IT WAS 1984 IN HAWKINS, INDIANA.
Everything was on track for graduation. I knew it was still another year away, but I was proud of myself for making a plan and sticking to it for so long. Summer was spent working in dad's garage and babysitting, and all the money I made went into savings. There was no way I'd waste that.
Dad promised to help out anyway he could, but I knew the state of our finances almost better than he did. If I was going to get to college it would be because I got myself there. That was fine with me—it just meant having some discipline.
I was in the garage all morning putting the final pieces together on my car. It was mostly cleaning it up and reattaching the headlights, but I would've done just about anything to get it running again. This vehicle was like my child. I wasn't going to leave it in Hawkins when I graduated, so I worked hard to keep it working in the meantime without spending my college money.
After that, I was racing to Alice's house because she asked for a ride to school. There's always a surprise when it came to Alice—especially when doing her favors. When I parked at the end of her driveway, she came running from the front door with her friend Trinity. I didn't mind the extra rider, only the fact that it was her.
She seemed nice but, whenever she was around, I could barely get a word in. Alice and Trinity had been friends since they were little—a fact they loved to rub in my face—and therefore I was the odd man out, as usual. It was hard not to feel displaced.
"Hey! Sorry we're running late," Alice said, coming to a screeching halt at my passenger door. She pulled it open and I leaned over to help gently fold the seat forward. "Trin was having hair problems. Again."
"That's such bull—you just had to redo your makeup," Trinity argued, as she shoved herself into the backseat.
Alice pushed up the seat and climbed in with a huff, rolling her eyes as she pulled the door closed. As soon as it was shut I was driving. There was no time to waste. Being late to school wouldn't look too good to a college. I needed to be punctual.
Smiling politely, I shook my head, "No, that's okay. I needed some extra time to get Dorothy running anyways."
"You named it?" Trinity made a sound of disgust.
"Shut up, Trinity," Alice twisted in her chair to look into the backseat. "It's her mom's car."
I found myself sighing heavily at the mention of my mother. It was nice of Alice to defend me and the naming of my car, but I didn't want Trinity knowing anything about me that she didn't have to know. Having a dead mom wasn't something I used to get into parties.
It was the last topic of conversation possible. Only Alice and Steve knew, though I'd heard some whispers going around when I first got here. That's just how it was in small towns so I didn't really pay attention to it. I'd been in them enough to get used to it. Trying to stay calm for the rest of the drive to school, I turned on the stereo.
Alice touched up her makeup on the way and Trinity was gabbing on about some kind of school gossip. I hated listening to it. It was bad enough everyone's secrets were out there, but then Trinity made me part of the problem by talking about them in front of me. The secrets stopped with me, though they went through many mouths to get there.
Finally, we pulled into the school parking lot and I parked in a space not too far from the entrance. Trinity stopped talking the moment the engine was off. I said a silent thank you to anyone upstairs that might be responsible for the silence, before pushing open my door and climbing out with my bag. "Remember to be careful with the door," I said, as Alice started getting out on her side.
"I thought you said you were fixing that last week?" Alice gave me a curious look as she stood from her seat, turning to see me over the top of the car.
Shrugging, I nodded a little, "Yeah, I did. It's, um...on my list. Still."
"If you need some money for the parts, I can-"
"Really, it's okay- it's not money," I quickly shook my head, shutting my door. "Thanks, though."
But it was. It was always money. I was just fine with my car as long as it worked. Anything else needed were luxury items I could live without. Trinity forced herself out of the backseat in a huff, and Alice had to backpedal quickly to get out of her way. "God, it's so stuffy back there," she complained, pushing past Alice.
Even Alice looked annoyed by Trinity's behavior. She rolled her eyes and shut the door, before sighing heavily. "Trin?" she asked, to get her attention.
"Hm?" Trinity turned to see her as I walked around the back end of the car.
"Stop being a bitch," Alice told her, seriously.
