28th of October, 1984

I look around the arcade for anyone who may need assistance as I wince at all the screeching and yelling from the kids in the building. I hate my job. I hate this stupid purple shirt that I am wearing. "No! No! No! No!" I hear a yell. I internally groan before making my over to the source of the noise. "I hate this overpriced bullshit!" I look around to find the source of the yelling coming from Dustin Henderson. "Son of a bitch, piece of shit!" He continues yelling, kicking the machine with a hard thud.

He is standing with his friends, Mike, Lucas, and Will, hitting one of the arcade machines. "Hey, hey, hey," I say, walking over to them. "I hate this overpriced bullshit, too, but how many times Dustin?" I question him. "Don't hit the machines."

"You're just not nimble enough," Lucas explains to Dustin, with a smug look on his face. "But you'll get there one day." Lucas' grin grows even more. "But until then, Princess Daphne is still mine."

"You know, whatever," Dustin shrugs his shoulders at Lucas, calmed down after his outburst. "I'm still tops on Centipede and Dig Dug."

"You sure about that?" Keith speaks up from around the corner, eating a packet of Cheetos, doing no work, as per usual.

"Sure about what?" Dustin questions, bracing himself for the answer. Keith smiles at him before putting a Cheeto in his mouth, making a loud crunch. Dustin's face drops, dramatically. "You're kidding me. No, no, no." Dustin takes off and runs around the arcade, looking for Centipede, then Dig Dug. "No! No!" Dustin screams when reaching Dig Dug.

"751,300 points?" Will exclaims, in awe of the score.

"That's impossible!" Mike adds on, his jaw almost hitting the floor at the sight.

"Who is 'Mad Max'?" Dustin asks, looking back at Keith and me.

Keith laughs to himself, putting another Cheeto in his mouth. "Better than you," I smile brightly, making myself highly amused.

"Is it you?" Will questions me, pointing his finger up at me.

"You know I despise Dig Dug," I scoff, shaking my head.

"Then who is it?" Lucas speaks up, confusion all over his face. I shrug my shoulders, genuinely not knowing, before turning to Keith for answers.

"Yeah, spill it, Keith," Dustin yells at him, stepping forward.

"You want information?" Keith asks, Dustin nods his head, vigorously. "Then I want something in return."

The three young boys in front of me all turn to their friend, Mike, who just looks at them all in confusion. A sudden wave of realization hits him and panic is shown all over his face. "No, no, no! No way! You're not getting a date with her," Mike shakes his head at Keith.

"Mike, come on," Lucas tries to persuade him. "Just get him the date."

"I'm not prostituting my sister!" Mike yells back at him, actually really shocked that they want him to do it. Keith has a huge crush on Nancy, he always goes on about her and has pestered me for months, trying to get me to get him a date with her.

"But it's for a good cause," Lucas adds on, trying to make things on his behalf a lot better. Mike doesn't budge, shaking his head.

"No, don't get him the date," Dustin intervenes, standing between the two boys arguing. "You know what? He's going to spread his nasty-ass rash to your whole family."

"Acne isn't a rash and it isn't contagious you prepubescent wastoid!" Keith defends himself and his 'nasty-ass rash'.

"Oh, I'm a wastoid," Dustin parrots, nodding his head at Keith. "She would go on a date with you because you make like what, $2.50 an hour?"

"I make $2.50 an hour," I interrupt their exchanging of insults. "Is that why no one wants to go on a date with me?"

"No, that's different," Lucas inputs, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest, shifting his weight between each leg.

"Why is that, Sinclair?" I challenge him, copying him by shaking my head, crossing my arms across my chest and shifting my weight. He opens his mouth to reply, but closes it, warily.

"Because you're good-looking," Dustin says for Lucas. He points to Keith and shakes his head. "He isn't."

"Oh yeah, nice perm," Keith replies, totally unrelated to the topic we are talking about.

