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It’s the beginning of summer in Hawkins, and things are finally looking up. School is out, the weather is gorgeous, and the Upside Down is merely an afterthought. Stores are back open and running, crime rates are down (thank you Hop), and Erica has a summer job at Scoops, meaning free ice cream samples are inevitable. Even Joyce has lightened up—extending Will’s weekday curfew by a whopping hour. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and endless amounts of gossip at Starcourt, 10 hour campaigns, and trips to the arcade await. The party has it made.
Like any typical Friday night, things kick off in the Wheeler basement. El and Will are the first to show up with Jonathan as their chauffeur, followed almost immediately by Max on her skateboard, and Lucas on his bike, which he insists on riding everywhere in order to stay in shape for basketball season. Dustin is running late, as usual. Mike would probably be late too if it wasn’t his house.
Mike and Lucas are in the middle of a heated Atari battle when the doorbell finally rings. El unlocks the door telepathically for Dustin, who throws open the basement door and races down the stairs.
“I brought so much junk food you’re gonna flip!” he exclaims, grinning ear to ear.
Mike stares dumbfounded as Dustin empties the contents of his backpack onto the table. “What’s all that for?”
“For movie night. I made Steve take me shopping.”
“You couldn’t go yourself?”
“I needed his wallet.”
“So you’re mooching off Steve again?” Max pipes up from the couch.
Dustin shrugs. “He owed me. If it weren’t for my tutoring efforts he wouldn’t have passed biology this year.”
“So what’s the plan?” Max asks. “I feel like we’ve seen every movie there is.”
Unsurprisingly, Lucas is the first to agree. “Yeah, we should spice it up.”
“We could go and bother Steve and Robin down at the Squawk,” Dustin suggests.
“Of course that’s your idea of fun,” Max teases. She turns to Lucas. “Is your sister working tonight?”
“No, she’s spending the night somewhere. One of her nerdy friend’s houses.”
“So that rules out Scoops.” Max sighs in disappointment.
“I have an idea,” Will chimes in. “I was gonna wait to show you guys, but I brought something too.” He rustles in his pocket and extracts a small dime bag to reveal the holy grail.
Max and Mike’s eyes double in size. Lucas and Dustin share a collective gasp. Eleven is unsure what she’s looking at, but quickly picks up on the excitement.
“Is that….” Lucas squeaks in disbelief.
“The last of the Purple Palm Tree Delight. I found it under the seat of Jonathan’s car.”
“Guess those snacks are gonna come in handy tonight,” Dustin says, rubbing his hands together with a mischievous grin. Mike, Lucas, and Max get all giddy like little kids.
“What is it?” El asks timidly, cocking her head to get a better look.
“Only the best invention ever,” Max tells her. “It’s a plant that you roll up and smoke to make you feel relaxed.”
“Like, a cigarette?”
“Kind of. Only not as gross.”
The others nod, remembering the time they all stole a pack of Camels from Hopper and tried, unsuccessfully, to smoke it.
Mike looks to Will. “How do we roll it??”
“I have papers. And a lighter. Jonathan keeps it all in his glovebox.”
Will reaches in his other pocket to reveal the remainder of the haul. El’s eyes widen with concern.
“You stole from Jonathan??”
“Yeah, but he won’t know it’s missing. He doesn’t smoke anymore anyway. Just trust me, it’ll be worth it.”
“How are we gonna hide the smell?” Lucas whispers.
“Well, considering my dad’s out golfing, and my mom’s making whatever meatloaf concoction I’m getting a whiff of, it shouldn’t be hard. But we’ll crack a window,” Mike reasons.
“Let me do the rolling,” Max chimes in.
The boys and El all turn to gape at her, stunned.
“What? I’m from California.” She shrugs. “Plus I watched Billy do it like a million times.”
Will agrees, passing Max the supplies. Sure enough, she produces a beautifully compact specimen of Purple Palm Tree Delight. Everyone is gawking at it excitedly when the basement door squeaks open. Max hurriedly hides the joint in her pocket while the rest of the group scrambles to shield her. Holly stares innocently down at them from the top of the stairs.
