Part 1: The D&D; Game
B1 Four boys sit in Mike’s basement. They play Dungeons & Dragons. Mike is the leader. Will, Lucas, and Dustin listen. Mike: ‘The Demogorgon is coming!’ Will rolls his dice. Everyone leans close. The dice falls. Suddenly, Mike’s mom calls from upstairs. ‘Bedtime, boys!’ They grab their coats and leave. Vocabulary: basement = room under a house • dice = small cube for games • coat = jacket • bedtime = time to sleep
B2 Four friends spend the night in Mike’s basement, playing Dungeons & Dragons. Mike is Dungeon Master, while Will, Lucas, and Dustin argue about what to do. Mike (serious): ‘The Demogorgon is here! What’s your move?’ Will rolls nervously. The dice spins and falls to the floor. Everyone gasps. Karen, Mike’s mom, interrupts: ‘That’s enough. Bedtime!’ The boys groan and put away their things. Vocabulary: Dungeon Master = leader of the game • spin = turn quickly • groan = complain sound • interrupt = stop suddenly
C1 The boys sit in the cluttered basement, a fortress of childhood. The table is crowded with maps, dice, and snack wrappers. Mike directs the game as Dungeon Master, weaving the story while the others strategize. Mike (dramatic): ‘The Demogorgon closes in. Your roll decides your destiny.’ Will throws the dice across the board, but it bounces off and disappears under the table. The battle fades instantly when Karen calls them up. The boys protest, but the game is over. Vocabulary : cluttered = messy • strategise = plan carefully • destiny = fate • protest = object, complain
C2 In the dim basement, childhood worlds collide with imagination. Comic books and soda cans litter the table. Mike, Dungeon Master, narrates with solemn urgency, while his friends cling to the fate of their characters. Mike (with theatrical intensity): ‘The Demogorgon advances. Your fate hangs on this roll.’ Will’s hand trembles. The die escapes, rolling into shadows beneath the table. The imagined battle collapses at Karen’s call, grounding them in childhood’s limits. Vocabulary: solemn = serious • urgency = importance, need fast • tremble = shake slightly • collapse = fall apart
Part 2: Will Disappears
B1 Will rides home on his bike. It is very dark. The trees move in the wind. Suddenly, he hears a loud sound. Will (scared): ‘Hello? Who’s there?’ He speeds up. He runs into his house. The lights flicker. He hides in the shed. He grabs a gun. Suddenly—he is gone. Vocabulary: dark = not light • flicker = blink on/off • shed = small house for tools • gone = not there
B2 Will cycles through the quiet streets. The night is cold and strange. Suddenly, a terrible sound echoes from the woods. Will (nervous): ‘Hello? Is anyone there?’ He throws down his bike and runs inside. The lights flash wildly. In the shed, Will grabs his father’s rifle. A shadow looms. Suddenly, he vanishes. Vocabulary: echo = sound repeats • rifle = long gun • vanish = disappear • looms = appears large/scary
C1 Will pedals harder, shadows stretching long. The forest edges close, whispering in the dark. A shriek — inhuman, metallic — tears the silence. Will (voice trembling): ‘Who’s out there?’ He bursts through the door. The bulbs flicker violently. He hides in the shed, clutching a rifle with shaking hands. A monstrous presence fills the air. Will disappears. Vocabulary: shriek = loud scream • trembling = shaking • monstrous = very scary, like a monster • clutching = holding tight
C2 Alone, Will glides through the suffocating night. Trees loom like sentinels. A scream splits the night, unnatural, vibrating through bone. Will whispers into the void: ‘Who’s there?’ He crashes inside. Electricity convulses, lights spasming. In the shed, he seizes the rifle, hands quivering. A shadow moves. Reality bends. The boy is erased. Vocabulary: suffocating = hard to breathe • sentinel = guard/watchman • convulse = shake violently • bend (reality) = change shape, distort
Part 3: Joyce Realises Will Is Missing
B1 Morning. Joyce calls Will. No answer. She goes upstairs. Will’s bed is empty. Joyce: ‘Where are you, Will?’ Jonathan looks worried. Vocabulary: empty = nothing inside • bed = where you sleep • call = phone or shout • worried = anxious, not calm
B2 In the morning, Joyce phones Will’s room. He doesn’t answer. She checks his room: the bed is untouched. Joyce (worried): ‘Will? Where are you?’ Jonathan tries to calm her: ‘Maybe he left early.’ Vocabulary: untouched = not used • reply = answer • calm = not excited • early = before normal time
C1 Joyce calls, but the ringing goes on and on. She hurries upstairs. Will’s bed is cold, the sheets neat. Joyce whispers: ‘Will… where are you?’ Jonathan, quiet and tired, suggests: ‘He’s probably at school already.’ Vocabulary: ringing = phone sound • neat = clean, tidy • whisper = speak quietly • suggest = give an idea
C2 The phone rings into emptiness, each unanswered tone pulling her deeper into dread. His room is frozen in time — a bed undisturbed, a world waiting for its boy. Joyce’s voice fractures into prayer: ‘Where are you, Will?’ Jonathan offers a weak explanation, but Joyce’s eyes cut through it — a mother knows. Vocabulary: emptiness = nothing there • dread = strong fear • fracture = break • explanation = reason
Part 4: Chief Hopper Investigates
