If you had asked Adelaide a couple months ago how she expected her senior year to go, she would have told you about all the adventures her and her best friend Sam had planned to get up. There would have been endless late nights at house parties, sneaking into bars to watch concerts, and staying up all night just driving around Chicago. The academic part of her senior year didn't cross her mind too much. She had always done well in school without overly trying. Besides, as long as she passed her classes her parents didn't seem to care too much.
What Adelaide had not expected about her senior year was that she would actually be spending it with her aunt and younger cousin in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. Her parents both worked for some type of bank, and were requested to move to China for a year to consult with a partnering firm. Adelaide didn't really understand what their jobs were, but she did know that she had no desire to move with them. So here she found herself, her forehead pressed against the bus window as they pulled into Hawkins. School had started a month ago, but of course her parents couldn't have made this decision earlier, so not only was she going to be the new girl for her senior year, she was also starting school a month late.
She had not been to visit her relatives in a couple years. Her corporate, big city mother didn't have time to visit her small town sister, even though they had both grown up in Hawkins. Her mother, Amelia, had moved to Chicago when she was just 18, while her sister Claudia had stayed behind.
It wasn't that there was any bad blood between the two sisters, they were just two incredibly different people.
The bus turned the corner and Addie could now see the bus depot up ahead. She started to collect her things and put them back in her backpack. She could see her Aunt Claudia standing on the sidewalk, smiling widely and waving like a madwoman. Addie smirked, she really did love her aunt, she was one of the sweetest ladies Addie had ever met.
She threw her backpack on and headed off the bus.
She had barely made it off the last step when her aunt barreled into her, wrapping her into a huge hug. Addie froze for a second, unaccustomed to motherly affection, but quickly wrapped her arms around her aunt and returned the hug.
"Oh my Addie!" Aunt Claudia exclaimed as she stood back, holding Addie at arms length and looking her up and down, "You have grown so much since I last saw you. You really have become the most gorgeous young lady."
Addie smiled and chuckled awkwardly, "Really? Everyone always tells me I look just like my dad. I'm never sure if it's a compliment or not."
Aunt Claudia shook her head, "No not at all. You might have your father's dark German complexion, but those curls and that gorgeous face, those are 100% your mother."
Addie just smiled again, then gestured toward the bus, "I need to grab the rest of my luggage."
"Oh of course! Let me help you." Aunt Claudia followed behind Addie and helped her haul her suitcases off the undercarriage of the bus.
Finally, with everything in tow, they started to head towards the parking lot.
"So," Addie started, "Where's my baby cousin Dusty?"
Aunt Claudia huffed, "Oh that boy, I told him so many times that he had to be here to greet you, but does he listen? No, of course not. He ran off with his little group of friends this morning without asking. I tell you Addie, that boy has been driving me up the wall."
Addie laughed at this, Aunt Claudia was never really mad. She might get agitated, but never mad. "That's fine. I'll see him later. We can have some quality girl time until he gets back."
Aunt Claudia smiled, "Oh I would love that. We can go drop off your things and then I'll take you out for lunch. Sound good?"
Addie nodded, loaded her things into the car, then hopped in.
After lunch Addie and her aunt went back to the house, and her aunt left Addie alone to get settled in. Aunt Claudia had set up the guest room for Addie to use. It was fairly small compared to her room back in Chicago, but it would do. The decor wasn't exactly Addie's style, but her aunt had told her to decorate however she wanted and make herself at home.
Addie spent the couple hours unpacking and putting up decor. Of course the first thing that went up was her music posters, specifically ABBA, Queen, Iron Maiden,Fleetwood Mac, and Dexy's Midnight Runners. Her music taste was incredibly varied. The next thing that needed to be unpacked was her record player and record collection. Though she hadn't been able to bring the entire collection with her, she had brought as many as possible.
She didn't realize how long she had been organizing until she heard a knock on her door and noticed it was dark out, "Addie?" she heard her aunt from behind the door.
"Come in." She called back.
Aunt Claudia stepped into the room and took in the new decor. "Oh wow hunny, it's very...very nice."
Addie laughed, "Not exactly the princess look you were expecting is it?"
Aunt Claudia shook her head, "Oh no hun, of course I know you're a mature young lady now." She eyed the Iron Maiden poster one more time, pursing her lips slightly, "Though I will be honest, I am not a fan of this new angry music I hear the kids listening to nowadays. You enjoy whatever you want my girl, but it is not for me."
