𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 | stranger things

five

"Lauren Rebecca Wheeler! Get down here, now! You're gonna make us late!"

Wren sighed at her mother's use of her full name. Today was Will Byers' funeral, and she had spent the whole morning in her bedroom making no noise and pretending that she didn't exist. She hoped that maybe she'd be able to get away with not going if she did so, but alas, she was wrong.

She looked at the black dress that Mrs. Wheeler had laid out for her the previous night. She didn't like dresses. She felt as if they were revealing and too girly. Why couldn't she wear black dress pants and a blazer to match? If she was being forced to dress up for her brother's friend's funeral, why couldn't it be in something that she was comfortable wearing?

"Because girl's wear dresses," was what her mother had said when she asked her about it.

Wren met the rest of her family downstairs, begrudgingly wearing the dress and a hand-me-down pair of Nancy's old ballet flats.

She stood next to her older sister in the group surrounding Will's casket, her brother and his friends standing in front of her. She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Her shoes were pinching her feet, and she had to hold the skirt of her dress to keep it from flying up each time the wind blew.

"Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God," Pastor Charles read from the Bible. Nancy had to elbow Wren when the girl made a face; she was a woman of science and didn't believe in God. "I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

"What a bunch of B.S.," Wren muttered, earning her another jab in her ribs from Nancy and a sideways glare from her mother.

"Lauren, be respectful," Nancy scolded in a harsh whisper.

"It's times like these that our faith is challenged," Pastor Charles continued, no longer reading from the book Wren knew was made up by a group of dead people that needed something fantastical to believe in. "How, if He is truly benevolent, could God take from us someone so young? So innocent?"

"Because he's not re—" Wren's sentence was cut off as Nancy put a hand over her mouth. The young girl grunted in annoyance, her brows scrunching together. She shoved Nancy's hand away. "Don't touch me," she quietly spat.

"Don't make sacrilegious comments," Nancy bossed.

"Until you can prove with science that God is real, I'm gonna say whatever I want."

"Shh!" Mrs. Wheeler hushed her daughters, sending them pointed looks. Wren exhaled sharply through her nose. She tugged at the collar of her dress as she turned her attention back to Pastor Charles.

"It would be easy to turn away from God," the man went on, "but we must remember that nothing, not even tragedy, can separate us from His love. We are here today to find comfort in the truth of scripture and surround Will and his family . . . "

"Just wait till we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral," Dustin said to Mike and Lucas. Mrs. Wheeler shushed him.

When the service was over, Nancy went to speak with Will's older brother, Jonathan, and Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler went to give their condolences to Will's parents. Mike wandered off with his friends, leaving Wren to stand alone while she waited for them. She looked around at the people there, but none of them she recognized.

Not that she would want to speak to them even if she did know who they were. Instead, she'd be going out of her way to avoid being approached by them.

Everyone went inside for food after the ceremony. Wren spotted Will's mom, Joyce Byers, sitting alone. She went over and sat down on the opposite side of the table.

"Um, I-I'm sorry," Wren said when Mrs. Byers looked up at her. "I don't really know what else to say . . . I'm not very good at comforting people."

"That's all right, sweetie," Mrs. Byers said softly, giving Wren a small, reassuring smile that wasn't reflected in her eyes, which had pain in them.

Wren took out the book that she had managed to sneak out of the house. Knowing she'd be here a while, she kicked off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the chair as she opened up to the chapter she'd left off on.

****

The first thing that Wren did when they arrived home was change out of her dress and into leggings and a hoodie. She tied her hair up in a ponytail and put on her favorite pair of fuzzy socks.

She grabbed a granola bar from the pantry and a juice box from the fridge. Having not eaten anything at the funeral, she was rather hungry. When she finished her snack, she decided to go down to the basement to see how her brother was holding up – something that she never did, but given the circumstances, she'd make an adjustment.

"Hey, Michael, how are you— Why is Eleven wearing Nancy's dress and a wig?" Wren frowned. This wasn't what she was expecting to see when she came down here. Eleven was wearing a pink dress and a blonde wig. It also looked like she was wearing make-up.

"Wren, thank goodness you're here!" Mike exclaimed. Wren's frown deepened. He jumped up from the couch and walked over to her. "We need your help for a mission."

"A mission?" Wren raised a brow. When was the last time Mike had wanted her involved in anything regarding his party? "What kind of mission?"

"Will is alive. He's hiding in another dimension."

The scoff left Wren's mouth before she could stop herself. Dustin and Lucas exchanged a look. "You saw his body, Michael," she stated. "You just went to his funeral. I know denial is one of the stages of grief, but do you actually believe that he's—?"

"Wren, I swear, I'm not making this up," Mike interrupted, urgency in his voice. "I'd never lie about something this serious."

"Mike, just forget her," Lucas said, annoyed. "I told you she wouldn't believe you. Just go upstairs and read your book, Lauren."

"I will," Wren said, sending Lucas a glare before turning back to Mike. "Have fun on your make-believe trip to an alternate dimension with your rude friends to find your other friend who's totally alive and not buried underground." She turned on her heel and went back upstairs.

"Wren . . . Wren!" Mike called after her, but she had already slammed the door. No one said anything for a moment.

"You were out of line, Lucas," Dustin was the first to break the awkward silence that followed the younger Wheeler twin's exit. "It's no wonder I'm her favorite."

Lucas scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself just because you're the only kid our age that she can tolerate, Dustin."

Mike sighed as his friends started to argue about his sister. He debated going upstairs to see if she was okay, but knowing her, she'd probably want some space.

Upstairs, Holly pushed open the door to Wren's bedroom. The eleven year old was laying on her bed staring up at the ceiling, her hands folded on her stomach and unshed tears in her eyes. She was too proud to let some stupid boy's comment make her cry.

"Wen?" Holly climbed up onto the bed next to her. Wren blinked a few times and sat up, forcing a small smile at her little sister, who handed her a children's book. "Will you wead to me?"

"Yeah, sure. What did you pick out?"

Holly handed her The Poky Little Puppy, and Wren's fake smile was replaced with a real one. One of the only happy memories she had with Nancy was of her reading her this story when she was Holly's age. It was the book that got her interested in reading.

"Of course, Holly." Wren took the book, and Holly climbed into her lap. She opened up to the first page and began to read. "Five little puppies dug a hole under the fence and went for a walk in the wide, wide world . . . "