My eyes rounded a bit, and I loosely folded my arms as Trinity began to argue her innocence. It was a lost cause trying to get them to stop bickering whenever they started. So, instead of trying to break it up, I simply started walking toward the school entrance. I only made it a few feet before I was nearly flattened by a car roaring into the lot. It was a blue Camaro, swerving into a spot across the aisle after the near miss. I stood there for a moment in shock before the shock turned into annoyance.
The driver swung their door open, and I couldn't help myself. "Watch it, asshole!" I shouted at the open door.
Out of the car stepped a broad-shouldered mullet with 'trouble' written all over him. He wasn't someone I'd seen at school before, so I assumed he was a new student. But I didn't have time to sit around and wait for a reply. I kept walking toward the school and instead only glanced over my shoulder to see the look he'd given me.
It was a complete and utter lack of care. Really, he seemed annoyed by the interaction if only because I'd been in his way. That was when I decided not to care, either. Under different circumstances, I would be the first person welcoming someone new—after all, I was the most recent newcomer. But this bastard was on his own.
Walking into the school, you could almost feel the excitement. Everyone was excited for Halloween. Tina was handing out flyers for her Halloween bash and, though I didn't plan on going, I took one as I passed through to get to my locker. I didn't go last year either, but the flyer would look great in a scrapbook.
I didn't have time for parties—no one serious about their future did. Then again, I was pretty sure Steve was going to be there. He walked by me as I reached my locker and I held up the flyer. "Hey, did you get one?" I asked him.
He stopped on the other side of me, causing me to turn around to see him. "Oh, yeah," he eyed the flyer in my hand. "You going?"
"I don't think so," I wrinkled my nose.
"What? Come on. You can be the third Stooge with me and Nancy."
"Um, thanks but no thanks. As nice as that sounds, I have work."
I unlocked my locker and pulled open the door, and Steve crossed his arms as his shoulder dropped against the locker next to mine. "Work? On Halloween?" he questioned, skeptical.
"Dorothy's new radiator comes on Wednesday morning and i'm gonna be spending all evening putting it in," I explained, as I situated my things inside the locker. "She shouldn't really be driven until it's in, but she'll be fine as long as I get it on Wednesday."
"Well, I can just drive you until you get it in," Steve offered, pushing off the lockers as I shut mine.
"Why do you want me to go so bad?" I questioned.
He sighed, "Betsy, you rarely do anything fun. This is my last year, okay? I want you to come have fun with me, one last hurrah before I graduate."
We started walking through the crowded hall as I thought of what he said. It made sense. I hadn't been at Hawkins for long, but Steve was one of my only friends here. And, given his falling out with the 'popular' crowd last year, I was one of his only friends as well. Fixing Dorothy wasn't something I could put off.
I promised I would keep her running and that's what I was going to do. Surely there would be other times Steve and I could have fun before the school year ends, wouldn't there? It sounded a little selfish once I thought it out. "I don't know…" I sighed. "What would I even go as?"
"Uh...Betsy Ross?" Steve supplied, optimistically.
My nose wrinkled again, this time with narrowed eyes as I looked up at him, "You didn't seriously just suggest that."
"Okay, fine. I don't know. You don't have to dress up, you know? No one's gonna care."
"Everyone will care, Steve."
"Just think about it, alright?" he resigned from the conversation with an exasperated sigh. He walked ahead of me, turning on his heels to walk backward in the hall. "You might actually like it."
It was doubtful. I gave him an expression that said as much, but he remained hopeful-looking as he finally turned around and disappeared into the hallway crowd, leaving me to walk to my first class. Something I commonly did alone.
I wasn't late for class—which was a bonafide miracle if I ever saw one. My favorite class was art, but that wasn't until I had to make it through Mr. Dempsy's history lesson. It was always hard not to fall asleep through it. He tried really hard to make it interesting, but it just wasn't interesting enough to keep me awake. Neither was algebra, if I was being honest.
