WHISTLEBLOWER | ❝It only gets stranger...❞
Hawkins has never looked back on the events of November 1983. They know the surface-level story. 'The boy who came back to life.' Will Byers is alive and well, while the futile search for Tonya McCarth...
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(song:'martha'by tom waits )
WEDNESDAY 5th SEPTEMBER, 1956
THE first day back at school was never a fun one for Thomas. It was filled with strange doubts and new beginnings, as if he had to re-discover his place in his year group again — even though there wasn't anyone who didn't know everyone in Hawkins, Indiana. It was always the same few people he hung out with, every year. And this year, he expects no different.
As usual, he falls into step with Bob Newby on the way to school, hearing the boy jovially recount his summer spent in Maine. Peggy tags along at the back as always, shouting over them as she plays hop scotch with the cracks in the pavement. The job for Thomas is to make sure she gets to Elementary School in one piece, and then add the extra short journey to Hawkins Middle for himself.
The chatter is the same when he walks into the classroom, wooden desks clattering as the girls and boys band together in their own separate groups. Thomas knows he has nothing special to share, and nothing special to hear — he only spent his summer in this same town, where he knows everyone already, and they know him. Even if he did have something to say... would he even have the voice to say it? His mother says he should learn to speak up more, but he always finds himself suffocated with shyness. So he sinks into his desk, resting his chin on his arms so the head of Eleanor Gillespie in front obscures the chalkboard.
"Settle down, please! Settle down... good morning, class!" Mrs. Bailey announces, silencing the class rather quickly. All of the kids echo the greeting to her, before she adds another announcement. "Now, before we begin, we have a new student to welcome to Hawkins Middle..."
New student? Thomas lifts his head from the desk, tilting it a little to the side — and there she is.
It's a girl. More importantly, one he has never seen before, and that's a rare occurrence for Hawkins. Her pair of gently-set hazel eyes stare out at the class, looking for a friend. Thomas looks her up and down, taking in everything from her sandy blonde hair curled around her jaw, to the floral-print dress that looks like a splash of colour against the dusty chalkboard. No... she's definitely new. The twelve year-old sits up a little straighter in his seat.
"Class, this is Martha Scott," clarifies the teacher, gesturing to the child. "I'm sure you will all do your best to make her feel welcomed in Hawkins."
"How can she be a Scott? I thought they didn't have kids," whispers a kid behind Thomas.
"I heard she's an orphan," replies another, voice high with speculation.
