Angela's injury wasn't a beautiful sight. Mike had seen his fair share of injuries over the years: every time Steve had gotten beat up. When Billy knocked Mike out, when Eleven had her leg torn open. The usual.

This injury was… gruesome. And not in a typical way. More like in the way that you can't help but gag at.

Still, he couldn't take his eyes away.

When the EMTs arrived, a crowd had already formed around Angela, creating quite the scene.

El sat uncomfortably at a table while Mike watched with Will as everything unfolded under the neon lights.

"Can you tell me your name?" a paramedic asked.

"Um, Angela."

The paramedic nodded. "Angela. Do you know where you are, Angela?"

"Um, Rink… Rink-O-Mania, I think?" she shuttered.

"'Rink-O-Mania. Very good. Now, where does it hurt, sweetie?"

"My head."

"Your head hurts?"

"And my nose," she whimpered.

Mike finally noticed that Jonathan and Argyle had shown up, and he turned toward them as Angela and the EMTs continued talking.

"We need to go."

"Ah," was all Jonathan said.

Beckoning Eleven, they not so sneakily left the skating rink.

Everyone awkwardly piled inside the weed-smelling van, and Argyle drove off.

"So, like, what exactly was that all about?" Jonathan questioned them.

Nobody said anything for a second, but finally, Will piped up. "El… she uh, she hit the girl with a roller-skate."

"Oh," Argyle said.

There wasn't any talking for another few minutes until Argyle broke the silence. "I know this may be, like, upsetting and shit, but that future prom queen is gonna be fine. It's just, like, rubber wheels."

Shit, he sounded high.

"Plastic," Jonathan corrected.

Shit, he was too!

"Oh," Argyle murmured.

"Not like hard plastic. Just… just the soft kind."

"Totally."

"But you ever wonder why the wheels aren't wood, man? Or metal?" Argyle asked. Jonathan shook his head. "So people don't get hurt when they get shmacked."

"Oh…"

"Yeah. Because it happens more than you think, man, Roller-skate attacks," he said, turning to look at Eleven. She seemed anything but thrilled.

"Man. Hey, at least it wasn't an ice skate," Jonathan pointed out.

"That nose would've been sliced clean off, man."

"Ah!" Jonathan winced.

"It could've been so much worse."

"So much worse," he repeated after Argyle. "In the grand scheme of things, it's just a little blip."

"That's a funny word, man."

"Blip."

"Blip."

"Blip blip blip blip, blip blip blip blip," they sang.

Mike just about wanted to die.

Finally returning to the Byers' house, they entered the living room to smell something quite delicious.

"Mom?" Will called.

Suddenly, the group stopped. Mike stood shocked when he saw Murray, of all people, in the kitchen with a blue apron.

"Well, well! Aren't you lot a sight for sore eyes, huh?"

Jonathan giggled. "Hi, Murray."

"You kids like risotto?"

"Yeah."

Mike heard footsteps on the staircase and, turning around, saw Mrs. Byers.

"Oh, kids, you're back! Murray here was nice enough to make us dinner."

"It's ready if you want some," he replied.

Sitting at the dining table, Mike grabbed a plate of the risotto and quietly munched it.

Mrs. Byers and Murray talked about fairly disinteresting things when it shifted to his stay.

"There I was, headed down the I-5, going to see a client in Ventura. I'm looking for a motel to stay for the night, and suddenly, bam, it hits me. '"Didn't the Byers move here?'"

"Small world, isn't it? It's a small world," Mrs. Byers smiled.

"So I thought, 'Hey, you know what? "Why don't I drop in, say hello to my old friends?'"

"It's so sweet of you."

Murray chuckled. "Sweeter of you to let me stay."

"And he cooks."

"Mm, and cleans. A regular little housewife."

"You should stay," she offered.

"I'd be tempted, Joyce, except, you know, you have that, uh…."

"Right, that business trip."

Will put his fork on his plate. "Business trip? What business trip?"