During the car ride to school Wednesday morning, Trinity was going on about the new gossip she'd heard yesterday while Alice fixed her hair. This round of information was everything she could find out about Billy Hargrove—the asshole who almost ran me over in the parking lot. He was a shiny new toy, so obviously all the gossip would be about him.
Even with the radio up I could hear her gabbing. I'd wanted to reach back and slap her but advised myself against it. After all, Trinity was only there because I liked hanging out with Alice. This was the price I had to pay to do that. I wasn't even sure it was worth it anymore.
We made it to school earlier this time and I didn't have to run to class—although, I still walked fairly quickly because I was not about to chance another almost late day. Any time I passed Steve in the halls, he would give me a look I knew meant that I needed to go to the Halloween party. It was in the way he wiggled his eyebrows and eyed me knowingly.
I brushed it off and focused on my classes, but it lingered in the back of my mind. Maybe I would like this party? The last one wasn't so great. But it could be better, what with Steve and Nancy going, too. That way at least I wouldn't be alone and bored out of my mind. I scolded myself for thinking about it.
There was no way I could finish helping out in the garage, replace Dorothy's radiator, and make it to Tina's bash. Not unless I had some sort of super speed. It would be difficult to finally tell Steve I wasn't going, but it was a bandage I needed to rip off. So, I found him at his locker after lunch and broke the news.
"I just can't, Steve," I told him, shaking my head. "There's no way I can make it work-"
A group of seniors passed us then, one in particular going out of his way to bump into Steve's shoulder—hard. Steve slammed into his now closed locker door with a flail of surprise and the senior responsible turned as he walked away to admonish Steve, "Watch it, Harrington."
It was Billy. With a look of disgust that seemed genuine, as if he actually believed Steve to be at fault for the altercation. Steve only sighed heavily and rolled his eyes as he righted himself. But I glared heatedly at the new student. His look of disgust faded away as his eyes raked over me, seconds before he continued forward with his classmates.
"What is wrong with that guy?" I questioned, to no one in particular.
"Eh, he's got small dick disorder. Don't worry about it," Steve answered, giving a look down the hall before settling on me. "Look—are you sure there's no way you can make it? Not even for a little bit? An hour, maybe? I can pick you up."
Of course Steve wouldn't drop it, and it only made me feel worse to say no. "I don't know...just- I'll call you if I can make it, but just assume I can't, okay?" I answered.
He grumbled a bit, but nodded, and we went our separate ways to class. After school, Alice and Trinity met me out front and the three of us walked to my car. It took me three seconds to notice Billy sat on the trunk of his car, smoking, once again parked in the opposite aisle from mine.
I kept my eyes averted the second I noticed, and I urged the girls along. Trinity didn't even notice me—she was all but drooling, and Alice wasn't much better. Honestly, I thought I had better taste in friends. Sure, Billy Hargrove had a pretty face, but that was his defining quality. It would take a lot more than that to impress me.
There was too much going on in my life to be held up by my friends gawking at some muscles. I walked ahead of them with a heavy sigh and continued toward my car. "Ladies," Billy's acknowledgment of my friends grated on my nerves.
Who did he think he was, anyway? I unlocked the driver's side door and opened as gently as I could with the frustration building in my chest. "Guys, come on," I called to Alice and Trinity, who stood still in the parking lot to talk to Billy. "Do you want a ride or not?"
Trinity was unphased. Alice looked at me for a moment, obviously in indecision, before she shook her head. "That's okay. We'll catch a ride with Tommy," she replied, nonchalantly.
On the surface, it irked me to know that my friends would drop me at a moment's notice if it meant getting five minutes with a hot guy. But underneath that, it just hurt. I tried not to seem bothered as I nodded and slid into the driver's seat, pulling the door shut behind me.
I clipped on my seatbelt and started the car, then turned the radio all the way up as I left the parking lot. If anything was going to help me not break down on the way home it would be music. Alice Jaeger and Trinity Spears were the last people in this town that deserved my tears. Right above Billy Hargrove. It's like someone sent up a flare whenever he needed to be an asshole and ruin someone's day.
