𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙖 𓆩♡𓆪 𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙧

! epilogue

1983.
9th grade.

"mae!" the long haired brunette shouted. "oh, hey nance," the blonde responded, sliding over on the bench to make room for nancy. as the school year was winding down, the friends were on the cusp of starting high school and had visions of spending their entire summer together. "are you looking forward to being freshmen?" mae asked, glancing at her before taking a bite of a strawberry from her lunch. "hello??" there was no reply from the brunette, who seemed intent on avoiding mae's gaze. after a pause, she began, "you know our plans for the whole summer?" "yeah?" mae responded, "we can't do it." the strawberry fell from mae's hand. "what?? why the hell not?? did i do something?" she asked, her voice rising in alarm. "no, it's not you! i wish we could, but I have to move." nancy explained. "move??.. to where?" mae asked. "someplace called 'hawkins.' I'm not too sure." mae let out a resigned sigh. "i could come with you! ill see if my mom will agree!" she offered eagerly. "mae," nancy interjected. "seriously, I'll talk her into it," mae insisted. "mae, please. will seems happy here, and so does your mom. we'll stay in touch, and it's only a six-hour drive. we can still see each other, just not as much as we hoped," nancy reasoned. mae's face fell. "it won't be the same." sensing her friend's disappointment, nancy took mae's hands. "let's make the last week of school, my last week here, unforgettable. better than any summer we could've imagined or anything we've done all year." mae smilied. "okay, let's do it."

1984.
11th grade.

mae encountered significant difficulties during her sophomore year, primarily due to her relocation to hawkins a few months after nancy had left in hopes to find her, but failed. establishing friendships proved to be a challenge too, and those she did manage to forge were not long lasting. as she anticipated the onset of her junior year, mae aspired to a new beginning, which included in lettting nancy go. her youngest brother was entering the eighth grade and had become friends with a group of kids around his age in which mae found very annoying. she realized that to effectively look out for her brother's safety this year, she needed to approach the situation with a clear and focused mind. the start of her junior year presented itself as the perfect chance for this fresh start. so, after adjusting the ruffles on her light pink shirt and scrunching her hair, mae paused for a reflective moment in front of the school restroom mirror before walking out into the halls. hawkins high was popular in the area, so the halls were filled. her journey to her first class took her to the opposite end of the building, and she arrived just as the bell signaled the beginning of the period. when lunchtime arrived, mae found herself in line, surrounded by people. it was then that she spotted those familiar brown curls. with a mix of hope and hesitation, she called out. "nance??"

MONA LISA

"i'm so tired of being a book on the shelf.
tired of stories for somebody else."