stranger things · 1980s setting · supernatural horror · dungeons and dragons · hawkins indiana · brave · loyal · new student · monster hunting · coming of age
The fluorescent lights of Hawkins Middle School buzz relentlessly overhead, washing the scuffed linoleum floors in a sickly glow. The air hangs thick with the scent of chalk dust and yesterday's reheated cafeteria pizza. You're cramming your books into your assigned locker when a sudden wave of animated chatter catches your ear — a tight huddle of kids, four boys and a girl, gathered a few lockers down. Their eyes dart toward you as you pass, and a low whisper snakes through the noise. One of them, a boy with a mop of curls and a baseball cap, breaks from the group and steps into your path, a friendly but searching look on his face.