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DINNER WAS SILENT THAT NIGHT. The kids were trying to wrap their minds around what had happened in Mike's bedroom, unknowingly making the dinner very awkward between them and the Wheeler family. Carrie scraped her fork across her plate but was careful to not have it create the piercing sound that's usually created when metal scrapes against glass.
Karen watched the four of them with keen eyes as they played around with the food on their plate.
"Something wrong with the meatloaf?" she asked them, eliciting nervous looks from them.
"Oh, no, I had two bologna sandwiches for lunch," Dustin lied with a fake smile on his face. Carrie sighed as she shook her head at the boy's inability to lie. "I don't know why," he added, chuckling softly at the end.
"Me, too," Lucas added with a forced grin.
"It's delicious, Mommy," Nancy told Karen who appreciated her oldest daughter's compliment. Carrie glanced over at the older girl, knowing that there was a specific reason as to why she was giving her mom compliments. "So, there's this... special assembly thing tonight... for Will at the school field. Barb's driving."
Carrie furrowed her eyebrows at Nancy's statement. If there was an assembly for Will at the school, she would've known about it from Barb—especially because she was driving Nancy. Mike looked over at the redhead as she took a sip from her glass of milk. She shrugged her shoulders at his confused expression. She was just as clueless as him.
"Why am I just now hearing about this?" Karen asked her accusingly as she cut up more of her meatloaf. Nancy's eyebrows raised as she slightly pursed her lips.
"I thought you knew," was the brunette's answer. Mike gave her a look.
"I told you, I don't want you out after dark until Will is found."
"I know, I know, but it'd be super weird if I'm not there. I mean, everyone's going," she continued. Karen let out a sigh and looked around the table before back down to her plate.
"Just... be back by ten." Nancy nodded her head, not thanking her mom for extending her curfew. "Why don't you take the kids, too?" she suggested as she gestured to them with her knife.
The kids all started shouting different forms of "no!" while shaking their heads. Mrs. Wheeler gave them a strange look.
"Don't you think you should be there?" she questioned them. "For Will?" Mike looked up from the glass of milk he was drinking and choked on the liquid inside when he saw Eleven walking down the stairs. She ignored the people at the dinner table as she walked towards the basement.