"Oh, so you're gonna make fun of my hair?" Dustin questions Keith, raising his brows at him and shaking his head.

"Where's Will?" Mike speaks up, looking around the arcade for Will. We all shrug our shoulders and he exhales sharply, going to look for him. I look around for the clock and smile when I see the time.

"Keith, I'm leaving," I tell him, pointing up at the clock.

"You don't finish for another two hours," he complains, shaking his head at me.

"It's my birthday, I'm allowed to leave whenever I want," I explain, nodding my head. "Also, the manager isn't here so good luck by yourself."

"It's your birthday?" Lucas questions and I nod my head. "Cool, how old are you now? 17?"

"18," I correct him. "And thanks."

"Got any cool gifts waiting for you at home?" Dustin asks me, wiggling his eyebrows, implying something sexual.

"First of all, you're like 5, you shouldn't know about the birds and the bees," I reply, pointing at him, gaining a laugh from Lucas. "Second of all, I'm single as a Pringle." I pause for a moment. "Which is ironic, considering Pringles are never sold singularly."

"So, your answer is yes?" Lucas questions, smiling smugly.

"No, no, no, no," I interrupt, shaking my head violently. "Definitely, 100% not."

"What about Steve?" Dustin investigates, pressing for more information.

"Steve and I have only just started talking again after like a year, so it's really awkward and I doubt we are ever going to be as close again," I tell Dustin, making his facial expression stiffen. "Anyway, I'll see you kiddos around, I'm going home."

"Bye, Liz," Lucas and Dustin say, waving me off. I see Mike and Will outside.

"Is everything okay?" I ask Will, as he looks a bit startled. He nods his head with a smile. "Okay, well I'll see you two whenever I see you, I'm going home."

"Okay, see you later, Lizzie," Mike waves me goodbye. With that, I begin my walk home. As I arrive home, I see my new neighbors, walking up their drive, probably coming home from a fancy meal. "Hi, Susan. Hi, Neil," I greet them.

"Oh, hello sweetheart," Susan replies, walking in my direction to give me a hug. "You know, I was thinking earlier, do you need a ride to school tomorrow morning?"

"Most likely, but I'll take the bus, I wouldn't want to trouble you," I tell her, shaking my head.

"Oh, don't be stupid," she waves off. "My son will drive you, he's around your age and he doesn't really know this town very well, so it should be good for him."

"If you insist," I say, giving in to Susan's kindness. Neil sighs in impatience, walking inside and closing the door behind him. "What time should I be ready for?"

She pauses for a while in thought. "I'll send him round at about 7:45," she tells me, nodding her head. "I better get going, but I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay, see you later, Susan," I smile, walking away to get to my own front door. I walk through my front door and immediately go to the kitchen. "I'm home!"

"Hey, Lizzie," Dad greets me, looking up from his newspaper, sitting at the breakfast bar. "How was work?"

"It was okay," I shrug my shoulders. "Dustin got pissed because someone beat his high score on Dig Dug, but nothing much else happened." I go into the refrigerator and grab some chocolate pudding. "Oh and I just spoke to Susan and she said her son is going to give me a ride to school in the morning."

"Okay, that's fine," Dad mumbles, still reading his newspaper.

"Well," I say, nodding my head. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Oh, that's cool," he replies, not looking up.

He's not even listening. "Can I borrow the car keys and go crash the car?"

"Yeah, sure thing, honey."

"Can I get a tattoo?"

"Yeah, whatever you need."

"I'm pregnant."

"That's interesting."

"And I'm keeping it."

"Very good."

"I don't know who the father is, I'm moving to the ghetto with the baby and dropping out of school."

"I did the same thing."

"Dad!" I yell, finally gaining his attention. He looks up from his newspaper. "I'm going to bed."

"Oh, okay, come give me a kiss," he says, tapping his cheek. I kiss his cheek and turn on my heel to go to bed. "Night, princess."

"Goodnight."