At the Byer residence, Jonathan was sleeping soundly in his head when he was gradually awakened by the sound of his mother's voice. He heard Joyce say, "Will? Will? Sweetheart, can you hear me? Will... Please... Will..." Jonathan jumped out of bed and grabbed a shirt laying on his dresser before he bolted out of the room.
Jonathan put on his shirt quickly as he walked briskly to Will's room. Jonathan opened the door and saw his disheveled mother talking to a light bulb. Joyce leaned close to the bulb and said, "Just..."
Jonathan grew concerned and shouted, "Mom?"
Joyce was startled and jolted slightly as she turned to him and said, "Jonathan!"
Joyce stammered, "Come here. Come here."
Jonathan walked forward and asked, "Mom, what is this?"
Joyce said, "Come here. Come here." Joyce sniffled loudly, she looked worse for wear.
Jonathan asked, "What's going on?"
Joyce said, "It's Will. It Will, he's... he's trying to talk to me." Joyce breathed heavily.
Jonathan asked, "He's trying to talk to you?"
Joyce said, "Through the lights."
Jonathan grew concerned. Jonathan said, "Mom--"
Joyce cut him off, "I know. I know. Just... Just watch. Will... your brother's here. Can you show him what you showed me, baby?" Suddenly, the lightbulb flickered for a second.
Joyce said excitedly, "Did you see that?"
Jonathan said, "It's the electricity mom. It's acting up."
Joyce denied, "No."
Jonathan said, "It's the same thing that fried the phone."
Joyce said, "No! It is not the electricity, Jonathan. Something is going on here! Yesterday, the wall--"
Jonathan interrupted, "What? What about the wall?"
Joyce said, "I don't know. I don't know."
Jonathan said, "Mom, first the lights, then the wall?"
Joyce stammered, "I just know that Will is here."
Jonathan sighed then he said, "No, Mom."
Joyce stammered, "Maybe if I get more lamps--"
Jonathan stopped her, he said heatedly, "No, Mom. You don't need more lamps. You need to stop this, okay? He is just lost. People are looking for him and they are going to find him."
Joyce looked around the room, before she said, "Okay."
Jonathan said, "This isn't helping anyone."
Joyce said, "Okay, okay. Okay, I'm sorry." Joyce sniffled.
Joyce continued, "I'm sorry."
Jonathan asked, "Can you do me a favor, Mom?" Joyce nodded her head.
Jonathan asked, "Can you just try to get some sleep?"
Joyce sniffled, "Yeah."
Jonathan asked, "Huh? Can you do that for me?"
Joyce said, "I promise. I will."
Jonathan said, "Yeah? Yeah."
Joyce said, "I just need to sit here for a minute."
Jonathan sighed and said, "Alright, I'll go make breakfast."
Joyce said, "Okay." Jonathan nodded as he rubbed her back before he stood up and left the room. Joyce sat in silence as she watched Jonathan exit the room.
Joyce whispered, "Will?" She looked all around the room observing each light around her, but none of them flickered at all.
Meanwhile, Mike and his friends were in the basement discussing their plan to look for Will. Dustin kept getting sidetracked by the prospect of acquiring superpowers. After all both John and Eleven had powers, he wondered who else had a superpower.
Mike explained, "We just tell our parents we have AV Club after school. That'll give us at least a few hours for Operation Mirkwood."
Lucas asked, "You seriously think that weirdo knows where Will is? She was talking about a monster. Something is wrong with her."
Mike said, "Just trust me on this. Okay?"
Lucas said, "Okay."
Mike asked, "Did you get the supplies?"
Lucas answered, "Yeah. Binoculars... from 'Nam. Army knife... also from 'Nam. Hammer, camouflage bandana and the wrist rocket."
Dustin broke out of his thoughts of superpowers and asked, "You're going to take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?"
Lucas said frustratedly, "First of all, it's a wrist rocket. And second of all, the Demogorgon is not real. It's made up."
Dustin reasoned, "But if there is something out there--"
Lucas interrupted, "If there is something I will shoot it in the eye... and blind it."
Mike sighed and asked, "Dustin, what did you get?"
