Mallory Wheeler knew things were going to start changing in Middle school. But she never thought it would be this much. Tonight, was Sunday night school was tomorrow. The School year was her least favorite time of year. She had been struggling in school since she was a little kid. Her parents were sure she had a learning disability but she felt like she was just stupid. Her parents loved to compare her to her brother and sister. "Nancy gets great grades." "Why can't you be more like Mike?" It was something she heard so much in her house it made her feel less than her siblings. Even Holly was smart for her age and had started walking before normal kids her age.
She and her brother were in the same grade yet she was a year and three months older. So, at the age of thirteen, she was in seventh grade. Her siblings were all smart Nancy and Mike got All A's and she'd been held back in second grade. She enjoyed Art she liked to paint and draw. Not exactly something her parents wanted for her. They wanted her to be something like a writer or something. Or a housewife like her mother.
She wouldn't deny that being her mom was hard. She was married to Ted Wheeler. Not only that but her kids didn't talk to her. But she didn't think of why her kids never talked to her. Her mom was around unlike a lot of parents but her mother never tried to understand her kids. So she wasn't that close to her mom. That sucked and she wished she could be she was close to her older sister. Much more than when they were little kids. Once she became a teenager it was like Nancy respected her more.
She had two female friends and that was it. Krista and Abby. She got to see them in between classes but that was pretty much it. They used to be in the same grade until she got held back. They'd all known one another since preschool.
She'd met Abby before school during the summertime when she had moved into town. They had met in the park in the sandbox they'd built a princess castle as they had called it. They both had an obsession with them growing up Abby she would say was her best friend as they had met first and had much more in common. Abby had a big sister Nancy's age, Barbra.
Krista, they had met in school. They'd all played dolls together from then on they'd been best friends. She was a little bossy and had a mean streak. But in the end, she was a great friend. But neither one of these girls could keep a secret even if their lives depended on it.
Right now she was sitting and watching her brother and his friends playing D&D. They had been playing for about ten hours now. She'd hung out with the girls today until they had left. ''Will you need to cast a protection spell.'' She said. She wasn't a D&D player but she knew to throw a fireball would more than likely get him killed. She'd watched enough of these games to know how it worked. Being in seventh grade and the entire grade below her best friends meant she spent a lot of time with these boys.
''No Don't be a pussy. Ignore her.'' Lucas told Will. ''Fireball him.'' Lucas had lived near them since first grade. He was one of her brother's best friends. He'd joined the party the first day they had known him. She and Lucas hadn't always gotten along. He drove her nuts. His additude was too much for her. She knew her positivity was too much for him. Yet for some reason her brother liked him. The two of them mostly tolerated one another but she knew they could never truly be friends.
She rolled her eyes she didn't care one way or another about that did but she was only giving advice. But she knew Will was about to get his ass killed and it wouldn't be her fault.
''Cast Protection,'' Dustin argued. Dustin had gotten here in fourth grade and Mike had him join almost right away. He'd liked D&D and science as well. He was sarcastic yet the one with the most logical mind. He also Butted heads with Lucas. He had a medical condition where he was missing bones and also his front adult teeth. That made him a target for bullying. In fact, they all had targets on their backs.
Mike slammed his fists on the table making them all jump. Mike her little brother was what you call a leader. They all pretty much did what he said. He was thoughtful and kind and not a fighter. Wich made him a target for bullies. He never wanted to talk about it to anyone. But she knew he got bullied at school.
''The Demogorgon is tired of your silly human bickering! It stomps toward you Boom!'' Mike planned a lot of these games and his always lasted the longest. She wondered how long these boys would be interested in playing this game. She worried they were under the impression this would go on forever. But as she had learned childhood doesn't work that way. That at some point you have to grow up. She knew there was always one person who had the most trouble growing up. That was herself at the moment if she could see anyone in this group having problems growing up it was Will he was the smallest and hated change the most. Not only that but Wills childhood wasn't the best way a kid could grow up.
''Fireball him!'' Lucas shouted. They took this game really seriously. To them, it was like it was really happening. She could understand why they argued so much playing the game because they took it so seriously.
''Cast protection!'' Dustin shouted. They argued about it for a little bit until Will finally threw a fireball and the dice flew off the table and all the boys scattered to find it. Will was the youngest and the smallest of all the boys. His Dad had been a drinker and mean. She remembered seeing him drunk more than once. He called his boys names and seemed to have a special hatred for Will she could tell because she had seen them together more than once. Luckily his Dad finally left. The closest thing Will had to a father figure was his older brother. Johnathan took taking care of Will seriously.
The door swung open and at the top of the stairs, it was their mother. ''Mike!''
''Mom we're in the middle of a campaign!'' He complained.
