CHAPTER THREE
HEATHKIT HAM SHACK

        From her seat in the back of Mr. Clarke's classroom, Alex glared at the empty space where the back of Will's head was always visible as if the sheer force of her stare would suddenly cause him to materialize out of thin air as if nothing had. He had not turned up at his locker or any of the other classes that they had shared.  Something about this made his sudden disappearance more real. She had been reluctant to believe that Will had truly disappeared, after all, Hawkins was a town where nothing bad ever happened; they lived in a small bubble of security, children grew up with each other into adulthood, trust and lifelong bonds were formed in Hawkins; the community is so tight-knit that no secret remains hidden forever.  Hawkins was a place where people could leave their doors unlocked at night without the slightest worry because nothing bad ever happened in Hawkins.  And yet the longer she stared at the spots that were empty in Will Byers' absence, the more the guilt manifested within her. She had been out that night too, it could have been her that disappeared without a trace, it should have been her, not Will.

And once again, she turned to her theory of a spider-web universe, and how out of every single universe that was born every second of every day, she had landed in the one where she was sitting and glaring at the empty seat before her. She knew that in one of those universes, in all of those outcomes, she knew that she was the one who had gone missing and not Will.

She had long since tuned Mr. Clarke's voice out, his voice, which usually engaged her in his lessons, was nothing more than a buzz in the back of her head. Her textbook was open in front of her, but she no longer turned the pages along with Mr. Clarke, her pencil tapped the desk in front of her lightly as she continued to glare at the empty seat. She didn't even notice when a note from Mindy Novak meant for Janet Busby, thrown across the classroom like a projectile, hit her on the back of the head, and fell lamely to the ground. A few times throughout the period, Mike, Dustin, or Lucas would turn in their seat to meet Alex's fiery gaze before looking away once more and returning to the lesson.

She was buried so far deep in her wandering thoughts and ever-growing guilt, preoccupied with staring at where Will typically would sit, that she didn't notice that the bell had rung throughout the school, marking the end of the period until half of the class had already left. Mr. Clarke had tried (and failed) to call after the students, already rapidly filing out of the classroom, but upon his realization that the students were paying no attention to his words, he trailed off in defeat. The only students that remained in the classroom were a despondent and unresponsive Alex, and the three eager A.V. club members, who as soon as Mr. Clarke trailed off gathered eagerly around his desk, chatter escaping from their lips. Alex wished that she could feel the same lighthearted, genuine excitement that they were feeling, but any chance of that had disappeared the moment she had answered the phone that morning. Sullenly, she began to pack up her binder and textbook, dropping them into her open backpack, making a dull thud as they hit the bottom of the bag.

"Alex," Mr. Clarke called.

"Huh? I mean, yes?" Alex snapped her head up to see that Mr. Clarke was standing in the doorway. His arms were crossed loosely over his chest, a look of concern had wormed its way onto his usually calm face, his eyebrows creasing as he watched his student.

"I just wanted to check in," He told her not unkindly. "You seemed ... out of it today."

Alex swung her backpack onto her shoulders and shrugged as she approached her science teacher. "Yeah, today's just not really my day." Mr. Clark nodded with a small, understanding smile. He patted Alex's shoulder as she passed by him and through the door before she paused and turned around, looking up at her teacher sheepishly. "Do you think you can tell me the homework?"

Mr. Clarke let out a soft chuckle. "Finish chapter twelve and answer 12.3 on the difference between an experiment and other forms of science exploration, which will be on the test."

"Thanks, Mr. Clarke," Alex responded with a rare, genuine smile. She turned on her heel and started down the hallway, towards the doors of the school, toward the freedom of her lunch period, more often than not spent eating her lunch under one of the many trees on the outskirts of campus when Mr. Clarke called after her. Curiously, she stopped in her tracks and turned once again to face her teacher.

"Would you care to join me and the rest of the boys in the A.V. Club, I think we have something that might help make your day better," Mr. Clarke offered. "Though, we better go quickly—that is if you want to come, I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do—the boys are waiting and they're very excited."

Alex pondered for a moment; she knew that nothing could shake her from the mood that had set over her early that morning or the uneasiness that Lucas and Dustin felt around her as if she were a bomb set to explode at any given moment, nor eradicate the glares from Mike. She also knew that Troy and James would not leave her alone for too long, they would regain their pride and they would be hunting for her in the schoolyard.  They were like sharks as soon as they had the slightest whiff of blood.  They would track her down eventually, and when they did, they wouldn't hesitate to attack, and though Alex was confident that she could easily hold them off, it didn't mean that she was indestructible. She wasn't going to burden Steve with more bloody noses and busted lips.

She shrugged and made her way over to Mr. Clarke who waited for her patiently. The walk down the hall was silent for the most part. The other students that inhabited the school during the long miserable hours of the day had all escaped to the glorious sunlight, basking in their freedom before they were herded back into the prison-like building with fading paint. The few who still lingered in the hallways turned their heads at the spectacle of Alex Harrington accompanying Mr. Clarke and looked away the moment she met their gaze.

Mr. Clarke didn't pressure her for answers to her morose demeanor. Of course, he had already started to come up with his own theories—it was no secret to Hawkins how infrequently Laura and Joseph Harrington spent time in their own home—it was only a matter of time before their constant absence would start to take a toll on Alex. While other children her age had overbearing parents who at times filled them with so much unconditional love that it felt as though they were about to combust, Alex had turned to her brother to give her what her parents sometimes failed to supply to her.