Dustin grabbed his backpack and poured it contents out onto the table. Mike looked down at the table and all he saw was a pile of food. The only useful thing was the knife John had given Dustin.
Dustin said, "Well, alrighty. So, we've got... Nutty bars, bazooka joe, pez, Smarties, pringles, nilla wafers, apple, banana and trail mix."
Lucas said bluntly, "Seriously?"
Dustin defended, "We need energy for our travels. For stamina. And besides, what do we need weapons for anyway. We have her."
Lucas yelled, "She shut one door!"
Dustin shouted, "With her mind! Are you kidding me? That's insane! Imagine what else she could do. I mean, she levitated that toy around the basement, for Christ's sake."
Mike said, "John told us not to use El's powers too much as it could hurt her." Dustin nodded slowly, he had great respect for John.
Suddenly, Karen shouted from upstairs, "Time for school!"
The boys immediately started to pack their backpacks. Lucas and Dustin rushed up the stairs, while Mike stayed behind to talk to El. Mike said, "Just stay down here. Don't make any noise and don't leave. If you get hungry, eat Dustin's snacks, okay?"
Karen shouted, "Michael!"
Mike turned away from El and shouted, "Coming!"
Then he turned to El and asked softly, "You know those power lines?"
El repeated, "Power lines?"
Mike said, "Yeah. The ones behind my house."
El nodded and said, "Yes."
Mike said, "Meet us there after school."
El asked, "After school?"
Mike said, "Yeah, 3:15 pm." El looked at Mike blankly and Mike realized she had no way to tell the time. Mike took off his watch and put it on El's wrist slowly. El looked down at the watch curiously.
Mike said, "When the number read three-one-five, meet us by the power lines."
El looked down at the watch and repeated, "Three-one-five."
Mike repeated, "Three-one-five." Mike smiled at her and gained a smile back before he stood up quickly and grabbed his backpack. Then he ran up the stairs and out of the basement.
As Mike was riding his bike out of the garage with his friends, he noticed Nancy standing outside waiting for Barb to come pick her up. He also saw John standing on his front porch drinking from a coffee mug. Mike and his friends waved at John, who responded politely.
John looked over at Nancy and then at his watch, there were only 15 minutes before the first bell rang and classes started. John waited a couple minutes more before he set his mug on the railing and walked down his porch. John walked down the sidewalk to Nancy and greeted her. Nancy responded shyly as she looked down slightly.
John asked, "Where is Barb? You usually go to school together."
Nancy said, "I don't know. Last night I did say some hurtful things to her before I came to your house."
John said, "Oh, she probably just wants some time to herself then... So, did you want a ride?"
Nancy didn't hesitate to say, "Yeah, of course." However, she blushed a little because she realized how excited she acted. John chuckled before he wrapped his arm around her and walked with her to his car. They got in and John began to drive to April's house.
Nancy started to get nervous as they got closer to April's house. Nancy asked, "Are you sure she won't be mad?"
John said, "Relax, everything will be fine. You know April, she won't yell at you for this." Nancy nodded nervously. They arrived at April's house and John parked the car in the driveway. They both got out of the car and Nancy admired the pink Cadillac parked next to them.
They walked up to the door and John opened the front door with a key. John walked inside and took off his shoes, Nancy followed his example and did so as well. April and Lisa heard the front door open and walked out of the kitchen.
April's eyes widened as she saw Nancy standing next to John. Nancy seeing this grew more nervous and hid slightly behind John. April walked over briskly and hugged Nancy. Nancy calmed down as April said, "Nancy, good morning."
Nancy said quietly, "Good morning."
John kissed April's cheek before he walked over to Lisa who was beckoning him over with her finger. John walked over to her and kissed her tenderly. Lisa backed away and said, "Follow me." John nodded with a smile and followed behind her to the kitchen.
Lisa walked over to the sink and looked out the window before she turned to look at John with a happy face. John asked curiously, "What's with the face, Blondie?"
Lisa pulled out a pregnancy test from her pocket and walked forward to show John. Lisa showed it to him as she said, "I'm pregnant." Lisa expectantly looked, waiting for John's reaction.
John smiled, showing off his shiny teeth and said, "That's great." Lisa smiled, happy with John's reaction. John moved forward and kissed her passionately.