B1 Hopper wakes up late. He drinks coffee. At the station, Joyce arrives. Hopper: ‘He’s probably with a friend.’ Joyce: ‘No. Not Will. Something is wrong.’ Vocabulary: station = police office • wrong = not right • friend = buddy • late = not on time
B2 Hopper wakes late, hungover, reaching for a cigarette. Joyce tells him Will is missing. Hopper (calm): ‘He’s probably with a friend.’ Joyce (insistent): ‘This is different.’ Vocabulary: hungover = sick after drinking • calm = not worried • different = not the same • insistent = strong, won’t stop
C1 Hopper, weary sheriff, drags himself awake with beer, pills, and smoke. Joyce storms into the station: ‘My son is gone.’ Hopper shrugs: ‘Kids wander.’ Joyce: ‘This isn’t normal.’ Vocabulary: weary = very tired • storm into = enter angrily • wander = walk with no plan • shrug = small shoulder move
C2 Hopper rises slow, dulled by grief. Joyce bursts in, desperate fire in her eyes. Hopper hides behind logic: ‘Kids disappear for a night.’ Joyce cuts through: ‘This isn’t wandering. This is wrong.’ Vocabulary: dulled = made weaker • grief = deep sadness • logic = reason • cut through = break past
Part 5: The Boys Search for Will
B1 Mike, Lucas, and Dustin talk. They want to help. Lucas: ‘It’s dangerous.’ Dustin: ‘We’ll find him.’ They pack flashlights and radios. Vocabulary: dangerous = not safe • flashlight = small electric light • radio = walkie-talkie • pack = put together
B2 Mike convinces Lucas and Dustin to look for Will themselves. Lucas (worried): ‘The woods are dangerous.’ Dustin: ‘We’ll find Will. Together.’ They grab radios, jackets, and bikes. Vocabulary: convince = make someone agree • woods = forest • grab = take quickly • jacket = coat
C1 The boys meet secretly after school. They plan a night search through the woods. Lucas warns: ‘This could be dangerous.’ Dustin insists: ‘We won’t stop until we find him.’ They prepare with flashlights and gear. Vocabulary: secretly = not openly • gear = equipment • insist = say strongly • warn = tell of danger
C2 Bound by loyalty, they conspire under rain clouds, ready to defy adults and enter the dark forest. Lucas voices the fear: ‘This is dangerous.’ Dustin declares: ‘We’ll find him. No matter what it takes.’ They arm themselves with childish precision.
Vocabulary: loyalty = strong friendship • conspire = plan secretly • defy = resist, go against • precision = exactness
Part 6: Eleven Appears
B1 A girl with short hair runs in the woods. She is scared. She hides in a diner. Benny, the cook, sees her. Benny: ‘Hey, kid. You okay?’ She does not answer. She eats the food. On her arm is a tattoo: 011. Vocabulary: diner = small restaurant • tattoo = ink on skin • cook = person who makes food • scared = afraid
B2 A girl with a shaved head runs through the forest, terrified. She enters a diner. Benny, the owner, notices her. Benny (gentle): ‘Hey, kid. You alright?’ She says nothing, but eats quickly. Benny sees a number: 011. Vocabulary: shaved = no hair • terrified = very scared • owner = person who has a place • notice = see
C1 A shaven-headed girl stumbles barefoot through the woods. She sneaks into Benny’s diner. He sees her hunger and fear. Benny: ‘What’s your name? You okay?’ She refuses to speak, devouring food. On her arm, a mark: 011. Vocabulary: stumble = trip, nearly fall • barefoot = no shoes • devour = eat fast • refuse = say no
C2 A feral figure, head shorn, flees barefoot, hunted by shadows. She collapses into Benny’s roadside diner. He stares, pity rising. Benny softens: ‘Hey there. You hungry?’ Wordless, she devours food. Branded into her skin: 011. Vocabulary: feral = wild • shorn = cut very short • collapse = fall down • branded = marked permanently
Part 7: The Boys Meet Eleven
B1 The boys search in the rain. Suddenly, they see the girl. Mike: ‘Who are you?’ She looks at them. She says nothing. The rain falls hard. A new story begins. Vocabulary: rain = water from sky • suddenly = quickly, no warning • story = tale • nothing = zero, no thing
B2 That night, the boys search the woods in the rain. Suddenly, a figure appears. It is the strange girl. Mike (confused): ‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’ She stares at them, silent. The storm beats down. A mystery begins. Vocabulary: figure = shape of a person • appear = come into view • confused = not sure • mystery = secret, unknown thing
C1 The storm rages as the boys push deeper into the forest. Out of the storm, a figure emerges — the girl with the shaved head. Mike (stunned): ‘Who are you? What happened to you?’ She gazes back, eyes haunted. Under the storm, their lives change forever. Vocabulary: rage = be very strong/angry • emerge = come out • stunned = shocked • haunted = troubled, sad look
C2 The storm lashes their faces as they stumble through the trees, fear and loyalty binding them. From the rain-soaked dark, the girl materialises, spectral, silent, marked. Mike whispers in awe: ‘Who are you?’ Her gaze locks on them — unreadable, otherworldly. Under storm and silence, worlds collide — and the true story begins. Vocabulary: lash = hit hard • materialise = appear suddenly • awe = wonder + fear • collide = crash, meet strongly
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