dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared earlier." mike says. "we just wanted to find our friend." lucas says. "friend?" el asks. "yeah, friend. will?" lucas says. "what is "friend"" el asks. "is she serious?" lucas asks. dustin shrugs. "uhh, a friend." lucas tries to explain. "is someone you'd do anything for." i say. "you lend them your cool stuff, like comic books and trading cards." dustin says. "and they never break a promise." mike says. "especially when there spit." lucas says. "spit?" el and i ask at the same time. "a spit swear means," lucas spits in his hand, " you never break your word." he shakes dustins hand. dustin looks at his hand in disgust. "that's super important, because friends they tell eachother things. things that parents don't know." mike tells el.
el gets up and walks to the table where the boys play d&d. i follow her and the boys follow her shortly after. she sits down at the table. "what's the weirdo doing?" lucas asks. she puts her hand on the game and closes her eyes. "el?" i ask. she opens her eyes again. she takes wills game piece. "will." she says. "superpowers." dustin says. lucas rolls his eyes at him. i step back from her but i bump into someone. i look back and see lucas. "uh. sorry." i say. mike sits down next to el. "did you see him? on mirkwood?" mike asks. "do you know where he is?" i ask. she runs her arm over the board knocking all the pieces off the table. she flips the board to the black side. i look at lucas confused. she takes wills character and slams it down in the center of the board. "i don't understand." mike says. "hiding." el says. "will is hiding?" mike asks. she nods. "from the bad men?" mike asks. she shakes her head. "then from who?" mike asks. she grabs the demogorgon and puts it next to will. mike leans back in his chair and looks back up at us. i put my hand over my mouth. dustin puts his hands behind his head. el looks over at mike.