[COMPLETED UNTIL SEASON 5]
Ana Thompson always seems to wind up in the strangest predicaments...
A perpetual victim of Murphy's Law, Ana finds herself arriving in Hawkins, Indiana just prior to the events of November 6th, 1983.
And, just prior to f...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THE NEXT DAY at school was a complete and utter wash. How can anyone expect children to focus on classwork when something so traumatic was around around them? It was the only topic of conversation, the only thought on everyone's mind as the day dragged on in an false display of structure and schedule.
Will Byers seat was left noticeably empty in her 4th period class, and neither Ana nor the students could stop their eyes from being drawn to it. It was like a black hole, sucking their gazes and previously chipper moods into its abyss. However, his was not the only seat left vacant that day.
Ana waited until the end of period bell rang before calling Dustin and Lucas to her desk. "Boys, why wasn't Mike here today?" She asked, pinning them down with a scrutinizing stare.
What remained of the AV Club hadn't been particularly helpful during Hopper's irritation fill interrogation the day before, that much she'd gathered from Officer Callahan when he'd tried to chat her up after the search party had concluded. And while Mike's absence could have been attributed to sadness for his missing friend, she very much doubted the explanation was that simple.
The preteens glanced at each other, sharing a significant look that wasn't missed by their teacher, and fumbled over their words for a few moments before settling on a synchronized, "we don't know."
"You're both terrible liars, you know that?" It wasn't as much a question as a statement-an indictment, really. "Whatever is going on," she said with a casual wave of the hand, "you know you can tell me, or any adult, right? Especially if it's something that can help your friend."
The boys shared another more significant glance before turning back to her. "We know that, Ms. Thompson," Lucas answered for the both of them, nodding his head stoutly. She still didn't believe them and their show of ignorance, but she didn't have the willpower to bicker over it, not while the next class was rapidly filing in.
She swept her suspicious eyes over the pair one last time before sighing. "Ok, you can go then," she grumbled, and they hightailed it out of there as soon as they got the go ahead, whispering quickly to one another as they fled.
Other than hearing the PA announcing that there would be an assembly happening on the football field at 8:00 PM in support of Will Byers and his family, the rest of the day fluttered by in a daze.
Things weren't progressing as uneventfully for Hopper across town, though. Midway through the day search party, he'd received an urgent call from Flo redirecting him to Benny's Burgers.
Being a cop should have prepared him for the worst life had to offer. Atop that, watching his daughter perish before his very eyes should have made facing death easier. There is no preparation for losing anyone, though, and no amount of experience makes death any easier to accept or less painful to face.
Standing over the deceased body of his former friend, however, made that same hopeless feeling appear anew. It sank into his stomach like a sickness, twisting and turning his insides until he felt ill from the unsettling.