Thompson Twins was on the radio and I drowned out most of my thoughts with that. I didn't live too far from the school—the longest part of the drive was always picking up and dropping off Alice and Trinity. But I was still miles from home when a puff of white smoke jolted from the hood of the car. "No. No, no, no, no…" I frantically looked to the gauges.
The needle was all the way on hot. I only noticed it seconds before the engine seized, and I was forced to steer over to the side of the road. It chugged and sputtered and I knew that meant nothing good. I took the keys out of the ignition, popped the hood, and scrambled out of the car to get to the front. It was hot, but I moved quickly to lift up the hood and brace it.
Doing so caused another puff of white smoke to burst up in my face. I stepped back from the front of the car, fanning the smoke away with a choked cough. It was safe to say the radiator needed a break. If not a break, then an immediate replacement. I didn't know if the new radiator came to the garage while I was at school.
The only way to find out was to get home and check. That would require leaving Dorothy on the side of the road and walking. Walking was fine with me, but leaving Dorothy behind for so long wasn't. This was such a mess. I should've replaced it sooner but I only had the money for it a couple weeks ago, and it took two weeks to get it to Hawkins. "Goddammit," I hissed in frustration, turning away from the smoking engine.
This road was empty for at least five miles. If I calculated correctly, I'd only been on it for two before I pulled over. That means I would only need to walk three miles to the nearest house or place of business. I could get to a phone and get back here in thirty minutes if I ran. Though, I didn't do much everyday running, and I knew I would need to take many breaks. It would only add to the time Dorothy was on the side of the road.
Instinctively, I'd begun to growl thinking about it. One hand on my hip and the other on my chin, I paced slowly on the autumn leaves beside the road, contemplating my options. I could always just sit here and wait for it to cool down and try starting it again. Or, I could wait for a car to drive by and flag it down.
"Betsy?"
A voice caused me to stop thinking, and my feet froze in their place at the sound. Dustin was on his bike on the road, with Mike and Will and Lucas. They were wearing their Ghostbusters costumes—as promised. Exhaling, I tried to smile, "You guys heading home?"
"Yeah. What happened to Dorothy? Is she okay?" Dustin questioned, getting off his bike.
He walked the bike over to where I stood in front of the car, and he peered in at the engine. There was a lot less smoke but it was still way too hot to drive. "She's fine, Dusty. Just overheated," I answered, acting calm.
"Well, do you need a ride?" Dustin offered, stepping back to look up at me. "You could hop on the back, like old times."
This time, my smile was genuine, "Thanks, but I'm gonna wait with her for a bit and see if I can get her started. You guys should get going, though—don't wanna miss prime ghost hunting hours."
"Do you want me to tell my mom you're out here? She can call your dad," Mike suggested, from the road.
"That would be great, actually. Thanks, Mike," I nodded, thankfully.
Dustin walked his bike back to the road and climbed on, but I could tell he was disappointed. We hadn't been hanging out much lately. Definitely not as much as we did when I babysat him. But since his mom retired, there wasn't much need for a babysitter anymore.
I made a mental note then to add hanging out with Dustin to my to-do list. "Okay, well...have fun tonight, Betsy," Dustin said, as the other began to pedal onward. "I hope you can get her fixed soon."
"Thanks. Hit all the full-size houses first, that way they don't run out by the time you get there," I told him, as he, too, began to pedal.
He chuckled as he rode off, shouting over his shoulder, "Good idea!" before hurrying after the others. As soon as they were gone, I checked the radiator. It was still incredibly too hot. The thing was most likely toast. But I tried to stay as optimistic as possible about it, and decided to do some sketching while I waited for it to cool.
So, I sat in the driver's seat with my feet hanging out of the open door and doodled on a notepad in my lap. It wasn't more than a couple of minutes before a car came whizzing by, kicking up a whirlwind of loose leaves on the road. The speed limit on this road was thirty. Its speed alone was enough to catch my attention for a moment.
