OCTOBER 12, 1984

THE DRIVE TO HAWKINS FELT LIKE IT HAD TAKEN YEARS by the time they entered the city limits. Georgia had watched the flat plains of the Midwest skim by for the last several hours, trapped in the passenger seat of her mom's old station wagon. She had lost count of the number of corn and soybean fields they'd passed on their drive, and they'd run through all of their cassette tapes at least twice.

But finally, finally, they were back in Hawkins.

Georgia hadn't seen the small town she'd once called home since the summer before her sixth grade year, when her dad's job relocated her family all the way out to Middle of Nowhere, Wisconsin. She never thought she'd see a town smaller than Hawkins, and yet somehow, Brooklyn had managed.

But the death of her grandfather had brought her and her mom back home, and things could not be more different than how she'd left them.

Sure, downtown Hawkins looked the same as it ever did. Melvald's General Store still sat right across from the courthouse, flanked on either side by Radio Shack and the Hideaway Bar. But the street they turned down to head to their new home was not the same street Georgia remembered. Her old home was on the other end of Hawkins, by her mom's friend Joyce's house. This neighborhood was where her grandparents had always lived, but even that had changed. Now it was just her grandmother's house, which stood in all its familiar glory as they drove past, turning into a driveway just a few doors down.

Georgia couldn't help but feel a little grateful that things were so different. If they'd moved back to their old home, the absence of her father would stand out, sucking away so many good memories of her childhood into the black hole that was her parents' divorce. No, it was just Georgia and her mom now. A fresh start should include a new house on a new street, untainted by the before.

Georgia's mother, Naomi, looked over at her from the driver's seat as she put the car in park, an expectant look on her face, as though asking, Is it good enough? Georgia gave her mom an appreciative smile before turning to get out of the car so she could get a better look at the house. The car creaked as Georgia opened the door, weighed down from all the boxes of memories stacked up wherever they could fit, desperate not to leave anything behind.

The house before them, a brick bungalow with little green shutters on the windows and a solid wood front door, was nothing special, but it looked cozy and comfortable, and that was all Georgia needed. She looked back over at Naomi, who now stood on the other side of the car, and nodded. "It looks great, Mom," she said.

"Thank God," Naomi replied with a laugh, "because it was one of very few options." She paused, turning her head to glance back down the street, her long, curly brown hair whipping around in the biting October wind. "I would've preferred not living this close to my mother, but... I guess, given the circumstances, it's not the worst idea." Naomi fell silent as she turned back towards the car, and Georgia uncomfortably averted her gaze down towards her Converse shoes. Neither of them liked talking about Grandpa's death, but Georgia knew that her mother couldn't help it. It was impossible to avoid the subject entirely.

The sound of Naomi opening one of the car doors jostled Georgia out of her thoughts, and she tossed her curly mane of hair back over her shoulders before opening the door on her side of the car to grab a box from the backseat. The label "Soccer Gear" adorned the top of the taped-up cardboard box, scribbled haphazardly in black Sharpie. Georgia smiled softly at the label as she carried the box over to the garage door. She'd lost all interest in soccer when she moved away and realized that her best friends were the only reason she enjoyed playing in the first place, but she kept on with the sport to appease her parents. Now that she was back, however, Georgia was excited to play again—well, she was excited to see Jennifer and Robin again, at least. Hopefully, they still played, too.

Georgia and her mother trekked back and forth, unloading the car memory by memory, christening their new house with cardboard. They'd almost completely emptied the backseat when they heard a voice call out from the end of the driveway.

"Naomi! Georgia!" Georgia looked up to see her grandmother, Edith, walking towards them, her face bearing a very tired smile. The last several weeks were no doubt the worst for her out of any of them, and Georgia figured she must be grateful to see that her only remaining family made it into town safely. Georgia ran up to her grandmother and threw her arms around her in a tight embrace.