The boys were gathered around the A.V. Club door, glancing around anxiously in search of Mr. Clarke, the excited chatter hadn't died down. In fact, it only grew in its gusto when the boys' eager eyes landed on the approaching Mr. Clarke.  When they noticed that Alex had accompanied their science teacher, their faces dropped—only for a split second with a range of emotions: confusion, annoyance, and unease.  Though the excitement never left their eyes and they quickly resumed their excited chatter. Alex pretended not to notice how their excitement had dropped from their faces or the way her stomach had twinged ever so slightly. She knew that she was stupid thinking that the boys would be okay with her infringing on their club meeting, and yet on the walk to the A.V. Club, she had managed to get her hopes up far too high, and now she could feel them plummeting down.

As soon as he was close enough, Mr. Clarke tossed the keys to Dustin who eagerly caught them in between both of his hands and unlocked the door. The three boys burst into the classroom like a tidal wave, the door slammed against the wall, but they paid no mind, all swarming like bees around the singular desk in the center of the small room that took up a majority of the space.

A single swivel chair sat behind the desk and a few brooms were propped up against the wall in the corner of the small room. Cabinets and shelves lined the walls, stacked high and filled with materials for the A.V. Club; old radios, cameras, cases, and boxes layered in dust no doubt containing old instruments and pictures. Mr. Clarke followed after the boys more calmly with a proud grin on his face, though Alex could see the same amount of excitement that shone in his eyes. Alex strayed in the doorway, awkwardly shifting her weight from one foot to the other. watching the scene unfold before her, not feeling quite welcome in the environment. She finally watched to see what the boys were crowding around and found that a newly assembled, shining radio was sitting in the center of the desk.

"Yes!" Mike cheered softly, taking a seat in the swivel chair and placing the nearby headphones over his ears.

"The Heathkit Hamshack," said Mr. Clarke proudly. He glanced over at Alex, still lingering in the doorway, and beckoned for her to join them. "Ain't she a beaut?"

Alex shrugged, staring at the large radio. "Well, she's definitely. . . something."

"I bet you could talk to New York on this thing," Dustin speculated, his hand jumping toward one of the dials and twisting it around and around.

"Thank bigger," Mr. Clarke encouraged with a knowing grin.

"California?" Lucas supplied.

"Bigger," Mr. Clark responded, holding his hands apart for emphasis.

"Alaska?" Alex offered after a beat.

"Bigger."

"Australia?" Mike guessed. Mr. Clarke nodded in confirmation. The boys let out delighted laughs as Alex nodded, impressed by the power of such a small radio.

Lucas shook his head, an amazed grin had stretched across his face. It was clear that the excitement had muddled his filter because before he could stop himself, "When Will sees this, he's gonna blow his shit!"

"Lucas!" Mr. Clarke reprimanded.

Lucas turned back to face Mr. Clarke, a sheepish expression on his face. "Sorry."

Alex let out a small laugh at the quick cycle of expressions on Mr. Clarke's face and how seamlessly he had gone from easy-going to stern teacher, and back to fondly smiling in a matter of seconds. It was clear to her, however, that the boys often let foul words slip from their mouths from time to time, and that each time Mr. Clarke had witnessed this, he had slipped into the same cross-armed stance that she now saw beside her. After Lucas's apology, he had returned to the kind-hearted teacher with the fond smile and admiration in his eyes that had always silently cheered his students on.

Mr. Clarke had always been Alex's favorite teacher, there had always been something about him; how he seemed to genuinely enjoy teaching his students, even if half of the class never paid attention to his lectures; how he had always encouraged his students to explore and ask questions, every curiosity door would not go unopened by him, no matter how bizarre the question might be. But he acted as far more than just a teacher—he was a friend too in a way, he made an effort to know his students and offered profound advice whenever he could.

Mike held down a button and leaned closer to the microphone and in a fake Australian accent, he spoke, "'Ello, this is Mike Wheeler, president of the Hawkins MIddle A.V. Club—what are you doing?"

Dustin had pulled the headphones off of Mike's ears with an eager grin and slipped them on over his own ears. He leaned forward and with a faux Australian accent of his own, he greeted, "'Ello, this is Dustin Henderson, secretary and treasurer of Hawkins Middle A.V. Club. Do you eat kangaroos for breakfast?"

Lucas let out a gleeful laugh and jumped to pull the headphones off of Dustin's head, but at that moment, a knock sounded at the door. It was just a simple knock, three short raps, but those three knocks managed to shatter what joy and excitement had once filled the atmosphere. All five heads snapped in the direction of the doorway. Principal Coleman stood in the doorway, dressed in his usual three-piece suit and tie; a solemn expression had worked its way onto his face. Behind him stood a man dressed in a khaki uniform with his hair neatly combed back with a utility belt around his waist, there were no signs of friendliness nor sympathy, it was all seriousness.

"Sorry to interrupt," Principal Coleman apologized. "But, uh, can I borrow Michael, Lucas, and Dustin." His eyes wandered around the room before landing on Alex, who involuntarily gulped. "And, perfect, Alexandra's here too."

Alex felt her heart sink into the bottom of her chest.

author's note: so.  i wrote this like literally a year ago.  i wrote a lot of words.  and i am so sorry.  but i really didn't feel like rewriting this, but if you see a decline in the chapter qualities after like chapter four or so, it's because they were pre-written when i was in a whole prose zone.