ZOOMER GIRL // MAXINE MAYFIELD

PROLOGUE ~ JUST YESTERDAY

NOTE: Hey, feedback is very welcomed and if you guys see any typos please let me know so I can fix it up! Hope ya'll enjoy, thanks for reading!

Word Count: 666 

~~~

      Last year was hell. 

     You've tried to stay positive. Like everyone expect you to. You were the one everyone always expected to be fine. And you are. You are Francis Byers and you are perfectly fine, like always. But you aren't. As much as you want to be. You are not fine.

     Last year you spent every night in your twin brothers, Will's, bed while he was missing. You wore one of his stupid sweatshirts constantly. You cried yourself to sleep and had nightmares of what might have happened to you best friend. You could feel his panic. It was always quiet in the back of your mind. But it was always there. Like a string on the back of your neck, gently pulling every time Will was scared. The more he was afraid, the harder the tugging on the string got. It's something you and Will have always shared.     

     Last year you watched your mother seemingly lost her mind. You watched as Jonathan took on the responsibility of taking care of you and your mother. You tried to help, cooking dinner every night. Even though most nights they were simple, easy cook meals. You helped keep the house clean, at least until mom started putting up all the damn lights. You did what you could, when you could.

     You gained friends last year too. Lucas, Mike and Dustin were Will's best friends and when he went missing at some point you thought maybe they could help. And they did. And through them you meant Eleven, who quickly became your best friend. Before the party, you only had the soccer team, but none of them were really your friends, only your teammates. Girls you had to work with to win a game.

     And now things are back to normal. Or at least that's how everyone is acting. Mom has got Bob now, who by all means is a sweetheart, but he's always so goddamn happy. Like you're supposed to be. He has no idea what happened to your family or this town a year ago. Jonathan apparently has Nancy now, though the two seem too dense to accept that. Will, though he's gotten so quiet, he is still so kind and he's got regular check ins with doctors. He's getting better. 

     El disappeared that night. Never came back. You know Mike misses her, he's the only other member of the party who shows any signs that things happened last year. But he plays it off every time people start to question him. Lucas and Dustin though, they act like their fine. Hell, they honestly seem like they are. Maybe they've managed to finally move past it. 

     Unlike you. 

     You miss your best friend. Hoping she's still out there, alive somehow. You miss the boy Will used to be. You miss the girl you used to be. But you still get nightmares nearly every night of the Upside Down and of your missing brother. And nearly every night you walk down the hall to every bedroom door to check that your family is still there. You still get the panic in your chest, like a coiling spring, every time the sun goes down past the tree line. 

     You are still, not okay. But you don't let anyone know. You keep a smile on your face and you play the part of a happy-go-lucky thirteen year old girl like everyone expects you to be. You train for your games day and night and you study hard to keep your grades at least at a C, because no matter how hard you try or how often you study. You will just never be as smart of Will and the rest of the party. 

     Last year was hell, and it looks like this year will be too.