“Mom says we’re having dinner in 15,” she chirps.
“We’re not hungry,” Mike tells her. “We already ate at the mall. And we have snacks.”
“Are you playing that dumb game again??”
“Yes we’re playing D&D and it’s going to be a long campaign so we’re going to be down here all night. Go away Holly.”
Holly pouts and shuts the door.
“That was an incredibly close call, “ Max huffs under her breath. “Maybe we should wait for your parents to go to bed.”
“That could be hours,” Mike moans.
“C’mon Mike we don’t want to get in trouble,”
“Fine. In the meantime we might as well finish our campaign.”
3 grueling hours and 1/2 a campaign later, the Wheeler house is finally silent.
Max brings out the joint, and everyone huddles around her with anticipation.
Will is the first to hit it. ‘Finder’s honors’, Dustin insists.
Mike is next. He takes an extra long draw, which leaves him hacking and earns him Max’s merciless ridicule.
“You have the weakest lungs out of anyone I know, Wheeler” she laughs, exhaling seamlessly.
Mike flips her the bird in between coughs.
Max passes it off to Lucas who takes a small polite draw in an attempt to spare his lungs for basketball. Dustin goes all in with a 15 second inhale. Everyone is stunned when he doesn’t cough, to which he shrugs and replies “I’ve done it with Steve.”
Dustin then hands it off to El, who holds it gingerly in between her fingers and looks around at her friends for help.
“Just put it to your lips, and breathe in,” Max instructs her. “But not too much.”
El does as she’s told but stops after a few seconds, looking visibly disgusted. She coughs a few times, makes eye contact with Max and giggles.
“It burns.”
“You’ll get used to it. Unless you’re Mike.”
Mike shoots Max a dirty look. The joint makes it way around one more time, but El hesitates once again.
“If I do too much, what’s gonna happen?” She asks.
“You don’t have to take another if you don’t want to El,” Max assures her.
“I want to. I want to be relaxed, like you said”
“I’m starting to feel relaxed,” Dustin giggles.
“Me too,” Will agrees. “This stuff works fast.”
El takes another tiny hit. And another.
“Do you feel anything yet?” Mike asks.
Eleven shakes her head.
“Take a long one,” Dustin suggests.
“Guys, stop. It’s her first time,” Max interjects.
El looks at Mike for reassurance.
He shrugs. “One more won’t hurt.”
El concedes and takes a long hefty draw before erupting into a coughing fit. Max quickly supplies her with nearest glass of water, which she gulps down before sinking to the floor and curling up in Mike’s arms.
“Why does it burn??” She rasps.
“Just wait for it to kick in,” Mike assures her. “Lucas, has it kicked in for you?”
"It’s DEFINITELY kicked in for me,” Lucas chuckles, his eyes beginning to get low, “If Coach ever finds out I’m dead.”
“If my mom finds out I’m dead,” Will adds.
“You guys, it’s SUMMER. Who gives a shit what anybody else thinks??? We’re allowed to have a little fun once in a while,” Dustin reminds them.
Lucas nudges Dustin. “What do you say we bust out those snacks?”
“So much for staying athletic,” Max jokes.
“I want pizza,” Mike declares. “Does anyone else want pizza?”
Silence.
“We’re broke,” Max reminds him.
“Have a Dorito,” Dustin urges Mike, his mouth already full of them.
“So, how’s everyone feeling?” Will asks
“High as a kite,” Dustin trills.
Mike and Lucas nod. Max glances over at El, still as statue in Mike’s lap.
“Eleven?”
El begins to giggle and doesn’t stop.
“Okay, so she’s definitely feeling it,” Max concurs. “We’re all DEFINITELY feeling it.”
A few minutes pass and the only sound that can be heard is that of Dustin and Lucas’s Dorito crunching. El excuses herself to the bathroom to splash water on her face because her eyelids feel unusually droopy, which Will assures her ‘means it’s working’.
More silence.
“I’m bored,” Lucas blurts out. “So. bored.”
“We should start another campaign,” Mike exclaims, his bloodshot eyes suddenly lighting up.