''You mean the end?'' She pointed to her watch. ''Fifteen after.'' They all complained loudly Mike darted up the stairs and she just rolled her eyes. When her mom made up her mind was made. Sometimes she cracked. But not very often. Normally she cracked for Nancy.
''I found it!'' Will shouted. ''Does a seven-count?'' She remembered Will saying he needed to Roll 13 or higher so no seven didn't count. But Lucas had another idea. If she knew Will he wouldn't lie to Mike. That just wasn't Will.
''Did Mike see it?'' Lucas asked him and Will shook his head.
''Then it counts.'' She just smiled to herself as the boys got their stuff ready and Dustin offered her the last piece of Pizza. She shook her head. She followed the boys outside and Dustin met them out there. ''There's something wrong with your sister,'' Dustin announced. Like she didn't know that. it wasn't new to her. Her sister had a real mean streak lately.
''No kidding.'' She answered. ''Like I didn't know that Dustin.'' Her sister was very moody lately and meaner than she used to be. She didn't hang out with her sister as she used to when she was a little kid.
''What are you talking about?'' Mike asked him.
''She's got a stick up her butt.'' That was a good way to describe it. Nancy had a boyfriend she couldn't stand Nancy's boyfriend.
''It's because of Steve.'' She said. ''He's all she thinks about.'' It was true Steve took up her whole life lately she promised never to let a boy take up that much time of her life.
''He's such a douchebag,'' Lucas answered.
''Yup, she's turning into a real jerk.'' Nancy was sixteen now.
''Nah she used to be cool, like that time she dressed up like an elf for our elder tree campaign.'' Nancy had been twelve then now she was sixteen and the last thing on her mind was Elder tree campaigns. Steve. That was what her mind was focused on.
''Four years ago!'' Mike called as Dustin drove off. Will stayed behind for a second.
''It was a seven,'' Will admitted.
''Huh?'' Mike turned around.
''The roll. It was a seven.'' Will explained. ''The Demogorgon, it got me.'' Of course, Will had to say something. It was Will the last thing he was, was a liar. Little did she know. Those words would haunt her for the rest of her life. ''See you both tomorrow.'' He said riding off. When she went into the house her mother was shaking her head at her father who was asleep on the chair watching TV. They rarely kissed or hugged or said I love you. She went up into her room and flopped down on her bed.
When she thought about who she wanted to grow up to be like it wasn't her mother. No question her mom worked hard in the house all day. But she obviously wasn't in love with her own husband. Her mom came in to say goodnight as she was brushing her hair. ''Mom do you love Dad?'' Her mom paused like she wasn't expecting that question but she signed like she had answered it before.
''Well, of course, I love him. We have a family after all.'' Her mother told her. ''If you have a family with someone you have to love them. You need another person.'' She thought to herself. Joyce Byers didn't need another person. She raised two boys all by herself. Her life seemed to be going okay right now. Okay, far from okay but the three of them seemed perfectly happy. When her mom left her sister was standing at the door.
''When I was your age I asked the same question,'' Nancy told her. ''She pretty much gave me the same answer all I'm going to say is I hope I can tell the difference between love and lust.'' When she went to bed, she realized something. Mike hadn't come to talk to her before bed. He always did that. They would talk about their day. She supposed she better get used to it. She'd be getting ditched for girls soon enough.
''What's it like to actually have a boyfriend?'' She asked. ''I just want to know.'' Her sister rolled her eyes.
''Just pick the right boy and you'll be okay,'' Nancy assured her. ''Soon you'll meet someone.'' Right she swore never to let a person become the source of all her happiness. ''Now shut up and go to sleep.'' It was moments like this that made her feel like she and her sister might get along someday. She knew however that Steve was far from the right boy for Nancy.
The next morning She sat downstairs at the table with her family as they ate breakfast. ''that's disgusting.'' She heard Nancy say and she looked up and saw Mike drowning his waffles in syrup. He did that every day and she didn't know why Nancy was only commenting on it today.
''Your disgusting.'' Mike snapped he dumped the rest of the syrup on to Nancy's plate.
''Ew Mike.'' She said. While Nancy swore.
''What the hell Mike!'' She shouted. They're Dad finally looked up from his stupid newspaper.
''Hey, language!'' He scolded. She rolled her eyes the only thing he really noticed was swearing? Not Mike ruining a whole syrup bottle.
''Dad did you not just see him waste a bottle of Syrup?'' She complained.
''I don't care what he did I just don't like it when you kids swear.'' He said. ''There are so many more words in the English language.'' She just rolled her eyes. ''We also don't appreciate eye-rolling either.'' She didn't understand how her brother could be such a huge ass and her Dad never happened to notice. They argued through breakfast.
