(With apologies to Tim O’Brien)
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Mike carried Eggo waffles for a girl named Eleven. They were not love waffles, but Mike Sheets was hoping, so he carried the box of Eggos down the stairs to the basement. During science class at Hawkins Middle School or trick-or-treating with his friends, he’d imagine dancing with Eleven at the annual Snow Ball. He’d imagine following her to the Hawkins Laboratory, where she would crush the skulls of bad men with her thoughts. In the evening, when his mother told him that it was time for bed, Mike left Eggos in the pillow fort and went to his bedroom, wondering whether Eleven was thought-crushing the skulls of bad men without him.