"Hey, Grandma," said Georgia softly, taking in her grandmother's scent of aged vanilla and cigarette smoke. Edith pulled away and met Georgia with a piercing grey-eyed stare, as though she was taking in every inch of her granddaughter's appearance.

"Hi, Dear," Edith replied before looking over at Naomi. "I saw you two pull in and I just thought I'd come over and see if you needed help bringing anything into the house."

Naomi's gaze flickered briefly over to Georgia, and they shared a silent agreement that Edith had definitely not walked over just to help unpack their belongings.

"I appreciate the offer, Mom, but you're not going to be much help if you throw out your back and I have to take you to the hospital," Naomi said with a short laugh as she walked over to the side of the house to open the garage door and began punching in the code to the garage door opener.

Edith shrugged, letting out a laugh as well. "Now that's fair," she admitted. "Is there anything else that needs done that I could help with?"

Naomi hit the final button on the keypad before pausing as the garage door began to roll up, the motor whirring loudly. After a moment, she said, "Actually, could you take Georgia down to the school and get her enrolled? I have to finish up here and then head down to the station, Jim wants me to get my paperwork done as soon as possible."

Georgia sucked in a harsh breath. She knew her grandmother had fought with her mom about her new job—Edith wasn't the biggest supporter of Naomi's new position as an officer within the Hawkins Police Department and had made that abundantly clear when she found out. But, to Georgia's surprise, her grandmother didn't hesitate once in her response.

"Absolutely," Edith said with a smile. "Just let me bring my car around."

◡̈

HAWKINS HIGH SCHOOL LOOKED IDENTICAL to what Georgia remembered. The green and gold detailings on its brick walls were just as faded and the tiger mural on the side of the building was just as chipped as they each were five years ago.

She'd only entered the high school for town events when she was little, so she had very few vivid memories of the school's interior. Yet the grey and white locker-lined hallways carried that same nostalgic feeling for Georgia as did the rest of Hawkins, like she was greeting an old friend. Georgia and her grandmother made their way to the main office just as the bell rang to dismiss class, narrowly escaping the rush of students flooding into the hallways.

Edith struck up a conversation with the front desk worker as Georgia stood awkwardly behind her grandmother, her eyes wandering around the room to land on basketball trophies, academic awards, Halloween decorations to celebrate the upcoming holiday, and the window separating the office from the hallway. She watched her peers wander through the maze of their fellow students, and as a gap in the crowd cleared, Georgia caught sight of a familiar face.

She was partially turned away from view, but Georgia immediately recognized her childhood best friend. Robin Buckley sported the same short, brunette bob she'd had since they were four years old, and her smile radiated down the hallway like it used to on the soccer field after they'd win a game. Georgia couldn't help but allow a small smile to creep up on her face as she looked on, but it quickly slid off her face as she saw Robin deep in conversation with a tall, lanky, blond boy she'd never seen before and any sense of familiar comfort she'd anticipated upon her return took a sharp nosedive out the window. She looked away, unable to ward off the feeling that she'd been replaced, and returned her focus to her grandmother and registering for classes.

It took Georgia and Edith the entirety of the next class period to finalize her enrollment and register her for her classes. By the time they were done, the bell had rang to dismiss class yet again, leaving Georgia and her grandmother to navigate the sea of students as they made their way to the building's exit. They pushed past a pair of girls in cheerleading uniforms and went to round the corner to the main doors when Georgia heard a voice behind her call out her name. She whipped around to see one of the cheerleaders waving at her, her face a mixed expression of surprise and excitement.

Georgia stumbled backwards in shock as she realized she was met face-to-face with her other staple childhood friend, Jennifer Miller, though she looked nothing like how Georgia remembered. Her black hair was pulled back with an orange scrunchie into a curled ponytail and she donned a pristine green and orange Hawkins High School cheerleading uniform. As Georgia continued to blankly stare at her unrecognizable friend, she began to realize who the others were that surrounded Jennifer. The other cheerleader was Chrissy Cunningham, and next to her stood...was that Steve Harrington? With his arm around Nancy Wheeler?

