The next morning, John woke up early and got ready. He took a shower, brushed his teeth, then put on a navy-blue sweater and black jeans.
He summoned some food for himself and ate slowly as he summoned a random disassembled car from the 1980s—something he could put together for April.
He arranged for the boxes to be delivered by movers just as he'd be arriving home from school.
At the Wheeler residence, Mike got dressed quickly. He tossed some Eggo waffles in the toaster and, when they were done, stuffed two of them in his pocket.
Then he sat down and had breakfast with his family.
Mike was taking huge bites of food. It disturbed everyone at the table. Nancy finally snapped.
"Slow down, Mike. That's disgusting."
Mike fired back, "Do a lot of studying last night?"
Nancy narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, actually, I did."
"What was your test on again? Human Anatomy?" Mike asked with a smirk.
Nancy kicked him under the table. Mike kicked back.
Karen noticed. "What's going on, you two?"
"Nothing!" they both said.
Karen sighed. "Why does it have to be like this every morning? Can't the two of you just get along?"
Mike and Nancy dropped their eyes and ate quietly.
Mike finished up and excused himself. He rushed to the basement, went down the stairs, and opened the blanket fort.
Inside, El was sitting, fiddling with the radio.
"Hey, you found my super com. Pretty cool, huh? I talk to my friends with it. Mainly just Lucas—he lives close. Signal's pretty weak," Mike explained.
Then he remembered the waffles. He pulled them out of his pocket.
"I brought you breakfast."
El took a bite. Instantly, she loved the fluffy, buttery taste.
Mike walked her through the plan again. "I know it sounds weird, but I just need you to go out there. Go to the front door and ring the bell. My mom will answer. You'll say you're lost and need help. But whatever you do, don't tell her about last night. Or that you know me. Understand?"
El just stared.
Mike fumbled, "Really, it's no big deal. We'll just pretend to meet again. My mom—she'll know who to call."
"No," El said.
Mike blinked. "No?"
El shook her head. "No."
"You don't want my mom to get help?"
El shook her head again.
"You're in trouble, aren't you?"
She nodded.
"Who? Who are you in trouble with?"
"Bad," she said softly.
"Bad? Bad people?"
She nodded again.
"They want to hurt you? The bad people?"
El made a gun with her hand and pointed it at her own head. Then at Mike's.
"Understand?"
Karen called from upstairs. "Michael! Where are you? You're going to be late!"
Mike stammered, "All right. I'll be back. Just stay here, okay? Stay here." He bolted upstairs.
El sat in the fort, face tense with worry.
---
John finished his breakfast ten minutes later, threw on some red shoes, and left the house. He hopped into his car, backed out, and drove for about seven minutes before stopping in front of April's house.
April was already waiting. She pulled him into a hug. John wrapped his arms around her, feeling her warmth.
They were interrupted by Lisa. "Get going already. School starts in ten minutes."
John teased, "Lisa, don't get jealous. I love you." He kissed her briefly, then turned back to April. The two of them jogged to the car, got in, and drove off.
As they sped toward school, John asked, "How was your night?"
April smiled. "It was great. Lisa and I watched a movie. Then we had ice cream."
"Sounds like fun."
"It was. I missed you though." She leaned into him, hugging his arm. He held her hand while driving.
"I'm glad. That means you love me."
"I do. So much. I could never explain."
John smiled and kissed her. Then he turned back to the road. A few minutes later, they pulled into the school parking lot and walked to the entrance.
At the lockers, they found Nancy and Barb chatting. After greeting them, April started organizing her stuff, discarding anything she didn't need.
John leaned against the locker, casually chatting with Nancy and Barb.
Barb acted normal on the outside, but her mind was elsewhere—replaying a memory from a few weeks ago.
Her car had broken down on a dark road outside Hawkins. She walked several miles to a gas station and called John.
She couldn't call her parents; she wasn't supposed to be that far out. When John answered, she asked him to come get her.
While she waited, she called Nancy.
"Hey, can you cover for me tonight?"
"What for?" Nancy asked.
"Just tell them I'm staying the night at your house. If they call and ask to speak to me..."
"I know, say you're asleep. I taught you that, Barb."
"Thanks, Nancy."
"No problem. See you tomorrow?"
"Maybe, maybe not. I might not be able to walk."