John backed away and said, "School starts in a while. I'll see you in a little while."
Lisa nodded and said, "Okay, see you later." John gave her a final hug and stroked her hair, then he walked out of the kitchen with Lisa following behind with a smile of Joy. John walked into the living room and saw April and Nancy sitting on the couch as they talked happily.
Lisa called out, "April, Nancy, it's time to get going or you will be late." They nodded and stood up. John walked over to the front door and put on his shoes, April and Nancy did the same. Right as John was walking out the door, Lisa grabbed him by the collar and kissed him before she walked off. Nancy was a little shocked, she didn't expect John to have this type of relation with Lisa.
Nancy looked at April and asked, "John is with Lisa as well?"
April answered, "He and Lisa got drunk one night and spent the night together. Lisa told me this morning that she is pregnant."
Nancy was surprised and asked, "She's having John's baby?"
April nodded and said, "Yeah, I can't wait to see the baby. It's going to be so cute."
Nancy looked over at John and said, "Yeah." The three of them walked to John's car and filed into the front. John sat in the driver seat while April and Nancy sat next to him. April put on the radio and a popular song played over the radio. April and Nancy sung along; John smiled as he drove to the school.
About 8 minutes later, they arrived at the school and John parked his car in his usual spot. Many people knew this was his spot and didn't even think about parking there. John and the girls got out of the car and rushed into the school. They only had about 3 minutes before the bell rang and they were late to class.
They briskly walked to their lockers, then the girl rummaged through their lockers grabbing everything they needed. They finished and Nancy gave John a quick hug before she bolted off to her class. John and April jogged to their class and arrived in their seats right before the bell rang throughout the school.
Nancy just finished her first class and was walking through the halls to her locker. On the way, she couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was staring at her and whispering discretely. Nancy arrived at her locker and opened it slowly. Suddenly, Steve popped out of seemingly nowhere and pushed her locker door. This made a small crashing sound and startled her greatly.
Steve said, "Hey!"
Nancy replied awkwardly, "Hey."
Steve asked, "Is everything okay? You left in a hurry last night."
Nancy said, "Yeah... Yeah, totally. I just... can't shake the feeling that everyone is staring at me."
Steve said, "I didn't tell anyone about what happened."
Nancy said, "I know. You wouldn't do something like that. But what about, like, Tommy and Carol?"
Steve said, "You're being paranoid."
Nancy said, "I'm sorry."
Steve said, "No. No, it's cute." Steve leaned in to kiss her cheek, but she moved back. Steve looked at her in confusion.
Nancy said anxiously, "I don't think we should see each other anymore."
Steve was stunned for a while before he asked quickly, "Why? I don't understand. Did I do something?"
Nancy said, "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just that..." Nancy sighed softly.
Nancy continued, "Since I started seeing you, my grades have dropped by a large margin. I don't think this relationship is good for me. I hope you will understand."
Steve got frustrated and slammed his fist into a locker before he walked away. Nancy was a little shaken by this sudden action but calmed down when she saw John standing right behind her. Nancy knew that if Steve tried something against her, John would wreck him. Nancy grabbed a book out of her locker and then talked to John and April for a short while before she walked to her next class.
When Nancy walked into her next class, she walked to her seat and sat down. She looked to her right where Barb usually sits and saw that the chair was empty. Thinking a little, she hadn't seen Barb in the other class either. Nancy was starting to get a little concerned, so she tapped the girl sitting in front of her. The girls turned to look back at her, her face had a questioning look.
Nancy said, "Hey, Ally. Where's Barb?"
Ally said, "Uhm, shouldn't you know? You hang out with her all the time."
Nancy asked, "You haven't seen her anywhere... at all?"
Ally said, "No." The Ally turned her head back to the front of the room. Nancy placed her chin on her hand as she grew even more worried. It was unlike Barb to not come to school. It was unlike Barb to abandon her like she did last night.
Nancy spent the rest of class looking over at Barb's desk and pondering where she could be. Nancy was completely unable to focus on the lesson being taught at all. Her worry of Barb's safety growing more and more, becoming the only thing she could think of. Nancy decided she would ask around some more, maybe someone had seen her, and she was just worrying for nothing.