"Jennifer?" Georgia sputtered, completely dumbstruck and still not quite certain if she was seeing things or not. Jennifer jumped forward to wrap her arms around Georgia in a tight hug, which she returned after a moment of hesitation.

Jennifer bounced back onto her heels, holding Georgia's arms in her hands and grinning widely. She was just as energetic and bubbly as Georgia remembered, but she still couldn't quite move past her friend's drastic change in appearance and social circle.

"I didn't know you were moving back home!" Jennifer squealed. "Oh, it's so good to see you—you remember Chrissy, Steve, and Nancy, right?" She gestured to the others standing with her, and they all smiled and waved, greeting Georgia warmly as she nodded in recognition and cautiously smiled back. The only one that seemed as apprehensive as Georgia was Nancy, but that made sense. Nancy never had much interest in befriending Georgia or her friend group growing up, and there was a small part of Georgia that believed that the only reason Nancy was there at all was because of Steve.

But that only then begged the question, when did Jennifer become friends with the likes of Chrissy Cunningham and Steve Harrington? They grew up making fun of the popular kids, laughing at them always trying to look suave while making idiots out of themselves. Now, Jennifer was one of them? Georgia's attention returned to her friend's cheerleading outfit as a realization suddenly struck her.

"You're cheerleading now? Are you still playing soccer? I was—uh, I was planning on joining the team again," Georgia asked hopefully.

Jennifer's smile faltered briefly. "Oh, um, no, I don't play anymore," she said quietly. "When I joined the cheerleading squad, they told me it conflicted too much with soccer, so I had to choose. Like, we have to be at the football game tonight, but girl's soccer plays at Muncie Central. So I wouldn't have been able to do both. I'm really sorry."

"No, no, it's okay," Georgia replied, even though she felt a heavy weight plummet harshly into her stomach. She thought back to the box of soccer gear sitting outside the garage back at home and wondered why she even bothered bringing it back to Hawkins with her. She wouldn't have even been able to play that season anyway, so what, was she supposed to wait and only play at Hawkins her senior year? And without her friends? What a waste.

Her eyes wandered down the hallway where once again she caught sight of Robin; this time, however, Robin saw her as well, and Georgia watched her face soften as the two shared a smile and a small wave. Hopefully, she's still on the team.

"Oh, hey, do you need a ride to school?" Jennifer's voice snapped Georgia back out of her thoughts and returned her to the conversation. "I can ask Joanne if she's okay with picking you up. Mom pretty much only ever drives the squad car anymore, so Jo's been driving her car."

Georgia couldn't help but let out a laugh. It sounded like Joanne, Jennifer's older sister, hadn't changed a bit. Their mother, Renee, had worked at the police station for as long as Georgia could remember; in fact, her own mother was hired on as Renee's new partner. If Renee was primarily using her squad car, Georgia knew Joanne would have commandeered the family car. She could almost hear Joanne's voice justifying it in her head.

"That would be great, actually, thank you," Georgia admitted.

Jennifer's smile returned full-force. "Awesome! Are you back at your old place?"

"No, uh, we're on the other side of town now. It's 317 Palumbo, I think."

"Okay! I'll let Jo know." Jennifer lifted her hands to her face in excitement before leaning forward to give Georgia another hug. "Oh, I just can't believe you're really back. Okay, okay, I'll let you go, I bet you have a lot of unpacking to do. I'll see you Monday!"

Georgia's grandmother, who she'd entirely forgotten was still waiting patiently behind her, placed a hand on her shoulder, beckoning her to come. Georgia said good-bye to the others before turning to follow Edith out of the building. She glanced back over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of Robin with the tall blonde boy once more before they were both obstructed from view.

She knew she should have expected it, but as Georgia sat down in the passenger seat of her grandmother's car, she suddenly realized just how crushing it felt to have the entire town move on without her.

Things in Hawkins really could not have been more different than how she'd left them.