𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞

𝟏.

Sun. 24th August 1985 | 7:38pm
Will Byers

"Mom, it's okay now. I'll finish the rest myself." I give a reassuring smile, Mom's face full of worry as she looks at the few loaded boxes.

"Okay... okay... do you want me to make you som-"

"Mom, I said it's okay!" I chuckle softly. "I'll manage on my own this semester, okay? You can head back home now if you want. Love you."

"I love you, baby." She hugs me tightly, smiling once more before leaving the dorm room. Dorm room. I have my own dorm room. And soon enough I'll be having a roommate too. All I can hope is that he's nice and won't torment me for the whole school year.

Okay, Will. Just be positive. He can't be that bad.

I'm just being paranoid because of middle school and it's making me think stupidly. To distract myself from my thoughts, I find myself dialling Eleanor's number. She makes the panic go away most of the time.

"Hey."

"Hey! How's it going over there? Dad said you'd have gotten inside by now."

"Yeah it's fine. I'm taking a break from unpacking but um... yeah! The room's pretty nice."

"Did you meet your dorm mate yet?" I can hear her giggling through the other line.

"Haha. Very funny. No, I didn't. I look forward to meeting him though."

"I bet you're nervous too. I heard that delinquents go to your school or something."

"Wait, what?" My lips part slightly in worry. That can't be good at all.

"Eh... I'm sure it's nothing."

I exhale and nod, which is dumb since El can't even see me. "Okay... Well, I better continue packing to get it all over with. Call you tonight?"

"Yup." She says, popping the 'p'.

"Okay, bye."

"Bye bye!" And she hangs up. I place the phone back down and look around my room, the other bed catching my attention. Now that Eleanor mentioned it, I never really thought about who I was gonna be paired with this year and perhaps even the next.

Crap, who am I kidding? It's all I can think about.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and shift my gaze to the window. It's getting dark, meaning I should shower and sleep soon.

10:53pm

I walk into the bedroom as I rub my towel against my wet hair. There are only three more boxes to unload, but I'll finish it up tomorrow because I'm tired. There goes 'getting it all over with', I guess. Pushing the remaining boxes against the wall, I get in bed and turn off my night light, staring at the wall.

That's when I hear the lock of the front door click. He's here. He has to be. I mean, if it's anyone else, I'm in danger— which I highly doubt. I hear an object hit the ground, supposedly his bag judging by the way it thumps against the floor. I quickly close my eyes in attempt to fall asleep, not ready to meet him just yet. Tomorrow.

Mike Wheeler

As I turn on the corridor light, the brightness practically burns my eyes. I squint them a little and run my hands through my surprisingly fluffy, black locks, letting my bag fall to the floor. Due to another pair of shoes laid by the the door, I assume that my room mate is already here. I take off my jacket and hang it on the coat rack, walking along the hall and trying to navigate my bedroom. As I walk inside, I immediately notice a head of chestnut hair in bed. It seems that he's already asleep and I don't blame him, considering that I'm quite jet-lagged myself since I'd just returned from one of my dad's business trips. It's dumb. Politics isn't my business though he insists on dragging me into it.