"Oh my gosh," she laughed. "I almost forgot to tell you guys. This thing came up at work, and it turns out I have to go to a conference tomorrow. In Alaska-"

"-Alaska?" "Tomorrow?" Will and Eleven asked.

"Crazy, right? That's where they're based, the Britannicas. Joan and Brian Britannica."

"Mhm," Murray sighed.

"So do Eskimos, like, still live in igloos," Argyle asked, "or, uh, are they, like, fully-blown, like, living in the… in the suburbs now?"

Murray looked at Argyle and gave a half-smile. "Who is this?"

"So, Jonathan," Mrs. Byers said, "this means you're gonna have to, you know, take charge while I'm gone."

Jonathan paused. "Wait. What? What's going on?"

"Your mom's going to Alaska," Argyle replied, filling him in on what he missed.

"You're going to Alaska?"

"Mhm," Argyle hummed.

"What's going on in Alaska?"

"The Britannicas are there," he responded.

"The Britannicas?"

"Mhm."

"Jonathan, what is wrong with you?" Mrs. Byers asked, dumbfounded.

"I think I know what's wrong with him," Murray smirked.

"We just had a super stressful day," Jonathan responded.

"Stress, huh?" Murray commented.

Argyle explained, "This girl got shmacked in the head today at the roller rink."

"Shmacked?"

"Yeah, one of those vicious skate attacks."

"A skate attack?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't an ice skate. It was…" Jonathan uttered, "It was a plastic skate."

"No, it was, like, rubber."

"Rubber. Rubber," he corrected himself.

"You know what? I'm not sure…." Argyle said. "Anyway, she looked like she's gonna be fine."

Mike looked down at his plate. He was annoyed at everyone. At Eleven for not telling him to truth, though he was less mad and more disappointed. At Will for not telling him and moping around. At Jonathan and Argyle for being high. At Mrs. Byers for leaving them.

So he muttered, "She didn't look fine."

A moment of silence passed before El shot up from the kitchen table and stormed to her room. Mike just zoned out after that.

After a while, Mike wandered upstairs too, and he knocked on Eleven's door when he thought it better not to. Let her have time to herself. Let the two of them calm down.

So, heading to the guest room, Mike changed into his pajamas and sat on his bed.

He hadn't expected today to go as terribly as it had. This was possibly the worst way to start his break. Groaning, he fell on his back against the mattress and sighed.

Goddamnit.

After brushing his teeth, Mike settled into bed and turned off the lamp.

Maybe tomorrow would be better.

It wasn't better the next day.

It got worse.

So much worse.

When he came downstairs for breakfast, El was nowhere to be found.

"Where's-"

"In her room," Will interrupted.

"Oh."

Heating some eggos in the toaster, he placed them on the table as he waited for his girlfriend.

They silently ate their scrambled eggs as Jonathan entered the room and read the newspaper. "Hey, guys, there is a 4:00 p.m. showing of Police Academy 3. Could be fun."

"Maybe we just stay home today," Will mumbled.

"What is this? You guys just gonna mope around all break?"

"No one's moping. It's just the movie is supposed to suck."

Sighing, Mike grabbed Eleven's plate of waffles and headed upstairs without saying a word.

Knocking on her door, he said, "Hey, El. I, uh, made you some Eggos, but they're getting kinda cold."

Zoning in on what she was working on at her desk, Mike realized she was making Hopper's cabin.

"Hey, that's cool. Hop's cabin, right?" She didn't reply, but she nodded. "So, um, are we just not gonna talk about it?"

Placing her eggos on the desk, Mike sat on the bed.

"About what?" Eleven asked flatly.

Mike shrugged. "I don't know, just maybe, like, about yesterday or… everything."

She didn't make any eye contact with him. "There's nothing to say."

"Yeah, I guess, um… I guess I'm just a little, uh… Guess I don't really understand. Why didn't you tell me what's going on here?"

"I mean, you know I'm not exactly Mr. Popularity back at home. I mean, you've seen it. I've been bullied my entire life. I mean, I… I know what it's like."

"No. You don't."

"Okay," he said slowly, attempting to understand where she was coming from. "What don't I understand?"

