[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...
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THE REUNION at Joyce Byers' house was one big hullabaloo filled with hugs, apologies, and explanations. No one seemed properly perturbed by the notion that there was a monster running around Hawkins, and a government conspiracy to cover it up. These things were simply accepted as undeniable fact. Although, this wasn't the realization that disquieted Ana the most.
During the flea and the acrobat parable, it occurred to her just how much of an interloper she really was in the whole situation. Everyone had something substantial at stake, everyone except her.
Joyce Byers was missing a son. Jonathan Byers was missing a brother. Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair were missing their best friend, Will. Nancy Wheeler was also missing her best friend, Barb. Eleven was the subject of some mad scientist obsession. Jim Hopper, well, he held the weight of the entire town's wellbeing on his shoulders.
And Ana, while she would willingly do anything to help, could never match their investment in the situation. She'd been an outsider mere months before, and, now, here she was intruding on their trauma.
So much for being the main character, Ana grumbled internally. She'd been reduced to the quirky sidekick who offered the occasional sarcastic quip to provide comic relief.
At the kitchen table, Eleven had tried to contact Will and Barb through the radio. She had failed, and the shame was evident on her face. The young girl felt like she'd disappointed them, let them down, even though everyone could tell she was trying her best. Too much weight put on too small of shoulders, Ana realized sadly.
"Come on," she said with a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "Let's take a break." Ana ushered her into the bathroom where Eleven could cry without a half dozen eyes watching her, tears already collecting at the edges of her eyes.
"Everyone knows you're trying your hardest," Ana reassured in a soft voice, taking a seat on the closed toilet lid. "Nobody blames you."
Eleven deftly nodded at Ana's words, while wiping away her tears in the bathroom sink.
"I know it must not be easy for you," Ana tried to continue her show of support before being interrupted.
"The bath," Eleven stated simply.
"The bath?" Ana questioned in return, not seeing the connection. Did she want to wash off the days events in privacy, and attempt to feel clean again? The concept seemed silly, but teenagers never seemed to make much sense, even after all her years spent teaching them.
"I can find them...in the bath," Eleven had answered without much elucidation. If the idea seemed reasonable enough to her, then Ana chose not to question it further.
The two left the bathroom and shared this theory with the other occupants of the house. For it to work, though, they'd need to build a sensory deprivation tank, but none of them could figure how. Luckily, Ana knew the phone number of a particular nerdy science teacher who would definitely possess that information.
