Alice the Amazing ⇒ STRANGER THINGS

[Part Two Prologue] New Beginnings

October 1984

"This is a terrible idea."

"Would you chill?"

"No! Because you're going to ruin your hair!"

Alice rolled her eyes.

"Maria, relax," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. Jesus said that."

Maria rubbed her forehead.

"I highly doubt that," she said wearily.

"Aren't you the one who said I need to live a little?" Alice pressed. "Who said I need to do something fun for myself?"

Maria bit her lip.

"Well, yes—"

"So this is me, living a little!" Alice said. She spread her arms out like she was giving the world an air hug. "The world is my oyster!"

"Uh-oh," Maria said. "Every time you start speaking in cliches, I worry about you."

Alice ignored Maria and hopped up from her bed. She grabbed the Melvald's bag from her desk and dumped it out onto her tie-dye bedspread.

"I bought a few different kinds of hair dye," she said. "What do we think about Passionfruit Pink? Or Maybe You Go Girl Green?"

Maria sifted through the bottles of dye. She furrowed her brow.

"Are there any normal colors in here?" Maria asked. She was happy to see her best friend in higher spirits than she has been as of late, but she knew an impulsive decision like this could backfire very quickly. Alice was one to do first, think later.

"Well, I did get a bottle of blonde," Alice said. She picked it up and waved it around. "I want something more dynamic though."

"If I can't talk you out of dying your hair at all," Maria pleaded, "can I at least convince you to go for the blonde? It's the least likely color to make your mom kill you—and me."

Alice held up the blonde dye. She inspected the bottle.

"Fine," she said, sighing. "I'll keep it classy. Just this once. Let's figure out how this works—"

Before she and Maria could continue, Dustin burst into her room.

"Dusty!" Alice said, leaning over the bottles so her brother wouldn't see.  "Get the hell out of here!"

"I need coins!" he said, panting. "Now!"

"For the arcade?" Maria asked.

Dustin nodded and raced over to where Alice's piggy bank Monty the PorkChop sat on her shelf.

"Don't you dare shatter Monty!" Alice said angrily, chasing Dustin. "He's very special to me!"

He also holds my secret stash of Deadbeat Mom Money, Alice thought, that no one else is going to find out about.

"Monty could lose a couple pounds," Dustin said, holding him precariously. "C'mon, can I just take $20 in change? I'll owe you one."

"I drove you around town all summer!" Alice protested, narrowing her eyes. "You already owe me one."

"Can you two please stop fighting?!" Maria said, exasperated. She joined the siblings by the shelf and handed Dustin a roll of quarters. "Here. For Dragon's Lair. No need to pay me back."

"Really?!" Dustin asked, eyes shining. "Thanks, Maria!"

He shoved the coins in his pockets and gave Alice a reproachful look.

"Remind me why you still keep Samuel around?" he asked. "He's not nearly as useful."

With that, Dustin was gone.

Alice stomped back to her bed and threw herself on it.

"He's been getting on my nerves lately," Alice grumbled. "And he won't stop talking shit about Samuel!"

"To be fair," Maria said, "Sam's been kind of an asshole lately."

Alice couldn't disagree with that. She and Maria knew full well he was so high-and-mighty because he played most of the leading men in the plays at theatre camp—mainly because he was one of very few men. Al and Maria were tired of him and his condescending demeanor, but when they tried to tell him to quit it, he pretended it was part of a method acting exercise.

"Well, let's not think about Sam or my dumb brother," Alice said. "Let's focus on the matter at hand." 

She held up the Beach Blonde Hair Dye bottle and a photo of Farrah Fawcett. "How are we going to make me look like this?"

"Let me see," Maria said, taking the bottle and picture from Alice. She inspected both items carefully.

She really, really wasn't happy about this plan, but ever since Alice woke up from her coma, she'd been acting a bit...different. Slowly but surely, Maria noticed more and more cracks in Alice's happy-go-lucky facade. 

Maria had tried asking Alice head-on what was wrong, but every time she did, Alice made a joke or caused a diversion. It was obvious she hated talking about her feelings, and Maria didn't want to force her into a conversation she wasn't ready to have.

Until Alice was ready to open up, Maria would be the supportive friend she needed. Even if it meant dying her best friend's hair a garish blonde and hoping for the best.

Maria lowered the picture and grinned at Alice.

"Are you ready to become Hawkins High's newest it girl?" Maria asked, eyes twinkling.

Alice beamed.

"Absolutely!"

{Edited July 10, 2020}