"I am different. I do not belong."

"You mean in Lenora?"

"Anywhere."

Mike sighed. "Come on, you… you can't actually believe that."

"Everyone looks at me like… like I'm a monster."

"They just don't know you."

Tears welled in her eyes. "You think I'm a monster too."

"What?"

"Yesterday. The way you looked at me. You… You were scared of me."

"No, no," Mike scoffed. "No, that's not… That's… That's not true. I was surprised. Maybe I was a little upset in the moment, but, I mean… I'm sorry. I just… I didn't know what to do. I mean, it just was so crazy. It happened so fast. But it doesn't change anything. It doesn't matter. I… I care for you… so much."

"Care. But you don't… you don't love me anymore?"

Mike shook his head. What was she talking about? "What… Who… Who said that I didn't?"

"You never say it."

"I say it."

Picking up the stack of letters he'd written her the past year, Eleven said, "You can't even write it, Mike." Going through each one, she sobbed, "'From Mike.' 'From Mike.' 'From Mike.'"

"Okay, okay. Eleven, you're being ridiculous. What, like… What is this? You know what I think of you. You're the most incredible person in the world. And you can't let these mouth breathers ruin you. Ruin us. I mean, they're nobodies. They're nobodies," he pleaded. "And you're a superhero."

"Not anymore…"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and they turned their heads as they heard someone ask for Jane Hopper.

Wandering out the door, they crept downstairs and into the living room.

Two police officers stood at the door, and when they spotted her, the older one asked, "Hey there, are you Jane Hopper?"

"Yes…" she uttered.

Walking into the house, they said nothing before cuffing her. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you."

Mike protested as she was cuffed and taken outside. Eleven wasn't saying a word; she looked more confused, if anything. Scared.

"Can you please tell us where you're taking her?" Jonathan asked.

"Are the cuffs really necessary?" Mike said. They didn't respond to him as they walked El to the cop car. "Officers, answer me." Then, sighing, he begged her, "Eleven. Eleven, listen to me. Okay? Eleven, will you please look at me? Everything's gonna be fine. I am going to fix this. Okay? Just… Just stay calm and everything's gonna be fine. Okay? Just… All you have to do is trust me. I promise. I'm gonna get you out. I promise!" He slapped the window of the police car as it sped off.

"Shit…"

Running inside, he saw that Jonathan was attempting to call his mother, but when she didn't pick up, they all sprinted to Mrs. Byers's car. She'd taken Murray's for some reason.

Speeding to the police station, they hopped out of the car and dashed inside the building.

"Hello, are you here for someone?" the receptionist said.

"Yes, um, Jane Hopper. She should be here," Jonathan said.

Typing on the computer, she responded, "Okay, yes, I see her now. It looks like she's still being processed."

"Okay. So, uh, what does that mean exactly?"

"They're putting her in the system. After, she'll be transferred to juvenile hall."

"What?" Will said.

"Jail? You're gonna put her in jail?"

"A detention hall for juveniles," the woman tried to clarify.

"That's jail."

Jonathan sighed, "Hey, look, is there any chance we can just see her?"

"Are you a parent or guardian?"

"No, but-"

"Well, we're her brothers, and we're family," Will cut him off.

"That's not enough. You have to be a parent or legal guardian."

Mike wanted to scream.

"You have to be kidding. That is ridiculous!" Mike yelled.

"That's the law. You're not gonna change it complaining to me. You want to see Jane? Find your mother."

"Thank you," the older teen uttered.

Storming out the doors, Jonathan ragged, "It's bullshit. Such bullshit. I mean, she wasn't even trying to help."

Mike didn't listen to them when he saw a prison van driving down the street.

El.

Running after it, he stopped in the middle of the road, watching it drive away. "Oh no, oh no."

They spent all day trying to contact Mrs. Byers and the detention center but to no avail.

So, when they thought all hope was lost, Mike jumped out of his seat as headlights appeared out the front window late that night.

The three raced outside to see a man and woman, both in suits.

Government.