The Call

As morning arose, no one knew where Will Byers had gone. The Byers family would never know until that morning. Joyce Byers, Will's mother, would find his bed neatly cleaned up just like the day before. "Jonathan, didn't Will come home last night?" She would ask her oldest son while he made breakfast for him and his younger brother.

Jonathan was sixteen and the loser at Derry High School. He was known for his passion for photography, bringing his camera everywhere just to find the best moments of life, but the students believed that was creepy that a teenager might take photos of them without their consent. He had not seen Will since that Sunday morning after he had made breakfast for the both of them before Will went to the Wheelers' to play Dungeons and Dragons. "Uh, I don't know," He replied, his eyes looking back at his mother who looked disappointed at her son.

"You don't know?" Joyce asked in a serious voice.

"Jake said if I could cover, and I said yeah. We need the extra cash," Jonathan said honestly, his eyes looking back at his mother who was very disappointed in him. "Will is most likely at the Wheeler's or something,"

"Johnathan, we talked about this. You need to be there for him when he gets home," Joyce said in a serious voice. "You know what happened the last time he came home alone,"

Jonathan sighed with a nod, his hair bobbing in the air while he nodded. Joyce went to her phone, dialing the numbers of the Wheelers' hoping that her son was okay. She hoped that he wouldn't be like the missing children that were reported dead with ripped limbs. "Come on," Joyce begged, her voice filled with worry as she waited for the Wheelers' to pick up and felt as worry grew. She waited for a few minutes before she heard someone pick up and call.

002

"Hello, this is the Toziers' residence," Maggie Tozier called out as she held the phone, twisting the cord in her fingers. Richie was sitting in his seat, eating breakfast while he heard his mother talk to someone. Richie Tozier was a rambunctious kid as most would say. He was a little shorter than most boys with dark, curly hair and large, red glasses that stayed on his face. Everyone knew Richie as Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier which made sense by his loud personality and that he could never shut up.

Richie's father, Wentworth Tozier, sat next to him on the morning table, his eyes staring at his newspaper. They were all in the kitchen, the smell of bacon and coffee still hung in the air like a diner.

"Oh, is that right?" Richie's mom asked in a surprised tone. Richie's eyes went back to her and he was immediately curious. He leaned over the table, his body looking at his mother, who stood in the hallway.

"Mom, who are you talking to?" Richie asked loudly, enough for her to hear him.

"Richie, let her talk," Mr. Tozier muttered as he continued staring at his newspaper. On the front of the newspaper was the picture of a kid that he had never seen with the bold letters "ANOTHER TRAGEDY IN DERRY." Richie rolled his eyes and continued annoying his mother.

"Honey, who is it?" Richie said in a low voice, trying to sound like his father.

"Yes, I will tell him," Mrs. Tozier continued speaking to the caller while Richie frowned. His mom was ignoring him. He saw his mom say goodbye to the caller before she ended the call. She let out a sigh, her brows knitted together before she went back into the kitchen.

"Who was it?" His father asked, looking up at his wife while Richie sighed. He was just asking that a few minutes ago but now that she finished the call, he can ask her?

"I just said that a few minutes ago," Richie grumbled, holding onto his cup before drinking his glass of orange juice.

"It was Sheriff Hopper," Richie's mom said softly, sitting in her seat as she looked at her husband and son. "There is a curfew now for the children,"

"Another one?" Richie exclaimed in a groan. This wasn't good.

"It's for this area. There's another kid that's missing," Mrs. Tozier explained to her son, stabbing her scrambled eggs. "Will Byers, I believe,"

Richie instantly knew who Will Byers was and his ears immediately perked up. "The Boy Who Came Back To Life?"

Will Byers was known for this name since a year ago. People thought that the boy did suicide after finding his body in the lake. The boy had never gotten an autopsy after his mother had told them not to, or something like that. Then, the day of his funeral, he's alive! He just got out of the coffin and scared the shit out of everyone in the funeral. Everybody was freaking out about it in Derry like it was a shitty miracle or something. Richie also knew that Will Byers was a friend to Richie's cousin, Mike Wheeler.

Ugh. Even the thought of him ruined Richie's morning. The Wheelers' were a nuclear family, he knew that from the beginnning. Richie's aunt married the man for the money and had two "wonderful" kids that he believed were annoying. The oldest was Nancy Wheeler. She was the perfect girl in high school with her perfect face, her perfect hair, her perfect grades. She even had a boyfriend named Steve! Richie hated her the most because he never got perfect grades and he always hated how she acted towards him. Then, there was Mike Wheeler.

Mike was the same age as Richie and looked almost exactly like the boy but, there were some major differences. First of all, Mike was a geek. He had toys in his bedroom, played Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, and lastly, he had never talked to girls. When he was told this, Richie literally almost puked. "You've never talked to any girls? I talk to them all the time!" Richie remembered saying to Mike last Christmas Eve. That immediately disgusted Richie and he never wanted to talk to Mike for centuries. Even though they both disliked eachother, the one thing that Mike and Richie actually agreed on was Nancy. They both tried to get her into trouble, especially with the truth that her parents didn't know she had a boyfriend.

While Richie was thinking about the Wheelers' for two seconds, Richie's father replied in a monotone voice while he stared at his newspaper. "Yes,"

"He hasn't been seen since last night. His family found out only this morning," Richie's mom replied while Richie ate his scrambled eggs. "He was at the Wheelers' for a few hours and then was gone,"

"Maybe he just wanted to get the shit out of Derry to get away from Mike," Richie replied sarcastically, eating with food in his mouth. "I could understand that,"

"Richard!" His mother yelled at him with shock, her expression showing disappointment and surprise over her son's statement.

"Language." Richie's father muttered.

"What? The Wheelers' are horrible," Richie admitted as he placed his hands up the air in defense.

"That's not true. They're just.. different," Mrs. Tozier said. "They care more about grades than you do,"

"That's because I-" Richie was going to make an excuse but sighed, slumping in his chair. "You got me,"

"Maybe because of Will's disappearance, you should go and stay over at the Wheelers' for a while. I bet Mike would need your company over the sadness of losing his friend again," Mr. Tozier muttered, looking at his paper.

"That is a great decision," Mrs. Tozier smiled.

"I'm not going over to their house. It'll be a nightmare," Richie begged to his parents. "I'll die there," He pleaded in a whiny, childish voice.

"No, this is a great oppurtunity to be friends with your cousins," Mrs. Tozier said as she stood up.

"I don't want to be!" Richie exclaimed. "Come on, dad, please don't make me go!"

"You need to be there for your cousins," Richie's father only replied.

"Yes, your aunt would love for you to be there for her son," Mrs. Tozier went to the phone.

"This is bullshit," Richie muttered as he stood up, hearing the yells of his father and mother but he didn't care. He went into the living room, seeing his worn backpack placed next to the door, and grabbed it. He put it on, feeling his glasses slip and quickly pushed them up. He then went to the door, opened it, and went out into the outside.