seventeen₂ [s. harrington]

i

Tuesday, 30 October, 1984

"Ready?" I ask, looking at Nancy. She looks nervous.

"Yeah."

I reach over and ring the doorbell.

Mrs. Holland opens the door.

"Girls, come on in," she says, stepping aside to let us inside.

Nancy and I have been coming to the Hollands for dinner once a week for a while now, to help everyone cope with Barb's disappearance.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to cook," says Mrs. Holland as we sit down. "I was gonna make that baked ziti you guys like so much, but I just forgot about the time, and before you know it, 'oh, my God, it's five o'clock."

"It's fine. It's great," I say to reassure her.

"So, I noticed a 'For Sale' sign out in your yard. Is that the neighbors', or-" Nancy trails off.

Mrs. Holland looks at her husband. "You wanna tell them?"

"Go ahead," he says.

"We hired a man named Murray Bauman. Have either of you heard of him?" asks Mrs. Holland.

I look at Nancy, who shakes her head. "No."

"No, I don't think so," I say at the same time. It's a lie. I think I've seen articles about a man of the same name and his theories about an alien invasion in Hawkins. Come to think of it, he wasn't entirely wrong.

"He was an investigative journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times," explains Mrs. Holland.

"He's pretty well known," adds Mr. Holland. He passes us a business card, which we look at carefully. It seems legitimate, I guess.

"Anyway, he's freelance now, and he agreed to take the case.," says Mrs. Holland.

"That's, that's great," I say, a little too awed to speak.

"Um, what exactly does that mean?" asks Nancy.

"Means he's gonna do what that lazy son of a bitch Jim Hop-" Mrs. Holland puts a hand on Mr. Holland's arm, quieting him. "Sorry. What the Hawkins police haven't been capable of doing. Means we have a real detective on the case."

"It means we're going to find our Barb," says Mrs. Holland cheerfully.

My spirits drop. What they won't know is that Barb was gone for good. She had been killed by a monster just under a year ago. But the town went on believing she'd run away.

"If anyone can find her, it's this man," says Mr. Holland, and I focus on the conversation again. "He already has leads. By God, he's worth every last penny."

"Is that why you're selling the house?" I ask, my voice shaking.

"Don't worry about us, sweetie. We're fine," reassures Mrs. Holland. "More than fine. For the first time in a long time, we're hopeful."

"Excuse me," says Nancy. " But, we'd better go. I just remembered I have a trigonometry test tomorrow, and I really need to study."

"Of course, sweetie," says Mrs. Holland. "I'll walk you to the door."

When Nancy and I get in the car, we cry, clinging to each other like we were the only two people left on Earth. Two of the only people who knew the truth about Barb. The truth that would finally give the Hollands the peace they deserve.

an: sorry for the ridiculously short first chapter, i didn't really know how to start the story. but in the next one, amanda and steve are going to have some situations.  yay!