THEY SIT IN SCIENCE, Mariella, Lucas and Dustin occupying three of the front row seats while Mike and Will sit behind Lucas and Dustin.

Mr. Clarke places a model of a brain onto the front desk and looks to the students with an excited smile. "Meet the human brain. I know. I know, it doesn't look like much. A little gross even, right? But consider this. There are a hundred billion cells inside of this miracle of evolution," He goes on.

The party exchanging excited glances as they listen intently. Mariella hurriedly etching down numbers in a messy scrawl as she listens loosely to Mr. Clarke.

"All working as one. No, no, I did not misspeak. I did not stutter. A hundred billion!" Mr. Clarke goes on. A girl in the back popping her bubblegum at the same time. Mariella scoffs, shaking her head and continuing to write down random numbers and adding them together.

The classroom door shuts, everyone's attention turning to it. Watching as a girl with red hair enters, blowing air from her mouth, followed by the principal.

"Ah, this must be our new student," Mr. Clarke says, gesturing to her.

"Indeed. All yours," The principal responds.

"All right. Hold up there. You don't get away that easy," Mr. Clarke chuckles, stopping her from sitting down, the principal exiting the room. "Come on up. Don't be shy. Dustin, drum roll," He adds, nodding to Dustin who closed his textbook and began patting against it.

"Class, please welcome, all the way from sunny California, The latest passenger to join on our curiosity voyage, Maxine," Mr. Clarke explains excitedly, pointing to her.

Maxine shakes her head. "It's Max," She sighs, Dustin's smile fading as he watches her.

"Sorry?" Mr. Clarke asks.

"Nobody calls me Maxine. It's Max," Max repeats, shaking her head.

The party looking to one another and Lucas whispering. "Mad Max".

"Well, all abroad, Max," Mr. Clarke smiles as she clambers to the back of class and sits down. The party's gaze following her, curiously.

♧

The boys stood at the fence, watching as Max skateboarded around the schools pavement. Mariella stood behind them, rolling her eyes at their cluelessness of even speaking to girls.

"There's no way that's Mad Max," Mike shakes his head.

"Yeah. Girls don't play video games," Will adds.

"What am I? Am I a joke to you? Huh?" Mariella pipes in, shoving in between Dustin and Mike, nudging Will's arm who shook his head no.

"Sorry, Mars-Bar. I mean... You're the only girl—" He begins.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it," Mariella waves off with a laugh.

"And even if they did, you can't get 750,000 points on Dig Dug!" Mike goes on. "It's impossible,".

"But her name name is Max," Lucas says, staring at her skate around.

"So what?" Mike asks.

"So, how many Maxes do you know?" Lucas retorts, looking back at gesturing to her.

"I don't know," Mike shrugs.

"Zero. That's how many," Lucas goes on.

"Yeah, she shows up at school the day after someone with her same name breaks our top score. I mean, you've got to be kidding me," Dustin adds.

"Exactly. So she's gotta be Mad Max," Lucas agrees.

"And plus, she skateboards, so she's pretty awesome," Dustin drones, Max getting off her board and picking it up.

"Awesome? You haven't even spoken a word to her. Mars can shoot guns, we don't see her breaking impossible high scores!" Mike argues, gesturing to Mariella.

"Yeah, But Mars doesn't give a shit about high scores! She plays to laugh at us when we get lower scores than her," Dustin responds. Lucas and Will nodding. "She's awesome, I mean look at her. Shit, I've lost the target," Dustin finalizes, scanning the area.

"Oh! There," Will says, walking towards entrance of the school. She stands at the top of the step and tosses something into the garbage before entering the school. Instantly, Lucas and Dustin run to it. Will following and Mike and Mariella shaking their heads, following after.

"This is stupid. Why are you going through the trash for her trash! You creeps," Mariella shakes her head and Dustin leans into the trash.

"It's where he belongs," Mike jokes, nudging her with a playful smile.

"Hey! I can hear you!" Dustin shouts at them, girls passing by and staring at the party with disgust in their faces.

"Not exactly trying to be quiet!" Mariella responds, Dustin coming up and holding up a paper.

"Got it. There we go," He says, unfolding it, all of them crowding around him.

"Stop spying on me, creeps," The boys read out.

"Well, shit," Dustin breathes out.

"She's funny, I like her," Mariella laughs, patting Will's back.

"William Byers." The principal says, coming out from the door and all their heads turning towards him. "Your mother's here,".

They bid goodbye to him, watching as he enters the school before running to the corner and watching as he walks towards his moms car.

"You guys think he's okay?" Dustin asks.

"He's always weird when he has to go in," Lucas shrugs.

"We just gotta treat him like he's still Will," Mariella sighs, rubbing her hands through her hair.

"He is still Will," Mike says to her, shrugging.

"Still Will from before the incident," Mariella elaborates, leaning on his arm.

"He's quiet today," Mike squints, staring at him enter the car.

"He's always quiet," Lucas shakes his head.

"Just treat him like nothing happened. When he's ready to talk about it, he will," Mariella says, pulling away from Mike and turning away. Walking to class and shaking her head.

'He's still Will, Mar. He's still Will,' She says to herself.

♧

Flopping onto the couch, Mariella sighs at Mike's walkie call, begging her to come over. After last years events, Mike and Mariella had began to lean each other more than anyone. They were each other's rocks. They were each other's home. It wasn't a surprise if the other party members called and heard the voice of Mariella on Mike's walkie and vice versa.

Mike follows after her, lifting up her head and sitting where it lay. Dropping it back onto his lap.

"What is it now, Mike?" She asks, flipping over and sitting up, looking at him with a sigh.

"Everything's different," He shrugs, leaning into her arm. His head staying there before Mariella sighs once again, bringing his head to her lap, playing with his messy hair.

"My parents are being annoying," Mike goes on, shutting his eyes, recalling how his mom is making him give his old toys away and his dads berating.

"They just care about you. You've been acting out, stupid head," Mariella responds, shaking her head softly, still playing with his hair. Mike smiles at the gesture.

"Will's different. I just want him to be happy," Mike adds, Mariella sucking in a breath, nodding.

"Me too," She agrees. "I wish it hadn't if happened,". "I miss El," She adds, with a reminiscent smile of their time together.

"I do too," Mike nods, watching as her face go dark for a moment. He knew she misses Eleven. Heck, they all knew. Eleven was the only girl friend Mariella had had for years.

"Mike! Mike?" Dustin's voice sounded from the walkie which sat in the fort where Eleven once slept.

Mike sighs, lifting his head from Mariella's lap, her hands leaving his hair, walking towards it and answering. "Yeah?".

"We've been trying to reach you all day. We were right. Max is Mad Max," Dustin clarifies. Mariella breathing out a laugh before walking over to Mike and sitting next to him as he scoffs.

"I'm busy," He brushes them off, pushing the antenna down before looking back to Mariella who leaned her head onto his shoulder, tiredly, eyes fluttering softly.

"I wish everything was normal again," She sighed as Mike nods wrapping an arm around her, falling back into the tent with her, staring up at the blanket which covered the top of the fort.

They stayed like that for a long time, both of their bodies laid close together as they stared up at the blanket. Their hands somehow finding themselves intertwined. These kids were whipped for each other. They just never seem to admit it.