Wednesday, November 30th, 1983

Hey, Diary,

I haven't gone to school for the past three days since Thanksgiving break ended. I just can't deal with everything right now. Barb is gone, Nancy's acting all weird, and the thought of walking into Hawkins High makes me want to crawl into a hole. I've been hiding out at Skull Rock, just wanting to be alone.

Around 3:00 PM, I start heading out of the woods to bike home before Mom gets suspicious.

I know I can't keep doing this much longer. If I skip again, the school will probably call home.

When I walk into the house, Mom is in the kitchen. I try to slip past her.

"Hey," I mumble, heading toward the hallway.

But she steps in front of me, blocking my way. "No, honey. Come sit with me. We need to talk."

I freeze. My heart sinks.

Oh, shit...

Nervously, I follow her to the dining table, sitting down without making eye contact.

Mom takes a deep breath and sits across from me. The silence is thick, and I can feel the lecture coming. She clears her throat. "Dani, I know you haven't been going to school."

My stomach twists, and I glance at her, my heart pounding. I knew this was coming, but it still hits me like a ton of bricks.

There's no point in denying it.

"How did you know?" I whisper.

She folds her arms over her chest, her eyes stern. "A boy named Eddie stopped by after school. He brought a book to help you with an assignment because he knew you haven't been going. Why haven't you been going to school, Danielle?"

Hearing her say it out loud makes it feel so much worse. The tears I've been holding in start to well up, and before I can stop myself, I break down.

Mom gets up and wraps her arms around me. "Sweetheart, it's okay," she whispers. "You can talk to me. Tell me what's going on."

I bury my face in her shoulder, sobbing. "I'm s-sorry, Mom," I manage to choke out between breaths.

She rubs my back, her voice soft and comforting. "It's alright, honey. Just let it all out. Did something happen at school?"

I cling to her, the weight of everything crushing down. "It's just... everything with Barb... be-being gone... and now Nancy's avoiding m-me. I don't want to be there. I'm sorry, Mom." The words spill out in a mess of sobs, and I can hardly breathe.

When I finally calm down, Mom brushes the curls out of my face. "Shh, it's going to be okay, Dani. But you can't keep skipping school, sweetheart. You'll fall behind, and I know you don't want that."

"I know," I sniff, wiping my eyes. "You're right. I don't want to get behind, but... I just..." My voice cracks as the tears start to come back, and I hide my face in my hands.

Mom gently lifts my chin, making me look at her. "I know it's hard, honey. But I need you to promise me something, okay?"

I nod, wiping away the last of my tears. "Yeah, Mom?"

She takes a deep breath. "I need you to stop skipping school. Promise?"

I hesitate, my eyes dropping to my hands again. I take a moment to pull myself together before meeting her eyes.

"I promise, Mom."

She smiles and pulls me into another hug. "That's my girl. I'm proud of you, you know that?"

I hug her for a moment and pull back, sniffling. "You're not mad at me?"

She laughs softly. "Mad? No, sweetie. I'm not mad at you. I love you too much to be mad at you. I'm just worried. This isn't like you."

I nod, smiling softly. "I'll be okay... I just need some time."

Mom squeezes me one last time. "That's understandable." She smiles mischievously. "But... what about this boy Eddie?" she asks, teasingly.

I roll my eyes and shrug. "What about him?"

She raises her eyebrows. "Oh, I don't know... he came all the way here because you haven't been in school. That's something."

I blush and look down at my hands. "He's just a friend, Mom. Seriously. He only came by to drop off a book for an assignment."

She smirks, clearly not buying it. "Mm-hmm... just a friend? My sweet girl's got her first boyfriend," she teases.

"Mom..." I groan, standing up. I blush as I start walking down the hall. "He's not my boyfriend," I call over my shoulder, trying to laugh it off.

So yeah, I've been a mess, but at least now Mom knows what's been going on. I guess it feels a little better not to keep everything bottled up. And I promised her I'd stop skipping school, so I'll probably have to face the music tomorrow. I'm not ready to deal with Nancy or anyone else just yet, but maybe if I take things one day at a time, I'll get through it. Maybe Eddie was right to check up on me... even if Mom thinks he's my 'boyfriend' now. Ugh, awkward!

Anyway, I'll try to be better tomorrow. I owe Mom that much, at least. We'll see how it goes...