Addie smirked, "Is Dustin back yet?"
Her aunt sighed, "No. That boy is still out with his friends. I don't know what he's thinking. I told him he needed to be home for supper."
"Do you have any idea where he is?" Addie asked.
Aunt Claudia frowned, "Oh he's probably with his little club. They meet at the school quite often for some type of fantasy type game. I don't even know what it's called. Something daggers and dungeons or, I don't know."
Addie laughed at this, "Dungeons and Dragons? Wow that's surprising. I didn't think anyone in this town would be into that game."
Her aunt waved a hand, "Yes well, I think there's a lot of people in this town that wish there wasn't anyone into that game. It is not popular around here." She paused and looked at Addie, "Why don't you go down there and get him? I'm sure he would listen to you. He used to love hanging out with his cool older cousin."
Addie grimaced, "Ahh... I don't know about that. I wouldn't want to impose on his group."
Her aunt shook her head, "No no, you wouldn't be. Believe me. I'll bring you to the school. I'll go wait in the car while you get ready!"
Addie went to protest but her aunt had already fled the room. She groaned but went to get changed. It was just her little cousin but she still didn't want to feel gross from the long day on the bus and unpacking.
She had recently chopped her hair. Her hair was naturally quite curly, but the weight of the curls had been too much in the hot summer heat, so she had cut it to shoulder length. She pulled it off her face and tied it into a ponytail. The underneath layers were to short to stay in the ponytail so a light layer of curls fell back on her neck.
She threw on her favorite black jeans and the Iron Maiden tour shirt her dad had gotten her from one of his European clients. Lastly she pulled on her Doc Martens that, once again, her dad had purchased for her on one of his many business trips to Europe. She quickly refreshed her mascara and ran out to her aunt who was waiting patiently in the car.
Seeing as Hawkins wasn't an overly large town, it did not take long to arrive at the school. Her aunt gave her a general idea of where to go, then drove off quickly. Addie watched her leave. She was pretty sure her aunt was making Addie go to Dustin's club so she could convince Dustin to come home. Little did her aunt know, Addie played D&D all the time with her friends back in Chicago. Her ex boyfriend had been the dungeon master for their party... of course that hadn't ended so well.
Addie walked up to the school, surprisingly it was open. She figured the janitors kept the doors open for Dustin's club.
She opened the doors and saw the evening janitor mopping the floors. He looked up when he heard her approaching, "Excuse me young lady, are you supposed to be here?"
She stopped in front of him, "Um, I'm looking for my cousin. His club is having a meeting here?"
The janitor smiled, "Ah yes, the hellfire club. Follow me."
The janitor lead Addie through the school and downstairs. For half a second Addie wondered if she should be concerned for her safety, but she knew martial arts and this janitor seemed like a sweet old man.
They finally reached a door and Addie knew they were in the right place, she could hear the sounds of exasperated yelling from behind the door. Ah yes, she thought, the sounds of dungeons and dragons.
"Thank you so much," she said to the janitor, "I think i'm okay from here."
He smiled at her and headed back upstairs.
Addie thought about knocking first but decided otherwise, she felt like giving Dustin a little bit of hell for ditching her on her first day in town. So she opted for a dramatic entrance, she kicked open the door and smirked as all heads whipped around to face her. Dustin's mouth gaped open, "Addie?" he said in disbelief.
She smiled devilishly, "Hey nerd, you think you can fucking ditch me and stick me with your mom all day while you hang out with your nerd herd?"
The boy sitting beside Dustin looked between the two of them, "Dude, is this your cousin?"
One of the older boys coughed, "Dustin, she's hot."
"Awe Dusty, have you been telling them all about me?" Addie held a hand to her heart and mock swooned.
"Addie," Dustin stood up and walked towards her, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Your mom was mad you ditched us for these losers, so she sent me to convince you to come back."
Someone behind her cleared their throat, "Uh, excuse me? I believe we're in the middle of something."
Addie spun around to find what must have been the dungeon master glaring at her. He was clearly older than the rest of the boys, maybe 19 or 20. His hair nearly put Slash to shame, and he was wearing a shirt that said Hellfire Club.
She smiled at him and crossed her arms across her chest, "And you are?"
He smiled at her, and it sent a nervous feeling over her, "I'm Eddie Munson. Dungeon Master."