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CINDY HARRINGTON WAS certain that 1985 was sure to be her best year yet. It seemed the universe had finally eased up on her, and she had gotten used to feeling somewhat normal in the past months. Never had she felt so good about herself. She was growing up, that was for sure. Cindy Harrington's confidence was on high that year. She could've sworn she was invincible.
For the first time in her life, the town of Hawkins, Indiana didn't seem all that crappy to Cindy. School had just let out for summer break, and with Starcourt Mall landing itself in their small, dusty town, there was actually somewhere for Cindy and her friends to spend their summer vacation, and Cindy was personally glad to get out of the Wheeler's basement for the summer.
Cindy wished she could say that her family wasn't driving her absolutely crazy, but that was a touchy subject at the moment. Cindy had finished the school year off with flying colors. She had devoted herself to end her last year of middle school off with a bang, by studying every night and turning in all her homework, she had managed to pull off all A's that year. In the end, Cindy was proud of herself, and although she would deny it, she had hoped if her plan succeeded, her distant parents would take notice of how bright their youngest child was, and let her bask in the Harrington spotlight for once.
Sadly, that dream was quickly shattered. Cindy's older brother, Steve, hadn't done so well on his final exams, bringing his GPA down, by a lot. When their parents realized Steve was failing to get into the colleges he applied to, Mr. Harrington couldn't hold his temper. Cindy had lost count of how many family dinners Steve and her father had spent arguing over Steve's future. All she could remember was the one dinner which the two had gotten into a louder, much more serious argument, and their father had deemed Steve was going to get a job, so he could "learn his lesson" and "help pay for college" since "there were no scholarships involved". Cindy wasn't proud of it, but she was kind of glad her brother would most likely be hanging around their house a little longer. She wasn't exactly sure if she could survive their parents without her brother being there to keep her sane.
Overall, Cindy Harrington was sure the summer of 1985 would change her life forever. She had the best friends she could ever ask for, a great boyfriend, and so many memories to make in the next few months. But what she didn't know, was that this one summer could change everything.
