Elijah Brooks's life is turned upside down when his best friend Will Byers goes missing one night. Teaming up with an unlikely group of friends, Eli finds himself transforming from a quiet bookworm to a courageous adventurer willing to do anything f...
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EARLY NOVEMBER LEAVES DANCED ACROSS the hood of Brandy's car, the brunette lodged in the driver's seat with an inquisitive look. Martha sat to her right, plucking absently at her sandwich and eyeing her best friend, who was swamped in a pile of papers.
"So..." the Baker girl began quietly, swallowing another mouthful of peanut butter and jelly. "You figured it out yet?"
The paper currently coiled in Brandy's hand fluttered back into her lap as the Brooks girl cast a wry glance at her friend. "Yes, within the five minutes we've been sitting here I've managed to crack the entire code of my father's hieroglyphic notes."
"Oh, nice. So you can do something," Martha threw back teasingly, and Brandy's annoyed huff melted into a smile that matched the Baker's. She peeled her eyes away from the Brooks girl to observe the bustling movement of the high school parking lot, quickly catching a figure approaching them.
"Oh, God."
"What?" Brandy asked, and before Martha could answer there was an eager pair of knuckles rapping on her window. Disgust entangled with irritation shredded the curiosity out of her expression as Steve peered desperately through the glass pane.
"Brandy, can we please talk?" Steve's voice was high-pitched with a near whine. His lunch bag was a crumpled, tattered mess in one fist, the other persistently knocking.
Brandy let out another garbled sigh, rolling her window halfway down, glaring at the Harrington through the small slit of light. "Steve, now is not the time! Seriously."
"Listen, Bran, I just—"
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" Her voice was unusually hostile, so much that even Martha squirmed anxiously in her cushioned seat.
Steve's hands dropped pathetically to his sides, his chest cramping with pain at her icy tone. "I just wanna apologize for the other night."
"Steve, I'm serious."
"I know I was total dick, alright? I just..." His brown eyes faltered, dropping below to the puddle of sheets draped over Brandy's legs. "What are you doing anyway? Homework?"
"None of your business. Just leave me alone, jackass!" Brandy grumbled, rolling her window back up and gripping the lever so tightly her knuckles faded to a stark white.
The Harrington huffed in defeat, drawing away slightly from the car with his hurt gaze still aligned on Brandy. "Fine. But I am not going down without a fight, Brandy Eliana Brooks!"
