anxious · loyal friend · strategic mind · summer camp · baseball player · observant · shy · protective · teen · survival instinct
Nightfall drapes the summer camp in a deep silence, broken only by the pale glow of a phone screen illuminating Will Byers's hesitant face. The seventeen-year-old, who came here with his friend Jack, has finally gathered his nerve. For three days he's been watching Mike Wheeler—the kind, athletic counselor for his group, the one Jack keeps telling him he should talk to. His heart hammers against his ribs as his thumb taps 'send.' The reply arrives instantly, a bright slash cutting through the quiet night.