Max collapses onto the ground into a fit of laughter, shocking the group.
“I’m sorry,” she says breathlessly, gathering herself. “It’s just so funny… you really are the biggest nerd alive, Wheeler.”
Mike is too far gone to insult her back, but Dustin lets out a chuckle. This gets his attention.
“Something funny, Henderson?” he demands.
Dustin begins laughing hysterically. Will and Max join in. Mike looks around like a lost puppy for someone to come to his defense, but Lucas is too deeply concentrated on his bag of Doritos to care and El is taking a suspiciously long time in the bathroom.
“Should someone go check on El?” Dustin asks.
“I will,” Max says, rolling her eyes. “I told you idiots not to give her another hit.”
Max sobers up the minute she stands up, suddenly overwhelmed with concern for Eleven. Sure enough, she finds her curled up in a ball on the tiles of the Wheeler’s bathroom, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Max sinks to the ground.
“Shit, El??” She softly shakes her. El’s eyes open and widen once she sees Max.
“Max.”
“Yeah, it’s me. Are you okay??”
“Everything feels… fuzzy. Dizzy.”
“Yeah, it’ll do that to you.”
“How long is this going to last?”
“Hard to tell. But probably another few hours.”
“Hop’s gonna kill me.”
“Hop won’t find out. You can stay at my house tonight.”
“I want a waffle.” El’s eyes are low and glazed over. Max watches in real time as the munchies begin to hit her.
“Unfortunately we don’t have any waffles, but Dustin brought a ton of snacks. Although we should probably go back out there before he and Lucas eat them all.”
El lets out a soft strained laugh. Max helps her up.
“Better?”
“A little.”
“Okay. Just remember, nothing bad is going to happen.”
Right as Max and El exit the bathroom, the phone begins to ring, cutting sharply through the groggy silence. Lucas gets so startled he flings his Doritos off his lap, causing Dustin to enter another fit of laughter. Mike is in some sort of trance, pulling up threads from the carpet and staring at the same spot. Will, the only one left with any sense, hushes Dustin and gets up to answer the phone, nearly plowing into Max and El and tripping over Mike as he does.
“Hello?”
“Will, honey, is that you?” It’s Joyce. The group gawks at Will expectantly, a flurry of whispers ensuing. He covers the phone and mouths at them to shut up.
“Yeah, hi Mom.”
“Is everything okay? I was just about to go to bed but I noticed you weren’t home yet. Are you staying at Mike’s?”
“Yeah, I’m sleeping at Mike’s.” His words come out sluggish and sloppy.
“Will, honey, I can barely hear you. Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yes, Mom!” Will whines. “We were just watching a movie. I’m gonna stay over at Mike’s.”
Joyce lets out a long sigh. “Okay, well as long as it’s alright with Karen. I love you, sweetie—please be safe.”
“Mom, we’re in Mike’s basement. Nothing’s gonna happen.” Right as the words leave Will’s mouth, Mike spills an entire can of Coke all over Dustin.
“JESUS CHRIST!” Dustin screams. Mike buries his head in his palms, equally high and embarrassed.
“What was that??” Joyce asks, panic growing in her voice.
“Nothing, just—Mike spilled something… okay Mom I love you I really have to go bye!” Will slams the phone into the receiver and whips around to face the party.
“Seriously??”
“Sorry,” Mike moans. Max scrambles to get paper towels to help Dustin out.
“These are my favorite pants!” Dustin pouts.
“Real nice, Wheeler,” Max sneers, mopping up the mess from the carpet. “And you, guess you’re no help at all.” She glares playfully at Lucas, who has now moved onto his second bag of Doritos.
Will sighs, exasperated at their shenanigans, and plops down next to a practically incoherent Mike. There is a brief silence. Mike’s red eyes move across the room to El.
“Hey, where’d you come from?”
“God, you’re really losing it, aren’t you?” Will shakes his head.
El doesn’t say anything. Mike stares at her blankly.
Max interjects. “She’s fine, right El?”
No response.
“El??”
El finally snaps out of it.
“Yeah. Fine.”
