THE KIDS AREN'T ALRIGHT ｡ STRANGER THINGS

12 - THE WEIRDOS CLUB

When the harsh sunlight poured through her lace curtains, Daisy Lonsdale was already awake. Her dreams had manifested into nightmares, imagining the night her older sister had left Hawkins, but blood and secrets tainted the blurry memory now. When enough light filtered through her bedroom, she was pushing back her blankets and padding towards Marigold's room. The pink room had been untouched for over a year, nobody ever wanting to step inside and clean it out. With her heart heavy in her chest, she dropped down to her knees in front of her sister's collection of music; old records and a few newer cassettes.

The lyrics that had been scribbled down in her sketchbook had been twirling around in her head for hours now and it took her a while to figure out which song they belonged to. But when she finally had, she was sure something would be waiting for her. With shaking hands, she found the correct cassette by Fleetwood Mac, the very one the song belonged to. Hastily, she was ripping open the packaging and found it waiting for her. Scrapping her knees against the carpet, she shoved the cassette into Marigold's player. Familiar songs oozed from the speakers, but no clues were found in the tape. Daisy glanced down at the plastic box, turning it over and trying to find another missing clue. She was so sure something would be here, that Marigold was trying to tell her something. But it seemed, the mystery was nothing but a dead end and Daisy felt even more irritated.

***

Whispers had gathered in the corridors at Hawkins High once again. The news had flooded town last night that little Will Byers's body had been found in the quarry, a tragic ending to another mystery that had engulfed the town. Daisy Lonsdale felt numb that morning, having no words to actually say out loud with the news and breakfast with her mother and aunt had been silent. Dottie Fields felt the exact same way, her mind overcome with guilt. To add fire to their confusion and doubts, the news that Barbara Holland was still missing had their nerves on edge.

As the girls walked through the carpark, Daisy was watching the students around her. She had used to enjoy people watching, always spying tiny details about people that most overlooked. While she was watching the jocks by the entrance, something drifted through the chilly air. Her head was jolting to her right, watching a car pull into a free spot. The windows were drawn down, a song blaring from the speakers. And if you don't love me now. You will never love me again. I can still hear you saying. You would never break the chain.

"Daisy, hey, are you alright?" Dottie's soft touch on her elbow pulled her from her mind suddenly. Her mouth was dry like sandpaper and her heart ached like somebody had just stabbed her with a knife. The blonde girl was slowly nodding her head, but let her eyes swing back to the car and watched as Steve Harrington emerged, the song being cut off when he switched off the engine. Dottie noticed too. "He might be a jerk, but at least he's got good taste in music, huh?"

That very comment made Daisy pause, thoughts clouding in her mind again. "That was one of Marigold's favourite songs."

The thought was pushed aside when the bell rang out though and both girls filed inside along with almost every other student. It seemed although a lot of strange things were going on in Hawkins, classes still dragged on and students were expected to preform well. The students still maintained their predicable attitudes even with a boy being found dead. Although Daisy Lonsdale and Dottie Fields were drowning in fear and uncertainty about what was circling the woods, they were both being shoved back into another high school showdown.

"Nancy was pulled out of class," Dottie was saying quietly as the girls stood by their lockers, grabbing books for their next class. The corridor was quite loud, everyone having something to gossip about and today, Dottie had heard about the same gossip. "I overheard a girl in the bathrooms mention that Nancy was talking to the police about Barb going missing. Apparently, Nancy went back to Steve's house yesterday and checked out the yard and the surrounding woods. The rumours are saying she's gone completely crazy because she's saying she saw something in the woods."