Risky Business ｡ Stranger Things

11 : Puberty Blues

Slumber had embraced the Owens house and darkness stretched to every corner. It was well after midnight when Prue slowly padded her way across the hallway to Grey's room. She was up on her toes and had a flashlight clutched to her chest. Sam and Caroline Owens's door was closed and surely they must both be lost in their dreamlands by now. The brunette teenager, with her hair piled into a messy knot, pushed on Grey's ajar door.

"Grey?" she whispered into the darkness, leaning through the opening of her younger brother's bedroom. His roof was illuminated like a galaxy with white-green glow-in-the-dark stars and planets glued to the plaster. "Are you awake?" The beam of light from Prue's flashlight chased away the darkness as it slid across to Grey, sitting up straight in bed.

"Of course I am. Get that light out of my face!" he replied in a forced whisper, kicking off his blankets. He tip-toed behind Prue back into the hallway, the light from the flashlight bleeding through her fingers cupped around the top. Grey moved swiftly to her side, the ends of his pyjama pants flapping against his ankles. "Recon for Mission Strange: Stage One is a go. Are you ready, Tiger Cheer?" he announced in a low and serious voice.

"What? Who is Tiger Cheer?" Prue hissed, eyes flashing to the closed door at the end of the hallway.

"You are! That's your code name."

"Why Tiger Cheer?"

"Because—you're a cheerleader for the Hawkins Tigers," he deadpanned, like it was quite obvious.

Prue rolled her eyes, sighing. "Fine. What's your code name?"

"Alpha Star," he said, chuffed. Prue groaned, the sound disturbing the silence around them. They both stilled instantly, holding in their breaths as they half-turned to see if their parents' bedroom door would open. It didn't and after a few long seconds, the pair descended down the staircase slowly. Darkness had invaded the house and the Owens siblings crept forward side by side, eyes finally adjusting to the blackness around them. They moved towards their father's office, the flashlight bleeding light onto the cream carpet. "The target is in sight. Do you copy, Tiger Cheer?"

"I'm standing right beside you, Grey. And we don't have walkie-talkies!"

"Alpha Star! I'm Alpha Star!" he claimed, using his hands to emphasise his words because he couldn't speak above a whisper.

"Okay, okay!" She rolled her eyes. And while Prue was annoyed, she could see how much acting out Mission Strange meant to Grey, so she bit the bullet, moving to open her father's office door. "Alpha Star, I'm moving into action, watch out for any... rascals," she settled on, feeling like an idiot.

"Copy that, Tiger Cheer," Grey responded, covering her back and keeping watch for their sleeping parents. Her fingers tightened on the doorknob and she was surprised when the door glided open with ease; she had expected it to be locked. She pulled the door open wider and the pair slipped inside. The air in Sam Owens's office was musky but the room was neat and tidy, nothing out of place. His advanced degree certificates were framed on the walls and knick-knacks from his past were lined along a shelf and on his desk.

"Check the bookshelf," Prue commanded. "I'll check the desk." Grey nodded before hurrying over to search through the wooden bookshelf piled with thick textbooks and plastic folders. Prue moved around the desk, pulling open the drawers. "We're looking for anything that seems... strange or says Hawkins National Laboratory. Like case files, photographs, government documents or hell, any weird scribbles." She searched through the three drawers, lifting and pulling out things as she went. She even checked for a secret compartment in the bottom of the dark wood.

"Bookshelf is clear, Tiger Cheer," Grey said, turning to face his older sister.

"The whole damn room is clear," she added in a defeated voice. "There's nothing here."