Chapter 4

It was packed in the Wheeler's dining room, but Mrs Wheeler looked decidedly uneasy. She was glad her husband was at work because he would have never put up with such a scene. As it was, she wondered how on earth she could get them to leave. She watched Joyce in the thick of it. She didn't know why, but there was something about the woman she just didn't like. It wasn't just that she dressed in such poor taste and never had her hair set (although that was a great part of it), but it was the smoking, the slouching and her language. And now she was responsible for El's upbringing. She glanced at the orphan and felt a wave of pity.

Perhaps if she called the Welfare department, they might intervene, but what if they asked her to take on the role of foster mom! No, that would never do. She was positive that Mike would outgrow El soon enough, but to have them living in the same house. She shuddered at the thought. It was bad enough getting used to Nancy swooning all over Jonathan.

She was a kind woman, an understanding woman, but she was mightily glad that Joyce had left Hawkins and taken Jonathan and El with her.

So why then was she back and taking over her dining room? She offered refreshments, but her offer was politely declined. She felt as if she was intruding in her own home. She looked at the clock; nearly 3pm, perhaps no one would miss her if she snuck off for a siesta.

"There has to be something in here" Joyce was going through the newspaper for the fifth time. She looked at Jonathan and Nancy. "Are you sure he didn't give you any clue?"

Nancy rolled her eyes and sat down next to El and Mike. Jonathan, like his mom, kept pouring over the newspaper. He sighed in irritation.

"No, Mom, for the hundredth time of asking, but he wanted us to have it, so there has to be something here."

Dustin took the paper out of Jonathan's hands. "Allow me" he said gallantly. "I have an eye for these things, don't I Lucas?" Lucas shrugged and stared stonily ahead. He was beginning to feel decidedly out of place. He looked at Will and felt a wave of pity; no one seemed to care what effect this development was having on him. He looked as if he was going to throw up.

In the midst of all the chaos, there was a knock at the door. Mrs Wheeler who was just about to creep upstairs, went to answer it. She hoped and prayed it wasn't one of her neighbours come to be nosey. She was relieved and horrified in equal measure; standing on her doorstep was a child who didn't look like she had had a bath in a while and had never once taken a comb to her hair. She smiled wanly, reminding herself the child had recently lost a brother.

The ginger haired child smiled back.

"Hi Mrs Wheeler, can I come in?"

"Max!" Dustin called out loudly seeing her standing at the door. Lucas jumped up and a big grin lit up his face. "Finally," Dustin said. "It smiles."

The grin was replaced by a malevolent glare.

Max bounded straight past Mrs Wheeler. She smiled happily around the room and went over to El and Mike.

"Hi" she said and El jumped up and gave her a hug. "Missed you."

"Missed you too" El said. They were so different, but she loved Max and if she could choose to be like anyone, it would be her. She had a free spirit she admired, and she was brave and funny as well as being pretty and she could do all the things the boys could do too, better even.

"So" Max said looking at everyone and frowning at the bustle. "What have I missed?"

"Hopper's alive" Lucas said quickly, pleased to beat Dustin to it.

"What?" Max looked back at El. "How? Where?"

Joyce looked up from the dining room table. She shook her head.

"We don't know where" she said tiredly. "He's being held somewhere, and we have this newspaper and we think" she looked at Jonathan and narrowed her eyes. "We think there is a clue in here somewhere, but we have no idea where."

Max shrugged. "Have you checked the personals?"

"What?" Joyce wasn't sure what she meant.

"If there's a clue anywhere, it will be in the personal ads…" She looked around at everyone. "Has no one seen 'Desperately Seeking Susan'?" She shook her head in disbelief.

"Wait" Nancy said standing up and snatching the newspaper back from Dustin. "He said something about it being 'personal'…" She began to flick through the pages frantically.

"Towards the back" Max said. She looked at Lucas. "Hi."

"Hi" he replied. He wanted to go to her and take her hand like Mike had El's hand, but he didn't know how to behave around her lately. Ever since Billy had died, she had been distant and sad, and she cried all the time. He wasn't even sure if he was her boyfriend anymore.

Only Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy never noticed the awkwardness between them.

"If you need some advice on girls" Dustin whispered to Lucas. "I'm your man."

Lucas stared at Dustin for a moment. "Shut up" he said tersely.

"So, what's Desperately Seeking Susan?" El asked.

"You have to see it" Max said. "I mean, once we find Hopper…"

The chaos in the Wheeler house continued for quite some time. The newspaper was spread out on the table with every personal ad being trawled for any significance to the whereabouts of Hopper.

"This is like looking for a needle in a haystack" Joyce said holding an unlit cigarette; her eyes roved around the room scouring for an ashtray. "You know what I think?" She said. "I think he was having a game with you kids. I knew I should have gone!" She saw the big glass ashtray and knew from its gleam, that it was for decoration only. She jammed the cigarette back into the pack and sank down, frustrated, onto a chair.