I craned my neck to see what idiot would go that fast through this stretch of road, and I was not at all surprised by the blue Camaro whose tail lights were quickly disappearing. My head shook slowly in annoyed disapproval as I sighed back into my doodling.
Either the car would cool down or my dad would come to tow me home—whichever happened first, I would still be there, drawing. The silence only gave me time to think and that was the last thing I needed. Thinking only got me in trouble. There was so much to dwell on, so many wounds to keep open—I hated it. But I couldn't help it.
Taking a deep breath, I turned my wrist to check the time. It was four o'clock. The sound of another car, slower this time, caused me to perk up. And then I saw the car. It was Steve's. I quickly shrunk back into the driver's seat and pretended to not have seen him. Although, there was no way he couldn't see me.
Sure enough, he pulled up along the road, stopped to see me through the open passenger side window. Nancy was in the passenger seat, but Steve leaned across her to talk into the opening. "Hey, what the hell happened?" he questioned, confused.
Sighing heavily, I closed my notepad and sat up in the seat. "Radiator quit," I answered, simply. "I'm letting it cool down. She should be fine-"
"No, no—bullshit. Get in the car," Steve shook his head, pushing open the driver's side door.
I stood up from my seat, "It's fine, really. I'm waiting with Dorothy."
"Elizabeth," Steve eyed me with a serious expression from over the top of his car. "Get your little ass in the car. Right now. Come on."
There wasn't a good enough reason to leave Dorothy for me not to feel unsettled. But I felt pressured to get in the car—from Steve, from the idea that it just might be faster—so I did. I climbed into the back seat with my bag. Steve slid into his seat, pulling his door shut behind him. "I could've waited," I said, protesting quietly in the back.
"Yeah, and be standing out in the cold for hours because she doesn't start. She's not starting, Betsy. I'll drop you home and you can see if the new part got in, and then you can fix it. Okay?" Steve told me, with sporadic glances in the rear view mirror as we began to drive away.
Crossing my arms, I sunk into my seat. He was most likely right. But I didn't want to believe that Dorothy couldn't be started. Maybe if I'd had more time- maybe if- maybe. Underneath it all I was genuinely thankful for Steve's help. Nancy was quiet for a moment before asking me about our test on Monday, wondering how I was studying for it.
In all honesty, I hadn't studied for it much at all. I was too busy trying to keep myself and my car from falling apart. We talked about school and suggested studying together sometime—though I highly doubted it would actually happen, I was thankful for the distraction. Then we arrived at my house.
I climbed out from the back seat, muttering, "Thanks for the ride," just loud enough for Steve to hear. His sigh was much louder than my words.
"Hey, Betsy, hold on," he said, as I finally made it out of the car. I turned to look inside the cab, and he continued, "I'm just trying to help, okay?"
It wasn't hard to see he felt guilty for verbally man-handling me. Steve of all people knew how much that car means to me. Nodding, I replied, "I know. Thanks." He didn't say anything after that and, after a quick goodbye from Nancy, I walked up the driveway to my house.
My dad was coming onto the porch just as I reached the bottom of the steps. "I just got off the phone with Mrs. Wheeler," he told me, while I climbed the stairs. "Mike said Dorothy broke down on the way home today?"
"Yeah, the radiator gave out. She can't drive home."
"We can go get her with the truck right now if you're up for it."
I'd just made it onto the porch. "Sounds good," I nodded quickly. "She's not too far from here. But- did the new radiator come today?"
Dad loosed an exhale and I knew right then that it hadn't. But I waited for him to answer, hoping that maybe—just maybe—it came after all. "I'm sorry sweetheart, it didn't," he answered, sadly. With those words, my shoulders dropped along with my heart.
Without the part, Dorothy would remain in the garage, and stay there until the part came and I could find the time to put it in—again. Even after all the time I spent on her in there already. It was a disappointment, but I kept my chin up as best I could while dad got the keys to the truck.