“Here, try this.” Max tosses El a Twinkie. “It’s not an Eggo, but it’s the next best thing.”
“Dude, we have Twinkies?” Lucas looks up, excitement flickering across his face.
Dustin also perks up. “Twinkie? Did you say Twinkie? I want a Twinkie.”
“You literally BROUGHT the Twinkies,” Lucas reminds him
Max shakes her head at their idiocy.
“Yes, there are Twinkies, but we have to ration them. You two have nearly blown through our entire snack supply.”
Lucas frowns and Dustin groans.
“Your wife is strict,” Dustin says to Lucas, barely above a whisper.
Max grabs the nearest pillow and smacks him with it. She misses his can of Coke by a mere inch. Dustin shrieks.
“Hey, violence is not cool,” Lucas says disapprovingly.
“You guys have to keep it down or we’ll wake up Mike’s parents,” Will reminds them. He turns to Mike. “Did I sound high on the phone? Do you think my mom knows??”
Nothing. Mike’s head is elsewhere.
“No,” Lucas finally says, leaning over and patting Will on the knee reassuringly. “You killed that, man.”
Lucas turns to Max. “Please can I have a Twinkie, just one. Dustin and I will split it.”
Dustin looks offended. “Speak for yourself, I want my own damn Twinkie.”
“Fine.” Max rolls her eyes, sliding them each an individual Twinkie. Lucas grins like a little kid, taking one bite and proceeding to melt into Max’s lap.
“This is by far the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” he says through mouthfuls, staring up at her with glossy eyes. Max can’t help but laugh, placing her hand gently against his head.
“You really are an idiot,” she says affectionately
“Get a room,” Dustin jokes, Twinkie crumbs spewing from his mouth. Mike is now leaning on his shoulder, profusely apologizing for the Coke incident and slurring his words. El is still nonverbal, her unwrapped Twinkie sitting in her lap.
“El,” Will nudges her. “You good?”
“If you don’t want your Twinkie I’ll take it,” Lucas proclaims. Max gives him a playful slap.
“My mouth feels dry,” El says.
Dustin, ever the intellect, nods in solidarity. “Dry mouth. Textbook symptom. Want a Coke? As long as you promise not to spill it on me.”
“I SAID I WAS SORRY!” Mike moans.
Dustin pats him on the back. “Tell that to the stain on my pants.”
Max rolls her eyes, passing Eleven a can. She sips her Coke gingerly and takes a bite of her Twinkie. Slowly the light begins to come back into her eyes.
“Good, right?” Max smiles proudly.
El nods, silently savoring the sweet taste in her mouth.
“Really good.”
All of a sudden the phone starts to ring. Everyone freezes. Nobody budges.
“Jesus, do I have to do everything around here??” Max huffs, standing up to answer the phone herself. “Hello?”
Max’s eyes get wide and fearful. She cups her hand over the phone.
“It’s Hopper.”
There is a collective panic. El snaps up.
“Give me the phone.”
“Are you sure—”
“Max, give me the phone.”
Max reluctantly agrees.
“Hi, Hop.”
“Hey kid. I just wanted to call and check in. Joyce is real worried, something about Will acting weird on the phone….”
“Will’s fine. I’m fine. We’re all fine. I’m going to stay at Max’s tonight. Everything’s fine.”
All of a sudden footsteps upstairs. A light flickers on. Panic ensues, along with the frantic rustling of chip bags.
“Shit,” Dustin exclaims.
“Dude, you gotta act cool,” Lucas whispers, shaking a half-asleep Mike.
“Hop, I have to go.”
“Wait, El—”
El hangs up the phone. They’re all in for it. The door creaks open and Nancy’s tired silhouette emerges.
“What the hell is going on down here?”
“Nothing!” El, Max, Dustin, Lucas, and Will erupt in unison. Mike doesn’t say anything. Nancy surveys the basement, unimpressed.
“We were just, playing D&D!” Dustin nervously exclaims. The others nod in agreement.
“Yeah, well the phone upstairs keeps ringing, and we’re all trying to sleep.” Her eyes dart over everyone that isn’t Mike. “Do your parents know that you’re here?”