"What does it mean if we can't find anything?" Mike asked. Joyce looked up at him and then looked around the room; she saw how pale Will looked, how frightened he was. She looked at El too and saw the hope in her eyes. She knew she wouldn't rest until she did everything she could to rescue Hopper.

"It means" she said. "That it's not going to be easy, but we need to take a step back for a moment and rethink." She stood up again. "Jonathan, I need you to take Will home."

"No way Mom, I'm in this thing. I've always been in this." Jonathan looked at his brother quickly and felt a sudden wave of guilt, but Will smiled at him.

"It's okay" he said quietly. "I know you're trying to protect me Mom, but no matter where I am, it's not going away and I'd rather be with you, and my friends."

"I'm not putting you in danger baby." Joyce said going to him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Then she looked at El. "And you have to go too."

El jumped up. "No" she said calmly, coldly. "You are not sending me away, this is Hopper…"

"Yes, and he would never forgive me if I let something happen to you."

"Please Joyce" El felt the hot tears in her eyes, but she wasn't ashamed of them. "I need to be here. I need to help."

"But you can't help El." Joyce walked over to her and studied her for a moment. She smiled gently at her and touched her face. "You're weak and tired and this is huge, too big for you, and…"

"That's it!" Nancy jumped up. She grabbed the newspaper. "That's what he said. I thought it was weird. He said, it was 'too big', that it was 'goliath'." She smiled at Jonathan. "He did give us a clue!"

Jonathan smiled back and together they poured over the newspaper again.

"This doesn't change anything" Joyce said quietly to El. She looked at Mike and then at Max and then turned to Dustin and Lucas and finally Will. She smiled. "All of you" she said. "You all need to just not be involved in this."

El felt a wave of anger and frustration, but she knew it was hopeless to argue with Joyce. If there was one thing she had learnt since living with her, it was that she was just as stubborn as Hopper.

El and Max were sitting on the bonnet of Joyce's green Ford Pinto. Mike, Lucas and Will had been coerced by Dustin to discuss something 'in private' between the original D and D team. Dustin had ignored the furious glare Max gave him and brushed aside Mike's and Lucas's protests.

"It must feel weird being back here" Max said to El.

"S'ok" El said. She shrugged. "It still feels the same." She looked at Max. "How about you? Lucas was being a bit weird."

Max raised her eyebrows. "Boys are weird, aren't they?" El laughed and nodded. Max sighed. "I don't know. I really like him still, but ever since Billy died, I've just not wanted to be with him like a boyfriend, you know? And then he gets all serious and thinks he's doing something wrong."

"There's more to life than stupid boys" El said with a grin.

"I said that didn't I?" Max laughed. "I guess I was right." She looked at El. "So, how is it living with Joyce?"

"She tries really hard" El said leaning her head onto her knees. "I think she's sad though, I can hear her crying at night."

They sat there for a moment not speaking; the silence was spoilt by the buzzing of insects enjoying the sun.

"So, how did you first find out?" Max asked staring directly at El. "Did you – see him?"

El stared back and then slowly nodded her head.

"It's not like before" she whispered. "I've been getting these headaches, really bad ones and Joyce makes me lie down with a wet cloth over my head and eyes." She squinted at the sun. "Sometimes, they last for hours." In the distance, a dog barked and for a second all the insects fell silent. She looked back at Max. "I was lying there and outside the window, someone was mowing their lawn." She screwed her face up as she remembered. "The noise went on and on; it seemed to be inside my head and suddenly, I saw him…" She looked at Max as tears rolled down her cheeks. "He was in so much pain" she said.

Max put an arm around El's shoulders.

"We'll find him El" she said. El nodded. She could feel the heat of the car scorching her legs, but it was nice to feel warm. She had felt Hopper's cold and it had stayed with her for days. "How did you get this guy's name, the one hiding clues in newspapers?"

"I told Joyce I had seen Hopper and she didn't believe me at first, told me it must have been a nightmare." Her eyes brimmed with tears. "She saw him die." She sniffed. "But then she got this call to come back to Hawkins to see Murray Bauman. He told her he had news for her. I think I knew then. I think she did too, but she tried to pretend." She sighed. "He gave her the name, told her Hopper was alive."

"And then she believed you?"

El smiled sadly. "And then she believed me."

"So, whatever they're looking for in there, a clue or whatever, can't you just find him again and tell us where he is?"

El shook her head. She stared at Max and took a deep breath.

"When I saw Hopper" she said "there was something else there…" She paused as she heard Dustin's voice carry across from the garage.

"What?"

"I don't know, but I heard it" she whispered. "And it was waiting for me."