the summer we met

1985
Almost...

Lori woke to her alarm in the dry heat of 11pm in July, hair matted with sweat and a head heavy as rock cement, throat as dry as the Sahara. She had not slept properly in a week due to the seasons change and the move to Hawkins, her and her father moved to be closer to her recently deceased mothers family, she had missed her old place, her old friends but to unforeseen circumstances and her fathers new job it was easer for them to move by family to this small crummy town, the starting of summer and her last year of school before graduating.

She was a military baby, her dads job was of great importance, he was a general and a bit of a hard arse, she was a free spirit just like her mother, she didn't get a chance to grieve and she was up rooted from her home and placed here that's why she was angry at her father.

As she reached for her glass of water on her empty nightstand, taking a swig she realised it was empty just two drops left.

"Ohh for fucksake" she groaned wiping her eyes before lifting herself out of bed walking across her room of unpacked boxes and out towards the bathroom.

She twisted the taps on the bathroom sink, and attempt to splash her face with cold liquid and cool off and wake up a bit, looking in the bathroom mirror she stared at her reflection, "Jesus Christ you look like hell!" she told herself, her long black hair was a matted mess, she picked up her comb attempting to brush out the knots grabbing her hair tie she tied up her long locks wrapping them into a messy bun, pulling two strands out letting them to hang down the sides of her face, satisfied with her hair off her neck she turned on her heel out of the bathroom and downstairs to the kitchen.

The glow of the refrigerator on her face woke Lori up more as she reached for a bottle of water, her throat screaming at her as she quenched her thirst.

Suddenly a loud shriek could be heard followed by a loud boom noise, it shook her to the core almost spilling her water all over her, but since it was 3rd of July it wasn't unusual to hear fireworks around this time of the year, a couple of dogs howled in the distance.

"Bloody fireworks!" she muttered as she jumped "Poor pooches, must be terrified!" Lori looked out of the window it was dark and eerie, her house on the edge of the woods outlined the town.

She could hear a party happening, laughter and music vibrating through the woods

Lori wasn't one for intruding, but she was invited to this late-night bash, she could distinctly hear Paranoid by Black Sabbath booming from through the trees, "hmm" she thought putting her finger towards her mouth thinking, "Good choice Munson" she said out loud "He knows how to party." She said with a smile.

Looking at her reflection in the kitchen window "Fuck it!" she sighed nervously "He did say Id enjoy the playlist". She was wearing her Judas Priest tee and black shorts, it will have to do it was too hot for jeans, she tugged on her DMs and slipped out of her back door searching for the glow of lights, music and laughter.

As she walked out of her back garden on to the path down towards the rumbling of sounds, the night sky lighting her way as fireworks shoot up and BOOM following by the sound of those poor animals barking back at the sky flowers
__________

Earlier that week

Skull rock was located within hawkins wood Lori found it the day she moved there, after a argument that broke out between her and her father over the a broken lamp and a missing pendent, she had walked out attempting to cool off and found this grand white monumental rock the shape of a skull in the middle of the trees.

She climbed the top of the magnificent rock looking out on to nature, as she sat down as she took a box of cigarettes out from her leather jacket. Popped one from the packet and realised she left her lighter at home "Shit!" she shouted "Fuck it!... just my luck" she throws the unlit cigarette down towards the ground in a huff and sat there contemplating her fathers life choices and why the fuck she had to go with him to this small shitty town, she was almost 18 a free woman, almost.