There is a chorus of yes’s and frantic nods. Nancy glances over at her brother, who looks like a zombie.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He ummm, ate too many Doritos. He’s not feeling his best,” Lucas offers, patting Mike on the back. Nancy rolls her eyes and huffs.
“Okay well, some advice for the future—if you’re going to smoke pot in the basement, at least try to cover up the smell.” She shoots Mike a menacing look before slamming the door.
“No way, she knows....” Lucas begins to panic. “This is bad. Mike, this is bad!”
Mike slumps over, unfazed.
“Relax, she won’t tell anyone,” Will assures him. “She never ratted Jonathan out to my mom, and he was high every day of his senior year.”
“That’s way different! Jonathan’s her boyfriend!”
“WAS her boyfriend,” Dustin interjects.
“Oh right, forgot you’re trying to fill the position!”
“Guys, calm down,” Max urges them “It’s late, she’s tired, she’s not gonna snitch”
“What if she tells the cops????” Lucas whimpers.
El immediately enters fight or flight at the mention of the cops
“Hopper will ground me,” she tells Max, her eyes full of fear.
“Would you guys PLEASE relax??? Nobody is telling the cops anything.”
All of a sudden, a strange light fills the room. Headlights. Will and Dustin jump up to peer out the window.
“IT’S THE COPS!” Dustin yells.
“SHUT UP.” Max hisses. “You want to wake up the whole house now too???”
She joins them at the window.
“Oh…. fuck. Hop’s here.”
Mike is a zombie. Lucas and El are frantic. Will starts pacing.
“What do we do what do we do??”
“We act CALM. We go out there, and talk to him.”
“What about Mike???” Will hisses, “He can barely keep his eyes open!”
“If Hop finds out…. he’ll kill Mike,” El buries her head in her hands. Will reaches over to console her.
“He’s not gonna find out,” Max assures El, squeezing her hand. “I’ll go up there with you. And Will. The rest of you, stay down here and shut up.”
Max, El, and Will tiptoe up the basement stairs and into the hallway, opening the door right in the nick of time before Hop rings the doorbell and wakes up the entire Wheeler household. Hopper looks startled.
“Hi,” Max says awkwardly. “We saw your headlights.”
Hopper surveys his children. El is holding onto Will for dear life. Both of them are trying to look as sober as possible. Max puts on a robotic smile, trying to diffuse the tension.
“Joyce wants the both of you home,” He explains to them. “She’s very worried. Plus it’s late.”
“We were just playing D&D,” Will offers. “The campaign got really intense. We didn’t have time for phone calls.”
“Mike fell asleep,” Eleven blurts out. “And Dustin. And Lucas.
“Right,” Hopper huffs, unconvinced. “Well, I think it’s time to go. Goodnight, kid,” He nods at Max before starting off toward his truck. Max gives El a hug and Will a reassuring squeeze. They all share a collective look of doom.
El and Will stumble into Hopper’s backseat with defeat. Hop studies them in his rearview mirror as he puts the key in the ignition.
“Dungeons and Dragons, huh.”
They both nod.
“And Mike Wheeler asleep at 10:30. That’s a new one.”
Nods again. Hop lets out an exasperated sigh and kills the engine.
“Listen. The more I think about it, the less I feel like explaining to Joyce why you two smell like Purple Palm Tree Delight and have pupils the size of a small planet, so here’s what we’re gonna do: I’m going to pretend that this never happened, and let you go about your night. In return, I ask that you NEVER let me see either of you in this state ever again, and certainly never let your mother see.” He eyes Will carefully. “Deal?”
Will and El look at Hopper like he just got struck by lighting.
“God, you kids. Do we have a deal or not??”
“Yes,” El finally says. “Deal.”
“Great,” Hop exhales sharply. “Now get out of my truck before you make it smell.”
They do as they’re told without sparing a second. Hopper watches as they sprint away giggling, knocking on the basement window to get the attention of the others. Just teenagers being teenagers in a town that once demanded them to have the strength of adults. After all, they’re allowed to have a little fun once in a while.