STICKS AND STONES ↝ S. HARRINGTON

[21]

A chill hung in the air as the Hawkins summer months left in a haste, the leaves turning orange as fall began to take up residence in the small town in Indiana. As Halloween drew closer and closer, decorations dotted the front lawns of nearly every house in town, its residents becoming excited for the spooky time of year. This included the Henderson family, as Anna, Dustin, and Claudia had spent nearly the entire weekend leading up to Anna's seventeenth birthday decorating the front yard with gravestones, jack-o-lanterns, and enough orange lights to illuminate the entire block.

"Son of a bitch!" Dustin's voice echoed from the other room, causing Anna to peek out from her bedroom door to see her younger brother upending the couch cushions in the den in a desperate search for something she couldn't figure out. "Son of a bitch!"

When searching under the couch cushions seemed to be of no avail, Dustin rushed into the living room where Claudia sat with Mews watching the evening news, leaving the sofa upturned in disarray in his haste. Anna followed after him, quickly fixing the cushions he'd left behind and entering the living room to see him doing the same to the other couch, from which he pulled out a small copper coin before looking at it in disgust.

"Another stupid penny," he sighed, tossing it behind him and narrowly missing Claudia as Mews began to meow in protest.

"Dusty, watch it!" Claudia scolded. "You almost hit Mews."

"Can I please check under your cushions?" he asked her, eyeing the chair she sat in.

"Dusty," Claudia chided.

"Mom, please?" Dustin asked. "It's an emergency!"

Claudia groaned in response, less than thrilled about being booted from her chair, and Dustin mimicked the groan as she stood up, cradling Mews close as he continued to meow. "Who's your buddy? Who's your buddy?" Claudia murmured to Mews, attempting to calm down the disgruntled feline.

Dustin searched through the cushions, smiling as he retrieved two quarters, and looked back up at Claudia gratefully. "Love you, Mom!" he shouted, running past Anna and back towards his bedroom.

"Well, then..." Claudia murmured again, sitting back down in her chair with Mews in her lap. "Annie, are you going out tonight, too?"

"Yeah," Anna replied. "Landon's mom's out tonight, so we're having a movie night at his house, and then I'll probably just stay the night either there or at Becca's."

"Well, have fun," she said. "Tell your friends hi for me."

Anna smiled, ducking back into her bedroom to finish getting ready for the evening as Dustin's muffled voice sounded through the wall connecting the two rooms, conversing with his friends over his walkie talkie. Anna grabbed a pair of overnight clothes from her dresser, stuffing them into her backpack as Dustin finished his call, now leaning against her door frame as he began to knock on the open door.

"I need a favor," Dustin said, causing Anna to look back over at him as she zipped up her backpack.

"What kind of favor?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared back at him quizzically.

"A few quarters kind of favor?" he asked, puffing out his lower lip in a pleading gesture.

"No," Anna deadpanned.

"Pleaseeee?" Dustin begged, bringing his hands together as he continued to plead. "I'll pay you back, I promise!"

"That's what you said last time," she reminded him, slinging the backpack over her shoulders. "You still owe me a dollar."

"And I'll pay you back as soon as I find more." he insisted. "Please, Anna? I'll do all your chores this weekend."

"And next weekend?" she pressed.