*a year later*

Frankie nervously approaches the school. Today will be her first day.

She and her ghostly friends had to forge a lot of fake documents before she could be "properly" enrolled into the small middle school of Hawkins.

It took a whole year.

Halloween is just around the corner again, and she knows that the spirits will be pestering her to play the damn piano solo again.

"Don't bother me while I'm in class, got it?," she grumbles to whoever might be listening.

She gets no response, and she wasn't really expecting to either.

Frankie's hands begin to shake as she gets closer and closer to the entrance of the school. Finally, she walks through the doors. She guides herself towards the office, she remembers the room from when she first tried to enroll.

They sent her back requesting multiple papers.

"Ah, Miss Prynne, welcome to your first day at Hawkins' middle school!," The main secretary grins enthusiastically at the girl.

"Uh, yeah...is this where I get my schedule?," Frankie questions, less enthusiastic.

The secretary nods before handing her a printed out copy of her schedule. It's all foreign to Frankie. She's never even been in school before.

Nerves begin hitting her left and right.

"Don't worry, sweetie," the secretary assures, noticing the girl's panic, "it'll be fine."

Frankie decides to take her word for it, and nods her head lightly. Still, she can't help but feel a little nervous. After a few minutes of the secretary explaining how her schedule works, she comes around her desk.

"I'll walk you to your first class."

Frankie nods with a thankful smile.

The small girl follows closely behind the adult as her eyes scan the hallways around her. According to her schedule, she's going to Mr. Clarke's earth and biology class.

"He's a sweet man," the woman promises. Frankie doesn't respond.

The two come to a stop in front of a classroom door. The woman cracks open the door, and the whole class seems to quiet down. Frankie's heart beat speeds up as she steps into the class's view.

"Mr. Clarke, this is your new student, Frankie Prynne. She's an exchange student."

Mr. Clarke smiles at Frankie, and the girl shuffles awkwardly into the class. Her eyes scan the class and stop when they meet another pair of eyes.

"That's Will Byers," the figure whispers, appearing beside her. No one else can see it. She knows she'll look crazy if she responds to it, so she ignores it.

She blushes a little, and quickly turns away.

"Welcome," Mr. Clarke says, "please introduce yourself."

Frankie refuses to make eye contact with anyone, but complied with his wishes anyway. "M-My name is Frankie Prynne, I'm from Ojinaga, Mexico."

With that, she quickly moves away from the front and towards an empty seat at the back.

Will's eyes follow her. Dustin and Lucas aren't really interested, they're too busy arguing over whether Max should be in the party or not. Mike notices Will's stare and sighs deeply.

Two new girls could really bring the group apart.

"Back to what we were taking about, kids!," Mr. Clarke announces, bringing Will's eyes back to the front.