When we moved to Hawknins, dad opened an auto body shop. Given it's such a small town most of our money comes from oil changes and towing. But the garage was a perfect opportunity for me to keep learning about cars—mostly so I could fix my own. It would be way too expensive to take her somewhere else when I could just do it myself.
Dorothy was still on the side of the road where I left her, and we towed her back to the garage. The garage being below our house. It was just after six o'clock when we got her in. Dad went in the house for dinner, but I decided to stay in the garage to make sure the radiator was actually blown and not just a little worn out.
It was in fact blown. I took it out completely and set it aside for scrap. There was no point keeping it around. "I'm sorry," I told Dorothy, as I pulled it out. "I know I promised the new one would be here, but some asshole decided I didn't need my package today."
Talking to a car sounds ridiculous. But sometimes she's the only one willing to listen. I don't know which statement was worse. They were conflicting in my head—I knew I shouldn't be talking to a car even though I really needed someone to talk to right then. My problems needed to be released, so I decided to keep talking.
"Well, at least now you can't leave me, too, huh?" the words came out through a small chuckle but, as I stood there braced against the front of the car on my palms, I felt something else trying to come through. "What am I saying? It's gonna happen. It always happens. Get over it."
"Elizabeth?"
My head shot up at the mention of my name, and I turned my head to see my father at the door to the garage. Quickly, I swiped at my cheek with the back of my wrist and sniffled it all back. "Yeah, dad?" I asked, stepping out from behind the car.
"Um...Steve's on the phone for you. He says it's important."
With the way he looked at me, the way he hesitated, I knew he'd noticed. Maybe even heard what I'd said. But I acted like I didn't know at all. I nodded once, "Okay, thanks," and closed Dorothy's hood. Dad stood by the door until I came over to leave, and then he walked behind me into the house.
Yeah, he most likely heard every word. I felt guilty—not for saying them, but for burdening him with them. He had enough to deal with without adding my problems. Exhaling, I went to the kitchen to find the phone laying on the counter by the base.
"Hey," I said, putting the phone to my ear. "What do you want?"
"Well, I figured since you won't be busy in the garage all night, you have no excuse but to let me take you to the party," Steve replied. He was nonchalant in tone, but I could tell he was smiling like a dork on the other end.
I rolled my eyes, "I don't have anything to wear."
"Just wear what you wear to school—you'll be fine. I'm picking you up in fifteen minutes."
"Wha- Steve-"
The line was dead. Growling in frustration, I forcefully placed the phone back onto the base and stepped into the living room. Dad sat on the couch, papers spread over the coffee table, focusing hard on it. "Hey, dad?" I gently interrupted.
"Hm?" he didn't look away from the table.
"Steve wants me to hang out tonight. Is that okay?"
"Of course, it's Halloween. Just be back at a reasonable hour, alright?"
"Thanks, dad."
I hurried to my bedroom. It was across the hall from dad's, just down the hall from the kitchen. Our house was nothing fancy. The carpet needed replaced, none of the furniture matched, and our dishes were plastic. But we made the best of what we had.
My room wasn't much better than the rest of the house, but I'd spent some money every now and then to spruce it up. I repainted and bought a new quilt from a thrift store. Every week I picked some new flowers and put them in a vase on my nightstand.
It was as home as this place could get. The only thing I didn't upgrade was my closet. More specifically, the clothes in them. Steve said to wear what I wear to school. Even as unpopular as I am, I knew that was bullshit. But I didn't have anything else.
So, I wore my jeans and a red sweater I got for Christmas last year. The only jacket I had was the denim one I wore everywhere. By the time I finished dressing, a car horn echoed into the house, and I knew Steve had arrived. "Elizabeth? Steve's here!" dad called from the living room.
"I got it!" I hollered back, as I hurried from my room.
"Have fun, sweetheart," dad said, as I reached the front of the house. Finally, he was looking up from the table. "Remember—a respectable hour. It's a holiday but you still have schoolwork."
I nodded, "I know, dad. Bye." Then I slipped out the door.