LACUNA | WILL BYERS ¹ ✔

The Weirdo on Maple Street [Pt.1]

Now we were all sitting in Mike's basement, with this stranger girl sitting on the couch in front of us. She seemed really freaked out, and so were we.

"Is there a number we can call for your parents?" Mike asked.

"Where's your hair? Do you have cancer?" Dustin asked.

"If she had cancer, she'd be bald, not buzzed." I said, being realistic.

"Did you run away?" Lucas asked.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Is that blood?" Lucas asked, reaching for him arm, when Mike pulled him away.

"Stop! You're freaking her out!"

"She's freaking me out!"

"I bet she's deaf!" He said and clapped his hands loudly, and she flinched. "Not deaf..."

"All right, that's enough, all right? She's just scared and cold." The thunder crackled and she flinched in fear. He grabbed a pair of clothes and handed them to her. "Here, these are clean, okay?"

She rubbed her cheek on it and stood up. She then clutched the rim of her shirt, indicating that she was gonna change right then and there, and caught all of us by surprise.

All the boys flinched and jumped and screamed and she looked so confused and scared. Lucas was looking away, and Dustin couldn't stop saying "Oh, my God."

"See, over there?" Mike said, recovering from what could've just happened, "T-That's the bathroom... Privacy... Get it?"

Poor girl, she seemed so dazed and confused, and so confused about why everyone freaked out about her.

"Hey..." I said. "It's okay, all right? We're not gonna hurt you..." I said, making eye contact with her.

I lead her to the bathroom in the basement.

All the boys were so emotionally unstable right now.

I mean, it didn't affect me that much, because I'm a girl, but I gotta admit, it did take me by surprise.

I was shutting the door, but she didn't let me.

"You don't want it closed?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Oh, so you can speak!" I said. "Okay, well... Um, how about we just keep the door..." I cracked the door, leaving about a 4 inch gap.

"Is that better?"

"Yes."

I gave her a smile. "If you need anything, I'm right here." Then, I went to see the boys.

"This is mental. Dustin said.

"At least she can talk," Mike defended.

"She said 'no' and 'yes.' Your three-year-old sister says more."

"Guys, chill. She's a girl who most likely got lost, and all we know is that she's scared to death. Treat her nicely, at least for my sake." I said.

"But she's freaking me out!" Lucas whisper shouted.

"Aren't we all?" I reasoned. "She's a girl who looks like she needs help. Wouldn't you like to be helped if you were in her shoes?"

"She doesn't have shoes," Dustin said innocently.

I sighed. "You know what I mean, Dustin."

"Anyways, she tried to get naked!" Dustin said, getting back to the main subject.