"Do you guys know where El is?" Hopper called down into the basement, "Her first day of school is tomorrow and its getting late."
"She said she was going for a bike ride!" Dustin called back up the stairs. Mike reached for his walkie-talkie.
"El? El, come in."
"Mike?" Her voice responded after a moment or two. It wasn't just her voice, though. There were laughs and shouts in the background.
"Yeah, Hopper says you're going home," Mike said, "Are you with someone?"
"Er- I'll be there soon." Eleven answered, ignoring the question. Mike sighed, and waited for her to return.
"You've gotta go? Already?" Kali asked, disappointed.
"Yes." El murmured. The crew were blasting music in their car and playing cards. Kali and El had found a nice bench to sit on.
"Can we meet again tomorrow?" She asked. El had to think about that. She knew Kali cared about her, but she was also obsessed with revenge. El thought she had been the same, but when she realized that doctor had a family, she froze. Kali, however, did not. She had been cruel in imitating Papa as well.
"Promise no killing?" El asked.
"Promise." Kali grinned.
"Friends don't break promises." El warned.
"Neither do sisters."
"Nervous?"
"No." El lied as Hopper pulled up to the school.
"You'll be alright," He smiled, "Have fun!" Hopper called as she leaped from the passenger seat and raced towards her friends. She was nervous, of course, but also excited to be considered normal. It was Mike who saw her first and she threw her arms around him. Gagging noises came from their friends, but they only laughed it off as El released him. She greeted the others, following them inside the building for her first real tour of the place. She gave Mike her schedule and let him lead her towards her first class. He was telling her about all of her teachers and complaining about how awful school really was, but her mind drifted to dark eyes and purple hair.
Kali. She took a deep breath. She was meeting her again today at that same little bench. Just Kali, this time. She had promised not to kill anyone while she was in town, and El liked to think she knew when someone was trustworthy. Kali, she knew, would keep her promise.
"El? Are you listening?" Mike's hand on her shoulder woke her from her thoughts.
"Er- of course!"
"What did he just say?" Lucas rolled his eyes. El sputtered, searching for an answer.
"Whats up with you? You were acting funny yesterday too." Mike frowns.
"Funny?"
"I meant strange." He corrected himself.
"Oh."
"So... are you alright?"
"I'm fine." El nodded. Her heart was pounding, though. Between Mikes suspicion and Kali's arrival, she was beyond stressed out.
"Friends don't lie." Mike seemed a little hurt as he said this, and El felt bad, but before she could respond, the bell rang. Mike was swept away in the crowd and El ducked into her classroom. Max was beside her since they both had history as their first period.
"What's really going on?" Max asked as they sat down by a window together. El still wasn't sure she totally trusted Max. They had never hung out just the two of them and El had been rude from the very beginning.
"I wont tell them," Max swears, "Think of this as a way to get closer." El had to admit that their party would work a lot better together once the two of them began getting along. El also just needed someone to vent to, and she knew that Mike, no matter how sweet he was, would try to prevent her from meeting Kali.
"My sister is in town." El blurted.
"Wha- Sister?!" Max's eyes widened.
"Alright, class. Ready to begin?" Their teacher entered the classroom.
Later during the class period, El was close to falling asleep.
"Hey, I think he's onto you," Max pointed at their teacher, who was eyeing El suspiciously, "You might wanna wake up now."
"So boring-" El gasped. It was beautiful, the way the light reflected off of its glowing, multicolored wings. It landed on El's desk.
"What? What are you looking at?" Max's brow furrowed.
"Y- you don't see it?!"
"See what?"
"The butterfly!" El exclaims, earning her some strange looks from her surrounding classmates.
Wait... El's head swiveled around to look out the window. Someone was there, but so far away it was nearly impossible to tell who it was.
Could it be? Yes! Some clouds passed overhead, revealing the sun. Rays of warm light washed over the school, causing the persons long hair to glint an astounding shade of purple.
Kali... She's here?
"Who's that?" Max asked, following her gaze.
"That's her..."
"Here?! Why?!"
"I- I don't know." El's heart was pounding. Was something wrong? She must have been trying to get her attention for a reason, right? El looked back at desk and realized the butterfly had vanished. She raised her hand.
"Er- Can I go to the bathroom?" She asked. Her teacher nodded, and she raced for the door.
Kali smiled as she let the butterfly disappear. The act was small, and so thankfully no blood dripped from her nose. There was movement at the window. El was coming down to join her. In a matter of seconds, El was racing towards her.
"What's up? Did something happen?!" El was panting by the time she stopped.
"Yeah," Kali grinned, "I just rescued you from hell."
"Seriously?!" El huffed, stomping her foot, "You scared me!"
"What? You thought I was hurt?" Kali laughed, "I'm fine, I can take care of myself."
"Then... why are you here?"
"I want to meet your new family. Your friends." She said, and El was taken aback.
"Really?" Joy was growing in El's expression.
"Yeah," Kali smiled, "They seem... very special to you. Especially your policeman friend. I spoke rudely of him in the past, but he's important to you. They are your family, and so am I. I'd like to meet them."
"I'd love that!" El was ecstatic, "Your friends too?"
"Er- No. Not yet. They're a little too... rambunctious." Kali laughed. That was very true.
"So... tonight?"
"Too soon... I need to time explain this to Hopper. But... what if we met at the arcade tonight? I could introduce you to the party first." El suggested. Kali nodded with a grin.
"See you there." She called as she spun around, walking towards the parking lot. El was beaming as she made her way back to class.