{The Pollywog, Part II}

Alice spent the rest of the school day alternating between fuming and pouting. She wondered if she scared Nancy off, which made her feel guilty, but then she felt mad about being guilty because she probably had nothing to be guilty about. It was an emotional rollercoaster.

After eighth period, Alice waited in the high school's parking lot for Dustin. She fidgeted with a Rubik's Cube, glancing around for Nancy. She wanted to apologize again and try to smooth things over by inviting her to watch movies at the Henderson residence that weekend.

There was no sign of Nancy, though. In fact, there was no sign of Steve or Jonathan, either. That was strange.

"Waiting for someone?"

Alice snapped her head to her right, where she noticed new kid Billy leaning against his Camaro.

"I am, in fact," she said coolly. Dustin told her Billy tried to run him, Lucas, and Mike off the road on Halloween, and it infuriated her to no end. However, Dustin begged her not to do anything about it, claiming that Billy was "too unhinged" and would "decimate Alice" if she tried to fight him. Alice didn't appreciate his low confidence in her, but decided to respect his wishes.

She continued flipping the sides of the Rubik's Cube, ignoring Billy's leering gaze. It cut into her like a million pinpricks, and she hated how it made her feel.

"Who're you waiting for? Your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, no," Alice said. "I'm waiting for my brother."

"We're in the same boat, then," Billy said. He waited for Alice to say something else. When she didn't, he added, "I'm waiting for my bitchy step-sister. I'm Billy Hargrove."

Billy stuck out a hand to shake, and Alice eyed it suspiciously before returning the gesture.

"Alice Henderson."

"Oh, so you're Alice?" Billy said, eyebrows raised. "Interesting."

When you meet someone new and tell them your name, you want them to say, "Nice to meet you," or, "I've heard so many good things about you!" "Interesting" was not what you wanted to hear.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alice snapped, continuing her Rubik's Cube quest.

"I've just heard a lot about you, that's all," Billy said. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket. "People say you were in a coma or some shit."

"Yep," Alice said. She continued to spin her cube. Maybe if she spun the colorful squares fast enough, she'd hypnotize Billy into forgetting she was there and this conversation could be over.

"Tommy H. says it turned you into a freak," Billy continued. "You're in luck—I happen to like freaky girls."

Alice's face burned.

"Well, that's too bad," she mumbled. "Because I don't like boys who try to turn my brother into roadkill."

"What was that?" Billy said, glowering.

"You heard me!" Alice said louder, a scathing edge to her voice.

Billy stepped closer, red in the face.

"Tommy H. also said you were an annoying bitch," he said. "I guess he's 2 for 2."

"I guess so," Alice said. Despite feeling uncomfortable about how close Billy was—and about how furious he looked—she stood her ground, refusing to break eye contact. "Now, did you actually need something from me? Or were you just trying to get in my pants, before you decided to Hulk out?"

Billy opened his mouth to respond—no doubt to say something horribly disgusting—but Alice got distracted by a familiar green car zipping into the middle school parking lot. Joyce's car.

And if Joyce was coming in hot, it only meant one thing: Will was in trouble.

"Listen here, Henderson, no one disrespects me—"

"So, this has been fun," Alice deadpanned. She tossed the puzzle in her backpack. "But I've got to jet. Try not to kill any middle schoolers on your ride home, champ."

She mounted her bike and zipped down the hill toward the junior high, ignoring Billy's colorful name-calling as he shouted after her.

Alice threw her bike at the bike rack, not bothering to lock it. She saw Joyce race toward Will in the field behind the school. Alice followed, frowning when she noticed her brother and his friends calling his name.

"What's going on?" she asked, running up to them.

"Something's wrong with Will!" Joyce cried out. "Will! Will! Can you hear me? Sweetie, wake up, it's Mom!"

Will stood stock still, eyes rolled back in his head. He seemed unconscious, like his mind was somewhere else entirely.

"Let me try something," Alice asked, reaching down to grab Will's hand. She figured she could try and use her powers to heal him, to maybe blast him back to consciousness.

The Mindflayer had other plans. It didn't like the heat radiating from Alice. It didn't like how when she touched Will's hand, he grew stronger. It especially didn't like how she didn't seem afraid of anything.

Before Alice could fully revive Will, the Mindflayer sent a shock through his hand and into Alice. She gasped, stumbling backward and falling on her ass.

"Alice!" Dustin raced to her side. "What happened?"

"He shocked me!" Alice said, looking down at her hand. A small scar in the shape of jagged lightning graced her palm. Her nose bled, and she expected the scar to fade away until it was imperceptible.

It didn't.

Before Alice could wig out about that new development, Will gasped. His eyes rolled back into place, and he staggered forward.

"Will!" Joyce cried out. "Are you all right?"

"I—I—" Will couldn't seem to articulate what he'd just seen. He was terrified.

"Let's get you home," Joyce said kindly, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "You can take a sick day. And I'll be sure to call Dr. Owens. Maybe he can explain this..."

Joyce continued to be a mother hen, fussing over Will and leading him to her car. Dustin helped Alice back up while his friends whispered about what just transpired.

"Are you good?" Lucas asked. His eyes flicked to her palm and then back to her face. "You look like shit."

"Wow, Lucas," Alice said sarcastically. "Thanks for that."

Mike reached for Alice's hand, flipping it palm-up.

"Why is that scar still there," Mike asked, eyes wide. "That doesn't make sense."

"Nothing in this town makes sense!" Max interrupted. "What the hell just happened to Will?"

"He's sick," Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Alice said simultaneously.

"Wow, that's not suspicious at all," Max deadpanned. "I swear, one of these days you all have to tell me what's going on."

"Come on, Dustin," Alice said, shoving her scarred palm in her jacket pocket. "Let's go home. I've had enough weirdness for one day."

The kids all shared a look before heading in the direction of their bikes, wondering if Will was going to be okay.

{Edited July 22, 2022; Republished December 21, 2024}

A/N [from 2019] Thanks for all the people reading, voting, and commenting on this story! I've got big plans for Alice and the rest of the gang. When I get a chance, I'm going to write some filler chapters to bridge the Seasons 1 and 2 gap. Then, I'm going to add filler chapters between Season 2 and 3, and even write some post-Season 3 stuff while we wait the long, long wait for Season 4. I'm excited!

Here's a Question of the Day: Would you rather get possessed by the Mindflayer or get stalked by a Demogorgon?

(Also I've been listening to Weezer's Teal Album and I've decided that album is the new official soundtrack for this story. I don't make the rules—Weezer does.)

- rachel x