The arcade-loving members of the boys' group recently discovered a secret: the new transfer student, Maxine Mayfield, was a gaming expert who could easily smash the records they had worked so hard to set as soon as she arrived in town. She was a cool girl, and Lucas and Dustin, currently in the throes of adolescent infatuation, fell for her instantly, vowing to invite her to join their party of freaks.
Mike, whose heart already belonged to someone else, was quite bewildered. Who were the ones who had once solemnly sworn that their party didn't need any more girls?
But it didn't matter. Mike had been through it before and could see what Lucas and Dustin were thinking regarding the transfer student, so he just let them be.
Will was probably the most at peace among them. As long as he could still play with his friends, it didn't matter if they had boyfriends or girlfriends. He only cared about friendship and had no interest in romance.
So today, Lucas and Dustin, dressed up like goofballs, encouraged each other while eyeing each other as rivals as they went up to strike up a conversation with Maxine.
They had thought the solitary Maxine would be difficult to approach, but to their surprise, she was unexpectedly friendly. Not only did she not resist communicating with them at all, but she also very readily accepted their invitation to go 'trick-or-treating' together tonight.
Maxine looked at the four boys dressed as ghostbusters, feeling a bit of excitement in her heart.
She wasn't trying to be cool on purpose; she just hadn't really known how to interact with people she met for the first time since she was a child. She had a passive personality when it came to making friends. If someone was willing to take the initiative to extend a friendly invitation, she was more than happy to seize the opportunity to befriend them. These four boys were reputed to be nerds and freaks at school, but Maxine didn't mind at all. After all, she wasn't much better off herself, and she knew well that such labels didn't truly define who a person was.
Although she wasn't sure what their motives were for approaching her, she felt their friendliness. They were also the first group of classmates who dared to approach her 'cold and aloof' self, so Maxine decided to try hanging out with them.
That night, the four little ghostbusters and a little masked killer, Myers, ran to Richard's house to 'plunder' it.
"Hey there, little guys. Is all that 'robbing' tiring? Want to come in for some snacks?" Richard opened the door and, ignoring the group of boys and girls' feigned attempts at terrifying intimidation, asked with a smile while crossing his arms.
Maxine's first thought upon being invited by a stranger was to refuse, but to her surprise, her four companions said in unison, "We want to eat! We want to eat! We want to eat!" Then, they impatiently pulled her into the house.
Entering Richard's house for the first time, Maxine felt a strange, eerie coldness from this bright and simple home, as if she had walked into a morgue. She felt a faint sense of unease, but the joyful excitement of her friends forced her to dismiss her doubts.
"Oh, Max, don't worry. This is Chade's house. He's Will's brother's best friend and a friend to the four of us too. Although we can't say it explicitly, we've been through life and death together. He's a great guy." Dustin was the first to notice Maxine's apprehension and quickly put down the cake in his hand to comfort her.
Hearing this, Lucas brought a plate of cake to Maxine and smiled. "The town's super popular drink shop, 'Heihe Tea,' was started by him and a friend. If you haven't tried it, we can go together some other day."
Upon hearing this, Dustin secretly glared at his good buddy Lucas. *Good one, kid. I didn't realize you were so good at seizing opportunities.*
After hearing the explanation and seeing Richard bringing more pastries out of the fridge, Maxine suddenly remembered the Chinese waiter she had happened to meet at the shop that day. She immediately exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, I remember now! You're that guy! I've been to that shop." Maxine turned to explain to Dustin and the others.
Richard smiled slightly. "I'm glad to see you here again. I'm Richard, a student about to graduate from Hawkins High School."
"Maxine. You can call me Max, like everyone else." Maxine felt a bit of goodwill toward the sharp-witted and somewhat mysterious Richard. She proactively shook hands with him and smiled.
"Don't be shy, everyone eat up. Robin and I can't finish all this by ourselves." Richard smiled as he pushed two trays of sweets—one of Melon Seed Brittle and one of dried dried tangerine peel candy—in front of the youngsters. "These snacks and candies are delicious Chinese-style treats. I believe they should suit your tastes. Please try some, and feel free to take some back if you like them."
"Thank you!" The boys immediately grinned and, without hesitation, grabbed handfuls of dried tangerine peel candy and Melon Seed Brittle to stuff into their collection bags. Maxine was a bit reserved at first, but with the help of Lucas and the others, she filled more than half her bag.
"Is Robin not here?" Mike looked around. He had heard Richard mention Robin but didn't see her.
"Oh, she's taking a shower," Richard said frankly.
Hearing this, the five youngsters' faces froze. Then, Will suddenly had a brain wave and said, "Whoa, guys, it's getting late. Our candy collection activity tonight hasn't broken last year's record yet!"
"Oh, right, right, right. Time to go, time to go." Mike and the others nodded vigorously, then bid Richard farewell one after another. Dustin even grabbed a piece of cake to take with him.
Seeing this, Richard couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. "Kids are so lucky. No worries about three meals a day."
At that moment, Robin had just finished her shower and came out of the bathroom. Steamy mist drifted from beneath her close-fitting clothes along with the scent of body wash. A few stray water droplets clung to her delicate skin, some soaking into the fabric of her clothes, clinging to the folds and showcasing Robin's graceful, tall figure.
"I heard Mike and the others just now. Were they here?" Robin asked curiously as she dried her dripping hair.
"Yeah. I want to bring some candy to Eleven in a bit. Want to come along?" Richard nodded, then gestured to Robin with a nice paper gift bag filled with candy.
Robin wouldn't dare stay alone in this house filled with vengeful spirits for anything. She said without hesitation, "Wait for me to get dressed, and I'll go with you."
About half an hour later, Richard and Robin rode together to Chief Hopper's house. Eleven opened the door. The young girl had looked a bit listless at first, but when she saw it was Richard and Robin standing there, she immediately beamed and stepped forward to give them both a hug. "Chade, Robin, what are you guys doing here?"
"I thought you might need this today, so I came to check on you," Richard said with a smile, handing a bag of candy to Eleven.
Eleven couldn't wait to pick out a piece of dried tangerine peel candy and pop it into her mouth. She was instantly won over by the delicious sweet and sour gummy. Squinting like a comfortable kitten, she said leisurely, "Everything Chade makes is so tasty."
Robin and Richard walked inside. Robin asked curiously, "Is Hopper not here?"
"He's been a busy man since becoming deputy chief. He was very unpunctual today too. He promised that if I didn't go out to play, he would spend Halloween Night with me, but he's late and hasn't come back yet." Eleven got a bit angry at the mention of Hopper's name and spoke huffily.
Robin comforted her, "Maybe he's just exceptionally busy today. After all, it's Halloween Night; some bad people might take the opportunity to cause trouble."
Hearing this, Eleven's expression softened slightly. "Then nothing Will go wrong, right?"
"Haha, Chief Hopper is a very capable man. Plus, now that he's the deputy chief, he just needs to oversee things at the station. He doesn't need to go out on missions for no reason," Robin said with a smile.
Richard patted Eleven's head. "We came at just the right time tonight. If you don't mind, we'll keep you company until Hopper arrives."
"Really!?" Eleven was overjoyed, her eyes sparkling. She pulled a videotape out of the TV cabinet. "Let's watch The Exorcist."
Robin and Richard looked at each other. They had actually already seen the movie, but they still smiled and agreed, "Sure."