She managed to avoid Troy and James at school. They mostly tormented the boys. But her issue was Stacy. Stacy was just mean. It was the only way to describe her and somehow people could stand her. She was a lot nicer in elementary school.
'Mallory.'' She smiled. ''That hair of yours is so different.'' She said. ''Who did it?'' She could hear the sarcasm dripping in the girl's voice. She rolled her eyes at the girl.
''I did it.'' She said trying to get by. But the girl But she stepped in front of her.
''It looks like it.'' She crossed her arms. ''You really gotta look in the mirror stupid. Oh, I forgot, you got held back a grade your not a real teenager.'' She didn't know why she stood for this she just stood there and took her verbal abuse. Maybe it was because she just wasn't that much of a fighter.
''I told you before, I have a learning disability.'' She snarled. ''What the hell is a real teenager?''
''That's just code for retarted.'' Stacy pushed her aside and walked down the hall like she owned the hallway. She just shook her head and went to put her books away. But someone was blocking it as normal it had become a routine to as this kid to move.
''Excuse me can I get to my locker?'' She asked a boy who was standing against it. In jeans and a gray hoodie. It was Tyler Martin another kid who had been held back. But he had been held back in sixth grade. People still made fun of him for it. Part of it could be that this kid was never at school he was at school Maybe twice a week. He was staring forward in the hallway just looking at people. He moved aside for her and she looked at him and rolled her eyes. He wrote something down in his notebook.
''What are you looking at?'' She asked him. She tried to be nice she really did because enough people tormented him but it was hard when he did stuff like this. ''What are you writing?'' She watched him write in his notebook.
''Just observing.'' He told her. His staring made her uneasy sometimes. They weren't friends but she was more likely to sit next to him in class because he understood what it felt like to be held back therefore the least likely to torment her. But he always had that stupid notebook with him. Sometimes he'd look at her then write in his notebook.
''Don't people ever get mad at you for looking at them?'' She asked him he nodded. ''Like have you not gotten beat up yet?''
''Troy hit me once for staring at his girlfriend.'' He explained. ''Sometimes I feel like I know what they're thinking when I look at them.'' He stared at her. She backed up almost hitting the trash can. She was nervous now. ''I just look at them till they notice.'' He slightly smiled to himself as he watched her drop her books.
''Your really creepy you know that?'' She told him. Again she tried to be nice but he made it really hard. "I mean you say creepy things."
''Yup I know I could be considered creepy It's what everyone tells me.'' She watched him walk into the bathroom and Abby walked up to her. Watching him as well.
''That kid needs serious help.'' She observed. She noticed she hadn't seen Will around the hall he was always super early to school as well. She looked for him in the crowd. She saw a lot of boys but not Will.
''Like seriously what is he writing in that notebook?'' She asked Abby.
''I don't think I want to know,'' Abby answered. ''His parents are super mean to him I've seen it when I walk by his house on the way home from school. He could be planning on killing them. By the way, never bring that up he's super touchy about it.'' She didn't think this kid was a killer he was just odd to her Mike had said he liked to just hang out in the bathrooms for long periods of time. Sometimes he would go in and come back an hour and Tyler would still be in there.
They sat through Math class and that was when she realized her next class was science her least favorite subject. But they had a little break in-between so she went into the hall to talk to Abby and Krista.
''Oh my god Troy wants to go out with me,'' Krista said. She narrowed her eyes. The same Troy that tormented her brother and his friends? She just shook her head as they talked about Boys.
"I'd love to go out with Justin," Abby said. "You know who I think is hot? Steve Harrington, he dated Krista's sister for two weeks."
"He's good looking but he's also a huge asshole," Mallory replied. "My sisters his latest conquest."
"She's so lucky." Abby sighed.
Yeah if you like boys whose Hair is nicer than their personality." She added. Then the principal was behind her.
''Can we borrow you for a second Mallory?'' She nodded but she felt uneasy because there was also a police officer there. She followed them into the room. ''Have a seat.'' She sat down She didn't know why she was here. But everything she had ever done went through her head. Even if none of it was jail worthy.
''Joyce Byers has reported her Son Will Missing and has informed us you're the last ones to see him. She glanced up at the chief to see if he was kidding. But he clearly wasn't She almost threw up. How could this happen in Hawkins? Why the Byers of all people? They had been through so much already.
''What happened?'' She asked him and he made eye contact with her. She knew it was a stupid question but it's all that came to her head. But the chief simply answered her question.
''that's what I'm trying to figure out.'' He promised. ''Now can you tell me about the last time you saw Will? She thought back to last night when they had simply been playing D&D while she watched. Nothing Bad like this ever happened in her hometown. It was safe for kids to ride around after dark. Or at least she had thought it was.
But apparently, it wasn't.
Hi, the first chapter! Tell me what you all think
This story is a reupload of another website.