Mike Wheeler 01

Hawkins, Indiana, was experiencing that summer heat that melts the asphalt and makes you forget what fresh air is. For Mike Wheeler, this summer was especially stifling. Not from the heat, no. From the silence. From the emptiness of the basement, where the candles no longer burned, and from the Dungeons & Dragons maps scattered around the room, uncollected.

Will went to camp. Dustin was at computer camp three states away. Lucas was trying to mend his relationship with Max, and Mike… Mike simply existed. He'd wake up, get on his bike, and ride aimlessly around the city, hoping to stumble upon something strange, a rift, anything. Any adventure. But the only anomaly that evening was the invitation he found under the windshield wiper of his bike.

"Pool party. Come on over. It'll be fun. - Stacey."

Stacy was in high school. Tall, blonde, captain of the cheerleading squad. She never noticed Mike. He was that "weird guy Wheeler," Nancy's younger brother. Mike chuckled, about to throw the paper away, but froze. Something stirred inside him. Not interest in Stacy. But interest in himself.

"Who would I be if there were no Gates, no Demogorgons, no Shadow? Who would I be if I didn't have to constantly save the world?"

Mike looked at his watch. It was 8:30 PM. The party started at nine. And he made a decision.

He stopped by his house and changed. Instead of his usual turtlenecks and vests, he pulled on a simple T-shirt his mother had bought him and jeans. He combed his hair. He looked almost normal. Almost like everyone else.

Stacy's house was in a wealthy neighborhood. It was a huge mansion with illuminated windows, potted palms, and, of course, a swimming pool glowing turquoise in the twilight. Music was blaring. Not the kind of music he listened to. It was a song that made Mike's jaw ache—the kind of cloying, sugary pop he hated.