1983, A Stranger Things Fanfiction

Chapter 2

November 5th, 1983

Isabelle rolled over on the couch, unaware of her surroundings. Used to sleeping in her queen sized bed, she misjudged the space she had, and landed on her side with a hard thump. Using her hands to lift herself up, she looked around, and was reminded of where she was. Lucas' living room. She sat up the rest of the way, using her hand to push her messy mop of dirty blonde hair out of her face, before standing up. She then looked down at herself, seeing an old pair of Lucas' pajamas all tangled up around her small frame. Reminding herself to kill her brother once she got home, she made her way out into the hallway.

She first stopped at the bathroom, using her finger to brush her teeth and running her fingers through her hair. Once she deemed herself not a mess, she went to find her friends. She could hear a ruckus coming from the kitchen, so she followed the noise. Upon pushing the swinging door, the noise seemed to double. All the Sinclairs, plus her 3 other friends were spread throughout the room, talking and eating all at once.

Mr. Sinclair was manning the stove, flipping pancakes and frying bacon. Mrs. Sinclair was filling cups with orange juice or milk, whichever the person preferred. Erica, Lucas' little sister, was sitting at the bar, eating her food and attempting to ignore the four boys. And circled around the breakfast nook, were her four boys. She smiled, watching them swap food from each other's plates, some with permission, some without.

Mrs. Sinclair was the first to notice her, coming over and placing an arm around the young girl's shoulders.

"How did you sleep dear," she asked, bringing all the attention to her.

Erica was quick to speak up. "She talks in her sleep. A lot. I heard her when I was going to the bathroom."

Isabelle feels her cheeks go red, and looks away in embarrassment.

"We know. Last sleepover at my house, she had a 20 minute convo with us about unicorns. It was great," Dustin shared with the group.

"Thanks for sharing Dusty!" Mrs. Sinclair gives her shoulder a squeeze, before directing her over to join the boys. "I slept fine, thank you."

"How do you like your eggs Bells," Mr. Sinclair asks, going to grab a fresh egg for her.

Before she could answer, Lucas spoke up for her. "Scrambled with ketchup."

She smiles at him, taking a seat next to Will, "Good morning boys. How'd you all sleep?"

Lucas is first to respond. "Terrible! Dustin snored like a lawn mower."

"Hey, I can't help it."

Isabelle laughs, turning to Will. "What about you Will? How did you sleep," she asked, taking a plate from Mrs. Sinclair and setting it in front of her. "Thank you ma'am."

Mrs. Sinclair smiled, waving the girl off. "Quit with the ma'am Bells. Mrs. S is fine."

Will answers her question, "Good, I think. One minute my eyes were open and Lucas was challenging Dustin to a fart contest and then the next it's morning and Mike is shaking me awake."

"Glad I slept through all that. Why did you wake him, Wheeler?"

Mike doesn't even finish chewing before he's responding, causing Isabelle to wrinkle her nose in distaste, "Because, Dustin and Lucas were already up and gone. I didn't want him to keep sleeping and them decide to prank him or something. Would you rather I left him to their will?"

She doesn't respond, just shakes her head. Looking down, she sees food on her plate. Half a pancake from Will, the other half on his plate. 3 pieces of ripped bacon, the fatty sides, from Mike. He likes his crispy, she likes her on the opposite end of the spectrum. Dustin hands her a slice of toast with strawberry jam. They've done the sleepover breakfast so many times, they have a system. Usually, she's up before them, helping whoever it is that's cooking, and dividing things up. She smiles at all of them, "Thank you boys."