Justice for Barb!

By Nancy Wheeler

Barb Holland. Many of you know her as a friend, a classmate or a friendly face in the hall at Hawkins High School. While by no means the most popular among us, Barb is well known by me and her other close friends as one of the kindest, smartest and most loyal people in the whole world.

Barb is missing. She disappeared last Friday night amid a strange set of circumstances. Her parents are afraid for the worst. I just miss my best friend. It is no secret that our little town of Hawkins has experienced a whole host of strange situations this fall, including the dis- appearance of my young brother’s best friend, Will Byers. Given this unusual time in our town’s history, it seems almost as though Barb’s disappearance has gone relatively unnoticed.

When the police questioned me and fellow student Steve Harrington about the night Barb vanished, they seemed far less focused on finding Barb than embarrassing me for my actions that night and getting Steve in trouble for under- age drinking. No one has taken my account of that night or my insistence that Barb is in trouble seriously.

I truly do believe that Barb is in trouble. I know my best friend, and I know that she would never simply disappear without telling me or telling her parents. Barb is deeply responsible, always follows rules and has never liked causing trouble. While the police continue to insist that she is simply another teenager rebelling against her parents by running away and “bound to turn up eventually,” I will continue speaking the truth.

This is my petition for the people of Hawkins—Barb needs you. When Will Byers went missing, we held candlelight vigils, we rallied around his mother Joyce and we volunteered to comb the woods to look for him. None of these efforts have been made to find Barb. Instead, the police have allowed us to believe that Barb’s vanishing is not a “big deal,” and even that it might be of her own accord.

This is false! Don’t let these unjust authorities lull you to sleep. Something strange is happening in Hawkins, and the disappearance of Barb Holland is every bit as odd and unsettling as the disappearance of Will Byers.

Join with me in demanding justice for Barb. I, along with my classmate Jonathan Byers, will be leading a protest of the Hawkins police department this coming Saturday. In this protest, we will demand that better attention be paid to the case of Barb’s disappearance, and that Hawkins police do nothing but their utmost to ensure that this beloved daughter, friend, class- mate and community member is brought home safe and sound.

*This is part of The Ranchor issue of The Anchor, which is a satire edition of our student newspaper. None of this article is meant to be taken as fact.*