"What do you... oh! You little vixen. Be sure to tell me the details sometime."
"I will. Bye."
"Bye."
John showed up about 90 minutes later. Barb climbed into his car and gave directions.
It only took five minutes to reach her broken-down car.
She remembered the long, cold walk and sighed.
Once there, she sat on his hood while John grabbed a toolbox and inspected her car.
"What were you doing out here anyway?" he asked.
"Sometimes I just want to leave Hawkins and never come back. This is the furthest I've ever gone."
"What's wrong with Hawkins? Sure, it's boring. But the people—they're real."
"I don't know why. I just feel like I don't belong."
John nodded. "Well, you should plan ahead if you're going to drive off into the sunset. Your alternator's shot. That's why your battery died."
"What's an alternator?"
"It keeps your battery from dying. In simple terms."
"Can you fix it?"
"Not now. We'll have to leave the car overnight."
Barb looked down, disappointed.
"Don't worry. I'll call a friend once we get to my house. He'll tow it back."
She hugged him tightly. "Thank you, John." She lingered against his muscular frame.
John didn't hold back—his hands moved along her body.
But just as things got serious, he pulled back. "We should go."
Barb nodded. She felt his hand brush her again as they got in the car.
Back in the present, Nancy's voice pulled Barb from her daze.
"Barb! Hey, Barb!"
"Huh?"
"You were talking and just stopped. Had that look again—the one you get when you're thinking about boys."
Barb rolled her eyes and shut her locker. She walked away. Nancy followed, trying to find out who Barb had been thinking about.
Meanwhile, the guilty party—John—was in class next to April, yawning. Even when the teacher said, "There's a test," John didn't flinch.
He leaned back in his chair, blazed through the test in ten minutes, and spent the rest of class thinking about the car he'd be building.
---
At the Byers residence, a utility truck was fixing the power lines out front. Inside, Jonathan had just finished making breakfast.
"All right, Mom. Breakfast is ready."
Joyce didn't respond. She hadn't slept at all. Jonathan set a plate down on the poster she'd made.
"Be careful with the poster," Joyce said.
"Yeah, okay. Just eat, Mom."
"I can't eat... The Xerox place opens in like thirty minutes."
"Yeah."
"I don't want you to go alone..."
"Mom, I told you. I got it."
"...so I'm gonna have Karen take you. I should stay here."
"Okay."
"We need 200, maybe 300 copies. How much is a copy?"
"Yeah. Okay."
"Ten cents?"
"Okay, Mom."
"If we... Ten cents—"
"Mom. Mom. Mom! You can't get like this, okay?"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
Just then, Hopper's truck pulled up. He got out and knocked. Joyce opened the door.
Her face showed everything—exhaustion, anxiety, panic.
"We've been waiting six hours," she said sharply.
"I came as soon as possible," Hopper replied.
"Six hours."
"I know. We've been searching all night. Went all the way to Cartersville."
"And?"
"Nothing."
Joyce gasped and covered her mouth. Her eyes welled with tears.
"Flo said you got a call last night."
Joyce nodded. She showed him the burnt phone.
"Storm barbequed this pretty good," Hopper said.
"The storm?"
"What else?"
"You're saying that's not weird?"
"It's weird."
Jonathan jumped in. "Can we trace the call?"
"It doesn't work like that. Has to be a live connection. And we don't have the gear. Are you sure it was Will? Flo said you just heard breathing."
"No, it was him. He was scared. And then—"
"It was probably just a prank."
"Who would do that?" Jonathan asked.
"TV coverage brings out the crazies—prank calls, false leads..."
"No, Hopper. It wasn't a prank. It was him."
"Joyce."
"Come on. A little trust? You think I'm making this up?"
"I'm not saying that. It's just... it's an emotional time."
"I know my son's breathing. Wouldn't you know your own daughter's?"
Hopper winced. The comment hit hard.
"You heard from Lonnie yet?"
"No."
"It's been long enough. I'm checking him out."
He turned and walked away.
"Come on, you're wasting time," Joyce called after him.
Outside, Jonathan ran to catch him.
"Hopper, let me go."
"I'm sorry?"
"To Lonnie's. If Will's there, he might run if he sees cops. He's good at hiding."
"And cops are good at finding. Stay with your mom. She needs you."
Hopper climbed into his SUV and drove off.