George and Nicole Harper had never had an easy life. From one set of divorced parents to another, these half siblings have had it tough.
Ever since their mother, Naomi, split from George's father and forced them to move from England back to her hom...
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"You heard him, right?" Mike asked after El had stopped doing whatever it was she had done to the radio. For a while, everyone was silent. George for one was just trying to get his around what had happened.
At first there was just static, then George heard a humming. As it started getting clearer, George swore he could hear singing but that sounded crazy and there was too much background noise to be certain. After a while of faint static and humming, the noise started to sound more and more like sobbing. George wanted to believe it was Will but it just seemed so crazy.
"I heard something." Lucas answered at last. George turned to him and nodded.
"Me too, but..." George agreed.
"But I'm not sure it's Will." Lucas finished, obviously sharing George's scepticism. "It sounded more like crying, like we'd tapped in on a baby monitor."
Mike scowled.
"Are you sure you're on the right channel?" Dustin asked and looked you George. He shrugged and nodded. Mike shook his head.
"No. No! It's not that. It's like El is channelling him. And it is Will!" Mike protested, turning to face Lucas, "We just need a bigger radio to hear him clearly. Like-"
"Mr Clarke's Heathkit Ham Shack!" Dustin exclaimed, proudly.
"But that's at school," Lucas pointed out snidely, "There's no way we're going to be able to sneak the weirdo into school."
Everyone looked at El. She did look odd. No girl George knew would want to shave their head. Sure, Nick cut her hair short but it wasn't shaved. Girls just didn't shave their heads. Plus she was wearing all of Mike's old clothes: boys clothes.
Mike suddenly spun his head around to look at them, a sly smile on his face.
"I think I have a plan."
*
El had disappeared into the upstairs bathroom. Mike's plan was stupid yet so simple it might just work. They'd spent ages rifling through boxes of Nancy's old clothes to find something suitably girly. George couldn't help but think that perhaps a group of boys weren't the best fashion experts.
They eventually settled on a pink dress that George initially mistook as a large lampshade. It was all frills. There were pleats and ribbons and...frills everywhere! But El didn't object when they gave it to her so it must have been alright.
Dustin emerged from the mountain of boxes wearing a wig. He grinned goofily up at George and Lucas. Lucas frowned at him.
"Take that off." He snapped and grabbed at it, sliding it off Dustin's head. He swatted Lucas' hands away.
"I thought you made a radiant blond." George smirked and Dustin's grin returned.
When El emerged she looked, well, normal. She was wearing a dress, a normal girly dress and with the wig she appeared to have normal length hair. George would have said she looked nice but he knew nothing about women's fashion.
She looked happier too. She had an air of confidence around her as she stepped out of the bathroom. El didn't just look normal, she felt normal. And that was something George suspected she'd never felt before.
"Wow." Dustin breathed beside him. "She looks-"
"Pretty." Mike finished. Everyone turned to stare at him. Even El.
"Good. Pretty good." Mike corrected sheepishly, although no one believed him.
George looked at El. Did she look pretty? She looked happy, George thought that was a nice looking quality. But was she pretty? George shrugged. He didn't understand girls.
El walked across the hall and stood in front of a wall mirror, just staring at herself in the mirror. She looked shy suddenly, she'd hunched her shoulders and clenched her hands around the stiff fabric of her dress skirt. Slowly, she started to smile.
"Pretty." She whispered, "Pretty good."
*
The next part of Mike's plan was the easiest: go to school. They hopped on their bikes and peddled through town and headed to school. They decided going in through a back entrance would be best, you know, so people didn't see them with a random girl who didn't even go there.
They went in via the fire exit, by all the science classrooms because no one except them hung around the science classrooms. George only prayed that no one would be there now.
He had no idea what time it was, he knew there wasn't enough money for him to buy a watch, otherwise why would Nick work two jobs. It could be the middle of lessons then everyone who took science (ie the entire school!) would see them and, more importantly, see El.
"Remember," Mike began, "If anyone sees us, look sad."
Like he'd said, the plan was so stupid and so simple it might just work.
"Attention students."
George froze. It was only the PA but it made his heart jump.
"There will be an assembly in the gymnasium to honour Will Byers. Do not go to fourth period."
George breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone would be in the gymnasium. No one would see them. And they were almost at the AV club room now. No one would see them! Their stupid plan would work. No one would see them!
No one except Mr Clarke.
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