Over the years nightmares have been a frequent friend in the Hopper house. Chills and a scream lodged in the back of her throat is the only way that Christine Hopper knows how to wake up. Her father tries hard to believe his daughter has a handle on...
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"Hey! Hey! Ronnie..." Nancy jogs over to the girl at her locker. Ronda is fumbling with her textbooks. She's still angry with her brother and the last thing she wants to do is talk about normal things like the weather.
Nancy gives Ronda a tiny smile. "Hey."
"Hi, Nance."
"We're still going to the Hollands tonight, right? For dinner."
Ronda nods, not bothering to look at Nancy. The mention of Barbara's parents sends spikes to her heart. The thought of it already being almost a year since Barbara Holland's death makes Ronda ache with sorrow. Barb had been her first crush and first kiss. Barb should've been Ronda's first everything if she was given the chance, but life loves to screw with people.
"Are you okay?" wonders Nancy.
Nancy Wheeler is one of few that knows of Ronda's liking towards other girls. While it came as a surprise to Nancy that Ronda liked girls, she wasn't all that surprised when she found out that Ronda had feelings for Barbara. Ronda and Barbara were always smitten around each other. The way that Ronda has suffered this last year over Barb makes Nancy realize she's not the only one still hurt by it.
"I'm fine," Ronda offers, lying through her teeth. "I'll be there tonight."
Nancy smiles sweetly. "Look, if you need to talk—"
"No." Ronda shakes her head, smooth dark hair swinging on her pink sweater. "I'm fine, Nancy."
"Okay." Nancy swallows, watching as Ronda closes her locker. "I'll see you later, then..."
"Bye." Ronda stomps away, fuming with anger and sadness. The girl who used to be shy and caring is now coated with so much pent-up rage. Only a few things will help her get rid of the darkness inside of her.
Chris walks into the eleventh grade science classroom, where Jonathan and Nancy are ready sitting at the lab station in front of the one table that Chris shares with a boy named Keith. The boy is not there yet, so Chris sets her things on the cool black surface and sighs heavily. She has been hiding the headache forming at the base of her neck all day. In fear that one of her friends will notice and question what nightmares or dreams she's been having lately.
It's not new for Chris to have headaches or nightmares, but up until recently there has been no Shadow Walking anywhere in Chris's mind, except for the occasional travel to Steve's dreams when he refused to wake up, or if they were touching in their sleep. But for three days, Chris has been trapped in the Void, where her and little El used to go when El was tapping into Chris's connections. The Void is a lonely place without Eleven by her side, but last night she found someone else in that dark landscape.
He's the spitting image of Robert Jones.
And it scares the shit out of Chris.
"Hey. Chrissie?" Nancy turns in her seat, staring at the girl who has zoned out as her thoughts search for answers in her mind.
